Chapter 24: Opportunity Pecking

"What is this place?" said Fiona.

It was quite beautiful, if stark. Rough, red terrain stretched out in every direction, occasionally interrupted by gleaming spires that reached into the heavens.

"I have no idea, but it must be important if we were pulled here," said Father.

"So this world is like the Spiral?" said Fiona.

"Oh not at all," said Father. "The spiral has magic that allows it to draw people; the forces that brought us here came only from within us."

"What do you mean, within us?" said Fiona.

Her father scrutinized her for a moment and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh my little ember, I did you a great disservice by not explaining your heritage."

"You didn't explain much of anything," said Fiona.

Father laughed and said, "No I suppose I didn't... Tell me Fi, do you know what being a Traveler means?"

"It means that I can travel the universes and all the worlds within them," said Fiona.

"You are correct. Travelers are usually free from the limitations of location; we go where we wish, for as long as we wish, protected from the ravages of time."

"Usually?" said Fiona.

"There are times when we are pulled, made to go to places that we need or where we are needed," said Father.

"So this pull tries to make us happy?"

"You know very well that what you need is not always what you want," said Father. "I had no desire to leave you or your mother. But with you being pulled towards the Spiral, and me being called somewhere else, I had to part with you."

"But why didn't you take Mom?" said Fiona. Mom tried to hide it, tried to make her believe she was happy, but it was so clear. At night, Fiona would sometimes hear sobs from her mother's room. A fire witch was a creature of passion who loved with all her heart. Fiona knew that her mother loved and treasured her, but she wasn't enough. Fiona couldn't replace her father.

"You were being taken to a new place where I couldn't stay with you; do you really think I would leave you all alone? Your mother undoubtedly suffered without me, being who she is, but she would choose you over me every time. It was the best I could do. One day you will have to make the same decision."

"So I'm doomed to never have a home? I can't have a family without knowing I will have to leave them?"

Fiona looked down at her feet. She didn't feel sad as much as empty. When she looked up, she noticed her father's eyebrows drawn up in confusion. That wasn't an expression she expected.

"You make it sound so grim! Why would anyone want to stay in place for all of time? Besides, I don't see why you can't have a family."

"How could I have a family if I knew that I could be pulled from my child and husband at any time?"

"Oh it's not so bad. Occasionally your child will be pulled to that same place as you, or only one of you will be pulled. Then you can travel with them if you like. Most Travelers do not. I haven't seen my mother in eight millennia. Besides, you will have to leave your husband when he succumbs to illness or old age, with or without being pulled. You may be bored and lonely for a time, but you'll find new companions eventually."

"But that's so cold…" Fiona stopped talking as she saw that same look of innocent confusion on her Father's face. She had never thought of him as alien before. Someone who couldn't understand, or see, the world as she did.

"I see this topic is upsetting you—though I don't know why. Let's not speak of it anymore, and go on our way. Those spires look promising…"

The newspaper crinkled as Dudley flipped the page to look at more headlines.

"I got a call from my dad an hour after you broke the spell last night. He had some news," said Dudley.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" said Harry. Dudley looked up from the paper to see his mildly miffed cousin.

"I didn't want to bother you. You looked so tired after the spell."

"You know," said Harry, as he dug some scrambled eggs out of a pan and onto Dudley's plate. "I feel like the word 'spell' is too general to describe all of the magic that I do. I think I'll take a cue from the wizards I see in books and categorize my spell work." Harry walked to the sink and continued to speak animatedly as he washed the pan and the other dishes. "Any magic that requires more than willpower to work should be called a ritual, unless the magic comes from the ingredients, in which case, it's a potion. A spell that acts independently of me to defend is a ward, and if it's independent of me and causes harm it's a curse." Harry started to go on about trying to classify spells by elements and in terms of physics. Dudley couldn't help his bemused smile.

"Oh I'm sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?" said Harry.

"My dad signed me up for Smeltings. You're going to go too because he wants me to keep an eye on you. It was all done at the last minute, so it cost him some serious cash."

"Well, we'll be prepared," said Harry. "We did learn the standard material for the next year. With any luck it'll all be review."

"That just means class will be so boring that I might want to learn extra material for fun."

"You can if you want to, I certainly have enough textbooks and lesson plans to last us until college." Dudley snuck a glance at the dreaded tutoring chest. The small oak chest stood innocently in the corner, giving no hint that it contained a reference library the size of Buckingham Palace.

"I still don't understand why you like learning so much," said Dudley. Harry washed the dishes in silence for some time before he spoke up.

"Your parents never let me ask questions, get good grades, or read books—after a while, I stopped trying—getting an A on a test wasn't worth a beating. Hm, I think I would have given up completely if you hadn't taught me how powerful information was," said Harry.

"Me?" said Dudley.

"You where the first person who asked questions, you know. You wanted to know why I was a freak, where I came from, who I really was—you changed everything. I got control of my powers, I stopped living in a cupboard, I wasn't hungry all the time, and I had a best friend. Knowing I was a wizard set me free, and the more I learned, the more I could do. The more I can do, the more I'm worth."

"People don't just value you for what you can do for them," said Dudley.

"Is that true?" said Harry. Harry dried a cup and set it to the side before picking up a plate. His movements were neat and graceful as always. "Would you see me the same way, if I didn't have the powers to make your desires become real? Would the fire elves care that I existed if I didn't have what it took to save the Falmeas? Would—"

"Harry, I don't know about the fire elves, and maybe I wouldn't have become friends with you if you weren't magical, but it's not like that anymore. If you lost your powers tomorrow, you'd still be my best friend, and you'd be family." Harry turned around; his eyebrows drawn up in disbelief. "It's true." Harry did not look convinced and continued to dry the dishes with a shrug.

"Even if it is, I have so many questions. Why am I magical and other people aren't? How does my magic even work? I don't even know who my parents were. I keep hoping that if I learn enough about something, I'll find some answers."

If anyone can find answers it'll be you, thought Dudley. A loud tap on glass cut through the air. Dudley turned towards the source and saw a horned owl sitting on the sill. It glared at him and pecked at the window again. Two envelopes were tied to its leg. Harry went to open the window to Dudley's alarm.

"What are you doing?" said Dudley.

Harry rolled his eyes as he undid the latch and let the bird in.

"If it posed any threat to us it wouldn't have gotten past the wards. I can feel that they're still working." Harry untied the ribbon that held the envelopes to the owl's outstretched leg and passed one of them to Dudley. Dudley thought that that his seemed a little thicker than Harry's. It was addressed to Dudley Dursley, Second Largest Bedroom, Number Four Privet Drive.

"Well these people sure know how to address a letter," said Harry as he showed Dudley his envelope, which read Harry Potter, Former Guest Bedroom, Number Four Privet Drive. At this point Dudley had gone from curious to disturbed. He ripped open the envelope and read the first paper he could pull out.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Dursley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment, as well as informational materials for muggleborn students.

Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

P.S. You may forward any questions by writing a note and tying it to this owl. If no response whatsoever is forthcoming within two weeks of receiving an acceptance letter, a Hogwarts representative will arrive at your place of residence.

"Your letter has more info than mine," said Harry. "It's like they think I already know what Hogwarts is." Harry took the other papers from Dudley and started filing through them.

"What weird timing—looks like we might not be going to Smeltings after all. I'll send a letter asking the Professor to meet us—"

"Are you joking!" said Dudley. "Why would we trust any stranger who knows where we sleep?" At this Harry's face paled.

"You think she's spying on us?" Harry huffed and relaxed. "Hff, of course she's spying on us, why did I even ask?"

"But how long were they doing that?...Do you think they know about how...you used to be treated?"

Harry rested his chin on his clasped hands, thinking for a moment before he answered. "Maybe Hogwarts staff only know this stuff when they send letters, or when we reach a certain age. Could be they just didn't care."

It disturbed Dudley that Harry could so easily say that—as if it was alright not to care about him. Had Harry's opinion of himself always been so obvious? It made Dudley furious—because he cared, and he even said as much—and Harry basically decided that he was a liar. It made him feel hopeless and—denied. It made him want to hurt someone—but Harry was the only one around, and he was off limits for obvious reasons.

"If that was the case, they can meet my zombies up close and personal!"

"Dudley—we don't know any of that. All we know is that we have letters with weirdly accurate addresses and that they arrived by owl. I really doubt it's a conspiracy. We know my parents were magical, so other people must be, and it would make sense that there's a school to train our abilities. Besides, I can feel that the magic in the owl and the letters are pretty harmless." Dudley could feel no such thing. Of course, he saw that there was magic, but it wasn't as if colors could automatically tell him if the magic was good or bad. Maybe it was because Harry had more practice. "This could be exactly what we wanted. You need more help with your magic, and I want to learn more about where I came from. Besides didn't you want an adventure?"

"Maybe I did, but do you remember the dark magic in your scar? These people could be dangerous."

"Dudley, I don't think it's a coincidence the letters came here right after I dropped the wards. My spells can affect them, so we should be safe as long as whoever Hogwarts sends meets us here."

"Didn't Fire Cat Alley teach you not to stick your nose into dangerous places?"

"Why would it? Everything went really well." Dudley just gaped as Harry started writing out a response. "I have a few questions for McGonagall. I don't know how we'll pay for the school without me enchanting these wizards and who knows how that would turn out. And look at the curriculum in your pamphlet"—Harry pointed at the list of courses. "There's all sorts of strange-sounding classes, like transfiguration and herbology, but nothing like a science class, or even phys ed...though that might be broom riding. I don't even know what we'll do about Carlisle. We'll need to sort things out before we agree to anything."

"Do I even have a choice?"

Harry stopped writing and looked up at him. "If you really don't want me to do this we can burn McGonagall's letter right now."

-x-

(Letter from Harry Potter to Professor McGonagall)

Dear Deputy Headmistress,

My cousin (Dudley Dursley) and I are interested in attending your school. However, we have several questions about financing our education, as well as what Hogwarts has to offer us. We were hoping that a Hogwarts representative could be spared to answer our queries.

Thank you for your time,

Harry Potter

(Letter from Professor McGonagall to Harry Potter)

Dear Misters Potter and Dursley,

I would be happy to meet with you at your home on Saturday morning to answer any questions.

Yours sincerely,

Professor McGonagall

A.N.

I took the time to flesh out Fiona and Harry.

Fiona will only occasionally appear in the story until the summer.

To Thephantomprince:

Hermione will be friends with Harry and Dudley, but Ron will not. If you like Ron I apologize but I can't stand him. I won't bash Ron beyond the first year (he's lazy and tactless, not evil), then he'll just drop into the background like any other Hogwarts Student.

In response to Acolyte of the Blood Moon's question:

The story will include Wizard101, Runescape, and Skyrim. I know that some readers wanted other games, but these are the ones I'm more familiar with and I feel that all of them can serve as good plot devices and interesting settings.

If this story is fully realized, it will certainly be epic-length

Please tell me what you think and review. Reviews let me know how I'm doing as a writer and sometimes give me great ideas.