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Chapter 4 - Summer's End
For the rest of the summer, Steven had his nose buried in his books. He also found out that his grandmother had quite a supply of books herself, and he often borrowed a few to help understand the magical world. He read Hogwart's, A History, The World Without Muggles, The World With Muggles, and An Inside Look at the Ministry of Magic. These books, along with his assigned books for Hogwarts, took up the rest of his summer.
But Steven liked reading; he never really watched television. If he were bored enough, he would turn on the radio. So, spending summer reading books was fine with him.
The magic lessons with his grandmother also continued. He learned lumos, of course, and how to shoot different colored sparks out of his wands. "It's all got to do with how you think," Rosella had said. "It's not verbal. It's just think and shoot." It had taken Steven longer to master the sparks than the other spells. He just didn't have much confidence yet, but he soon caught on.
Then one day during the last week of summer, he finally asked his grandmother the question she wished he wouldn't. "Who really was that man in Diagon Alley?"
She gave him a stern look and then began to explain. "Well, you know your parents were Aurors. But you never questioned where they got it from. Your mother followed in my footsteps in trying to defeat the dark arts. When she got a job in the ministry, she met your dad and they got married. Well, about the time they had you, Voldemort came into full power. They needed someone to keep you, so I retired from my job. It almost as much out of fear of finding Voldemort as it was to being able to spend time with you."
She paused to look out the window and then continued. "Well, your parents were working closely with Lily and James Potter on the Voldemort thing. Lily and James left the ministry for a short time to get their affairs in order. Right before they got back, your parents received an owl from the Potters saying that Voldemort was hunting them down and that they needed your parents' help. Your parents knew where the Potters were, at Godric's Hollow. They apparated there immediately and came face to face with the dark lord himself."
Rosella paused for a second time, this time much longer. When she began, there was a slight quiver in her voice. "Your father got off a few quick spells while Voldemort was caught off-guard. But then the dark lord got back to his feet and hit your mother with a horrible curse, an unforgivable curse, the Cruciatus curse. This curse makes the one afflicted with it suffer horrible pain. Your mother was unfamiliar with it and didn't know how to fight it. As she suffered, squirming on the ground, Voldemort used another curse against your father, another unforgivable curse, the Imperius curse. With this curse, Voldemort gained full control of your father."
At this point, Rosella broke down in tears and Steven said, "You can stop, I can tell it hurts."
"No, Steven," she said, putting off the tears, "You need to hear this. You need to know that in this world there are bad wizards and witches. You need to know what happened before you get to Hogwarts." She paused for a short time to regain her bearings, and then continued. "Now then, with your father under his control, Voldemort made him do a most horrid thing. He made your father ... he made your father kill your mother."
"As your mother was squirming on the ground, your father used the last unforgivable curse, the Killing curse. With your mother dead, Voldemort used the Killing curse on your father and went on to slay Lily and James Potter."
"I can't believe this," Steven said, tearing up.
"There will be time to mourn your parents again, but now let me finish," Rosella said coldly. "This next part has gone down in magic history. With the Potters out of the way, Voldemort turned to make his last kill. The Potters had a son, just about the same age as you. And he was with them when Voldemort killed them. Voldemort tried to kill Harry Potter, but something went right (not wrong). Lily Potter had sacrificed herself to save Harry, and when she did that, Harry gained something that helped him fight off Voldemort. When Voldemort cursed him, it reflected off of Harry's forehead, leaving a lightning shaped scar. When the curse hit Voldemort, all of his power disappeared and his body was no longer good to him. Ever since then, he's been living in dark forests and foreign countries, trying to regain power."
"I'm telling you this, Steven, so you can know how bad wizards can turn. Watch yourself at Hogwarts, because you can make enemies there."
"And is that who that man was, Nana? Did you meet him at Hogwarts?" Steven asked.
"I did know Lucius Malfoy, that's his name, at Hogwarts. But we weren't enemies then. See, once I found out your parents had gone, I went to search for them. I left you in your grandfather's care, Lord rest his soul, and found myself at Godric's Hollow minutes after the mayhem. There I met Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid. Sirius left immediately and Hagrid left with Harry in tow, taking him to Dumbledore. That left me, alone at the Hollow. The last thing I expected was someone else to turn up."
"And that someone was Lucius, wasn't it?" Steven said.
"Indeed it was. Lucius was a Death Eater, Steven. He's a bad man, very bad. Since then, he was somehow cleared of following Voldemort. But I was the one to turn him in. It was a horrid battle, one that I still pay for," she said, tapping her arm, which bothered her with "arthritis." "But somehow he escaped his punishment and has held a grudge against me ever since. Now, do be careful at Hogwarts."
"Yes, Nana," Steven said obediently. He went upstairs to pack, because tomorrow he would be leaving for school.
Chapter 4 - Summer's End
For the rest of the summer, Steven had his nose buried in his books. He also found out that his grandmother had quite a supply of books herself, and he often borrowed a few to help understand the magical world. He read Hogwart's, A History, The World Without Muggles, The World With Muggles, and An Inside Look at the Ministry of Magic. These books, along with his assigned books for Hogwarts, took up the rest of his summer.
But Steven liked reading; he never really watched television. If he were bored enough, he would turn on the radio. So, spending summer reading books was fine with him.
The magic lessons with his grandmother also continued. He learned lumos, of course, and how to shoot different colored sparks out of his wands. "It's all got to do with how you think," Rosella had said. "It's not verbal. It's just think and shoot." It had taken Steven longer to master the sparks than the other spells. He just didn't have much confidence yet, but he soon caught on.
Then one day during the last week of summer, he finally asked his grandmother the question she wished he wouldn't. "Who really was that man in Diagon Alley?"
She gave him a stern look and then began to explain. "Well, you know your parents were Aurors. But you never questioned where they got it from. Your mother followed in my footsteps in trying to defeat the dark arts. When she got a job in the ministry, she met your dad and they got married. Well, about the time they had you, Voldemort came into full power. They needed someone to keep you, so I retired from my job. It almost as much out of fear of finding Voldemort as it was to being able to spend time with you."
She paused to look out the window and then continued. "Well, your parents were working closely with Lily and James Potter on the Voldemort thing. Lily and James left the ministry for a short time to get their affairs in order. Right before they got back, your parents received an owl from the Potters saying that Voldemort was hunting them down and that they needed your parents' help. Your parents knew where the Potters were, at Godric's Hollow. They apparated there immediately and came face to face with the dark lord himself."
Rosella paused for a second time, this time much longer. When she began, there was a slight quiver in her voice. "Your father got off a few quick spells while Voldemort was caught off-guard. But then the dark lord got back to his feet and hit your mother with a horrible curse, an unforgivable curse, the Cruciatus curse. This curse makes the one afflicted with it suffer horrible pain. Your mother was unfamiliar with it and didn't know how to fight it. As she suffered, squirming on the ground, Voldemort used another curse against your father, another unforgivable curse, the Imperius curse. With this curse, Voldemort gained full control of your father."
At this point, Rosella broke down in tears and Steven said, "You can stop, I can tell it hurts."
"No, Steven," she said, putting off the tears, "You need to hear this. You need to know that in this world there are bad wizards and witches. You need to know what happened before you get to Hogwarts." She paused for a short time to regain her bearings, and then continued. "Now then, with your father under his control, Voldemort made him do a most horrid thing. He made your father ... he made your father kill your mother."
"As your mother was squirming on the ground, your father used the last unforgivable curse, the Killing curse. With your mother dead, Voldemort used the Killing curse on your father and went on to slay Lily and James Potter."
"I can't believe this," Steven said, tearing up.
"There will be time to mourn your parents again, but now let me finish," Rosella said coldly. "This next part has gone down in magic history. With the Potters out of the way, Voldemort turned to make his last kill. The Potters had a son, just about the same age as you. And he was with them when Voldemort killed them. Voldemort tried to kill Harry Potter, but something went right (not wrong). Lily Potter had sacrificed herself to save Harry, and when she did that, Harry gained something that helped him fight off Voldemort. When Voldemort cursed him, it reflected off of Harry's forehead, leaving a lightning shaped scar. When the curse hit Voldemort, all of his power disappeared and his body was no longer good to him. Ever since then, he's been living in dark forests and foreign countries, trying to regain power."
"I'm telling you this, Steven, so you can know how bad wizards can turn. Watch yourself at Hogwarts, because you can make enemies there."
"And is that who that man was, Nana? Did you meet him at Hogwarts?" Steven asked.
"I did know Lucius Malfoy, that's his name, at Hogwarts. But we weren't enemies then. See, once I found out your parents had gone, I went to search for them. I left you in your grandfather's care, Lord rest his soul, and found myself at Godric's Hollow minutes after the mayhem. There I met Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid. Sirius left immediately and Hagrid left with Harry in tow, taking him to Dumbledore. That left me, alone at the Hollow. The last thing I expected was someone else to turn up."
"And that someone was Lucius, wasn't it?" Steven said.
"Indeed it was. Lucius was a Death Eater, Steven. He's a bad man, very bad. Since then, he was somehow cleared of following Voldemort. But I was the one to turn him in. It was a horrid battle, one that I still pay for," she said, tapping her arm, which bothered her with "arthritis." "But somehow he escaped his punishment and has held a grudge against me ever since. Now, do be careful at Hogwarts."
"Yes, Nana," Steven said obediently. He went upstairs to pack, because tomorrow he would be leaving for school.
