FicWad

-I-I-I-

He wouldn't quite call it anxiety. Morpheus had stood before the Council many times before, in both the course of his duty and in judgment on his often... unorthodox actions. The last of which had been only months ago, when they questioned his decision to unplug a grown adult, set in the ways of the Matrix.

And quite rightly questioned that judgment. Neo no longer blamed him for being so caught up in his dreams that they blinded him to reality, but for a long time, there had been a kind of silent resentment on board the /Nebuchadnezzar/. He'd expected too much of the young man, he knew that now, but he'd been so convinced that Neo was the One...

Neo had adjusted to the reality of the world, now, but Morpheus knew Trinity had played a major role in that acceptance, that without her love, Neo might have snapped, his mind cracking underneath the pressure of today's horror like so many others. There was a reason it was children who were freed, and not adults, whom some would have considered more useful to the resistance.

For instance, the person whose eyes were drilling a rather annoying hole in his spine.

"Did you want something, Commander Lock?" he asked without turning around, deliberately keeping his voice as calm and neutral as he could.

"Do you really expect us to believe this?" the other man replied scornfully, moving until he was just in front of Morpheus. "Again? You claimed you'd found the One before, Morpheus, and you were wrong."

The ship's captain stiffened. "I do not claim Harry is the One," he stated, feeling the muscles in his jaw clench. No. Not Harry. He refused to let little, innocent Harry be the one who had to lead them through the war. He deserved better than that, and better than what life had dealt him so far.

"What else is he, then? You can bend the rules in the Matrix, but you still can't break them. Not even the Matrix lets you get away with magic tricks like 'teleportation'." Wonder of wonders, there was actually genuine curiosity in Lock's voice, though it was nearly buried beneath the mockery.

Morpheus turned until he could look the commander in the eye. "He is a little boy," he replied, his voice hard. "One who deserves everything that we can give him, and does not deserve to be brought before the Council and tested like a lab animal." His vehemence surprised even himself, but it didn't take even a moment of introspection to know he meant every word of it.

Commander Lock stared at him for a long minute, one eyebrow raised. "I see..." he said noncommittally, before they heard the sound of footsteps, and both turned towards the entrance.

-I-I-I-

Harry peeked nervously out at the room from behind Neo's legs. There had to be two dozen people staring back at the little group of three standing in the entrance.

Trinity glanced down at him and smiled reassuringly as she reached out to run her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, kiddo. Just ignore them," she whispered.

The boy just gave her a look. Easy for her to say...

Neo led him by the hand out into the middle of the room, where Morpheus and another, severe-looking man waited by a chair like those on the /Nebuchadnezzar/. Harry stared up at the captain, trying not to look at the people sitting around the raised table a few feet away. "Sir?" he asked in a voice he was proud to hear barely shook at all.

"The Council asks that you give them a demonstration of your teleportation," Morpheus answered gently, sending a warning glance towards the strange man.

"Oh..." The boy dropped his eyes for a moment, then looked over at the jack chair as Neo squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Um... now?"

Morpheus turned to face the dais. "Is the Council prepared?" he asked in a booming voice. Harry couldn't help but start beneath his foster father's hand at the loud noise.

At the center of the arc of people, a steel-haired woman nodded. "We are. You may begin."

Morpheus nodded in return, then offered Harry a hand to help him up into the oversized seat. Together he and Neo made the boy as comfortable as they could, while Trinity hovered anxiously near the entrance.

Harry watched him with frightened green eyes as the dark man leaned over him. "Is this the part where you ask me if I'm ready?" the tiny boy asked with a forced smile as an enormous screen lowered opposite the Council. "Because I'm really hearing that question way too often."

Morpheus' lips quirked slightly. "I won't ask it, then." Behind them, Neo adjusted the jack with practiced movements.

Harry smiled again, a little more naturally. "Good. I don't think I ever will be."

"You will," the captain murmured, the quiet assurance in his voice doing more to calm the boy than anything else. "Someday."

"But not too soon," Neo was quick to add, reaching over to brush away the messy bangs from his forehead. "You need to be a kid first."

Morpheus nodded in agreement, and Harry bit his lip. "But... what if I don't know how?" he asked, worried.

The stranger frowned, as the two men Harry knew exchanged glances. "Then ask Tank to teach you," Neo finally said, hiding his unhappiness as much as he could behind a good-natured grin. "He's a kid at heart, after all."

The boy nodded, closing his eyes as he felt a hand at the base of his skull. Morpheus brushed a hand over the bird's nest of his hair, then gestured for Neo to slide in the jack.

When Harry opened his eyes, he found himself again standing on the rooftop, high in the air. He looked around, but this time he was alone.

"When you're ready, teleport to the aviary on top of the next building to your right," he heard Morpheus' voice direct from the empty air over his shoulder. Harry glanced in that direction, and after a few seconds of searching spotted the dilapidated structure.

"Alright," he answered, walking over to the edge of the roof. The boy spared a nervous glance for the distant street below; he wasn't sure he'd be able to concentrate in time to teleport back to safety if he fell. "Just there?"

"Yes."

Harry nodded, taking a deep breath. He focused on the bird cage, painting himself next to it in the picture he held in his head. Then he closed his eyes yet again, and pushed with that odd muscle he wasn't sure even existed except in his imagination, until he heard the familiar /pop/.

-I-I-I-

Trinity watched with both pride and barely-concealed concern as Harry vanished from the screen. The screen's operator quickly typed a few commands, and the view changed to the area around the aviary, where the young boy leaned against the side of the cage.

More than one quiet gasp rang through the chamber at the sight, along with a few cries of surprise. Morpheus spoke into the microphone in his hand again, warning Harry they would be pulling him out.

Then Trinity was striding over to the little group, ignoring the dumbfounded look on Commander Lock's face. Harry's body twitched as her husband drew out the jack, and the woman pulled the boy into her arms almost before he'd opened his eyes.

The noise in the Council Chamber rose steadily, as members argued over what they had seen, shouted questions out towards the group on the floor that were lost in the clamor, or simply sat and stared in shock. Though there was one who merely watched, as though he were lost in thought...

Harry covered his ears with his hands, his body tensing within the circle of Trinity's arms. "That's enough!" she finally shouted above the uproar, glaring at the surprised faces of the Council. "That's more than enough. You're supposed to be our wise and noble leaders, not a bunch of squabbling brats!"

Beside her, both Neo and Morpheus winced at her beyond-blunt words. "Please, Trinity, let me handle this," the captain muttered through clenched teeth.

She looked at him for a moment, still angry, then sent a glare at the Council before she forced her mother's instincts down and nodded. Morpheus stepped forward, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Are any further demonstrations necessary?" he asked, meeting the eyes of as many Council members as he could.

"I don't think they will be," a silver-haired man seated near the end of the table commented wryly. "That was most... effective."

Morpheus bowed his head to one of the few people on the Council who tried to remain truly fair and balanced, instead of furthering their own agenda. "It was intended to be, Councilor Hamann."

"What will become of the child?" the older man asked, peering near-sightedly at Harry.

Instantly most of the Council were offering suggestions, ideas that ranged from placing him in the orphanage with all the other parentless children to throwing him in a cell until he explained exactly how he'd manage to do it. The crewmembers of the Nebuchadnezzar watched with abhorrence as the discussion escalated.

"We're adopting him!" Neo shouted, stepping in front of his wife and child. His shout cut through the noise, as Trinity's had done earlier.

There were a few protests before Councilor Dillard silenced them with a formidable stare. "Your minds are made up?" she inquired, noting with a tiny smile how both Neo and Trinity hovered protectively over the small boy, while their captain stood almost menacingly behind them, practically daring the Council to do anything about it.

"Are you retiring from ship life, then?" Commander Lock asked skeptically, apparently starting to recover from his shock.

"No. Harry will be coming with us," Trinity answered intractably, glowering at him.

"That's impossible, only contributing members of the crew may serve on the hoverships," a voice called from the direction of the Council, and Morpheus nodded.

"That is why I will be taking Harry James Potter as my apprentice, until such time as he passes the tests and gains his license, or leaves of his own free will," he stated, intentionally following the formalities as closely as he could. Then a thought struck him, and he glanced at the boy staring at him with green eyes. "Provided Harry consents, of course."

Harry nodded vehemently, whipping his hair into his face. He brushed it impatiently out of his face. "I want to stay with you!" he said, voice pleading. "Please..."

"Shh." Trinity brushed her hand across his cheek. "You're coming with us, no matter what," she whispered to him, prompting a tremulous smile in return.

Councilor Dillard looked surprised. "You, taking an apprentice, Captain Morpheus? That's quite a change of heart." She studied Harry closely. "You believe he has the potential to be a pilot, then?"

Morpheus nodded. "More than the potential. From what I've seen of the simulations he's tried so far, he's a natural flier."

"I see." The Council Head rose to her feet, gazing down at Harry. "Mr. Potter, as you have accepted Captain Morpheus' tutelage, the Council cannot object to your accompanying the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar when it leaves on its next mission. However..." She paused, waiting until the boy looked up and nervously met her eyes before continuing. "It would be much appreciated if you would agree to train others in this... teleportation before that time."

Harry blinked, the fact that he had just been officially acknowledged as part of his new family taking a few seconds to sink in. "Er... yes, ma'am," he agreed timidly, his quiet voice barely loud enough to be heard. "I'll try."

Councilor Dillard nodded. "See that you do." She looked around at the other members of the Council, taking in the mulish expressions on a couple of faces and dismissing them for the moment. "I don't believe there was any further business.

"As such, I declare this session of the Council to be complete."