All characters in the story are the property of J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Books, with the exception of Eleanora Sterling and a few supporting characters, who are my own creations. This story is created purely for the entertainment of myself and other like-minded readers and no copyright infringement is intended.
By mentioning J.K. Rowling in this story I do not intend to present her as a fictional character.
This is probably the hardest thing I have ever undertaken with no hope of monetary gain... so please don't sue me!
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Chapter 53: Welkin Explains AllI had no difficulty getting to sleep that night, but staying there was another problem. Anxiety dreams plagued me and in one of them, Severus and I had decided to watch the Harry Potter movie together. Instead of it being about Potter, it had turned out to be a porno film about the two of us. I had no problem with the fact that I was being portrayed by Julia Roberts, but Steve Buscemi was playing Severus. Yech. I woke up in a cold sweat.
I had to find out more about these books. I knew Severus was furious about the whole thing, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. Answers were at my fingertips if I only knew where to look. My computer beckoned.
I rose quietly and left my man sleeping. I found an old chenille robe in my closet and tiptoed downstairs. It was only about six. I went to the kitchen and reacquainted myself with the coffeemaker. While it perked, I filled Magenta's bowl in case she felt like coming out of the closet, and stepped out the back door onto my deck. The sun was just coming up and there was a touch of fog in the air; the garden sparkled with dew. I had to admit, I had carved out a beautiful place for myself in this world. It was good to be home.
I was torn between sipping my coffee on the deck or booting up the computer and checking to see if Algernon Welkin had sent the promised e-mail of explanation. The computer won; there would be time later to lounge on the deck and survey my domain.
I had about 350 messages to download, and most of them were junk mail. I would have to weed through them later, but there at the very bottom of the list I found the message I sought:
From: wizard1679@hotmail.com
To: doctornora@strat.net
Subject: The Books
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:09:02 -0400
My Dear Miss Sterling:
First of all, please forgive me for all the distress I must have caused you and SS by following you about London. Had I any idea that you had suspected me of spying for V, I would certainly have tried to contact you in a less alarming manner. However, not knowing exactly what hotel room you were staying in or what names you were using, it was impossible to contact you by telephone.
No matter. After I returned to the Ministry this morning I discovered the full reason for your distress. I realise now that Weatherby's disappearance in conjunction with the warning you received from one of V's people had raised alarms with AD and with the two of you, and that is why I was suspected. The Weatherby mystery has been solved and while I cannot go into the details I want to assure you that the one circumstance had nothing to do with the other.
About the matter I spoke of at the airport: Right off I wish to apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you, or has already caused you. If you do not already know what I am talking about, here is the whole sordid story, in which I regret to say I played a key role.
While on routine Ministry visits to Edinburgh I often have clandestine business on the Mundane side; it was on one of these visits that I came to be acquainted with a woman by the name of Joanne Rowling. I used to stop at a particular café and noticed her often sitting and writing while she held a young child on her lap or in a buggy nearby. I got curious about her and struck up a conversation with her, the first of many, and discovered that she was down on her luck, with a baby to care for, and was working on a series of children's books. She already had the first completed and allowed me to read it. The plot concerned a young boy who discovers he's a wizard, and gets sent to a special school to learn magic.
I was fascinated. Naturally she had no idea how close to the mark she had come to describing our own world, and I'm afraid in my desire to help her I made a grave breach of protocol and took her into my confidence. Of course, she dismissed me as a crackpot, as well she might, but as proof I offered to give her a glimpse of the world she was writing about.
Now you may have heard that a non-magical person cannot pass through a portal, but I was happy to discover that as long as I held her hand, I could take her through. Once in our dimension, though I dared not take her to any Wizarding places, I was at least able to show her enough tricks with a wand and so forth to convince her I wasn't crazy!
She began to ask a lot of detailed questions, and naturally wanted to know everything about the "real" Wizarding School. I really had not the time or the information to give her but I offered to help her in another way.
I came to arrange a meeting between her and a young lady of my acquaintance who was at the time a student at H_ and doing a little writing of her own on the side. (She shall by necessity remain nameless, as I know both her father and brother through the Ministry.) She was at that time trying to write a little biography about HP, mostly I think to dispel some rather unfair rumours about him that had circulated during his tenure at H_. Now, of course, as he is rather famous as a soldier of D's, an official biography of him would be a nice addition to the School's curriculum.
I introduced the two of them, and they soon struck up a bargain: Joanne would help my young friend with her writing, and in return, my friend would supply her with material for her own series of books. They also agreed that if there was any money to be made from either venture, it should be shared. I daresay, seeing how popular the entire "HP" franchise has become on the Mundane side of the portal, that my friend has enjoyed a rather healthy return on her investment in time, which will go a long way towards helping out her large family, who are not very well-off. And, I must confess, I myself have enjoyed some slight remuneration as a "finders fee".
As harmless as the project seemed at first -- I had not the slightest fear that any wizards other than my young friend and myself would ever know about this -- it has now transpired that you and one of AD's closest associates have travelled to the other side of the pond, where, to my horror, these dratted books seem to be a very popular thing. I'm given to understand that a series of films is now being made from them. Which is very nice for both of my friends, of course, but naturally, if AD or the Ministry should ever find out about this, there will be more than one firing and Lord knows how many other repercussions.
That is why, I implore you, DO NOT reveal the existence of these books to anyone in your circle of friends at H_. And especially, DO NOT acquaint anyone in the Mundane world of the facts behind the books' existence. Lacking any method of coercion I'm compelled to leave this entirely to your discretion, but do understand that we simply cannot have word get out that the stories contained in these books are depictions of fact, not fiction. Not having read the books for myself I cannot say exactly how closely the facts have been followed, nevertheless, you get my point, I'm sure. I would imagine that AD would be highly upset at any breach, though I realise I'm not one to be making demands or pointing fingers.
On a more practical note, I wanted to let you know that I have been fully exonerated of all suspicion both with D and the Ministry and I am once again in full communication with D and the folks at H_. Accordingly I have passed your e-mail address on to RL, who shall from time to time apprise you of the progress of our struggle with V. Likewise I shall continue to forward any missives anyone (particularly PP) should desire to send to you by regular post, as I have been doing for the past several years. If you wish to write to anyone here just use the same P.O. box you have used all along and I will pass things along.
I hope this finds you both well, and may I again extend my good wishes for your happiness.
Best Regards,
AW
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A/N:
Finally! the awaited explanation. Welkin has been a very naughty boy... with the best of intentions, of course. Shouldn't be hard to guess who the other culprit is.
- Grey Lady
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NEXT: Snape's Reaction
