Chapter 2: The Council and Letters
Harry followed the Old Man, and he had deemed him, into the castle that they had been somehow transported to. His belongings floated, or flew, behind him as the case may be. When He entered into Council Chamber, Harry gulped his throat suddenly dry. Sitting in a semi circle all facing him were a group of witches and wizards that all radiated that enormous amount of power that the Old Man seemed to have. The Old Man took his place in the middle of the semicircle and stared at Harry, who was standing in the middle of the room looking back at the hundred or so witches and wizards sitting before him.
"Well Harry, I know that you are wondering what is going on, so I will tell you. First of all, I will tell you my name. I am Merlin, the Founder of the Council of Arch-mages. You are here, Harry, because we have decided that you are to be included as a member of the Council, and made an Arch-mage. Before you say anything, let me tell you a bit about us. This castle is known as Avalon. You may have heard of it from a few of the tales of Arthur and those rowdy knights that he always surrounded himself with." Merlin said the last with a bit of amusement in his voice. "The truth is that Avalon was MY keep and shortly after I founded the Council, I put a spell on it to take Avalon outside of time and space. You could say that we are in our own little dimension. I did this so that as members of the Council were found they would be able to train here, and learn what they need to learn before becoming an Arch-mage, within a reasonable amount of time, instead of spending centuries learning as I have. When I faked my death in the Wizarding World, I came here to Avalon, as well as all the others that you see before you. During the next month, (Well month in the Wizarding world) you will get to know all of us here, so I will not make any more introductions. Also, from now on, when you are not at Hogwarts, until you finish school, you will be staying here, and NOT with that Muggle and Squib couple that call themselves your Uncle and Aunt. Oh and I would like to also tell you that you are my descendant. I'm your Great Great Great with an infinite Greats Grandfather. You are, of course, also the descendant of my Great Great Grandson Godric here." At this Merlin gestured to the man on his right, who after Harry looked at him for a few seconds, looked like Godric Gryffindor.
Harry took all of this information in silently. Finally, he asked, "Do I have a choice in the matter?"
Merlin looked at him for a second then smiled. "Of course you do. If you do not want to become an Arch-mage, we will simply erase your memories of us, and send you back to you Muggle Uncle and Squib Aunt."
Considering this, Harry suddenly grinned. "Where do I sign up?" he asked eagerly.
At this, everyone in the room laughed lightly at his enthusiasm and looked at Merlin expectantly. Merlin got up out of his chair and tapped the floor with his staff. From the floor rose a globe made totally of glass, which was glowing brightly. "All you must do is touch the Sphere and you will be admitted to the Council," he said.
Staring at the man for a moment, Harry shrugged and put his right hand onto the globe. Nothing happened for a few seconds and Harry was beginning to wonder if he was being put on, then out of nowhere it happened.
Harry's world exploded around him.
Dear Ron,
Thanks for the wand holster, it's really cool and it solved a big problem. Aunt Petunia was going crazy about how my wand stuck out of my pocket and kept telling me to find another place to put it or she would have to make me put it away. Anyway, I really was annoyed at you for keeping Hedwig as long as you did. I thought that she was mad and had decided to not come back. Anyway, I'm actually doing a lot better. Guess what Hagrid got me for my birthday. A PHOENIX. She's beautiful, and I named her Lily after my mom. Sirius sent me a CUSTOM MADE BROOM. I can't wait to try it out. Oh guess what? I've been made a Prefect! Dumbledore said that I was already doing the job last year with teaching the D.A, so I might he figured I might as well get the perks that come with it. He said that since I'm a sixth year prefect, I could chose to have my own prefect room with the other sixth and seventh year prefects! Who would have thought it could happen, but it did… Dumbledore has gotten even more off his rocker than he was before! Anyway, you need to lay off Hermione. She's not really considering going to Bulgaria, but if you continue to nag her, she might just do it to spite you. You don't want that. Anyway, Owl me as soon as you can, you'll have to use Hedwig cuz no other Owl is allowed here anymore. Hope to hear from you soon!
Harry
Dear Hermoine,
Thank you for the book! I didn't even know that I needed to know these spells! HAHA I thought you would like that joke! Anyway, you should probably give Ron a break. He's just worried about you. I mean, you ARE a muggle-born witch and who knows what could happen to you in a foreign country at this time with things the way they are. That being said, I agree that Ron is a Prat. HE is the reason you haven't heard from me in a month. He "borrowed" Hedwig and she didn't get back to me for a MONTH. Anyway, don't worry about me too much, after my birthday things have started looking up for me. Hagrid somehow got me a Phoenix while out on a mission. Her Name is Lily after my mom, because she is so beautiful. Do you know that Ginny sent me a present? That was really sweet of her. I've decided to get to know her a bit better. What do you think?
Harry
P.S. How is your summer going?
Dear Fred and George,
You guys really don't have to make me a partner in the business, but I appreciate it all the same. I'll make sure to keep up my end and fund you guys as much as possible, so if you find yourselves in need of more cash, just tell me. I mean… what else is a Silent Partner good for? Oh, do me a favour? Will you get Ron some new dress robes again, I bet he's grown. DO the same for Ginny as well. I know that she's probably grown a bit, and needs new ones. If you need the money for it, I'll supply it for you. By the way, did you guys think that I needed that extra something in my gift for some reason? I'm not going to ask why you got it for me but I will say thanks, it has helped a bit. However, I don't think that I'll need anymore. See you soon (hopefully)
Harry
Silent Partner
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes
Dear Ginny,
You have no idea how much your gift has touched me. You're right I did need something to cheer me up, and your present is just the thing that I needed. I definitely count you as a friend, and furthermore, would love it if I could get to know you better. The magnificent bird that brought you this letter is Lily, my phoenix. Hagrid gave her to me for my birthday. Isn't she beautiful? I told her to go to your room instead of going straight to you, so that you would be the only one to see her. I sent her instead of Hedwig as thanks for your wonderful gift; I thought you would like the honour of being the first of my friends to see her. Write back ok?
Your friend,
Harry
Dear Harry,
I'm really glad that you finally owled me finally. I think that you getting to know Ginny is a wonderful idea. I'm glad that you are enjoying your book, but that joke was HORRID. Also I'll take your advice about Ron under advisement. HE KEPT HEDWIG FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH?!?!? I think I might send him a howler about that. He has NO brains whatsoever. Anyway, my summer is going good. I've already finished our homework. I heard that everyone is meeting at Diagon Alley on the August 25th to get all our stuff. Hope you can come at the same time. I'll be going to stay the Weasleys final few days at you know where and then I'll be going to King's Cross with them. Hope you will be there with me.
Miss you,
Hermione
Dear Hermione,
I know that I've been a bit of a prat but did you REALLY have to send me a Howler? I mean… I know in hindsight that keeping Hedwig and not sending Harry an owl that he could use was a bad idea, but at the time it seemed like a good idea. I swear. Anyway, Harry said that the Muggles were treating him better, isn't that weird? I think Fred and George are up to something. They asked to borrow my dress robes, and won't tell me why. I still haven't gotten them back yet, not that I'm complaining. Just wondering what they are up to. I know that I have been a bit over the top when it comes to you going to Bulgaria, but I'm just worried about you 'Mione. I would hate to lose you, and I don't know if Bulgaria is safe for you. That being said, whatever you decide, I'll go along with 100%.
See you soon,
Ron
Dear Hermione,
SWEET MERLIN! Harry sent me a letter! What's more he sent me a letter USING HIS PHOENIX! He said that he hasn't sent anyone else letters using the phoenix but he said he wanted to thank me for my gift so he sent Lily to me. She's so beautiful! She's still here, and I don't know if I should send her back or write a letter and send her back. What do you think?
Ginny
P.S. I know that I told everyone that I was over him, but that was before the Department of Mysteries. How CAN he be so dashing and brave like that and STILL be clueless about girls?!?!?
Dear Ginny,
I'm glad that he's finally noticing you. I'm so jealous! A Phoenix in your room you could really learn a lot about them just by taking care of it! OF COURSE you should write him. Let him see the real you. Oh and tell your prat of a brother that I'm sorry about the Howler, and I'm not going to Bulgaria. I'll see you on the 25th.
Hermione
Dear Harry,
Lily is Beautiful! Thank you for sending her to me. I'm glad that my present cheered you up. That's what it was meant to do! I'm REALLY glad that you think of me as a friend, I've been worried that I ran you off with all that crazy stuff that I did in the last few years. My brothers are all up to something. I'm not sure what, but I'm sure of it. Fred and George both came in asking for my old dress robes from last year, and then asked me how much I had grown this summer. I'm really worried that they are going to do something to my clothes. Oh well, I've outgrown them anyway. What about you Harry? Have you grown, or am I finally going to be able to look down at you? Just Kidding, even if I am taller than you now, I'll still always look up to you. I mean… how else could I look up to the boy who has saved my life, and that of my father and brother time and time again. Hope to see you on the 25th at Diagon Alley.
Love,
Ginny
Dear Ginny,
Do you know you're the first letter I've gotten since I owled you, Ron and Hermione. I think that they are finally figuring out that they love each other. I hope that they'll get together soon and save my ears another year of them yelling at each other. I'm glad you like Lily; she's very dear to me already. I'm not sure how I'm going to convince him, but I'm going to have to talk Professor Dumbledore into letting me keep Lily with me during the school year. To answer your unasked question, I'm doing OK. I'm not fine per say, but I'm doing a lot better now than I was before my birthday. I don't think you have to worry about Gred and Forge that much. If they do anything bad to you just let me know and I'll make sure that they regret it. They gave me a surprising amount of prank stuff for my birthday and I've been amusing myself with learning new ways to conceal them and make them look innocent. I'll be at Diagon Alley on the 25th and tell your parent's that I'll be going back to the Burrow with you guys as well. Oh and for your information, I have had a bit of a growth spurt, AND I've found out about a way to mask my magical signature, so I've been able to practice and to all kinds of stuff this summer. I'll tell you all about it when I get to the Burrow, I promise. See you soon!
Love,
Harry
Dear Hermoine,
OH SWEET MERLIN!! HE REPLIED TO MY LETTER AND SIGNED IT LOVE HARRY!!! We've been sending letters back and forth all summer, but this is the first time he didn't sign it 'your friend.' I'm SO EXCITED! He's said that he wants to include me into your group! I can't wait till this weekend! Just think ALL of us at Diagon Alley! Oh Well See you on Saturday.
Ginny