"Welcome to Potions," Snape sneered. "Students, please take your seats."
Harry and Ron sat together, while Hermione and Neville were on the other side of the room. Mulder and Scully found themselves standing alone, with nothing to do. "May we sit somewhere?" Scully asked politely.
"You don't belong here," he spat. "There's no reason for Muggles to be in Hogwarts."
"Perhaps not," Scully agreed. "But since we're here, we would like to watch how the lessons are taught. May we sit somewhere?"
"Sit by Potter or Granger," he said, turning his back towards them as he dug out a huge spellbook.
Mulder sat by Harry, while Scully went over to Hermione. "He's dreadful," Harry whispered to Mulder. "This is the really bad part of our day. He obviously favors the Slytherins a lot more as well." Mulder looked up and saw Snape beaming at the boy who'd insulted Muggles earlier that afternoon.
"Who is that boy?" Mulder asked with immense dislike building up inside him.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry said angrily. "He's one of the worst kids I've ever met. See his two friends over there?" He motioned towards two big oafs who had barely lumbered in on time. Mulder nodded. "Those are his sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle. Those are some of the worst Slytherins… ugh."
"Mr. Potter, do you have something you want to share with the class?" Snape asked unpleasantly. When Harry shook his head, he told him that he better start paying attention, otherwise he was in danger of failing.
"He also has a grudge against me," Harry said, before quieting down after Snape shot him another dirty look.
Mulder and Scully walked out with the kids when class was over. "What a slave driver!" Scully commented. "And just because Neville doesn't understand what's going on, is no reason to embarrass him!"
"He hates us all," Ron said gloomily. "And he always hates the Defense Against The Dark Arts teachers, he's been wanting that job for years!"
"When do you have that class?" Mulder asked.
"Thursday."
Scully and Hermione went in the opposite direction as the others trudged over to Divination. The sickeningly sweet smell of perfume greeted the group, colorful lampshades caused odd colors to bathe the room. Harry and Ron led Mulder over to the circular table. They settled down as Mulder looked around with slight distaste. This woman did seem a bit wishy washy already.
"Welcome my pupils," an airy voice said, while the whole class turned around to face her. She peered over her humongous glasses at Harry. "As usual, so much will happen to you…" Then her gaze shifted to Mulder and she seemed to bat her eyelashes the same way Hermione did earlier. She stroked Mulder's chin with her icy hand. "You my dear… you've just joined us. You have a sister…"
Mulder jumped in surprise, while the two boys watched in alarm.
"She lives in Connecticut, in a huge mansion, and bakes wonderful brownies."
Mulder sat back, his face showing disgust. "Actually she was abducted by aliens when I was twelve years old and I've been on a quest…"
Her eyes widened, but she tried to act unaffected. "Oh… your wife perhaps?"
"Not married."
"Mother?"
"My family's dead." Normally Mulder would have ended up crying over this in the privacy of his own home, but this time he was enjoying himself tremendously, as he proved this woman wrong.
"You have suffered a great deal then," she whispered, her face coming close to his.
He pulled away. "Don't you have a class to teach?"
She walked towards her armchair, drawing her million robes around her, as she did. For some reason, Harry noticed that two of her favorite students (and big fans of hers as well), kept glancing back at Mulder's direction.
"Parvati, Lavender," Trelawney said lovingly. "I'm so glad to see you back again."
"Hmm," Parvati replied, her head still turned, as she waved at Mulder.
~X~X~X~X~
Mulder couldn't get any sleep that night, which was obvious, considering his tendency to be an insomniac. The boys in the dorm were dozing comfortably, but he couldn't handle it. "That does it," he whispered, nearly tripping over Neville's wand as he got up. "I'm not a little kid, I can definitely handle a little walk around the school." With that, he snuck out of the dorm, though there was a rule against it for the children. But like he had eagerly declared earlier, while nearly tripping over the wand, he was no child at all.
The portrait swung open and he stepped outside, the Fat Lady glaring at him. "I work hard all day," she hissed, "but no one lets me get my beauty sleep."
"Oh shut up," Mulder whispered back, as the Fat Lady sputtered.
The school took on a different look at night; it seemed even more magical, more mysterious as well. Suddenly he heard someone bang into a wall, mumbling something. He pressed himself against another wall, hoping it wasn't Snape. Snape was more likely to treat him just like he treated the rest of the students. The voice was feminine though, so he stuck his head out. "Scully!" he gasped.
"Sh," she grumbled, rubbing her left temple. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
"I was just getting myself a glass of water," she explained, "when I saw you sneak out. What are you trying to do?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"Oh." She paused. "I should have known."
"So now I'm exploring," he said, a slight little boy look appearing on his face.
She had to laugh at his eagerness, but stopped when he clapped her hand over her mouth. "Sh!" He looked around, his eyes darting in every direction. "Did you hear that?"
"Ear Whump?" she asked, her voice muffled.
He took his hand off her mouth as he heard a clanging sound. "That!" he whispered urgently, a crazed smile on his face that seemed even crazier in the dim light.
"That?" she raised her eyebrow. "What is that?"
Suddenly, a little man with beady eyes appeared in front of them, floating in midair. "Hello ickle Muggles," he greeted.
Mulder let out a girlie scream. "Eep!" he shrieked, grabbing Scully's arm.
Scully clutched him back, then pulled away. "Why the hell are we scared? We've seen more horrifying things!"
"Good point," Mulder replied, pulling away from her.
"You've been very naughty!" he taunted, dancing around, playing with Scully's hair as she tried to bat him away.
"Stop that!" Mulder said indignantly. "I'm the only one allowed to torment her!"
"Yeah thanks Mulder," Scully said, smoothing out her hair carefully. "Who are you?" she asked peering at the man.
"Peeves the Poltergeist," he said, bowing mockingly. "Pleased to be at your service," then he knocked over some armor. "Now look at what you two did!"
"But we didn't do anything!" Scully cried out incredulously.
"BAD MUGGLES!" the poltergeist replied. "And look who's coming this way to see who caused all the racket!"
Mulder and Scully turned around, simultaneously groaning, as Professor Snape stomped towards them, seething with rage.
~X~X~X~X~
"Detention," he barked to McGonagall. "These two are mooching off us and they expect not to be punished!"
"But what did they do?" McGonagall asked mildly, eyeing the two agents.
"NOTHING!" Mulder yelled angrily. "We didn't do a thing. That stupid poltergeist of yours knocked over a suit of armor and we're getting blamed for it?"
"Peeves?" McGonagall groaned. "Snape, you're listening to Peeves?"
"I'm sure they did it," he replied obstinately. "Peeves wouldn't lie about Muggles."
"LOOK Mister," Scully said, standing up. She had that look that always managed to put Mulder in his place, but somehow it wasn't affecting Snape. "Listen to me!" she commanded.
"Minerva, are you going to let her talk to me like that?" Snape asked, ignoring Scully.
"She's not a child Snape," McGonagall replied. "You seem to be forgetting that."
"That's right," Scully continued. "I may be a Muggle, but I'm damn proud of it! And Mulder and I are NOT children. We're not students, we're not really in Gryffindor… so you can stop treating us unfairly. Through no fault of our own were we stuck here. Do you understand me?"
Snape seemed mesmerized by Scully as he nodded. "Yes…"
"Good!" she said triumphantly. "Don't go around blaming Neville, it was a mistake, and don't blame us. And we most certainly did not knock down your precious suit of armor!"
"That's right!" Mulder added, getting into the spirit of things, admiring Scully in her butt-kicking mode. Snape shot him a dirty look and he turned away.
Scully sighed deeply. "So stop putting the blame on us. There's nothing wrong with our walking around the school at night, is there?"
"Not at all," McGonagall said, "you're not children. As long as you don't cause any disruptions, which you didn't," she added, giving Snape the evil eye, "you're free to do as you please. Just be careful."Snape shot the agents a dirty look as he went out, obviously defeated.
"I guess we'd better go now," Mulder said.
McGonagall eyed his slightly small t-shirt and pajama pants. "Perhaps we should get you two some better looking clothes, as you seem to have a slight shortage of them right now." Mulder turned red, but Scully smiled graciously. "I'll have them sent up to you tomorrow morning."
The agents turned and left, then were stopped for a minute. "Next time you encounter Peeves," the professor added, "just say that the Bloody Baron's coming."
"Who's that?" Scully asked.
"The Slytherin ghost," McGonagall said, a slight twinkle in her eye. "He terrifies everyone, but it's the best way to put Peeves in his place."
Mulder smiled. "Thank you."
"It was my pleasure," McGonagall said, smiling now - which was a bit rare as far as the agents had seen, "Fox."
~X~X~X~X~
The next morning, Mulder woke up to find decent clothes and a set of robes waiting for him. A note on top said: When in Transylvania, do as the Transylvanians do. With an amused smile, he pulled the robes around him, and found Scully wearing them at breakfast as well. "Quidditch today!" Harry informed them, as he beamed. "Angelina Johnson's the captain now and we're going to practice this afternoon, as soon as classes are over."
"Don't you need new players?" Seamus asked.
"We need a new Keeper now that Oliver Wood's no longer in Hogwarts," Harry said seriously. "I wonder who'll get the position."
"Isn't that like the goalie in soccer?" Dean Thomas asked, a slightly interested expression on his face.
"You and soccer," Ron said exasperatedly, but didn't say more, as he had always had a problem seeing the sense in the game.
"Yes," Harry said, wondering if Dean was up to anything. He turned to Mulder, whose eyes were shining. "Don't worry, we'll explain it to you on the Quidditch field."
So everyone was extremely eager for class to get over that day, including the two agents, who really were starting to feel as though this had become their second childhood. By late afternoon, most of the Gryffindors had gone down to the field, in order to watch the team… and perhaps the new Keeper, should he be chosen today.
"Hello everyone," Angelina greeted, her eyes twinkling at the joy of her position as Captain.
"Angelina!" two identical boys with the same flaming red hair as Ron responded.
"Ron's brothers," Harry whispered. "They're twins - Fred and George. They're our Beaters. Now Angelina and the others are our Chasers, while I'm Seeker."
"He was chosen in his first year," Hermione said proudly. "The youngest one in Gryffindor in one whole century!"
Harry turned red as he continued. "See those three hoops that look like bubble wands on each end of the field?" Mulder and Scully craned their necks to have a look, then nodded. "You gain ten points every time a Quaffle goes through them."
"What's a Quaffle?" Mulder asked, his interest growing every second.
"This," Angelina replied, smiling. "First of all, I'd like to welcome you two to Hogwarts, but now I'll explain it to you." She held up a red ball. "This is a Quaffle. That's why we need our Keeper - he or she will prevent the ball from going in. Us Chasers try getting the ball into the opposite hoops." Then she held out two small black balls. "These are the Bludgers. They try to knock the players off their broom, so we have our two Beaters here," she said, nodding towards Fred and George. "They try to get the Bludgers out of the way." Then she held out a small golden ball, with silvery wings. "Our Golden Snitch," she declared dramatically. "Harry's very important as our Seeker," he gets to catch this and gain the team an extra hundred and fifty points. That means the team that has it, usually wins."
"Amazing," Scully breathed. "It really is." At that moment, Fred and George glanced at her, and nudged each other excitedly.
"So now that you know," Angelina said, a small smile on her face.
"Would you like to try playing Quidditch? Or perhaps see if you can fly around on a broom?"
~X~X~X~X~
Scully watched apprehensively as Mulder took Harry's Firebolt and mounted it. "Mulder, be careful, you don't know what you're doing!"
"Don't be such a worrywart Scully!" he called, kicking off. And the next thing everyone saw was a Muggle, flying through the air on a broomstick.
"Oh my God," Fred said admiringly, "he's good."
Scully, who had covered her eyes, moved her hands away to sneak a peek. Sure enough, Mulder was zooming through the air like a professional. "Oh my God." She was dumbfounded. "This isn't plausible…"
Mulder whizzed by. "But it is!" he screamed with ecstacy.
"Wow!" Angelina was clapping now. "If he wasn't a Muggle, and a grown one at that, I would have had him join the team!"
The broom twirled around, going upside down, and Mulder flew straight towards Scully teasingly. She moved back, completely alarmed. "Mulder, I think you're starting to have too much fun with this!"
"You should try it Scullyyyyy!"
"No thanks!" she screamed back. "Get down now, the children need to practice."
"I'm not getting down!"
Hermione was gazing at him, googly-eyed. "Wow," she breathed. "He's so good."
"Oh shut up," Ron replied rudely and she turned to him, sniffed, and went closer to Scully, in order to watch Mulder.
Finally, Mulder realized that he was starting to make an idiot of himself, so he came back down, and got off the broom. "Thanks," he said breathlessly, handing it to Harry, who could only nod back, shocked. He grinned at Scully as he came towards her. "Not bad, huh?"
"Mulder, you could have gotten yourself killed!"
Angelina was shaking Mulder's hand. "Wow sir, absolutely wonderful job! But Professor McGonagall said we couldn't ask you two to actually play for the team. It wouldn't be right. Pity," she said broodingly. "We could use a Keeper."
And that's when Dean Thomas smiled and held out a Nimbus Two Thousand. "I know Harry used to have one of these and even though they're not as good as Firebolts, I've been teaching myself how to fly around on one."
Ron gaped. "You mean, YOU'RE going to play Quidditch?" He'd always gotten on Dean's case for liking soccer, which seemed to be a useless Muggle game. And that poster of the West Ham team, where the players didn't even move - ugh.
"Yes Ron," Dean said, grinning. "But that's if the team will have me."
"Let's practice then!" Angelina declared. "We'll see if you're any good."
Mulder and Scully watched the practice session, amazed at the students' drive and determination. They whizzed by and Dean proved to be an excellent Keeper. "You're in," Angelina said, gasping after practice. "Great work!"
"Can I have a go on your broomstick again?" Mulder asked Harry. Harry handed the Firebolt over rather obligingly and Mulder zoomed off.
"Blimey!" George suddenly exclaimed. "I left one of the Bludgers out in the field!"
And sure enough, Mulder came crashing down to the ground, though the Firebolt was unharmed. Harry held it protectively as Mulder rubbed his head.
"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed worriedly. "He's so good, why did that have to happen?"
Scully leaned down and gazed at Mulder. "Mulder, you okay?"
"They call me Spooky," he mumbled. "I'm a key figure in a government conspiracy…"
"He's delirious!" Hermione squealed.
"Not to worry," Scully replied, grinning. "He's fine."
~X~X~X~X~
"I was thinking about Mulder," Hermione said to Harry and Ron in the common room.
"When are you not?" Ron replied.
"I was thinking," she continued, ignoring him. "I was thinking that you're supposed to have some kind of magic to ride a broomstick. I mean, we just admired his riding talent because he's never ridden one before. We're used to seeing people fly around, but should a pure Muggle be able to ride one?"
"You know what?" Harry responded, his brow furrowed. "You're making a good point here. Do you think Mulder is magical?"
"He can't be!" Ron exclaimed. "Neville doused those two with magic, that's probably why he could ride it."
"I should think it's worn off by now," Hermione replied.
"But he doesn't even know about it!" Ron exclaimed. "I mean, he must notice he's different."
"But even I never thought that this could be a possibility," Harry reminded him. "Remember my first year? I came here, still unable to believe it. The Dursleys hid my own identity from me! The same thing could have happened to him!"
"He never said he was adopted though," Ron said, frowning even harder. "This makes no sense! Should we talk to him about his life?"
"I think we should," Hermione said urgently. "Who knows? Maybe he's part wizard!"
~X~X~X~X~
Mulder burst into McGonagall's office, with the three kids close behind. Scully had also joined them, though completely unable to believe this. "I just heard that I had to have some kind of magic in me to have flown that broomstick!"
"You flew on a broomstick?"
"Harry's Firebolt. Practically all of Gryffindor saw me do it too!" He plopped down on the seat in front of her. "What's going on?"
"You might still have some of what Neville did to you somewhere inside you," she replied. "Did your partner try riding?"
"They tried forcing me," Scully said, sighing. "And I tried, but I could barely get off ground. I didn't really know what to do with it. But somehow, Mulder did."
McGonagall frowned. "Odd." She looked through some parchment. "You live in the United States, yes?"
"Yes!" he screamed. "I'm an FBI agent."
She raised her eyebrow. "Now calm down Fox…" The boys snickered, while Hermione sighed dreamily. "Let me see here…" She poured through a list of schools. "Well, there is the Toil and Trouble School in upstate New York. Now I'll look through the list of students they wanted in the library. Or maybe you can do that?"
Mulder nodded feverishly. "Sure. I'll do that." And he darted out of the room, dragging Scully along. The two of them ventured into the library's reference section, which smelled quite musty. After hours of going through the rolls of parchment, Scully found his name listed as a first year in the year 1972. "Oh my God Mulder, I don't believe this." Her mouth had formed a perfect O as she spoke to him. "Mulder, you were supposed to go to Toil and Trouble in 1972!"
Mulder frowned. "What?" He snatched it away from her and then sat there, gaping silently for five whole minutes. "I don't believe this… and it says I ended up going to Alakazam in Alaska!"
"But you didn't," she said, "right?"
Harry and Ron sat together, while Hermione and Neville were on the other side of the room. Mulder and Scully found themselves standing alone, with nothing to do. "May we sit somewhere?" Scully asked politely.
"You don't belong here," he spat. "There's no reason for Muggles to be in Hogwarts."
"Perhaps not," Scully agreed. "But since we're here, we would like to watch how the lessons are taught. May we sit somewhere?"
"Sit by Potter or Granger," he said, turning his back towards them as he dug out a huge spellbook.
Mulder sat by Harry, while Scully went over to Hermione. "He's dreadful," Harry whispered to Mulder. "This is the really bad part of our day. He obviously favors the Slytherins a lot more as well." Mulder looked up and saw Snape beaming at the boy who'd insulted Muggles earlier that afternoon.
"Who is that boy?" Mulder asked with immense dislike building up inside him.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry said angrily. "He's one of the worst kids I've ever met. See his two friends over there?" He motioned towards two big oafs who had barely lumbered in on time. Mulder nodded. "Those are his sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle. Those are some of the worst Slytherins… ugh."
"Mr. Potter, do you have something you want to share with the class?" Snape asked unpleasantly. When Harry shook his head, he told him that he better start paying attention, otherwise he was in danger of failing.
"He also has a grudge against me," Harry said, before quieting down after Snape shot him another dirty look.
Mulder and Scully walked out with the kids when class was over. "What a slave driver!" Scully commented. "And just because Neville doesn't understand what's going on, is no reason to embarrass him!"
"He hates us all," Ron said gloomily. "And he always hates the Defense Against The Dark Arts teachers, he's been wanting that job for years!"
"When do you have that class?" Mulder asked.
"Thursday."
Scully and Hermione went in the opposite direction as the others trudged over to Divination. The sickeningly sweet smell of perfume greeted the group, colorful lampshades caused odd colors to bathe the room. Harry and Ron led Mulder over to the circular table. They settled down as Mulder looked around with slight distaste. This woman did seem a bit wishy washy already.
"Welcome my pupils," an airy voice said, while the whole class turned around to face her. She peered over her humongous glasses at Harry. "As usual, so much will happen to you…" Then her gaze shifted to Mulder and she seemed to bat her eyelashes the same way Hermione did earlier. She stroked Mulder's chin with her icy hand. "You my dear… you've just joined us. You have a sister…"
Mulder jumped in surprise, while the two boys watched in alarm.
"She lives in Connecticut, in a huge mansion, and bakes wonderful brownies."
Mulder sat back, his face showing disgust. "Actually she was abducted by aliens when I was twelve years old and I've been on a quest…"
Her eyes widened, but she tried to act unaffected. "Oh… your wife perhaps?"
"Not married."
"Mother?"
"My family's dead." Normally Mulder would have ended up crying over this in the privacy of his own home, but this time he was enjoying himself tremendously, as he proved this woman wrong.
"You have suffered a great deal then," she whispered, her face coming close to his.
He pulled away. "Don't you have a class to teach?"
She walked towards her armchair, drawing her million robes around her, as she did. For some reason, Harry noticed that two of her favorite students (and big fans of hers as well), kept glancing back at Mulder's direction.
"Parvati, Lavender," Trelawney said lovingly. "I'm so glad to see you back again."
"Hmm," Parvati replied, her head still turned, as she waved at Mulder.
~X~X~X~X~
Mulder couldn't get any sleep that night, which was obvious, considering his tendency to be an insomniac. The boys in the dorm were dozing comfortably, but he couldn't handle it. "That does it," he whispered, nearly tripping over Neville's wand as he got up. "I'm not a little kid, I can definitely handle a little walk around the school." With that, he snuck out of the dorm, though there was a rule against it for the children. But like he had eagerly declared earlier, while nearly tripping over the wand, he was no child at all.
The portrait swung open and he stepped outside, the Fat Lady glaring at him. "I work hard all day," she hissed, "but no one lets me get my beauty sleep."
"Oh shut up," Mulder whispered back, as the Fat Lady sputtered.
The school took on a different look at night; it seemed even more magical, more mysterious as well. Suddenly he heard someone bang into a wall, mumbling something. He pressed himself against another wall, hoping it wasn't Snape. Snape was more likely to treat him just like he treated the rest of the students. The voice was feminine though, so he stuck his head out. "Scully!" he gasped.
"Sh," she grumbled, rubbing her left temple. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
"I was just getting myself a glass of water," she explained, "when I saw you sneak out. What are you trying to do?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"Oh." She paused. "I should have known."
"So now I'm exploring," he said, a slight little boy look appearing on his face.
She had to laugh at his eagerness, but stopped when he clapped her hand over her mouth. "Sh!" He looked around, his eyes darting in every direction. "Did you hear that?"
"Ear Whump?" she asked, her voice muffled.
He took his hand off her mouth as he heard a clanging sound. "That!" he whispered urgently, a crazed smile on his face that seemed even crazier in the dim light.
"That?" she raised her eyebrow. "What is that?"
Suddenly, a little man with beady eyes appeared in front of them, floating in midair. "Hello ickle Muggles," he greeted.
Mulder let out a girlie scream. "Eep!" he shrieked, grabbing Scully's arm.
Scully clutched him back, then pulled away. "Why the hell are we scared? We've seen more horrifying things!"
"Good point," Mulder replied, pulling away from her.
"You've been very naughty!" he taunted, dancing around, playing with Scully's hair as she tried to bat him away.
"Stop that!" Mulder said indignantly. "I'm the only one allowed to torment her!"
"Yeah thanks Mulder," Scully said, smoothing out her hair carefully. "Who are you?" she asked peering at the man.
"Peeves the Poltergeist," he said, bowing mockingly. "Pleased to be at your service," then he knocked over some armor. "Now look at what you two did!"
"But we didn't do anything!" Scully cried out incredulously.
"BAD MUGGLES!" the poltergeist replied. "And look who's coming this way to see who caused all the racket!"
Mulder and Scully turned around, simultaneously groaning, as Professor Snape stomped towards them, seething with rage.
~X~X~X~X~
"Detention," he barked to McGonagall. "These two are mooching off us and they expect not to be punished!"
"But what did they do?" McGonagall asked mildly, eyeing the two agents.
"NOTHING!" Mulder yelled angrily. "We didn't do a thing. That stupid poltergeist of yours knocked over a suit of armor and we're getting blamed for it?"
"Peeves?" McGonagall groaned. "Snape, you're listening to Peeves?"
"I'm sure they did it," he replied obstinately. "Peeves wouldn't lie about Muggles."
"LOOK Mister," Scully said, standing up. She had that look that always managed to put Mulder in his place, but somehow it wasn't affecting Snape. "Listen to me!" she commanded.
"Minerva, are you going to let her talk to me like that?" Snape asked, ignoring Scully.
"She's not a child Snape," McGonagall replied. "You seem to be forgetting that."
"That's right," Scully continued. "I may be a Muggle, but I'm damn proud of it! And Mulder and I are NOT children. We're not students, we're not really in Gryffindor… so you can stop treating us unfairly. Through no fault of our own were we stuck here. Do you understand me?"
Snape seemed mesmerized by Scully as he nodded. "Yes…"
"Good!" she said triumphantly. "Don't go around blaming Neville, it was a mistake, and don't blame us. And we most certainly did not knock down your precious suit of armor!"
"That's right!" Mulder added, getting into the spirit of things, admiring Scully in her butt-kicking mode. Snape shot him a dirty look and he turned away.
Scully sighed deeply. "So stop putting the blame on us. There's nothing wrong with our walking around the school at night, is there?"
"Not at all," McGonagall said, "you're not children. As long as you don't cause any disruptions, which you didn't," she added, giving Snape the evil eye, "you're free to do as you please. Just be careful."Snape shot the agents a dirty look as he went out, obviously defeated.
"I guess we'd better go now," Mulder said.
McGonagall eyed his slightly small t-shirt and pajama pants. "Perhaps we should get you two some better looking clothes, as you seem to have a slight shortage of them right now." Mulder turned red, but Scully smiled graciously. "I'll have them sent up to you tomorrow morning."
The agents turned and left, then were stopped for a minute. "Next time you encounter Peeves," the professor added, "just say that the Bloody Baron's coming."
"Who's that?" Scully asked.
"The Slytherin ghost," McGonagall said, a slight twinkle in her eye. "He terrifies everyone, but it's the best way to put Peeves in his place."
Mulder smiled. "Thank you."
"It was my pleasure," McGonagall said, smiling now - which was a bit rare as far as the agents had seen, "Fox."
~X~X~X~X~
The next morning, Mulder woke up to find decent clothes and a set of robes waiting for him. A note on top said: When in Transylvania, do as the Transylvanians do. With an amused smile, he pulled the robes around him, and found Scully wearing them at breakfast as well. "Quidditch today!" Harry informed them, as he beamed. "Angelina Johnson's the captain now and we're going to practice this afternoon, as soon as classes are over."
"Don't you need new players?" Seamus asked.
"We need a new Keeper now that Oliver Wood's no longer in Hogwarts," Harry said seriously. "I wonder who'll get the position."
"Isn't that like the goalie in soccer?" Dean Thomas asked, a slightly interested expression on his face.
"You and soccer," Ron said exasperatedly, but didn't say more, as he had always had a problem seeing the sense in the game.
"Yes," Harry said, wondering if Dean was up to anything. He turned to Mulder, whose eyes were shining. "Don't worry, we'll explain it to you on the Quidditch field."
So everyone was extremely eager for class to get over that day, including the two agents, who really were starting to feel as though this had become their second childhood. By late afternoon, most of the Gryffindors had gone down to the field, in order to watch the team… and perhaps the new Keeper, should he be chosen today.
"Hello everyone," Angelina greeted, her eyes twinkling at the joy of her position as Captain.
"Angelina!" two identical boys with the same flaming red hair as Ron responded.
"Ron's brothers," Harry whispered. "They're twins - Fred and George. They're our Beaters. Now Angelina and the others are our Chasers, while I'm Seeker."
"He was chosen in his first year," Hermione said proudly. "The youngest one in Gryffindor in one whole century!"
Harry turned red as he continued. "See those three hoops that look like bubble wands on each end of the field?" Mulder and Scully craned their necks to have a look, then nodded. "You gain ten points every time a Quaffle goes through them."
"What's a Quaffle?" Mulder asked, his interest growing every second.
"This," Angelina replied, smiling. "First of all, I'd like to welcome you two to Hogwarts, but now I'll explain it to you." She held up a red ball. "This is a Quaffle. That's why we need our Keeper - he or she will prevent the ball from going in. Us Chasers try getting the ball into the opposite hoops." Then she held out two small black balls. "These are the Bludgers. They try to knock the players off their broom, so we have our two Beaters here," she said, nodding towards Fred and George. "They try to get the Bludgers out of the way." Then she held out a small golden ball, with silvery wings. "Our Golden Snitch," she declared dramatically. "Harry's very important as our Seeker," he gets to catch this and gain the team an extra hundred and fifty points. That means the team that has it, usually wins."
"Amazing," Scully breathed. "It really is." At that moment, Fred and George glanced at her, and nudged each other excitedly.
"So now that you know," Angelina said, a small smile on her face.
"Would you like to try playing Quidditch? Or perhaps see if you can fly around on a broom?"
~X~X~X~X~
Scully watched apprehensively as Mulder took Harry's Firebolt and mounted it. "Mulder, be careful, you don't know what you're doing!"
"Don't be such a worrywart Scully!" he called, kicking off. And the next thing everyone saw was a Muggle, flying through the air on a broomstick.
"Oh my God," Fred said admiringly, "he's good."
Scully, who had covered her eyes, moved her hands away to sneak a peek. Sure enough, Mulder was zooming through the air like a professional. "Oh my God." She was dumbfounded. "This isn't plausible…"
Mulder whizzed by. "But it is!" he screamed with ecstacy.
"Wow!" Angelina was clapping now. "If he wasn't a Muggle, and a grown one at that, I would have had him join the team!"
The broom twirled around, going upside down, and Mulder flew straight towards Scully teasingly. She moved back, completely alarmed. "Mulder, I think you're starting to have too much fun with this!"
"You should try it Scullyyyyy!"
"No thanks!" she screamed back. "Get down now, the children need to practice."
"I'm not getting down!"
Hermione was gazing at him, googly-eyed. "Wow," she breathed. "He's so good."
"Oh shut up," Ron replied rudely and she turned to him, sniffed, and went closer to Scully, in order to watch Mulder.
Finally, Mulder realized that he was starting to make an idiot of himself, so he came back down, and got off the broom. "Thanks," he said breathlessly, handing it to Harry, who could only nod back, shocked. He grinned at Scully as he came towards her. "Not bad, huh?"
"Mulder, you could have gotten yourself killed!"
Angelina was shaking Mulder's hand. "Wow sir, absolutely wonderful job! But Professor McGonagall said we couldn't ask you two to actually play for the team. It wouldn't be right. Pity," she said broodingly. "We could use a Keeper."
And that's when Dean Thomas smiled and held out a Nimbus Two Thousand. "I know Harry used to have one of these and even though they're not as good as Firebolts, I've been teaching myself how to fly around on one."
Ron gaped. "You mean, YOU'RE going to play Quidditch?" He'd always gotten on Dean's case for liking soccer, which seemed to be a useless Muggle game. And that poster of the West Ham team, where the players didn't even move - ugh.
"Yes Ron," Dean said, grinning. "But that's if the team will have me."
"Let's practice then!" Angelina declared. "We'll see if you're any good."
Mulder and Scully watched the practice session, amazed at the students' drive and determination. They whizzed by and Dean proved to be an excellent Keeper. "You're in," Angelina said, gasping after practice. "Great work!"
"Can I have a go on your broomstick again?" Mulder asked Harry. Harry handed the Firebolt over rather obligingly and Mulder zoomed off.
"Blimey!" George suddenly exclaimed. "I left one of the Bludgers out in the field!"
And sure enough, Mulder came crashing down to the ground, though the Firebolt was unharmed. Harry held it protectively as Mulder rubbed his head.
"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed worriedly. "He's so good, why did that have to happen?"
Scully leaned down and gazed at Mulder. "Mulder, you okay?"
"They call me Spooky," he mumbled. "I'm a key figure in a government conspiracy…"
"He's delirious!" Hermione squealed.
"Not to worry," Scully replied, grinning. "He's fine."
~X~X~X~X~
"I was thinking about Mulder," Hermione said to Harry and Ron in the common room.
"When are you not?" Ron replied.
"I was thinking," she continued, ignoring him. "I was thinking that you're supposed to have some kind of magic to ride a broomstick. I mean, we just admired his riding talent because he's never ridden one before. We're used to seeing people fly around, but should a pure Muggle be able to ride one?"
"You know what?" Harry responded, his brow furrowed. "You're making a good point here. Do you think Mulder is magical?"
"He can't be!" Ron exclaimed. "Neville doused those two with magic, that's probably why he could ride it."
"I should think it's worn off by now," Hermione replied.
"But he doesn't even know about it!" Ron exclaimed. "I mean, he must notice he's different."
"But even I never thought that this could be a possibility," Harry reminded him. "Remember my first year? I came here, still unable to believe it. The Dursleys hid my own identity from me! The same thing could have happened to him!"
"He never said he was adopted though," Ron said, frowning even harder. "This makes no sense! Should we talk to him about his life?"
"I think we should," Hermione said urgently. "Who knows? Maybe he's part wizard!"
~X~X~X~X~
Mulder burst into McGonagall's office, with the three kids close behind. Scully had also joined them, though completely unable to believe this. "I just heard that I had to have some kind of magic in me to have flown that broomstick!"
"You flew on a broomstick?"
"Harry's Firebolt. Practically all of Gryffindor saw me do it too!" He plopped down on the seat in front of her. "What's going on?"
"You might still have some of what Neville did to you somewhere inside you," she replied. "Did your partner try riding?"
"They tried forcing me," Scully said, sighing. "And I tried, but I could barely get off ground. I didn't really know what to do with it. But somehow, Mulder did."
McGonagall frowned. "Odd." She looked through some parchment. "You live in the United States, yes?"
"Yes!" he screamed. "I'm an FBI agent."
She raised her eyebrow. "Now calm down Fox…" The boys snickered, while Hermione sighed dreamily. "Let me see here…" She poured through a list of schools. "Well, there is the Toil and Trouble School in upstate New York. Now I'll look through the list of students they wanted in the library. Or maybe you can do that?"
Mulder nodded feverishly. "Sure. I'll do that." And he darted out of the room, dragging Scully along. The two of them ventured into the library's reference section, which smelled quite musty. After hours of going through the rolls of parchment, Scully found his name listed as a first year in the year 1972. "Oh my God Mulder, I don't believe this." Her mouth had formed a perfect O as she spoke to him. "Mulder, you were supposed to go to Toil and Trouble in 1972!"
Mulder frowned. "What?" He snatched it away from her and then sat there, gaping silently for five whole minutes. "I don't believe this… and it says I ended up going to Alakazam in Alaska!"
"But you didn't," she said, "right?"