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Chapter 4: An MiB Introduction to Magic
It was the 31st of July, and headquarters was packed. Half the aliens on the planet appeared to have picked that day to up sticks and leave, whilst at the same time, twice as many were pouring in from deep space. Epsilon wove through the crowds, shouting instructions in several different languages.
Out on the street, Professor Minerva McGonagall looked once more at the letter in her hand, and again at the large building in front of her. The building number matched the one on the envelope, so she walked through the heavy oak doors. She found herself in a corridor, where a man in a black suit sat reading the newspaper. She approached him carefully.
"Excuse me…"
"Can I help you, ma'am?"
"Yes, I'm looking for Epsilon Brown."
He nodded towards the lift.
"Elevator. You're after a little kid in a black suit."
"Thank you."
She entered the lift. There were no buttons, but it started moving on its own. She gasped as she stepped out into one of the most spectacular looking rooms she had ever seen. The place was packed, but she couldn't help noticing that a lot of the people bustling around weren't… human. McGonagall had heard snippets of muggleborn alien conspiracy theories, but she'd never given them much thought up until now. She stared around, but there was no way she would be able to spot an eleven year old boy amidst this lot. As for looking out for a black suit… every human here was wearing a black suit. She wandered through the crowd, until, eventually…
She stopped in her tracks. The image of the young James Potter was stood proudly in the centre of a large group of aliens. Then she blinked, and the vision disintegrated. The boy was taller, and slightly less scrawny. His hair was black, but it was brushed backwards, and he did not wear glasses. His suit was spotless, and he was shouting continuously in a flawless, alien language. The aliens grumbled back, but he didn't back down, holding his ground with an air of authority that was impressive for such a young boy. Eventually, the crowd departed in different directions, and the boy stood there for a moment, shoulders sagging tiredly, before drawing himself upright and turning to look at McGonagall. His eyes were a startling emerald green, and for a moment McGonagall was reminded of Lily. She dismissed it as coincidence, as the boy started to talk in a smooth American accent.
"Can I help you?"
"Epsilon Brown?" she asked in her Scottish brogue that seemed quite out of place.
"That's me," he said warily. She handed over the letter, and he studied it. He looked back up at her with raised eyebrows.
"Very funny, ma'am. Did Slick put you up to this?"
"I…"
"Hey J!" shouted Epsilon, waving the letter in his direction. "Very damn funny, man! You really had me going! Wait until we're in the gym, I'll vanem eghbert laam…" he broke off, turning to McGonagall with an incredulous expression.
"Daaneg shaell keit," he said softly. A hand shot out of nowhere, and cuffed him on the back of the head.
"Language!" hissed an older man with dark eyes. He turned to McGonagall. "I'm sorry about my son's behaviour. How can I help you?"
"Ah, so you're his father? Is his mother around? I need to speak to you all together."
"No," said Epsilon emphatically. "You need to speak to Zed. I can't believe you were serious, this is mad…"
He began pacing up and down, running his hand through his hair. K put his hands on his son's shoulders to halt him.
"Son, what's wrong?"
"How the hell did we not know? Calak jeondar…" he launched into an angry tirade McGonagall could not understand. She noticed that every so often the boy would switch languages, and she thought she caught bits of French, German, and even Latin mixed up with other languages that were evidently alien in origin. Eventually, K placed a hand over his mouth.
"Junior, breathe."
Epsilon took a deep breath in, and relaxed.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Information overload. Dad, take her to Zed, and get her to explain. Can I go get a chocolate bar?"
He nodded and handed over some money.
"Hear her out," said Epsilon firmly. "Don't interrupt her until she's finished, and make sure Zed knows to believe her. I gotta go sit down."
XXX
Zed's office was silent as the agents gathered attempted to process the information they had been given.
"So," said K slowly. "You're saying that my son is a wizard."
"Yes, Mr Brown."
"And you want me to go to this school?"
Epsilon had appeared in the doorway, and the professor nodded to him.
"We're offering you the option to attend."
"But if this school's in Britain, then why would you come here?" asked K. "Are there no wizarding schools in America?"
"There are," she conceded. "But your son's name has been in our book since birth, so we felt it was only fair to pay you a visit."
"But…"
K frowned, but Epsilon caught his eye and shook his head. He knew they were both thinking the same thing. Epsilon's name wasn't Epsilon when he was born.
"I'm not sure about this," admitted Epsilon. "I've never been to school before."
"Of course, you and your father are entitled some time to discuss this," said McGonagall. K nodded, and led his son out of the office.
"So kid, what do you think?"
Epsilon hesitated.
"I don't know, I…"
Something's bothering you, thought K. Epsilon nodded.
"I don't want to lose you again," he whispered quickly.
K pulled his son into his arms, resting his chin on top of the child's head.
"You won't lose me," he said softly. "I'll be right here, waiting for you, you can come back every holiday, and if you don't like it, I can bring you straight home."
"Really?"
"Really. I bet you'll be having so much fun learning magic that you won't want to come home."
Epsilon felt the sadness behind that thought, and tried to reassure his father.
"I'll always want to come home. Do you promise that I will still have a job at MiB when I return?"
"You bet, Junior. But now you can spend some time with kids your own age. Maybe… maybe you can even find out about your real parents."
Epsilon shivered. "No, I don't want to."
"What?" K was taken aback. "Why not?"
"Let's say, hypothetically, that I found my real parents, and they were still alive, or that I still had family, and they want me back… I'm not sure if I could deal with that, because you will always be my dad."
"Glad to hear it. Perhaps when you're older. So, what's your decision?"
A few moments later, they reappeared in Zed's office.
"I'll go to Hogwarts," said Epsilon. "What do I have to do?"
