Smart-Choices (II) [Chapter 269]

~~Platform 9¾, Kings Cross Station~~

“You are right on time” Harry said, staring at the woman approaching him from the other side. From the corner of his eyes, he could clearly see the clock and it was exactly 11 o’clock, which meant she was right on time. While he had never met the woman before, he could see her name floating over her head.

“I didn’t want to come early and make you think that the whole thing is a trap” The woman answered with a deadpan.

“I see…” Harry mumbled while giving her an understanding look. He could see where she was coming from and he had to admit, the woman seemed to be smart, much smarter than Derrick Oswell and Elizabeth Carter. “You alone?” Harry asked, looking around, but he didn’t notice any other Wixen around them.

“Yes, I promised that I would come alone” The woman answered with a nod of her head. Harry stared at her for a second before nodding his head. The woman didn’t look scared and if she was, she didn’t show it on her face. To be honest, Harry was impressed.

“Let’s sit down?” Harry suggested and after getting a nod from the woman, he started to lead her toward a nearby bench. The two of them sat down and Harry immediately waved his hand to cast the Wards the Royal Mages had at the hotel room to keep Himera from contacting him.

Meanwhile, Rachel’s eyes grew wide in surprise at his choice of Wards… She started to wonder if he was trying to mock her with those Wards, or if he simply wanted to show her that he had managed to crack their Wards in less than twelve hours, or if he was trying to intimidate her by showing off his Wandless Magic skills…

Whatever it was, now Rachel was certain that she had made the right choice by trying to cut a deal with him…

“I am Rachel Node” The woman extended her hand toward Harry. He already knew her name, but she still decided to introduce herself to him.

“Harry Potter” Harry extended his own hand and shook hands with her. Right now, they were meeting under a truce, so he was going to keep everything civil and follow through all the formalities and Rachel also seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“So, you were saying something about cutting losses?” Harry asked while staring straight into her eyes.

“Yes” Rachel said with a nod of her head. “I have realized that we can’t beat you. It was a mistake to make an enemy of us, a mistake I seriously regret” Rachel added with a grimace.

“Really? You should have thought that before kidnapping Himera, right?” Harry asked with a frown on his face.

“Yes, but I was ordered by the Queen to aid MI6 and SHIELD” Rachel revealed with a sigh. She knew she was playing a dangerous game by revealing secrets nobody should know, but if she wanted her organization to survive this shit fest then she needed to take the gamble and come out on top.

“Is that so?” Harry asked, only to receive a nod from the woman sitting across from him. “However, why should I care? You made your bed and now you have to sleep in it, no?” Harry asked in a cold tone and the woman flinched at his tone. Internally Harry smiled, the woman was hiding it well, but she was scared as fuck.

“Yes, as I said. I made a mistake, a mistake I seriously regret, but I cannot turn back time. We have sworn loyalty to the Queen, we have also sworn to follow her direct orders, so I couldn’t have ignored her order” Rachel tried to explain, hoping that he would understand.

Rachel knew that Harry Potter was no Voldemort and that was why she decided to meet him in the first place…

“Then how are you here? Did the Queen order you to retreat or something like that?” Harry asked as he raised his brows in question.

“No, but there are some specific circumstances when we can ignore her orders and choose the best course of action. Right now, cutting our losses is the best course of action” Rachel explained with a reluctant look on her face. At first, she didn’t want to do it, but she realized that not explaining their circumstances might doom them.

Harry hummed at her words and started to tap the backrest with his fingers with a thoughtful look on his face. “However, all of that still doesn’t answer my question of why should I let you guys go” Harry said while staring straight into her eyes, but he didn’t try to use Legilimency.

“Are you going to help me destroy SHIELD or MI6?” Harry asked, without giving her the time to say anything.

Rachel seemed to reel back at his question… This was not something she was expecting when she came here to negotiate their surrender. However, she quickly managed to collect herself and started to speak.

“Look… I know I am asking you a lot, but I can’t help you with any of those. Both SHIELD and MI6 are necessary for the safety of Britain and its people. Our Oaths won’t let me help you with something like that” Rachel explained while looking nervous. She didn’t want to set off the Magical Nuke sitting across from her by saying something wrong, but there were some things she needed to say.

“Then you are no use to me” Harry said coldly while glaring at the woman sitting across from him. He couldn’t believe the audacity of this bitch… She came here to negotiate their surrender without bringing anything to the table. Did she simply expect him to roll over and accept their surrender or something like that?

|Just kill her and get over with it| Lily whined inside his mind.

|No, not here. She might be an audacious bitch, but we were meeting under a truce. I am not going to kill her here| Harry quickly denied, as he didn’t want to break the verbal agreement.

For the first time, Rachel broke out of her stoic persona and started to look frantic… “Look, please…” Rachel was ready to beg, but she trailed off realizing that begging or pleading was not going to work. Harry started to stand up and she immediately started to wrack her brain for options, and then all of a sudden, something finally clicked inside her mind.

“Knowledge!” Rachel exclaimed in a desperate tone. “We can give you Knowledge!” Rachel added frantically.

Harry paused. “Knowledge?” Harry asked, looking curious.

“Yes, knowledge. We have existed since King Arthur claimed the throne, so obviously we have amassed a lot of knowledge throughout the years. I can give you access to that” Rachel explained hurriedly.

“Well…” Harry trailed off before a smile bloomed on his face. “You have my curiosity” Harry added with a smile wondering what sort of knowledge he was going to discover…