Tuesday morning, I woke up refreshed and clear-headed. It appeared that I'd finally gotten a good enough sleep the night before. Right away, this put me into a good mood. For the past couple of months, I'd been sleepy and crabby in the morning. Now I whistled off-key as I prepared for my shower.
Pulling open one of the drawers in the wardrobe, I leafed through the clothes. Selecting a pair of loose gray trousers, a white undershirt, and a white button down shirt, I piled a towel on top of the small stack I'd placed on the rocking chair. Pulling my wand out from underneath the pillow where I'd tucked it the night before (I always carried it with me now, and yesterday I'd had it hidden under my shirt tucked into the waistband of my pants), I gave a discreet flick. New pairs of comfy boxers and socks were suddenly on top of the pile.
The shower from the bathroom turned off. I could hear the squeak of the shower curtain being pulled back. I knocked on the door. "Charlie? Are you out?"
"Yes," she answered lightly. I guess she was chipper in the mornings too. "Just one minute, please."
A second later, she told me I could come in. I opened the door and a billow of steam flooded out. I smiled into the damp air. "Leave me any hot water?"
"Some," was her retort from behind the closed bedroom door. I laughed silently as I prepared for my shower. After I was finished, I toweled off, dressed, and shaved quickly with a kit Charlie must have left out for me.
I tossed my towel into the hamper and left the bathroom. Now for the real work to do. Hanging the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the outside of my bedroom door, I pointed my wand at the antique escritoire. With a pop, a long roll of parchment, a simple eagle quill, and a pot of ink appeared in thin air.
I sat down to begin the letter I knew I had to deliver to Professor Dumbledore. It took me an hour, but at last my final copy was ready. I set down my quill and leaned back, massaging my hand. Perching on the back two legs, I rubbed at the crick in my neck. My eyes watered and I was hungry. But at least the letter was finished now.
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
Hello. I am writing this letter in regards to the recent goings-on at King's Cross Station in London yesterday. I'm sure you've heard by now, but somehow I am unable to get back to Hogwarts. While trying to enter Platform Nine and Three Quarters by way of the barrier between Platform Nine and Platform Ten, I did not fall onto the aforementioned site. Somehow, though I am unable to explain, I am residing at Becker's Bed and Breakfast at 220 West Pottle, St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. I happened to be transported to the doorway of Charlie Becker's bedroom.
I am sorry if this has caused you any recent inconvenience. If you know anything about the situation, or if you can somehow help me out of this mess, I'd greatly appreciate it. As of now, I believe I can trust Charlie, but I will take it carefully as I have in the past. I regret to say that I am somewhat puzzled and worried about these events.
You can send your reply using my Express Out of Country Owl. I would like it as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Harry
I smiled as I folded the letter carefully and tied it around Lightening, the owl I'd conjured to send to Dumbledore. It would take a couple hours, but he should receive it before noon. I'd been thrilled when I read the nameplate embedded into the leg of the sandy-colored owl. Lightening. That had to be a good omen.
I briefly touched my scar and my eyes fluttered shut. It was the weirdest thing: ever since I'd shown up in America, it hadn't hurt. A very slight ache, yes, but not the usual burning throb I'd gotten used to. I knew better than to expect that something had happened to Voldemort: ever since his rise of power three years ago, he'd been steadily gaining strength, wreaking havoc wherever he went.
I knew that first hand.
But something odd was going on here. It wasn't just an accident that Charlie and I had met. Someone had wanted it to happen. Someone had made it happen. And I had to find out whether this someone was my ally or my nemesis. It was a matter of my life… and probably many others.
Rubbing my eyes, I sighed and let Lightening out the window. And then I sat down to write another letter, this one a three-way copy to Hermione, Ron, and Sirius. When I was finished with it, I read over it quickly and conjured up three more owls to send the letter.
Dear Hermione, Ron, and Sirius,
I'm sorry that I wasn't on the Hogwarts Express. I don't know how to explain, because I myself have no clue what's going on. I am currently spending the night at Becker's Bed and Breakfast in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. The teenager that is running the place is named Charlie Becker, whom I believe I can trust.
No, I do not know if this has anything to do with Voldemort, Ron. Hermione, yes, I will find a library as soon as possible and use the Internet access there to look in the Daily Prophet newspaper online articles. And Sirius: please don't worry. I am equipped with my wand (however, nothing else) and should be fine for the time being.
To put you more at ease, I have sent an Out of Country Owl to Dumbledore. If you are concerned, I would like it if you would talk to him about it. I'm sure he'll comfort and reassure you. You can trust me, and I believe I can trust Charlie.
I love you all, and I hope to be at Hogwarts soon. I already miss it.
Love,
Harry
When I was finished rewriting the letter a final time (ink blots were so messy and annoying… one of the few things I regretted about being a wizard), I tied the rolled parchment to the three owls' legs. Then I discreetly let them out the window. If Charlie saw me doing that, I wasn't sure what my explanation would be.
I glanced at the bedside clock. 10:25. I still had a couple hours before I would get a reply from any of the parties I'd sent those letters to. What would I do? It made me nervous just thinking about all the tragedies that could be going on at that very moment.
I busied myself with cleaning up for a few minutes. That didn't take long. All I had to do was make the bed, sweep the extra parchment, quill, and bottle of ink into an extra pillowcase I'd found, and tuck that into a drawer. I wondered around the room, admiring the paintings and pictures on the wall. On the mantelpiece, one frame depicted a young girl with long dark hair swinging from a tire on a tree. She looked so happy and innocent… the child's round eyes captured the camera. It had to be Charlie.
Had I ever been that innocent? I thought warily to myself. Maybe when I was a young child, pre-teenage years. Before knowing I was a wizard, for sure. Of course I'd gotten tormented by my bully of a cousin Dudley, but that didn't really toughen a person up. Even at my first two years at Hogwarts, I was quite immature.
It wasn't until the Dementors that I started to grow up, I finally decided, still pacing absently in front of the window. The shuffle of my feet faded out as I remembered what had been so awful about that year. The wailing of my Mum filled my ears. I winced, stopping in my tracks.
Four years later, I still wanted to cry out as I experienced the pain of hearing my Mum's voice for the first time. Her pleading, her begging… the way she screamed in fear when she realized she was going to die… the racking, uncontrollable sobs for her dead husband and her too-near-death baby…
And then, my fourth year. That more than anything had been the biggest blow to my childhood. Witnessing Cedric die, so mercilessly. It wasn't possible to imagine the pain I'd felt. I hadn't known him that long, but to see another human being die right before you… it was like a bond, a delicate strand connecting the two of you as humans, being mutilated. Severed, right in front of you. And Voldemort being the one to do it… the one who had killed the two most important people in your life… it only added insult to injury. Which was, of course, the biggest understatement of the history of the universe.
I gasped, and everything rushed back into focus. I shook my head, widening my eyes and concentrating on staring straight in front of me. I could not let that happen to me again. It was too painful, more painful than I realized. It made me lose my focus. I couldn't concentrate. Narrowing my eyes, I stared hard at the pillow on my bed. Using my magic, I flicked my finger upward, and the object rose quickly.
Sighing with relief, I dropped it back down softly. That had been close. I'd almost let go of my feelings, and when I did that, I lost complete control. And that was the worst thing that could happen to a wizard.
Again, I sighed, my heart rate slowing. That really had been too close. It was still too soon to think about my mother or Cedric… I doubted it would ever stop being too soon…
A light knock on the door. I fell backward onto the bed, exhausted from my near fatal attempt to take my mind off things. "Come in."
Charlie walked in. Great Wizards, was I glad she was here. I could concentrate on her instead of the bleak, depressing thought of my maturity. She eyed me curiously. "I thought you had work to do."
"I do," I answered her, staring at the ceiling. "I've got to wait a little bit for something. Then I'm off to the library to do some research there. I'll need you to show me where it is if you wouldn't mind."
"That's fine. We'll eat lunch first. By the way, do you know how long you'll be here?" she asked as she sat down on the corner of my desk. I shook my head. "Oh. Well, see, I was thinking: there's a lot to do in St. Louis. A lot of places to go. We can't possibly cover them all in one day…"
I sat up, smiling. "So we could spread it out over several days."
She nodded vigorously. "Yeah, that's it. Okay. Here's the plan. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the St. Louis Zoo. Then we'll head downtown and eat lunch at the riverfront. In the afternoon, we'll explore downtown. Then on Thursday, I figured we could go to the Botanical Gardens in the morning and some museums in the afternoon," she stopped to take a breath. "If you're here for any longer than that, there's tons of other places we can visit."
"I'm sure there is. You should come to London some time," I rolled my eyes. "It's packed with history and stuff."
She smiled slowly. My heart sped up oddly. "Maybe I will some time."
We stared at each other silently for a few seconds. Something strange happened inside of me. I was scared. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Charlie was a Muggle, for crying out loud! She had no clue what was going on in the wizard world. I couldn't get close to her. It'd ruin her… it'd ruin both of us…
I glanced at the clock, breaking eye contact. 11:20. Great Wizards, I'd been out of it before for longer than I thought. I looked back at Charlie. Something in her eyes made me sit up straighter. She slipped off the desk and started towards me.
Suddenly, a frantic beating at the window stopped her in her tracks. She glanced toward the pane of glass. Starting, her eyes widened and she stumbled backward. "What is that?" she yelped.
I looked up to see Lightening slapping his wings against the glass. He appeared frantic to get inside. "Oh man," was all I could mumble as I dropped my head into my hands. I had a lot of explaining to do.
Pulling open one of the drawers in the wardrobe, I leafed through the clothes. Selecting a pair of loose gray trousers, a white undershirt, and a white button down shirt, I piled a towel on top of the small stack I'd placed on the rocking chair. Pulling my wand out from underneath the pillow where I'd tucked it the night before (I always carried it with me now, and yesterday I'd had it hidden under my shirt tucked into the waistband of my pants), I gave a discreet flick. New pairs of comfy boxers and socks were suddenly on top of the pile.
The shower from the bathroom turned off. I could hear the squeak of the shower curtain being pulled back. I knocked on the door. "Charlie? Are you out?"
"Yes," she answered lightly. I guess she was chipper in the mornings too. "Just one minute, please."
A second later, she told me I could come in. I opened the door and a billow of steam flooded out. I smiled into the damp air. "Leave me any hot water?"
"Some," was her retort from behind the closed bedroom door. I laughed silently as I prepared for my shower. After I was finished, I toweled off, dressed, and shaved quickly with a kit Charlie must have left out for me.
I tossed my towel into the hamper and left the bathroom. Now for the real work to do. Hanging the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the outside of my bedroom door, I pointed my wand at the antique escritoire. With a pop, a long roll of parchment, a simple eagle quill, and a pot of ink appeared in thin air.
I sat down to begin the letter I knew I had to deliver to Professor Dumbledore. It took me an hour, but at last my final copy was ready. I set down my quill and leaned back, massaging my hand. Perching on the back two legs, I rubbed at the crick in my neck. My eyes watered and I was hungry. But at least the letter was finished now.
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
Hello. I am writing this letter in regards to the recent goings-on at King's Cross Station in London yesterday. I'm sure you've heard by now, but somehow I am unable to get back to Hogwarts. While trying to enter Platform Nine and Three Quarters by way of the barrier between Platform Nine and Platform Ten, I did not fall onto the aforementioned site. Somehow, though I am unable to explain, I am residing at Becker's Bed and Breakfast at 220 West Pottle, St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. I happened to be transported to the doorway of Charlie Becker's bedroom.
I am sorry if this has caused you any recent inconvenience. If you know anything about the situation, or if you can somehow help me out of this mess, I'd greatly appreciate it. As of now, I believe I can trust Charlie, but I will take it carefully as I have in the past. I regret to say that I am somewhat puzzled and worried about these events.
You can send your reply using my Express Out of Country Owl. I would like it as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Harry
I smiled as I folded the letter carefully and tied it around Lightening, the owl I'd conjured to send to Dumbledore. It would take a couple hours, but he should receive it before noon. I'd been thrilled when I read the nameplate embedded into the leg of the sandy-colored owl. Lightening. That had to be a good omen.
I briefly touched my scar and my eyes fluttered shut. It was the weirdest thing: ever since I'd shown up in America, it hadn't hurt. A very slight ache, yes, but not the usual burning throb I'd gotten used to. I knew better than to expect that something had happened to Voldemort: ever since his rise of power three years ago, he'd been steadily gaining strength, wreaking havoc wherever he went.
I knew that first hand.
But something odd was going on here. It wasn't just an accident that Charlie and I had met. Someone had wanted it to happen. Someone had made it happen. And I had to find out whether this someone was my ally or my nemesis. It was a matter of my life… and probably many others.
Rubbing my eyes, I sighed and let Lightening out the window. And then I sat down to write another letter, this one a three-way copy to Hermione, Ron, and Sirius. When I was finished with it, I read over it quickly and conjured up three more owls to send the letter.
Dear Hermione, Ron, and Sirius,
I'm sorry that I wasn't on the Hogwarts Express. I don't know how to explain, because I myself have no clue what's going on. I am currently spending the night at Becker's Bed and Breakfast in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. The teenager that is running the place is named Charlie Becker, whom I believe I can trust.
No, I do not know if this has anything to do with Voldemort, Ron. Hermione, yes, I will find a library as soon as possible and use the Internet access there to look in the Daily Prophet newspaper online articles. And Sirius: please don't worry. I am equipped with my wand (however, nothing else) and should be fine for the time being.
To put you more at ease, I have sent an Out of Country Owl to Dumbledore. If you are concerned, I would like it if you would talk to him about it. I'm sure he'll comfort and reassure you. You can trust me, and I believe I can trust Charlie.
I love you all, and I hope to be at Hogwarts soon. I already miss it.
Love,
Harry
When I was finished rewriting the letter a final time (ink blots were so messy and annoying… one of the few things I regretted about being a wizard), I tied the rolled parchment to the three owls' legs. Then I discreetly let them out the window. If Charlie saw me doing that, I wasn't sure what my explanation would be.
I glanced at the bedside clock. 10:25. I still had a couple hours before I would get a reply from any of the parties I'd sent those letters to. What would I do? It made me nervous just thinking about all the tragedies that could be going on at that very moment.
I busied myself with cleaning up for a few minutes. That didn't take long. All I had to do was make the bed, sweep the extra parchment, quill, and bottle of ink into an extra pillowcase I'd found, and tuck that into a drawer. I wondered around the room, admiring the paintings and pictures on the wall. On the mantelpiece, one frame depicted a young girl with long dark hair swinging from a tire on a tree. She looked so happy and innocent… the child's round eyes captured the camera. It had to be Charlie.
Had I ever been that innocent? I thought warily to myself. Maybe when I was a young child, pre-teenage years. Before knowing I was a wizard, for sure. Of course I'd gotten tormented by my bully of a cousin Dudley, but that didn't really toughen a person up. Even at my first two years at Hogwarts, I was quite immature.
It wasn't until the Dementors that I started to grow up, I finally decided, still pacing absently in front of the window. The shuffle of my feet faded out as I remembered what had been so awful about that year. The wailing of my Mum filled my ears. I winced, stopping in my tracks.
Four years later, I still wanted to cry out as I experienced the pain of hearing my Mum's voice for the first time. Her pleading, her begging… the way she screamed in fear when she realized she was going to die… the racking, uncontrollable sobs for her dead husband and her too-near-death baby…
And then, my fourth year. That more than anything had been the biggest blow to my childhood. Witnessing Cedric die, so mercilessly. It wasn't possible to imagine the pain I'd felt. I hadn't known him that long, but to see another human being die right before you… it was like a bond, a delicate strand connecting the two of you as humans, being mutilated. Severed, right in front of you. And Voldemort being the one to do it… the one who had killed the two most important people in your life… it only added insult to injury. Which was, of course, the biggest understatement of the history of the universe.
I gasped, and everything rushed back into focus. I shook my head, widening my eyes and concentrating on staring straight in front of me. I could not let that happen to me again. It was too painful, more painful than I realized. It made me lose my focus. I couldn't concentrate. Narrowing my eyes, I stared hard at the pillow on my bed. Using my magic, I flicked my finger upward, and the object rose quickly.
Sighing with relief, I dropped it back down softly. That had been close. I'd almost let go of my feelings, and when I did that, I lost complete control. And that was the worst thing that could happen to a wizard.
Again, I sighed, my heart rate slowing. That really had been too close. It was still too soon to think about my mother or Cedric… I doubted it would ever stop being too soon…
A light knock on the door. I fell backward onto the bed, exhausted from my near fatal attempt to take my mind off things. "Come in."
Charlie walked in. Great Wizards, was I glad she was here. I could concentrate on her instead of the bleak, depressing thought of my maturity. She eyed me curiously. "I thought you had work to do."
"I do," I answered her, staring at the ceiling. "I've got to wait a little bit for something. Then I'm off to the library to do some research there. I'll need you to show me where it is if you wouldn't mind."
"That's fine. We'll eat lunch first. By the way, do you know how long you'll be here?" she asked as she sat down on the corner of my desk. I shook my head. "Oh. Well, see, I was thinking: there's a lot to do in St. Louis. A lot of places to go. We can't possibly cover them all in one day…"
I sat up, smiling. "So we could spread it out over several days."
She nodded vigorously. "Yeah, that's it. Okay. Here's the plan. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the St. Louis Zoo. Then we'll head downtown and eat lunch at the riverfront. In the afternoon, we'll explore downtown. Then on Thursday, I figured we could go to the Botanical Gardens in the morning and some museums in the afternoon," she stopped to take a breath. "If you're here for any longer than that, there's tons of other places we can visit."
"I'm sure there is. You should come to London some time," I rolled my eyes. "It's packed with history and stuff."
She smiled slowly. My heart sped up oddly. "Maybe I will some time."
We stared at each other silently for a few seconds. Something strange happened inside of me. I was scared. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Charlie was a Muggle, for crying out loud! She had no clue what was going on in the wizard world. I couldn't get close to her. It'd ruin her… it'd ruin both of us…
I glanced at the clock, breaking eye contact. 11:20. Great Wizards, I'd been out of it before for longer than I thought. I looked back at Charlie. Something in her eyes made me sit up straighter. She slipped off the desk and started towards me.
Suddenly, a frantic beating at the window stopped her in her tracks. She glanced toward the pane of glass. Starting, her eyes widened and she stumbled backward. "What is that?" she yelped.
I looked up to see Lightening slapping his wings against the glass. He appeared frantic to get inside. "Oh man," was all I could mumble as I dropped my head into my hands. I had a lot of explaining to do.
