2. A Christmas Present

A Christmas Present

The wizarding world had quickly returned to normal after Voldemort was defeated. Harry was honored with more prizes and awards then he could count, along with Raj and Homer who had been a very big part of the victory. It was upon the mention of Raj and Homer that the Yautja were introduced to the wizarding world. Various trade arrangements were set up to help both parties and the economy instantly flourished. Every day an invention of one kind or another was made, wizards helping Yautja scientists and Yautja scientists helping the wizards. Some would argue that the best invention to come out so far had been the new broomstick, the Plasma Bolt 1000, utilizing super light weight alloys, a plasma based thruster drive, a variety of safety equipment, and a speed unmatched by any other broom. Quidditch quickly spread amongst the populace of the Urifa sector of which Borkan was the governor, and it was only a matter of time before other planets and systems caught wind of the new developments happening. It was time of never before seen peace and prosperity with great hopes for the future, and indeed it seemed that things could be more perfect. They didn't know that soon the battle against Voldemort would seam like just a small gang war.

“Hi there precious.” Harry woke up seeing the love of his life nestled against his side.

“My precious.” Hermione said in a very strange voice.

“Huh?”

“Oh its just something from the move Lord of The Rings, you really should watch it sometime.”

“No time for that babe, I've got presents to open and food to eat.” Harry replied enthusiastically as he jumped out of bed and put on the closest thing he could find.

“So what did you get me?” Hermione asked as she eyed Harry getting dressed.

“Can't tell you.”

“Is it a book?”

“Nope, but…no.”

She was a bit disappointed, she had hoped Harry would have bought her some kind of Yautja book that she could try reading, one of the new subjects was Yauritz, it was also being taught to adults who wanted to or needed to be able to better communicate with Yautja. “So what is it then?”

“Can't tell you.”

“If you don't tell me right now I'm not going to wear the something I bought.”

“Fine you win.” Harry said in mock resignation. Walking over to the wall that held his trophies and gear Harry tapped a few buttons and right beside it the wall opened up.

“You got a smaller version of what you already have?” She asked unimpressed.

“Take a closer look.”

Getting out of bed Hermione walked over to the newly segment and looked at the thing there closely, to her surprise they were feminine equipment. “Oh my Harry this must have cost you a fortune!” Hermione said, as she looked the things over. One of the recent things that Hermione had learned was that female Yautja were allowed to become dominatrix. They learned a different type of fighting than the males did, its was more of a deadly dance and for show. They didn't go hunting nor did they really fight, however if the need ever arose they could fight off an attacker, most times an assassin trying to capture or kill a high-ranking official's daughter or wife.

“Thank you so much!” Hermione squealed, hugging and kissing the smiling Harry.

“Anything for you hun.” He replied. “Now what did you get me?”

After rummaging around in their closet Hermione pulled out a pitch black box. “This is from my parents as well, they helped me pay for it. It's a power stone. Yautja legend says if the wearer is powerful enough, or has untapped power inside them, that in times of need it will summon its wearer's power and focus it, the warrior is then surrounded with their energy and they become unstoppable.”

“I know I've herd of these things, Raj and Homer have one, its mostly legend they say. There hasn't been a recorded event where it has actually worked, but it boosts confidence and moral, who knows, maybe just maybe it will work for someone. Thanks Hermione.” Harry said giving her a long passionate kiss.

“Anytime. Now how about we get some food, you must have worked up quiet an appetite giving me your other present.” She winked seductively; a shiver running down her spine as she remembered what Harry wore. Tonight would be her turn.

After getting ready for the day the happy couple went down for some breakfast, greeting many smiling faces on their way. Raj and Homer had decided to stay and teach Yauritz at the school, after the students got used to their appearance they were widely accepted as the strictest and yet funniest teachers.

The grounds had changed considerably; a large spaceport was added ships came and went constantly each carrying a variety of things, from animals to candy, the two races were joining together in harmony. A lone Yautja stepped off a recently arrived craft, a small thin wooden box and letter his only baggage. His unnervingly dull distant eyes scanned the area, picking out the quickest way towards Hogwarts through the lightly falling storm. He sprinted the ten kilometers to the castle, the training he had received evident in the way he moved. He entered through the front door, not sticking out much at all, there was a constant stream of individuals going in and out of the castle constantly, one Yautja didn't stick out at all, entering the great hall he searched for his target.

“Hey buddy, need any help?” Raj hollered across the room in Yauritz.

The newcomer walked up towards him, unnerving Raj by the way he walked, almost as if he were being controlled. “Do you know Harry Potter?”

“Ya, what do you need, an autograph?” Raj said, his tone hardening slightly. He had become Harry's unofficial bouncer, deterring all but the most die-hard fans.

“Could you give these two things two him, make sure that it is only he that receives it.” The newcomer said, handing the box and letter to Raj.

“Alright, see you pall.” Raj replied, taking the items, as soon as he had them the newcomer quickly left, running back towards the ship from which he had come.

Upon arriving at breakfast Harry chatted with the brothers and some other people at who were at the table at what they had gotten for Christmas, the girls were talking about something, whispering and giggling an awful lot.

“That reminds me, some guy dropped this off for you. A fan apparently.” Raj handed Harry the box and letter he had received earlier that morning.

Taking the box from Raj he opened it hastily thinking it to be another one of Fred and Georges mystery time bombs, the longer you didn't open it for the worse it got. However he was surprised to find a wand, looking it over there was something familiar about it.

Twirling it between his fingers he looked it over. “No…it can't be.”

“What is it Harry?” Hermione asked, noticing the wand and her boyfriend's puzzled face.

“Raj who gave this to you?” Harry asked.

“Some newcomer, why?”

“Yautja?”

“Yes.”

“Harry what's wrong?” Hermione asked again.

“No one can be transformed while on the grounds right?”

“Of course. The wards and shields make it so that no one pulls any pranks or tries to do something weird.”

“Where they planning on turning it off anytime?”

“No, Harry what is it?” Hermione asked, growing concerned as Harry stiffened, a tiny hint fear in his voice.

He quickly opened and read the short letter, his eyes closing in dread. “Fuck.” Noticing the confused and worried looks on the people around him he explained something that he hoped was not true. “There were two identical wands made one time. One belongs to me and the second…is this one.”

“That's Voldemort's wand?” Hermione ask, immediately catching on. “But so what, who cares?”

“They never took his wand from Tom. I know that for a fact, I wanted it to die with him.” Harry pushed the letter towards her.

Dear Harry.

My friend I cannot thank you enough for the gift you have given me, I knew that you would remember my birthday is on Halloween. Although now I would think it is sometime after Halloween, a week or two perhaps. I must thank you for giving me more power then I could ever have hoped for…you truly are generous. If you help me then I might consider letting you rule a planet or two, I'm in a good mood right now mostly, act now and I will stay that way. But Weather you help me or not makes no difference, I will rule the galaxy and all those that oppose me will burn and die, it should be a lot easier to do, now that I have a whole race under my command, soon I will have three.

Yours truly, The Emperor. Formerly, known as Voldemort.

P.S. Thanks for immortality.

Hermione paled. “No, no, no not now. Why, how, its, its just not possible!” She whispered, tears threatening to spill.

Harry thought for a moment, his training kicking in. `Relax, focus, think it through. The answer is there.' “Raj how long ago did you get the package?”

“Maybe half an hour or so. I think he went off to the spaceport.” Raj replied, willing to follow Harry who knew of what the full gravity of the situation could be.

“We're going off to find him. Homer get on the line with the station, tell them that nothing leaves. Hermione give the wand and letter to Dumbledore and explained what has happened.” Not waiting for a response Harry sprinted off with Raj right behind him, the others going off to do the tasks assigned.

Harry and Raj ran as fast as they could, the light snow fall had become a raging blizzard, the weather didn't matter for the ships who could life off from anywhere at any time. For a human and especially a Yautja who's body was not used to cold weather it wasn't a fun run.

The raging storm obscured everything, making it difficult to see faces and anything in the distance. Harry hollered a spell, sticking his arm up into the air. Tense seconds past but then after a moment two masks stopped right in front of the pair. Putting on the masks they changed the vision to infrared/electro magnetic.

“He wasn't wearing any armor so we should be able to spot him, the EM should keep engine exhausts from blinding us.” Raj said over the comm.

“Alright. Lets split up, if you see him catch him, but don't kill him. Cut off his arms if you have to, just don't kill him we need whatever information he may have.” Harry informed unsheathing his wrist blades.

“Will do.” Raj responded, unsheathing a long serrated blade.

After a few minutes Homers voice sounded over the comm net. “I've got some good news for you guys. I think I've found him. Dumbledore is getting a bunch of people to come to you, once you catch him stay put. Now I've traced everyone that has landed within the last hour and found one Yautja, whose only baggage was box and letter. He is waiting for next flight to lift off in two hours, go to terminal 9. I've uploaded the quickest way for you guys to get there.” As he said this Harry and Raj followed the green arrows projected on their visors. Because of the blizzard people didn't seem to notice the weapons that were held at the ready as the two warriors sprinted across the spaceport.

The newcomer stared into the wall, his real self-unable to do anything but watch. The latest orders he had received were simple, act like he normally would, deliver the items and come back to the hive. If anyone tried to capture him he was attempt to fight until the death, his memory had been wiped prior to the mission and so he didn't remember a thing, this made interrogation impossible.

A fist suddenly landed on the left side of his face, the blow so powerful that it broke the side of the newcomer's face, leaving him bleeding and unconscious.

“That was easy.” Raj said as he stood over the Yautja body on the ground.

“It will get a lot harder. Voldemort doesn't play games, if he brave enough to reveal himself then he definitely has something we don't know about, and that part about immortality…He wouldn't use the word lightly.” Harry warned.

A group of wizards and witches rushed into the terminal moments later, wands held at the ready, in Homer's case exotic rifle.

Madam Pomfrey hastily looked over the newcomer, apply a few spells to stop the bleeding and ease the pain. “He should be okay, the damage wasn't too bad.” She announced, eyeing Raj who simply cracked his knuckles.

Dumbledore took charge from that point on, binding the Yautja with a spell and re-awakening him. The newcomer's eyes snapped open instantly, he struggled to break free of the spell, thrashing and roaring in anger. An anti-Imperius curse was performed and the newcomer stopped, his eyes regaining their color and intensity.

“Thank you.” He breathed out in Yaurtiz, breaking the tense silence.

The bindings disappeared and he was free to stand up.

“Who are you?” Homer asked, his tone implying that he meant business.

“I don't know, I can't remember anything. Up until this point I don't even remember having control of my body. It has been a nightmare.” He replied, dazed and confused.

“Come with us, we will help you regain your memory, although I do not know how long this could take. Just know that we mean you no harm and we'll try to straighten everything out as soon as possible.” Dumbledore told the newcomer gently, he was one of the two humans who spoke Yauritz fluently, the other being Harry.

The newcomer nodded, his hand releasing the knife he had instinctively grasped.

“You're a Predator, not blooded, but that knife means you were sent on a hunt.” Raj pointed out.

“I'm afraid I don't understand.” The newcomer said, beginning to hand the knife to Raj.

Raj pushed the hand back. “No it is yours, do not give it to anyone. The good news is that your disappearance will have been noted, it should not be too difficult to find your family.” He explained.

“What is my name?”

Those present looked at each other, trying to think of an answer. Harry spoke up. “How about X?”

“Sure I like that. Unknown, it sounds pretty cool too.” The newcomer happily, at least having something now.

“Ex please follow us, we will get you some warm food and a bed so that you can rest. The rest of us…I believe we won't have rest for quiet some time.” Dumbledore instructed. The other teachers still had no idea as to what was going on, no one could have predicted of what was about to transpire…Except of course, the one who was would bring the galaxy to its knees.

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4. The War Begins

The war begins.

The great hall buzzed with nervous chatter, witches, wizards, seventh year students and even some Yautja, had all hastily gathered in the great hall. Most of them had been rudely awakened by a picture in their bedrooms yelling and screaming for them to get up and go to the great hall in Hogwarts. Two reporters were on sight, one Yautja and the other coming from the Daily Prophet, a camera rolling and a quill writing hastily across paper. The only thing that they knew was that something disastrous had transpired at Hogwarts and Dumbledore needed the help of as many people as he could get, and he needed them now. Bleary eyed and still rather tired the crowd seemed to be ready to help.

Motioning for quiet Dumbldore walked up to a recently conjured podium and began to explain. “Yesterday morning we found a Yautja warrior under the Imperius curse, this individual delivered a startling message and then left. What the message contained I cannot say at this point in time, however the news was grave and we tracked the individual down. Upon lifting the curse we found the part of his memory that pertained to his predicament to be wiped. We gave him food and a room to rest in, his physical and mental condition was in perfect order, and he was not permanently harmed in any way, or so we thought. Sadly we found him to be dead less then an hour ago.” At this the room gave a collective gasp and broke into quick chatter once more. Dumbledore quickly hushed the room again and continued. “A creature had burst from his chest, a xeno it is called as that is what it is, alien to every environment, a xeno in its very definition to the entire galaxy. At about the same time we found that Hagrid's brother Grawp had also died in a similar, gruesome fashion. We need your help in finding these two creatures, luckily we have three experts who have just joined us.” Dumbledore motioned to the back of the room where Harry, Raj and Homer stood in full combat gear. “Gentlemen if you could please explain exactly what we are looking for.”

Homer nodded at Dumbledore and stepped forward to explain. “A xeno's life cycle starts off in an egg which is laid by a queen. In the egg there is a pale pinkish creature with long finger like legs and an even longer tail. We call it the face hugger, its job is to find a suitable host and implant an egg into its stomach. The egg will mature inside the host, undetected and unnoticed until it chews its way through its host's chest, a very painful experience that ends in the host's death. However after impregnation the face hugger will scurry off and die, what is startling is that we have not found a face hugger at the warriors place of death. Now, this new creature, the one that bursts from the host's chest, inherits its host's physical characteristics and in a small way, mannerisms. Tt comes out of the host as a snake like creature, with tiny undeveloped limbs. At this point it is relatively harmless, a mere nuisance to anything bigger then a cat or small dog. But grows, very quickly, to grow it has to eat, and it can find small animals very quickly, in any weather. No matter what type of host it will reach full maturity within twenty-four hours or less, depending on how quickly it finds a food source. Depending on the host the creature will look and behave differently, only three things remain constant out of any type of xeno. They are fast, extremely strong, intelligent, and they come from a hive, meaning that they have the same goal and work together like ants. Most of these creatures can climb anything, fall from great heights without getting hurt and they have acid for blood. They are utterly perfect. They are the most perfect and most lethal species you can come up against, ever. They survive by adapting to any environment and assuming control of the said environment, and throughout our contact with them we have found them in almost any environment imaginable.” Homer let this information sink to those in the room before continuing with the bad news. The Yautja reporter however was pale, or rather what amounted to being pale for a Yautja, he like every other Yautja in the room knew full well about what a xeno was and its utterly terrifying capabilities. “These two creatures are currently in their snake like stage and will stay that way for the next couple of hours, after that they will reach the adolescent stage and kill all of you easily, I must caution the Yautja out in the audience. Yes you are physically superior to a human, but not by anywhere near enough, unless you have taken chemotherapy and forms of mental conditioning, in which case good luck. This bring us to the bad news, one of these creatures we know the characteristics of, it is called a Predalien and it is the most dangerous type of alien we have ever come across. One of these Predaliens took on five fully trained and blooded warriors in an arena where nothing was in its favor. Out of the five opponents, my brother Raj was only one that lived through that fight.” At this Homer stepped back and let Harry finish.

“The other came out of Grawp, some of you know him. He is a giant and we can only guess as to what as come out of him. We have named it the Carnifex and believe that it will be built like a tank, not very fast but very powerful, tough and large. We need your help in finding these creatures when they are most vulnerable, in two hours time you will all retreat, do another full search of the school, make sure all windows and entrances are barricaded. Professor Dumbledore has informed me that evacuation of Hogsmead is under way and in three hours the school will be evacuated as well. An urgent call for help has been sent out in case the three of us are killed.” Harry paused and then in a very authorative and optimistic voice ordered. “If you would all please gather in groups of ten and spread out to search the grounds and the forest. If you happen to spot anything please signal us.” With that the three Predators donned their helmets and ran out into the blizzard, splitting up to cover more ground.

As they ran outside alien-tech vision mode on, Harry asked a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind since they had found the dead body of Ex. “Guys give me an honest opinion, what are our chances of actually finding these two in their current form?”

“With this much area, and so many places for them to hide…Next to nothing.” Homer admitted.

“Guess it's a good thing I brought my mace out.” Raj put in. “The best bet of taking down the Carnifex will be to stun it, if its anything like a Riposite Queen we'll only have a couple clean shots at it and if they don't hit critical spots the hits won't do much, but even a glancing blow with the mace should make it loose its balance or go spinning. Then you two can follow up and if need be I'll go at it again, remember if this thing hits you it won't have to hit you again. Against the Predalien our best bet will be to get it at range, unload everything you have on it, if we're lucky we'll kill it, if not we should at least be able to wound it and slow it down some, but even that is hoping. If we do have to go at it in a fight I want Homer to stay back and try to put a few spears in it's head while Harry and I distract it.” Raj instructed.

Harry couldn't help but smile…distract it.

Nearly a hundred witches, wizards and a few Yautja made their way out into the freezing snowstorm; most of them were a little groggy from having gotten up so early but were nevertheless eager to find these two creatures that did not pose any real threat at the moment. The search party scoured the grounds, looking for any hint that the aliens might be nearby; once or twice they thought they saw something, only to realize it was large stick or the tip of a boulder. After two and a half hours no one had found anything, with the weather, the creature's size and the large area to search finding the two aliens was like finding a needle in a field. Knowing that the Predalien and Carnifex would be reaching adolescence at about this point in time the order was given for everyone to go to a safe location, far away from Hogwarts and Hogsmead.

During the time that the search was being conducted Hogsmead was fully evacuated of all individuals and all air traffic was suspended until further notice. Forty minutes after the civilian search was called back, Harry, Raj and Homer received a message from Dumbledore. “Hogsmead has been evacuated and so has Hogwarts, there is no body present within the surrounding area. We wish you all the best of luck gentlemen, take care.”

“Thank you Professor.” Harry responded and closed the line, knowing that they could be in a fight at any second. Now it was Predator against Alien, the first battle in a new war had begun on Hogwarts grounds, a war that would make the Voldemort's reign of terror look like a mere sandbox scuffle.

For the next three hours they searched the woods, trying to find any sign of the two aliens, but still to no avail. After another hour Homer had a revelation. “Guys, stop for a minute and come up to the castle entrance, I just thought of something.”

A short while later they gathered at the now abandoned Hogwarts, the storm howling against the castle's sturdy walls.

“What is it?” Raj asked once they had finally gathered together.

“We need to eat some food, rest up a bit and have them come to us. Where ever they are we're not going to find them and I don't want to be even a little under strength when we do, or they find us.” Homer suggested.

“Okay, I'm not tired at all but I'll go along with the plan if you're fully sure.” Said Harry.

“Trust me I am.”

And so the trio had some food that was left for them and waited for the two aliens to come to them, the whole time they felt as like they were being watched. The weather itself had become completely still, it was the calm before the hurricane, the weather seemed almost as if it too were resting before the big show. Five hours later the motion sensors set up around Hogwarts registered movement, two blips, coming in from two different directions. Alerted to the alien presence Harry, Raj and Homer got up from where they were resting, brushing the snow off themselves. They had taken turns napping and talking with Dumbledore and the girls through the comm. Link. On their end things were going very well, the wizarding world was now alerted to the new developments and what was going on at Hogwarts.

“Professor Dumbledore.” Harry said through the comm. link.

“Yes?” Replied a weary Dumbledore who had been badgered with all sorts of questions, most of which he did not know the answer to.

“Keep the area quarantined as best you can. If you don't hear from us within the next hour presume the worst.” Harry informed him gravely.

“I understand Harry, good luck, all of you.” Dumbledore replied.

Closing all channels to make sure that there would be no interruptions Harry turned to look at Raj and Homer. “You know what to do if we fail.” Harry said, looking down at his wrist. The two nodded, if they were the last ones alive and they had no chance of making it out alive they were to set off an ion bomb which was located on their wrists.

“Listen we don't have much time to stop them before they get into the castle, I say split up and attack them out here, if they get inside and we lose track things will get a lot harder.” Said Raj, following the movement of the two dots on HUD. “I'll take the Carnifex, you two take the Predalien.” And without another word set off towards the slower and large moving red dot.

“Lets do this.” Homer said confidently, taking out his spear gun and readying it.

“Lets.” Replied Harry, an eager smirk beneath his helmet.

The wind and snow picked up again as if signaling the start of the battle, the blizzard picking up in intensity with every passing second. As he ran towards his prey Raj unclasped his two handed mace, holding it tightly in one hand as he ran. As he rounded a corner he saw it, standing beside the whopping willow which was very much broken up, patiently waiting for him, its posture signifying a challenge to fight, daring him to make the first move.

The Carnifex was giant, a mass of armor plating and raw muscle, it stood on two bulky and yet powerful legs at around eighteen feet in height, it had two massive arms with razor sharp spikes protruding from all over its body giving it a truly fearsome and massive look. Any rational being that looked upon the beast would have shot it with everything they had, but Raj was not rational, he was always looking for a challenge and this was his biggest one yet. For him shooting something meant it was not worth the fight or effort and so he obliterated lesser creatures, preferring to go up against real opponents such as Preatorian guard, queens and other such monstrosities with steal and flesh. That and the fact that his plasma cannon obliterated anything it hit made collecting trophies a challenge in itself when he used it on anything.

Cautious not to take his eyes off the Carnifex he detached his massive cannon and power pack and put them on the ground beside him, then the two looked at each other for a moment, looking for obvious flaws in the others form, sizing each other up. Even through the howling weather they could make out the other's eagerness. Then suddenly they charged at each other, roaring loudly as they ran, snow billowing around them as they raced forward at speeds that belied their size, with a few feet to go Raj jumped as hard as he could, swinging his mace in a powerful arc. The mace hit the Carnifex's left shoulder, the force of the crushing blow knocking the beast down, unfortunately the Carnifex's spiked right fist, which easily contained two tons of force, connected with Raj's side, sending him flying through the air and then sliding through the thick snow, creating a dirty trench as he cut into the ground.

With their first hit both had given and received grievous wounds, the Carnifex's left shoulder was crushed and bleeding heavily, but really that was nothing. Raj's left side was in no better condition, his massive shoulder armor crushed completely, fortunately though it had done its job and taken a lot of the force, but still he could feel two broken ribs and his left shoulder was definitely fractured, another hit like that and he would not be able to use his left hand. Ripping off the armor that cut into his skin he shook off the pain and dirty snow.

They ran at each other again, starting at a slow, cautious pace, each knowing that not many hits would be exchanged before the fight was over. Closing in Carnifex punched out with its fist, exactly the kind of thing Raj was hoping for as he side stepped at the last second and met the fist with his mace. The mace hammered into the fist, pulverizing it in a sickening crunch of bone, sinew and acidic blood that violently showered the area. The Carnifex roared out in pain, with its right arm useless it followed up with the left, attempting to decapitate Raj in one fell swoop and end the fight, the attack was powerful but slow and Raj was able to dodge it, stepping closer that proved to be his mistake. As Raj dodged the Carnifex kneed him in the stomach, the three largest spikes penetrating his armor, but Raj was a heavy predator and could take that kind of punishment, as the three spikes tried to dislodged themselves he blocked out the searing pain and continued with what would have to be his final chance at victory. Still impaled on the Carnifex's knee he swung at the side of its head and thankfully the blow struck home, the mace violently smashing the Carnifex's head sending acid blood pouring down onto Raj who immediately pulled himself away, letting the behemoth fall down with a heavy thud, snow flying up in a cloud around the body.

Severely wounded but alive Raj roared out in victory thrusting his arm out to the skies above. Knowing that he would not be able to reach his brother and Harry in time to help them he set about taking trophies of his kill, always careful of the acidic blood that gushed like a river.

Harry and Homer tracked the fast moving dot on their HUD, they were coming up on the southern side of Hogwarts, where the large boulders lay scattered about, a perfect place for an ambush.

“I say we take this thing out from range if we can.” Homer suggested, taking out his perfectly designed custom spear gun, much better then Harry's in every way.

“Agreed.” Harry responded, the dual barrel plasma caster slid into position on his shoulder with a soft whine, indicating it was fully operational, a green triangle followed his eyes on the display, his gun following the movements.

Then almost too fast for either Homer or Harry to follow, the Predalien darted towards the castle, using the cover around itself to maximum effect. Spears whizzed through the blizzard, chipping rock and missing the alien by mere millimeters. Running parallel bright bolts of blue plasma shrieked through the area, each one charged at maximum power, the bolts sent bits of rock flying and snow melted with a hiss, turning it into a hissing steam.

They followed the alien, taking shots as they raced after it, but it was always a half step ahead of them. The alien reached the castle within seconds and slammed its way through tough solid rock walls of Hogwarts castle, bolts of plasma impacting around the entrance, and a couple inside the castle itself.

“Fuck.” Harry swore. They hadn't hit the damn alien, it was inside the castle, and part of the castle wall now closely resembled the dark side of the moon. “Hey Homer I think you got, at least a bit.” Harry noted a small sizzle on the wall.

“Ya but that'll just piss it off some more.” Homer joked in a sort of serious way.

“So tea and crumpets are out of the picture then?”

“I'd say so, yes.”

After flinging a few bombs into the castle to make sure the alien wasn't waiting for them just in side, the pair made their way into what was left of a corridor. As they began to carefully follow the path of burning blood a new inconvenience made it's presence known. Their trackers were picking up anything that moved, and in Hogwarts a lot of things moved, making the trackers therefore obsolete in the castles tight confines.

AN. That is where I will leave you guys at this chapter. Thank you all for reading and now I have a question to ask all of you, and I will be tallying the results. Who do you want to see get seriously hurt but also gain something … bionic, if any of you have seen it, think about the movie I Robot and the special thing that the main character - Will Smith has. Whether this happens to Harry or Homer doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but its just something nifty I'd like to put in, and since I can't decide which I'm asking you guys for help. Thanks.

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5. Ambush

Ambush

The trail of blood had ended abruptly, not surprising either Harry or Homer, aliens were meant to survive in anything, therefore their cuts tended to heal rather quickly. For the past twenty minutes they had been wander the halls, their steps echoing strangely throughout the dark empty corridors. They took each corner cautiously, preparing themselves for anything, alert for any sign that might betray the Predalien's location. In his mask Harry smiled like a child on Christmas morning, he was back in his power armor, on a hunt for the most dangerous beast on the planet, ah the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline, the thrill was like a drug. To make him physically on par with Yautja a suit had been specially constructed for him, tiny fiber bundles enhancing his physical ability, the suite also gave him a hefty amount of protection as well, although against a Predalien it really wasn't of much use. Needless to say he loved being in the suit, with it he could fall from dizzying heights, just like a Yautja, and lift things far above his normal capacity, that and the wide array of sensors at his disposal really enhanced his natural senses.

One time after coming back very late from a sparing session with Homer and Raj, Harry had found Hermione well…

Harry made his way into the head common room, infrared vision coupled with a form of probing sonar allowed him to have a form of x-ray infrared vision, useful for doing quickly scanning rooms, caves, etc. When he looked at his room he found something rather interesting on his bed, and it was only when he focused the audio in on the room that he fully appreciated what it was. There was Hermione lying on their bed, her hand moving in slow rhythms, and his name escaping her lips so softly that he could pick the noise up.

Opening the door and then quickly closing it behind him Harry decided to play mad. “What is the meaning of this Miss. Granger?” He asked in mock anger.

“Well I had been watching you make your way up on the Maurader's map, and you just took too long. So I figured that I might as well get started by myself. Care to finish me off, or should I just continue?” She asked in an ever so teasing tone.

Suddenly a thought struck him. “Homer, I got it!” He exclaimed.

“What!” Homer visibly tensed.

“I know how we can find this thing. My dad and his friends made a map of Hogwarts that shows everyone on the map, and it should show the Predalien as well.” He explained, taking off at sprint towards his room. Although he had no idea whether this would actually work he sincerely hoped it would.

They reached the room momentarily, the alien-tech vision mode turning the pitch black interior of Hogwarts into a bright redish sort of tinge, the best thing about it though was that aliens appeared in a shinning white, silver color, even the slightest sliver would give them away. They ran into the head common room, always careful, always alert. In a practiced manner Homer covered Harry as he rummaged through his things.

After a quick minute Harry had found the map and began scanning it for the Predalien. “I've got the map Homer, just give me a couple minutes to find this…” His voice stopped, a cold, primal fear that was easily picked up by his partner. One thought went through his head before all hell broke loose. “How?”

Whatever consciousness, or `self' the Predalien had were pushed far back to the recesses of its mind, instead its mind was dominated by something far more powerful then it. Something that should never have been, controlled the Predalien, He was directing it now. Potter, you always have been a little slow, it took you long enough to get to the map. Oh well, time to die. Although Hogwarts had changed considerably in order to allow a much larger number of students to reside within it, it was still in essence the same. Even when He was mortal, in a weak, human body, He could make his way around Hogwarts with his eyes closed. But with the body and senses of a Predalien at his disposal it made things far too easy.

The roof above Homer exploded, his quick reflexes saving him from the mass of masonry that came down, but something came down amidst the shower of rubble. As Homer jumped back an immensely powerful hand caught him by the front of his armor, cutting through it like butter, before he could even realize what was happening he was thrown violently through a pair of solid brick walls, before finally crumpling against a third. At the same time Harry lunged at the mass of rubble, wrist blades slicing effortlessly through the bricks and stone, his right arm poised for one quick strike. Using the momentum of throwing Homer through two walls the Predalien spun around, narrowly avoiding Harry's strike. As it finished its spin it brought its left arm out and grabbed onto Harry's right shoulder, and then brought its right arm out and ripped through the shoulder, removing it in a welter of gore, sparks, and armor. Meanwhile Harry spun around as well, using the force of the impact to help bring his left arm around and cut through the Predalien's neck.

As the head fell away Harry could have sworn that he saw two glowing red eyes on the alien…funny, aliens didn't have eyes on their head.. Before he could think any more blackness consumed him and Harry fell into deep unconsciousness.

---Calth Sector---

“Majaa are you sure this is such a good idea?” Majaa's wife asked worriedly, something just didn't sit well with her about this expedition.

“Yes yes, I'm sure. We have a group of fully trained warriors with us here, plasma guns and all, they know what they're doing if we get into trouble. Besides I've read the logs on the system, a blooding party has just cleared the hive out, at worst we have a drone or two scurrying about.” He explained.

“They're from the Fou clan, they're Mercs for crying out loud, they could have anywhere from a standard weeks worth of training, to years, they'll tell you anything to get the contract. If they win or not doesn't matter, they get the opportunity to go on a hunt, with the latest gear and weaponry for which you are forking over the bill.”

“Honey please listen, the Fou clan has a long standing history in…less then legal activities, they have all been in the military, fought in countless wars, there is a reason they cost so much. Besides you've heard about that one human who became a fully blooded warrior, apparently he took on a Queen by himself, I mean, how hard can a few stray drones really be?” He said trying to sooth his wife.

Giving her husband a cold glare she left the bridge in a fuss, why was she worried, she just couldn't figure it out. Majaa was right of course, he always was, they had a heavily armed carrier, he had bought some of the fiercest looking warriors she had ever seen, and everything else had been calculated down to the last grain of sand. The expedition itself was simple enough. They're just going to go planet side, find those plants and then come back up. At worst they'll be a few kilometers away from the hive. But no matter what she told herself something still felt horribly wrong.

The sleek, newly polished shuttle didn't even flinch as it went through the turbulent atmosphere. Majaa had money, lots of it, and he always showed it off in every way possible, from buying a fully loaded military carrier, to hiring some of the best mercs available. He even went on an extremely dangerous expedition just to pick what were said to be the most beautiful flowers in the universe, all for his lovely wife, and just because he wanted to.

Standing at the bridge of one of the finest shuttles available he looked rather silly in full combat gear. He was a little pudgy, didn't really know how to use any of the equipment that he wore, much less how to properly hold a gun.

“Um, sir?” A young but fierce looking soldier asked beside him.

“Yes lad what would you like?” He asked cheerfully.

“You might not want to keep your left hand on that part of the gun, that's where the cooling systems lets off the extra energy. If you fired the gun it would pretty much melt your hand off.” He explained.

“Oh, alright, so where do I put my hand then?” He asked looking over the gun.

“Just over here sir.” Replied the soldier, motioning to the top mounted handle.

“Why thank you lad, that is much better.” Majaa thanked with a wide sort of smile.

“Who had the bright idea of giving this guy a heavy weapon?” Came an anonymous question over the squad comms.

“He did.” Replied the same soldier who had helped Majaa.

“Thought so.” Came the slightly worried reply.

The shuttle landed in a small dirt clearing, kicking up dust and small rocks as it gently settled into place.

As the main door opened Majaa ran out first, making a valiant yet completely unsuccessful attempt at looking like a true soldier. But to him it was one of the most exciting things he had ever done.

“Its clear.” He reported in. The squad leader had finally given Majaa permission to run out first after carefully scanning the area for any signs of hostile life.

The squad of mercs impressively made their way out, the mission was unofficially deemed Play Pretend.

“Alright lads lets make our way out.” Majaa ordered, heading off into the forest.

“Sound off men.” Ordered the Sergeant.

“One set.”

“Two set.”

“Three set.”

The rest of the men repeated signing off all through nine, and then the sergeant being ten signed off as well.

“One through three take arrow formation, four and five the flanks, six you got the rear.” The sergeant's orders were immediately followed

After an hours walk, and a couple stops the group had found exactly what Majaa was looking for, flowers so beautiful and so dangerous to get they were some of the most prized plants in all of Yautja society. The funny thing was though that there didn't appear to be any of the fire lizards around, a fact that made the sergeant rather nervous.

“Ah don't ol' chap, the hunting party that came by earlier probably cleared this place out already.” Majaa said clapping the sergeant on the back.

The Sergeant grunted, something didn't feel right, it was all too easy, all too quiet, but his instincts were telling him that something was out there; it was as if they were walking into an ambush.

Suddenly there was a very brief flash of yellow from Eight's location.

“Eight report. Do you have contact?” The sergeant immediately asked.

“You guys should come see this.” He responded.

Being the closest seven sprinted over as well, another brief flash. Nine came, another flash. The rest of the team came over and flashes came as well. At this point every sense in his body was telling the sergeant to not go over, but like a little schoolboy Majaa ran over to the scene. The sergeant made to lunge for him, to stop him from going over but couldn't in time and so he ran after him, rifle raised and ready.

A flash of yellow, then a second later the Sergeant was through the foliage as well, and then another flash from a giant hole in the ground. His body suddenly stopped, he couldn't control it, all he could do was look out through his own eyes as his body bowed down before It. If he had ever been truly terrified in his life it was at that moment in time…

A few minutes later Majaa radioed the carrier that was locked in orbit around the planet, requesting that a large cargo shuttle be brought down. The operator aboard the carrier found it funny how Majaa hadn't given any explanation, he always had been known for over explaining and being excited about the smallest of things. But his paycheck told him not to argue or ask questions and so he didn't. A large cargo shuttle was momentarily on its way down to the planet, to Majaa's exact location beside the hive's main entrance way. During this time their own shuttle flew the short distance over to the spot as well. Upon arrival both pilots from both shuttles were ordered to come out, and within seconds of coming out both pilots lost control of their bodies, and were thusly incorporated into His hive.

On the first trip back to the carrier only He and the facehuggers fit into the large shuttle, Majaa and the squad of mercs followed in their smaller personal one.

Aboard the carrier the cargo shuttle settled down with a heavy thud, its cargo weighing it down considerably. On the way to the carrier Majaa had requested that everyone come in to hanger bay four, not giving any other explanation.

“What did you find now?” Majaa's wife asked as he climbed out of his craft, followed by the squad of mercs.

“Something very impressive my dear, something extraordinary.” He replied.

“Oh, dear what's wrong with your eyes?” She asked, noticing that they looked a little glazed over.

“Nothing, nothing. Come see this.” He motioned over to the cargo shuttle. Inside his mind he kept screaming for her to leave, he kept trying to take control of his body once again, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't.

By this time most of the hundred strong crew had made their way over to the hanger and had gathered around the cargo shuttle's main access ramp. Just as the ramp began to slowly open the lights within the hanger shut off, casting everything into pure pitch-blackness. As the ramp hit the floor with a small clang there was the sound like that of a hundred scurrying fingers, and the muffled gasps and moans of victims as the facehuggers did what they were designed to do.

The facehuggers impregnated all of the crew, during this time all of them were put under a form of the Imperius curse by Him. Later when they woke up they made their way down to the medical ward where the infant alien was surgically removed, and the host was treated and allowed to live. Those that were strong enough, mainly the mercs, had this process done to them numerous times over the following weeks. Naturally the hive from the planet was brought up, the queen along with them. Interestingly those aliens whose hosts had been deatheaters redeveloped most of their magical powers, with some help from Him of course. They were also the ones who became His royal guard. The ship itself was quickly transformed into a hive, thick resin coating the walls. A heavily fortified chamber had been made for Him and the Queen, who immediately set it upon herself to lay hundreds of eggs.

Majaa was the only one who hadn't been impregnated, He saw it fit to keep Majaa looking as natural as possible, the perfect puppet. Over the following couple weeks the Hive lazily made its way towards a Merc held world…

Homer groggily came back to consciousness, his body was hurting all over, painfully he looked down at his chest, seeing his blood mixed with dust and shredded armor. Taking a long breath he realized that one of his lungs had been punctured, one shoulder broken, the other slightly dislocated and that his suits power system was past broken. His head throbbed like never before, probably a concussion or two he thought. Noticing that he had gone through two very thick and solid walls, that were probably enchanted as well, he realized that he was pretty lucky to have not broken his back. Slowly, painfully, he got up, giving a loud grunt as he popped his dislocated shoulder back into place with a sickening snap. He immediately injected himself with a full dose of morphine, the pain in his body numbing. Surprisingly his helmet was still functioning, and he used it to check on the status of the other two members of his team. Switching to his brother he found his vital signs to be at “Busted but moving.” He smiled; at least Raj was okay, that big brute. But when he switched to Harry his smile disappeared just as quickly as it had come, the vital signs read. “Coma - 2%.”

Forgetting about everything else, he sprinted over to where they had been ambushed and found Harry lying in a deep red pool of blood, a headless Predalien less then an arms length away.

The Burrow was packed to bursting with people, the Weasleys, the Grangers, some teachers, Hagrid, Madam Maxim, the DeLacour's, all of them somehow managed to fit into the house. There were two separate dinner tables filled with food, everyone was talking about what was happening, each person having their own opinion on things, as well as guesses and optimisms of varying kinds. Ron, who had gone through some serious thinking, apologized to the family and everyone whom he had hurt, a big reason for the change in heart had probably been Luna, whom he was now dating. Throughout all of the talking all eyes were constantly traveling to the old grandfather clock and to a newly added hand, Harry's that was now pointed at Mortal Peril.

Hermione had barely touched her food, constantly looking over to the clock, praying that Harry would be all right, that they would catch those things and kill them, and then her darkest of fears became a reality. Slowly, almost teasingly, Harry's hand began to move, the clock began to toll, drawing everyone's attention to it as the hand moved ever so slowly, stopping a hair's width away from Dead. The house went deathly quiet, no one making a sound as they simply stared, too shocked to move.

The receiver that stood just beside Dumbledore's cup crackled into life, breaking the silence like the crack of thunder in the night. “This is Homer. We need immediate medical attention; we are up in the head common room. Please there is not much time, we need serious medical help now. The Predalien threat has been neutralized.”

Before Dumbledore could respond Raj quickly responded. “The Carnifex is down, I'll be there momentarily.”

“We'll be there in a few seconds.” Dumbledore responded. Then he turned to everyone in the house. “Poppy apparate to the head common room after me, I'll take down all the anti-apparating wards. Minerva you go to St. Mungos and bring along as many mediwitchs and wizards as you can. Arthur get into contact with the Yautja here, see if there is anyone that can help us. The rest of you stay here.” He ordered, immediately apparating to the head common room at Hogwarts.

As soon as he had called in for help Homer went to work on stabilizing Harry's condition with the meager medical supplies he had. Dumbledore appeared at his side just as he had finished pumping Harry full of Morphine and another concoction of last resort drugs. Dumbledore quickly removed all anti-apparting wards and opened up all of the windows and started up the fireplace, conjuring a ball of light that illuminated the room and the bloody mess in it. It was the first time that Dumbledore got to see everything clearly, and it horrified him, even though he knew that the Predalien was dead he nevertheless felt frightened by the creature at his feet.

“Careful.” Homer warned. “Don't step in the blood, its highly acidic.”

“I see.” Dumbledore said noticing the hole in the floor that the blood had made.

Within minutes the room was bustling with hurried activity, Madam Pomphrey had arrived with an assortment of medical supplies, followed shortly after by a team of medi-witches and wizards from St. Mungos. All of them immediately went to work on Harry, thankfully they were able to stop the bleeding, and after having to jump start Harry's heart twice they were ready to move him down to the hospital wing where an operating room was made ready for him.

The wizards and witches worked surprisingly well, given the situation and the horrifying nature of the scene. A couple went to work on Homer and after some assurance from Dumbledore that Raj wouldn't harm them they healed him up too. Raj had unintentionally scared the living crap out of most people in the room when barged in, bloodied, battered, and with a set of very fine looking new trophies, however to most people he looked like a daemon from hell made manifest. Therefore their hesitation to go near him was rather acceptable.

Homer took the glorious liberty of fixing the Predalien's head into a wonderful trophy, a task that he took great care in doing since it was Harry's trophy. Even though both Raj and Homer knew that the witches and wizards were doing the best job they could, the two brothers instinctively watched over what they were doing, as was part of the hunter's code. They also made it clear that only Dumbledore had the right to levitate Harry to the hospital wing, although they fully trusted those working on Harry they were nevertheless not going to take any chances at such a precarious time.

At the hospital wing Arthur Weasley and a surprise but highly welcome guest greeted them, Borkan's younger brother Umos, who held the title of high Priest within the Paagiro clan, and although he never boasted about it was also one of the most recognized Priests within their whole sector.

“Uncle Umos!” Exclaimed Homer walking up and shaking hands with his uncle “You always seem to show up at the most desperate of times.”

“Or on scheduled ones, such as your yearly check up.” He said simply. Greeting Raj as well.

“So you've come with your whole team then?” He asked anxiously.

“Yes as always.”

“Good, because that Predalien really made a mess of Harry, although Harry did take manage to kill it somehow.”

“Ah, Harry, your father really pushed him hard during training.”

“As did you.” Raj commented.

“That is true, but now then lets see what we can do here.”

Upon entering the hospital wing they found that Umos had already begun to make himself at home, his team of expert doctors, physicians, technicians, and the like, setting up the area to their liking.

“Who is the head Priest here?” Umos questioned the group of witches and wizards, it was obvious that he had just had the knowledge of how to speak English imbedded in his brain because the words came out a little gruff.

“That would be Madam Pomphrey.” Dumbledore answered for the group.

“Dumbledore, good to see you again. My apologies but we do not have time for ceremonial greetings, this Warrior's life is in the balance right now. If I could please have Madam Pomphrey stay here, and all other humans, except yourself, leave.” Umos instructed, taking charge of the situation.

With a nod from Dumbledore the medi-witches and wizards all left, except for a couple senior specialists who stayed.

Umos had a quick look over Harry, analyzing his situation, then he had a few words with madam Pomphrey and the other witches and wizards, after which he consulted some of his own staff who were not too busy setting things up.

Satisfied that Harry was in a stable condition and that he wasn't about to die on them he took a few moments outside by himself to think, this was a perfect opportunity to fully test out a new technology, it had been tested in parts, but never on a full scale. In parts it worked flawlessly, but when combined, party of him didn't want to risk it on a person such as Harry, but part of him knew that Harry was also the perfect candidate. The age was right, his body was at its best, although at the moment he was missing part of his shoulder and an arm, but still he was in the perfect condition for this new biotechnology.

With a nod of determination he went back into the room, to deliver his idea.

“I need to speak with those closest to Harry.” He informed Dumbledore. “I wish to try a new biotechnology process on Harry, it has been tested in separate parts, but never combined all together. If we go through with this I need the support from everyone who is closest to Harry.”

“Come we all meet in my office. Madam Pomphrey please look after Harry while we are gone.” Said Dumbledore.

And so they left to Dumbledore's office, leaving Harry in a coma, in a room that was quickly being reorganized and restructured.

As Umos, and his two nephews waited for everyone to arrive at Dumbledore's office thoughts raced around in Homer's head, what could Umos want to do that he needed the approval of those that Harry trusted the most? Unless it was… “Umos, are you about to propose what I think you are about to propose?” He asked, looking at his uncle with bewilderment.

“Yes, I am.”

“But I thought you had scrapped that idea?”

“Not entirely, I had always been working on it bit by bit, improving it throughout the years. And then after playing around with some of Harry's tissue sample I found that what doesn't work on one of us, Yautja, works on a human.” He said with a glint in his eye.

“But are you sure that it works?”

“Yes, I've run hundreds of samples, and well, I've already introduced one of the stages into Harry.”

“Which one?”

“The Occulobe. His eye surgery was no normal procedure.” Umos confessed.

“What are you guys talking about?” Raj finally asked.

“We're simply talking about making Harry faster then me, with better reflexes and coordination, we're talking about making him stronger, tougher and more resilient then you. We're talking about allowing Harry to face a Predalien completely unarmed, and win.” Homer said simply.

Seeing the dead serious expression on his brother's face Raj simply sat there and stared.

A/N. I'll admit that this chapter was written mostly within the last three days, and that I haven't been able to get into contact with any beta readers and so hope that my own proof reading is good enough. The next chapter should hopefully come out a lot sooner, mainly because I've got some really good ideas going right now.

I would like to thank you all for reading and reviewing; I have taken suggestions, and have improved as much as I can, I do read every review and do take things into consideration. For the next part I'll be taking votes on the type of alien you want to see, and before I get into this I have something to add/admit about this story. As some of you may have noticed I am now throwing in a little more then a pinch of Warhammer 40,000 in to this - google it if you're interested, the fifth link down will get you right to the official site. Because of that I'm also developing a lot of my own fluff/cannon, to make sure that everything fits in well. For those of you freaking out a bit about Harry, I am not going to be giving him the black carapace but I might introduce the bolter weapons at some point. So if you guys want to see a form of Ravener, Lictor, Biovore, etc, put that into a reply or email me and we'll see what happens. Remember if you guys have some ideas or things that you want to see in this story tell me and you never know I might not think its so crazy after all.

Yautja society uses a sort of parliamentary monarchy. People can still vote on laws, taxes, there are planetary governors, city mayors, things like that, and then there is one guy who rules over anywhere between one or six systems. The ruler of systems is like the king or monarch. I hope that explains Yautja society a bit better. And of course you have mercenaries, and really big corporations that form their own domains.

Well I guess that's it for now, stay cool guys.

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6. E2

Project E2

Madam Pomfrey entered the room, a number of scrolls set tidily in her arms. “Good, no one is here yet.” She stated, more to herself then to anyone else. “One of your colleagues brought up the subject of what he guessed you were going to propose, and so because I have taken care of Harry's medical concerns since he was ten it is my obligation to be here.”

“It is not my place to protest your presence, however I may need to bring your expertise the fore during the coming conversation.” Umos replied gently as he set up a holo projector in the middle of the room.

As Umos finished preparing his microcomputer, Dumbledore apparated into the room. “Everyone should be arriving momentarily.” He informed, quickly conjuring up some chairs.

For purposes of speed and accuracy it was decided that a portkey would be the best form of transportation to Dumbledore's office, and so Umos had a bit of a jump when a group of people simply appeared in the room. Arthur and Molly Weasley were there, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Hagrid, Fleur and Shara had come along.

Once everyone had taken their seats and looked more or less composed Umos stepped up and introduced himself. “I am Umos, head priests of the Paagrio clan, brother of Borkan, uncle to Homer and Raj and also Harry's priest.”

Hermione who looked like she had been hit by a bus couldn't help but ask the obvious. “Is he going to be okay!?”

“Yes my dear, he will be, one hundred percent, and if you let me…far more then that.” He replied calmly.

Knowing that he was at going to be okay the inquisitive part of Hermione stepped in. “What do you mean by more?”

“This is the reason you are here dear.” Addressing the entire room he began with a bit of history. “Yes Mr. Potter will be perfectly fine, but I wish to make him more so. Right now his condition is stabilized, he has lost part of his shoulder and arm, but we can reattach these without too much trouble, the cuts are clean and there is no mangling. With the help of the magical priests he will be as good as he new within a few weeks.” Seeing some of the tension leave the room he continued. “When I finished my schooling over a hundred twenty years ago I had an idea. For the first little while I merely researched it, as a sort of hobby, but as the years went by it became more then that, until finally when I had my own laboratory and staff I put this hobby into a full project. I must admit that things were going extremely well, beyond all expectations, however upon implementation we found that everything began to fail with catastrophic results. After running thousands of tests and adjustments we still were not able to make any of the aspects work. The Yautja bodies simply refused to accept the organs and transformations, our bodies were unable to adapt. And so after long deliberation and even more tests and trials I was forced to close the project down, with the only problem being implementation. Everything else worked flawlessly, in theory and simulations. Although the project itself was closed down I still kept it as a hobby, refining it over the years, perfecting it, researching it, praying to find a way to implement it. Then one day, less then two years ago something most unexpected happened. After taking a tissue sample from the subject I did careful analysis, and finally I implemented one of the projects aspects.” Umos stopped talking, leaving the room in silence until Mr. Weasley broke it.

“Well did it work?” He asked.

Umos smiled. “Mr. Potter has absolutely perfect vision, better then anything that can be done by anyone except for me.”

“You used Harry as a test subject?” Hermione asked a little too coldly.

“Yes and it worked flawlessly. I implanted a very small slug like organ at the base of his brain, which then gave the hormonal and genetic stimuli needed for his eyes to respond to optic-therapy. Then a little laser calibration of the nerves and he was far better then anything a human could hope to achieve.” He quickly explained.

“And you want to run your whole project on Harry, is that it?” Hermione asked catching on.

“Precisely, but allow me fully explain before you make any sort of judgment.” With a small nod from Hermione, he began a much-rehearsed speech. “The fundamental goal of this project is to create a super being, in our case a super human, superior in every way such as…”

Homer cut him off, knowing the lecture that his uncle was about to go into, it would last at least an hour and the sum of all points was rather simple. “I am sorry to cut you off, but I know where you're going and a lot of it won't make sense once you start getting into the scientific part of things. To summarize what Umos was about say. Harry has been very lucky to come out alive against a Predalien, but if Umos were allowed to work on Harry, then when he was done with him the Predalien would be lucky to come out alive against Harry with only a knife for a weapon. And if any of you are wondering the project has no official name, its simply called The Project, but those who have worked on it call it E2, or Enhanced Evolution.”

“Generally speaking yes, that is correct, however it is now officially named E2 as of a few months ago.” Umos said with an appreciative look.

“Now what will you be doing to Harry?” Madam Pomfrey asked. “What kind of medical procedures?”

“The process involves the implantation of fourteen separate organs, followed by some chemical therapy, and with magical help as well as the rate at which the body adapts this should take only a few weeks. During these three or four weeks Harry will be in a controlled coma, with various chemicals and nutrients helping to accelerate and stabilize various processes. Following the implantation of these organs a quick information charge will be carefully uploaded to his brain that will ensure he knows how to use everything properly, along some other various bits of knowledge.”

“You mean, like in the movie the Matrix?” Hermione asked, a little skeptical and unbelieving, she was looking for any possible catch.

“I am sorry I have never seen this movie, would you care to elaborate?”

“Well they basically stick a needle into your brain and then upload data to it and then you just know stuff.”

“Well yes, but we don't do it in such a barbaric way. It requires some therapy, and brainwave pattern changes, and that's it really, no needles or anything like that.”

“What about Harry, as in, will he still be the same Harry?” Hermione asked concerned.

“Oh of course, he has already had it done to him before, how else do you think he knows our language and how to fight so well? As for the physical effects there will be nothing negative to come out of it as soon as Harry learns to control himself” Umos replied with a chuckle, it really was funny how little humans knew about biotechnology.

“Oh…okay.”

“Now, about these organs, what exactly are they?” Madam Pomfrey asked, curious to know as to what was to actually be implemented, unlike Hermione she was naturally far more interesting in the medical aspect of things, her medi-witch curiosity running at an all time high.

“There are fourteen organs, as I've stated already, and I'll give you a brief over view of each of them.” Umos said turning on the holo projector where a blue see through human form was displayed. “Phase 1, Secondary Heart. The simplest and most self-sufficient implant. The secondary heart is capable of boosting the blood supply or maintaining full life functions even with the destruction of the recipient's original heart. The Phase 1 implant enables the recipient to survive low oxygen concentrations and traumatic injury.” The holo projector focused in on the chest cavity, where it appeared among a few other major organs, itself highlighted with a red tinge.

Phase 2, Ossmodula appeared above the human form. “This is a tubular shaped organ whose small size belies its complex structure. The Ossmodula monitors and secretes hormones affecting epiphiseal fusion and ossification of the skeleton. At the same time, the specially engineered hormones encourage the forming bones to absorb ceramic based chemicals administered in the subjects diet throughout the projects process. Two weeks following implantation, this will have caused considerable strengthening of the long-bones, extreme ossification of the chest cavity caused by growth of the ribs forming a solid mass of inter-laced bone plates and a general increase in the size of the recipient's skeleton.”

Phase 3, Biscopea. “This organ is implanted into the chest cavity. It is small, approximately spherical and, like the Ossmodula, its primary action is hormonal. The presence of the biscopea stimulates muscle growth throughout the body.” As Umos explained the holo projector focused in on where the organs were located, and what they would affect, showing an approximation of how much the recipient would grow in overall size.”

Phase 4, Haemastamen. “This tiny organ is implanted into a main blood vessel. The haemastamen serves two purposes. It monitors and to some degree controls the Phase 2 and 3 implants. The organ also alters the constituent make-up of the recipient's blood. As a result, the recipient's blood is considerably more efficient than ordinary blood, as it has to be when you consider the extra biological hardware the recipient ends up carrying inside him.”

Phase 5, Larraman's Organ. “This is a liver shaped, dark, fleshy organ about the size of a medium sized nut. It is implanted into the chest cavity along with a complicated array of blood vessels. The organ generates and stores special 'Larraman cells'. If the recipient is wounded, these cells are released into the blood stream. They latch onto leucocytes in the blood and are transported to the site of a wound. Once in contact with air, the Larraman cells form a skin substitute of instant scar tissue, staunching the flow of blood and protecting any exposed wound area. Basically this will allow Harry to heal almost instantly.”

Phase 6, Catalepsean Node. “This brain implant is usually inserted into the back of the skull, the pea-sized organ influences the circadian rhythms of sleep and the body's response to sleep deprivation. Normally the recipient sleeps like any normal man, but if deprived of sleep, the catalepsean node 'cuts in'. A man implanted with the node is capable of sleeping and remaining awake at the same time by 'switching off' areas of the brain sequentially. This process cannot replace normal sleep entirely, but increases a recipient's survivability by allowing awareness of the environment whilst resting.”

Phase 7, Preomnor. “The preomnor is a large implant which fits into the chest cavity. It is a predigestive stomach that allows the recipient to eat a variety of otherwise poisonous or indigestible materials. No actual digestion takes place in the Preomnor. Individual sensory tubes assess potential poisons and neutralize them or, where necessary, isolate the Preomnor from the rest of the digestive tract.”

Phase 8, Multi-lung. “This is another large implant. The multi-lung, or 'third' lung, is a tubular grey organ. Blood is pumped through the organ via connecting vessels grafted onto the recipient's pulmonary system. Atmosphere is taken in by means of a sphincter located in the trachea. In toxic atmospheres, an associated sphincter muscle closes the trachea and restricts normal breathing, thus protecting the lungs. The multi-lung is able to absorb oxygen from poorly oxygenated or poisonous air. Most importantly, it is able to do this without suffering damage thanks to its own efficient toxin dispersal, neutralisation and regeneration systems.”

Phase 9, Occulobe. “I have already done this to Harry, and it basically improves eye sight.”

Phase 10, Lyman's Ear. “This organ enables a recipient to consciously enhance and even filter certain types of background noise. Not only is hearing improved, but also the recipient cannot become dizzy or nauseous as a result of extreme disorientation. Lyman's ear is externally indistinguishable from a normal human ear as all of the work done takes place far inside the actual ear.”

“So we won't see Harry running around with funny looking ears.” Homer added in.

Phase 11, Melanochrom Organ. “This organ is hemispherical and black. It functions in an indirect and extremely complicated manner. It monitors radiation levels and types bombarding the skin, and if necessary, sets off chemical reactions to darken the skin to protect it from ultraviolet exposure. It also provides limited protection from other forms of radiation.”

Phase 12, Oolitic Kidney. “This red-brown and heart shaped organ improves and modifies the recipient's circulatory system enabling other implants to function effectively. The oolitic kidney also filters blood extremely efficiently and quickly. The secondary heart and oolitic kidney are able to act together, performing an emergency detoxification program in which the recipient is rendered unconscious as his blood is circulated at high speed. This enables the recipient to survive poisons and gases which are otherwise too much for even the multi-lung to cope with.”

Phase 13, Neuroglottis. “Although the preomnor protects the recipient from digesting anything too deadly, the neuroglottis enables him to assess a potential food by taste. The organ is implanted into the back of the mouth. By chewing, or simply by tasting, the recipient can detect a wide variety of natural poisons, some chemicals and even the distinctive odours of some creatures. To some degree, a recipient is also able to track a target by taste alone.”

Phase 14, Venom Glands. “Two of these identical glands are implanted, either into the lower lip, alongside the salivary glands or into the hard palette. The Venom glands works in a similar way to the poison gland of venomous reptiles by synthesising and storing deadly poison. The recipient is rendered immune to this poison by virtue of the gland's presence. The gland allows the recipient to spit a blinding contact poison. The poison is also corrosive. If Harry were say, imprisoned behind iron bars he could easily chew his way out given a few hours.”

The holo projector faded and the normal lights in the room came back. “If you allow this I can begin the procedures within a few hours.”

“What could theoretically happen?” Asked Madam Pomfrey, knowing that such a procedure would be hard on the body.

“Theoretically…” Umos stopped for a second choosing his words. “At the least headaches, which could be treated. At the worst…A complete mental and physical break down resulting in an irreversible coma or a crazed unstable lunatic. There is no indication that any of these could happen, but then again something might go wrong, and who knows. It has never been done before.”

Everyone had a say in the matter, but ultimately it was Hermione's decision. To her the thought of losing Harry was unthinkable, and yet she had almost lost him. The chances of anything going wrong were apparently slim to none. The chances of him actually getting hurt in the future and dieing without the procedure were undoubtedly much higher. After having looked at all of the possible scenarios and weighing everything accordingly

Hermione answered with a deadly warning. “If anything happens to Harry I promise you that you will not live long.”

Involuntarily gulping Umos replied. “I promise you my dear nothing will happen to Harry.”

- - 6.5 Hours later - -

A section of the hospital wing had been closed off entirely; Dumbledore erected a wall closing off half of the wing and put up various charms, curses and spells on the room. Along with the added magical protection two of Umo's most fearsome looking guards stood outside the room, only letting in those that were allowed in by Umos himself.

The large partitioned off room was not crowded or distracting by any means. The multitude of medical equipment worked soundlessly, and at anyone one point in time there was only an average of a half dozen medical staff present. This usually consisted of Madam Pomfrey and an aid, along with Umos and his hand picked staff, all of whom were renowned priests and trusted friends themselves.

In a room that smelled of nothing, not even alcohol that added certain chemical properties to the air, in a room that was entirely clean, Madam Pomfrey worked tirelessly.

“Arm and shoulder reattached.” Madam Pomfrey said, carefully inspecting the magical operation. “We got him to how he used to be, now its your turn.”

“Adamantium enriched calcium please.” Umos injected a whitish light gray substance into specifically marked points in Harry's body, each injected measured and precise

“How is the heart coming along?” Umos asked as he finished the injections.

“Testing complete. Heart replicated one hundred percent, ready for insertion.” Said a voice.

“Vein construction completed one hundred percent, ready for insertion.” Said another.

Carefully double checking the heart and veins Umos nodded almost imperceptibly, his brain working furiously to find a fault. “Beginning phase one.” He said after not being able to finding anything wrong.

A/N. Okay I have been extremely busy lately, and writer's block didn't help. For those of you wanting ship-to-ship combat in space you're going to get some pretty soon along with a nice boarding action. I would like to thank Howard Adams who I have begun to collaborate with and who has really pushed me to get this damn chapter out there. Can't thank this guy enough for all of the ideas, support, and beta reading. Thanks again bro. The next chapter of Assassin should be coming out shortly.

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Predator Black Rage

1. The Emperor

2. A Christmas Present

3. Good bye

4. The War Begins

5. Ambush

6. E2