Martin Redbush

Martin Redbush was lonely. He didn't quite understand that he was lonely, as he would have needed to have been not lonely before in order to understand what the name for the feeling was. For now he just had this tremendous urge inside him telling him he needed to be with someone new.

It wasn't that Martin was alone. He had a mother and a father who both loved him dearly. He spent every day with at least one of them. But they were the only ones Martin spent time with.

They lived in a small building on Foula Island in the Atlantic Ocean. A stranger would call it by a size-descriptive name like 'hut'. Seeing as there had never been a stranger near the place in all of his life, Martin had always called the building by the simple name of 'home'. He had heard his parents occasionally call it 'The Clock Face' but since they had never done so consistently enough, it didn't mean much to Martin.

Ever since Martin could remember his father had disappeared for a short time each day. After breakfast he'd announce he would have to leave soon, and shortly Mom was kissing Dad, and then Martin was hugging Dad, and then Dad would walk outside the door and be gone. Being just a little boy at the time meant that Martin had no concept of how long Dad was gone, just that sooner or later the door would open and Dad would walk back in. Seeing as the time in-between Dad needing to leave and Dad coming back was time Martin would spend with just his Mom, there was no need to measure and count the time apart.

The time passed anyways, measured only in periods of wake and sleep. Martin at such a young age had not been exposed to the concept of calendars that mapped out the waking periods of his existence. He didn't really understand the concept of clocks that mapped out a single waking period for his parents, even though there was one such device in the family room of home.

Time passed and changes happened.

Dad moved out. Not having had other people to talk to, or listen to, or to observe from hiding, Martin never got the impression that his parents were 'separating' on their way to 'divorce'. He never felt there was anything wrong with the way things changed, as he had no means to compare his life with anyone else's. Things change, and they were just meant to.

Dad was gone for a bunch of waking periods, that his parents were trying to convince him were called 'days'. Martin was happy, because that meant he could spend time with Mom doing Mom & Martin things. Mom was acting normal, so Martin knew that things were the way they were supposed to be.

Then Dad came home. Martin was happy to see Dad some more, and played with Mom and Dad a lot. Mom even made a special supper with a sweet tasting dessert that had four lights flying above it. Dad stayed a whole seven 'days', and then asked Martin if he was ready to leave.

Leave? Dad left, then came back. Dad left for days, then came back. So if I leave, then I'll come back.

Martin's decision came fast as he digested this. He could leave and come back, just like Dad.

So Dad and Martin stepped outside the door, and Martin held onto Dad's hand really tight, just like Dad told him to. Dad pulled Martin forward and everything changed. The world went black and squeezed little Martin tight, and then he spun around and nothing was the same.

Dad turned him around and they went in the door of a building that was standing just where home had been when Martin took Dad's hand. "Welcome to Clock Works, Martin," Dad said.

It turned out that Dad lived at Clock Works when he wasn't living at home. Martin went inside with Dad and spent seven days with just Dad. Seeing as he usually spent time with 'just Mom' this wasn't too hard for Martin to get used to.

Dad spent the seven days getting Martin comfortable, and setting him up with small chores to do. Now instead of playing each waking time, he would clean his room, help with the laundry and do some easy cooking. After the sun was at its highest he would help Dad do things in the place called the Workroom.

He was never in the workroom unless Dad was with him. That was a big rule Dad made to keep Martin safe. Dad showed him how to do new things in the workroom, but the second big rule was that he could only do them in the workroom.

Martin had fun with Dad during the seven days he stayed at the Clock Works. He made games out of the things Dad showed him how to do. For example, he would try to see how fast he could sort the pieces of metal that Dad gave him. While it was fun by itself to say 'Wingardium Leviosa' and watch the pieces float through the air and into the different bins, it was more fun making the pieces spin and turn on the way in. Or maybe he'd try making them bounce off of other things on the way up. Either way, he could find some kind of game to make it more interesting.

At the end of the seven days Dad asked Martin if he was ready to go see Mom. Martin was definitely pleased to hear that. Now he could 'come back' just like Dad. In a rush so much like a blur he was at the front door waiting for Dad to finish closing up the Clock Works so they could come back home. Finally the two of them stepped outside the door and Martin reached up to take his Dad's hand.

Dad wasn't ready yet. Dad reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small device on a metal string and placed it around his own neck. He then grabbed the centre piece of it and twisted it up and down around a metal pivot (although Martin was too young to understand 'pivot' yet). He then reached down for Martin's hand, and then released the device. The world went strange again, only this time it went blurry and flashed between sun and dark times.

When the world stopped being blurry, and flashing too, Dad pulled Martin forward and everything changed. The world went black and squeezed little Martin tight, and then he spun around and nothing was the same, even though Martin knew the world again. They were in the backyard at home, or as Dad called it, The Clock Face. Dad told Martin that he would be back in a week. Martin didn't understand yet what a week was, but was happy that Dad was going to 'come back'. He ran into the house to find Mom, leaving Dad outside the door to leave.

Mom and Martin had the whole house to themselves for another seven days, and then Dad was there at breakfast again. Martin started to realize that one week was seven days, and his little self couldn't help but grin as he told his mother of his new understanding.

Dad stayed with Martin and Mom for a week, and then asked Martin yet again if he was ready to leave. Of course the little boy said yes, and off they went in the big squeezing blackness.

This became the pattern for the family. Martin would spend a week with only Mom, and then a week with both Mom and Dad, and then leave Clock Face to spend a week with only Dad at Clock Works. While at Clock Face he would play and learn the things Mom wanted him to learn, and then he would go to Clock Works and learn to make things happen when he waved his hand in the Workroom.

Time passed and changes happened.

The weather changed from mostly sunny and warm, to cool and cloudy, and then to cold and grey. Snows fell, giving Martin yet another label to his collection of separators in the periods of his life. It had only been six months (a term the boy had not sorted out yet) since his Dad first took him to Clock Works. He remembered the cold white stuff from before Clock Works, but time was vague and meaningless before that wonderful change.

Martin started noticing his clothes were getting smaller, and then they were replaced with larger, thicker ones. His parents never said why this was happening, so the lad just accepted it as normal, just like so many other things in his life.

Martin also noticed that Clock Works was even colder than Clock Face. When he asked his Dad about this, Dad explained that his house was farther out into the ocean than Mom's house. This led to a wonderful talk with Dad about the two houses. While Martin didn't understand everything, he remembered Dad saying that Clock Face was on an island called Foula Island while Clock Works was part of an island group called the Faroe Islands. He also said the two islands were so far apart that it was only Dad's leaving magic that let them visit both houses. (The leaving magic was called 'aprateen' as far as Martin could remember.)

This talk had convinced Dad (or so he said) that if Martin was old enough to start asking his own questions, he was old enough to learn more. The next day (since they were still in a Dad & Martin week) Dad showed his son how to cook a special drink. Dad said that this was covered by the rule about only doing the special things in the workroom.

They continued in this manner for many weeks. He'd spend a week with Dad learning how to be a helper in Dad's chores, and then a week being Mom's little boy, and then a week with both Mom and Dad. He loved all three times of his life, and if he had been told to choose which one he would have forever he would have died from the struggle of making a choice.

Then there was the magical day when the snows were deep around the Clock Works that Dad made a special meal with a sweet tasting dessert only instead of the four lights that Mom put on hers, Dad had put five. Dad had games for the two of them to play, and no work got done while the two of them had fun. The following day it was back to life as usual for the two of them, and soon time to stay with Mom again.

And time passed and changes happened.

It got warmer out, at the Clock Face at least. The trees grew leaves and the flowers bloomed. Mom stopped letting him play all the time. Instead he helped her in the gardens and woods. She taught him how to make things grow, how to help them spread, and even when to stop them from doing both. He learned which plants would help with the scraped knees little boys get, which ones stopped a bug bite from hurting, and which ones would give him an ache in his stomach if he ate them.

Meanwhile Dad was adding to the things he taught him also. Martin made spare parts for Dad's projects in the workroom; at first by reshaping old pieces laying around. Then Dad taught him to take a small piece of wood and make a metal nail out of it.

One morning when the season was warm (Martin was just learning to call it summer) Mom made a special supper with a fancy dessert that had five lights floating over it. It was a Mom & Dad & Martin week so they all shared the special food. That night Mom and Dad both let Martin stay up later than he normally did.

They lay outside on the grassy hill. They stared at the sky and the twirling specks called stars. The rest of the summer he stayed up an hour later than he had before the meal with the five floating lights, spending the extra time watching the stars both at Clock Face and Clock Works.

By the time the trees dropped their leaves and the flowers lost their colours, Martin knew the major constellations and many of the minor ones. He knew by the sky whether he was at Face or Works. He also knew his four seasons, beyond just hot and cold. Hot was called Summer, Cold was Winter. The times between were Spring and Fall. He remembered that Spring was Green Leaves and Fall was what happened to the leaves. His parents had even started discussing something called months.

Months were more confusing than any of the other time-dividers for Martin. For some reason Mom and Dad couldn't remember them easily. Sometimes Mom would say 'A month is four weeks', and then Dad would correct her. Or Dad would say 'There are thirty days in April', and Mom would stop him. How could Martin ever understand this if his parents couldn't even agree on what a month was?

But then in late Fall, when only a few trees still had any leaves hanging on them, Dad made him another special meal with a rich and tasty dessert. This time it had six lights floating above it. And Martin was given a pet. Since this was the first creature that he had seen that he was allowed to see close enough to touch Martin promptly forgot about his problems with months and spent the rest of his week with Dad learning to take care of the small bird.

He learned the small green thing was called an Augurey, and ate flying things smaller than itself. His Dad helped him to build a small nest similar to what its mother would have made for it and hang it in the bushes outside his window at Clock Works. When asked why the small creature's mother didn't make a nest for it herself, Dad replied that the mother died when a tree fell on its bush, leaving his pet without anyone to take care of it.

Martin named his pet Leaf. Before you complain how plain and common a name that is for a pet, remember that young Martin had to this point not encountered so much as a stranger in his life, leaving him only with the more common words to use as labels for something as special as his first pet. To him Green meant spring, and life, and growing. The green bird would be his life as Fall turned to Winter.

And Dad used the gift of Leaf to start Martin in his studies of the animal life around both Clock Face and Clock Works. Part of the evening would have them watching Leaf to see the animals he would go near, which he avoided, and which he ate. Then they would watch the animals he would avoid, and together figure out why they were avoided.

At Clock Face they continued the lessons in the week before Martin returned to his Dad's house. Since Leaf wasn't there to attract the attentions of the local creatures, they instead watched the ones in Mom's gardens. Which ones ate the plants, which ones avoided them, which ones ate the things that ate the plants. Mom took note and included the animals in her lessons in the garden, mentioning these same things as they worked. Martin noticed almost at once that Mom knew more about animals in the garden than Dad!

Time passed and changes happened.

The winter came and went. The spring came and went. By Summer Martin had outgrew his clothes again and again, growing 'like a weed' according to his mother. Having helped in the garden last summer he knew what she meant for real.

In the beginning of summer Dad made the special meal with a sweet tasting dessert again. This time he had seven lights floating above it. The next day Mom also made a special meal with a sweet tasting dessert, only hers had six lights.

His parents continued to teach him more knowledge of the world around him. They continued adding new subjects as they became practical. Then Dad let him use his special skills outside of the Work Room, but still only at Clock Works.

And time passed and changes happened.

Martin came to realize that every time Mom or Dad made a special meal with a sweet tasting dessert, they added an extra light to the ones they had on it the time before. He also came to realize that Mom only made the dessert in the beginning of summer, while Dad made them more often.

He still had trouble understanding months. He had tried for a while to count the days when his parents said a month was starting or ending. By the time the month was gone so was Martin's count of the days, as he had more to concern himself with than measuring the passing of time. The closest he came was deciding there were twenty weeks in a season, and even that was a guess since the season didn't seem to start or end all at once.

During the middle of the third winter since Martin had figured out what they were his parents began to act strangely.

They still lived in the two houses, the one on Foula Island and the one in the Faroe Islands. Martin still spent a week with both parents at Clock Face, followed by a week with Dad at Clock Works, and then a week with Mom back at Clock Face. He studied his lessons even if he didn't realize they were lessons (they were just what he needed to know to help his parents, he thought). And he continued to outgrow his clothes all the time. Last summer his Mom had made the dessert with eight lights, and Dad had waited two days before making one with ten.

Now in the middle of winter Mom and Dad were jumpy. There was no other word in Martin's limited vocabulary. They twitched and moved like a long-legged insect when it found Leaf right behind it. Only Leaf wasn't causing his parents to be jumpy.

But whatever was causing it they would hear a noise and jump out of their chair to stare out the window. They would see a shadow on the hilltop and stop and stare at the sky. Even Martin putting a hand on their shoulder, or coming around a corner, would make them stare elsewhere for a few moments.

Since his parents wouldn't tell him what was wrong, Martin just continued on with his lessons and chores. He would play in his free time and sleep soundly at night, secure in the knowledge that whatever was making his parents jumpy, they would handle it themselves.

By Spring his parents had calmed down, and would only jump when they were distracted. Their life continued as it had for the last four winters and summers. Clock Face and Clock Works stayed the central focus for Martin's schooling, chores, and entertainment.

By summer the jumpiness returned slightly, but was gone again before Fall set in. And that Summer Mom used nine lights and that Fall Dad used twelve lights over the special dessert. All three of them enjoyed both parties.

And time passed and changes happened.

Martin was growing older and his brain was moving faster. He made connections that he never saw before.

Dad used the skills he taught at Clock Works. Dad used the skills that he taught at Clock Works while at Clock Works. Dad didn't use them at Clock Face unless he thought Martin wouldn't see him. Mom never used the skills he had learned at home. Mom had never been to Clock Works.

Did Mom even know that Dad and their son had skills that she didn't? Is that why Dad made rules about where Martin could use the skills that made his chores easier?

The new connections made him question his family's life, but didn't give him the confidence to ask his mother about them. The new connections did help him ask his father about the things that Dad did at Clock Works. What the items in the Work Room were, how they meshed together to function right, and most importantly why Dad made them.

For the first time in his life, Martin was told that there were other people in the world. That people lived that were not at Clock Face or Clock Works. The items Dad made were used by these other people to make their lives easier. For Dad made clocks for people who needed to divide the time that they had between their families and their work and their play.

Clocks divide. Most clocks divide now from them. Some clocks would divide the seasons into months. Some would divide months into weeks or days. Other clocks divided the time that was to come, telling those who read them that they needed to be away soon. Then there were the special clocks. They divide here from there. Those who read them saw that they were here, but were supposed to be there. Or that their loved ones were there but moving to here.

When you had a clock and knew how to read it your life was divided. That's what Martin took from his father's description. But because Martin asked, Dad answered. And his answer was to tell his son more about his work while giving more of it to Martin. His chores and lessons got more complex.

Martin was growing older and his body started changing. By the time his father put his thirteenth light on his dessert his legs were growing faster than his chest. By the time his mother gave him a dessert with ten lights only a week later, he noticed hair was growing on his body, in places he had never had it before.

And when he had finally gathered enough courage to ask his mother what was wrong with him three weeks later, she somehow managed to summon Dad back from Clock Works three days early to talk to him about it.

Time happened and things changed.

The following winter Dad put fourteen lights over the dessert.

He spoke to Martin often of the people who bought the clocks. He described their appearance, but his son could never grasp them in his head. He described their personality and their quirks. Martin had only his parents to compare them with, and so missed most of the reasoning for his father's emotions.

What Martin did connect with he couldn't describe. The more Dad talked about those who bought the clocks the harder it was for Martin to continue staying on his parents' two islands. He had a need, an urge to go and see these people that his Dad talked about. This longing grew stronger the closer to Summer that he got.

It also grew difficult at night.

He had dreams he didn't understand. He had strange new moistures exploding out of his body while he slept. He had no desire to discuss these problems with either of his parents.

Instead he would insist on helping do the laundry. He spent a lot of time exploring the woods around his two homes. He worked hard to wear himself out so when he went to bed he wouldn't have the energy to dream, or to explode.

Then Summer came and Mom made his dessert with the eleven candles on it. It was a Mom & Dad & Martin week and they all played games until dark. Martin went to bed and exploded before morning.

And things changed.

At breakfast there was a tapping sound at the window. Turning his head Martin saw an owl sitting on the ledge, tapping the window with its beak. Before he could say anything his parents' jumpiness from two summers before returned. His mother shoved her hands into her face to stifle the moan that he already heard coming out, and his father had jumped up and ran for the front door.

As Martin sat there in shock he saw his father behind the grey bird, removing something from its ankle. The bird flew off as soon as the item was removed.

Dad came in and handed the item to his son. Having learned to read in order to help Dad with his clock-making, Martin looked at the paper item and deciphered the strange writing.

Mr M Redbush
Smallest Bedroom
The Clock Face
Foula Island
Shetland Islands
Scotland

He turned the thing over in his hands twice. Was this just a label that got lost from the package?

Finally he looked up at his parents. His mother said, "Aren't you going to open it?"

"Open it?" he replied. Looking down at it again he saw faint lines where two pieces of paper had been pressed together tightly. Studying them more closely he found a loose patch where he just might slip a fingernail in-between. He started gently prising the paper apart when his Dad cleared his throat.

"Let me help you, son." Dad took the paper and picked up a knife off of the table. Sliding the knife across the top of the paper, he cut through it so the pages came apart. He then handed the envelope back to Martin and let him pull out the paper inside.

And Time passed.

Martin found out he was known as a Wizard. His father told him of the great school he would be going to, by the name of Hogwarts. His lessons continued, his changing houses continued, and his yearning to be away grew as he now had someplace to actually go.

His second letter came, the one with the list of supplies he would need. The listed items confused Martin until his father went through it line by line with him. Even then there were questions. Could Leaf substitute for an Owl? Could silver scales be substituted for the brass ones? Dad just said he would write to the school with the questions, and then purchase the necessary items when he got a response.

Then Dad had taken Martin to Clock Works one morning in the middle of a Mom & Martin week. Instead of going into the Work Room they sat at the kitchen table while Dad had 'the talk' with his son. No, not the talk about the strange dreams and explosions. This talk was about clocks and calendars and why Martin had so many problems understanding months.

Martin had been born eleven calendar years before to Tern Redbush and his wife Ellen. While discussing their son's future they came upon a plan to help him become more powerful magically than others his age. They had determined that the British Ministry of Magic had worked hard at reducing the magical strength of children with the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. In order to get around that they agreed to live in separate houses, one in Scotland under the legal control of the Ministry of Magic, the other in the Faroe Islands under the legal control of Denmark. By doing so they felt they could train him in his magic as soon as it appeared, instead of waiting for almost seven years after most children start using unintentional magic. That was why he had only been allowed to use magic at the Clock Works.

The other part of their plan was to prevent the discovery of their plan by the use of one of Tern's magical items - a time turner. As Martin had realized when leaving the Clock Works for the first time, the world blurred and flashed before Dad had apparated to the Clock Face. This was because the time turner took them back in time to an hour after they left for the Clock Works. They always arrived in the backyard so Martin wouldn't accidentally see himself if they wound the time turner too many times. In order to keep everyone safe Martin had to promise not to discuss time turners and his magical training with anyone. After receiving the promise, Tern continued on.

He had been able to purchase the complete supplies list except for one item. In order to finish the list, Martin needed a wand. Since purchasing one inside the Ministry of Magic's domain would raise questions, Tern had arranged to barter for one with a client of his, a licensed wandmaker on a neighbouring island.

They left that lunchtime by apparation to the town of Vikar, where the wandmaker lived. Martin was incredibly nervous, as this was the first person not of his family he would ever meet. His Dad had him wear a cloak with a deep hood so he could hide his reactions to the new surroundings.

The town was small by our standards, but to Martin it was shocking. Houses close enough together he imagined you could see out of your own windows and into someone else's. Groups of five or ten people all in the same spot. Plate glass windows with assorted items displayed on the other side. He grabbed his Dad's hand for comfort in the face of so many strange things at once.

They went directly to the shop where Dad had set up the meeting. Once there, he said hello to the man inside, and then the man locked the door and pulled the shades. Dad introduced Martin to the man, and the man was introduced as Mr Dracosian. Mr Dracosian led Martin to the back of the shop and proceeded to ask him to perform a Lumos spell and hold his hand over various pieces of wood. When Martin did so without speaking, the wandmaker giggled nervously.

Noticing that the Lumos light shone brighter when held over the rowan wood, Dracosian picked up a few pieces and set them aside. Martin then moved his hand over the individual pieces of rowan and the one that glowed brightest was set aside. The wandmaker then asked the hooded boy to repeat the process over the different cores available. This time the light increased as it passed over two separate items, the seal whisker and the Augurey feather. Murmuring slightly, samples of each of the two core types were laid out for Martin to pick from. Finally the two cores were set with the wood by Dracosian.

The wandmaker let out a small gasp as Martin's Lumos flared blue-white as it passed near a gold nugget set on the corner of the worktable. Metal was only used in a wand to hold it together if great power was to be channelled through it. Setting the gold with the other items, he told Tern and Martin that the wand would be ready in two days.

Two days later Tern and Martin apparated back to Vikar and went directly to Mr Dracosian's shop. Upon entering they greeted the owner and watched as he not only closed the blinds and locked the door, but also set up privacy wards. Mr Dracosian went into the back and brought out a casket of carved stone and set it on the table in front of Martin. Tern also brought out a package and set it beside the stone box. The wandmaker motioned for Martin to open the casket and try out the wand.

The hooded boy lifted the lid and stared in awe at the wand that lay there: Fifteen inches long and polished to a white sheen. A quarter inch band of gold circling each end, with a third one five inches from the base. Lifting it up he saw the Augurey feather at the centre of the base of the wand, and looking closer he saw the end of the hair that must have been the seal whisker. Looking at the tip he saw the whisker in the middle, with the Augurey feather tip surrounding it like a crown.

Mr Dracosian explained that this wand was unique in those he had made for eleven year olds. Most wands had only a single core, usually associated with the magical talents the child was strongest in at the time. Martin's two cores were both associated with forms of water magic, not surprising as he had lived on an island his whole life. The seal whiskers gave safety from water's dangers (drowning, erosion, and more), while the Augurey feather helped with controlling water (making rain, creating tides, and more). The metal bands kept the rowan from exploding as Martin's power surged through the wood and at the same time focused the power into a purer form. Seeing as three bands were required, Martin would be quite powerful for just starting out, and would be even more powerful as time passed.

At his Dad's urging, he turned and faced a corner and said a silent Lumos. Both Tern and Dracosian shielded their eyes from the glare. He then saw a rack against the wall and did a silent Levioso spell on it. The rack, easily 75 pounds in weight, floated up until it touched the ceiling. He set it back down.

It took Tern five minutes to convince Martin to put the wand back in the casket until they got home.

Time passed.

Martin proudly showed his mother the marvellous wand he had received, and was surprised by her lack of enthusiasm. Since by the laws of the Ministry he couldn't even show her what he could do with it, he supposed that once he returned he could demonstrate and get a better reaction. That settled in his mind, he sat down to enjoy his dessert with the no flying lights.

Time passed and the big day arrived.

He got up early and finished his chores for the day. He went over his trunks and bags to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He triple-checked the owl cage his Dad had bought and made sure the nest hung freely in the centre for Leaf. He finally made it in for breakfast only to find out he was early for that too.

Time passed and by lunchtime his early rising and nervousness combined to sap his strength. He lay down for a quick nap, only to be woken by his Mom five hours later. His Dad helped him get everything together and ready to leave.

Leave. And come back. Dad would Leave and Come Back. When I first was taken to Clock Works I would leave and come back. It's time for me to leave as a boy, and come back as a Wizard.

These thoughts calmed him as Dad stood with his arm around his shoulders on the front walk. He took a deep breath and Dad did the leaving magic as he always did.

They arrived in a place called Hogsmeade, near a train station. As before when he travelled away from home for the first time he wore his hood up covering his face, and by unspoken agreement he stayed close to his Dad's side.

Looking around he saw several other families at the depot, waiting for the big city students to arrive on the train. Curiously, he couldn't find any students his age. Almost every family had children about four and a half feet tall. Some had smaller siblings but none had anyone close to his own five and three quarter feet. Was there a different meeting place for the students?

Turning to ask his father his question he noticed that Dad was also eyeing the other families. What was going on?

Suddenly the train whistle blew, making both Martin and Tern jump in their shoes, earning them both a scolding from Leaf on his master's shoulder. Chuckling nervously, they smiled at each other, and then settled down for the train to empty. As it pulled into the station a giant of a man, easily as big compared to Dad as Martin was to the oldest children of the other families, strode out of the depot. He started shouting for the 'first-years' to come stand by him.

Realizing that meant him, Martin gave his Dad one last hug and pulled his trunks over to stand by the staff member.

"Sorry, lad. I'm collect'n th' first years. If ye'd foll' the students from ye house..." the large man said.

"I am a first year, sir. My first time away from my parents, truth be told."

Martin's calm response had the man taking a careful look at him. "Wouldn't happen to have any giants' blood in ya, would ye?" came the casual reply.

"Not that I've been told. You mean there really are giants?" Martin answered hopefully, "And are saying those little guys coming this way are really eleven like me?"

"Pretty smart for a first year, lad. Stay by me until we get this figured out, let 'em think yo'r my asst'nt."

Martin grinned broadly, "I like that plan, sir."

The story worked, and Martin made it from the train depot to the boats, and from there to the castle without anyone realizing he was one of them. He helped the giant man, Hagrid, guide the other first years, and corralled a smartalec or two, until finally there was no way to hide it.

They were left at the doors in the hands of a witch who looked decidedly... short. She introduced herself as Professor Sprout, and almost immediately told Martin to get inside with his house. It took him almost five minutes to convince her he didn't understand 'house' in this context (though he wasn't sure of his use of context, either). She ran out of time, and in order to keep things moving she had him enter the great hall with the rest.

The startled whispers in the hall as he entered made him freeze for a moment. Realizing that it was because he stood head and shoulders, and then some, above the rest of his year-mates broke him free and he hoped he hadn't bottlenecked the line too long.

Too nervous from the huge quantities of people all around him, he didn't look too closely at the wondrous sights in the great hall. Instead he focused on Hagrid up at the table in front, leaning over to talk to a severe looking witch seated in the centre of the table.

Shortly she stood up and said several things; it was hard for him to hear her over the whispered conversations going on around him and the blood pounding in his ears. At her instruction a stool was brought out and a hat placed on it.

Martin looked strangely at the hat, and then jumped when it started to sing. Again circumstances kept him from hearing the song clearly, but a hat that sings?

Before he knew it the teachers were calling up the first years one by one. The student would sit on the stool and the hat would be placed on his head, and then the hat would say which house you would stay in while at Hogwarts.

Finally it was his turn. He slowly approached the stool and sat down. He felt the hat being placed on his head, and then heard a voice in his mind.

"Hmm, what do we have here? Lots of learning. You've been taught well, maybe Ravenclaw I should yell. Not a drive to always win, I'm not thinking Slytherin. Brave and willing to fight no matter the score? Maybe you'll be a Gryffindor. Ah I see you prefer creating stuff I will make you..." The voice in his head went silent, only to be continued aloud in his ears... "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Department of Mysteries Notes on Martin Redbush

The DoM agent in charge of investigating this file had the following comments.

Tern and Ellen Redbush found a valid, even legal, loophole around the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. As the Decree was made by the British Ministry of Magic, it can only be enforced for magic performed within the area governed by the BMoM. Thus their reasoning on the dual homesites was both logical and understandable. However, as the Decree specifies that it applies to Wizarding children using a wand, and wands are not permitted to be sold for the use of children under the age of eleven, the Redbush family did not necessarily need to take their son out of the country for his magical training, especially as they exclusively encouraged his wandless magic.

As for the secondary matter of the use of the time turner to disguise their lifestyle: This case demonstrates a known hazard of frequent and long-term use of a time turner. Martin was four years old when his father first used the turner with him in tow. He then spent one week with his father, the same week with his mother, and then the second week with both parents. While there appears to be no long-term physical side effects of the prolonged use of the turner, the psychological effects are just starting to develop.

As the file indicates, in between his chronological 11th birthday of June 4, 2011 and his entering Hogwarts on September 1, 2011, Martin celebrated his actual 15th birthday. This indicates a boy with adolescent hormonal surges and desires is being housed with pre-adolescent students who have no understanding of the differences in their psychology and nothing in common with Martin, which will no doubt lead to an increasing isolation from his classmates, and a potentially dangerous tendency to socialize with the classes ahead of him in an attempt to feel normal.

My recommendation: Given both the temporal peculiarities of M Redbush's development and the power levels his wand would indicate he is capable of (not to mention the wandless magic he performs) I recommend keeping close watch on the boy for the next year. If his isolated upbringing interferes with his acceptance into the social structure of Hogwarts, offer homeschooling of him, and annual OWL and or NEWT testing to gauge his true potential. Upon successfully passing his NEWTs either at Hogwarts or through private study he should be approached to become an Unspeakable.

Unspeakable Thomas

Department of Mysteries