Chapter 2: One small step for man, or one gigantic meeting between scary smart girls
Saturday has arrived. I get up and I am excited and a bit nervous. I hope my friends from Long Island and Hogwarts will get along. Headmaster Dumbledore has an interesting sense of humor so I believe that he will not be put off by Kit's sister Carmela. I do hope that we will survive the meeting between Hermione and Dairine. The two girls are very smart. Though Hermione is more conventionally smart through book smarts. Dairine, while book smart, is also street smart and forceful in personality.
We will be leaving at 4 pm GMT to meet with the group from Long Island at 11 am their time. I head to breakfast and at 8 am it is fairly empty in the Great Hall. I see Hermione sitting alone at the Gryffindor table. She has a book out, and is reading while she eats. The Hufflepuff table is empty this early on the weekend. I decide to sit next to Hermione and break the tacit rule against inter-house seating.
I plop down next to Hermione and tap her shoulder gently to get her attention. "Dai Hermione," I say quietly to her.
"Dai Harry," Hermione says and puts her book down. Hermione starts to babble, "I can't wait till we head to the moon. Do you think your friends from America will like me? When do we leave? What will I need prepared? I did consult the Knowledge for the procedures, but there were a few spells listed for transport and some require a World Gate..."
I cut her off to stop the stream of questions and say, "Hermione, don't worry I'll walk you through the spell. Kit calls the spell variant we use the "beam me up, Scotty" spell. I'll do the initial setup with the Headmaster and when you arrive I will fill you in on the details of the spell. You should be able to fine the information in the Knowledge if I show you the spell diagram template in my Manual."
She smiles at me and starts to eat again. I take some toast, eggs, and some pumpkin juice and start eating. While we devour our meals, more students are trickling into the Great Hall. They look at us, a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor sitting at the table with mild askance. I learnt my lessons is bucking conventional standards from Dairine so I pointedly ignore their stares. Hermione does not seem to notice the looks. We continue to go over the non-art related details while we finish.
"I will be in the library; I'll be at the Headmaster's office at 3:30 pm to finish the preparations," Hermione tells me as she picks up her book, waves, and heads out of the Great Hall.
I look up at the teachers table and see that Professor Dumbledore is eating. I walk up to the head table and say, "Good morning Headmaster. When will we be meeting for our project today? It will take a half-hour for the preparations, longer if you want explanations of what exactly is being prepared."
Professor Dumbledore looks down at me with his eyes twinkling and says, "Harry if you would be so kind to join me after I finish eating to my office I will be glad to hear all the details you can give me on the preparations for todays working."
"Of course, Headmaster," I reply.
I sit down at the Hufflepuff table next to Susan who is yawning and gathering her breakfast.
"Good Morning Susan."
"Morning Harry," she yawns, "You are awake early today."
"I am excited about a project that I am working on."
"A project already Harry? We just got here."
"It has to do with some experiences I had before finding out about Hogwarts," I say while I notice the Headmaster getting up, "I need to head out and speak with Professor Dumbledore and he is heading out. I will see you later Susan."
"Bye Harry."
I head out of the Great Hall and Professor Dumbledore is waiting for me just outside of the door. He beckons me and starts off toward his office. I follow him and we reach the gargoyle that guards the entrance to his office. He says, "Blood Pops" and the gargoyle steps aside and we head up the moving stairs to his office.
"Now Harry, tell me the details for this trip?" Professor Dumbledore asks while seating himself behind his desk.
"Ok Headmaster," I reply," We will need an empty space with a minimum diameter of 10 ft. I will be using chalk to draw the spell circle."
"Once the circle is drawn I will build the necessary diagrams to handle the power distribution and specifications for the environment bubble," I continue, "Then I will enter in the descriptions for yourself and myself, our names. Hermione then will write her name and check over my work, paying especial attention to our names. Once she finishes I will check over her name and once we are both satisfied that everything is correct we all will assume our positions in the spell circle. Hermione and I will read the spell in unison and once complete we will feel a rushing feeling and appear on the Moon."
"On the moon you will need to be careful of the reduced gravity as it is 1/6th of our gravity."
The former transfiguration professor nods and says, "Thank you for the details, Harry. What do we start with now?"
"First I need to ask you a number of questions to determine the most detailed form of your name that can be done in this short period. In this form of Wizardry, everything is done through the Speech. The Speech is the language that the universe was built with and by consequence everything is responsive to the Speech. Since we use words to do all of our manipulations, we need to make sure that your name is as accurate as possible since if your name is incorrect, the spell may either fail to take or it will change you to fit the name that was specified."
The Headmaster nods and I start to ask the numerous questions to determine his name. "First I need to know your birthday, then the last book you have read and if it is fiction or non-fiction," I start and we have time for thirty questions before I am interrupted by a trill. It is coming from a bird that I did not notice before. The bird is red-gold colored and its trill makes me feel uplifted. "A phoenix," I breathe.
"Yes, Harry, it is a phoenix, his name is Fawkes," the Headmaster informs me, "I need to take care of a small matter. Please wait here till I return. I believe that Fawkes will be happy for the attention."
Fawkes trills again and this time I can hear through the Speech, "Hello young wizard."
"Good morning Fawkes. It is an honor to meet you," I reply in the Speech.
"It is good to see the humans performing the One's work. All to often these days the unnamed seems to have too much influence over this society and it is ripe for an intervention. I am limited in what I can do, but with you and young Hermione here, we can coordinate with the regional Area Supervisor."
I boggled, the last time I worked with that Senior, I was with Dairine, Nita, and Kit in Ireland at Castle Matrix. Dairine and I were to create a time slide to get the ur-matter from the early universe when matter was more concrete than the matter from this time. That was a major working with twenty Wizards, at least one more local senior. The intervention later lead up to a pitched battle. I was not included in that part, as both Dairine and I were held back in case that intervention failed. Many wizards died when they traveled to Tir na nOg to face Balor. Finally, Ronan, who was cohabiting his body with one of the incarnations of the One's Champion, the Winged Defender, took up the spear of Lugh, embodied with the spirit of fire, and pierced the enormous eye of Balor. That action fulfilled the prophecy to bring the plane closer to Time Heart, where everything began.
I pull out my Manual and check my entry and Hermione's entry and we are on active status. I look up at the phoenix and say, "What is your position? Are you an Advisory or a local area Senior?"
Fawkes trills, "No young wizard, I am a journeyman as are you. My human should be notified of your change in status."
Albus Dumbledore walks into the office. He takes a look at my face and asks, "What is wrong Harry?"
My reply is a somber, "I am on errantry and I greet you."
The professor looks at me and asks, "What do you know about your new assignment?"
"The wizarding world needs to be fixed. Hermione and I have been assigned this task."
Professor Dumbledore raises an eyebrow, "That is a large undertaking, Harry. How do you plan to proceed?"
I reply, "I am going to contact the Regional Advisory Senior Wizard for Europe, Shaun O'Driscoll. I probably will need to contact the Seniors Tom and Carl of Long Island. When we meet up with Dairine and the rest, we will have to confirm if they are also placed on active status. So far, whenever I have been in trouble my partner has been assigned with me and visa versa."
The professor asks, "Where did your receive your assignment from? I did not see any communiqués."
"Fawkes told me," I tell him.
"How did you talk with Fawkes; I can only get emotional responses from him and I am bonded with him?" He asks.
"It has to do with the nature of the Speech," I start explaining.
"The Speech was used to create the universe, and because of this everything responds the Speech. Every leaving creature will understand the Speech and by knowing the Speech you can understand. Kit has talked with rocks and cars, Nita talks with plants, and Dairine and I talk with the stars and machine based intelligences."
"Due to my ordeal, I have a link with the race of machine intelligences in the back of my mind. They are always there and, with effort, I can switch my thinking into what they call 'quick-life' time. It allows me to run faster than my 'slow-life' limitations would normally allow."
"The Speech when spoken by a Wizard, will change what is described. When written it resembles Arabic and mathematical notations."
"In the Speech, lying is impossible. Wizards cannot lie. When one works with words like we do, lying would have consequences."
The professor sits back and stokes his beard. He looks up at me and says, "Ah. That is quite interesting. It is time for lunch, meet me back here at 3:30 pm with Hermione. We will use the Quidditch Pitch for the circle. I will clear a space for you to draw the circle and the necessary spell diagrams into the dirt."
We head back to the Great Hall. I sit at the Hufflepuff table next to Justin Finch-Fletchley. I am on friendly terms with all of my dorm mates, but I have not made any real close friendships with them. I am closest to Susan Bones and Hermione Granger. Sadly, with Hermione in a different house, I do not get to be with the both of them as much as I would like.
The meal is enjoyable. Justin and I chat with the usual banalities about our classes and homework. The inevitable griping on the potions master, Professor Snape, also makes an appearance. I finish eating and excuse myself. I head over to the Gryffindor table and Hermione.
"Hermione, its time," I tell her.
Hermione looks up and nods. She puts her book away into her bag and get up. Before we can exit the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy and his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, block our way.
"Potter, finally leaving with your Mudblood girlfriend, you moronic Hufflepuff," Draco drawls.
I raise look at him as if seeing him for the first time and ask, "Oh. I didn't see you there Draco, did you say anything?"
Draco, who does not take to being ignored or mocked very well, starts to redden and bluster. He says through tight lips, "You will meet your end with your Mudblood whore of a mother and your Blood Traitor father."
I sigh and shake my head at him, "I wonder at the supposed supremacy of the pure bloods if you are the best that is produced."
I speak the first six words to the shield spell under my breathe and wait to see what will happen. Draco decides that if insults are not enough, then violence will do. He waves his wand and says, "Rictusempra."
While he was waving his wand, I speak the seventh word of the shield spell and the air hardens around me. The spell streaks toward me and instead of hitting me, the spell splits and flows around me. Draco, startled, backs away and takes off. I speak the word to release the shield and continue with Hermione to the Headmaster's office.
"Harry, why did you do that? You could give away the secrets of our Art," Hermione quietly scolds.
"We are on active, the task is to clean up the wizarding world. We need to keep in practice to use all the resources available to us to make sure that the intervention will be completed positively. I will send a message to Shaun for an Advise to get his input to coordinate this. It will be one of the largest interventions I have been a part of. We do know that the Art will be active against magic."
We reach the Headmaster's office and see Professor Dumbledore waiting in front of the gargoyle. He nods at us and we walk to the Quidditch Pitch. Once we reach the pitch the Headmaster waves his wand and a circle 30 ft. in diameter is cleared of grass. He picks up a rock and transfigures it into a three foot long stick and hands it to me. I take the stick and start to draw the spell diagram. I draw a circle 20 ft. in diameter, and when I reach the place where I started I close the circle with a figure eight, the wizard's knot.
I inscribe the basic parameters for the spell. The locations for the starting point and destination are included with the specifications for the shield spell. I then calculate the amount of air to take with us. On average an excited person will take 30 breaths a minute with a cubic foot of air for each breath. The cylinder will be 20 ft in diameter and 8 ft in height. For safety I double the amount of air needed giving an amount of 7200 cubic feet of air for the trip. To fit this in the circle that is 20 ft. in diameter the height will need to be calculated by h 4 v / (π r2). The height for the cylinder is 91 ft. I place this into the height into the spell, set the parameters to adjust for movement, and create the portion of the spell diagram for our names. I write my name and Professor Dumbledore's name and motion Hermione over to check what I wrote and add hers.
"The spell and names look ok," she replies.
I check over her name and tell her, "Your name looks fine as well."
We place the Headmaster into the correct spot for him in the diagram and take our own.
"Are you ready?" I ask Hermione via mind-touch
"Yes, we start in 5...4...3...2...1..."
In unison we start to read the spell. Around us falls a silence as the universe leans in to hear our spell. Once a spell can be felt as a tangible thing it is a sign that it has started to take, and our spell is building a large amount of power. The spell is dragging a great amount of air with us up the gravity well. We reach the end of the spell as one and there is a THUMPT as the volume of air we were displacing is filled.
We are on the moon. Standing on top of the white moon rock and looking into the sky we see the Earth in one quarter view. It is a wondrous sight and I can hear the professor and Hermione sigh in wonder. I look around and see Dairine waving over to me. I get the attention of the other members of my group and head toward Dairine. I, used to moving in low gravity, do the hopping motion needed to transverse the distance. Hermione and Dumbledore stumble along not yet used to the quarter gravity of the moon. The shield spell follows us and I pause at the edge of Dairine's spell to allow them to mingle and combine.
"Dari!" I yell and bounce over to hug her. She rolls her eyes and returns the hug.
After Harry and Dairine's ordeal and the confrontation with the Lone Power:
Right after my ordeal completed when the particular instance of the Lone One that we faced and redeemed. Dairine went to hug me in relief. I shied away, then went stiff when she grabbed me. I see Dairine look at me curiously.
"You do not have a good home life, do you?" she asks.
Ashamed I reply, "I am called Freak and live in a cupboard under the stairs."
Normally I would never admit to this, but in the wake of the burning darkness that still puled with purity I could not hold back.
Dairine seems to make a decision and says, "Harry lets head to my home and we will talk there."
At this point I would jump at the chance to be adopted into a family that has such a one as Dairine Callahan. Dairine and I switch into the quick-life time and start to chant the spell to open a gate to the Crossing on Rirhath B. The Crossings is the gating center for the local group of three galaxies.
After the mess that Dairine and I made the last time we were here, we went to the Stationmaster to apologize. At the Stationmaster's station, there is an insectile creature with 12 legs and supported by a rack. The front manipulatory arms are typing at multiple consoles with its many eyes pointing at each console. One eye faces us and the Stationmaster says, "You again?"
Dairine and I blush and I speak up, saying, "We are here to apologize for the ruckus that we made."
The Stationmaster says in a testy voice, "I would be happy with you heading home. Go to the gate at the end of the hall, it will be patent in three minutes to the Grand Central Gating Complex."
We nod and head over to the gate and we just make it before it becomes patent. We stand in the transit area and in a flash we are at the Grand Central gate on the platform. Before us is a black cat.
"Dai Stihó Nita, Kit. Who are the two new comers. I would guess that the short redhead is your sister," came from the cat.
"Dai Rhiow, you are right. They are my sister, Dairine and Harry Potter. Harry looks to be set for a partnership with Dari," Nita replies, "Dari, Harry, Rhiow is the lead of the Grand Central Gating Team. She and a few more cats manage and maintain the gating complex."
In unison, Dairine say, "Dai Rhiow." Alone I continue, "It is good" and Dairine finishes, "to meet you."
Nita looks between us and asks, "What is it with the ping-ponging between the two of you?"
"It has to do with," I start.
"the link with the motherboard," Dairine continues.
"that the two of us share," I finish.
Nita and Kit look at me first then back to Dairine as we complete our answer.
Kit sighs, "This is too weird."
Nita nods in agreement and looks at Kit who pulls a blue glowing chain of characters in the Speech.
"This is a template for the short range transit to Nita's house," Kit informs us.
We move away from the gate so as to not interfere with it and wave at Rhiow. Dairine and I say, "Dai Stihó Rhiow, it is good to meet you."
We step into the transit circle and add our names to the spell. After confirming that all our names are correct and the spell look right, Nita, Kit, Dairine, and I read off the spell and at its climax we pop into the Callahan's yard.
Dairine grabs my hand and drags me into the house. We reach the living room and there are three adult males and one adult female. Dairine looks a little spooked and says in a small voice, "Hi Tom, Carl, Mom, Dad..."
For my benefit she points out who she refers to as she prepares for their reaction. Dairine's father looks in my direction and coughs. This prompts Dairine to introduce me, "Dad, um... this is Harry Potter. We had a joint ordeal."
Dairine's Father looks at me and says, "I am Harry Callahan. I am glad you helped my little girl return safely." Looking closer at me he asks, "How old are you Harry?"
I see no reason not to tell him, "Mr. Callahan, I am 10 years old."
Carl and Tom sit up at this revelation. Carl says, "Hmm you are very young for a wizard. I wonder why the Powers would choose you at your age."
I shrug and Dairine interjects, "Before you go and punish me, there is something important I need you to listen to."
Harry looks at Dairine and sighs, "Ok Dairine, say your part."
"I think Harry is being mistreated by his family. He told me that his room is the cupboard under the stairs in his Aunt's house and they call him a freak," Dairine says.
I blush, this is the first time anyone has stuck up for me against the Dursleys.
Mrs. Callahan now steps in, "Harry come with me please."
I follow Mrs. Callahan into the kitchen. She sits me down at the table and in a calm voice asks, "Harry, please tell me what goes on at your home."
I gulp and after a few moments I tell Mrs. Callahan, "Like Dairine said, my bedroom is the cupboard under the stairs. My Aunt and Uncle do not like me. They call me with Boy or Freak when they talk to me. I have chores from the time I get up to the time I am locked into my cupboard. They only give me the scraps to eat if I completed all the chores."
Mrs. Callahan blanches and says gently, "Harry you are not a freak and they are wrong to do that to you."
"I do not want to go to the orphanage," I interject.
Mrs. Callahan thinks for a moment and says, "I think I would like to adopt a nice boy like you."
My heart jumps and I feel a great hope. I squeak out, "Yes! I would like that."
Mrs. Callahan smiles and takes me back into the living room and says, "Harry, I mean my husband, I think we should adopt Harry here and give him a proper home.
Mr. Callahan looks a bit startled and pauses a moment. After which he says, "Dear, if you think it is a good idea I am for it."
Dairine adopts a look of shock. She then smiles and tackle hugs me. I still stiffen, but it is less than before. Nita also looks surprised and comes over to ruffle Dariene's and my hair.
In unison we cry, "Hey!"
Nita just grins at us. I look over at Dairine and then back at Nita. I smile and say, "I would be glad to have sisters like you two."
At this point reality crashes in. Mr. Callahan says, "Now Harry, we are going to do this adoption above board and legal. I will be contacting my lawyer and working with him to get this started. Till then you will have to return to your relatives."
Two Weeks Pass...
"Harry, I have bad news," Dairine sends though mind touch.
"Dari, what is it?" I respond.
"The petition for adoption was blocked."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"No matter what we tried, our petitions were either lost or rejected without a reason given."
I was almost to tears, the hope of escape was dashed. Dairine, feeling my emotions decided to cheer me up. "Harry, head to the park near your house. I will meet you there."
Knowing that once Dairine got in her mind to do something, not even the Lone One itself could stop her, I spoke to the lock of my cupboard and it opened easily as it is familiar with my requests. I carefully exit the house and head to the park. As I arrive, in a back corner I hear a quiet whooshing sound that announces the arrival via a transit. I head back there and as I approach Dairine she reaches out and hugs me. The Callahan girls have taken it upon themselves to help heal the scaring that the Dursleys made. Whenever I see them they are sure to increase the amount of friendly body contact as I get used to it. The approach is similar to the method employed to treat phobias. I am now able to accept a hug without stiffening up as if expecting a blow.
Held in Dairine's arms I let the emotions go that I have bottled up for so long. It is unexpected that a twelve year old with as much spunk as Dairine would be so patient with a ten year old emotionally scarred boy. Dari is much more complex a person that she usually portraits. I believe I fell asleep in her arms as the next thing I know, I am laying on the couch at the Callahan's house and have both Dairine and Nita in the room. They are both working on what looks like homework, but as I awaken I see them dart glances at me periodically.
I sit up, feeling a bit stiff and sore eyed, and peek around. This gets the attention of both Dairine and Nita. I give a rueful smile and say, "Hi guys, what's up?" Thinking back on what I just said I see that my language is being corrupted by the American idiom. Dairine packs up her work and walks over to me.
"Harry, you and I are taking a trip to visit Tom and Carl," Dairine informs me.
I get up and follow along with Dairine. "Dari, how long was I out?"
"A half hour."
"Thanks for... for everything."
"You are welcome," Dairine finishes with a smile.
We reach the back yard where transits are usually done. Dairine pulls out spot and sets up a short range transit. The transit being necessary to keep rumors about Tom and Carl at bay. We arrive in their back yard and head to the porch door. We knock on the glass and Carl appears and say, "Come on in you two. I see that Nita and Kit are not with you today."
"No, Carl, this matter is more mundane than our usual antics," Dairine informed him.
"Well have a seat at the table. Cokes anyone?" Carl replied.
I nodded to Dairine and she spoke up. "One for each of us please."
Carl retrieves two cans of Coke and brings hands them to Dairine and I. He sits down with his own can and says, "Tom is out for now, he is working on resolving some problems with his ads."
Carl continues, "So what brings you to my humble corner of the world?"
I fidget while Dairine look a bit angry as she is reminded by my situation. Dairine realizes that I am not going to speak first so she tells Carl, "Carl, Harry is in an abusive home. We tried to adopt him, but every time we tried, we were balked. Either the paperwork was lost or the application was rejected with no reason given."
Carl looks grave as he thinks this over. He turns to me and says gently, "Harry, can you tell me what is being done to you?"
I gulp and reply, "Well... um... I live in the cupboard under the stairs. I get thrown into the cupboard and locked in whenever anything out of the ordinary happens and I get all the blame. They don't let me eat much and have me do the cooking and too many chores to finish each day, and when I cannot, they throw me in the cupboard as punishment."
Carl frowns as he takes this in. He sits for a brief while, tapping his fingers on the table. After a few minutes he gathers himself back together and says, "Harry, this is a sticky issue. Especially since you are not an American citizen. You are not in danger of losing your life, but your life is not one that I would care to live. At least you can get away to visit your friends, like Dairine here."
He continues, "At this point all I can advise you to do is to lay low, transit to a place where you can get a decent meal once a day, and to be discrete in any protective wizardries you use. When Tom and I are around, you are welcome to join us for lunch."
Dairine adds, "You will be welcome at my home when you need to escape them. We did offer to adopt you and I guess this is the closest we are able to get currently."
Carl sighs and says, "Well I am sorry I can't do more for you. You both are good kids and it pains me that I am unable to provide a full solution."
I shake Carl's hand and say, "It isn't your fault. I'll be fine. I have been fine."
He just raises an eyebrow and walks us to the back yard.
Dairine and I prepare the transit circle to return to her house and speak the spell.
Present Day, present time.
"Dai Stihó partner," Dairine greets me.
Following proper form, I stand back and formally state, "I am on errantry and I great you."
Dairine raises and eyebrow and says, "I too am on errantry and greet you with the One."
Dropping her formal tone Dairine says, "So you are on active too, Harry."
"Dari, it is good to see you face to face," I mind-spoke to her, "I think that we can find out the answer to our mystery about adoption from the Headmaster. You are better than I at ferreting secrets out so I'll let you handle it."
I can feel the smirk in her mind-voice, "Now Harry, what a thing to say. I'll catch him with it right before we get set to leave. That should throw him off guard enough to answer."
I nod and wave Hermione and the Headmaster over. They stumble to our location and I introduce everyone, "Dairine, the scary smart, meet Hermione Granger, the scary smart. Oh, incidentally, this is the headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore."
Dairine smirks at Hermione and says, "Well, well, well. Harry has interesting friends."
Hermione, a little nervous, says, "I am on errantry and I greet you."
Dairine, having no patience for continuing the ritual, waves us over to the larger group that came with her. We walk over to the larger group and they are introduced, "First here is my older Sister, Nita. Next to her is her partner Kit. Next to Kit is his older sister Carmela."
Next to Carmela there is, what looks like a pine tree, with red berries, and a Yankees baseball cap. Carmela speaks up and introduces the tree, "And now, this cutie here is Filif."
Filif, speaking by moving his fronds and berries, says, "Dai cousins, I am also on Errantry and I greet you."
"Is everyone here on active?" I ask.
Everyone, aside from Carmela and Professor Dumbledore makes affirmative noises. Carmela walks up to me and pinches my cheeks. She then drawls, "Isn't this one cute. Dairine, you have a keeper here."
Hermione, to my surprise tries to detach Carmela while giving her a death glare. Carmela lets go and laughs, "Dairine you got some competition here."
Dairine and I sigh and say almost in unison, "We are just partners, like Nita and Kit, we are not dating."
The entire group on the moon, aside from Hermione, Dairine, and I, grin at the three of us. Even Filif grins, though how the berries do so is still confusing.
Carmela smirks, not letting this go, "Ah what a cute accent Harry, and you two speaking in unison too. Are you sure you are not in that kind of relationship?"
Exasperated I face Carmela with a death glare of my own, "Carmela, Dari is the sister I wish I had. No more. Hermione and I have known each other for just a week, it is too soon for dating and we are too young."
Carmela's response is just an evil smirk.
I shake my head and say, "Well, do you think we are on the same intervention?"
The other wizards nod and I continue, "So I am going to call Shaun O'Driscoll to hold an intervention meeting. Can you see if Tom and Carl can join us?"
Dairine replies, "I'll ask them. "
From behind Dairine there is a squeaky voice saying, "Uh oh." A laptop walks out from behind Dairine on six spindly legs. Dairine picks up the laptop and cradles it to her chest. She says, "Here is my friend and Manual, Spot."
Hermione says incredulously, "You get the Wizardry Database though a laptop?"
She continues under her breath, "First a book, now a computer, what next?"
I heard her and decided to tweak her a bit, "Well one wizard from Long Island that I met during the search for the instrumentality. He used an iPod, and he called it a WizPod."
Hermione just glares at me for a moment, then rolls her eyes at me and turns to the rest of the group.
I start the formal part of this meeting by saying, "Ok cousins, here is the situations as I know it..."
I tell them about the second type of wizardry, the "wizarding world", and my status as the "boy-who-lived". Hearing that moniker, Dairine just grins at me. I recognize that grin and I know it won't bode well for me.
Professor Dumbledore clears his throat to get our attention and adds, "There is also a prophecy involved."
Dairine and I flinch and growl in unison, "Prophecies, why is it always prophecies?"
This garners more smirks from Carmela. It is no big deal that Dairine and I go in sync so often. Due to our ordeal, Dairine and I are linked at a fundamental level. When we share the same strong emotion, we tend to express it as one, especially when we are in close proximity. Hermione looks a bit disturbed by the synchronization between Dairine and I. To try to head off this potential problem off I mind-touch Hermione and explain to her about what happened to us on our ordeal and the bond that Dairine and I share.
Hermione just raises a eyebrow. I am surprised by this reaction. She does not seem the type to just casually accept a phenomenon like this. I would half expect her to pull out a restraint system and to take Dairine and I for her "Guinea Pigs". I blame this flash firmly on Carmela for force feeding me anime when she discovered my "poor benighted" situation with the material.
"The last prophecy we were involved with took us to the other side of the universe and into a planet that was fully under Its control," I stated flatly, "That was not a pleasant situation. The planet's dominate life form is insecticoid and veryxenophobic."
I am glad that I was not with that part of the intervention. At that time I was on the moon helping to set up the massive spell diagram that would hopefully remove the encroaching dark matter. Sadly, that spell was cast in vain. To make the spell powerful enough to affect the dark matter, a set of twins, twychild twins, were needed. They are a set of twins, who are Wizards, that are linked at the most fundamental level. They are both two and one; both minds and bodies are linked. They have the ability to bounce spells off each other, while multiplying the power of the spell on each pass.
The spell was powered by over one hundred wizards. They boosted the power to the point of burnout, but it did not do more that momentarily push the menacing dark matter away. It then returned in force and at a much faster pace. It took the intervention of Ponch, Kitt's dog, to remake their species Choice and become the dog equivalent of the One and for him to destroy the enemy and then ascending. In retrospect, we should have saw Ponch's ascension. He did create universes at a whim.
"Well, what is this prophecy?" I ask the pensive Dumbledore.
He looks at me, directly in the eyes and I begin to feel an invasion of my mind. With the ease from long practice, I lock the Headmaster out from my mind. I raise and eyebrow and ask, "So, is my mind secure enough?"
The Headmaster has the grace to look sheepish. He responds, "I had to check, Harry. There are elements out there, including Voldemort, that will take the knowledge from your mind."
"The prophecy was given while I was interviewing the current Divination professor, Sibyll Trelawney. A deatheater spied the first half of the prophecy. That part is:
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...
What the spy missed was:
.and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
"Had Voldemort known the full prophecy, he may have hesitated in attacking you. The scar you bare, Harry, is the mark."
"Is wizardry the 'Power He Knows Not'?" I ask.
"It is uncertain. I believe that it is love. Voldemort has never known love nor loved anyone," was the professor's reply.
I sigh, "Well we should get about scheduling a meeting time for us and the Advisories."
The rest nod and Dairine says, "I'll be right back. I'll get a hold of Shaun."
At that, Dairine disappeared.
A few moments afterward a pop was heard. It was much quieter than Dairine's. A second after the pop, I feel a warm object hit the top of my head. I felt the furry legs grab for purchase in my hair.
"Why do you have a cat on your head, Harry?" Hermione asks, looking as if only just holding back her giggles.
"Ah, so my new hat is a cat," I reply trying to look like this happens everyday.
"Dai Stihó cousins" came from the top of my head.
I gently lift the cat from my head and say to it, "Dai Stihó to you too. Now, why did you transit to land on my head?"
"I did not mean to arrive there. There must have been a malfunction with the gate," the cat, no kitten, said, "I meant to land near your meeting point not on top of it."
Somehow I doubt that, as the cats eyes are twinkling like a certain professor's. Said professor also has his eyes twinkling up a storm. While contemplating this, the kitten spoke up, "My name is Aheu'rsh. I was sent to be join with Harry Potter by the queen of the people (read cats), Tula."
Nita spoke up, "How is Tula doing? I have not seen her since my trip into Ireland a year ago."
"She is fine, I am part of her second litter. She is now expecting a third," Aheu'rsh replies.
"So Aheu'rsh, you found me," I turn to Professor Dumbledore and ask, "Is it alright if I have another 'familiar' with me?"
Professor Dumbledore grins and says, "Of course Harry, Aheu'rsh is quite welcome to Hogwarts."
In front of me, two figures pause to mingle their shield spells with the one covering our group. I recognize Dairine and Shaun O'Driscoll. The shielding spells match up and Dairine hops over to me. Shaun moves sedately, but purposeful to sit next to Albus Dumbledore.
"Hello all of you," Shaun starts in a drawn and tired sounding voice, "I am Shaun O'Driscoll. I know some of you, but it would be best if you all introduced yourselves."
I introduced myself followed by Aheu'rsh, who is still sitting on my head, then Dairine, Nita, Kit, Carmela, Filif, Hermione, and lastly Albus Dumbledore. Hermione looked to be a bit shocked at speaking with such a senior wizard around, but was able to speak without too much trouble. I did gently pull her nearer to me to try to calm her. The Headmaster had to spend a bit of time explaining the difference between the art and witchcraft/wizardry. The only one here who is not magical in any form is Carmela, but she is quite determined to stay and help; her laser blaster / curling iron does not hurt her case either.
Shaun, after the round of introductions, took the floor. "I see that we are going to have a large scale, long term intervention on our hands," he began, "I think we will have to call a meeting of the wizards in England and Ireland. I will send notice asking Tom and Carl to attend as well. Nita, you will remember were we met last at the Long Hall. Now please give me a précis of the situation so I can get the specialists started."
The Headmaster, Hermione, Dairine, and I tried to cover the salient points of the situation to Shaun. As we told our parts he nodded or asked questions to clarify points. Once the tale was told, he stood up and said, "Ok everyone and thank you. I'll send notice for the meeting time." He walked out of the collective shield and disappeared.
Dairine turned to me and asked, "Harry, why is there a cat on your head?"
It is a surprise that she was able to wait this long to ask. I thought she would have at least asked through mind-touch when she arrived. I smile and say, "Aheu'rsh arrived by a 'misplaced' gating and fell on my head. She has been comfortable, I would imagine, as she has not stirred from my head."
I feel the tail of my new companion start to twitch and decide that I have said enough on that topic. With the business portion done, the group separates up for conversation. The Headmaster talks with Nita, Kit, Carmela and Filif. While I am dragged with Hermione by Dairine to chat.
"So Hermione, how did you meet Harry?" Dairine opens.
Hermione replies with our meeting or collision before boarding the train. She then asks, "How did you meet Harry?"
Dairine smirks at me and says, "Almost as you did. I ran into him at the Crossings. Harry was trying to explore before heading back to his relatives. I was running from some BEMs..."
Hermione interrupts, "BEMs?"
"Bug-eyed monsters," I interjected.
Hermione gives Dairine and I a weird look and then motions for Dairine to continue.
"Well, I was running from a group of them when I collided into him. He saw what was going on. He then jumped up, grabbed my hand, and dragged me into a side corridor asking what was going on. I told him and he asked if he could come along and I agreed."
The two girls were off. Dairine started by asking about Hogwarts and with Hermione giving her opinions interspersed with quotes from Hogwarts, A History and roamed to various academics to spell design.
I was only able to barely follow them as they jumped from subject to subject. This is mostly due to the tutoring that Dairine gave me when hearing how the Dursley's would punish me if I got better grades than Dudley. Dairine always believed that knowledge was crucial to survival and took me under her wing. Somehow she managed to get me up to college level math and science, though with spells as they are, a working knowledge of Calculus is needed to do any real spell modifications or design. That and she taught me computers. She did offer to get me a software form of the manual, but I had to decline as the Dursleys would barely tolerate a book, never mind a computer.
The two girls wound down. They seem to have made quite a rapport in the past ten minutes. Dairine drags me and Hermione over to the rest of the group.
"Hi guys," she starts, "I want to get Hermione here friendly with the rest of you."
Carmela, looking at Hermione as if she were prey, pounces taking her and Filif aside to talk about fashion. This surprises me as Hermione never seemed the type to care about that. Turning back to remaining group, I asked Nita and Kitt about how they are doing. They told me, mostly Kitt, about the project on Mars. Professor Dumbledore looks on in fascination as Kitt waxes on the various details of the Mars exploration. Nita, on the other hand, rolls her eyes.
Once Kitt finishes his disquisition on Mars, Nita asks about how I have been and about the Dursleys before I left for Hogwarts. The Headmaster, upon hearing about the Dursleys, has brief times where his expression is one of remorse. This was especially apparent when I told about how I finally got out of the cupboard under the stairs. Nita, Kitt, and Dairine are quite happy with the news of my internment into the former Dudley's second bedroom. The Headmaster flinches when they mentioned their inability to adopt me.
"Dari, I thought you were going to wait to ask him about the blocked adoption," I mind-spoke to Dairine.
"Harry, I told Nita and Kitt about the plan. This is their idea."
"Well I guess we will have to run with it."
Dairine, stands in front of the Headmaster in an Admiral Akbar t-shirt and jeans. A short, thin red-head girl stares the Headmaster in the eyes implacably, while asking, "Professor Dumbledore, would you happen to know why any attempts to adopt Harry were blocked?"
The Headmaster sighs and responds, "I did block those attempts. I must commend you on your persistence. Harry needs to live with his Aunt. When Harry's mother was murdered, she left a residue of her abiding love, that was powerful enough to repel the killing curse, into the blood of Harry. I used that lingering protection to weave powerful blood wards around Harry's home. As long as he can call the place home and the sole remaining relative of his mother provides her welcome to him, however grudgingly, Harry will be safe."
"Harry would be safe with our family," Dairine starts.
"I did not know about your connection with wizardry before," Professor Dumbledore concedes, "I will not block further requests for adoption from your family. If the muggle, sorry non-magical, authorities will approve the request, I believe it would not be an issue meeting Harry at Kings Cross Station."
At this, both Dairine and Nita smile. Kitt walks over to his sister and tell her the news.
"Marvelous," Carmela drawls, "I'll get to keep this cutie to my self."
Hermione and Dairine both frown at this. I shake my head at this. Both girls are older than me and I see that they are thinking of things in a fashion I am not yet equipped to. I move out of Carmela's reach. Filif decides to step into the conversation, "Harry, why do you want to leave your home? I thought that being of your planet did not wander from their families till after latency."
"My family, if you can call them that, did not treat me well. I would be much safer when out of their hands," I reply, "I do not wish to belabor the situation as it is now being rectified."
"I understand," was Filif's response with a contrite look. How a tree could look contrite boggles the mind. It must be the berries.
It is time to head back to Earth. We have spent enough time on the Moon to use up the air that was taken with us. Since I needed to clean up some loose ends on Long Island it was decided that Professor Dumbledore will go with me, Nita, Kit, Dairine, Carmela, and Filif to Dairine and Nita's house. From there the paperwork will be filed for the adoption and registering the school that I am attending to avoid the issue about mandatory education. We will also stop by Tom and Carl to plan warding on the Callahan house to please the Headmaster's sensibilities.
Hermione is not too happy about going back to Hogwarts alone, but she respects the professor enough to go without question. Dairine and I set up the spell circle for our return. After having Nita, Kitt, Carmela, and Filif add their names and check over the other's, Dairine, Kitt, Nita, Filif, and I start to recite the spell. It is an interesting development having five wizards chanting in unison for the transit spell. The area quiets around us, the universe listening in and then - whumpt.
We are in a green annex of sorts. A tree on one side next to a fence, grass below, and flowers on another. The Callahan yard is landscaped by Dairine and Nita's father, Harry Callahan. Mr. Callahan runs a flower shop and has donated his time to tending the landscaping of his and his neighbor's lawns. This has influenced Nita, whose initial specialty in wizardry dealt with living things. While Kitt was focused on the non-living, like rocks or airplanes.
Professor Dumbledore, Dairine, and I head into the house in search of Mr. Callahan. We find him in the dining room. As we enter he stands and when seeing me, raises an eyebrow.
"Harry, it is good to see you. What brings you and this distinguished gentleman today?" Mr. Callahan asked.
The Headmaster clears his throat. A bit guiltily I would say. He then says, "Hello, Mr. Callahan, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am here to help expedite young Harry's adoption. That is if you still desire to adopt him."
Dairine stares at the Dumbledore and he sighs, "I also apologize for blocking the adoption before. I did not believe that Harry would be safe away from his Mother's blood."
Mr. Callahan's makes an undecipherable face. He pauses for a few moments then says, "Mr. Dumbledore, did I just hear you say that you were responsible for keeping Harry with those abominable relatives?"
"Yes, Mr. Callahan, I am the one responsible. I set up wards based on the lingering protection left to Harry by his Mother. I made blood wards that as long as Harry could call the Dursley's home he would be safe from harm."
Mr. Callahan sighs and says, "I will not press this further, now, but we will have a talk later. What extra preparations do we need to make?"
"I will be speaking with the local advisories, Tom Swale and Carl Romeo, about what wards will be feasible to be placed here," was the Headmaster's reply.
An owl swoops lands on the window sill and pecks at the window. Professor Dumbledore walks over to the window and opens it. The owl sticks out his leg. On that leg a piece of parchment is tied. He removes the parchment and the owl flies away. He closes the window and unrolls the parchment.
"Ah. I just got notice from the american magical community. They will be – hmm this is an odd term – over-nighting you the paperwork for the adoption. You will need to have it signed and notarized and then mail the paperwork back. Harry, at that point, will be made a dual citizen of America and Great Britain."
Mr. Callahan blinked, "That is much faster than I thought it would be."
"I am the Chief Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. It makes it much easier to push through the bureaucracy," the Headmaster replied.
After the Headmaster finished his reply, There is knock at the door. Mr. Callahan heads over to the door and opens it finding Tom and Carl. "Hello Tom, Carl, good timing. We were about to go look for you," Mr. Callahan remarks.
Tom smiles and says, "Hiya Harry, I just got notification that a new wizard has been added to our catchment area and at your address. I saw the name and remembered the problems you were having getting the adoption to go through so Carl and I decided to see what changed."
"Come in and have a seat. Would you like something to drink?" Harry Callahan asks.
As Tom and Carl follow Mr. Callahan into the den, Tom replies, "Anything you have handy Harry. I have a feeling that this will be an interesting visit."
Mr. Callahan smiles, just shy of a smirk, "I would have to agree with you. Let me introduce Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
At this Carl's eyebrows shoot up, "I see. That explains the hows of the difficulties in the adoption process, now we need the whys. Headmaster, I presume that Harry Potter is also your type of wizard?"
For a moment, the Headmaster looks shocked, but it is gone so quickly that it seems like it was never happened. "Ah yes, young Harry is also my type of wizard. I blocked the adoption believing that he would be safer under the wards placed over his Aunt's house. I did not know that he was an emissary, nor that this prospective adoptive family was either. He is known as the boy-who-lived to our people and the circumstances that created that title also brought many enemies that seek either to kill or corrupt him. I am surprised that you have heard of Hogwarts."
Carl grins and in his Brooklyn drawl says, "We have experience in the few cases of both types of magic being present in a single person or family. We act as the contact point for the American 'magical' government and the Wizardly hierarchy. As the Advisories for this part of the world, it is under our preview to handle the overlap in jurisdictions. Due to this, we have had to do research into the Wizard's mastery for the information on the magical human branch."
Tom's faces went pensive, "I believe that I heard the boy-who-lived moniker before. It has to do with the survivor of the last attack of the Dark Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Riddle?"
At this Professor Dumbledore showed shock, "Yes. I see that you are very well informed to know Lord Voldemort's birth name."
"Headmaster, our type of wizards are specialists in naming. That is how we work. To describe is to change."
Seeing a break in the conversation, I speak up, "Hi Tom, Carl. I finally get to move here." I grin at the pair.
They smile back at me, "Yes it will be good to have you around more, Harry. Though there is another issue at hand too. We have gotten word from the European Advisory for joining an intervention involving your type of wizard. Please explain."
I shrug, "Dairine, Nita, Kit, and I at minimum have been placed on active to clean up Magical Britain."
Dairine, who is sitting next to me on the couch in the den, snorts and says, "Only you can call that cleaning up like it was a mess on a kitchen counter."
"It may be a simplified view, but it is an accurate description. Since you mentioned that you know of my so-called title, the boy-who-lived, and you know about Voldemort, then it is easy to explain why the intervention meeting is being called for. Voldemort is not dead and there is a prophecy about me that says I am the one to defeat him. The rest is all logistics."
Tom and Carl shake their heads and Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkle like mad. The Headmaster clears his throat and says, "Yes, that is an accurate summation Harry, but we do need to take care of the reason for coming here. We need to discuss what wards to be erected to make it safe for you to live here."
At this, Tom pulls out a series of books each the size of an unabridged dictionary. He selects the book that is second from the bottom and the rest of the books politely hover in place when it is removed. Senior wizards, with their greatly increased responsibilities, have a hugh differential in the amount of material needed and available. The Manual is, in a way, sentient. It provides the wizard what he/she needs to know when they need to know it, if they know what to ask. The Manual also prevents dissemination of material to those not ready for it. Tom flips through the volume and locates the section he needed. The page is scrawled with blue glowing arabic looking text mixed in with mathematical symbols. He speaks a few words to his manual and the text reasserts itself into an English translation. He motions Professor Dumbledore over and in quiet tones discusses what is in his Manual.
After a few minutes the two look up and wave Dairine, Mr. Callahan, and I over. He points out the different wards and what is needed to keep them in good health. It was decided by the two that the warding will be done in a combination of both types of wizardry. The wards to prevent entry of unfriendly beings is a combination of a ward in each form. Anti-apparation is blocked using the Speech based wizardry, but portkey is warded through wand magic. The wand based wards are to be applied by Professor Dumbledore while the Speech based wards are placed in a 4-person group spelling involving the two seniors, Dairine, and myself.
The Headmaster places the wand magic based wards, which use a mixture of wand and rune to case, first. Next Tom and Carl start drawing the main circle for the rest of the wards. Four anchors are placed in the corners of the property to create an incorporeal spell circle. To the wizards it shows up as a scintillating ring of blue light. In the backyard, to be out of sight of the neighbors, the interior portions of the diagram are created for each of the participants and stating the purpose of the spell.. Once this is complete, each of us checks over the work, to look for any flaws. Not finding any, we write our names into our personal parts of the diagram. We each check everyone's name and after finding that each looked correct, Carl spoke up.
"Now, Harry and Dairine, Tom and I will be chanting the main portion of the spell. You two will join in when the goal section and the names are read. Understood?" Carl explains.
Dairine and I nod as we step into our positions. Tom and Carl start to read the spell. As with all spells using the Speech, the Universe quiets and leans in to hear what is said. The spell is a large, complex, and strong one giving the feeling of power building. Once a spell can be felt distinctly, it is a sign that it is taking effect. The goal section is reached so Dairine and I join in with the Seniors, in sync and steady. We read through the goal portion and then into our names. Each wizard reads their own name. We speak the last few syllables, the spoken form of the Wizards Knot that completes the spell and sets it loose. The is a feeling of a wave of power that is contained visibly to the wizards in a dome over the property that fades into invisibility.
All of us are tired after such a working and it is getting late. The Headmaster pulls out a sock turned portkey. I hug Dairine goodbye and shake the hands of Mr. Callahan, Tom, and Carl. With a request for keeping in touch, I grab onto the sock and feel a pulling in my navel.