Obligatory Disclaimer:  I don't own the Harry Potter universe or any of the recognizable characters living there.  I am just borrowing them to tell this story.

Summary:  Bryan begins his adventures in the wizarding world.  Meanwhile someone is plotting against him.

A/N:  This chapter marks the beginning of the real story.  I apologize for taking four chapters to complete the background information.  I am having second thoughts about how I got Bryan into Hogwarts.  Should I have done it another way?  If you have any suggestions or comments on this, please feel free to let me know.  I truly want your feedback on this.

      I hope you enjoy this chapter.  I know it's short but I wanted to get this out while I had some free time.  Thanks for reading!  


  Bryan spent the remainder of the day returning his rental car and arranging to have some of his money converted to Pounds.  When he had dropped off the keys he'd received a few strange looks but he didn't stick around to answer any questions.  It's a good thing that I had pre-paid for the entire day.  I don't think I could explain why a fourteen year old was returning it.

  Dealing with the banks had been a little tricky at first.  When he'd proven that he knew all the answers to the security questions and showed his passport with a magically doctored photo, he had no more problems.  He contacted the bank in his old hometown and had them close out the accounts that had been set up when his family had died.  His family may not have been rich but their mother had made sure that everyone was insured.  As the sole surviving member of the family, he had been named beneficiary by default.  At the time he couldn't bring himself to touch the money, so he'd had it deposited into several accounts.  He still didn't want to touch the money but he had to admit to himself that he needed it.  Reluctantly he transferred most of the balance to a London bank and moved the rest into a single savings account.  Once the transfer was complete he immediately converted it to Pounds and took it all with him back to The Leaky Cauldron, after he shrunk it down to a manageable size, of course.  He didn't think that it would be wise to walk around with £320,000.

  When he arrived at his room that evening he found an owl waiting on his window sill.  He went over to the window with the intention of shooing it away.  He stopped when he saw the letter that it had attached to its leg, however.  He untied the letter and looked at it with some trepidation.  It was addressed to him and even had his room number on it.  When he turned it over and found the Hogwarts seal, he knew it must be from Dumbledore.  I should have known.  He did say he'd let me know what I needed to buy in Diagon Alley.  He opened the letter and began to read:

Dear Mr. Dunn,

I trust that you have settled in all right.  As promised, I have enclosed a list of books and supplies that you should purchase as soon as possible.  I have divided the book list in two parts, what you need for your studies and what you might want to read to become familiar with the wizarding world.  I highly recommend that you start with So You're a Wizard, Now What? by Cassandra Quickwitch.  This gives an overview of our society and what every witch or wizard should know.  You should have no trouble finding them in Diagon Alley, but if you do just ask Tom for assistance.  He can get you pointed in the right direction.

I have also enclosed a special permit that will allow you to practice for the rest of the summer.  I had to notify the Ministry of your situation.  Relax, I just told them that I had come across an undocumented wizard that was unaware of his gifts until recently, and that I had agreed to let you enter Hogwarts in the same year as others your age.  They agreed with my arrangement that you be tested and lifted the restriction on underage wizards.  Normally students are prohibited from practicing magic outside of school.

If we're going to do this, we have to do it properly.  So, as soon as you get your money situation taken care of, you must not do any other magic except that which is needed for your studies.  You may practice any spell from those studies, but no others.  The Ministry is now aware of your presence and will be monitoring your magic use.  We don't want you getting expelled before you start, now do we?

Before I end this letter I wanted to correct an assumption that you made in my office.  You told me about how you received your powers in a transfer.  I forgot to talk to you about this before you left, so let me tell you now.  You cannot receive Mage powers in that fashion.  You were born with them but had not yet tapped into them.  If you think about it, you probably did some strange things when you were under stress or experiencing strong emotion such as hate or fear.  The knowledge transfer, on the other hand, is possible.  That knowledge just showed you how to use your own abilities. 

If you wish to discuss this further, or have any other questions for me, feel free to contact me by owl post.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

  Bryan set the letter aside and scanned the accompanying list while he put the Ministry's permit slip on the table.  He noticed that Dumbledore had broken the book list into years for him as well as listing what he'd need for each class.  The first two years had the same classes:  Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Charms, Astronomy, and Herbology.   Years three and four had some additional classes that he had to take.  He was given a list to choose at least two from.  They included such classes as Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies.  He'd have to find out some more about these before choosing.  Thank God I don't have to choose right now.  I have no idea what they are!   He quickly scanned the rest of the list, which included the equipment he'd need.  Some of these included a wand, a cauldron, and a telescope, as well as various articles of clothing for his school uniforms.  When he was finished looking over the list he set it on the table next to the permit.  He'd have to remember to take both items with him when he went to Diagon Alley the next day.

  By now the experiences of the day had started to catch up with him so he decided to go to sleep a little early.  Tomorrow looked to be another full day and he'd need as much rest as he could get.

* * *

  Elsewhere, a man sat alone in a darkened room.  The windows were all boarded over and the walls were barren of decoration.  One corner possessed a tattered mattress and a small table.  The table was laden down with several large, black books and an unlit stub of a candle.  The center of the room was home to a larger table, on top of which lay several more books, several rolled up maps, and several more candle stubs, again unlit.  The only source of light was the fire that crackled within the fireplace.  Everything in the room was hidden within the dancing shadows created by the dim light of the fire.  The man sat in the room's only other piece of furniture, a chair, and faced the fire, yet his face remained in the shadows of the hood his cloak.  If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of the man's chest he could easily be mistaken for dead.

  He turned his head slightly as he heard his companion return.  This companion did not walk as one would suspect.  No, it slithered.  The man's closest companion was a rather large, black snake.

  "Ah, Nagini, back from your hunt?  You are moving a little slower than you were earlier so I presume it went well.  Come join me by the fire and digest."

  A few moments the snake had curled itself in front of its master and placed its head in the man's lap.  The man obligingly petted the snake as he looked to see just how well the snake's hunt had gone.  Several large bulges could be seen along the snake's length.  The largest was about the size of a small child, which no doubt meant that some muggle was going to wake up in the morning and find their dog missing.  This brought a smile to the man's face.

  "Nagini, there's a new presence in London.  A powerful presence unless I'm much mistaken.  We must find out more about this person or persons.  I cannot allow an unknown disrupt my plans."

  Almost on cue, another man entered the small room and stood near the doorway.  He waited for the room's occupant to acknowledge him before he dared enter further.  He made that mistake only once before and had felt pain unlike anything he had felt before and wished never to feel again.  This newcomer was a well-dressed man.  His clothing was made of the finest materials that money could buy and he carried a gentleman's cane in one hand.  The top of the cane bore a silver snake's head with its mouth opened as if to strike at an invisible prey.  The shaft of the cane was the same color as the man's clothes, black.  In contrast to the black of his clothing, his pale face and platinum hair almost shone in the dimly lit room.  Once he was acknowledged he proceeded to the side of the chair and knelt on one knee and again rose.

  "My Lord, I bring news from London.  It seems that Dumbledore has received a response to his summons.  He met a young man at The Leaky Cauldron and the two of them went to his office at Hogwarts.  I do not know what they talked about, but I have been informed that the man's younger brother returned to the inn and rented a room for the summer.  I have learned through the Ministry that this brother will be entering Hogwarts in the fall as a fifth year and will be testing out of the previous years' coursework.  It may be nothing, but I found it unusual enough to bring it directly to you."  Again the man bowed to the seated man.

  "Yes, you were wise to bring this to me.  I was just telling Nagini about a new presence I felt.  This boy needs to be watched.  I don't like the feeling his arrival causes.  He may become a threat to my plans.  Tell the others to keep an eye on him and report anything out of the ordinary.  Lucius, if he proves to be a threat in any way, I want you to have him eliminated!"

  "Yes, my Lord."  The man called Lucius bowed deeply again and left the room immediately.

* * *

  In the smallest bedroom at Number Four, Privet Drive, in Little Whinging, Surrey, a boy with unruly black hair and bright green eyes sat up in bed.  Once again he'd had one of his nightmares that had been haunting him since his first year he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  His hair was plastered to his forehead by sweat.  Clearly visible between the strands of hair was a distinct scar.  The scar was the shape of a lightning bolt and was a permanent reminder to the boy of how dangerous his life was.

  Knowing that he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon, the boy reached out to the night stand and grabbed his glasses.  Putting them on he got out of bed and walked over to his window and gave his snowy owl a couple pets before he turned to stare out the window, lost in thought.  He knew that he wasn't in immediate danger, but couldn't help but feel responsible that someone else was.  He had to find out about this other boy and warn him somehow.  No one else was going to die because of him if he could help it.

  His first step was to inform his godfather and Dumbledore about his dream.  He sat at his desk, grabbed his parchment and quill, and wrote out two quick letters.  Once that was accomplished he woke his owl and asked her to deliver the letters for him.  The owl nipped his finger as a show of affection before carrying the letters out the window.