I'm on a roll. Three Chapters in as many days. Yeah, they were short, but they're going to get longer, I promise. This one is three times as long, and still short. I know, I know. I'm working on it.
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Chapter 3
Googling Magic
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The clock always seemed to go slower and slower the closer it got to 3 o'clock. "Come on, come on."
"Mr. Potter! Are we keeping you here?" Mrs. Elburn was a strict old lady who didn't like kids not paying attention in her class. She had yelled at Dudley so many times, Aunt Petunia had request he be switched to another class.
"No, ma'am. Sorry." he said, sliding down in his seat.
"Do try to pay attention. Now who can tell me ..."
Maybe he had been a little obvious, but he couldn't wait to see Nikki. He had so much to tell her. He had finally figured out how those exponents worked and he had made a friend. His first friend! Her name was Maria and she didn't speak much English so nobody would talk to her. She was so thrilled when he introduced himself in Spanish, she had declared them best friends. Nikki would be so proud. She had been bugging him to make friends his own age. He wondered what Nikki was doing right now.
He glanced up as he heard the room go deathly silent. He gaped at his teacher's hair had gone blue, just like...Nikki's. The bell rang and the room exploded in laughter and noise as all the kids rushed from the room talking about what had happened. One girl took pity on the poor lady and used her mirror to show her the fabulous new haircut.
He had to tell Nikki. What had he done?
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"Nikki! Nikki!" Harry exploded through the library doors. He was starting to panic, wild eyed and crazy looking.
"What is it? Are you hurt? Did the Dursley's do something? I'll kill them." oh yes, Nikki in mother-hen mode.
"No, no. I'm fine, I'm fine. But Mrs.Elburn, her hair. It's blue, I think I turned it blue."
"A practical joke? I'm so proud of you. My little Squirt is growing up."
"But I didn't do anything! I was thinking of you and when I looked up, Mrs. Elburn had your hair!"
"What? You're joking, right? You turned the lady's hair blue, and don't know how?" Nikki gave him a skeptical look. Everyone knows there's no such thing as magic. Everyone except Harry apparently.
"It's like magic." ahh, the innocence of youth.
"Yeah, magic." Nikki smiled, humoring him. "Why don't you go look it up on the computer?" Now that she knew everything was alright, she could relax a little. Plus she had left old Miss Emily at the counter. She would understand, but still didn't like being left waiting.
"Okay. I'll use the one in the back."
"Sorry about that Miss Emily. He's still a little jumpy."
"No wonder, what with those horrid Dursley's. Someone should do something about them. At least they finally bought the kid some new clothes."
Snort. Miss Emily knew perfectly well that Nikki had bought the clothes for Harry. The old bat had slyly slipped Nikki some extra money for Harry by paying an overdue fine of 5p with a 50₤ banknote. Nikki was sure if asked, she would create an elaborate response about going senile in her old age and how the crown was always changing the currency.
"You know, I think Harry might need glasses. He's been squinting lately. Wonder when the Dursley's have scheduled his next appointment?" Both of them knew the Dursley's had never taken Harry to the doctor. Nikki was wondering how Miss Emily was going to pull this off.
"I'm not sure, but I heard they have an appointment for next Tuesday at 9." And by tomorrow, Miss Emily would make sure Harry had an appointment for the following Tuesday. The boy wouldn't be hurt while she was around. He was too cute, and polite to boot. If her family wouldn't acknowledge her, she'd find a new family.
Nikki knew she could always count on Miss Emily.
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Harry sat down at the computer and Googled the word "magic". A strange series of events occurred as he clicked search.
The term 'magic' had started a subroutine on his computer that sent a signal from the CPU to the mouse and a special sensor located there. The sensor felt Harry's magical ability and sent a message back to the CPU confirming that the user had magic. The computer sent a message to Google to display "magic class" results. Google then search their databases for the term 'magic' and returned a list of results which included those inaccessible by non-magic users. All this took place in under a second, without the only outward sign a slight delay in loading the search results.
Thus, when Harry clicked the first result page, he was redirected to the International Magic Organization homepage, and the amazing world of magic.
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A/N I really, really, really wanted to end here, but I'm trying really hard to have longer chapters…so onwards ho!
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The IMO homepage was neatly set up, with a list of the usual topics for every big organization along the lefthand side of the page. Links like "Overview", "Officials", "Hot Topics", and "Current Projects" were expected. "New to Magic" was not, but defiantly welcome.
Clicking on the link lead him to a page entitled "Yes, Magic is Real."
"Yes, Magic is Real!"
Congratulations! If you've discovered this page, you (or someone you know) is a magic user. Yes, magic is real. Thousands of people around the world use magic in their daily lives. Many more are aware of magic, but are not Magically Adept.
What Magic is Not:
Magic is not slight-of-hand or voodoo. Magic users do not eat babies and sacrifice small goats. Magic is not a New Age practice of burning candles and incense. Magic is not people sneaking around naked in the woods to worship the devil. Magic Users are normal people who have discovered an extraordinary talent and been introduced to a fantastic new world.
What is a Magic User?
A Magic User is someone who is able to manipulate the energy around them to produce desired results. Magic Users come in two classes, Magically Adept and Non-Magically Adept. Everyone is capable of doing magic. For those who can easily manipulate energy without prior training are Magically Adept. They tend to have a large gathering of energy around them, referred to as a Core. Those who need more training are Non-Magically Adept, and tend to not have a Core. Both are Magic Users.
While all Magic Users should train, Magically Adepts need training, so as both to injure themselves. Training for the younger ages consists mostly of theory and meditation. It is recommended that only basic level energy manipulation be done until the Magic User reaches puberty.
Training is very important. Magically Adepts can injure themselves by over reaching their magical boundaries. Usually, a Magically Adept's first brush with magic is by performing untrained (referred to as wish or accidental) magic. Normally, the subconscious controls untrained magic and so can prevent the body from going to far. When consciously using magic, the body doesn't recognize these limits, and can injure itself. Meditation is encouraged because it connects the subconscious and conscious minds.
Untrained Magic is incredibly dangerous because it uses only the energy present in a User's Core. This Core, while able to "recharge" by absorbing magic from the surroundings", is finite. After the Core is drained, energy is them taken straight from the body (life energy). Over extending the Core results in tiredness, hunger, and possibly a fever. If all the energy is drained from a User's body, they die.
With training, a User learns to access magic outside of their Core. Magically Adepts use their Core to manipulate outside energy, while Non-Magically Adepts must use their life energy. This makes the process more efficient and allows for bigger and more complicated results.
Now that you've done magic, you will be contacted by your local IMO office. They will be able to explain the local magic system and enroll you in a dual system school. On your own, you should find a good Martial Arts Dojo that includes mediation in their lessons."
"Nikki isn't going to believe this."
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Hey, I'll be the first to admit I'm not above bribing for reviews. I'd like to thank the following for taking the bait, . . . uhh, I mean providing valuable feedback:
DeliaDee, Lenayvonne, bunnies, leanne, Dudey-Bug.
And an extra big sugar-free chocolate cookie for New Dye, because she asked and reviewed first
I want to thank Prie an New Dye, who have inspired me to create four more sub-plots and at least two new characters for this story.