Shutting the door, she abandoned the rest of the mail received and checked the manila covered envelope in her hands. Yes, it said Harry Potter; however the address was different. It was not Privet drive as Hermione would expect, yet it was a familiar address. Curious, as she always was, she tore the seal and pulled out the piece of paper.
Dear Hermione,
If the Order contacts you and say that I'm missing, DO NOT PANIC. I'm safe and away from my mum's sister and her wretched family. Unfortunately, I can't tell you where I am exactly but I was NOT kidnapped by HIS cronies. I'm terribly sorry for scaring you (if you were already alerted) and once I return (don't know when), you can hex me. The Order and everyone is probably at my old house at this very moment. But right now, what I'm doing is not stupid. I'm training and I WILL find the missing pieces during my spare time. I can't write anymore because my time is limited. If you want to contact me again, then send another letter back to the address on the left hand corner.
Love,
H.J.P
P.S: You can tell the others I'm safe but that is all. I'm counting on you.
"Hello, Granger Dentistry Clinic, Dr. Emma Granger speaking."
"Mum," Hermione said, finally being able to reach her mother. Crookshanks, woken up by her voice, stretched his back and yawned. He promenaded over to his owner and rubbed against her leg. Hermione moved away, the cordless phone still in hand. "I was wondering if you had Uncle Benny's address."
"Ben? I haven't heard from Ben in a week. You know, honey, he's quite busy in his work."
"Yeah I know, but I was just wondering. His address isn't in our book so I would think you might have it at the office."
"Hermione, dear, hold on, a patient has come in for his appointment. Wait for just a moment."
Hermione obeyed, and after a split second, a clip of Four Seasons began to play. She sighed and made her way towards the refrigerator. She grabbed a bottle of Ice Tea and popped the cap. Crookshanks was resting besides his water dish, near the screen doors that led to their backyard. Seeing that the water was running low, Hermione bent down, phone still in hand, and picked up the dish, bringing it over to the sink. Crookshanks followed her movement with sharp eyes.
Just as the dish was halfway full, her mum's voice could be heard.
"Hermione?" She turned off the faucet and adjusted her grip on the phone. "Yes?"
"Uncle Benny's address is 15310 Colby Union Road. Why?" Emma Granger asked in a suspicious tone.
"Oh, I was just thinking of mailing Uncle Benny a letter. He is my favorite uncle after all." Hermione had gotten better at lying since she started hanging out with some "bad influences" by the names of Ron and Harry.
"Okay Hermione."
"Oh and mum, before you go...can I drive the Mini Cooper to the convenience store? We ran out of envelopes."
"Sure. The keys are in my drawer."
After Hermione hung up the phone and placed the dish back on the floor (to which Crookshanks purred contently), she immediately ran upstairs to get the keys.
Now that she was positive Harry was at Uncle Benny's address, she decided to pay a visit to the Dursleys. Harry said something happened there so she wanted to know "what" exactly. She passed Harry's letter which lay abandoned on the floor and went into her mum and dad's room. The keys were there, but just as she turned away, a picture caught her attention.
It was photograph of her mum and her mum's brother, Ben, who was Hermione's uncle. The picture was taken recently; it was July 4th when the family had gotten together. By far, Uncle Benny was her dearest uncle. He was quite intelligent but very modest. He was the one who introduced Hermione to the works of her favorite authors such as Charles Dickens and James Patterson. However, she rarely got to see him because of his profession as a businessman. It was even worse since she spent most of her time at Hogwarts, but Uncle Benny wasn't aware of her being a witch. Sometimes Hermione wonder whether she should tell him, but her practical side would always get in the way. Ben Lester would never believe her; he was one who sided with science. Everything had to have a precise explanation and adequate reasoning.
Hermione checked her pocket for her license (which she earned a year ago) and started the engine of the Mini Cooper. She pulled out of her driveway and was on her way.
The directions to Harry's house were easy to find thanks to the GPS system the car was built with. As she drove through, a gang of police cars were leaving. Her worry was growing larger. The door was conveniently left open so Hermione just stepped through. She searched around, all the while yelling out an apprehensive "Is anyone there?", but no one answered.
A popping sound from behind made Hermione whirl around in alarm. It was only Tonks.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?"
"Harry's missing."
"Yeah," Tonks answered in a surprised tone. "How'd you know?"
"Harry sent me a letter."
"What?!?" Tonks grabbed her arm, pulling her upstairs to where the rest of the Order was located. When she saw the body, she cried out and would have fallen if it weren't for Bill, who caught her. Once she was properly placed onto her feet, she caught sight of the Dursleys on the bed and everyone looking at her.
"What happened?"
"We'll tell you later. Now, you said you got a letter from Harry. What did he say?"
"Harry sent her a letter?" Ginny asked, incredulously. She stepped in front of everyone and looked Hermione in the eyes. "Why would he send you a letter?"
Hermione just gazed back at her with an disbelieving look. Ginny had certainly changed from her shy demeanor in 4th year. Ever since she and Harry had gotten to together, Hermione couldn't help but feel that Ginny held a certain dislike towards her. She managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes.
"Yes, Ginny. He did. Now, I won't tell any of you what Harry said until you tell me what happened!" Hermione said with earnest.
So Remus and Tonks alternated in telling her the story of the assassin and Harry's escape. When they were done, Hermione had a thoughtful look on her face. Why was Harry with Uncle Benny? Did they know each other?
"Hermione, what did Harry say to you?" Ron asked.
"Oh," she replied, pausing for a moment, "he said he was safe."
They continued to stare, expecting a longer summary. "And? That's all?"
"Yeah." Hermione lied, trying to keep straight face. She read somewhere that there were people who could spot a lie by the look in the liar's eyes.
Remus did not seem to accept her answer, but he said nothing.
"Is that a gunshot wound?" Hermione's eyes opened wide once her eyes landed on the body. "Is Harry hurt?"
"You should know. He did send you a letter," Ginny said scathingly. Her mother gave her a severe look and chastised, "Ginerva Weasley, mind your manners!"
"Yeah Ginny, just because Harry was the one who broke up with you doesn't mean you should take it out on Hermione here," George said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"He probably realized you're just Ron's little sister." Fred joined in, coming to his twin's side. Hermione suppressed a smirk, and Ron, who was standing next to her, was smiling. Ginny looked furiously at her twin brothers and stormed out of the room, her feet stomping against the floor. Ron turned to her and smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. Ginny's PMSing 'because she has like Harry for a long time. She still hasn't gotten over the fact Harry broke up with her."
Hermione shook her head, pitying and worrying for Ginny at the same time. That girl has had a crush on Harry before they even met. Hermione supposed the crush had gone deeper when Harry had saved her from the Chamber of Secrets. Ever since she realized what Ginny had become once she had Harry as a boyfriend, Hermione knew that the shy and soft-spoken Ginny was long gone. And so was her friend.
"Yes, last year was a bit of a rush."
Ron nodded guiltily. "Can I talk to you alone for a second?"
Hermione groaned softly. "Oh Ron, please no." Please don't ask me on a date. I DON"T like you.
"Look. Okay, I admit I was a bit jealous last year when you and Lavender…"went steady" and I apologize for my behavior, especially the birds. And I also confess that I had a slight crush on you for sometime. But this summer, I've realized that a relationship cannot be built on lust or jealousy, so therefore, I don't want to date you, Ronald Bilius Wealsey." Her voice was strong, but not harsh; just enough to say what she wanted.
Ron blinked, not expecting his friend to babble out 65 words less than 15 seconds. He ran a hand through his red hair and breathed out. Hermione gazed up, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "Ron?"
"Um…Hermione, I've realized the same thing during the summer and just wanted to ask if you had Luna's owl address." His friend did a double take and her mouth fell open.
"Oh! Well…doesn't Ginny have it?" Hermione put on a smile as her body began to relax. Now that that is over with…
"Ginny? Hermione, remember what I told you before? Well, Ginny was also mad at me. She wanted me to talk to Harry about getting back together with her but I flat out refused. He has enough going on in his life; he doesn't need my annoying little sister. So, when I asked for Luna's address, she basically told me to fuck off."
"Oh dear." Hermione couldn't help but laugh. She didn't bother to correct Ron's use of such colorful language as she was still getting over the fact that Ron liked Luna.
"Luna, Ron? I didn't know you liked her!"
"We used to play together all the time until her mum died. Then she sorta got weird and I stayed away from her."
"Ron, you know weirdness doesn't matter."
"I know," Ron said softly, his hands in his pocket. "Me and Luna used to play together all the time. I had a crush on her when I was younger, but never told a soul. We kind of drifted apart though…"
"And now you regret it because you could have been snogging her right now."
"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed incredulously. He had never heard his friend talk in such a way. When Hermione stopped laughing, both realized how strange it was without Harry. But they didn't feel worried for some reason.
"So, you think Harry likes it there? He went willingly, you know."
"Of course, my-" Hermione was about to tell Ron about her uncle's address and the strange coincidence, but decided she would need to dig some more for solid evidence.
"Your…"
"Oh no, I forgot!" She lied, avoiding his eyes again. Ron smiled at her, accepting her lie, and they decided to return to the room.
"So what should we do with him?"
"Send him back?"
"Then why did Slit bring him in?"
Question after question, the two senior agents remained in the Analysis Room. Should they allow this unknown teenager into their program? What if he was a spy for a rival organization?
But if Jameson had brought Harry Potter in, he really had to be something. It wasn't everyday when Slit, the youngest agent of Operation CoJacks, brought in a random teenager. Slit was known for all of his successfully completed missions. He had brought in 76 out of 200 from their Most Wanted List, with no help from anyone. His father had certainly trained him well in the areas of defense in mental and physical standards.
Back in the Authentic Room, Harry was getting anxious, waiting for Collins to come back. What did he find out that was so important for him to rush out of the room without a word?
The sound of the door sliding open was heard and Harry looked up. There Collins was again, his back straight and hands behind his back. His eyes were tracing his footsteps and his forehead was wrinkled in worry.
"Harry Potter." He waited for the man to just kick him out and be rid of the humiliation. The ringing in ears suddenly got louder and blocked out all sound. Harry saw Collins' lips move but somehow, the sound couldn't reach his ears. Harry found it was hard to focus on Collins. The man looked far away and very small, as if Harry could pick him up with tweezers and drop him in a pocket.
"….expect you to follow every single rule of Operation CoJacks. Agent Sarah Panther will fill you in on basic procedures." Collins held out a hand in which Harry just stared at it as if seeing it for the first time. "Harry Potter?"
"Uh…what-oh!" Harry quickly stood from his seat and took his hand. He couldn't comprehend that he was finally a member of Operation CoJacks. The man's next words made him flush with pride.
'If Slit brought you, I'm sure you're something special." And he didn't know the half of it…
Next thing he knew, he was being escorted to his dormitory by Agent Panther or "Sarah, Sarah Panther", the woman from the reception desk.
When he asked how recruits were chosen, Sarah answered briskly.
"Operation CoJacks need people from wide backgrounds and specialty in areas. Genius computer hacker, star athlete, achieving mathematician…you know stuff like that.
The dormitories were separated by gender for obvious reasons. Female trainees report to the south wing of OJHQ while male trainees go through the north. A rule strictly stated no alcohol, partying, or use of narcotics would be allowed in the rooms. On weekdays, the rooms would be empty; all trainees have to report to combat training in the morning. But since today was a Sunday, the trainees were allowed two hours of extra sleep. Out of 224 of the recruits brought it, only 60 remained. Harry was the 61st.
The hallway was plainly decorated; red carpet and white walls. The two stopped at a door with the number 203 on it. Sarah pulled out a card and slid it through the gadget connected to the handle. A soft click could be heard and Sarah turned the knob. The smell of sweat immediately filled Harry's nostrils. It was like the changing room after Quidditch except Harry wasn't sure whether he could deal with this smell 24-7. Clothes were scattered all over the floor and desks were stacked with books and errant pieces of paper.
The walls were decorated with posters of football teams and motorcycles. He blushed when he saw a nearly exposed woman on one poster; Sarah was still standing next to him. Random drawers were left open with socks and underwear poking out. In total there were only 4 beds, but three of them were occupied by sleeping men. They began to stir once the light reached their eyes. Quickly, Harry went to the only vacant bed and sat down, carefully checking to see if his stuff were there was well. His trunk and Hedwig sat in the corner of the room.
"It's Agent Panther!" gasped a man and at once all three scampered out of bed and aligned themselves in an organized line.
"No need. I am just showing your new roommate to his room." She turned to Harry as the men eyed their roommate. Mixed looks of disdain and curiosity were shot in Harry's direction.
Sarah scrunched her nose in attempt to ignore the awful smell. "As you can see, the staff of Operation CoJacks doesn't care about how tidy or messy your room is. We like to think of dormitories as the trainees' property since everything else they use is ours. You're expected to head down to the breakfast hall at 7:00 every morning save for Saturdays and Sundays. We recommend you go to bed by ten. If you're unable to report to training on time, we will reschedule for an individual session and speaking from experience, it is not recommended. So set your alarm clock on time."
"Here's a handbook you need to cover from first page to last." Sarah pulled out a thick white book from her jacket and threw it onto the bed Harry was sitting on. He picked it up, examining its title: RULES AND OBLIGATIONS.
"What?"
Sarah gave him a look. The tallest man scoffed. "Trust me; they're being easy on you." Seeing the glum expression on his face, Sarah sighed.
"Potter. I'm sorry, but this is not high school anymore. What you're getting yourself into is much more than silly homework. Some of the assignments range in life or death. You'll learn how to deal with all sorts of danger and how to survive in our world so don't expect to get some slack. If you fail to be able to carry out training, you won't be able to stay here. Operation CoJacks protects others from life threatening situation, but if you're not able to do protect yourself, it's best to just go back to civilian life."
Harry nodded soberly, the words sinking in. Sarah stood up from her seat and continued on with her lecture.
"Since you just got here, you won't be joining the rest. You'll have private sessions with different instructors for each area. Classes you will take include the Study of Ballistics, self defense, military history, and Reading and Analyzing. You will only attend one class today and the scheduled class is Reading and Analyzing. The time is currently 7:23. You have to report to room 453 in 45 minutes." Once she was done, she shot Harry a small smile. "Good luck Harry Potter."
Two of the three men had immediately gone to bed after the lights shut off. The one who scoffed before remained awake and was situated on the bed across from Harry's.
"How old are you, kid?"
"Just turned seventeen. You?"
"24. How in the world did you get into Operation CoJacks?" His question was not meant as an insult. It was more of curiosity.
"Slit-I mean Agent Tanners-- brought me in."
"Agent Tanners?" The man nearly exclaimed.
"Yes?" Harry answered though it sounded like a question.
The man grinned and offered a handshake. "Name's Forest Argon, and if Agent Tanner brought you in, you must be something."
"Everyone keeps on saying that!"
"Well why not? Agent Tanners or Slit as you call him is the youngest agent to ever work for Operation CoJacks. If he recruited you personally than you are something. What are you? A computer nerd? You look like it and all, you know with the glasses." Forest did not mean to sound offensive; the words just came out without much thought. He distinctly reminded Harry of Ron…
"Oh, well no…" Forest continued to look at him, expecting an answer. Harry decided to just not answer. His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness and he was able to at least set up his bed.
"Okay…" His new friend said, realizing maybe he shouldn't nose around in that area. "Well, the ones asleep are Jasper Edwards and Malcolm Wood."
"And what are they here for?"
"Jasper was a star baseball athlete. He could have gotten into any Ivy League, but he couldn't turn down Operation CoJacks. Malcolm is training as a computer analyst and/or forensic scientist. He excels in both."
"And you?"
"Mathematician. One of the best back in college." Forest answered with pride. Harry smirked.
"Oh. I thought you were a jock since you look like it and all…"
"Oh, yeah sorry. Left my daisy dukes at home." Forest said sarcastically, but he smiled. Harry grinned, grateful that he had made at least two friends. Checking his watch, he saw that he had twenty minutes to get to "Reading and Analyzing". He looked back at Forest.
"Can you show me to room 453?"
"Yeah sure, I'm already awake."
"So?" A man turned his chair around and faced his fellow mate. They were watching as two men walked down the halls, talking animatedly. The room was unlit, but the light from the computers enabled them to see.
"I'm interested in him. Who he is and what he does. Let's give him a couple of months. Watch him closely."
If Harry had looked through the handbook, he would have found a small map of Operation CoJacks, but he would only realize that later. Now, Forest was chatting with him as they walked through a corridor similar to the dungeon at Hogwarts save for the gloomy ambience. Portraits (perfectly still ones, mind you) lined on the walls and according to their plaques, the subjects were mostly former instructors. They reached a large wooden door with a metal knob.
"Huh. I've never taken this class…maybe it's because I'm not training under here. Welp, I'll let you go to your first lesson…sort of like the first day of school, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Harry swallowed, gave a small wave of goodbye, and turned the knob. The lights automatically turned on and the first things in sight were books. Lots and lots of books. If Harry didn't know better, he could have stepped into the library. The room was classroom sized, equipped with a lengthy chalkboard, projector, globes, and desks.
Harry hesitantly made his way to the last row of desks, picked one, and sat down.
"Hello, you must be Harry Potter, our new recruit!" A short, stout man with a bald spot on top of his head and white hair covering the rest walked quickly into the room from the same door Harry entered through. He held a mug of coffee in one hand and a video tape in the other. Harry stood up, originally planning to give a proper introduction, but found it was not necessary. The man stopped some feet away from the door and gazed at the ceiling thoughtfully. Unsure of what exactly he was doing, Harry lifted his head as well, curious to find what was so fascinating about the ceiling. But there was nothing.
"Ah, yes, that's what I forgot. No worries, sit tight and I'll be right back." The white haired instructor turned on his heels and reached the entrance before turning a 360 and simply saying, "Oh and my name is Professor Hendrick Boulevard Wegener Sheitzycumizensky. But you can address me as Cricket."
Cricket, such an eccentric man he was, left the room before Harry could utter a single syllable.
Harry wondered what he was doing here while sitting in a room, alone, once again. Cricket had left the room minutes ago. With a sigh, he stood up from his seat and approached one of the bookcases. Hermione would certainly love this room as much as the library. There were bookcases on every four walls, covering every amount of space save for a small spot for a window. Books covering the basis of Psychology and Philosophy were only a few Harry could name.
He pulled out a very thick book with mild interest. On its spine was the title "Conveying the Human Body Language".
"Interesting title I would say."
Harry snapped the book shut and turned to see Cricket. The man was rolling in a television set. He didn't seem to notice Harry's alarm as he was inserting the tape into the VCR.
"What's that?" The boy asked. The agent sipped his coffee and gestured for him to take a seat.
"I want you to watch something and answer my questions as you're doing so."
An image of a man flickered to life on the screen. He seemed to be standing in line at what appeared to be a bank. He wore a business suit and was clutching a suitcase. Once in a while, he would check his watch, but that only showed that he was in a hurry. The man did not seem to be an outstanding person, and the only reason Harry noticed him was because a small white box was outlining his location.
After another sip of black coffee, Cricket set the cup down and hopped onto a desk. He swung his feet above the ground like a child would do and looked expectantly at Harry.
"What do you see?"
"Er...a business man."
"And why do you say that?"
"Because he's wearing a tie and a business suit."
"What do you suppose he's doing?"
"Withdrawing money?"
"How do you know that?"
"He's at a bank." The questions did not mean anything to Harry and he was only stating the obvious.
Cricket continued to stare as if he was waiting for Harry to add something else.
Click. The projection screen slid down and he pressed another remote. A still image suddenly appeared, produced by the projector in the back of the room. Cricket pressed the remote again. It was same man, but he was on the ground…with blood pouring from his skull.
"If you were to say that while on a mission, you would be dismissed from Operation CoJacks,"
Harry said nothing, his gaze glued to the image. The projector flickered off and Cricket turned on the television once more.
"One little detail can change everything. Now, I want you to observe closely. Tell me all the little things you see."
"Er…," Harry cleared his throat, "The subject seems to be nervous. He's looking around very often. His fists are clenched by his side."
"Good…and?"
"He's also touching the right side of his hip often. At first I thought he was patting for his wallet, but I guess not. A constable just passed by and the subject appears alarmed. And-"Harry squinted, making sure he was seeing right, "the woman besides him, she's backing away. Sir, what about the-"
Cricket fast forwarded the video. Harry managed to observe that the man had pulled out a gun and grabbed the woman nearby. He was yelling something but there was not sound; the television was on mute. With another click, the television shut off.
"Unfortunately, the person on duty had not observed what you observed and our snipers were too late to rescue the unfortunate victims. If you had been on the mission, I say we would have had a chance."
Cricket picked up his mug and took a long slurp. He then wiped his mouth and hopped down from his desk.
"You're probably wondering the purpose of this lesson. It's about body language. Body language is communication using body movements instead of sounds, verbal language, or other forms of communication. Although they are generally not aware of it, many people send and receive non-verbal signals all the time. These signals indicate what they are truly feeling. The technique of 'reading' people is used frequently, especially in psychology and sometimes when examining suspected perpetrators."
In these lessons, you'll learn basic techniques to maintain your emotions and using different expressions to mask your true ones. In addition, you'll be given videos, such as the one you have seen today, and you're expected to analyze every body movement and supposedly, the subject's next movement."
Cricket briefly glanced at his wristwatch. "Keep the book for future references. Read until page 125. I'll be questioning you on certain information in our next meeting which is tomorrow, same time. Good luck," Cricket said in a brisk tone. He left without hearing a word of response from Harry which was something he obviously did all the time.
Harry looked down at his watch. 8:14. Nearly 15 minutes of class. Great lesson, he thought with annoyance. This is gonna be hard.