Part 3

Brian stared at the young boy that stood in front of him. Brian had heard of Harry Potter. The defeat of the evil wizard Voldemort had occurred before Brian's parents had discovered that he had been continuing his lessons. He had been amazed that a child, a boy of only a year old, had been able to do what no one else had been able to manage. And now, after all this time, here he was, standing in front of him telling him that Voldemort was back.

"He can't be," Brian said in a small voice, one that no one had ever heard come from him before. "That's impossible. You killed him." Justin and the rest of Brian's friends looked at the ad exec, wondering what was going on between him and the young teen. They had never seen Brian look as rattled as he appeared now. Not even Michael had seen Brian so quiet, even after his father beat him.

"He didn't die," Harry explained, feeling the uncomfortable weight of Brian's friends on him. "Ummm, look. It's a long story. Is there some place we can go so we can talk?" Brian nodded his head, seeming to regain his composure. His usual mask of indifference fell upon his face, although the others could tell that it wasn't as strong as it usually was. He stood up and signaled for Harry to follow him, completely forgetting the others in the booth.

"Brian," Justin said, getting up and going to his lover when Brian stopped and turned to face him. "Brian, what's going on? Who is this boy? Whose this Voldemort?" "It's a long story, Justin," Brian answered, leaning down and giving his lover a kiss. "Give me about an hour and then come to the loft. I'll explain it then." Justin looked between Brian and Harry, feeling the tension rolling off the younger boy, and the nervousness in his lover. He leaned up and kissed Brian again.

"Are you sure?" Brian nodded his head. "An hour, Brian, and then I'm coming home and I want to know what's going on."

"An hour." And with that, Justin watched as Brian and Harry left the diner, leaving behind a confused and stunned group of friends. That is, until Justin remembered what Ben had said a few minutes ago.

"Okay, Ben, what was all that about?" Justin asked as soon as he lost sight of Brian. "What was all that about Brian being a wizard?"

"Shit," Ben softly swore.

"Ben," Michael asked, turning to face his lover, his worry over what had just happened with Brian evident in his voice and on his face. "Do you know what's going on?"

"I don't know what exactly is going on," Ben hedged, not sure exactly how the group of friends would take any of the information he had in regards to wizards, Hogwart's, Harry Potter and Voldemort.

"Well then, tell us what you do know, honey," Emmett demanded, "and don't leave a single thing out." Brian took a deep breath, not surprised to see Debbie take a seat at the booth, curious about what was going on after over hearing the conversation between Brian and the young boy that had come in looking for him.

"Brian's right," Ben started, not exactly sure where to begin, "it is a long story. And I don't know Brian's part of it, but I do know if he went to Hogwart's, Brian is more special than any of us knew."

"What do you mean, Ben?" Justin asked. "Does this have something to do with you asking Brian if he was a wizard?"

"Hogwart's, the school that Brian said he went to, is a school for witches and wizards," Ben explained.

"There's no such thing as witches or wizards," Ted snorted.

"Hush, Ted," Debbie admonished, although she understood Ted's sentiments. She shared them, although she didn't want Ben to know that. "Go on, Ben honey."

"Look, guys, I know it seems like what I'm saying is only so much bullshit, but it's the truth," he continued. "Witches and wizards, as well as a lot of other things that everyone believes to be make believe, do exist. It's just that the ones in charge have made it so secretive that non-magical people don't know of their existence. In fact, there's a whole other society out there that no one knows about."

"And Brian was a part of that," Justin commented, his voice soft at the discovery of yet another secret from his lover's past.

"If he went to Hogwart's, then yeah, I would say he was a part of it. But it's very rare for a wizard to basically spend all of his time in the Muggle world, as they would call it. They tend to stick to themselves."

"But Brian went to school here," Michael reminded everyone. "Trust me, I know. I wouldn't have passed high school if it wasn't for him."

"Well, I can't say why Brian left Hogwart's, its unheard of from what I understand," Ben continued. "That will have to come from Brian. But I can tell you, from what little I just heard, things may be about to change. And not necessarily for the better."

"What do you mean?" Debbie asked, not liking the idea of one of her adopted sons possibly being in trouble, even if she did think he was an asshole half the time.

"That young boy that was in, Harry Potter, he's famous in the wizarding community," Ben explained. "I haven't had anything to do with any wizards in over twelve years and even I know who he is."

"How can a little boy like that be so famous? What did he do that was so special?" This came from Ted, still refusing to truly believe what he was being told.

"Thirteen years ago he saved the wizarding community from what some called their worst nightmare."

"That guy Voldemort that he was talking about," Justin stated, looking to Ben for confirmation. "But he couldn't have been more than a baby."

"From what I remember, I believe he had just turned one."

"ONE," Debbie shouted, trying to picture young Gus at that age doing something that could cause someone's death. "How in the world could he have done anything when he was that small?"

"No one knows. All they knew was that Voldemort had killed Harry's parents before trying to kill him. It didn't work. Voldemort's powers couldn't harm him."

"Why did this Voldemort kill this kid's parents?"

"Power," Ben answered. "Voldemort wanted it and killed anyone that dared stand in his way. And there were a lot of good witches and wizards that died in Voldemort's quest for it." There was something in Ben's voice that drew Michael's attention and made him realize that there was more to what Ben was saying.

"Who else?" He asked his lover. Ben smiled slightly at him.

"My aunt and uncle." Michael gave a quick hug to his lover, encouraging him.

"I didn't know you had a wizard in your family."

"Are you a wizard?"

"No, I'm not a wizard," Ben shook his head. "It runs in my mother's family. It was her brother that I was talking about. She's actually the first non-magical person in her family in four generations. Doesn't exactly make for egret family reunions. She's considered the black sheep of the family. Then again, it also saved her from Voldemort going after her. She was the only one in the family that didn't have to go into hiding."

"So this Voldemort, if he's back like that kid said, is going to be trouble?" Justin questioned, wanting nothing more than to run back to the loft and check on Brian. "But what does the Dumbledore want with Brian?"

"If Voldemort is back, then yes, it can mean nothing but trouble. As for what Dumbledore wants with Brian, I can't say. But Dumbledore was always known as a wise wizard, if not a little strange, and if he thinks that Brian may be in danger, than I can only say that we had all better be on the lookout."

"Shit," Justin silently swore his and Brian's perfect vacation to Hawaii forgotten. Now, the only thing on his mind was getting home and making sure that his lover was okay.