Author's note:

I do not own the Harry Potter universe or anything that comes along with it. That honor goes to its magnificent creator, J.K. Rowling. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!

(Edit 12/5/2021: This was first published in late 2020.)

Chapter 2: A Talk About Magic

They Apparated to a small park overlooking the sea. They would be safe there — for the time being.

"Ms. Marlene, how did you do that?" Harry asked in shock. Inside, Marlene cursed the muggles and Albus Dumbledore for not letting him embrace his heritage as a wizard. Harry would have to learn everything from her.

"Well, I used magic." She put it out there, plain and simple. Getting him to accept it would be the hardest part.

"But magic isn't real! My uncle said it himself!" Marlene shook her head. Muggles were so closed-minded when it came to things they didn't understand.

"It's a long story. How about we talk about it over some dinner?" she suggested. Looking up, Harry suddenly noticed a small van up ahead. Marlene bought them both a burger each, and they sat down on a bench. Harry began devouring it like a child who hadn't eaten for a day. That very well might be the case, Marlene thought.

"Harry, magic is real. Your mother and father had it, and so do you." Marlene pulled out her wand. "This is my wand, and I can do magic with it. Watch! Lumos!" To Harry's amazement, the tip of the wand lit up!

Harry was full to bursting with questions for Marlene. "Can you do another one? When can I get a wand? Is it true that you fly on broomsticks and wear pointed hats?"

"Slow down, Harry. One at a time," Marlene interrupted Harry's bombardment. Harry immediately quietened down.

"Sorry for being bad, please don't smack me!" he whimpered in genuine fear. It took all of Marlene's willpower not to Apparate directly into the Dursleys' house and strangle them all. Where did the happy-go-lucky baby I once knew go?

"I won't smack you, I promise. Violence is never the answer," Marlene assured him. That was one of the principles she lived by; it had been instilled in her from young by her grandmother. "Ask me your questions again, but slower, and finish chewing first."

Harry repeated his questions. "You will get a wand when you turn eleven and get a letter for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yes, we fly on broomsticks and play Quidditch, a game which I will explain later. And finally, yes, I'll perform another spell. Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry's glasses flew into the air, and he squealed in delight.

"Now I think that it is time to go home. We can stay at my house, it's just across the street." Marlene brought a tired Harry over to a cozy apartment which she had been staying in for the last seven years.

"What else can magic do?" Harry asked as Marlene tucked him into her bed. She would make do with sleeping on the couch that night.

"Well, magic can attack and defend, like in a duel. For example, the spell Protego can form a shield," Marlene explained. Harry seemed to contemplate something for a moment. "Is anything the problem?"

"No, I was just thinking. Why couldn't my parents just shield themselves from the car crash?" Harry asked. Marlene furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What car crash?"

"That's how they died, wasn't it?" Then it dawned on Marlene. The muggles had fabricated a story to feed to the gullible child.

"No! They died fighting, trying to save you from a very dark wizard," Marlene corrected.

"Oh, so my father wasn't a drunkard?" Harry sounded relieved.

"No. I knew your parents to be brave and loyal. They were also very good friends to me."

"You knew my parents?" Harry asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Yes, I was friends with your mum in school, and they were going to make me your godmother before — they died," Marlene replied. She knew better than to delve deeper into matters pertaining her death and Sirius. Just thinking about him and what he'd done made her choke up.

"Then how are you related to me if you aren't my godmother?"

"All p — wizarding families are related to each other in some way. I think you are my nephew, maybe about three times removed," Marlene chuckled, "So I guess you can call me 'Aunt'." Wizarding heritage could be complicated at times, but she didn't want to involve the blood purity feud yet. Harry was still learning the ropes, there was no need for her to bias him by giving him her opinion.

"Someday, I want you to tell me all about my parents. I don't remember them much."

"Sure, but now's time to sleep."

"Aunt Marlene, can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"All right."

~~story~~

Once upon a time, there was a fountain. Once a year, between the hours of dawn and dusk, one person could bathe in its enchanted waters to have his or her problems answered.

Three brave witches decided to go on the journey. The first witch, Asha, was suffering from an incurable disease. The second, Altheda, had been robbed of her wealth and was left poor and homeless. The third, Amata, was distraught after being left by her beloved. Each of them wanted their problems solved by the fountain.

On their way, they met a muggle knight. He introduced himself as Sir Luckless, and as his name suggested, he had no luck. The three witches took pity on him and decided to let him accompany them on their journey.

They walked on and on, waiting for some kind of sign that they were on the right track. Suddenly, one afternoon, the path they were walking on began to rumble. Out from the ground came a giant worm!

"Give me proof of your pain," demanded the worm. No spell or attack could get the worm to move, and the sun was rising higher into the sky. Suddenly, Asha collapsed to the floor, crying. However, when her tears hit the ground, the worm drank them up and then retreated. They had passed the first obstacle.

Soon after, they arrived at a steep slope. At the top of the slope, lay the fountain. On the ground, however, was an inscription. Bring me the fruit of your labors, it wrote. The group continued walking, but found that however many steps they took, the summit of the slope came no closer.

A bead of sweat rolled off Altheda's cheek and hit the words on the ground. All of a sudden, they found that they could move forward. They had passed the second obstacle.

When they reached the top of the hill, the four were met with a wide river. In the river, there was a stone with a message written on it. Pay me the treasure of your past. None of the witches nor the knight could leap across the river, but they couldn't decipher the meaning of the stone.

Then Amata got the answer. Using her wand, she extracted all her memories of her lost lover and fed them to the lake. As soon as the memories mixed with the water, stepping stones appeared for them to step on.

Suddenly, Asha collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. She was about to die, but no one could lift her into the fountain. Altheda began picking ingredients from the garden around them and mixed them together.

When Asha drank it, she found the energy to stand up again, and found that she had been completely cured of her illness. She didn't need the fountain anymore. Realizing that she could make money with her skills, Altheda no longer needed the fountain either. After washing away her regret for her lover, Amata had washed away her need for the fountain too.

The three witches allowed the luckless knight to bathe in the fountain. Feeling more confident than ever, he flung himself at Amata's feet and asked for both her hand and her heart, which she gladly accepted.

The three witches and the knight walked away into the sunset, unaware that the magical water in the fountain held no enchantment whatsoever.

~~end story~~

By the time Marlene had finished the story, Harry was fast asleep.

"Goodnight Harry," she whispered.

Author's note:

I'm sorry, that was a silly error. I realize I wrote that Harry was Marlene's "niece" instead of "nephew". I have fixed it. Thanks to Meester Lee for pointing out the error to me.

Sneak Peek Into Next Week:

Harry learns about Hogwarts admissions and talks about his accidental magic.