The hulking man scrutinized them for a moment, his beetle black eyes narrowing in suspicion as he stared at them. Clark couldn't help the hard swallow or the slight vacillating he did as he got ready for whatever this man might do. He had never seen a man that massive before, and he'd encountered his fair share of weirdness, what with all the meteor freaks he'd had to take down. Behind him he heard Chloe's fast breathing hitch as she tried to keep from panicking; though, judging by the firm and slightly trembling grip she had on his jacket; that was obviously a chore for her.
"Who are ye'?" The hulking man asked slowly, his voice, although still rough, sounded more suspicious now than angry. Clark blinked in surprise. Wait… he wanted to talk?! The man towered over him and looked big enough to crush Clark's head with a single squeeze of his mighty hand… and he wanted to talk?! If this was a meteor freak, it was a very odd one.
"Sir…" Clark was trying to think of things to say to distract this behemoth of a man; and he wasn't doing a very good job of it. "We… we don't want any trouble…"
"Good t'know. Still doesn't answer me question, does it?" The man retorted in his rough voice, his eyes boring into Clark.
"Oh… okay… uhm…" Clark was getting kind of nervous. He may have his powers and all that but… he had no idea what kind of powers this giant of a man had. Still, it was obviously strength based, if the size of him was any indication. "W- well… I'm Clark and this…" He indicated behind him where Chloe was almost pressed up against his back, all but trembling in fear. "This is Chloe."
"Haven't seen ye' two'round'ere before. A li'll' old fer students, aren't ye'?" The massive man growled.
"S- students…?" Came Chloe's small voice from behind Clark. She was staring up at the massive man with abject fear. Still, a flame of curiosity burned in her green eyes. The man's gaze flicked over to her and she let out a little gasp, clutching tighter on to Clark's jacket. At the sight of her reaction, something seemed to change in the man's demeanor. He blinked a few times as he watched her, and his imposing presence seemed to pull back a bit.
"Look…" Clark began in what he thought was a calm, yet decisive voice. The man's gaze flicked over to Clark again, and he had a feeling like he was being sized up. "We… We just got here, and… well, we don't even know where here is." The man tilted his head a bit as he stared at Clark, a slight curiosity coming alive in his suspicious gaze.
"How did ye' get'ere?" The man asked, the curiosity confirmed by the tone of his gruff voice.
"Uh… Well…" Clark stammered, wincing a bit as he stared up at the massive figure before him. How could he explain something like he and Chloe just went through without sounding completely off his rocker? "You probably won't believe this but…"
"A framed photograph." Came Chloe's small voice from behind Clark. The man's gaze flicked to her again, and again she gave a little gasp. Chloe Sullivan was typically not a girl that scared easily, but the sheer size of this man sent a shiver of pure fear down her spine every time he glanced her way. Still… the way he was looking at her now… it was like his eyes had lost that piercing gaze; as if they'd softened somehow. Chloe bit her lip and decided to take a chance. "W- we found it… in a box of old stuff that belonged to his grandparents…" She indicated Clark with a flick of her eyes in his direction. The man's gaze followed hers, flicking toward Clark for a moment before settling back on Chloe. "And when we touched it… it… kind of brought us… here…" Chloe bit her lip again, looking up at the giant of a man, hoping that her explanation didn't sound too outrageous.
"Grabbed a portkey, did ye'?" The man's eyes narrowed ominously as he stared at Chloe, making her shrink back a little.
"A what?" Clark asked as he moved a little closer to Chloe, not liking the way the man was looking at her. The giant frowned at the question, confusion evident in his beetle black eyes.
"A portkey. It's how you got here, isn't it?" The man replied. At the uncomprehending look on Clark's face, the man blinked. "A portkey!" He repeated, a little louder and clearer this time, as if they simply hadn't heard him clearly enough the first time around. "A thing, that you grab on to and then it speeds you off to where ever it's been charmed to go." He was emphasizing his words with haphazard hand gestures.
"S-so…" Chloe began carefully. "That picture we touched… it was one of these… uhm, portkeys?" She felt like such a fool asking such a silly question. "And when you say… charmed…?"
"Charmed." The man repeated, seemingly thunderstruck at the idea that they didn't seem to know what he was talking about. "Ye' know; made magical." Chloe and Clark gaped at the large man.
"D- did you just say magical?" Chloe spluttered.
"Wait, there's no such thing as magic!" Clark exclaimed, equally as blown away.
"No such thing as magic?!" The man guffawed in apparent outrage. "How do ye' think ye' came to be here at the edge of the forbidden forest? Ye' didn't walk'ere, did ye'?"
"W- well… no…" Chloe winced at how small her voice sounded. "It was that framed photo, it… it was kind of… weird… the people in it were… uhm…" She winced again, felling stupid for what she was about to say. "M- moving…" She finished lamely. The big man let out a snort at that.
"What's so weird about tha', ey?" He asked, looking like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd find it weird the people didn't move around in photographs." Chloe stared at the huge man in shock.
"Y- you would…?" Chloe stammered, looking absolutely thunderstruck; her fear of the man now completely forgotten.
"Yeah." The man chuckled. "They'd be bored stiff if they couldn't move around, wouldn't they?" Clark gave his head a sharp shake.
"Wait a minute… hold it…!" He held up his hands as if to indicate that they should all just settle down. His mind was buzzing with all that had been said. Portkeys… whatever the hell that was, charms, magic, people moving around in photographs so they don't get bored! And it was a perfectly natural thing!! "This is… This is just too much; okay? What… how… where are we; the Land of Oz?!" The large man blinked a few times, staring at Clark like he'd just grown a second head. Then his eyes got huge as something seemed to dawn on him.
"Oohhhhh… Blimey…" He breathed in apparent realization. "Ye're not form'round'ere at all, are ye'?"
"Uh… N- no…?" Chloe ventured, not really sure what the man's response to that statement would be.
"Ye're muggles. Aren't ye'?" The man added.
"What?" Clark blinked in confusion, the muggle phrase going right over his head.
"Muggles. Non magic folk." The man explained, seemingly getting a little excited as he spoke. Chloe and Clark looked at each other in confusion.
"Well… I've got a really neat card trick I can do." Clark injected with a little wince of embarrassment.
"I can make a quarter disappear." Chloe added, raising her hand a tiny bit, like a schoolgirl that's too shy to answer a teacher's question in front of the whole class.
"Nah." The large man waved a massive hand dismissively. "That's muggle magic. Not the real kind." For some reason, the large man didn't look as ominous as he had a minute ago. "But what're ye' doing here, in the forest?"
"It was that picture we told you about." Chloe replied. "The one you said was one of those… key… things…"
"Oh! That's right!" The man slapped his forehead with one massive hand. Clark half expected the man to knock himself out cold. "The picture! Where is it?" He looked at the two of them expectantly.
"Uh…" Chloe looked around, trying to find it. She had completely forgotten to look around for it to see where it had fallen after they'd landed here. Clark looked around, not seeing it either. Checking to see if the massive man's attention wasn't elsewhere, which, thankfully, it was, Clark slipped into x-ray mode, scanning the base of the trees and their roots. This forest was off; way off! His x-ray vision, though able to penetrate the trees, couldn't get a clear picture of anything more than 20 feet away from him. It was like watching a TV whose antenna was out of whack. And the mist slithering all over the ground was weird too. His x-ray vision couldn't penetrate it at all. Still, despite the forest playing tricks on it, Clark's x-ray vision did prove affective.
"Right there." Clark supplied, pointing toward the roots of one of the huge trees that surrounded them, and sure enough, there, lying on the ground next to a protruding root, laid the framed photograph. The big man spotted it and hurried over to it, surprisingly light on his feet for such a massive frame.
"WaitDon'tTouchIt…!" Chloe hurried the warning out of her mouth as the large man crouched down and reached for the framed photograph, but he had already picked it up. Clark winced, expecting the same thing to happen to the large man as had happened to him and Chloe when they'd touched the frame… but to his astonishment, nothing happened. The large man just stayed there, down on one knee, examining the photo within the frame. Clark couldn't be sure, but he could swear he saw the man's great beard twitch a bit, as if he were smiling. Chloe moved up beside Clark and stared at the massive man as he wiped some dirt off of the glass covering the photo. His movements were surprisingly gentle for such a large bulk of a man.
"I remember when this was taken." Then man said softly, still gazing fondly down at the picture. "Professor Dumbledore was so proud that day."
"Who?" Chloe asked, frowning in confusion. The large man did not look up.
"Professor Dumbledore. He's the headmaster up at the school." There was a sound like a deep chuckle from the massive man. "But of course, ye' wouldn't know anything about that, would ye'?" Clark and Chloe looked at each other, confusion evident in both their faces. "I think ye' need to go see'im." The big man was nodding as if agreeing with his own words. "I think he'd like to meet the pair o'ye'."
"What makes you say that?" Clark asked, a note of wariness creeping into his voice. The big man turned his head to look at Clark, then his gaze flicked over to Chloe… and his eyes twinkled as he smiled at her from across the distance that separated them.
"I knew ye' reminded me o'someone." He said fondly, still gazing at her. "Just couldn't wrap me'ead around who that might be." Chloe blinked, staring at the man in bewilderment. The man rose to his feet and moved slowly toward them, the picture held gently in his hands. He stopped a few feet away from them and nodded. "I think Professor Dumbledore should meet ye'. And, before ye' ask… that's him right there." He showed them the framed photo, indicating the older man in it; the one with the long silver beard and hair, and the pointed hat on his head. "Greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had."
"Hogwarts?" Clark asked.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The man explained with a smile. "And I'm the gamekeeper." The man straightened up, puffing out his chest importantly. "Rubeus Hagrid's the name; keeper of keys and grounds."
"Wait a minute…" Chloe injected, shaking her head and holding her hands up slightly, almost as if she thought she could slow the world down simply by doing this. "There's a school of magic?"
"Course there is." The big man chuckled. "How do you think all the young'uns learn the craft?"
"Young ones?" For some reason, Clark was envisioning young tiny goblin like creatures with claw-like hands shooting lightning out of their palms.
"Up and coming wizards and witches." The big man beamed. "This is the best place for them to learn." Clark and Chloe looked around, looking very skeptical.
"Here?" Chloe asked, sounding dubious.
"Blimey, no. Not here here." The big man laughed. "Just over there beyond those trees behind ye'." He indicated the direction with his hand and then started moving in that direction. "Come along now. I know an old wizard who's going to be very happy to meet ye'." He finished in a cheery voice as he strode past them. Clark and Chloe looked at each other for a moment. "Budge along, ye' two. Try to keep up." The big man called over his shoulders as he moved along the forest floor in long strides. "Believe me, ye' don't want to be in'ere on ye'r own after dark." Clark and Chloe looked around. The forest looked very ominous and dark. Almost as if it were alive and watching them with hungry eyes.
"You know… he's probably right." Clark injected.
"Yeah, let's go." Chloe quickly agreed and hurried after the big man, Clark hot on her heels. They caught up with Hagrid after a while; having had to stumble over several large roots which Hagrid simply stepped over with apparent ease.
"So… Mr. Hagrid…" Clark started, but the man let out a chuckle.
"People just call me Hagrid." He corrected Clark, smiling. "All that Mr. this and that's not fer me. Doesn't sound right."
"Alright…" Clark grinned. "Hagrid…" He was beginning to like the big guy. He seemed genuinely nice. "Where exactly are we? I know you said we're at this… school place… Warthogs?"
"Hogwarts." Hagrid corrected him.
"Right…" Clark replied rather sheepishly. "But where exactly is that? World wise, that is." Hagrid looked to be pondering the question for a moment.
"Great Britain." He finally said, nodding in a self satisfied kind of way. Chloe stopped dead in her tracks.
"What?!" She exclaimed, staring at Hagrid, completely thunderstruck. "Great Britain?! As in England?!" Hagrid stopped and stared at her in bewilderment. Chloe turned her shocked gaze to her equally shocked best friend. "Clark…" She squeaked. "We're across the Atlantic! We went from Kansas to England in 4 seconds!"
"felt more like 6 seconds…" Clark replied lamely, his shock to great for intelligent speech.
"I don't care!!" Chloe cried out, then started pacing, running her hands through her hair. "This is bad." She muttered. "Very… very… This is so bad; it blows the weird factor meter to kingdom come! How are we going to get back?!"
"Alright alright, just calm down." Hagrid tried to ease the pacing blonde girl.
"Calm down?!" Chloe raged on, her panic breaking through. "We're an entire ocean plus half a continent away from our home, with no apparent way to get back, and you want me to calm down?!"
"It's alright, Chloe." Hagrid said soothingly, his eyes twinkling with as his beard twitched, indicating a smile.
"No it's not!!" Chloe cried out, her renowned reporter's cool evaporating before Clark's eyes. "It is not alright!!" Hagrid moved closer and before Clark could wrap his mind around what he was doing, the large man had gotten down on one knee before Chloe and grabbed her shoulders, giving her a tiny shake; which in reality would have rattled an apple tree enough to strip it of all its fruit… not to mention all its leaves; and a branch or two.
"Calm down!" Hagrid barked, stunning Chloe into silence. The blonde girl stood there, gazing tearfully up into Hagrid's eyes, her petite body all but trembling from the shocking realization of where they were. Hagrid's gaze was soft and consoling as he watched Chloe, whimpering in front of him. He felt for her, he really did. She must be so scared. "It'll be alright, Chloe." Hagrid said softly. "Professor Dumbledore will find a way to send ye' both back. Ye'll see." He gave a smile and Chloe couldn't help but return it. She didn't know how this… Dumbledore character was going to send them back, but something in Hagrid's eyes told her that he believed it possible. He believed it with all his might. Such faith was hard to find nowadays. And that set her mind at ease; if only a little bit. Clark stood off to the side, watching the scene before him, amazed that this giant of a man, as rough and imposing as he was, could be this gentle and kind. This was definitely no ordinary man. One of Hagrid's massive hands reached for Chloe's face and her gently wiped her tears away. "There we go." Hagrid said softly. "All better, now." His tone was so gentle that Chloe couldn't hold in a burst of a giggle. For such a big man, Hagrid was a real teddy bear. "Wha'd'ye' say we go up to the castle and see Professor Dumbledore, ey? So he can get to work on sendin'ye' home." Chloe blinked at Hagrid as yet another piece of info was revealed.
"Castle…?" She squeaked. Hagrid smiled and gave her a little wink.
"Come on." He jerked his head in the direction they'd been heading in and got to his feet, turning and heading in that very direction. Chloe looked at Clark in confusion and Clark gave a shrug, equally confused. Putting his arm around Chloe's shoulders, Clark led her on in the direction that Hagrid was striding. They followed Hagrid for a minute more and then, all of a sudden, the forest just… ended. One second they were in the dark dreary forest, the ominous trees looming over them like hungry gargoyles ready to pounce on them; and the next, they stepped out into a bright sunlit day. They raised their hands to shield their eyes as the bright hot sun streamed down upon them, blinding them for a moment. When they removed their hands and took a look around… they both gaped in wonder.
They were standing just outside a huge forest, which they'd just come out of, and in front of them, perched on top of a majestic rocky cliff, was a huge castle! It looked to have been cut right out of the middle ages; its multiple turrets reaching high into the sky, and its bright surface shimmering in the sun! It was a breathtaking sight! Flags were mounted on every turret, bearing crests that neither Chloe nor Clark had ever seen. It was as if they had stepped into a fairytale. All around the majestic structure, nature was at its very best; fields of wild flowers, rocky cliffs, wildlife unlike either of them were used to, and perched right beneath the rocky cliff where the castle stood was a huge lake that shone brightly as the sun's rays danced on its tiny ripples.
"Oh my god…" Chloe breathed in shock. She had never seen a more majestic and magnificent place.
"Clark, Chloe; Welcome to Hogwarts." Hagrid beamed, sweeping his hand to indicate the whole scene before them.
"The word "wow" doesn't even begin to apply here…" Clark whispered, awestruck by the sight.