Chapter 2: Authorized Personnel Only

The Lotus Seven screeched to a halt in front of the Sebastian house. Lee shakily climbed out of the little sports car on legs that felt like jelly. His godfather's driving was reckless at the best of times, but just then, it had been absolutely terrifying. Head full of questions, Lee walked through the front door of the house, only to find himself being swept into a crushing hug by Moira.
"I'm so proud of you," she whispered into Lee's ear. With each passing second, Lee grew more and more confused.
"What's going on?" he finally managed to ask.

Moira held out a letter, and offered it to Lee. Beside her, Jim smiled and watched Lee rip the letter open.
"Dear Mr. Taylor," Lee read. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Lee looked up from the letter and gave his godparents a look of complete bewilderment. "What even is this?" he asked.
"Keep reading," Moira gestured to the letter.

Lee cleared his throat. "Your parents were honored alumni, and we look forward to having you with us. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books, equipment and supplies."
As he read, Lee fished around in the envelope and brought out a folded piece of paper.
"Term begins on September first," Lee continued. "We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first. Yours sincerely, Agilbert Fontaine; Headmaster."

Lee finished reading and looked to Jim and Moira for an explanation. Moira sat down in an armchair and patted her knee, while Jim sat in the armchair across from her. Lee sat in Moira's lap, and she pointed to the crest on the letterhead.
"Ilvermorny is a real place," Jim cleared his throat. "It's a school of magic. I went there, and so did your mom and dad. I left after my own parents died in a fire though, so I'm nowhere near as good at magic as they were."
"Mom and Dad weren't magicians, they were doctors," Lee frowned.
"Technically they were called Healers; the magical version of doctors," Moira replied.

Jim leaned forward. "You want proof?" he asked, noting Lee's skeptical expression. Lee nodded. Jim crossed the room and lifted a stick of wood from his toolkit. Jim waved the stick, and suddenly, the coffee table rose a full three feet off the ground, hanging in midair as though supported by the hand of God. Lee's mouth fell open and he gaped at the scene before him. "Okay," he finally managed to say. "I believe you."
"Good," Jim leaned back. "We're going into town tomorrow morning."

After a quiet dinner, Lee retreated to his room, rereading the letter over and over. Lost in his thoughts, Lee's gaze drifted to the one photograph he had of his birth parents. Charlie Taylor, Lee's father, sat with his arm around his wife, Juliette. The happy couple was laughing heartily at something just to the left of the frame. Lee eventually felt his eyes droop shut as he studied the photograph, and he surrendered himself to a much-needed sleep.

The Next Morning…

A knock on Lee's bedroom door jerked him awake. Lee fell out of bed and scrambled around for some clothes that weren't covered in grease. He eventually settled on a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black hoodie. Lee made his way downstairs to the breakfast table, where Jim and Moira waited.
"I promised you proof," Jim began. "Do you want to see more?"
Lee nodded. "Where are we going?"
Jim passed Lee two pieces of toast wrapped in a napkin, and picked up his enormous key ring. "West Edmonton Mall. Bring that letter."

Lee followed Jim into the house's garage, clutching the letter from Ilvermorny. The Sebastian house boasted a cavernous garage space, filled to the brim with rare and expensive cars, from low-slung sports models, to monstrous lifted trucks. Jim flipped through the dozens of car keys in his hand, before settling on one. Lee grinned as a violently orange Dodge Challenger beeped, signaling itself as unlocked. Jim always drove loud and proud in muscle cars, so much so that Lee could often see the giddy ten-year-old child behind Jim's thirty-year-old eyes. It was times like these when Lee wished Jim would let him drive.
Jim slid into the driver's seat and pushed a button on the garage door opener. Lee hopped into the passenger seat, and the powerful car started up with a loud rumble. Jim put the Challenger in gear, and drove off.

Some time later, Jim and Lee pulled up to the West Edmonton Mall. Lee got out of the Challenger and craned his neck upwards. Even to someone who'd lived in Edmonton his whole life, the mall was astonishing. The enormous building housed well over a thousand shops, a theme park, a five-star hotel, a waterpark, and a sports stadium. Jim motioned for Lee to follow him through the front door, and began striding purposefully through the building, ignoring the kaleidoscope of sights and sounds around him. Lee trailed a few steps behind; his head on a swivel, until Jim led him to a nondescript corridor marked with an Authorized Personnel Only sign.

"What's down there?" Lee asked. "All I see is a dead end."
"Look again." Jim pointed down the length of the corridor, where a plain grey door could now be seen. Jim led Lee down the hall and drew his wand from the pocket of his trousers. Lee watched with interest as Jim inserted the length of wood into the door's keyhole. After a second, the pair listened to the sound of locks clicking, and the door swung open.
Lee stepped forward and peered through the door, before Jim led him through.
Beyond the door was a corridor identical to the one they had just walked down, but as soon as Jim and Lee reached the end, Lee's jaw dropped.

The West Edmonton Mall had transformed dramatically. The shops had all changed, people everywhere were walking around in robes and pointy hats, and the air was thick with what Lee could only describe as…
"Magic," Jim smiled. "It's moments like these when I kind of regret leaving."
"Leaving where?" Lee asked. "We're still in the mall, aren't we?"
Jim grinned. "I was a bit confused when it was my turn, but we're not strictly in the West Edmonton Mall any more. We're in the Wizarding World." He gestured to the space around him. "Lee, welcome to Galleon Plaza."

Lee wandered after Jim, head spinning as he took in the sights and sounds around him. If the West Edmonton Mall had been impressive, it was nothing compared to Galleon Plaza. More than once, Lee was forced to duck as people zoomed overhead, riding broomsticks. Shop fronts displayed strange and wonderful items. Lee scanned a selection of potion ingredients ranging from dragon liver to syrup of hellebore and boomslang skin, before moving to another shop selling cauldrons of all shapes and sizes. Up above, the roof seemed to disappear into the clouds, sending light streaming down.

Jim led Lee to a large shop that sat in an open area, in the middle of a copse of enormous trees that reached up to the enchanted sky. A sign on the shop front proclaimed the shop to be Bryson's Fine Wands. Jim pushed open the door and gestured for Lee to follow him.
The inside of the shop smelled like wood polish and old books. Lee scanned the shelves full of long thin boxes, before a door opened at the back of the shop. A young man walked through the door and deposited a bunch of boxes on a nearby desk, before turning to Lee and Jim with a knowing smile. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Jim Sebastian? My father says hello, by the way."
"Nice to see you again, Bryson," Jim nodded. "I'm here to get a wand for my godson."

"Yes, young Lee Taylor," the shopkeeper nodded. "I went to school with your parents. My condolences."
"What is he talking about?" Lee nudged his godfather. "They died in an accident. Why are people sorry?"
Jim gave Bryson a serious look. "He's only ten. He'll find out the details from me, not anyone else."
Bryson nodded. "You might want to tell him soon, before he hears what happened from some gossip at school."
Jim crossed his arms and stood his ground. "He is only ten. I'll tell him when he's ready to find out."
Bored and annoyed at being talked about like he wasn't even there, Lee opened a box and lifted out the wand inside, giving it an idle wave. Next second, Lee flew backwards across the shop and crashed into a wall, sending a flood of boxes tumbling to the floor.

Bryson shot across the room and snatched the wand from Lee's hand while Jim helped him to his feet. "That was foolish," he said quietly. "This wand is so aligned against you, it could have seriously injured you."
Lee stared openmouthed as Bryson replaced the wand in its box and sent the mess on the floor back to the shelves with a wave of his own wand.
Bryson disappeared into the back of the shop and returned a minute later, his arms heaped down with boxes.

"Try this one," he said, passing a wand to Lee. "This is birch wood with a core of unicorn tail hair; twelve inches, and nicely springy."
Lee waved the wand, and a potted plant on the windowsill violently exploded. Bryson quickly snatched it back. "Clearly lighter wood with unicorn hair is not a good fit. Let's see what else we have." Another wand was placed in Lee's hand. "Silver lime and phoenix feather; eleven inches, with a healthy flex."
Lee carefully jabbed the wand in front of him. A bolt of violet lightning flew from the wand tip, and Jim frantically dropped to the floor before the end of the lightning bolt impacted on the shelf behind him.

"Merlin's balls, Bryson!" Jim exclaimed indignantly as he got back to his feet. "You should invest in a firing range for this kind of thing! That was way too close!"
Bryson waved his hand as he casually flicked his wand, putting out the spot fire left by the lightning. However, one box remained stubbornly burning. Bryson levitated the box onto the tabletop, and the flames vanished. Jim watched as Bryson passed Lee the wand. As soon as Lee waved his arm, the wand spewed out flames that formed themselves into a glowing 'LT'.

"Blackthorn; ten inches, rigid, with a core of basilisk venom and thunderbird tail feather." Bryson said seriously. "That wand is very powerful. It's one of only six wands that I made with twin cores. Treat it carefully, Mister Taylor."
Jim paid for Lee's new wand, and the two left the shop. Lee couldn't stop staring at the wand in his hand. The dark wood seemed to hum with power. So focused was Lee on his new purchase that he didn't even notice until Jim nudged his shoulder. "Let's keep going, Lee."

Three hours later, Lee and Jim exited the corridor with the Authorized Personnel Only sign. After visiting what seemed like every shop in Galleon Plaza, their shopping was finally finished. Lee dragged a black wood-and-leather trunk behind him, while Jim held several packages in his hands. Lee's trunk contained his new wand, stacks of spell books, several sets of robes, a cauldron, and dozens of devices he couldn't even name. Jim carried more spell books. Soon, Lee and Jim returned to the Challenger. Jim unlocked the trunk and lifted Lee's shopping inside, while Lee jumped into the passenger seat.
Soon, the Challenger was on the road again, headed for home.

The next two months flew by. Lee read every spell book he had over and over again. Jim had had the forethought to lock up Lee's new wand to prevent him getting arrested for underage magic use before the school term even started. When he wasn't reading complex magical texts, Lee was helping Jim around the auto shop. All too soon, September crept up on the Sebastian family.
Lee woke up on the morning of August 30th, barely able to contain himself. Before Jim even knocked on the bedroom door, Lee was already dragging his trunk out from under his bed. Rushing downstairs, Lee nearly collided with Moira as she exited the living room.

"Hey there, Lee," Moira smiled tearfully, running her hand through Lee's carefully messy hair. "It's finally the day."
Lee hugged his godmother tightly, trying not to break down and beg to stay. Moira knelt down in front of Lee and handed him his wand. "I want you to know that Jim and I are so proud of you, Lee," she whispered. "And your parents would be so proud of you too."
"I'll come home whenever you want me to," Lee said in a small voice. Moira laughed. "I might just have to come see you sometimes too."
Across the room, Jim cleared his throat. "Are you ready, Lee?"
Lee nodded, and Jim led him out the front door.

Author's Notes:
Welcome to my Wizarding World. This series was my childhood, so I wanted to have a play around in this fantastic universe.
Let me know any thoughts you have in a review.
-the Seacopath