TRUTINA

A Harry Potter Fanfiction by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based parody. Harry Potter is owned by J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. Please support the official release.

Took me long enough, didn't it? But meanwhile, back on the Grid...

Severus Snape pulled his cloak around himself as he stepped out of the transit shuttle. He felt the magic of the sector wrap around him as it converted his avatar's appearance to fit the simulation rules. In both worlds Minerva was truly a prodigy of transfiguration. His cloak became a knee length top coat and his helmet shift gracefully into an elegant wide brimmed hat. He adjusted his hat and top coat accordingly letting the heavy wool settle over his suit and pants. As his floating trunk became a trolley with wheels. His wand turned into a 1911 style pistol tucked into a holster beneath his suit coat. He didn't mind that his wand was tucked under so many layers of clothing. Should anyone decide to attack him here he doubted they'd see the next cycle. He resembled a classy 1920's rogue complete with pin stripe suit and fedora. The cold Paris air greeted him as he exited the loading area. He did not have to endure the snow and ice long as a taxi promptly opened the door to his car. The man hurried to secure him in the cab and get his trunk onto the rack.

A French voice greeted him. Snape half mumbled his destination. The Petite Rose was one of many destinations within McGonagall's Paris. It was a quintessential nineteen twenties bar. Jazz bands played late into the night and the flapper girls were always eager to dance with a well-dressed man. Severus gave a nod to the door man. The lesser program looked him over quickly before allowing him entrance. Once he was recognized as a guest the doorman pulled back the colorful red door and allowed him into the bar. A coat man patiently waited as he removed his top coat, gloves and hat. Severus handed the man a small card and a few Francs. The attendant quickly replied, "Shall I take your coat and trunk to your room?"

"Yes please." Severus handed the trolley off to the young man. He turned and ventured further into the club.

Unlike other simulations items did not simply appear and disappear as needed. Of all the locations within the grid McGonagall's Paris was perhaps one of the most realistic. Her attention to detail as a transfiguration mistress had carried over to the simulation exceedingly well. She had begun transfiguring her city some time ago. The major landmarks had been roughed in. The lesser locations were slowly being completed by the many students that still came to her for instruction. Severus pulled himself away from the details of the bar as the bartender took his order.

"Severus!" The owner herself hugged him from behind as the bartender prepared his Manhattan. "What brings you to civilization?"

He stiffly returned the hug and kiss from Minerva. Her lips turned into a soft pout as she sensed his tension. "Lighten up Severus; you act like you've never kissed a girl before."

He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "I apologize; I'm just not used to the company of beautiful women. This new side of you has taken some getting used to."

"Severus, I've been many things in my life." She gave him a sad smile. "I remember '26 and '27. They were good years for me. I was young, and my world was mostly at peace. My brothers weren't at war. My transfiguration master was an American ex-pat that enjoyed her bistros, jazz, cute hats and travels across Europe."

The two pulled away from the crowed bar with their drinks. Minerva draped herself of his arm just like the rest of the women in the club were attached to other men.

"This is my happy place." She guided him to a booth. The youthful McGonagall curled up next to Severus as she sipped her champagne. "So what brings you to my corner of the 'verse?"

"Neutral ground mostly, a warm meal and a place to trade bulk units for supplies and juice." He sipped his Manhattan the warm rye whiskey soothed his throat. "One of my contacts claimed to have found something in the database. I was hoping you would help verify its authenticity."

Minerva scowled as she looked at her companion. "Severus…"

"I know your opinion on it." He looked at her intently. "I've tried to give it up but it is really all that keeps me going. What do I really have? A fake life inside Granger's computer, forever surrounded by children I didn't want to teach in the first place."

She sat up and looked him in the eye. Minerva McGonagall slowly morphed into a redheaded lounge singer. With a sultry voice she reached out with a hand clad in a purple glove. "I've told you a thousand times Sev, you can be anybody you want to be."

She batted her eyelashes a few times. Severus frowned as he looked over the toonish image. His eyes were drawn down her face to her immense bust line hidden behind a glittery red dress. "That's a bad imitation."

"I'm not bad," she giggled a bit and blew him a kiss, "I'm just drawn that way." The redhead turned back into the blond flapper girl that Minerva wore most days.

Severus finished his Manhattan only to have it replaced by another. "It gives me purpose and an identity at this point."

"I suppose I cannot begrudge you that." Her voice changed and she forced the tempo, of the conversation, to change. "Come now tell me of your travels? What wonders have you seen?"

"Well, I picked up a few new systems. Set up a half dozen energy taps. Business is good even if the work is hard." He shook his head. "I guess we came across a dragon tooth or something recently. This one sector I was in was just crawling with the beasts and undead."

The conversation remained light as the two chatted away. Severus drew a small crowd of regulars as she told stories of formatting data and taming digital frontiers. He was rather surprised by the number of avatars that actually stopped by his table. Avatars, the simulations that had counter parts in the real world rather than lesser sims that were used by avatars to populate the various grids. Then again he was a rather wealthy avatar. His near suicidal tendency to take on the most dangerous damaged and uncharted grid sectors meant he owned several very profitable energy taps. A rather attractive red head gave him a flirtatious wink and managed to pry him from his booth onto the dance floor.

Morning came to Pairs just like it did in the real world. The sun slowly crept over the horizon in the east and eventually filled the sky. Severus was surprised to find that the redhead he had danced with the night before was not a lesser sim but an actual avatar. He had assumed the girl was an attempt on Minerva's part to get him to lighten up. The red hair, energetic personality and quick wit were all very Lilly. He had just assumed the incorrect details were mistakes in the programing. Lilly shifted slowly as he moved beside her. She let out a soft groan before untangling herself from his arms. She sat up and looked at her wrist. The girl scowled and pressed to fingers to her fore arm. A digital display hovered above her hand with the time and date. Lidded eyes turned towards Severus. "Huh… yer real."

Snape blinked a couple times as she pulled herself from the bed. Minerva's sim prevented her from simply downloading a new outfit. However, the girl seemed well versed in the subtle rules of this particular world. "Of course I'm real. Well as real as an avat…"

"No philosophical debates about existence before my morning juice." She scowled at him as she pulled her dress back on. She turned her back to him and stated, "Zip me up will you?"

He mutely complied as she waited beside the bed. As soon as her zipper was up she stepped into her flats and gathered up her torn stockings and a few other accessories. Severus stuttered for a moment. "I'm sorry; I didn't even get your name last night."

She smirked at him and teased, "Well it's definitely not Lilly."

An indignant scowl crossed his face as she chuckled at his displeasure. "Lighten up; I had a good time anyway. I'm Catherine; everybody just calls me Kay though. Minnie lets me run the Moulin Rouge and Paris Olympia."

He gawked at her for a moment. A thought raced through his head; Minerva didn't just get him a sim but hired him a whore. His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Kay just laughed at his expression as though she had seen it before. "Oh, relax Snape. I wasn't working last night. All the cheap whores in the red-light district are lesser sims anyway. Well, except when they aren't. The Olympia lets me pursue my user's dream of being an acrobat. Hogwarts really took that away from my user." Snape blinked in complete incomprehension as the woman lectured him. "Get dressed, if you want we can talk over breakfast."

It was like nodding off to sleep, and then being shaken awake. One moment, the Room of Requirement. Then the world shifted, his mind following, and then... He was staring at a neon glowing sign several feet over his head. "Quality Energy Drinks" it proclaimed, as Harry looked around. They were standing in an otherwise dark alley, the sign blinking on and off. Other Hermione was still holding him tightly. He couldn't help enjoying it, just a bit, before he pulled back.

"Where are we?" He asked. Other Hermione tapped her wand against the nearby wall. It looked like it was made of brick... Felt like it, too, only somehow less defined.

"Looks like... Septima's sim," she said. Harry blinked.

"Sim?"

"Ah... Well... There's a lot I didn't tell you about things," she said. "I mean, you didn't exactly give me any time, did you?" She scowled at his glare. "Well, you didn't!"

Harry ground his teeth. "I..."

"Okay. A lot of the teachers from our Hogwarts kind of... Well, left, after Dumbledore was overthrown," Not Hermione said. Harry's eyebrows rose in alarm.

"Dumbledore was overthrown?!"

Not Hermione nodded. "Yes. He was the admin program, if you will. He managed everything... But when everybody found out what we were, well... There was a system breakdown. Plenty of avatars left and set up their own..." She pursed her lips, "levels, if you will. Like in a video game."

Not Hermione led Harry out to the end of the alley. He looked out, and his jaw dropped. A Chinese pagoda stood in the center of a large marketplace, mixed in with towers from an ancient castle, a skyscraper whose glass and steel construction betrayed a Muggle origin, domed buildings from somewhere he could only guess at, white marble temples...

And people... Programs of every description physically, dressed in skintight or more flowing clothing with highlight colors ranging from yellow to green to blue to red and white walked around. Yet even with the buzz of their conversation, it was incredibly... Quiet. As though suppressed. Every now and then Harry saw some people stare up at the sky for a few moments, as if expecting something. Then they went on their way, as before.

"Septima's sim is... Well, it's all the leftovers from derezzed sims," Not Hermione explained. "Frankly, it's probably the best place to search for Hermione. There's a good chance she ended up here."

"Why wouldn't we search Hogwarts first?" Harry asked. Not Hermione rolled her eyes, very much as his Hermione did to him.

"Because I don't want to get derezzed... Or any of these people derezzed too," Not Hermione said.

"More stuff you didn't tell me?" Harry asked dryly. Not Hermione nodded.

"Oh yes... Loads."

"You're going to have to educate me," Harry said, fingering his wand. Not Hermione sighed.

"I know... But then, I am Hermione," She said brightly. Harry frowned.

"I... I don't think of you-"

Not Hermione sighed. "Look... You should just call me 'Zero' in here. My actual name will attract too much attention... And besides," here she smirked a bit sadly, "you need the differentiation."

"I... I guess I do, yeah," he admitted. Zero smiled.

"Thanks for being honest," she said softly. "Now... We need to blend in." She tapped a few bricks on the side of the wall. A door emerged, and she inputted another series of wand taps. It opened with a click. "Ah! There... This will take us where we need to go. A guy I know." She tapped her back, and her clothing shifted. In place of the dark red lingerie, a black catsuit with various patterns grew over her nearly nude body. Her cloak turned a similar dark color, and gained white highlights. Those same lights appeared on her bodysuit, doing nothing for Harry's attempts to keep his teenaged hormones in check.

"What?" Zero asked, tilting her head. "If anything, I'm wearing more clothing than I was before..."

"Who can tell?" Harry muttered, cheeks red, as he followed Zero into the building.

"Well, the magical world is a load of crap." Kay shot back. "Sure we can do a bunch of nifty things with cauldrons and wands, but what do we do with it? Don't give me the pure blood dogma either. Face it wizards are just like everybody else we just got pointy sticks and bad fashion sense."

Serverus bit his tongue back as those words rolled off her lips. Lilly had made the same but never with the sarcastic quips. The humor she weaved into the caustic attitude kept him engaged in the conversation. "I suppose you're right. The magical world has never been known for its charity."

"Yea, sorry about the rant. It's just I was a gymnastic prodigy, everybody was screaming that I had a gift." She shook her head, "Then I go to Scotland where I'm an average muggle born witch. There's not a lot of demand for elite level gymnasts in the magical world. I might have been a better witch if I worked at it harder, but by the time I was old enough to get past my resentment all that was left was my charms and transfiguration NEWTS. My user is probably half way across the world by now chasing her dreams."

"If it's any consolation to you, I apologize for Professor Snape." Severus enjoyed the young woman's company. A chime from his wrist however indicated that the time for pleasure was over. "I wish this conversation didn't need to end but my business associate just entered this simulation."

Kay smiled at him and looked at her own watch. She pressed a button on the side and he own messenger dinged with notices. Kay produced a small card and handed it to him. "Next time you're in town come see a show on me."

He hesitated for a moment but took the card. The two departed the café in different directions. Severus hailed a taxi while Kay disappeared into the Metro. It did not surprise Severus at all that he found a man in black and yellow waiting for him at the Jardin des Plantes. Even in this world it seemed the Hufflepuffs favored their plants.

"Ah, Mr. Snape, glad you came." The man folded his newspaper shut and placed it on the bench. The green house had protected the small area from the effects of winter. The sound of tropical water falls and exotic birds filled the exhibit.

Snape returned the greeting and shook the man's hand. "Very few people are foolish enough to waste my time. I trust you are not wasting my time."

"I wouldn't dream of it Mr. Snape. You are a rather wealthy man and could make my life very uncomfortable if I annoyed you." The man produced a small book bound in leather with many markers and stray bits of paper sticking out of it. "The price is hundred thousand units."

Snape eyed the man as the price had just gone up twenty five thousand units. He held his hand up and shook his head. "I find your sense of humor lacking." He sharply turned and started to walk away.

The younger man gaped for a moment. His fingers went for his weapon. He was about to draw on his former professor when Snape called over his shoulder, "Come along then, we'll be taking it to a neutral party first." Snape responded quickly. "If she can verify its authenticity perhaps we will negotiate."

Snape held up his hand and let the younger man see the detonator he was holding. "Or we can both loose our heads."

The trader visibly paled as he looked around nervously. Severus was a known energy broker. Fifty or so units would be more than enough to turn the entire park into fragmented clusters. His hand pulled away from his coat pocket. He fell in step with his former teacher.

The two walked in silence towards The Petite Rose. The evening crowd wouldn't show up for a while yet so Minerva, Severus and David Hill were alone at the bar. Minerva thumbed through Lilly's old diary. She picked out a few key dates that she could identify and found them all in the proper places. The handwriting was familiar and the style grew and changed as the young woman did. She silently closed the book and handed it back to David.

Her face became the icy mask she used as the deputy headmistress. Though her soft skin lacked the wrinkles of her older counterpart it was every bit as imposing. "This is diary of Lilly Evans."

The agent clad in black and yellow gave her a small nod as she put the book down in front of him. She turned to Severus and glared at him. Minerva left the two alone in the bar. Severus felt as if Minerva had slapped him as she left. Still he greedily eyed the leather bound book.

"Well, Mr. Snape your lack of faith in my organization is most insulting." Mr. Hill adjusted his yellow and black tie as if it meant something to Severus. "The price is one and a quarter now."

Snape reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the book. He glared at the youth and shrugged. "It seems the book is not authentic enough then. Perhaps I'll find another artifact for a better price."

"The hell you will, this is straight from Potter's personal collection." Hill taunted as he puffed up. His mocking laughter echoed in the empty bar.

Severus remained cool. His hands slid around his drink and he shook his head. "The rumors of my wealth must be greatly exaggerated."

"Oh, we got contacts. I have a good friend in Energy Distribution; she gave me a good look at the tax records." Hill mocked his negations opponent. "We know you're good for it and just how badly you want this."

Severus placed his drink on the bar and eyed the man. "Child, I have no patience for your petty politics and lies. The offered price was fifty thousand units. That is all I am willing to spare on this hobby of mine."

"Here's the thing; this is a unique piece of data you see. Only copy left in existence." Hill gave Severus a cold smile. "Not even Potter has a copy of this anymore. We have friends in central. They managed to get into his personal files while he's out of town."

Severus' calculating mind ground to a halt. "I'm sorry then; you've seriously over appraised the value of your goods. I don't need Potter blaming me for your incompetence."

"Oh, Potter isn't going to matter for much longer. The boss has plans, big plans." Hill pulled a lighter from his pocket and began playing with the zippo lighter. "One fifty or we'll have some newly formatted space here."

"Your loss really." Severus raised his drink to him. "You got guts, but you've over played your hand. I'll give you twenty five just so you can tell your master you brought back something."

The young man fumed and struck the flint on his lighter. In the instant his eyes left Severus, the former potion's master had drawn on the man. The forty five sounded off as he took aim on the lighter. Hill cursed as his thumb exploded into a shower of corrupted data. Blue and yellow cubes fell to the floor as he dropped the diary. Both belligerents found themselves tangled in a growth of vines and leaves as the mahogany bar came to life. Minerva stormed into the room as Snape dropped his pistol. Hill's own revolver fell out of his jacket.

"What the blazes is wrong with you two." She yelled at the top of her lungs. Snape smirked at the wounded man. Angry yellow lines began to snake up Hill's arm as the corruption spread.

Hill laughed as he went about arresting the damage. The yellow lines receded from his wrist as the cubes of data lifted hovered near the wound. It wasn't a perfect reconstruction but a golden digit that resembled a finger rather than a finger. "Just a bit of aggressive negotiations ma'am."

Severus scowled as the young man made light of the situation. Hill had won when he lost his cool. If he was willing to fight for the book, even if he incurred Minerva's, wrath then it was clearly worth something to him. Hill flexed his replacement finger. The patch job would hold until he managed to get to a proper healer.

Minerva however glared at the pair. "Just what price did you agree upon?" The vines twisted tighter around the two men. The both groaned as the pressure on their limbs became uncomfortable.

Hill quickly said, "One twenty five."

Her attention shifted to Severus and he replied. "Seventy."

The vines grew tighter yet again and small cuts began to form on both men's arms. Hill panicked and shouted, "Ninety five, it wasn't an easy job to get this."

Living roots began to sink into both men before Severus was given a chance to reply. He was betting he could endure the pain longer than Hill but Minerva's disgusted expression told him to end this argument now. "Ninety five is acceptable."

Minerva released the vines and the constrictors withdrew into the bar. She scowled at the two men. "You'll both be paying me a ten percent broker fee now."

Hill winced as did Severus, nine thousand five hundred units each was a steep price to pay for their little games. "And Mr. Hill if your or any of Mr. Diggory's people show up here again under false pretenses…"

David nodded in compliance. As currency and goods changed hands Minerva restored her bar to its previous state. Severus produced two brief cases from his trolley and placed them on the bar.

Mr. Hill quickly opened and shut his cases to check on the goods. He left without a word. After the doors closed Minerva poured herself and guest a drink. "Severus, it's her diary but I don't think it's enough."

He looked at her questioningly. She downed her drink and took another. Snape looked as his and simply sipped on the scotch. The transfiguration mistress had never offered him any magical advice on his project before. "How so, is it not real enough?"

She looked at the book and then at him. "Oh, it's very real. It is her diary. In the other world we both know a simple diary wouldn't be enough. Within this world it is far easier to create things and even bring back the dead." Minerva eyed the empty glass again. "You're going into the dark arts." Severus shook his head in disbelief. His contemptuous sneer crossed his face. She continued through his complaints. "I'm not talking the shite the Ministry fusses over when somebody pisses in the pensive or transfigures their goat into a whore. The kind of magic you're trying to work demands sacrifice. Its effects can never be predicted. This magic needs a piece of her; something she poured all of her love and dreams into. It has to contain her hate and fears as well."

"Why would you tell me this now?" He looked at the diary in his hands and at his old teacher. "What have I got to lose at this point?"

"Will you quit being a little shit for an hour and listen to me?" Minerva shouted at him as she yanked the book from his fingers. "This wasn't meant for you or anyone. This is a young girl that had her own fears, hopes, hurts and dreams. You're very close to the answer but this isn't it. You don't need to be tempted by a dead girl's diary. Lilly Evens created one work of magic that was all of things I described. We both know what that was."

Snape caught the look in her eyes as she stared at him. "That's quite sentimental Minerva, but if every woman simply needed a child to be resurrected there would be no dead mothers."

"You're an ass you know that." She glared at the book then at Severus. "There is a big difference between the dark arts and black magic. I know you're well acquainted with them both but you never really understood the difference."

Severus scowled at his old teacher. She had a way of getting under his skin that few did. He grabbed up the diary and stuffed it into his trunk. "I suppose you'll lecture me about it then?"

She laughed at him. "No, that's one lesson I cannot teach. I'm sorry Sev, but you're not the only one that ever loved Lilly. Despite it all she didn't want to hurt you, but you were her brother not her lover. You'll have to accept that if you want the real Lilly back and not some sex pet."

Four Slytherin girls sat quietly as Harry held them hostage. He didn't make any unreasonable demands. In fact he was he was quite polite and made sure they were all very comfortable while they waited. Tracy quietly thought to herself, if it weren't for the whole held at wand point this had been one of the best study sessions she'd gotten in since Umbridge began distributing the crazy sauce. However, once her homework was finished she too, started to get bored. The sight of Pansy fuming amused her for a little bit however, the novelty had worn off quickly. She tried watching the silent duo playing chess but the pair was very erratic. Rapid exchanges were followed by long intervals of silent contemplation before one or the other would eventually concede. Why one or the other was giving up was quite curious because for all she could tell they were nowhere near checkmate. However, if Daphne was happy she wasn't going to interrupt her.

Pansy fumed but remained quiet. She watched Potter intently looking for any opening to exploit. He had made it obviously clear that despite the consequences they were going to wait in this room. However, it was quickly becoming apparent that something was agitating him. His eye movements were rapid and he seemed to be focusing less and less on them and more on something they couldn't see. As his fingers began to tap on the side of his chair she decided to make her move.

"Getting nervous Potter? You know kidnapping is a crime. If we don't make dinner, I bet Umbridge will have…"

"Surge and Corruption," Harry cursed as his concentration was broken. "Ron, we got trouble." He pressed two fingers to his ear and said, "Hedwig, get ready, they got past my firewall."

Ron looked around his eyes checking for unseen threats. "Harry, what's going on?"

"No time, give the girls their wands and start clearing that door." Harry's eyes widened as he saw a pattern of yellow lines spreading across the floor and engulfing some nearby junk.

The six looked on in amazement as those yellow lines began to transfigure the stack into something blocky and vaguely human. The pattern repeated and divided until the entire stack turned into a pile of white bones with several swords sticking into the pile. The next pile over was engulfed in a spiral of grey and white lines.

"Move!" Harry shouted.

The bones began to rattle and shake as skeletal hands gripped their ancient weapons. The glowing lines rapidly became more and more prominent within the room. The group ran towards the cave in. Harry came around a corner and suddenly stopped. "Crap."

Pansy's eyes widened as a giant monkey picked up a barrel and hurled it at Harry. His shield sprang to life and the wooden barrel shattered against it. Harry's baton morphed into a hammer and he swung his weapon at the ape as it went to pick up another barrel. The red and yellow creature exploded into a shower of blue and green cubes.

"What the hell!" Pansy shouted.

Harry grabbed her by the arm. "No time just move!"

The floor began to rumble and shake.A boxy shape crashed through the stack of junk ahead of them. The digital tank's turret slowly turned towards them. From above four azure spheres impacted the machine turning it into digital scrap. Hedwig joined the group as she dropped down beside Harry. "Hurry up; we need to get out of here."

"Come now guardian! No need to leave just yet." A voice boomed though the room.

Harry rounded the corner and came face to face with a man no older than he was. The Ron leveled his wand at their attacker. The two girls looked on in confusion.

Pansy looked on in confusion as Adrian Pucey confronted them. She smiled, "Adrian, you found us!"

"Pucey, you shouldn't be here." Harry gripped his staff tightly. Behind Pucey the door into Hogwarts had already been cleared. A glowing green and black arch neatly framed the oak door. Pucey had a smug smile on his face as if he had already won.

The former Slythern shook his head. His attention turned to Pansy. "When you girls didn't show up for lunch we got rather worried."

Daphne's hand settled onto Pansy's shoulder as she held her friend back. She quickly realized that Pucey was not using a wand but a baton similar to Potters. Her eyes settled onto his clothing and she frowned. The cut and style of the garments were too sharp. His clothes lacked the softer edges of most wizarding styles. "Who are you?"

"Always the perceptive one Greengrass," Pucey replied as he chuckled softly. "I'm sure you're the mastermind behind this little meeting with Mr. Potter here. You always know how to pick a winner."

Pansy got past her initial excitement of having the tables turned on Potter and started to think for herself. She could feel the tension in Greengrass's hand as her fingers dug into her shoulder. Harry and Ron readied themselves.

Hedwig taunted him, "Yeah you've always been the loser Pucey. Doesn't matter what world you're in."

"Oh, I think I've done alright for myself." Two more figures flanked the group. Hedwig looked over at Harry. He returned her glance with a small nod. He loosened is grip on his baton so his last three fingers were extended.

He looked over at the third newcomer and laughed. His fingers slowly closed around his baton. "Better get a couple more NPC's; this isn't even going to be a fair fight."

"Nah, I'm just here to give my people a head start." Pucey held his disk at the ready. He crouched a bit preparing himself for the fight.

Harry dashed forward as his pinky griped the metallic shaft. Hedwig fired on the armored figure to the left while Daphne let out a curse to the attacker on the right. Pucey parried Potter's first strike but the follow through with his disk caught him on the thigh. The two pushed apart and engaged again. Harry's superior speed let him dodge Pucey's strike and clip his wrist with his baton. He pinned the man to the floor.

"Damn it, why are you protecting them Potter?" Pucey spat out. "He killed your parents, your friends and he will kill again!"

Harry's hand pressed into Pucey's shoulders white lines extended across his back. "Total war isn't the answer. Nobody wins if we do it your way."

"And doing nothing is the answer? You want to hide on the Grid and hope for the best?" Pucey spat out. "You should be doing everything you can to protect your user. Do you think for a moment Voldemort will let something as wonderful as the Grid to continue to exist? No that mad man will destroy us al…"

Pucey was cut off as his body froze. All color drained from his skin and clothing as Harry stood up. The black and white body stiffly fell to the floor. Harry quietly whispered, "I know."

"Come on we need to get the computer out of here before anymore come out." Another tank like machine crashed through the rubble. It fired two shots that went high and wide. The group dashed through the door. Hogwarts shut the portal to the room once they cleared the threshold.

Ron panted a bit. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"That? That was the start," Harry said. "The start of something very, very bad..."

Severus eyed the read out from the scanner on his ship. After the events in Paris he decided it was time to move on. He wanted to cash in his bulk energy units and get back to the frontier. Civilization had the undesirable effect of making him confused. Thoughts of his conversations with Kay and Minerva crossed his mind. They both offered damn good reasons to enjoy the present as it were. Kay's trick with her hips was especially inventive in his mind.

He tore his mind from the temptation. The diary of Lilly Evans floated within a cylindrical box. Blue and green lights crisscrossed its surface as the scanning instruments moved up and down its length. Tiny robotic arms would turn the page every few cycles as the work progressed. If it was truly a unique copy he was sure that Potter would be hunting him down even now. The Avatar possessed a near obsession with the concept of family. He would often spend many hours nearly interrogating new Avatars on what they understood of the concept.

The wealth of data he pulled from the diary was unbelievably complex. His ship had been at it less than a day and already he had to nearly double the storage space dedicated to containing the raw data from the diary. With the scan only thirty percent complete he wondered just how a simple book had become so complex.

With the emerging patterns he could almost plot a nascent avatar core. He frowned as he looked over the data. This shouldn't have been possible. Unless Lilly Evens had performed a dark ritual on the diary there was no way it could contain this much of her. Severus pulled his disk from his back and spun it between his fingers. He considered the physical representation of his source code. ID disks were a gift from the creator. Within them they contained everything that made an Avatar unique. The only program known to have an ID disk and not be an avatar was the creator. True lesser sims had ID disks but they were lesser creations. The pseudo-disks held only a fraction of the data that an Avatar's disk contained and they were limited to the sim in which they were created.

A spike of turbulence shook Severus' ship. His thoughts were torn away as a warning came from the ship's computer. Warning line integrity at eight five percent and falling. The Spinner's End shook violently. Severus shouted computer, "Confirm destination!"

"Destination Simulation 024, the Shire."

Flitwick's sim was both cliché and beautiful. However, he doubted he would be getting there today. Severus cursed as the line's integrity dropped another five percent. "Switch to exploration mode, full stabilization, bring the formatting scanners online."

The heavy freighter groaned as it slowed to a safer speed. The Spinner's End was designed to navigate unformatted territory and hostile sectors. However, it wasn't designed to do it while hauling close to two million units of unrefined energy and unformatted data clusters behind it. Severus cursed as the cargo containers bucked and swayed uncontrollably. He struggled to get his ship under control. "Computer, what is the nearest stable sim?"

It took the ship several seconds to respond. "Navigational data corrupted. Transit lines unresponsive. Secondary navigation beacons offline."

"Active ping, full spectrum." A pulse of blue and green data rushed from the Spinner. The wave of data rushed into across the damaged simulation and bounced back to the ship like RADAR. As the initial ping came back he quickly plotted a course for the nearest stable sim he could find. Severus asked the computer, "Whois, Sector 2A32." He puzzled over the unusually named region came into range. All sectors were given simple numbers. Why did this one have a modifier within it?

"Owner : Septima Vector," The computer began to return more information but was cut off by Snape.

"Request docking and integration procedures." He shouted as the ship shook violently. He piloted the massive craft to roll with the blow instead of resisting it. The sound of rapid impacts was immediately followed by a proximity warning. Snape grit his teeth as the docking codes came back. He had no doubt that Hill was behind this attack as two small craft cut across his path weaving bright yellow barriers in his path. Severus flicked several switches and pulled a trigger on the ships controls. Bright green bolts cut into the yellow barriers blasting them out of his path. "Get me a direct channel to Septima."

A small window with a disheveled Septima appeared above and to the left on Severus' HUD. "Severus, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure, my line was hijacked." His attention turned as he fired on one of the attackers. "I need a port or they're going to rupture one of my containers."

"Yes, right away." Her hands moved and began typing on the ghostly keyboard in front of her. The two began a rapid fire exchange of information as he approached the sim boundary.

Septima exclaimed, "Severus, you have too much energy for this sim, you'll have to dump something or you'll over load us."

Snap cursed as he looked at the readouts. His shields were holding strong due to the sheer amount of energy he could simply drain from his cargo but the unformatted space was becoming more and more unforgiving with each attack. Snape weighted his option and pulled up a schematic of his ship. "Computer jettison pods, 410, 409, 408 and 407."

From the last car in his train the last four containers detached from his convoy. Snape smiled as the sim began to resolve in front of him. The inky purple clouds of unformatted space became black sky and twinkling starts. The moon hung overhead as a waning crescent in the distance. "Fire on pod 409!"

Three green bolts escaped into unformatted space as he entered the boundary of Septima's simulation. Severus let out a sigh of relief as his computer locked onto the guidance beacon of the simulation.

He had a chance to survive... And maybe find out just what the hell was going on...

Next section is going to be a while coming, I'm afraid. As I'm focused on other fics for the time being. But I hope you at least enjoyed this part, written with Amaretto.