Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter.

A/NI just want to let you know that Will will not be a boring muggle for the whole book. Just give it time, say, a couple chapters, I've got my ideas. Thank you for your acceptance.

Chapter One: Night Visit

There are some people that believe in money, in wealth, in caviar. There are others that believe in security, in justice, in religion. William Quinter, 16, of 7 Dornbury Drive, High Wycombe, however, had absolutely no idea what he believed in at present.

He was currently seated in a dingy, dimly lighted room, brooding moodily on his worthless existence. Frustration bubbled at the surface of his consciousness, aching to be released. But he did his best to contain it. For it had been one night ago, just one twenty four hour period ago, that he had been sitting at home in the evening after a very long school day- in the last week of school, mind- helping himself to a bag of popcorn, and flipping on the TV. He and his Internet Digital Service had been perfectly happy, minding their own business, until a call came at his door. The call, in fact, which destroyed his only known way of life.

'Rap, rap, rap.'

Bloody neighbors, Will had thought irritably, as he stood up to find out who the intruder was. Probably someone lost their cat 'princess' and, 'would it be too much trouble if we asked you to keep an eye out for our little baby? Please, just think, she's all alone…'

But at that moment his silent moaning stopped, for before him in the doorway he had just opened was the strangest person- man to be precise- that could ever possibly come to your house at nine at night.

The man was obviously old, but not enough to make him less menacing than he would have been were he in his earlier years. He wore a brown trench coat- which must have been acquired at the man's birth for it too seemed a senior citizen- and held in his hand a thin, ten or so inch piece of wood, in the position it would have been as a cane were it several times larger. However, the part of the man that caught Will's attention most by far was his impossibly abnormal eye, framed by a mangled looking face. It was electric-blue, and about twice the size of any normal eye. It swirled in its socket, flying back and forth, sometimes showing the pupil, sometimes pure blue, sometimes a profile. To say the least, Will was stunned, in shock, awed, amazed, and bewildered.

"Name's Moody. Auror of the Order of the Phoenix, here to inform you of some most unfortunate news," he grunted gutturally, striding into the house. This 'Moody' sat himself down leisurely at the kitchen table, and grabbed a banana from a fruit bowl in the center of it. Peeling away the skin carefully, and, for some reason, sniffing the contents cautiously, Moody started up a polite conversation.

"Nice place you've got here, no dark magic, good, all clear," he commented, twirling his eye around the room. "except… you do know there's a dead bird under your bed, don't you?

Will was still standing by the doorway, unconsciously holding the door open with his left hand. At the mention of the dead bird, he looked up where his room was, and then realized with a yank of stupidity that he couldn't actually see through walls. No one could.

"This eye of mine, here," Moody pointed to his abnormal eye, "it can see through walls, you know. Bloody useful too… by the way forgive the intrusion into your home, but there's a lot you're going to have to get used to in the next 24 hours, so I might as well get you over the shock. "

Then, though Will didn't quite know if he was witnessing what he thought he was witnessing, the old man took his wooden stick, muttered a couple of words, twiddled the stick in some random directions, and a kitchen knife came flying out of the draw behind the man, straight towards Will, and… stopped in midair and began slicing up the banana!

At this, Will screamed. Bloody Murder. Letting the door slam shut, and dropping the piece of popcorn he had been holding the whole time, he bolted for his room, dashed inside, and plopped, panting, on his bed. What's happening? What the hell is happening? Is this guy an act? When are mom and dad going to get back? It better be bloody well soon because I think I'm going mad! Maybe I'll kill myself in my madness and never see mom or dad again and…and…

Had Will listened in Science class during the Brain unit, he would have known that he was going through the stages that one goes through when one is witnessing the impossible. However, Will had not listened in Science the whole year, had nearly flunked the class, and was now utterly unsure of what his reactions were.

First the thoughts of complete disbelief, then searching for some safety in his parents, and then, finding none, he began shaking uncontrollably. He had never thought of himself as weak, or a person easily frightened, but then again, when he was younger, he had always had his parents to assure him it was alright. Nothing had prepared him for an old man barging into the house at night with his parents doing some last minute grocery shopping together (as some strange date) for their tea party the next day. It didn't matter that he was sixteen, he was scared, and he wasn't ashamed.

There came a quiet 'tap' from the door. Will went dead rigid. What was stopping this man, or was he a hallucination, from smashing down his bedroom door with that stick of his, and finishing him off then and there? Nothing! Logic didn't matter to him at the moment.

"Go away, please…"

"Sorry son, no can do, and please don't do anything stupid like jumping your window. It'll just make it worse."

Just make it worse? What does he mean, make my death worse? "I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to…"

"Oh, come on boy, pull yourself together, I'm just a bloody wizard, and you're going to have to get used to it if you're going to be a muggle living in the magical world for the rest of your life!" the man's voice growled with annoyance from the upstairs hallway.

Will shuddered. Wizard? Muggle? Magical world? What was this nonsense? I've... I've gone insane! No, no I'm under control, it's all cool… He's just…just talking nonsense…No! I've gone mad! There's no such thing as magic! I'm bloody mad!

"Boy, if you open the door, I might be able to help you. I won't hurt you. I would have already done that if I'd had wanted to. I've just, just got some bad news to bring to you. But that can wait. First you're going to have to get over the shock. I figured you've got to sometime, and it might as well be sooner than later…maybe, was it the knife thing that scared you? I probably shouldn't've done that… Will?"

My name! He knows my name! No, I've got to calm down, do as the man said, get over the shock. It's not like I have a choice, do I? That's it Will, get over it, it'll make sense in the end, these things always do. Just calm down…Ok. Deeeeep breaths. In, and out, in, and out…

Then, with some hulking effort, Will stood up, shaky still, and walked, slowly, carefully, towards the door that would connect him once again to the man outside it. He grasped the handle firmly, and turning it, opened the door so that just a sliver of light peeked in from the other side. "Please, please, just leave… please…" Will stammered with his last hope of the man leaving.

"Will, I'm sorry. Just bear with me. Pretend that, just for now, that I actually am a wizard, and that I actually do magic. Just for now. Alright? D'you think you could perhaps open the door full? That's right… now, it's rude to leave a man waiting on your door step, I hope you know?"

Will, for some reason, was listening to this old Moody Man, perhaps because there was nothing else to do. Perhaps…perhaps, it was…magic. He stood aside and let him in.

"Thank you kindly. Now if you'll take a seat on your bed, I'll try and break some… bad news to you," Moody suggested gruffly, pulling out Will's desk chair and seating his own aged figure on it. Will took his suggestion as an order and plunked onto his bed.

"Well, that's better. Now I'm talking to you man to man, so don't expect much sympathy from me. I'm not good with kids. That's just fact as you'll soon see. Now, your folks went out to shop right?" Will nodded dumbly. "And they told you they were coming back in a couple of hours, right?" Same dumb nod. "Well, son, and don't get me wrong I tried to stop it, but… they're gone… I'm sorry."

"Um, where'd they go?" asked Will, not terrified any longer, just dead scared, but not sure what Moody was getting at.

Moody stared at him for a moment. Then, "What d'you mean where'd they go?" Pause. "Ooooh. I suppose I worded that wrong. Son, I meant to say they're… gone dead. Passed on. Death Eaters, bad magical folk, killed them. Afterlife, that's where they went… sorry."

It was Wills turn to stare. No, that was impossible. He didn't just say that. He's, he's messing with me. HE HAS TO BE! "THEY'RE NOT DEAD!"

"Son, I told you, I'm not good with the sympathy thing. That's one class I didn't pass. Death happens every minute, and if it happens to you or someone you know, tough luck. All I know how to say is 'I'm sorry,' and that's only because Tonks told me. Even she knows I can't go beyond that. Actually, the only reason I was told to break it to you was because I have hardly any feelings and they thought, although it would be harder on you in the beginning, you'll need a 'strong figure in your life' to get you through this… I…"

But Moody had stopped talking, because he suddenly noticed that Will had broken into a fit of tears and yelling, and cursing his damn existence, and more tears, and some screaming. "I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING AND ALL YOUR LIVES! DAMN YOU MOODY! YOU AND YOUR BLOODY WOODEN STICK AND ALL YOUR BLOODY WIZARD FRIENDS! JUST DIE! DIE! I HATE YOU!" and he lunged at Moody, but was thrown back onto the bed where he collapsed in a heap of tears.

"Well," growled Moody, "I expected you to take it at least a bit better than that. But… at least it's not bottled up. I'll… er… leave it to you than shall I? Right, well, I'll be downstairs." And he left closing the door quietly behind him.

Will, frustrated beyond any form of imagination, utterly wiped out from his mindless ranting, and filled to overflowing with despair, sobbed his very heart dry, until no more tears could be found in him, and then surrendered to the sleep that so clawed at his soaking wet eyes.

Will blinked, feeling his eyes crested with dried tears. He sat up, and fell back down on the bed, letting out a few more tears that seemed to have replenished themselves during his sleep. He had had a fitful sleep, and nightmares of his parents being torn in half again and again, and screaming that they wanted to stay still flashed vividly in his mind, their voices echoing solemnly through his ears. He felt horrible, as if he'd been washed and wrung out to dry, and then caned silly. He let out a moan of anguish. He was sure he'd die, he wanted to die, but he couldn't. The thought had crossed his mind that Moody had been lying, but somehow that didn't seem very realistic. On the other hand however, magical people didn't seem very realistic either. But that was one to many worries. One thing at a time. First: Parents. They're dead.

Ok, so my life is gone, I've got no other relatives, and even if Uncle Gerald wasn't killed in one of his mad lab experiments, I'd go with that damn Moody before him…I'm never going to see them again, am I? Not mum, not dad… And the last thing I said to them was 'could you get some Walkers Crisps?'! Not even a proper goodbye…I want to drop dead right now, and that's what I'd do if I had the will power. But I don't.

He looked solemnly at his pocket knife lying on his bedside table. But I can't. I know I won't…Damn it all. I'd better do something though, wash my face, go talk to Moody even though I hate that bastard to the bone. If he's still there… what's the time anyway? It's still dark out…The digital clock on his desk showed 4:56 A.M. July 18.

I'll wash my face. Yeah. At least that's something to do. Will got up silently, and walked down the dark upstairs hallway, feeling, at that moment, worse than he had ever felt in his life before. He walked past his parents' bedroom, remembering with another moan of despair that they would never again be woken up as he walked to the bathroom as a little child; he would never again feel their loving concern for him as he told them all he needed to do was go to the bathroom, that he was fine. Now, for one of the few times he wasn't actually fine, the only time he needed their help, they weren't there. They were gone. Forever.

Will flick on the bathroom light on automatically, and went to the sink. He stared at his reflection, and depression stared back at him. The cold water ran over his face but it felt like dust, everything felt like dust. The towel, the door handle, the hallway floor, the creaking steps, the stair railing, everything was blank. Even color was denied to them in these early hours of the morning.

A light was coming from the kitchen; two voices came from inside. One unmistakably belonged to Moody. The other seemed to be from a woman, much younger, but still threaded with wariness. Will paused outside the door, hoping, with the childish instinct that he still somewhat held on to, to catch a word or two of their conversation before he made his presence known. For a moment he heard, "think reasonably, Mad-Eye, what…" but then Will knew he was caught. Damn that bloody eye. The voices stopped, and then came Moody's growl.

"Get in here boy, I know you're there." Will walked in not really caring that he had been found. What did it matter that he was losing these people's respect? Nothing mattered. He walked in.

"Oh, Mad-Eye, don't be so hard on the poor thing! For goodness sake he's just lost both his parents, and you're growling at him! I knew we never should have sent you. Remus and his 'strong individual in his life' idea. I would have gladly gone! Not that I wanted to break it to you, Will dear, it's just that, well, Mad-Eye's a bit… blunt. I'm Tonks by the way. Nice to meet you." A woman in her late twenties sat before Will. Bright pink hair spiked up out of her scalp, framing a high jaw lined face. Were Will not in depression and were about fifteen years older, and the ring on her finger were not in existence, he might have considered asking her out. She stuck out her hand to shake. Will ignored it and sat down.

"Will, we truly are very sorry about what's happened. We know it's traumatic… we…" Tonks trailed off, apparently not being able to find anything comforting to say. The three of them sat there for a minute or two, each in their own world of thought. Moody just stared blankly at the fruit bowl, his emotions, or what there were of them, impossible to read. Tonks shot nervous glances at Will every so often, as if she was worried she had made a bad impression. Will just sat, trying, and failing, not to think of anything at all. But it was impossible. Everything reminded him of them, the knives his mum used to cut the vegetables with, the old newspapers that his dad used to read, folded neatly on the counter. Maybe he didn't even read that edition, thought Will; I'll never know, will I…?

Tonks's would-be-calm voice broke the silence. "Well, sun's coming up. We should probably be off to headquarters soon, but, I mean, don't rush or anything. Just take your time."

"I'm leaving with you?" Will rasped, finding shouting-worn voice.

"Well, yes, I mean, what did you think was going to happen to you?" said Tonks, confused. "We can't have you living here all by yourself, can we? You don't have any relatives to go to, so it's only logical that you'd come with us."

"How do you know I don't have any relatives? And what about a will? Didn't they say who I'd live with if they d-…weren't there?" Will's voice shook, tears threatening to take him.

"Well, first off, you're going to have to get used to the system of the Ministry of Magic." Will shoot her a look of disbelief. "Yes, there's a Ministry of Magic, run by the Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. An odd man, I'd say. But at least he's doing better than his bloody predecessor Fudge. Anyway, they can track where magic is being done anywhere in the world, at any time. They also, and don't ask me how because I don't know, can track anyone's background. Magical or Muggle. You're a Muggle, a non-magic person. So they tracked your background, and it looks like your only other relative is your late uncle Gerald. Now, as for the will, the Ministry has some way of looking into that as well, and they found, unfortunately, that your uncle Gerald was your Godfather, and since he's died so recently, they didn't get around to changing it. So basically your options are that you can come live in the magical world, or we erase your memory of magic, make up some car accident for your parents death and erase the memory of the Death Eaters, and have you live with one of your friend's family. I was sort of assuming you'd choose the first, but I guess… it's up to you."

Her voice the whole time had been very matter of fact, but he could tell she felt the tension, due to the slight drooping and graying of her pink spiked hair. Will knew it would probably be really hard for them to get the family thing set up without difficult questions asked. He knew they would much rather he lived in the magical world. But it was Will's choice. Finally, somebody was asking him what he wanted to do. So what am I going to answer? Does it really matter? No. But…if I've got to have a future, I suppose this is a major decision. Then a thought struck him. Death Eaters. They killed my parents, right? It was them that ended the only life I've known. It was the bloody Death Eaters. The bad magic folk. So… if I get my memory erased, not only does it make it impossible to avenge mum and dad, I won't even remember the cause of their death! They'll make me think it was a bloody car accident! Well that's not being very true to them, is it? Doesn't really leave me with much choice, does it? No. I've only got one choice.


"I guess…I guess I'll go with you… and…yeah." Will said, though not with an abundance of enthusiasm.

Moody, who hadn't said a word the whole time, piped in. "Look kid, you might like to know that it's not going to be a walk in the park, taking down a Death Eater. Sure, we'll train you up good to protect yourself, but don't just go gallivanting of to avenge your parents. You are a Muggle after all."

"I…I wasn't…"

"Yes you were, I could-" But at that moment he was cut off.

"Mad-Eye! How many times? It's common courtesy not to scare someone out of their wits every time you speak!" She sighed, and turned to Will. "Well, I'm glad you've decided to come with us, because I don't know if we could've actually set you up with another family," I was right, thought Will, "but before we go, before you pack, we've got some explaining to do."

A/N You like it? I repeat: Will won't be a muggle the whole story, probably just another couple of chapters. Please review, criticize, just no unsupported flaming. FLAMING IS BAD. Thank you.