Welcome back to the wonderful world of awesomeness. I know I said that an earlier chapter, and I quote, "starts it all," but this is the chapter that really starts it all. Production will be slowing down because of midterms, so don't expects to see the usual once-a-week posting. Harry-Potter-World belongs to JKR. Enjoy!
Till next time,
Dr. Elemenohpee
A Family Reunion…
And Other Such Normal Occurrences
Mrs. Hartwood was seemingly unsurprised to see her brother standing in Dag's workshop, accompanied by an elf. This surprised Dag even more than the appearance of his uncle, whom he hadn't seen in at least a year. His mother calmly took his uncle's coat, and asked him if he would be staying for dinner. His uncle accepted, and then whispered something to Forrin. Crack! The house-elf was gone.
"Well, Dag, don't just stand there; aren't you going to say hi to Uncle Dellior? And have you seen Kat's diaper bag? No?" Dag's mom walked out of the room without another word, coat in hand.
"Umm. Hi Uncle." Uncle Dellior was a tall, heavily-built man in his early forties, with a few white hairs beginning to show on his mop of brown hair. He was fairly dark skinned, with large, rounded ears and soft, leathery hands. His smile made everyone around want to do the same, and his teeth were white as eggshells, though a bit misaligned. He was always making jokes, coaxing laughs from anyone he could, and he was a great magician. Now Dag knew why. At least about the magician part.
"Take a seat Dag, make yourself comfortable," Uncle Dellior said. "This might take a while."
"How long?"
"A while."
That was an understatement. For the next two or so hours Dag sat, mouth hanging open and eyes widening wit every passing minute, listening to his uncle describe to him a hidden world of magic.
"And it's all just right in plain sight, but hidden with magic?" asked Dag, dumbfounded.
"That's right, we can't have muggles waltzing into Diagon Alley and the like, that would be chaos," explained Uncle Dellior.
"Muggles? What're those?"
"Oh, right, I keep forgetting you don't even know basic terms. Muggles are non-magical folk, like your friends at school, and – well, most of the world."
Dag laid his head back against the chair, digesting it all. "So, is mom a wizard- I mean witch?"
"No, my sister is a muggle; she only knows about everything because of me. When I turned eleven, I got a letter from the Salem Witch's Institute, inviting me to their school – they taught wizards too. I was living in New York at the time, with just your mom and our parents. Believe me when I say I was surprised. I hadn't shown an ounce of magic, so I had no idea what was going on. They sent a representative of the school to our apartment to explain everything to me, as I'm doing for you. Yet it seemed they had let the wrong person represent them. She referred me to another school of magic – one in England – saying that that was the place for me. It was called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and it was there that I received my magical education." Dag was hanging onto his every word. "It is for this reason that, although you reside in Florida, and would normally be sent to an American school of magic, I am going to insist that you instead go to Hogwarts. Is that okay with you?" His uncle was smiling at him, hands clasped calmly in front of him.
Dag was taken by surprise – he had no idea what was best, so why should he be asked? "Y-yeah, I guess." Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Wait, how in the world am I going to get to England, it's expensive isn't it? And do I stay there? When Am I going to see my family?" He was getting frantic now.
"It is a boarding school, so you will be living there. You'll see your family on holidays, and summers are also spent at home. You can send letters home and anywhere else by owl – that's how it's done in the wizarding world – and receive letters and even packages in the same way. You will arrive in England by Portkey; that's an object that is spelled to transport anyone who touches it to a designated location. Hogwarts begins in about three months, so we have time to get all of your supplies. When's your birthday again?"
"Thirty-first of August. What kind of supplies do I need?"
"Let's see," replied Uncle Dellior, "I have the letter in here somewhere." He reached into the back pocket of his dark jeans and pulled out a cream colored envelope, sealed with an intricately designed red wax seal. "Take it," he prompted, handing the envelope to Dag.
The paper was soft in his hands as he broke the seal, extracting the letter from within. Beautiful, curved handwriting covered the page, the glistening emerald ink spelling out his name at the top.
Maldagra Hartwood,
You are invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, beginning the first of September.
The list of required school items is included.
We hope this letter finds you well.
Sincerely,
Headmaster of Hogwarts,
Merroka Alden
Dag pulled a second piece of parchment from behind the first. It read:
Required for first years
Books:
Year One: Spells to Begin
Bottles of Brews: A Guide for Young Potioneers
Charmed to Begin: Charming Wandwork for Beginners
Opposing Dark Forces: Defend Yourself Against Magic Most Evil
Seeds and Weeds: Magical Plants and Their Properties
Transfigure Your Skills: Transfiguration Do's and Don't's
One wand
One medium pewter cauldron
A sufficient stock of quills
A sufficient stock of ink
A sufficient stock of parchment
Three everyday school robes
One pair of dress robes
The list went on and on, naming things that Dag had no idea even existed, let alone what they were.
"No need to worry about all that, Dag, we'll make the trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, and you'll be staying with me in England until it's time to go to Hogwarts." Uncle Dellior collected the papers from Dag's hands and returned them to his back pocket.
"Tomorrow! But what about school!" Dag protested.
"Do you want to stay in school till the summer?" his uncle questioned.
"Well, no, but-"
"You won't be needing to finish the year, Dag. You'll be going to Hogwarts from now on anyways."
"What about my friends?" whispered Dag quietly. Uncle Dellior looked taken aback.
"Well, obviously they can't go," he said, misunderstanding his nephew. "You can say goodbye before we leave tonight though."
Dag was silent. He didn't even comment on the fact that he'd be leaving that night. Cemeland and his family had already left to Greece for the summer – there would be no goodbyes.
"You'll make new friends there, don't worry. Now, go on up and pack, take anything you want – make sure you bring enough clothes; though at Hogwarts you'll be wearing robes."
And so, it was with bittersweet feelings that Dag stepped into his uncle's car, which would take them to the Portkey, which would in turn take them all the way to England. The goodbyes with his parents had been tearful and long, but Kat had no idea what was going on, and just looked puzzled.
"Wait, I forgot something!" exclaimed Dag. "I'll be right back!" he yelled over his shoulder, as he dashed through the doorway of his house, headed straight for his room. Looking around, he spotted what he had come for. Picking up a small silver cylinder, he placed it in a side pocket on his backpack, which he still had on.
Thinking quickly, he got a few more things from his workshop in the basement, and hurried back outside to the car. This is going to be an interesting trip, he thought. Then he mentally clicked on an image of a button. Create Character. He mentally typed something after the button disappeared. Character Name: Dag Hartwood. He checked off a box in his mind. Weapon of Choice: Confusing People. He clicked on one more button, and slipped into the cool leather interior of his uncle's Volvo SUV. Begin Adventure.
