In Which Harry Meets a Magician and Learns About Wizards
"What is it Morwen?" a dark-haired man said, looking around the corner. "I was just studying the-"
"I don't care what you were studying," Morwen interrupted. She pointed at Harry. "He claims to be a wizard."
Harry looked from one to the other, trying to work out what all the fuss was about.
"Indeed?" the man asked, his bright blue eyes alight with curiosity. "A wizard? I see no staff…"
"That is his staff, Telemain," said Morwen, gesturing at Harry's wand. Harry looked at it. Is that what they were making a big deal about?
"Fascinating!" Telemain exclaimed. He bent closer to Harry, apparently so he could see the "staff" better. "It appears to be miniaturized! I wonder what reflexive enchantments could cause such a reaction. The fact that wizards can shrink themselves is no new fact to me, but that they can shrink only their staffs! Remarkable, absolutely remarkable."
"Uh," said Harry hesitantly, "it's not a staff."
Telemain looked utterly taken a-back. "Not a staff? Then what is it, what is it?"
"You don't have to keep repeating yourself," said Morwen, but Telemain ignored her.
"Could it be some sort of enchanted limb of a tree? Perhaps it's not a staff, but a physical weapon!"
"No," said Harry quickly, before the man could continue. "It's a wand, and I use it to cast spells. I don't have to, though, but un-channeled magic is supposed to be very dangerous."
"Amazing!" Telemain exulted. "You appear to be a kind of interbreeding between a wizard and a magician. Not storing spells within the staff-"
"Wand," Harry corrected, but Telemain continued as if he hadn't heard him.
"-but channeling the enchantments through them as a safety precaution! Though how such a thing could happen escapes my grasp." Telemain gazed at Harry thoughtfully.
"Have you decided what he is yet?" asked Morwen impatiently. "If he's a magician, alright. If he's a wizard, I want him out of this house. Out of this Forest, even!"
It was at this time that Harry chose to ask the question that had been bugging him for quite some time now. "Er, if you'll excuse me," he began, not sure how to act in a situation like this, "but what is it you don't like so much about wizards? And what's the difference between a wizard and a magician?"
"Magicians study a multitude of different genres of magic, whereas wizards focus on only one," Telemain explained. "Magicians and wizards are never to be confused. I am a magician."
"But what's so bad about wizards?" Harry pressed.
Telemain scowled. "I was getting to that. As I was saying, wizards study only one genre of magic, which they are very secretive about. What I know about this specific type is that they store spells within their staffs, but they also keep a spell or two on the exterior of the storage device in case it is misplaced or stolen. They also use their staffs to absorb magic, which is the principle of most grudges held against them. Being that the Enchanted Forest is formulated entirely of magic, this has a negative effect on the forest. The Society of Wizards had been draining vast quantities of magic out of the Forest for their own selfish purposes. Fortunately, the Society was exiled from the forest a few years ago, and we had been hoping they were gone for good. That is why Morwen was so startled when you informed her that you were a wizard."
Harry stared at Telemain. "Alright, I think I caught most of that," he said slowly. "So, wizards soak up magic and use it themselves, and Morwen thought that the wizards were coming back because I'm a wizard."
The magician nodded satisfactorily. "Yes, that is what I said. Though I don't see how you can be so young and be a wizard."
Morwen rolled her eyes. "Wizards can appear however they want to, Telemain. Don't tell me you've forgotten."
"No, I haven't forgotten. This boy just does not seem like he's a wizard, or even a magician. He has a very strong, and very unique magical power about him," said Telemain haughtily.
Harry sat up. "That's because, where I come from, not all wizards are bad. There are good wizards and bad wizards. Like Voldemort, for instance. He and his followers are the only wizards really causing a lot of trouble. We're born magical, but we can choose whether we're evil or not, and-"
"Wait, back up a bit," said Morwen sharply. "Did you say you are born magical?"
"Yes," Harry replied. "And we go to a school when we're eleven to learn how to use our magic properly. People who have no magic are called Muggles," he added, though he didn't think it really needed to be said.
Telemain regarded Harry with interest. "So, where is it you come from, er…"
"Harry," Harry offered.
"Harry," the magician repeated. "So, where is it you come from, Harry?"
Harry thought carefully before answering. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said finally.
"And how did you get here?"
"I-" Harry began, but stopped. How did I get here?
"What kind of a question is that, Telemain?" Morwen reprimanded the magician. "You know very well that most people who stumble into the Enchanted Forest do so by chance and have no idea what happened."
"Actually, that would be all people who stumbled into the Enchanted Forest," said Telemain.
"Exactly," said Morwen. "And don't correct me."
Harry sighed and took in his surroundings as Morwen and Telemain argued. He was very used to this by now, since Ron and Hermione did it all the time. Hopefully, these two wouldn't be using him to relay their messages to each other. For the first time, Harry noticed this wasn't the infirmary. Feeling quite silly for just now noticing, he glanced around at the room he was in, which was shaped like a semicircle. A room in a tower? Harry wondered about what the building was like, since he didn't have anything better to do.
"Sorry about that," said Telemain dejectedly. It appeared Morwen had won the argument. "Now, do you remember what happened before you got here?"
There was a question Harry could answer, but he didn't feel like explaining Quidditch to Telemain. No doubt he would start rambling on about how the balls could fly. "Er, I was flying above Hogwarts on my broom, and-"
"On your broom?" said Telemain incredulously, grimacing.
"Honestly, Telemain, it's rude to interrupt!" said Morwen.
"-it suddenly got extremely windy," continued Harry, ignoring the interruption. "I had flown in horrible conditions before, but none like this. All I remember was rolling over violently and being surrounded by some very big trees."
"Interesting," said Telemain. "Very interesting."
"I don't know how to deal with this," Morwen admitted. "We better go take you to see Cimorene and Mendanbar."
Harry blanked. "Cimorene and who?"
Morwen smiled. "Oh, they're very famous in these parts."
"They're the King and Queen of the Enchanted Forest," said Telemain.
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%
Next chapter: In Which Harry Takes an Unexpected Bath
A/N: Agh…I must apologize for boring chapter. Nothing but dialogue and such. But next chapter will be fun! =)
Review thanks!:
Johanna Steel, Elaine of Shalott, Pupetta, WhetherRose, aren3 (you have a ferret? I want a ferret!), Waku-chan, Elenhiril, Katia, Tempus Vernum (you must really like the word "cool" =P), Jelsemium, poptate12, Firefox, and Lunarian
Now, if you want to read the next chapter, you will kindly mover your cursor over the pretty gray button that clearly says, "Click Here to Submit Review." Click, and a pretty little window will pop up which contains a pretty little text box. Type in a review, preferably with some constructive criticism, and press the second pretty gray button that says, "Submit Review." If nothing else, tell me you read this. Flames are welcome, for they will be used to warm my feet.
