2: The Black Family

Mr. Edward Black of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place is proud to say that he's perfectly normal.

Thank you very much.

Well, as normal as you'd expect an ordinary person can be. The young lad of thirty-two lived in an old townhouse located in the Borough of Islington.

He's a tall man for his build; were he a few inches shorter, he would be all the more handsome for it. He's got sandy hair with a face that describes a touch of aristocracy judging by the prominent structure of his jaws and strong blossoming of confidence and fortitude in his eyes.

Mr. Black lived with his little nephew, Hadrian whom he lovingly called by his nickname, Harry. And in his opinion, there was no finer boy elsewhere.

We can say Mr. Black's family had everything they wanted. However, he also had a secret. See, Mr. Black is a wizard, and a powerful one to boot. The house where they live in is a magical house. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place is invisible to anyone who does not know it exists, especially to non-magical people or more known as muggles.

The house is unplottable which means that muggles only see numbers Eleven and thirteen on the residential street where the house sits on– believing that the missing Number Twelve was simply a mistake made when the houses were numbered.

What makes his secret… well, a secret is that because muggles aren't supposed to know his kind exist. And as much as he was given the freedom to use his magic in any legal way he can, he must not be seen doing it in public – or to be specific, in a non-magical public.

So, in a manner of speaking, he can say his life is perfectly normal indeed.

Our story begins inside Mr. Black's study. The man sat behind his desk frowning at the missive his nephew brought home from school that day while said nephew was seated on the chair in front of his desk, looking nervous. Edward eyed the boy with both contempt and concern. Judging by the first few lines of the letter that turns out to have come from Harry's school teacher, it doesn't look that good.

As it appears, his nephew managed to set loose a giant boa constrictor in the public zoo where his entire class paid a visit this morning causing a scare among the crowd. His teacher wrote it in full detail and yet, with an air of confusion she was able to draw in those few sentences.

"What happened?" Edward asked. The man felt relieved keeping his voice in tone to not scare the boy even more.

"It was an accident," said Harry frantically. The little man's hands were wringing in the air in defense to himself as if expecting punishment from his uncle. "I was talking to the snake. He said he was lonely inside that glass tank where they put him in, and he wanted to see his family in Brazil. The next thing I know, the glass was gone, and he escaped!"

Shocked, or surprised, Edward blinked a few times. Despite the seriousness of the situation his nephew was in, it lacks merit of a punishment beyond scolding. But one thing confuses him, "So you're telling me a snake told you he wanted to go to Brazil, and you set him off?" He asked the boy again.

"Er, yes? Is that bad?"

To be honest, he wasn't sure himself. Edward took his hands and rubbed them on the bridge of his nose possibly to ease up the stress that's building up in his nerves. It's not uncalled for that an eleven-year-old wizard could speak to slithering reptiles but the last time they've heard about it was about fifty years ago!

Edward inspected the letter once more and this time, his voice turned a bit more stern. "We will get back to that. What I don't understand is that how it involved a hysterical classmate who ended up trapped inside the glass cage that sent more than a hundred spectators in panic."

"Oh, that…" Harry began to fumble his hands beneath the loose ends of his shirt and focused his gaze on his feet. "We were inside the reptile house. Malcolm was being a prat. He pushed me out of the glass tank when he saw me talking to the snake. I guess he wanted to talk to him too. I really dunno what happened but I was so angry at that time that I just wished he gets trapped inside the tank so he can play with the snake and the next thing happened, the glass disappeared, and the snake escaped. Malcolm fell into the tank and when he tried to get out of it, the glass was back to where it was, and he was trapped inside."

Edward could only imagine the poor boy howling in horror trying to get out of the glass tank. No wonder the teacher made sure to include it in the letter her agony after apologizing to the boy's parents over and over without trying to blame his nephew from the incident. Nevertheless, the damage has been done and he has to do something to resolve the situation at hand.

"Was this the same boy you told me about picking on you in school?" Edward asked cautiously.

"Yeah." Harry replied reluctantly. "I was already mad at him before that because he kept telling the class I was not allowed to join the trip and children with no parents aren't supposed to go."

The man sat straighter and leaned back against his chair. There you have it. Lucky bastard got what he deserved after all.

"U– Uncle Teddy, am I in trouble?" Harry asked in trembling lips. His mention of his nickname meant he's more distressed than he appeared to be and judging by the fear in those big doe eyes, he must have gotten enough verbal punishment from the people at school than he's accountable for that a scolding from his guardian would be inevitable.

"What? No, no." Edward stood up from his seat and rushed to his nephew's side. The man kneeled down in front of him to make sure he was facing Harry eye to eye before reassuring him everything is alright and grabbed both his hands. "You're fine, champ. Uncle's not mad at you." To Edward, the boy meant the world. It would take more than a reptile's escape for Harry to receive minimal punishments. "– but you know what this means, right?"

The little guy nodded. They had this conversation before. He can't go back to that school anymore. His muggle classmates had seen enough magic caused by his accidental outburst that any more of it and the magical authorities would be alerted. They couldn't have that. Uncle Teddy has to pull him out before they could put themselves more into trouble.

It was already established in this part of the story that the incident wasn't the first time Harry has shown his magical abilities. Once, Edward received another letter from the boy's teacher informing him that the school headmistress got upset because her wig was turned into Blue while scolding his nephew in her office. Not that she was blaming Harry in particular for such a ridiculous notion but the way she wrote it, she did.

Another incident occurred when he's gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. A group of his classmates had been chasing him to turn him into their punching bag when as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. Edward received a very angry letter from the headmistress telling him his nephew had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he explained it to his uncle in tears that night) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. The reason Edward presented before the school board the next day supposed that the wind must have simply caught his nephew in mid-jump thus, resulted to his sudden appearance on the roof must have been the most laughable argument he had made in his entire life. It didn't help that the man almost transfigured the other boy's father into a Walrus if he hadn't managed to keep his temper in place.

"It'll be fine." Edward reassured the boy who is now wrapped tightly in his arms. "You'll be starting school in Hogwarts soon anyway. We just have to wait for a couple more months before you finally go to a magical school with other young witches and wizards your age."

Harry's eyes lit up as soon as he heard the prospect of going to the illustrious wizarding school. He's been talking about it since he was six. "Really?"

"Really, but this doesn't mean you can slack off from your other lessons, eh?" Edward was referring to the lessons he was getting at home from several tutors he hired for wizarding culture and standard etiquette.

"Of course! I mean, yes, sir," said Harry promptly. Edward couldn't help but put up a wide smile. He knew this would lift up his nephew's spirits. That is why he had another perfect surprise for him hidden beneath his desk drawer to be presented on his eleventh birthday.

"Good. Now go to your room and wash. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

The boy left the room with springs on his steps. Edward just sat there heaving a deep sigh as he thought of the letter, he's about to write to the school intending his nephew's withdrawal posthaste.

Dinner was a bit more gracious than usual. They had roast and mashed potatoes with a glass of rose wine for Edward and pumpkin juice for Harry. It had nothing to do with alleviating his nephew's mood from his predicament but more to do with an arrangement he was about to discuss with the kid momentarily.

"So, Hadrian," he began, setting his fork on the side of the table next to his plate. "Since we've determined your next plans in the coming months, it's about time we get you ready for Hogwarts."

Once again, Harry's eyes lit up, he almost jumped on his seat. It only meant one thing and he couldn't help but get excited about it. "Are you finally taking me to Diagon Alley?" He asked enthusiastically. "I have never been there, and they say it's the most wonderful magical district in the world!"

Edward fought the urge to roll his eyes. "There are more wizarding districts elsewhere that are way better than the one in Britain and you've been to a few of those," he contended.

"Well, it's always nice to see new places to visit" Harry pointed out, though he skipped the argument where of all the places his uncle had taken him to, it was baffling he'd deliberately miss taking him to the one closest to home.

"That's not the point. Going to Diagon Alley is one of those things, yes but it's not what this discussion is all about." Edward flicked his wand, and all the plates and other utensils left the table and soared their way into the sink, washing themselves. "I am talking about your official integration to our world," he explained. "It is about time you get to know more about our kind, sweetheart, not only from the books, nor from your etiquette lessons, but you will be formally introduced to the public as Hadrian Black– Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, a noble young wizard." Edward stressed out the last part for more emphasis.

Harry's doe-like eyes widened. He knew this day would come. In the wizarding world, turning eleven doesn't simply mean getting the best presents and lavish parties one could possibly imagine. In Hadrian's case, for the first time, his uncle will finally allow him to be seen by the general public. The past few years, he was allowed to step into any magical community but Wizarding Britain. He hadn't even gotten the opportunity to make friends! Uncle Edward said it was too dangerous for reasons he could barely explain. Not that he insisted to find out what those really were anyway. In fact, it was only recently he'd come to realize he had almost lived like a muggle all his life if not for the magical activity going on in their house for him to witness every day!

Harry was all ears when his uncle began to explain the specifics, though to be honest, his enthusiasm was more inclined to the chance of meeting new witches and wizards his age than being paraded in a room surrounded by fawning adults and introduced as a new member of their society.

"There's really nothing you need to worry other than getting you fitted for your robes and minding your manners when talking to people," said Edward in finality after droning for almost an hour about preparations and other rubbish like that, and when he announced it's almost time for bed, Harry almost skipped the dining room in one stride to get to his bedroom as fast as he can if not for his uncle's reminder to wash and brush his teeth first.

"Excited?" Edward asked when he was tucking him to bed.

"A little bit," said Harry beneath the covers. Then he added, "I can't wait to meet new friends" in the end.

His uncle smiled at his antics. "You will definitely meet them soon," he reassured him. "Now, go to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll get you ready for your big night."

The boy nodded, closing his eyes. Edward pushed a few of those curly locks of jet-black hair on the side before planting a goodnight kiss on his forehead.

"Good night, champ."

"Good night, Uncle Teddy."