Chapter 2 - Explanations
There was a silence in the room that felt very uncomfortable to Daniel. The woman - or witch, if she was telling the truth - was looking at his dad with a stern look that had a hint of amusement to it. They were sitting in the living room, cups of hot tea (hot chocolate for Daniel) in their hands. Even in a complete and utter state of confusion, his dad was making efforts to be polite.
"So," his dad said, finally breaking the silence that has overtaken the house since the woman's arrival, "you say you are Minerva McGonagall, the witch from the Harry Potter series - a fantasy series written by J.K. Rowling?" His tone was careful, not ridiculing or outright disbelieving, though Daniel knew his dad was just trying not to be insulting.
The woman looked at his dad with a calculating look, and then sipped from her tea.
"Let me start our conversation by making it all more believable for you two. Please don't be startled, as I am about to perform magic". She then proceed to draw a long wooden wand out of her dressing and tap her hat and clothing. Without a sound, they both morphed before their eyes, her hat becoming a sort of hat Daniel would have expected a witch to have, and her dressing becoming a robe.
She then proceeded to levitate the couch they were both sitting on, making a gasp of surprise and delight escape Daniel's mouth.
And then, as if she was trying to make sure they were convinced beyond doubt, she turned into a cat.
His dad was looking utterly shocked, his mouth opening and closing like he was lost for words as she turned back into a person. When he finally spoke, his voice was very hoarse for some reason.
"So it's all real? But - but how? And why?"
The woman - witch, definitely witch - gave him a look that Daniel had no other word for other than "pitiful".
"Let me explain, Mr. Aurbach. The world that both of you read about - magical Britain, and the larger magical world, is both real and different in some ways from what you know. I do have a leaflet from the ministry explaining it all, which I will leave with you after I go. But I do find that giving a thorough explanation in person is more pleasant for Muggles"
"What do you mean, both real and different?" Daniel couldn't stop himself anymore, his curiosity getting the better of him, "are there really brooms? Is Quidditch real? Do you really have dragons, and hippogriffs, and phoenixes? And what about Hogwarts, is it really like in the books? And does -"
"Daniel!"
His dad's voice wasn't loud, but his tone firm. Daniel suddenly realised he was bombarding the witch with questions, not even letting her answer.
"Sorry Mrs. Headmaster" he mumbled, feeling his cheeks redden as he avoided making eye contact.
She chuckled softly. "It's quite fine, Mr. Aurbach, your curiosity is quite understandable. And from now on, professor will suffice. Agreed?"
He looked up at her, and was surprised to see her with a compassionate expression. She still managed to convey sternness through it somehow.
"Agreed, professor"
"Thank you. And now, if you will, I will answer all your questions and more".
He and his dad leaned forward, and Daniel felt his heart thumping a bit faster in excitement.
"You both seem familiar with the books, so you probably know that on Halloween Eve, 1980, He who mu - I mean, Voldemort, killed Lily and James Potter in an attempt to complete a prophecy and kill his destined rival, their son, Harry Potter. As you know, due to extraordinary circumstances, Harry survived, and with the help of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, he was placed in the care of his closest blood relatives. Are we still on the same page?"
They both nodes, listening eagerly.
"Good. Now, with the end of the first wizarding war, the magical community did all it could to go back to living the life we have left behind in the war. But Albus - which, in case you didn't remember, had many other political positions besides being headmaster - was contacted by a few of his colleagues from the International Confederation of Wizards, all concerned with the matters that has been occurring in the passing years."
"Excuse my interruption," his dad interjected in a respectful tone, "but when you say 'matters' and 'passing years', are you referring to the, umm, wizarding war?"
"Quite correct, although I am also referring to the conflicts with Grindelwald years earlier"
His dad's look was a mix of confusion and thought. "Now that you say that, since the wizarding world is real, doesn't that mean that what happened with Grindelwald was connected to World War 2, right?"
"Indeed, it was one of the conflicts of the wizarding world that crossed over to the Muggle world."
"Wait, crossed over?"
Professor McGonagall gave him a sharp look. "While I understand your fascination and curiosity, Mr. Aurbach, I do need to focus on my explanation. Keep your questions for later."
"Yes, I see. Forgive my impatience, Professor."
"Thank you. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. As I was telling you, Albus was approached by concerned associates, all recognising two very troublesome trends.
The first, as you realised, was the rise in tension inside the wizarding world over the existence of the Statue of Secrecy and the need to hide from Muggles. Aside from the armed conflicts, there were also numerous incidents of the Statue being broken by wizards, either intentionally or not.
The second trend was the rise some of them observed in muggle technology, and ability to record incidents and follow up on events that in the past were complete mystery to them.
In short, it seemed to them that if something won't be done, the routes our worlds were heading were bound for collision.
And so, they sat down to find a solution."
She stopped for a moment and took a sip from her tea cup. The lack of her talking really brought into Daniel's attention how quiet it was in the house right now. Usually when it was this quiet, he would be doing something, like reading or playing video games, so he couldn't notice the silence. He looked at his dad, who was staring intently at the professor. When his dad noticed his gaze, he shot Daniel a quick reassuring smile.
"Their plan was, in hindsight, a spark of genius that was above and beyond any method used by wizards to conceal themselves in the past. 'Hiding in plain sight' was what Albus wrote in his notes about it. A way to give plausible deniability to any breach of the Statue of Secrecy, while still maintaining a status quo in which muggles are unaware of the wizarding world that exists alongside them.
It took them years of preparations - research of muggle customs, gathering supporters in secret, deciding on what to tell and how. And then, in 1995, when Voldemort returned - they knew it's time to execute the plan. "
"Wait a minute," his dad suddenly said, "forgive my interruption, but - I may only be jumping to conclusions, but if the wizarding world is real... and the book came out 1997... but she got the idea way earlier! It doesn't make sense!"
"What?" Daniel's confusion from his dad's reaction was well felt in his voice. "What are you trying to say dad?"
"What he is trying to say," Professor McGonagall's voice was sharp and, if Daniel was being honest with himself, a little scary, "is that the idea Albus and his colleagues had was, to put it simply, to write a book. And, if you keep quiet, I will elaborate."
It was an interesting view, seeing his dad blush and avert his gaze like Daniel might have done in his place, mumbling "sorry" in a quiet voice.
"As I was saying," she started again, "when Voldemort returned, the plan sprung into action. A muggle that was chosen in advance became the subject to what we now recognise as the most intricate memory charm ever cast. Instead of actual memories, she got ideas. Ideas about a boy with a lightning scar, who is part of a magical world. The breadth and intensity of the knowledge she got was so incredible that, in order to hold it all, the charm was shaped so it will appear to her as if she has had this idea for years, building on it and creating a story. You call her today J.K. Rowling, but in the wizarding world her name is 'The Herald'. And now, if you want, you can ask your questions."
It was a unique experience that, for once, Daniel was truly lost for words. It was just too much -growing up and finding out you are a wizard is on thing, growing up reading about wizards and knowing it's not real is another; having the two realities collide was, for a lack of a better word, stupefying.
luckily, his dad seemed to be handling it all way better than Daniel.
"So, let me see I understand you correctly - J. didn't actually write Harry Potter?"
"Oh, she most certainly did."
"But you just said - "
"That the idea behind it was real life events that were magically inserted into her mind, yes. But a story is more than just a clever idea. The words, the rhythm, the small cutting and additions, all of those make a story into what it is. In truth, most Muggles couldn't have been The Herald."
"So they needed a good writer, is that what you are saying?"
"That, and also someone who would be good enough a person to write a story in a way that will benefit us. Imagine the same story being written by an author who writes stories of the more... gritty fashion - what would have been your reaction?"
Daniel suddenly thought about his dad's fantasy books, specifically the heavy books titled 'a song of Ice and fire'. His dad was adamant about not letting Daniel read those before he was older, so naturally Daniel sneakily tried to read them. He gave up after 8 chapters.
If Harry Potter was written like that...
"So what you are saying," Daniel found himself saying, "is that you needed the books to be popular, but also paint the wizarding world in a favourable light?"
Professor McGonagall gave him an actual smile, which caught him by surprise and made him blush a bit.
"Exactly so"
"So," his dad interjected again, "you decided that the best way to hide magic from everyone was to tell them about it? Seems a bit counter productive and... And..." He stopped talking, a looking like he was suddenly struck by some incredible epiphany." I take it back, it's a genius plan."
"What? Dad, why is it so smart? I mean, now everyone likes the wizarding world, but we also know about it! What if someone saw a broomstick, or a dragon? they'll recognize them easily because of the books"
It was professor McGonagall's turn to interject. "You see, Mr. Aurbach, that's exactly what Albus wanted when he thought about 'hiding in plain sight'. You know it to be a story, and that means you won't truly believe it to be a reality"
It was the sort of weird reasoning that made Daniel confused, but he thought about it for a second. When they found the letter, he didn't think it was real. His dad, that knew the letter was not the one he himself wrote, didn't think it was real. In fact, until the moment professor McGonagall levitated the couch and turned into a cat, Daniel didn't really believe, and his dad still sounded a bit skeptical even now.
He also remembered that in every book it always said adults were much less believing than children, and that his dad used to explain that when you grow older your brain just gets used to how things are supposed to be, so you stop trying to believe things that don't make sense to you and start inventing clever explanations for stuff.
And then it clicked.
"I get it! Because we think it's all a story, we will never see something weird happening and look into it, we will just think we saw something weird and that our brain made a mistake because it's used to imagine the books!"
His dad chuckled and ruffled his hair adoringly. "Yes, that's exactly that." He then looked again at the professor, a weird expression on his face. when he spoke his voice was tender.
"So it was all real? Hogwarts, and Quidditch, and magical creatures, and the books and movies and everything she wrote?"
"Yes. Well, most of it is" she then took another sip from her cup.
"What do you mean, 'most of it'?"
"Well, the spell was cast in 1995, and again after the end of the second wizarding war. But as you mentioned, the books started coming out 1997, and so there are... discrepancies, between the reality and the story. It only makes sense - The Herald didn't think of her ideas as memories, and so she was free to alter them as she saw fit."
Daniel was suddenly struck by a stunning revelation. "Does that mean that the ending wasn't real? Like, the epilogue part that's suppose to be happening in the future - she couldn't have known."
Professor McGonagall's face wore a very neutral expression when she spoke. "It would stand to reason that she couldn't. But as you are about to find out, what should be and what is are two very distinct realities in the wizarding world. When the seventh book came out, the Muggle Affairs department was in a state of disarray. Somehow, The Herald predicted the names and birth years of the children of Harry Potter and his friends, amongst other details. To this day, no explanation was found for the incident. That being said, almost everything written outside of the confines of the 7 books is riddled with inaccuracies, so we suspect it was just a lucky coincidence"
Daniel found himself, again, too dumbfounded to speak. That was probably a record, but he was focused on what he's just been told, so he didn't notice much. Besides him, his dad chuckled.
"Well, it seems the wizarding world is just as whacky as one would imagine. I do wonder, though - looking at it from an adult perspective, the story is very archetypal, you know, good versus evil, modernity versus tradition; but now, knowing it to be more than just a story, it makes me wonder about how people in the wizarding world reacted to their portrayal in the books as being archetypes, and the assimilation of political agenda with moral values that seems to be so prevalent in -"
"Dad," Daniel interrupted with a groan, "you are doing it again!"
It was a bad habit of his dad, when too many thoughts were running in his head, to start talking with really long and winded sentences that used words people usually only found in old books.
His dad looked surprised, as he often did when his train of thought was interrupted, and then gave Daniel an apologetic look.
Professor McGonagall, while not actually smiling, managed to look sternly amused.
"Right, sorry. What I was trying to ask is - what were the reactions in the wizarding world to the books?"
"A great question, Mr. Aurbach. The answer to it is, I'm afraid, quite complicated. You see, Albus and his colleagues concocted their plan in secret, knowing their methods will be considered extreme for the very least. Even today, 22 years after their plan was executed, there are still wizards who oppose it deeply, seeing it as a breach of the secrecy and a bold disregard for their safety. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, that was not the true meaning of your question."
"Right. I was meaning to ask -"
"You were meaning to ask, 'what do all the people that the book portrayed badly, like the ministry or house Slytherin, had to say about it', correct?"
His dad nodded.
"Well, that's the complicated part I mentioned earlier. In short, the divide it created was one of the drawbacks of Albus's clever plan. But you shouldn't worry about wizards politics too much. Let's talk about something happier - like your trip to Diagon Alley, for example."
Daniel smiled, his excitement bubbling like a fizzy drink inside of him. "We are going to see Gringotts, right? and the Prank shop of the Weasleys! And I'm going to get a wand, isn't that awesome dad?"
"It sure is son. But..." his dad hesitated, and his face was contorted in a sort of look that Daniel wasn't used to seeing his dad make; a sort of unsure, somewhat sad face. It was weird, seeing his dad like that.
"Daniel, I need to speak with professor McGonagall in private for a bit. Can you go to your room until we call on you?"
His dad's tone implied that it was not actually a question, that he was asking to give Daniel the opportunity to say yes. Daniel knew, he knew his dad was trying to be nice. But, like it often was, something about the situation just felt unfair to him.
"But why? I want to ask the professor more questions!" He exclaimed, his voice rising in indignation. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't. She was here because of him, he shouldn't be excluded.
"Daniel..." His dad's voice was more assertive now, maybe even a bit higher in volume.
"No, it's not fair! She's here because of me, so I'm the one who should be talking with her! I'm not going!"
"Daniel, you will be speaking with the professor later. Right now I need to speak with her, in private, and I ask you to respect that." His dad was definitely raising his voice now. Maybe Daniel also raised his before, he didn't really notice.
"NO! It's unfair, and I don't wanna go, and you are not even listening to me, and I'M NOT GOING!" He didn't mean to scream, but it came out this way. He was just so angry, everything was unfair and his dad just didn't listen. He felt his anger bubbling inside, like molten lava bubbles only hotter and more fierce.
"Daniel!" His dad stood up now, a look of grim determination on his face. "Your behaviour is unacceptable! Go to your room right now, and when you calm down I expect an apology to me and the professor"
Usually that would not have been enough. But something about professor McGonagall's blank look made Daniel suddenly very conscious of his anger.
"FINE!" He yelled, jumping to his feet and stomping to the stairs. He got to his room and slammed the door as hard as he could, almost hoping it would break in the process. And then, despite really not wanting to, he started crying.
Only when he heard the door to Daniel's room slamming violently his tension dissipated. All in all, that went surprisingly well. It may have been because of the professor's presence, but David, ever the optimist, hoped it meant Daniel was getting better at dealing with situations that didn't go his way.
He looked at the professor. She gave him a sort of look that felt compassionate, as if relating to his troubles.
The whole thing - magic being real, his son being a wizard - was making David ask himself if he has gone insane, meshuga as his dad would have said. But his dad was a man of science, and even he would have had a hard time explaining how the woman in front of him turned into a cat without magic.
It felt like his life just became a plot of a book; but when he was younger, back when he still tried to believe that one day something extraordinary will happen to him, he promised himself to never be one of those unbearable protagonists who spent half the book coming to terms with the changes.
Magic was real, Harry Potter was real, and his son was a wizard. Given that it was all truth, what should he be doing right now?
It took a bit of a mental struggle, but deep inside he knew the answer all along, from the moment the professor levitated the couch.
"Professor," he started, trying his best to keep a level voice as he looked her in the eyes, " I would like to say, as Daniel's legal guardian, that I am decidedly against Daniel attending your school."