Chapter 4

The Keeper of the Keys

Jack's birthday wasn't too bad, but you can't exactly have a cake in the middle of the woods unless you've planned carefully beforehand. Jack was promised cake and presents when they returned home after their little vacation. Sadly, Jack would remember his 11th birthday as one of the strangest birthdays he had in his life.

He slept on the floor, while Wee slept on the couch. Emma slept upstairs with Maudie and Dingwall. He stayed up late and drew a birthday cake on the dirt ground. He glanced at Wee's watch just as it was changing to 12 am. Jack was now eleven years old.

"Make a wish, Jack." He whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and blew at the dirt. Just after he finished, he heard a loud knock on the door. Jack jumped out of his sleeping bag, and Wee jerked awake.

"What's going on?!"

There was another knock on the door. Dingwall charged into the room, holding a rifle.

"Who's there?" He shouted. "I'm warning you- I'm armed!"

The loud knocking ceased for a moment, then suddenly, the door crashed in, falling flat on the floor.

A large man was standing in the doorway, he shook off what appeared to be an umbrella. He squeezed his way into the cabin. Maudie had rushed in, Emma clinging closely to her.

"Sorry 'bout that." The large man said before turning and placing the door back. He shot out light from his umbrella into the fireplace. The pit was quickly in flames and the room was brightened. Jack could clearly see the man now. He was muscular- particularly in the arms. He wore a Viking helmet and had a long, blond beard. He had a peg-leg, and the umbrella was attached to his wrist- for he had no hand. His blond unibrow was up in curiosity as he glanced at the bewildered family. He eyes brightened as his gaze fell on Jack.

"Ah, here's Jack!" He cheered. "I s'pose yer woulda had yer mum's hair if things woulda been different. But yer got her eyes! And yer look like yer dad!"

"I demand that you leave at once!" Dingwall demanded. "You are breaking and entering!"

The large man walked over to Dingwall, glaring at him. "Dry up Dingwall, yeh great prune." He bent the rifle as though it were made of rubber. Dingwall went to shoot him, but only hit the ceiling above him. Each of the family either screamed or covered their ears. "Anyway, Jack." The man turned to the young boy. "I have somethin' fer yeh. I mighta sat on it, but it'll taste just the same."

He pulled a box out from his coat and handed it to Jack before sitting on the couch and warming his hands by the fire.

Jack opened the box to see a chocolate cake- slightly smushed- with green icing on it that read Happy Birthday, Jack!

Jack wanted to say thank you, but the words were lost in his mouth and all that could come out was: "Who are you?"

The man chuckled. "Rubeus Gobber. Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. You can call me Gobber for short."

"Hogwarts?"

"Do yer know anythin' 'bout Hogwarts?"

"Er…no…" Jack admitted.

Gobber looked at him, shocked.

"Sorry." Jack said quickly.

"Sorry?" Gobber repeated. He glared at Dingwall and Maudie for a moment. "It's them that should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know 'bout Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh ever wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" Jack asked.

"All what?!" Gobber thundered. He turned to Dingwall and Maudie again. "You mean ter tell me this boy knows nothin' 'bout anything?!"

"I know some things." Jack retorted. "I've been to school. I can, you know, do math and stuff."

"About our world!" Gobber turned back to him.

"What world?" Jack asked.

Gobbor looked even more shocked at this. "Yer don't know…yer don't know 'bout yer parents, yer fame…yeh don't know…yeh don't know…" He looked at Jack with a mixture of defeat and bewilderment. "Yeh don't know what yeh are…"

Dingwall stepped forward. "Stop right there, sir! Don't tell the boy anything else!"

Gobber glared at him again. "Yeh never told him! Never told him what was in the letter North left for him? I was there, and I saw North leave it! An' yeh kept it from him all these years!"

"Keep what from me?" Jack asked eagerly.

"Yer a wizard, Jack." Gobber said.

"I'm…I'm a what?" Jack gasped.

"A wizard." Gobber repeated. "And a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh been trained up a bit. With a mum and dad like yours, what else could yeh be? And I reckon it's 'bout time yeh read yer letter." He handed Jack the letter the boy had been dying to get his hands on. It had the same emerald letter on it, addressed to their exact location. He tore open the letter and pulled out the parchment and read:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Professor North

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

Dear Mr. Frost,

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.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Tooth,

Deputy Headmistress.

Jack had so many questions and even began to wonder if this was some kind of joke. "What does it mean, they await my owl?" He asked Gobber.

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me." Gobber pulled out a parchment and quill. In another pocket, he pulled out an owl- a live owl. On the parchment, Gobber began to write a note.

Dear Professor North,

Given Jack his letter.

Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.

Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.

Gobber

He folded the parchment and gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak and flew out through the window. "Where was I?" Gobber asked, turning to Jack.

Suddenly, Dingwall stepped forward. "He's not going." He said sternly.

Gobber snorted in amusement. "And I suppose a great Muggle like yerself is gonna stop him."

"A what?" Jack asked.

"A non-magic folk." Gobber quickly explained. "An' it's bad luck ya grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took him in, we'd put a stop to that rubbish." Dingwall said. "We swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"

"You knew?" Jack suddenly felt angry. "You knew I'm a wizard? And you never told me?"

"Of course, I knew!" Maudie snapped. "How could you not be? My perfect sister, being what she was. Oh, my parents were so proud the day she got her letter. We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful? But I saw her for what she really was- a freak! And then she met that Frost, and they had you and I knew you'd be just as strange…just as…abnormal…and then she went and gotten herself blown up and we got landed with you!" This was a side of Maudie Jack had never seen before. It's as though she had been holding all these thoughts and feelings back for years. He began to wonder if all the years Maudie had been good to him if it was all an act. He wondered if she hated him, and his parents. But another question burned into his mind.

"Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" Jack said.

"A car crash?!" Gobber roared. "A car crash kill Esmeralda and Phoebus Frost?"

"We had to tell him something." Maudie argued.

"What happened?" Jack demanded.

Gobber hesitated. "I'm not sure I'm the right person to tell yeh, but someone's gotta. Yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'. Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh. Mind, I can't tell yeh everythin'. It's a great mystery, parts of it…" He sat down again and turned to the fire. "It begins, I suppose…with…with a person called…but it's incredible yeh don't know his name. Everyone in our world does."

"Who?"

"Well, I don't like to say his name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?"

"People are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was a wizard who went…bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" Gobber hesitated again.

"Could you write it down?" Jack suggested.

"Nah, I can't spell it. All right…Pitch Black." Gobber shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this wizard about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em too. Some were afraid. Some just wanted a bit o' his power. 'Cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Jack. Didn't know who ter trust. Didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches. Terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him- an' he killed them. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon North is the only one You-Know-Who is afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then anyway.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I never knew. Head boy an' girl as Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the mystery is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before…probably knew they were too close to Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em…maybe he just wanted 'em out o' the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you were all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'…an'…" Gobber pulled out a handkerchief and blew into it. "Sorry," He said. "But it's sad…knew yer mum an' dad an' nicer people yeh couldn't find. Anyway, You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then he tried to kill you too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, or maybe he just liked killin' then. But he couldn't do it. No one knows how or why. It's the greatest mystery. Ever wonder how you got that white hair? No ordinary hair color. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh. Took care of yer mom an' dad an' yer house, even. But it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Jack. That's why everyone in our world knows yer name. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he killed some of the best witches an' wizards of the age. Valka Berk, being one of them. An' you was only a baby an' you lived."

Jack stayed silent for a moment. Something very painful happened in his mind. He thought he saw a flash of green light. He could hear a cruel laugh. Gobber was watching him sadly.

"Took yeh from the ruined house meself, on North's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot."

"What happened to Pitch- sorry- I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Good question, Jack. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's another great mystery. He was gettin' more an' more powerful- why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Jack. No one knows what it is."

Jack wanted to believe it, but he couldn't. "There must be a mistake, Gobber." He said. "I can't be a wizard…"

Gobber chuckled. "Not a wizard, eh? Have you made anything happen? Anything you couldn't explain when you were angry, or scared?"

Jack thought for a moment. He thought about the times he liked to hide from Wee, and he somehow could get onto high roofs. He thought about the snake at the zoo.

Jack looked back at Gobber who was beaming at him.

"See?" Gobber said, as though he had read Jack's mind. "Jack Frost, not a wizard. Just you wait until you get to Hogwarts."

"Haven't I told you, he's not going?" Dingwall snapped.

"Yer mad!" Gobber snapped back. "His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world! And he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Nicholas St. North."

"I am not paying for some crackpot old fool to teach him magic tricks!" Dingwall yelled.

Suddenly, Gobber held up his umbrella to him. "Never. Insult. Nicholas. St. North. In. Front. Of. Me." He thundered. He swung his wrist and Wee cried out in pain. Jack watched as a pig tail grew out of his backside, ripping through the seam of his pajamas. Dingwall gave as shout as he led his wife and two children out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Gobber turned to Jack. "I'd be grateful if yeh didn't mention that to anyone at Hogwarts. I'm not supposed ter use magic, strictly speakin'."

"Why aren't you supposed to use magic?" Jack asked.

"Oh well, I was at Hogwarts meself but I, er…got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But North let me stay the gamekeeper. Great man, North."

"Why were you expelled?"

"It's getting' late an' we got lots ter do tomorrow." Gobber said loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."