The Invitation

Once again he found himself staring at the ceiling in his small cramped room, the room that once belonged to his enormously large cousin. His mind continually drifting to thoughts of his previous year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

"Why did he have to leave me like everyone else".

It felt as if his thoughts were constantly plagued by that same thought. First his parents, and then Sirius, and now Dumbledore. It's as if everyone he started to develop a parental relationship with, either died or disappeared. The only real constants in his life were his best friends Ron and Hermione.

When his mind wasn't thinking of all the people that had past away in his life, he found himself thinking about a small bushy haired girl. But yet she really wasn't a girl any longer. He was a little frightened at why his mind kept drifting to her, and why some of his thoughts were of things friends just don't do together.

"But she is with Ron now, stop thinking of her like that, you don't want to drive the only important things in your life away."

Suddenly a small tapping pulled him out of his thoughts. Without thinking his wand flew to his hand from across the room. His arm outstretched pointing it right at the window, where the sound had originated.

"How did I do that," He thought dumbly as he stared at his hand, the knuckles going white from the strong grip he had on his wand. Slowly getting up he moved towards the window.

There sitting on the ledge was the largest owl he had ever seen. Placing his wand on his bed he slowly opened up the window, he watched as the creature pulled its huge bulk through the window frame. With a huge flap of its enormous wings it showered the room with small droplets of water that had accumulated on its feathers from the rain outside.

It had a brown and white coloring to it, with a white and gray spotted stomach. But the thing that caught his attention the most were the two tuffs of feathers that originated from its ear's, giving it the impression of horns growing from its head. Realization dawned on him with that thought.

"You must be a great horned owl". He whispered gently to the magnificent creature. Slowly the owl turned his head around to fully take in Harry's appearance. After regarding him it turned it's head once again to look straight in front of itself, blankly ignoring Harry. Lifting its leg, and waiting patiently to be relieved of its burden.

Timidly he reached out and undid the crisp white envelope fastened to the powerful leg. Pulling it back while staring at the bird the whole time. As soon as he was done the owl turned and leapt back through the window, opening its powerful wings and gliding through the haze of rain.

Slowly with a bewildered look on his face, he closed the window and turn to regard the envelope in the light of his small table lamp. On closer inspection he noticed a wax seal with a strange emblem he had never seen before. It was a symbol of an out stretched palm with two swords crissed crossed behind it. Floral leaves spread around the out side of the circular design. The words "The Brotherhood of the Mage" were written around the floral design.

"A Mage", Harry pondered as he tried to remember all he new about the reclusive bunch.

"If I remember correctly they are a bunch of fanatic's, they pride themselves on their combat spells and skills."

Turning the letter around in his hands he went to reach for his wand he had placed on the bed beside him, yet before he could reach it the wand flew gracefully into his outstretched hand.

"Now that time I didn't imagine it. Was that wandless magic?"

He looked attentively at his wand, placing it on the bed he tried to summon it to his hand. Concentrating so hard he thought his eyes would bulge out of his head he finally gave up with a resounding huff, the wand had not even budged. Sighing he turned to the envelope and slowly went to grab his wand while deep in thought about the letters content. Without knowing it the wand once again sprang to his hand.

Surprised he glanced down; completely baffled as to why he could do something without really thinking about it, but when he truly concentrated nothing happened.

"Bloody weird," He said out loud in an almost perfect imitation of Ron. He chuckled slightly to himself at that.

Raising his wand he pointed it at the envelope. "Reveal your secrets" once again chuckling at a simple spell his old potions professor seemed to love. The beauty of that little spell though was that it used almost no real traceable magic. Mad eye Moody had informed him that the ministry's magical detectors for underage magic ignored small bursts of magic like that, spinning it off as an accidental discharge, nothing to worry about they told themselves.

The envelope rose and quivered slightly in the air than gently fell back down into his hand.

"Well no Dark magic there" He concluded.

Slowly opening the top he pulled a crisp white sheet of parchment from within. His eyes scrolled over the clean, beautiful calligraphy of the letter's.

Dear Mr. Potter.

The Brotherhood of the Mage formally requests and audience with one of your protégés history and accomplishments. If you decided to honour us, please just tap your wand onto this sheet of parchment.

Yours respectively

The Brotherhood of the Mage.

"Well that was polite," he pondered as he reread the letter. After staring at it for what felt like eternity he finally came to his decision. He arose off the bed; closing his eyes he quickly tapped his wand onto the parchment. Moments later the familiar sensations of having a hook behind his navel pull him away as he vanished from his tiny cramped room on Privet drive.