Ch. 04- France, Part One

I know this is a short update but the chapter would have been too long if I wrote everything I wanted to in it. So I split it up into several chapters. This is the first one that I've gone through and edited. Also, chapters one through three have been edited slightly. Not too much.

A/N: While Harry can use the more traditional magical transportation, he prefers to "Jump" instead. The idea is sort of like jumping from the movie Jumpers but with a magical twist. He didn't jump at first while at Hogwarts because he wanted a good fight. Harry is not insane in this story. He's just been through a lot and is taking it out on everyone else in his own way.

***xxx***

French Ministry of Magic

Visitor Entry Point

"Bienvenue vers la France. Est-ce que je peux voir votre passeport?"

"Uh? English please," Harry said as he scratched his head in confusion. "I'm English. You know, across the Channel."

"Oh," the man said dourly. Not another one. "Passport please."

"Don't have one and don't plan on getting one," Harry smiled as he thought about the fun he was already having once he left England.

Developing a sudden tick in his left eye, the man said, "No passport, no entrance."

"Hey," Harry said indignantly. "I only showed up in this room out of respect for your laws. I could've just jumped anywhere in your country and you would've never known. How would you like it if I appeared in your bathroom while your wife was in the shower? On second though, that might not be such a good idea."

"I…" the man started angrily as his mind finished comprehending the sentence.

"Maybe next time, I'll just jump in without letting anyone know I'm here."

"But…"

"Or maybe I'll interrupt a Deatheater meeting then jump here. Of course, I'll make sure I leave a trail for them to follow."

The man paled at the implications of that. "I…"

"And another thing. You could at least paint these walls a different colour. You think the first thing a tourist wants to see are these sickly blue walls?"

"Now you just listen here one minute," the man yelled. "You can't just come in here without any papers and start harassing me."

"Quelle est la signification de ceci? Qui est cet homme?" another man said as he walked over. "Et pourquoi hurlez-vous?"

"l n'a aucun papier et m'harcelle. Il est anglais."

Turning to Harry, "Why don't you have any papers?"

"First time out of the country," Harry said. "And I didn't have time to get any before I left."

"You should've made time," the man growled.

"I kinda not welcome in the English Ministry at the moment," Harry said. "They'd probably try to kill me the second I walked in."

At hearing this, the man said, "Are you here seeking sanctuary?"

"No," Harry laughed. "I've already taken care of most of the problems. I went to the Queen and told her Fudge's dirty little secrets. Let's just say that she was more displeased with him than me. She gave me a full pardon and unfroze my accounts."

Taking notice of just who he was talking to, the man paled. The English had just sent out two declarations regarding this man. One from Fudge, ordering his death. And the other from the Muggles, declaring his innocence.

"Is there a problem," Harry asked patiently.

"Please come with me," the man sweated. "The Minister will want to see you."

"Is there a problem," Harry asked innocently. "I don't have any papers but I'm sure that I can drag someone back here to vouch for who I am."

"That won't be necessary, sir." The man was sweating profusely now. "It's just that the Minister would want to greet you himself and welcome you to our country."

"Oh, is that it then," Harry said as he smiled. "Lead the way then."

"May I have your wand, sir?" The man asked nervously. "It's standard precaution when dealing with the Minister."

"Sorry, don't have one," he said while sounding anything but sorry. "I haven't had the chance to pick up a new one yet. I was hoping to get one here."

"I'm sure something can be arranged, sir." The man said as he tried to get the young wizard out of his area.

***xxx***

Minister's Office

"Ah, Monsieur Potter. Welcome to France."

Looking at the French Minister, Harry could see why Fudge hated the French Minister so much. It was almost as common to see the Daily Prophet report on Fudge's arguments with the French as it was to see Harry mentioned. The man was everything Fudge wasn't, but then again, so were a lot of people.

"I was told that you had some type of job offer for me," Harry asked with a straight face. "Something along the lines of being a judge for Miss December. I'm sure I can live up to your expectations and decide on the best candidate."

Looking confused, the Minister said. "Miss December?"

"Yeah, Miss December. You know, for Playwitch. Isn't that why I'm here? To help judge?"

Looking over to his aide who just shrugged, he went on. "Monsieur Potter, you are not here to find the next Playwitch…"

"Damn." Harry as he snapped his fingers. "Oh well, I guess I better be leaving now. I hear there are plenty of sites to see here. Maybe I'll see if I can visit the Playwitch photo shoots and see if I can be of any assistance. Maybe I can do moisture control. See ya later."

No one registered that Harry had left for a good two minutes while they sat there in a stupor. "Where did he go?" The Minister asked once he finally gave up on thinking about what Harry had just said. "He can't have made it that far. Find him."

***xxx***

French Ministry of Magic

Walking down the hallway of the Ministry, Harry could only reflect back on how wrong he was about the Minister's intelligence.

"What an idiot." Harry murmured to himself. "You'd think that he would have more brains than that. He beats Fudge at twenty questions every week, yet loses to me."

He was brought out of his thoughts by someone tapping on his shoulder. "Puis-je vous aider, monsieur?"

"Eh?" Harry said as he turned around. "English man, English. You think I have some type of magical device that allows me to understand you? Wait…that's a good idea. I'll have to look into that. Anyway, I speak English. E-N-G-L-I-S-H. Understand?"

"Yes." Glowering, the man said. "I speak English. I…"

"Good." Harry said happily. "At least some things are going right today. You won't believe the day I've had."

"Excuse me…"

"You're excused." Harry said absently. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I had to force the goblins to release my money to me. You won't believe how stingy they can get. On the plus side, it got to me the Queen. Though I suppose that she wasn't too happy with the way I introduced myself."

The man could only stare on in dismay as this foreigner talked aimlessly as he walked down the hall. The man must be mentally ill.

"Excuse me." The man nearly yelled once Harry stopped to breathe. "I asked you a question."

"Oh, I must have missed it." Harry said as he smiled. "What was it again?"

"I asked you if you're lost. If I could help you in any way."

"Ah." Harry nodded his head as he came to a fork in the hallway. "I'm fine and I think I can find my way out. Now, I believe it is left."

Acquiring a throbbing sensation in his head, he said. "Sir, the way out is to the right, not the left."

"Thanks, you're a good man. I don't care what the papers say about you." Harry said as he changed direction.

***xxx***

Minister's Office

"Sir, he's left the building." The aide said as he approached the desk.

"How?" The Minister asked as he stood up. "How did he evade our search teams? He had to have passed one of them on his way out."

"Search teams, sir?"

Stopping his pacing, the Minister turned to face the aide. "Yes, search teams. I believe that is the term currently being used to find a missing or wanted person. They consist of several people who are actively searching. How many did you send?"

"Me, sir."

"Excuse me? Did you just say that you were the only one searching for him?"

"Yes, sir." The aide squeaked out. "You didn't say that you wanted search teams so I thought that you wanted to keep this under wraps until we got him back. Though one of our guards spotted him in the hallway and showed him the way."

Blinking in astonishment at the stupidity of those around him, he said "He showed him the way out?"

"Remember, sir. No one knew we were looking for him and it'll be hard to find him now."

Calming down. "Okay, alert the Aurors to keep an eye out for him. I want to know what in Merlin's name is going on over in England. Potter knows and I want to know what he does."

"Yes, sir." The aide said as he walked towards the door.

After thinking about it for a second, he called out. "Don't alert him that we've found him. Once Mr. Potter is found, let me know immediately and I'll approach him myself. I don't need to start a war with him over this."

"Yes, sir."

***xxx**