AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I'm in the middle of a multi-chapter story "Shadows Of The Past" right now. But this story has been screaming at me for a while. And since I'm putting "Shadows" on a bit of a hold while I work out some stuff on the way to the climax, I figure I'd write this one out. This is basically a revised and more in-depth version of my one-shot "Incursion," and takes place during the events of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and is set four months after my fanfic "Air Of Disharmony." Enjoy.

CHAPTER 1: THE GUILD OF THE LIGHT

"If our guess is right, we may have three, four days at the most before that tunnel is complete. Then . . . Merlin help England."

Headmistress Athena Esmeralda folded her hands on her oak desk and stared at the stocky woman sitting to her right. A grim look fell over her round tan face. Esmeralda sighed quietly. Three or four days. Could they find the tunnel before then? They had to. The security of England depended on it.

And what if we can't?

England had to be warned. They'd have a better chance at foiling this plot if witches and wizards on both sides of the Atlantic worked together.

But warning the English seemed just as difficult as finding the tunnel.

"Hector." Esmeralda looked to the hefty, brown-haired young man on her left. "What are our chances of getting a message to the Order of the Phoenix without it being intercepted?"

Hector snorted, his feet sliding a couple inches over the furry purple throw rug under his seat. "If you don't mind me being so blunt, Headmistress, they suck. The Ministry over there is thoroughly monitoring every international owl and port key that comes into their country. The same with the International Floo Network. Even with security charms or stealth spells and the like, I wouldn't want to bet on any message getting to the Order without the Ministry knowing about it."

"And if the British Ministry of Magic finds out about it," the Hispanic woman chimed in. "You can bet You-Know-Who and his thugs will know about it as well."

Esmeralda frowned and nodded. She leaned back in her seat and gazed around her office, taking in the moving portraits of the school's former headmasters and headmistresses, the stone pensive in the corner, the pots along the window sills containing bright flowers whose colors changed every few seconds, and a tapestry with her family's coat of arms hanging above the door; a falcon with its wings spread and clutching a wand in each talon. Below it were three banners containing a different word.

HONOR. LOYALTY. WISDOM.

She focused on the middle word. Both she and Albus Dumbledore had been loyal to one another during the last war with Voldemort. While the isolationists wanted to ignore the battles raging on other continents and focus only on affairs in this country, Esmeralda knew the only way to defeat Voldemort and his followers was for wizards and witches from all nations to band together. That philosophy is what led her to form the Guild of the Light. They worked closely with the Order of the Phoenix to stop various dark plots on both sides of the Atlantic. Esmeralda wondered how many battles here would have been lost had it not been for the help provided by Dumbledore and his group.

I owe them such a debt. This country owes them. And here I am, helpless to repay it.

She stared at her family's coat of arms again. Esmeralda took a slow breath. No. She was never helpless. She knew of another way to help the English.

Do I dare? Her eyes darted from Hector to the Hispanic woman. How would they react to this?

There has to be another way.

Unfortunately, they'd exhausted every other possibility.

Swallowing, the short, plump headmistress straightened in her high-back red velvet chair. "There is another way we can get into England."

"You mean what Roger suggested?" The Hispanic woman looked to the skinny young man with curled dark hair and a goatee to Hector's right.

Esmeralda nodded.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Yeah, it's safe," Roger answered. "Muggles do it every day by the thousands. I mean, okay, sometimes there's a crash. But really, statistically it's one of the safest ways to travel in the Muggle world."

The Hispanic woman bit her lip, looking unsure.

"It's the only option we have, Liana," said Esmeralda.

Liana nodded, but didn't look one hundred percent convinced. "So who do we get to use this contraption to, Merlin willing, get to England?"

Esmeralda hesitated. Would Liana accept this? Would Hector?

Steeling her back, she laid out her idea.

Hector's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

Liana tried to maintain a stony, calm expression. But Esmeralda noticed the woman's brown eyes, and the worry, the abject fear swirling in them.

"Athena. He's . . . they're just . . . are you sure this is the only way?"

"Liana . . ." Esmeralda's voice went just above a whisper. "I truly wish there was another way. But you know what's at stake here. Believe me, I sympathize with you. I can't tell you how many times I put people I cared about in harm's way during the last war. To this day it eats at me. But these are difficult times we face, and it means we must make very difficult choices."

Liana lowered her head.

Esmeralda's heart sank. She felt compelled to leave her seat and put an arm around the other woman.

Instead, she remained in her chair. "Liana. Hector. I know you're worried. But please remember, these four have already proven themselves in battle. They are all of age, and they are some of the most resourceful, talented, level-headed and mature students we have here at the Salem Witches Institute."

XXXXX

Jimmy O'Bannon chuckled maniacally as he jabbed his wand at the marble bust perched on a stand near the door.

"This is gonna be awesome." He smiled and tapped the bald head of Kensington Kadermass, the greatest hero of the war between wizards and the Adirondack giants.

"Um, Jimmy. You sure about this?" asked a tall young man with angular features and close cropped brown hair. "I mean, we might get in trouble."

"Only if we get caught," O'Bannon said to Artimus Rand before turning back to the bust.

A slender, attractive girl with long curled black hair and several studs glittering from her ears laughed and shook her head. "Those Weasley twins really corrupted you, didn't they?"

"It's an even trade, I think. I taught them how to play hockey, and they taught me how to pull really cool pranks."

Rosa Infante cranked an eyebrow and grinned. "You gotta set me up with one of those guys."

"What, you run out of guys at Salem to chase?" quipped a short but muscular boy with curly black hair. "You gotta go overseas to get a new boyfriend?"

Rosa shot her cousin, Jared Diaz, a death stare.

O'Bannon frowned a bit. Rosa and her latest boyfriend, a Polish exchange student named Stashork, broke up a few weeks ago. But he'd been through enough of Rosa's break-ups to know she always rebounded well.

Too bad Fred and George are over in Britain. I'm sure either one of them would dig Rosa.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek. A pang of worry went through him. He hadn't heard from the twins, or anyone else from Hogwarts, since before Christmas. Word was the Ministry of Magic had really put a clamp on international communications. Domestic owls and floo also underwent rigorous security checks according to one of the last postcards he'd received from the two.

So much for the right to privacy.

Who needs You-Know-Who? Cornelius Fudge is turning into just as effective a dictator.

O'Bannon tried to concentrate on the bust of Kensington Kadermass. Anything to take his mind off his worry. Besides, Fred and George and Harry and Ginny and Hermione seemed more than capable of taking care of themselves. Hopefully they were all right in spite of all the crap happening in England.

Hopefully.

"Okay. It's done. Now we wait."

O'Bannon, Rosa, Jared and Artimus strode across the History of Magic classroom and sat at their usual desks. They opened their textbooks and pretended to read, glancing every few seconds back at the door.

O'Bannon held his breath when the door opened. He relaxed when he noticed a trim girl with shoulder-length dark hair enter the room.

"You guys are here early," said Penelope Hale, one of the forwards for the Ardenturo Hall hockey team.

"Yeah, well. You know. Test coming up next Tuesday, so we're getting in a little more study time." O'Bannon held up his book and waggled it.

Penelope shrugged and took a seat in one of the desks near them.

Other students filed in. Conversations filled the room as Seventh Year boys and girls sat down. O'Bannon tapped his index finger on his desk and fixed his eyes on the door, waiting . . . waiting . . .

Finally his target arrived.

O'Bannon barely suppressed a smile as a tall, round young man with dark hair and an aura of arrogance strode into the room. He held the hand of short thin girl with long blond hair and a haughty, superior expression.

He looked over to Artimus. His friend pressed his fingertips together, anxiousness radiating in his face, as he stared at Merak Mather and his snooty girlfriend, Sondra Weaver. While Artimus' and Merak's families were both part of the upper crust of New England Wizarding Society, Artimus couldn't stand the other boy. For that matter, most kids at Salem couldn't stand Merak. He was an arrogant, snobby jagoff who treated everyone who didn't have a pile of gold pieces as high as your average troll as unworthy of existence.

Oh yeah, and he had absolutely no use for Muggle-born wizards like Jimmy O'Bannon.

Anticipation bubbled within him as he watched Merak and Sondra walk past the bust of Kensington Kadermass.

"MERAK MATHER STILL LIKES TO PLAY WITH PIXIE DOLLS!"

A collective gasp of surprise rose up from the students. A bewildered Merak spun around and stared at the bust.

"MERAK MATHER WET HIS BED HIS VERY FIRST NIGHT AT SALEM!" the bust shouted.

Over a dozen students laughed.

"W-W-What?" Merak stammered.

"ACTUALLY, MERAK MATHER DIDN'T STOP WETTING HIS BED UNTIL LAST YEAR!"

More ruckus laughter followed. Penelope Hale laughed so hard O'Bannon thought she'd hyperventilate. Artimus buried his head in his arms, cackling hysterically.

"Who's responsible for this?" An indignant Merak Mather scanned the classroom.

Everyone was too busy laughing to answer.

"How dare you do this?" Sondra Weaver shook with anger. "Merak's family has -"

"MERAK MATHER'S FIRST KISS WAS WITH HIS BELOVED STUFFED UNICORN . . . WHEN HE WAS THIRTEEN!"

O'Bannon leaned back in his chair, adding his loud chortles to the others.

"IN FACT, HE STILL PRACTICES MAKING OUT WITH HIS STUFFED UNICORN!"

Merak's face reddened with anger as laughter bombarded him.

"MERAK MATHER SAYS HIS UNICORN KISSES EVEN BETTER THAN SONDRA WEAVER!"

Sondra let out a yelp of disgust. It was drowned out by the cacophony of guffaws.

Jared patted O'Bannon's shoulder. "You are so the man."

"I try," O'Bannon smiled.

The front door of the classroom opened. Out stepped a woman with stylish robes, chocolate colored skin and regal features.

"What's with all the hilarity?" asked Miss Venatici, Salem's History of Magic teacher.

"Somebody charmed that bust to insult me in front of the whole class!" Merak jabbed his finger at Kensington Kadermass' bust.

"It was absolutely uncouth, Miss Venatici," noted Sondra. "Someone like Merak should not be subjected to something this juvenile."

Miss Venatici raised an eyebrow and walked over to Merak and Sondra. She took out her wand and cast a Revealing Charm on the bust.

Nothing.

"It doesn't appear anything's out of the ordinary with this bust," Miss Venatici said in her Jamaican accent.

"I'm telling you someone charmed that bust to embarrass me." Merak's face contorted in anger. "Why do you think everyone in here was laughing at me?"

"Perhaps you were entertaining the class with your delightful wit, Mister Mather," Miss Venatici said with a charming smile.

O'Bannon covered his face with his hands and shook with laughter. Good one, Miss Venatici.

"I am not lying about this and I demand you do something!" Merak sneered at the teacher.

The laughter died down. The smile left Miss Venatici's face . . . at least for a few seconds.

"You're right, Mister Mather," she said softly. "I should do something. Detention tonight . . . for you."

Mather's jaw went up and down silently. His eyes bulged in disbelief. "Detention? Me? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not in the habit of having my students yell at me. Now take your seat."

Mouth agape, O'Bannon watched Miss Venatici walk back to her desk. This worked out better than I thought. He had worried his fail-safe charm to dissipate spell around bust the moment Miss Venatici entered the room may not work. Thankfully, he cast it correctly.

"Way to go, Jimmy." Rosa winked at him.

O'Bannon flashed her a grin and began to face forward. He stopped when he noticed the girl sitting two rows away from him. His chin crinkled as he studied the short girl's trim figure and her round face framed by long brown hair and bangs covering her forehead.

An invisible knife cut through his heart as he kept staring at Rana Rollingsworth.

The Seeker for the Blazenrowe Hall Quidditch team started to swing her head in his direction. O'Bannon turned the rest of the way in his seat and stared down at his desk.

Why do I keep torturing myself?

He glanced at Rana out the corner of his eye. She rolled her quill back and forth in her fingers. He studied every detail of her lovely face. His focus narrowed on her lips. He could still feel their softness, their moistness. O'Bannon closed his eyes, remembering the feel of her body pressed against his during the Halloween Dance. It had been one of the most awesome nights of his life.

Well, it would have been had the damn Slytherin bitch not ruined everything with that Projection Potion. It had amplified even the most latent jealous feelings in the majority of the student population.

Including him.

If I'd only been stronger. If only I tried to fight it more.

A hollow feeling formed in his chest. Thanks to the potion, his relationship with Rana ended before it really had a chance to begin. Now all he could do was torture himself with what might have been. Dwell on their oh-so-brief moment of intimacy.

Rosa tried to help him through it, setting him up on a couple of dates. But neither of those girls could compare to Rana Rollingsworth.

Maybe I should try to reconcile.

But four months had elapsed since their break-up, and he hadn't said a word to her. The time for reconciliation had long since passed.

I should have tried sooner. I shouldn't have just accepted it. I should have . . .

"Mister O'Bannon!"

O'Bannon jerked in his seat. He looked up to find Miss Venatici standing over him.

"Huh? What?"

Several of his classmates chuckled.

Miss Venatici sighed and folded her arms. "While you were sitting there daydreaming about whatever girl you're currently interested in at Salem . . ."

O'Bannon felt himself blush as the teacher continued. "I asked if you could remember the three main issues in setting up the first joint magical school between the westward expansion wizards and the indigenous American tribes in the Arizona and New Mexico territories."

"Oh. Oh yeah. Um, well . . . Um . . ." He dug into his mind for the information. He should know it. History had always been one of his favorite subjects.

"Oh. Okay, yeah. Um, well, there was the thing about transfiguration and how some tribes didn't want people turning into certain animals because it went against some of their traditions."

"Excellent answer, Jimmy. It's nice to know you're paying attention in my class." Miss Venatici said rather playfully. "Now can you make me the happiest teacher in Salem and tell me the other two issues?"

"Oh yeah. Uh, well. There was . . ." Oh crap. What were the other two?

Suddenly one of the windows opened of its own accord. An origami-looking bird fluttered into the classroom. Miss Venatici held out her hand. The paper bird landed on her palm. She unfolded the paper, scanned it for a few seconds, and looked up.

"The Headmistress would like to see the following students in her office. Artimus Rand. Jared Diaz. Rosa Infante, and Jimmy O'Bannon."

A chorus of ominous "ooooohs" went up from the class. As Miss Venatici told them to settle down, the quartet exchanged looks.

"What the heck did we do?" O'Bannon muttered.

Rosa and Jared both shrugged.

"I bet it's about you charming Kensington Kadermass' bust," Artimus whispered.

"How could . . ."

"Yoo-hoo." Miss Venatici cut off O'Bannon. "I don't believe the Headmistress will want to be kept waiting."

The quartet packed up their books, put on their jackets and left the classroom.

Patches of snow covered the ground of the Salem Witches Institute, dotted by Colonial-style buildings of various sizes. The trees were bare of leaves.

"So can anyone think of a reason the Headmistress wants to see us?" Jared looked around at the others. "I mean, anyone blow up the Potions classroom? Imperius the Ardenturo hockey team to streak across campus?"

But O'Bannon wasn't listening. Hands stuffed into the pockets of his Boston Red Sox jacket, he trod across the brownish lawn.

"You have to get over her, Jimmy."

He turned to find Rosa walking next to him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. Or rather, who I'm talking about."

O'Bannon didn't respond. He turned away from her and focused on the large red and white Colonial-style Administration Building in the distance.

"It's been four months, Jimmy," Rosa continued. "Move on already."

"I'm fine," he said curtly.

"Yeah right. How many times have you zoned out in class thinking about Rana Rollingsworth?"

He gave Rosa a sideways glance, but again remained silent.

"Is she really worth all this angst? You acted the way you did because of the Projection Potion. She's the one who refuses to accept that fact."

"She said the potion magnified existing feelings of jealousy. That I already felt jealous of Gregory Lancemore because 'Mister Ladies Man' was her partner for that History of Magic project."

"And if it hadn't been for the Projection Potion, you would have kept those feelings under control. If she doesn't want to understand that, then she's not worth dwelling on one second longer."

O'Bannon's shoulders sagged. He didn't like Rosa's harsh tone whenever she talked about his ex-girlfriend. It was a shame, really. Rosa and Rana had been pretty good friends even before they attended Salem. Now Rosa made it a point to either ignore or glare at the Blazenrowe Seeker whenever they passed one another.

"Look . . ." Rosa gently clutched his arm. "I can set you up on another date."

O'Bannon rolled his eyes. Rosa's last two attempts at matchmaking hadn't gone very well.

"C'mon. Don't be like that. This time I can set you up with a girl you already know. Caitlyn Horner, one of the Chasers for the Krallenhurst Quidditch team. She broke up with her boyfriend a couple weeks ago and is in the market for a new guy."

"Oh yeah. A Quidditch player just coming off a break-up. Let's do that. After all, that worked out so well with Rana."

Rosa huffed and shook her head. "Fine then. Sorry for trying to help."

She slowed her pace and let O'Bannon get ahead of her. He didn't mind at all.

He came upon a small pile of snow and stomped on it hard. It didn't do much to alleviate his frustrations. Rana was just part of it. Looking back on the past year-and-a-half, O'Bannon realized his love life had been pretty damn sad. First there was Penny Nichols, whom he dated most of his Fifth Year. She hadn't been thrilled when O'Bannon earned the privilege of studying at Hogwarts for a year, and let him know it every chance she got. He thought things had been patched up before he left for Britain. He learned how wrong he'd been when Penny's owl appeared in the Great Hall one day with a letter telling him she couldn't wait a whole year for him to return to America and was moving on with her life.

A couple weeks later, he formed the hockey club at Hogwarts, where he met the Beauxbatons beauty Mireet Miradeaux. He'd developed a serious crush on her, even took her to the Yule Ball. Unfortunately, she had recently broken up with her long-time boyfriend in France, and was hesitant to get into another relationship, especially with someone who'd be heading back to another continent once the school year ended.

"I don't think I can take another heartbreak," she had told him.

O'Bannon accepted that and became very good friends with Mireet. Not that it did anything to lessen his feelings toward her.

After her, there came Rana.

Before he could dwell on it any more, they reached the Admin Building. O'Bannon opened the door and led the others inside and up the stairs to the top floor. They stood a couple feet from the arched wooden doors leading to Headmistress Esmeralda's office. Above them an elongated, elegantly carved wooden hawk's neck protruded from the wall.

"Jimmy O'Bannon, Jared Diaz, Rosa Infante, Artimus Rand," the bird spoke in a raspy voice. "The Headmistress is expecting you. Enter."

The doors swung open.

O'Bannon led them into the office. He spotted Headmistress Esmeralda sitting behind her desk. As soon as the doors closed behind them, he noticed three other people in the room. His eyes widened when he recognized two of them.

"Mom?"

"Aunt Liana?"

Jared and Rosa gawked at the Hispanic woman to their left.

"Hector?" Artimus blurted in surprise as he stared at his brother.

O'Bannon finally looked back to the plump old witch behind the desk. "Um, Headmistress. What's going on?"

Headmistress Esmeralda didn't smile. With a look of resignation, she stretched out her hand to a nearby couch. "Please sit down. There's something of vital importance we need to discuss with the four of you."

TO BE CONTINUED