There is a place in existence. This place is one of the most magical places ever to be even dreamed of. It is not fictional, it is not imaginary, but actual. It exists in this dimension, in this very solar system. This place is called Earth, and though you or I may not be able to see it, it is quite a magical place, indeed.
In this world, there once lived a young boy by the name of Seth Talensworth. Seth was a good kid, fairly smart, and exceptionally handsome. He also happened to be a wizard. He lived in a small village in Florida called Lion's Heart. This village was entirely populated by wizards and witches, and was not visible to Muggles (non-magic folk). Lion's Heart, Florida even had the largest school for magic in the world: Royal Lion School of the Magical Arts. This was the school Seth and all of his friends went to.
In his second year at Royal Lion, at the age of twelve, Seth experienced tragedy for the first time he could remember. One night, as they slept, he and his friends were attacked by a very dark and powerful being: a necromancer by the name of Ghallame. Seth's best friend, Kyle Smelter, was killed in the incident, his soul ripped from his body by the necromancer. But something else happened that night, something extraordinary. Seth and his friends, Karen Donden and Corey Spritely, created a magical force so strong that only the power of friendship could have resisted it, and only the power of love could conjure it. They joined their wands at the tips, and a golden-white beam of light struck the necromancer. That wizard died almost instantly.
Afterwards, a very strange thing happened. Seth, though smitten by grief and sadness, chose to stay at school. He soon noticed, however, that his wand seemed not to work...
"Expelliarmus!" Seth screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to disarm his opponent. Seth was a second-class member of the Dueling Club at Royal Lion, in which students could learn about various unkind charms and how to block them. Seth was trying to do a simple Disarming Charm, but his wand simply would not cooperate. Unfortunately for Seth, his opponent, Karen Donden (who also happened to be his girlfriend), was very adept at many charms and jinxes, and with Seth defenseless as he was, all she had to do was merely say the words, "Patrificus totalus," and Seth was on the floor, as stiff as a board.
"You really need to get that wand checked out, Mr. Talensworth," said the Duel Supervisor, the Transfiguration teacher, Professor Snidely Bosset, as he took off the curse that Karen had placed on Seth.
"I know, Professor. I can't find the time to do it, though," replied Seth, standing up and stretching his legs.
"I know, Seth. Sit down, and just wait till the end of practice. Then you can come talk to me. That goes for you too, Ms. Donden. Mr. Spritely, you stay after as well. But don't get too comfortable just sitting there, because you're up next," Professor Bosset said.
Seth and Karen went and sat down, hand in hand. Corey got onto the dueling stage with his opponent. But Seth wasn't paying attention to Corey. Seth was more worried about his wand. He couldn't understand it. He had always been able to use his wand with the greatest of ease. He was actually pretty handy with a wand, particularly this one. He had never had trouble with it before, but now it was just simply not responding. He was just getting ready to try a Flotation Charm on his bag when the bell rang. He got up and turned to leave, then remembered that he was supposed to talk to the Professor. He walked up to where the Professor was on the dueling stage, helping Corey out of sort of trance he was in (Corey never was good at dueling).
"Guys, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at home?" Bosset asked after he had their full attention. "Listen to me, all three of you. Now is a time for getting the sadness out of you. Now, what I'm going to do is send in a mandatory release slip for each of you. You're all going to have to go home, whether you like it or not. For one week, at the very least," Bosset said firmly.
"But Professor-"
"No, I don't want to hear it. Now, go up and pack. Expect to leave in a half an hour. And Talensworth?"
"Yes, Professor?"
"Get that wand looked at while your out."
It was three days later. Seth slept in late, since he had no school to worry about. He awoke to his mother's voice.
"Seth, honey, get up. We have to go and get your wand looked at," she said. Seth just turned over and grunted. She continued, looking at the clock. "Come on, sweetie, we only have...DAMN IT! Seth, get up now, we're late! GET UP, SETH!"
Seth jumped out of bed and looked out the window as he dressed. The sun had already risen, and it looked to be a beautiful day. Seth didn't care, though; he was in a hurry. In fact, he was in such a hurry that he didn't even notice he had put on the same shirt he wore the day before. He ran quickly downstairs, grabbed a piece of bread from the kitchen, and pretty much inhaled it. He then proceeded into the living room. There, he saw his mother, Mrs. Talensworth. She was a little bit shorter than he was, had brown hair, and looked a little more disheveled than she normally would, given the state of hurriedness she was in. She was a young mother, only about thirty-four.
"How are we getting there, Mom? Floo Powder?" Seth asked.
"No, Floo Powder takes too long. We'll have to Apparate," Mrs. Talensworth said.
"But Mom, I'm not allowed to Apparate yet, remember?"
"Oh...yeah. Okay, umm...we don't have any registered Portkeys...so...oh, it's no use! I guess we're going by Floo Powder, Seth, so let's go." But quite suddenly, Seth remembered something.
"Mom! Follow me outside, I have to show you something."
"Seth, we don't have time, now let's go!"
"But Mom, it's a really fast way to get to the wand shop!" Mrs. Talensworth looked skeptical. She hesitated, than said, "If this takes any longer than Floo Powder, Seth, I swear on your father's grave that you will be grounded for a month!"
But how did Seth's father die, you may ask? Well, he was killed by Ghallame, the necromancer Seth and his friends destroyed. But enough of that, and on to what Seth showed his mother.
Seth and Mrs. Talensworth swiftly walked out the front door. Seth turned around and looked at his mother with an expression of great excitement. "Now, Mom, don't freak out. This is absolutely amazing, okay? Just stay on the porch and watch me!" Seth said.
He went into the middle of the road, and, to his mother's great disapproval, took off his shirt. The scar that ran the length of his back was quite visible. He then sat on the ground.
"Seth, what in God's name are you doing?" Mrs. Talensworth called out. The answer, though she got it quite quickly, was not at all what she had expected.
The very moment she had finished speaking, Seth's entire body began to change. His face grew longer and wider, all his hair disappeared, and on his back grew two large bumps, rather like a second set of shoulders. His very skin seemed to change. He looked scaly, and a golden light hung about him. And then, quite suddenly, Mrs. Talensworth realized what she was looking at.
Seth had transformed himself into a legendary creature, the American Gold Dragon. Ten feet in the air, Seth swung his beautiful and horrible head to signal to his mother that she should get on. Astonished, Mrs. Talensworth walked forward. Seth extended one of his powerful arms, grabbed his mother gently around the midsection, and placed her on his back.
"Seth! How? How did you become and Animagus within a matter of weeks?" she asked, still quite amazed. (An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can change into an animal at will.) Seth simply snapped his beak (for it was much more like a beak than a mouth) and blew a puff of smoke in response. Then, rather abruptly, he took off into the air, his mother on his back, screaming with wild enthusiasm, Seth beating his wings against the wind all the while.
They flew for what seemed like hours in the air, when in reality, it was but a matter of minutes. You may not know this, but dragons are often very unstable flyers. Not Seth, however. No, Seth was extremely graceful, his golden scales glistening in the morning sunlight. Every turn he made was as smooth as silk, and every cloud he skimmed with his talons was cool and wonderfully refreshing. The sunlight shone upon Mrs. Talensworth's face and lit up her tears of happiness, her tears of pride for her son. Every one of her tears shone as brightly as the next, until they were just as bright as Seth's very skin.
Within a matter of minutes, it was all over, and they were in town. Seth landed in front of the wand shop. Naturally, people scattered at the sight of the dragon, but Seth and Mrs. Talensworth simply laughed to themselves. Unfortunately, Seth's laugh sounded more like a growl to the remaining people on the street.
On the ground, Mrs. Talensworth dismounted, and Seth transformed once more. The wand shop owner, a man called Mr. Casprine, walked out of the door in amazement, his jaw drooping low.
"That, boy, was far more than any of us ever expected of you!" he said. Seth simply laughed.
"Oh, Seth, you forgot your shirt!" said Mrs. Talensworth.
"That's okay, Mom. It was dirty, anyway," Seth said.
After buying Seth a new shirt, the Talensworths returned to the wand shop. It was called Sticks and Stones, and the owner, Mr. Casprine, was quite old. He was never a very nice man to anybody, unless they would do him good business. He was, however, one of the most respected people in Lion's Heart, for he was, indeed, one of the most powerful. At present, however, he was very interested in why Seth and his mother were there.
"So, young Seth, why aren't you in school? Oh, yes, yes...I remember. Such a shame, what happened to your friend, quite a shame. Is there...anything I can do to help? No? Well, all right then. Just ask if you need my...comforting touch," Mr. Casprine said in a very sleazy manner. "So, what brings you here today, Dorothy?" he asked Mrs. Talensworth.
"Well, Seth needs his wand checked out. There seems to be something wrong with it. And please, call me Mrs. Talensworth," she replied.
"Oh. Well, in that case...did you say there seemed to be something wrong with it? If there is, know that it is not a fault that the wand came with. I never make mistakes in making my wands, never. Do I make myself quite clear, Mrs. Talensworth? Now, give me the wand, kid." You may have noticed the change in the way Mr. Casprine was speaking. You see, a wand check-up costs very little, and Mr. Casprine was never a very nice man to anybody, unless they would do him good business.
Seth handed his wand to Mr. Casprine, who began to examine it. Though he may have been a thoroughly unpleasant man, I must admit that Mr. Casprine knew what he was doing with a wand (in more than one way, mind you). He looked it up and down, and all around. He examined it from above, below, and even standing on his head. When he seemed to be done, he spoke.
"Yes, I remember this wand. Bamboo, exactly twelve inches long, powdered dragon talon for a core, very light and springy. Let me see...ah, yes." He pointed the wand at a spare bit of parchment, and said the incantation, "Infernorium!" The paper burst into flame, though it left no marks on the wooden table upon which it sat.
"Well, it appears as though there is not a damn thing wrong with this wand. That'll be five sickles, Mrs. Talensworth," said Mr. Casprine, giving Seth his wand back. Seth looked perplexed.
Mrs. Talensworth spent the next two days locked away in her room. Seth had Karen and Corey over numerous times to keep him company. It was on the third day that Seth's mother was locked away, and Seth was just trying a few simple spells with his friends' wands (in vain, of course) when his mother called him upstairs.
"Seth, come upstairs, please. I need to talk to you," she called. Seth gave his friends a quizzical look. He hesitantly climbed the stairs and entered his mother's room.
"Yes, mom?" he said.
"Tell Karen and Corey to go, Seth. I'm taking you to the doctors," she said.
"What, now?"
"Yes, now! Go."
"Okay..." Seth said, and headed back downstairs. Karen and Corey were more than understanding when he told them they had to go home. Corey left the room for home right after Seth told him he had to leave, but Karen stayed behind. She looked at him with a slightly sad expression.
"I hope everything's going to be okay, Seth," she said in a concerned tone.
"Don't worry, Karen. I'm sure it'll be just fine," Seth responded, with more enthusiasm in his voice than he felt in his heart. Karen kissed Seth on the cheek and walked out of the room. To this day, Seth has never felt more alone then at that very moment. He walked back upstairs, more nervous than he thought he should have felt.
As he walked into the living room, he saw a slightly startling sight. There were doctors and nurses and assistants right there in the house. Seth looked at his mother with question.
"It's better this way, Seth. This way your friends won't think that they can be here for this," she said.
"For what, mom?" Seth asked in response. One of the doctors answered.
"Seth, I'm Dr. Lynad. We're here to do some tests on both you and your wand. If you don't mind, we'd like to get started as soon as possible. Is that okay?" said the young and well-built doctor.
"What kind of...tests?"
"Well, to put it frankly, Seth, we're going to see if you have somehow lost your magic. We're going to see if you've become...well, you know."
"You mean a Squib? How is that possible? How could I have become a wizard without magic after twelve years of doing it?"
"That, Seth, is what we're here to find out. Let's get started," said Dr. Lynad.
The tests started at about eleven thirty in the morning, and went on until well past eleven thirty that night. They did many tests on both Seth and his wand, including one in which Seth had to hang from the ceiling-fan and say a tongue twister as fast as he could. Finally, the crew of doctors let Seth go to bed.
"Mrs. Talensworth, if you could give us a few minutes..." said the doctor to Seth's mom in a slightly perplexed tone.
"Sure, doctor," she said. Dr. Lynad walked into the kitchen with his assistants, saying things like "My goodness," and "It's damn near impossible."
Five minutes went by, then ten, then fifteen. Finally, after twenty long minutes, the doctor came back out of the kitchen.
"Well?" asked Mrs. Talensworth.
"We can't tell you anything solid. We need to conduct one more test," said Dr. Lynad.
"I'll go get Seth, then."
"No, ma'am. It can wait until morning. Indeed, it's better if it did."
The next morning, Seth came downstairs at about nine o' clock to see that the medical staff was still there.
"Good morning, Seth. Go and eat some breakfast, then we have one more test to do," said Dr. Lynad.
"Alright," Seth replied.
After a hurried bowl of cereal, Seth went back into the living room. The doctors were still there.
"Alright Seth, now what I'm going to do is this: I'm going to put a stone on this table. I want you to try to get it to come to you by looking at it and saying 'Accio stone'. Oh, and I'll need your wand," Dr. Lynad said.
"What?" asked Seth.
"Give me your wand, stand on the other end of the room, and make the stone come to you. Ready?"
"I guess."
"Great!"
Seth got all set up and ready, and, feeling rather stupid, put out his hand to catch the stone.
"Go ahead, Seth," the doctor said.
"Alright." Seth looked hard at the stone. How, he thought? How did the doctor expect this to work? Nonetheless, Seth found himself opening his mouth to say the words.
"Accio stone!" Seth cried. Everybody gasped as the stone flew through the air straight into Seth's hand. Seth was absolutely amazed. He stared at the stone in his hand as the entire room applauded him.
"I knew it," the doctor said.
"Your son, Mrs. Talensworth, has a very rare condition," Dr. Lynad said to Seth's mom later on that day.
"How serious is it?" she replied in concern.
"Oh, it's nothing to worry about! In fact, I would say it's more of a gift than a condition."
"Oh?"
"Mrs. Talensworth, your son is what is known as a hand wizard."
"What? What's that?"
"It means that your son has outgrown his need for a wand. Mrs. Talensworth-"
"Please, call me Dorothy."
"Well, then, Dorothy, your son can do magic without the use of a wand. In fact, I'm willing to bet that, within the course of a few months of hard training, he may be a more powerful wizard than old Melvin Casprine, the wand shop owner. Just earlier, your son performed the Summoning Charm without the use of his wand. That charm is far beyond the curriculum of a second-year student. That is at least fourth year, and even some of the best fourth-year students have trouble with it. He did it perfectly on his first try. Dorothy, if you don't mind my saying so, your son has tremendous potential."
"You know, I don't mind you saying that at all," Mrs. Talensworth said with a laugh.
When the doctors had gone, Seth reentered the room. It was still early (or, at least, by the standards of a twelve-year-old). Seth looked at his mother with concern.
"What's wrong with me, Mom?" he said in a scared voice.
"Nothing, Seth. Nothing is wrong with you. You...have a special gift. You don't need to use a wand to do magic anymore, Seth. You are a hand wizard," she said, smiling. Seth laughed.
"I'm a...wait...I'm a hand wizard? Mom, that's impossible. Hand wizards don't exist anymore. They haven't existed since before Christ was born. I did some research on them for the Dueling Club."
"Seth, come upstairs with me. There's something I want to show you."
Seth followed his mother up the stairs and onto the landing. With a wave of her wand, Mrs. Talensworth opened a door in the ceiling; one that Seth knew led to the attic. Seth had never been in the attic before; he had never been allowed. In fact, he couldn't go even if he wanted to, because it was locked with a charm far too advanced for Seth to break.
They climbed the ladder up into the attic, which, to Seth's surprise, was huge. It was like a floor all its own, contained in one room. But the size, in this case, didn't matter.
The room was cluttered and packed with all sorts of interesting and magical-looking things, like chessboards that played themselves, water fountains that flowed in the wrong direction, and toothbrushes that raced one another. Seth particularly liked the look of the old grand piano, for it had very intricately carved feet. Seth was just getting ready to hit a key when the piano decided to walk a few paces toward Seth. That's when Seth decided to run a few paces toward his mother.
"Mom, this is crazy! I never knew we had all this stuff up here!" Seth exclaimed.
"Well, most of it was your grandfather's and you great-grandfather's, but a few things up here were your father's. That piano was one of them," Mrs. Talensworth said.
"But what about you? Don't you have any stuff up here?"
"Me? No, I never did get anything special enough to be put up here."
"What do you mean, special?"
"Seth, I want to show you something." With this, Mrs. Talensworth walked to the very far end of the room, beyond the piano and the toothbrushes, and picked up an old and dusty-looking package. The package was quite long and looked like it would have been very heavy, but Mrs. Talensworth lifted it up almost effortlessly. She brought it over to where Seth was standing.
"This, Seth, is yours," she said.
"What?" said Seth.
"Yes. Go ahead, Seth. Open it!"
Seth took the top off of the box, and inside he saw a beautiful sword in an elegantly designed scabbard. Seth looked at it in awe of its splendor. He examined every inch of it: the dark blue scabbard, decorated with falcons; the golden hilt with a single dark blue stone in it; even its very length.
"Mom, this can't be mine..." Seth started.
"It is. It was your father's, and your grandfather's, but now it's yours. Your father told me to give it to you when I thought you were ready. I was going to wait until you were eighteen, but you seem far more ready now than I think you ever will be," his mom replied.
"But why?"
"That sword is a family heirloom. Nobody remembers how long it's been in the family. It is Dusk, the Blue Sword of Truth. Take it out of its scabbard."
Seth lifted the sword from its box. He found that, though too large for him at this point, was extremely light. He held the hilt just level with his eyes for a mere second, grabbed the hilt, and slowly unsheathed it. The blade was slender and sleek, and it almost seemed pulsate with a blue aura. It towered above his head. (Seth later grew into the size of the sword).
"Your father would be so proud," Mrs. Talensworth whispered.
"There's just one problem, Mom," Seth said.
"What is it?" said Mrs. Talensworth.
"I don't think I can take this to school."
The kids left Royal Lion School of the Magical Arts on a Tuesday. Seth received his sword six days later, on Monday. He had one more week until he went back to school. His mother, though quite excited about her son's new gift, told Seth not to tell his friends until Mr. Casprine confirmed that he was, indeed, a hand wizard.
On Wednesday (two days after Seth got Dusk), they went back to Sticks and Stones, this time to actually purchase an item. Needless to say, Mr. Casprine was very kind to them.
"So, what can I help you with today, young Seth? Have you gotten your wand to work yet?" he asked.
"Actually, the doctors made quite a startling discovery. They found out that Seth is not magically disabled, but that he has a great gift," Mrs. Talensworth said.
"Really? What kind of...gift?"
"I'm a hand wizard," Seth chimed in.
"What? I knew you had a history, boy, but lying to your elders? Shame on you, boy, shame on you," Mr. Casprine said.
"He's telling the truth," Mrs. Talensworth said.
"Really? Prove it!"
"Okay," Seth said. "Watch." With this, Seth closed his eyes. The word escaped his lips in a whisper: "Infernorium." His fingertips began to glow orange as he opened his eyes. He pointed his fingers at a ridiculously long receipt Mr. Casprine had created, and it became a trail of fire, again leaving no marks anywhere else.
"Impressive..." Mr. Casprine said in awe.
"The doctor said I need a staff with a magic stone in it to learn the hard spells. That's what you can help us with, sir," Seth said politely.
"Oh, but of course! A staff, eh? Well, that'll be interesting, very interesting. It won't be cheap to make, not cheap at all. Yes...well, given your wand had powdered dragon's talon for a core, it seems only right to have a dragon-fire rupee set into your staff. Yes...not bamboo, though, it never does well with staves. For you, I think white oak would be good. Yes, definitely white oak. Not too heavy, either. Well, come back tomorrow, and I should have it ready. Farewell, for now!" Mr. Casprine said cheerfully.
Seth and his mother returned home. They sat in the living room very quietly, Mrs. Talensworth reading a magazine, Seth watching her attentively. This went on for ten minutes before either one of them spoke. Then, without looking up, Mrs. Talensworth addressed her son.
"Alright, go ahead and tell your friends." Seth bolted from the room and out the door.
Fifteen minutes later, Karen and Corey were both at Seth's house. Seth had led them down to the basement, where there was an old dueling stage. It was long and black, and stood about three feet off the ground. Seth had not yet told his friends, so they were confused about why he was so excited.
"It's great that we can come over again, Seth, but why are we here? You said you had something really important to tell us," said the impatient Corey.
"You know, Corey, maybe you shouldn't rush Seth to tell you. Not everything important is good," Karen said seriously.
"No, that's alright, Karen. It's not bad. It's really good news, actually. But I kind of have to show you," said Seth. "Karen, could you get onto the other end of the dueling stage?"
"Why?" asked Karen.
"You'll see," Seth said with a grin. Once Karen had gotten up onto the stage, Seth got onto the opposite end of it.
"Okay, now take out your wand, Karen. Corey, you just watch," Seth said. Karen took out her wand as Seth had told her to.
"Okay, good. Now, Karen, what I want you to do is to pick any jinx you want and try to hit me with it. Don't be kind, and don't be gentle. Hit me with all you've got," said Seth.
"But you don't have a wand! You'll be blasted through that wall, Seth," responded Karen.
"Just do it, alright?"
"Okay..." Karen pointed her wanted directly at Seth. She opened her mouth, but hesitated.
"Come on, Karen, just do it," Seth said with a chuckle.
"Rictusempra!" Karen sent the Tickling Charm at Seth. Seth, however, was ready. He held up his hand and said, "Reducto incantatem!" The blue blast that was the Tickling Charm slowed and stopped within Seth's palm. He grasped the charm tightly, and threw it hard back at Karen. It flew with double its original speed and hit Karen directly in the stomach. Immediately, she started laughing. She soon collapsed onto the floor with fits of mad giggles. It took her a good five minutes to get up off the floor.
"What just happened?" asked Karen in awe (but still with a slight giggle).
"I know what happened!" Corey said with excitement. If there was one person in the entire magic school that would know how to identify what Seth had become, it was Corey.
"He's a hand wizard!"
"A what?"
"Karen, he doesn't need a wand! He can do magic without one!"
Karen looked at Seth for a moment. Quite suddenly, when Seth least expected it, Karen jumped onto Seth, hugging him tightly as he fell to the floor. Then, Corey jumped on top of them. Seth had never felt more surrounded by friendship than at that precise moment.