An Explosive Lesson, a Harry Potter + Mercenaries Crossover fanfic

An Explosive Lesson

Chapter 1

Harry Potter was no ordinary child.

But you already know that. Jennifer Mui, however, knew only due to intuition.

'There is no WAY that I would be offered this much money to get a normal kid out of a normal house. I wonder what's so special about him?'

Jennifer was a mercenary for Executive Operations, or ExOps. For seven years, she was the go-to-girl for high profile assassinations, rescue missions, demolitions work, or just about anything else, for the right price. She'd just gotten out of North Korea capturing the deck of the fifty-two most wanted people in the world. She had expected to retire after she captured General Song, the Ace of Spades, for $100,000,000, but she just didn't know what to do with herself after the first week.

So here she was, back in the field, albeit taking slightly less dangerous work for slightly less money. She had over a billion dollars in the bank, so she needn't be so stingy. Which brought her back to her current position.

"Let's see… I see a hobo out front who looks rather cozy… That lady a few houses down and across the street keeps looking at the house… Geez she's got a lot of cats! So two people possibly watching? And his family? No problem."

Harry was in his room, almost done with his transfiguration homework. He sighed, knowing that it wasn't going to get any better than this, sadly. His relatives were as horrid as ever, hardly allowing him any food and not letting him ever go outside to exercise or even stretch his muscles. Thankfully, he had gotten over his Godfather's death over the past few weeks through letters from his best friend Hermione.

"Well isn't this lovely. Stuck here for another two months."

This year, Dumbledore flatly refused to let Harry go anywhere at all during the summer.

"What to do…"

Then, Harry heard a knocking; seeing that Hedwig was inside, he walked over to his window curiously. He cautiously opened it and was suddenly face to face with a Chinese woman.

"Ahh!"

Harry gracefully fell on his butt from surprise.

"Who in the Seven Circles of Hell are you?!"

"I'm Jennifer Mui. I'm a mercenary, hired by one Hermione Granger to rescue you."

"A merc? Aren't you guys really expensive? How'd Hermione pay for it?"

"I get paid afterward. Yes, we normally are extremely high priced. I just took out General Song of the North Korean Army for a hundred million bucks. She said not to worry about it. I told her she'd better or I'd blow her head off. So I'm pretty sure she has it."

"Ok then, how are you going to get me out of here? I'm sure you know the details of my situation?"

"I just know that you're a kid I'm supposed to get out of his house."

"Well, that's just lovely. And how did you say you were getting me out?"

"I was thinking about taking you hostage and threatening to shoot you unless we were let out of the front door."

"Won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because they hate me. They'll see it as an opportunity to get rid of me and just let you kill me. Uncle Vernon would probably take the gun and do it himself."

"Ok, who's watching you?"

"There's a hobo-looking guy out front, a cat lady down the street, and probably a few invisible aurors."

"Aurors? Invisible? What the heck are you on about kid?"

"Well apparently she did leave a lot out of it. I am Harry Potter, and I'm the savior of the Wizarding World."

For the next hour or so, Harry explained the basics of his life, not knowing how much to trust this woman with.

"So basically, magic is real, there's a dumbass who named himself Voldemort that is killing people, and you're the only one who has ever not died when he tried to kill you."

"Basically."

"And if your guards see me take you out of here, they'll 'get' me with magic?"

"Yeah. So what are you going to do?"

"This is turning out to be a better mission than I thought… Let me contact my assistant. Fiona, I am in the target's room and I have new information. We can NOT be seen by the guards or I will be-"

"Taken out? Yeah, I know… I'm sorry I forgot you don't know about us…"

"'Us?' What do you mean, 'Us?'"

"I'm magical, Jen. How else would I hack computers so fast?"

"Shoulda known. Any suggestions?"

"I'd probably go with calling in for a Press Chopper from Josef."

"That probably wouldn't do to badly. It's the best idea we have though. Harry, what if something goes sour? How far can I go in combat with these guys?"

"If a big guy with a long white beard shows up, I'd throw everything possible at him, just to keep him busy. Everyone else, I'm okay with injuries, as long as they can recover. When are we leaving?"

"As soon as the Russians get here with our chopper. It should be about fifteen minutes. They'll have to land in the backyard. Is it okay if I threaten your relatives with my Glock?"

Harry was confused for a second, but he realized for the first time that Jennifer was laden down with more weaponry than he'd ever seen in his life.

"No, I'm fine with it, as long as you use something a bit more frightening."

"How about a block of C4? M67 Grenade? Shotgun? Sniper Rifle? Anti-Armor Rifle?"

"How about that last one? That sounds pretty bad."

A sudden thumping noise started hitting the house, startling Harry.

"They're here."

Harry quickly gathered his meager belongings and led the way downstairs to his 'family.'

"BOY! What is that infernal racket!?"

"He is coming with me, idiot. Now stay where you are or I will have to shoot you."

Vernon shut up quickly and Harry led Jen to the backyard where the helicopter was waiting for them. Jen thanked the pilot, then quickly took threw him out the door and shut it. She got Harry settled and took off, completely avoiding any conflict.

"So where are you taking me?"

"I was told some coordinates. You should see the house, though now that I think about it, I probably won't since I'm not magical."

"Did they say what it was?"

"Potter Manor."

Chapter 2 Potter Place

As they approached the coordinates Fiona had given Jen, Harry realized that he recognized some of the landscape.

"Would it be possible to go a bit lower? I think I know where we are."

"So do I. We're at 56 degrees North and 5 degrees West."

"No I mean I've been here before, but I can't place where. If I see the terrain, I might know where we are and-"

"That would give us a tactical advantage."

"I was going to say I would know where the nearest city was for supplies, but that works too."

Jennifer nodded and put the chopper in a shallow dive.

"That's Ben Nevis! And those tracks are for the Hogwart's Express, I know it!"

"That's the train you told me about right?"

"Yeah, if we need supplies, we can follow those tracks to Hogsmeade."

"Who the heck names these places? I mean damn, those are jacked up names."

"Don't ask me."

Most of the rest of the ride was consumed in silence, as Jennifer Mui was not the most talkative person on the planet. Her teammate Matthias Nilsson was possibly the only person alive who spoke less than she did.

"We are getting close. Stay on the lookout for this mansion."

"Ten four."

"Don't say that, it sounds stupid."

"Right." Harry blushed from what he thought was a proper use of a term. How could he embarrass himself in front of a trained assassin? He just hoped that he didn't tick her off too bad with his ignorance. "Is that it?"

"I don't know, I'm a muggle remember?

"Oh, right. Set down over there, next to the giant tree that's sticking up out of all the others."

"Will do."

Harry exited the craft that had saved him from torture at the Durselys', and gazed upon the sight before him. And what a sight it was. A mansion, almost as large as Hogwarts stretched itself before him. The griffin gargoyles at the gate were so beautifully made that he almost thought they were real for a few seconds. He slowly approached the gate, in awe. As he stepped across the boundary into the property, he felt immense joy, in that he was home. For about three seconds.

You see, a human walking across the boundaries triggered the wards protecting the house. The two gargoyles sprang to life as real griffins, which proceeded to tackle the intruder. As Harry lay on the ground with this gargantuan creature hovering over him, he felt the most scared he ever had. Would he die here? Not at Voldemort's hand, but a griffin's?

The creature looked deep into his eyes, and Harry felt an unexplainable feeling of joy, which he didn't think was actually his. The griffin suddenly gave Harry a big lick right on the cheek and sat on its haunches like an obedient dog. Harry took a good long look at this magnificent creature, and realized all at once that this was no mere griffin, it was a golden griffin. Gryffin d'Or in French, his house symbol. A normal griffin had a lion's body and rear legs, but the head, wings, and forelegs of a bird. These golden griffins were all lion and wings. The most regal of all animals, on the same pedestal and the Phoenixes.

By this time, Jennifer was slightly freaking out, as she saw Harry suddenly fall backwards as if pushed and held down, get up slowly, and stare off into nothingness.

"Harry, what is going on here?"

"Give me a second Jen. I'll be right back, I'm going to check if I can find a way to permit you to enter."

Harry came back half an hour later with his nose in a heavy book.

"Ok, I found it, thanks to the house elves. I have to do magic, and the Ministry can't track me within the wards, so come over here."

Harry recited a few lines in Latin, waving his wand in a complicated motion, but nothing happened.

"Well? I'm not seeing anything."

"There's one more part. Do you have a knife on you ?"

Chapter 3

Training

"Yes, I have a knife, what are you insane? I'm a freaking MERC. Do you honestly think I do anything without having my knife?"

"Right… Sorry didn't think about that."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well are you going to give it to me or not?"

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to invoke the ancient blood magic that hides this place so I can let you in. Don't worry, its nothing drastic, a prick on the end of your finger will do."

"Fine. But this better not interfere with my sniping skills Potter!"

Harry started mumbling under his breath, "Oh ancient house of Potter, with this blood I verify that Jennifer Mui is a friend of the light." He slid the knife gently across his palm and laid his hand on a stone pillar that only he could see, for the moment.

"My God, it's beautiful!"

Jennifer Mui was now able to see Potter Place.

"Can I get in now?"

"Not yet, you need to put some of your own blood on this pillar and repeat after me: I, Jennifer Mui, am a friend of the Potters and side of Light. I confirm that I have no ill intents for any above named people."

Jen made a small cut on the back of her arm and repeated after Harry, and felt a strange feeling wash over her.

"Shall we?"

The house elves had been most accommodating, helping the two get settled in and showing them about the mansion. They were initially excited beyond belief at the prospect of having people to serve again, they said it had gotten rather boring without someone to look after.

"So you are going to train me in muggle weaponry and tactics, right?"

"First thing in the morning. Be ready to get to work nice and early."

Harry had had a nice dream.

In fact, it was the best dream he'd had in awhile. Just him and some hot girl and the Gryffindor common room… He knew that dreams like that were normal for teenage boys, but he couldn't help thinking that something was off about it. Normally, he didn't remember dreams unless it was from Voldemort, but this time the only thing he was trying to figure out was who the girl was. She seemed so familiar… She was from Gryffindor, he remembered the gold and red scarf slowly fluttering to the floor. She had the deepest chocolate brown eyes he'd ever looked into, and wild red hair.

'Wait- brown eyes and wild red hair? GINNY!? I just had an erotic dream about GINNY?! Ron is never finding out about this, or he'll kill me…'

Fortunately for his fragile psyche, he was interrupted from his thoughts by Jennifer whipping the sheets off his bed, launching him out of his own mind. Unfortunately, she noticed the little by product of his dream.

"Getting ready to hang a flag? Be down in the front yard in ten minutes, dressed to exercise."

Harry was now completely red from embarrassment; he couldn't believe that an older woman had just done that and SAW that. He knew she'd give him hell for this one.

'Might as well get it over with.' And with that thought, he dressed and went down for his physical training.

"Wow, I'm surprised you could blush that deep with that thing. Didn't know there was enough blood in you body to fill both heads at once!"

"Oh shut it."

"Fine," Jen smirked, "but I reserve the right to mess with your head at any time after this."

"Can we just get on with this?"

"Well if you want to get into such a huff about it. First, we will be working on your physical shape, muscle mass, endurance, yada yada, you know the drill. You actually aren't that bad, just a bit on the skinny side, but we'll fix that right up. Now I want you to drop and give me fifty now. When you're done with that, I want you to turn over and give me one hundred sit ups. Then you will run around the lake once; that's half a mile. You will do that whole string of exercises three times, with one minute rests between each set."

Harry was looking at her with a slack jaw, as if she were a madwoman.

"And don't look at me like that. I'm going easy on you for now. We'll adjust the exercises if you do this too easily. Now get going."

And off he went, fifty push ups, one hundred sit ups, and a half mile run, silently cursing himself for asking for this training the whole way.

At the end of his physical training, Harry realized that it wasn't really all that bad. He had been used to running, he'd been doing it all his life to flee from Dudley. After lunch, he followed Jen up to the third floor, where she led him past a blank wall three times. He thought he had an idea of what to expect, and his thoughts were confirmed when a door appeared in the wall.

"I have my own Room of Requirement? That's awesome!"

"Is that what it's called? I asked the elves if there was a gym or all purpose room or anything."

"Jen, this is the ultimate all purpose room."

He followed her inside, and was shocked at the sheer amount of weaponry and the odd set up of the room. One half was an open space with gym mats, and it reminded him of PE in elementary school. The other half he recognized from cop shows, wheneve he could catch a glance at the telly; it was a firing range.

"Come over here and pick a starting weapon. All mercenaries get to choose the first weopon they train with. And don't worry about if it's explosive: I asked the Room to compensate for that. There is no chance of us being injured by these weapons. But I must warn you, everything else about them is accurate; weight, kickback, everything."

Harry approached the weapon rack thoughtfully. He saw a row of swords, but thought that was too medieval. The pistols were too small for his liking, although he also thought he wanted more finesse than a Rocket Propelled Grenade or anything of the sort. That left rifles, machineguns, and sub-machineguns. As he contemplated his choice, one weapon in particular grabbed his eye. It was a pure work of art. He couldn't describe it himself, all he could say was, "That one."

Jen smirked to herself; this one had her own tastes.

"Good choice, if a bit overachieving for your first try. That is a Barrett M82 Fifty Caliber Sniper Rifle. That thing could blow a man in half or go through three houses and still kill someone, all while having pinpoint accuracy. It's about thirty pounds empty, and it is effective from a maximum distance of about 2000 yards, or 20 football fields. It fires ten rounds without reloading, but it takes about thirty seconds usually from being fired to being ready to fire again. Made of course across the pond in America."

"You seem to know your weapons."

"This one especially. It was my first as well. Now I want you to bring it over to the range. Make sure before you fire that the stock is firmly against your shoulder, or the recoil could knock your arm off."

And so boot camp went for the next few weeks in that fashion. By the second week of June, he had learned about every type of weapon there was, learned how to use them properly and perfectly, and was doing four hundred push ups, six hundred sit ups, and running five miles every day, matching Jen in her workout. Along with this, he also started lifting weights to increase muscle mass in the second week of Jen's tutelage.

Jen had never seen someone learn so fast. She knew it had something to do with magic- there was no way that someone could go that far physically and mentally in that amount of time. Normally, mercenaries trained for a whole year to get where Harry had gotten in a month. She was going to enjoy working with this one.

Harry, while having gone far with his body and mind, was still sorting out matters of the heart. That dream wasn't the first time he'd ever thought about the feisty redhead that way. No, he'd noticed at the end of the school year how she'd grown to be a young woman, emotionally, but definitely also physically. He smiled to himself as he pictured that fine rear of hers.

Okay, maybe his heart wasn't doing the thinking there, but he was getting there.

He needed to figure out a way to ask her out… Sure he may have been bold enough to check her out, but that was just looking. He was still Harry, who had no clue how to approach girls romantically.

'I'll owl Hermione- she'll know what I should do. Besides, I need to find out how she plans to pay Jen.'

Chapter 3

Training

"Yes, I have a knife, what are you insane? I'm a freaking MERC. Do you honestly think I do anything without having my knife?"

"Right… Sorry didn't think about that."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well are you going to give it to me or not?"

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to invoke the ancient blood magic that hides this place so I can let you in. Don't worry, its nothing drastic, a prick on the end of your finger will do."

"Fine. But this better not interfere with my sniping skills Potter!"

"My God, it's beautiful!"

Jennifer Mui was now able to see Potter Place.

"Can I get in now?"

Jen made a small cut on the back of her arm and repeated after Harry, and felt a strange feeling wash over her.

"Shall we?"

"So you are going to train me in muggle weaponry and tactics, right?"

"First thing in the morning. Be ready to get to work nice and early."

Harry had had a nice dream.

'Wait- brown eyes and wild red hair? GINNY!? I just had an erotic dream about GINNY?! Ron is never finding out about this, or he'll kill me…'

"Getting ready to hang a flag? Be down in the front yard in ten minutes, dressed to exercise."

Harry was now completely red from embarrassment; he couldn't believe that an older woman had just done that and SAW that. He knew she'd give him hell for this one.

'Might as well get it over with.' And with that thought, he dressed and went down for his physical training.

"Wow, I'm surprised you could blush that deep with that thing. Didn't know there was enough blood in you body to fill both heads at once!"

"Oh shut it."

"Fine," Jen smirked, "but I reserve the right to mess with your head at any time after this."

"Can we just get on with this?"

Harry was looking at her with a slack jaw, as if she were a madwoman.

"And don't look at me like that. I'm going easy on you for now. We'll adjust the exercises if you do this too easily. Now get going."

And off he went, fifty push ups, one hundred sit ups, and a half mile run, silently cursing himself for asking for this training the whole way.

"I have my own Room of Requirement? That's awesome!"

"Is that what it's called? I asked the elves if there was a gym or all purpose room or anything."

"Jen, this is the ultimate all purpose room."

Jen smirked to herself; this one had her own tastes.

"You seem to know your weapons."

Okay, maybe his heart wasn't doing the thinking there, but he was getting there.

He needed to figure out a way to ask her out… Sure he may have been bold enough to check her out, but that was just looking. He was still Harry, who had no clue how to approach girls romantically.

'I'll owl Hermione- she'll know what I should do. Besides, I need to find out how she plans to pay Jen.'

Chapter 4

To Pay the Piper

Hey Hermione, how is everything? My summer is going pretty well, now that I'm out of that Hellhole. Thanks for that. I was wondering, how do you expect to pay Jen? She seems pretty bent on getting her money, but then again she is a mercenary. How do you plan on coming up with so much money? You know her last assignment got her a hundred million American Dollars? Of course, her target was the muggles' answer to Voldemort, but still, her prices have got to be up there.

I've really been missing you guys, we need to get in contact more. I don't really know when is the next time I'll see you, probably in a few weeks, around my birthday, but who knows. And thanks again, by the way, for helping me over… you know.

Jen really is a nice person once you get to know her, if a little distant. She's taken me under her wing now that she knows about old Snakeface trying to kill me every year. It's amazing, my magic must be intertwining with her boot camp training or something, 'cuz I got to the point she's at already, and it's only been a month! It's bloody insane. I could pick a fly off your shoulder from a thousand yards with a sniper rifle and you wouldn't even feel the wind.

Hope you have a good summer, can't wait to see you!

Harry

PS:

Recently, there's this girl that I've been thinking about a lot… Don't worry, it's not you. But you know how bad I am with women, I was wondering if you'd help me along here a bit? Maybe? Please?

As Harry finished off his letter, he looked it over and gave it an approving nod. He sealed it with an awesome looking wax seal with the Potter Crest he found in an office and wrote Hermione's name on the outside.

"Hedwig, I need you to take this to Hermione, okay? I'm not exactly sure where she is, you think you can find her?"

Hedwig seemed to take this as a challenge and nipped at his ear before flying off in a vaguely southern direction.

Harry was out in the yard the next day playing poker with Jen. Not just any poker either. Sniper Strip Poker.

They were lying on the grass on their stomachs, staring at some cards standing upright on a hill about fifteen hundred yards off. The goal of the game was to sharpen their sniping skills while having a bit of fun. What made the game more interesting were the ever changing winds rolling off of the surrounding mountains. They made it very hard to shoot the royal flush.

"Lessee, I have a Ten, Jack, Queen, and King of Hearts. Do I hear the Ace?"

"You'll miss it. You know you will. I'd go for the straight instead of the flush. Get the nine. I'm telling ya."

"You know, I would, but If I got the Ace you'd lose the hand. If I got the nine, we'd tie. I don't want to tie, I want to win."

"Fine, lose your shirt. It's not like your wearing a whole lot today ya know," Harry smirked.

He was right. It was one of the few times that the sun was actually out, warming the day up to almost 38 degrees. Neither of the two had decided it was worth the better odds to sweat it out in more than shirts, shorts, undergarments, and sandals. To balance out Jen's slightly higher amount of clothing due to her brassiere, Harry was wearing a bandanna as well.

"And she takes the shot… AND MISSES! It's a Straight for Harry Potter and High Card for one Jennifer Mui! Okay Miss Mui, it's time to take your penalty."

She'd already lost both of her sandals, so she now had a choice to make: she knew he was going to get an eyeful, but of what?

She suddenly had an idea. She'd make it harder for him to concentrate. Use that body for something. Get him to finally lose a hand. Teach him a lesson too.

"Fine. I'll be right back."

She marched around the cover of some trees, and started her work. Harry just sat there, chuckling to himself.

"Hey Harry!"

He turned to see why Jen was calling him, and suddenly felt something soft hit his face. He grabbed whatever it was and took a better look.

It was a pair of panties.

"That good for the penalty?"

Jen came back from behind the bushes with her shorts back on, smirking at Harry's obvious discomfort. She had him now.

"C'mon, let's play the next hand."

Of course, Harry's concentration was completely thrown by this underhanded tactic and her missed half of his shots the next three hands. Next thing he knew, he was in naught but his boxers.

'Well crap. Get it together Potter, do you really want to take the junk she'll throw at you if she sees you like that?'

He strengthened his inner resolve and ignored his discomfort at knowing that there was a hot woman not wearing underwear next to him.

Harry lined up his shots with perfect accuracy. He couldn't believe it. He got a royal flush.

"Well damn," Jen muttered under her breath. "Looks like you'll really be getting an eyeful this time. Although I can't wait 'till I beat you next hand. Remember our agreement? Loser has pictures!" She honestly couldn't believe that she made this agreement to play this game with Harry, but something just drew her into it. She decided to save the most embarrassing for last and removed her shirt. Harry, being a hormonal teenage male, gawked for a second, then kept stealing glances at her.

'Two more hands and I win. That's all I need. Two hands.'

Harry took his time on the next hand, and was able to come out victorious that hand, due to a hard wind striking up in the middle of Jen's last shot. He watched, almost drooling as Jen removed her bra. He swallowed hard.

"This next hand determines the winner then. Better make it good."

Harry was up first. He took his shot carefully, sniping the Ace of Spades. The King followed. Then the Queen. Then the Jack. His fingers were shaking with anticipation. He was going to win! All he had to do was take the Ten. He adjusted once more for the wind and incline, and took his final shot. And missed. He didn't hit a single card. He only had four cards. Unless Jen missed completely, or missed more cards than he did, he was out.

Jen silently cheered when Harry missed. All she needed to do was take a pair to win. She decided to play with his head a bit. First she took the Ten of Hearts. Then she took the Eight of Clubs. Followed by the Nine of Diamonds. Then she made her move; she got the Nine of Hearts. She heard Harry sigh next to her. He had lost. All she had to do was hit any card out of forty-four and she'd win.

'Do I want to win?'

She surprised herself with this thought. Yes, she wanted to see him in the nude. It would embarrass the hell out of him and give her joke material for weeks. But something in her wanted him to see her. She didn't understand it. Shrugging, she took the shot.

In the wrong direction.

They looked at each other, right in the eye. First, she smiled. Then he burst out laughing, followed soon by her. They removed their last bits of clothing, and stood, per their agreement, showing themselves off in all their natural glory, as a camera floated around taking pictures from every angle. They watched each other intently, with hungry looks in their eyes. He slowly traced her every curve as she gazed at his well defined muscles that she had helped sculpt.

They spontaneously grabbed each other and kissed with a furious passion.

"Jen, you are so beautiful," Harry muttered.

Harry woke up the next morning in his king sized bed, naked, and wondering why. He suddenly remembered what had happened the previous day. The poker, the stripping, the snogging.

'Thank God it didn't go farther than that. Well, that and a bit of touching here and there.'

He loved the fact that he got to second base with a hot older woman, he's a teenager after all, but anything more was a bit much. He didn't think himself ready for that yet.

He got ready for the day as usual, and funnily enough was still thinking about Ginny. Well, not Ginny per se, but her, her body, same thing in his mind.

As he stepped out of the shower after his morning exercises, a white blur raced past his head and landed on the dresser.

"Hedwig! It's nice to see you again."

He gave her a few owl treats and took the letter before she flew up to the owlery.

Dear Harry

It's lovely to hear from you again! I was starting to get a little worried there. My summer is going fine, I'm in southern Italy! It's so beautiful here, I can't describe it!

About paying Miss Mui, I settled the price at ten thousand pounds. Yes, I know that's a lot, but in his will, Sirius left me one hundred thousand Galleons. There are about ten pounds in every Galleon, so I'm fine on the money. You need to come see me soon! We need to get you sorted out on the will, and I just want to see my best friend.

You think your magic is helping your physical training? I've never heard of that before… I'll do some research while I'm here in Italy. They have the most comprehensive libraries I've ever seen!

And just who is this lucky girl? Does she have any idea that she is the object of your affections? Details Harry, if you want help, I'll need details.

Hope to see you soon!

Love,

Hermione

Hundreds of miles away, a bushy haired girl was extremely frustrated and hurt. Her best friend, the man she had loved for two years now, was once again enthralled by another woman, and he was asking her for help getting her. She knew she had to be the supportive friend, but it killed her to see him run to other women. Not knowing what else to do, she did something she hadn't done since after the Yule Ball in fourth year.

She broke down and cried.

Chapter 5

"Okay Harry, I think you're ready. It's time for your first contract."

"You sure? I don't want to screw up here and die, you know."

"Don't worry, your first mission is usually an easy one. You don't think I'd let my new toy die so quickly do you?" The two had talked after 'the poker incident' and had agreed that neither were really interested in a relationship, but they were content to be friends with benefits for now. Jen knew that he'd find a woman someday and that'd be it, but she was happy with what they had for the moment. "C'mon, we need to go see Josef, he's giving you your first job."

"We're flying to Russia?"

"Actually, he's here for business. We're only flying to just outside of London, then he's delivering a civilian car to get us the rest of the way. It's actually part of the payment. He trusts me enough to pay me half now, half later. Now let's get going!"

The flight was rather uneventful, but the whole way, Harry was feeling ready to throw up. His first contract. What if he screwed up? What if he got shot? What if he shot the wrong person? Was he ready to kill someone?

He followed that train of thought for about half the trip, until he felt a small nudge at his elbow. He looked, and Jen just smiled at him. She thought he could do it.

'I can do this. I won't let Jen down, not after all the time she's spent getting me ready for this.'

After they landed, Jen walked around to Harry and pulled him into a soft hug.

"You can do this Harry; just remember your training. I have faith in you. You drive; you need practice following the GPS."

She gave a small smile and kissed him once, then sauntered over to the red Ferrari that Josef had supplied and got in the passenger side.

Harry followed, getting in the driver side, more nervous about the driving now than the actual contract.

Harry ended up getting to the apartment building without incident and exited the car calmly. He followed Jen inside, where she nodded at the doorman and walked straight to the elevator. They exited on the third floor and walked to the third flat down the hall. Jen entered without knocking

A man with a strong Russian accent spoke up.

"Jennifer, how nice to see you again. I assume that this is your apprentice that you've told me so much about?"

"Yes, he is."

"Is he ready?"

"He's learned as much in one month as most of us do in our year of merc training. It's like… Magic!"

Josef just laughed. "You know I don't believe in magic Jennifer. Now let's get down to business. It's an easy job, pays ten thousand pounds. In the French countryside, there is a man who lives in a rather large villa. He used to work for me, but recently, he has been killing my men whenever I send them with jobs. Your job is to take him out. Any way you want to. If you want loud and messy, go with it. You want silent, you got it. Or even my favorite, you make it personal. You sneak in, whisper in his ear that traitors never prosper, and cut his throat."

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down. Come on Jennifer, lets get back to the chopper, we've got a bit of a fly ahead of us."

Once they arrived at the address Josef had given them, Jen pulled Harry back for a moment.

"Okay, you remember all your training?"

"How could I forget it?"

"Remember, you are ready for this. You can do it. Now how do you want to do this?"

"Well I'd like to go with my sniper, but we may have to get noisier than that if he's not in sight."

Harry walked up to the top of the hill and looked through his binoculars.

"Wow. He's got a lot of security. Three fences, two chain link, one full barbed wire, all electrified. Larger stone wall surrounding the house, blocking all possible sniper shots. Three guards at every entrance, roving dog teams, definitely more guards inside. This man is insane. That's all there is to it."

"Well, you have three choices as I see it. All of them are loud and crazy, but they have different levels of danger. You could walk in with a light machinegun, killing everything that moves until you find our rat; you could call in for a tank and go that way, or you could call in for an air strike to obliterate everything."

A maniacal grin spread across the newly trained mercenary's lips.

"I do believe that I'll take door number three, Johnny, one surgical strike coming up!"