Chapter 11
They are acting weird, Jimmy said to himself. Of course, most adults acted weird.
Jimmy had slept so soundly last night. Not only was his father home at last, but he
was going to stay forever and marry Mommy! He was going to belong to a full and complete family, just like the
other kids at school. He would never
again have to pass up going on the Father/Son camp outs they offered. He could make father's day cards with the
rest of the kids and not feel stupid about it. He could draw up a family tree and actually be able to fill in all the
blanks! But something still wasn't
right…
Mom kept looking at him funny, like she needed to say
something but didn't know how to do it. Dad kept going into the bed room, shutting the door behind him, and then
would come out again after a few minutes. Jimmy knew he was home for a purpose, as Mommy wouldn't just let him
have a day off from school with out a good reason. What were they going to say?
Jimmy considered the possibilities and suddenly became very
nervous. Had Mommy told his Dad
about…that? Had she told him that Jimmy
wasn't like the other kids? Did she
tell him about all the strange things he was able to do that other kids
couldn't? Oh, please, don't let her
tell him about that! Jimmy was so
afraid that his father would find out how strange he was and wouldn't want to
stay any more. But why would Mommy ever
tell him those things?
He thought again about how funny his parents were acting and
decided that they were probably going to tell him they were moving back to
England. Mommy had said many times all
her family was there. Jimmy was a bit
excited and nervous at the idea that he had more family. He had been the kid with just a mom for so
long that it was strange to think he had a dad, a grandma and grandpa, and lord
knows how many uncles. Mom had
mentioned a few over the years, but he wasn't sure how many exactly.
That must be it. They
must think I don't want to meet the rest of the family. Or maybe…and this one scared him…maybe they
don't want the family to meet me. Maybe
I am a freak and Mommy doesn't want her family to know. He looked over at him mom, chewing on a
fingernail, and decided he couldn't take this much longer.
"Mom…can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, sweetheart." She appeared startled.
"Are we gonna go to England now?"
Dad came into the room at that and neither of his parents
spoke for a few seconds. It was his dad
who broke the silence. "Would you like
to go to England?"
"Well, don't I have a Grandma and Grandpa there? And Uncles and stuff like that?"
"Yes, you do. You
have six Uncles to be exact." Ginny
said, joining him on the floor where he had been playing. "I'm not too sure how many of them are
married now, but I imagine you have several Aunts and dozens of cousins."
"You rhymed, Mommy."
She chuckled, "So I did! So Jimmy…you wouldn't mind if we
wanted to take you to England?"
"No. I mean, I want
to meet them. And I've never been in a
plane before. It would be fun!"
His parents exchanged glances and Jimmy knew something was
up. He dad said, "Jimmy, there is
something we need to tell you about before we can take you there."
Jimmy looked up at him, brows furrowed together.
"Yes,,,something that will change your life forever." His mom
said softly.
What was going on? Something was very wrong about all this and Jimmy was getting very
nervous. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, dear, but…well…" Mom was searching for the
right words. She did that whenever she
had something to say that she didn't know how to say, but knew Jimmy needed to
know. It was how she used to talk about
his Dad, so Jimmy was quite used to it.
"Jimmy, do you remember the time you accidentally tore the
arm off Brown Bear and the next day he was fixed? You thought I fixed it, remember?"
Jimmy nodded.
"I didn't fix it, Jimmy…you did."
He shook his head. "No I didn't."
"Yes, you did, you wanted him fixed so badly that you
couldn't resist fixing him yourself."
"Mom, I don't know how to sew."
"You didn't sew. You
just…wished….that he would be fixed."
Jimmy looked at his mother as if she were insane. This was crazy!
"Or how about the time last year when that little boy was
making fun of you and hurt your feelings?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes and looked at the floor. Don't talk about that, please Mommy…not in
front of Daddy! He'll think I'm strange
and he won't like me anymore! But she
went on.
"Did you or did you not tell me that you wanted all of his
hair to fall out? And then the next day
at school, he showed up with a bald head."
Jimmy heard his dad give a muffled laugh. "It's not funny!" he said to his Dad. "Don't laugh at me."
"I'm sorry Jimmy, it's just that your mother didn't tell me
about that one."
His mouth gaped open at his mother. "You TOLD him? Mommy! NO!"
His dad reached out and took his arm gently. "Jimmy, it's okay. There isn't anything to worry about."
"You think I'm strange now, don't you? You think I'm some kind of weirdo!" He was trying to struggle free.
"No, I most certainly do not! I think you're just like me!" Hearing his dad's words, Jimmy paused and looked at him. "I had dozens of strange things happen to me
when I was little and I couldn't explain them. My Aunt and Uncle were terrified of me. Honest! I even turned my teacher's
hair blue once!"
"Really?"
"Really."
"But there is an explanation," his father said lowering his
voice.
"There is?"
He nodded. "But you
have to promise me something. You have
to promise me that you won't think I'm strange for telling you this. It's the truth, and I can prove it."
Jimmy was very curious now. His dad seemed very cool and was so interesting. How could he be strange? "Okay…I promise." Passing a glance from one parent to the other, Jimmy waited
patiently for the explanation.
"Jimmy," Dad said, "you are a wizard."
Huh? A what? Jimmy didn't understand. "A wizard? You mean like a magician?"
"Sort of, but the magicians you are used to with rabbits in
hats and tricks with playing cards…well…their magic isn't real. But the magic you are capable of is very
real."
Jimmy looked to his mother. "He's telling you the truth, dear. You are a wizard."
He thought for a moment, considering all the strange things
that had ever happened to him. How was
this possible? Weren't his parents
upset or something? "But, how did I
become a wizard?"
"You know, I don't know how it happens. Some people have it and some people
don't." His dad leaned back, still
looking at him. "But usually, if your
parents have it then you do too. So it's
no surprise that you are a wizard."
"You mean, you're a wizard, too?" Jimmy asked shocked.
"Yes. And your mother
is a witch."
"Wait," he thought for a moment. "Mom can do magic?"
"Yes I can," she sat on the floor next to him. "But I haven't in a very long time, so this
might not work, but we'll see." Jimmy
watched as his mother balled up her hands, muttered something he didn't
understand, and a small blue flame appeared in her hands. Jimmy's jaw fell into his lap. "Not bad for being a bit rusty," she said.
"How…how…you…I…"
"Some magic can be done without a wand. You mother was always good at starting fires
like that."
"A wand?"
"Yes, a wand." He
watched his father remove a long, slender stick from his pocket. "This is a wand, Jimmy."
Jimmy eyed the wand up and down. Intrigued by the idea of a magic wand, he reached out his hand to
touch it but quickly jerked his hand back from it.
His father laughed. "You can touch it. It won't hurt
you."
Jimmy ran his finger over the smooth wood. "How…I mean…what…"
"Here, watch this." His father glanced around the room, pointed his wand at a pillow on the
couch, and muttered something Jimmy didn't understand. The pillow went flying through the air and
landed on the chair on the opposite side of the room. Jimmy's jaw was in his lap.
"Why am I just now finding this out?" he asked, half amazed,
half angry.
"For the same reason you never knew my real name, or why I
never spoke about your father, or why we are living in America," Ginny
explained.
The explanation went on and on. It was obviously difficult for them to do, but his parents were
telling him the whole truth now. All
the questions he had been collecting over the years were willingly and openly
answered. His parents were upset about
some of them, but they didn't hold back. His father told him how this bad man named Voldemort had killed his
parents and tried to kill him too. That's how he got that funny scar on is head. His mother told him about a time when she was controlled by
Voldemort and how awful it was. They
told him about all the good people that Voldemort had killed and how every
witch and wizard feared for their own life.
It was all starting to make so much sense. That's why Mommy came to America; she didn't
want Voldemort to hurt her or me. That's why Daddy went away; he wanted to draw attention away from
Mommy. That's why I can do all those
funny things…I'm a wizard!
It was so exciting and scary at the same time. Mommy told him that all his Uncles were
wizards and that his grand parents had sent them all off to a magical
school. His Dad had gone there, too, to
learn all about magic and how to make potions and perform spells. It was so unreal. Jimmy's mind was having difficulty taking it all in, but he
couldn't stop asking questions.
"Will I get to go to the magic school?"
"Hogwarts, dear. The
school's name is Hogwarts," his mother corrected. "And yes, I would imagine that you'll get your invitation just
like we both did. But you don't go
there until you are eleven."
"What do I do until then?"
"Well," his Dad looked at his Mom for help, "that all depends
on what you want. We would very much
like to take you to England…to live there…but we will understand if you don't
want to go."
"Isn't Hogwarts in England?"
"Yes, but you won't be going there for a while yet," his
father added.
"So I won't have to go to school until then?"
Ginny laughed. "Of
course you will, but you would still go to a Muggle school."
"Muggle?"
"Its what we call non-wizards…people who can't do magic."
"Oh, so if we lived in England, I would have to still go to
school."
"Yes," his mother said, not letting him get out of that one!
"Well, what is school like in England?"
Harry rambled on and on about his school experiences and
Jimmy decided it didn't sound too different from his own school. He didn't want to leave his friends, but he
really wanted to see more magic. Going
to England meant seeing his magical relatives and getting to see them do
magic.
Smirking just a bit, Jimmy thought for a moment before
announcing, "Okay, I'll go to England."
There was quiet as his parents looked at him in
amazement. "You really want to?" Harry
asked.
"Well, you're gonna go to England, right?" Jimmy asked. "And when you marry Mommy, then she's gonna
go with you." He shrugged and finished,
"I only think its obvious that I go, too."
Ginny hugged him tightly. "We wouldn't leave you behind!"
"Never," his father said, wrapping his arms around him, too.