The Relentless Muggle

Muggles! Who needs them? Seriously, they can't even do magic! Unfortunately, Henry was a muggle. However, Henry flat out refused to believe this. He attended a normal school and learned all the basic subjects like math, science, and all that other lame stuff. But this wasn't his world. He didn't need to know all of these things. At least that is what Henry thought. You see, Henry was an obsessed Harry Potter fan; he's read all the books so many times that he lost count years ago. After reading, he usually falls in brief depression that he is not a wizard, but just a stupid, ordinary muggle. But Henry knew that there must have been a mistake, there just had to be. The owl delivering his letter with his invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry must have gotten lost. By age ten, (the year before you start at Hogwarts) Henry had already purchased his wand. It was a mahogany wand, nine and three quarter inches. It was Pliable and very good for charm work. Yet there was something missing. Where was the unicorn hair? The dragon heartstring? The phoenix feather? Henry pulled a single feather off a red colored bird in a pet shop one day that looked close enough to a phoenix, and added it to his wand. Henry had even purchased his wand. He purchases three sets of plain wizard's robes for daywear and for his classes. He also bought a pointed wizards hat. All his friends thought he was pretty weird and way too obsessed with Harry Potter. Most of his friends liked the books, but Henry saw them as more than just books. They were his life.

Very odd things have happened to Henry that convinced him he was a wizard. Every now and then he would look out his window and see either people in colorful cloaks, or hooded figures in dark black cloaks. His neighborhood was very busy and there was always people walking around; that is why Henry figured they always disappeared whenever he ran outside to greet them. When Henry turned eleven, he could not wait to get his owl. But the months passed and passed and he hadn't heard a word from Hogwarts. The day Henry turned twelve, he went into ultimate depression. By age thirteen, it was all over for Henry. But Henry had a mission. He was going to find Hogwarts himself. He figured he was ready to start. After all, he had been practicing spells really hard in his room for a while. Sometimes when he concentrated really hard, he thought he even made objects move using the summoning charm. It definitely wasn't the wind, it was me! That is what Henry told himself one afternoon when this occurred. What Henry really needed was a broom. He tried all the brooms around his house, but his feet never left the ground. This made Henry very angry. The things these muggles come up with these days! His parents were very concerned about him. Henry acted as muggle-like as he can possibly be however much he hated it. But he figured he's better off having to be a temporary muggle than being forced to see a psychiatrist. But lately, Henry had one plan: get to Hogwarts. True, he had no idea where it was. True, he had no way of getting there. Money was a big issue too. He barely even had any muggle money, let alone a galleon! But there was no stopping Henry. He had been carefully planning this for months now. He had a vacation from school coming up shortly, and his parents were going away during the vacation without him. Henry hated school. He would always tell every one that he didn't need to know the rubbish his school taught. Charms, Transfiguration, Defense against the Dark Arts. Those were the classes for him. Of course, he had to be at a wizarding school to learn these subjects. All he had to do was last a few more days of muggle school. Then he would start his journey.

The Journey to King's Cross

Henry did make it through those last few days of school, as tough as they were. He was in his last class on Friday, staring at the clock the whole time and not listening to one word the teacher was saying. Henry didn't even know what class he was in. He didn't care. He didn't even know if he was in the right classroom in the first place. Finally, the bell rang and Henry started to run home. As he was running, a big bully named Lawrence that always picked on Henry stepped in front of him.

"Where are you running to loser?" demanded Lawrence.

"Eat slugs, Lawrence!" Henry replied cleverly.

"Hahahaha, ready for me to beat you?" said Lawrence, raising his fist.

At these words, Henry whipped out his wand and raised it towards the bully.

"Stupefy!"

Nothing happened. Fifteen minutes later, Henry entered his house with a black eye and a cut on his cheek. He told his parents that he tripped over a garbage can while running home. His parents were in such a rush that they were satisfied with the story. They kissed Henry good bye and left.

Now was the time. It was now or never. You see, Henry still stands with the story that there must have been a mistake. He knows he was wizard's blood. He needed to get to Hogwarts and straighten it all out with Dumbledore. He'd understand. He'd probably just need to perform a few simple spells and he'd be in.

Henry was going to travel light. After all, he did have a long journey ahead of him. Henry took his dress robes, (though right now he was wearing muggle clothing so he did not attract too much attention. He definitely did not want to break the Wizarding Code of Secrecy!) his wand and a trunk to keep it all in along with some other muggle clothes. He kept his wand in his back pocket, just in case. At last, Henry left his house and took a breath of fresh air.

You see, Henry lived in London, so he was already in on all the action. He had already gone looking for the Leaky Cauldron, a famous grubby-looking place where you can buy drinks and also holds the entrance to Diagon Alley in the back courtyard. However, Henry had never found it. For now, his destination was the King's Cross Train Station. To get to Hogwarts Station, you had to run through the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. Henry had never tried it before because he was waiting for the right time. He figured the right time would be once he got his invitation to Hogwarts. But as that never came, now was the right time.

Henry walked casually up to the curb and made sure no one was looking at him. Once he noticed the street was empty, he lifted his wand high up in the air. Henry anxiously waited and stared down the streets with a smile on his face as he waited for the Knight Bus. As the minutes passed, the smile drifted away from Henry's face. Five more minutes later, Henry was sitting down on the curb staring down at the street.

"They don't know I'm really a wizard yet. They just think I'm a stupid muggle standing out on the street holding a plastic wand. I'll show them. One day they'll be here to pick me up. You'll see."

Suddenly a cat ran out from under a car and stopped dead about ten feet in front of Henry. Henry stared at the cat. As Henry analyzed the cat, his heart stopped for a second. He realized that this was undoubtedly a tabby cat. He could tell by the markings on it. A dark gray tabby cat. Just staring at him. It all seemed too familiar. Henry's lips trembled as he spoke.

"P-Professor McGonagall?"

Before anything else could happen his next door neighbors walked out of their house and were walking down their driveway. Henry's eyes were still transfixed on the cat. But it was at that moment when he realized that he was still holding out his wand. He quickly put it away in his back pocket and when he went to look back at the cat it was gone.

"Hello Henry!" said Henry's neighbor.

"Hello Mr. Walker," Henry replied.

Henry saw they were entering their car when an idea suddenly struck him.

"Where are you guys going?"
"We're going into the city to do some shopping," answered Mr. Walker.

"Would it be O.K. if you gave me a ride?" Henry wondered.

"Sure, where to?" asked Mrs. Walker.

"Just drop me off anywhere in the city. I'm er, I'm meeting some friends." said Henry.

The Walkers kindly agreed and Henry got into the car. As they drove, Henry was staring out the back window for the tabby cat, but it was no where to be seen. This made Henry upset because for a brief second he thought it was the animagus Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts.

During the car ride, Henry had to endure question after question from the Walkers about school, family, and what seemed like a million other topics. Thankfully for Henry, he soon realized that the train station was getting nearer, and just so he didn't have to stay with the Walkers another minute he asked them to drop him off here and told them his friends were nearby.

Henry was dropped off on the sidewalk of a huge street, which had about three lanes for cars going in each direction. He had only walked a few blocks when he was standing right in front of the entrance to King's Cross Train Station. Henry took a deep breath. This was it. The time he had been waiting for his whole life. In a few short minutes, he would be entering the magical world he had been destined for since he was born. Henry walked into the train station and quickly spotted platform one. He kept walking until he passed platform two, three, four... and a few moments later he was standing at platform nine. He walked a little more and found a solid barrier directly between platforms nine and ten. Henry jumped with excitement. He backed up so there was about fifteen feet in front of him and the barrier. He didn't want to make it too obvious, but he couldn't help it and broke into a run. Henry took a great leap as he approached the barrier and…

The Hooded Figures

SMACK! Henry fell face first into the ground and after a huge collision with the barrier. Everybody in the train station was staring at him.

"I, er… tripped," Henry explained.

Despite most people staring at him, Henry sat down on a nearby bench feeling very disappointed. This was the second time today Henry had been let down. Why didn't the barrier let him in? Surely if he was a wizard he'd still be able to get through, despite not being on the Hogwarts list? It must have been because it was not September the first and the train isn't there. No wizard would be able to get through. Yeah that's it. Or maybe... just maybe, thought Henry, Dobby might have sealed the gateway like he did to Harry. Henry looked around the train station half expecting Dobby the house-elf to appear. But then Henry came to his senses. Why would Dobby ever do that? It doesn't make sense. Henry was now even more upset. For the first time ever, Henry started to doubt whether he really was a wizard.

"No, get a grip on yourself, Henry," Henry said to himself. "You're a wizard. There was a good reason why the barrier didn't let you in. But you're definitely a wizard!"

All of a sudden the lights started to flicker in the train station, and then they turned off. After that, Henry started to feel extremely cold. Henry's mind started to race. Once again, he was having the same feeling of familiarity. When has this happened before? A cold breeze from no where filled the station. That was when it hit Henry. If what he thought was correct, then right now a –

Instantly a hooded figure bursted out from the door across from Henry. It drifted across the floor towards Henry. Then it slowly lifted its hands up towards its hood. This wasn't just a scabby, decayed hand, Henry thought. This was a human hand!

"AAHHH! IT'S LORD VOLDEMORT!" Henry screamed. NO MORTAL IS SAFE! EVERYBODY RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! AAHHH!"

At these words, the hooded figure took off his hood and revealed a middle aged, red haired man with freckles. Once again, everybody in the train station was staring at Henry. But now they were actually scared of him. Now, Henry realized, was a good time to leave King's Cross Train Station.

Henry ran out of the station as fast as he could and sat down in a bench outside. Once again, he was depressed. He was so out of it that he started naming the things he saw across the street.
"A building, a red car, a statue, a dark gray tabby cat, another car, a blue –"

Wait a minute! Henry finally realized what he was saying and he looked back again at the cat. He stood up. This time, Henry was going to cross the street and he wouldn't take his eyes off the cat. But as Henry started to walk, a huge truck passed by and blocked Henry's view. When the truck passed, the cat was gone. Henry was so furious he swore aloud. Luckily, a bunch of workers were drilling on the pavement nearby and drowned out whatever Henry said.

"What does it all mean!" Henry yelled.

The sky was starting to turn dark and Henry was stuck in the middle of London with very little money, a wand, and a trunk full of spare clothes. He started to walk. How long he walked, he didn't know. He kept his head down the whole time due to his immense frustration. That could have been a good thing though, because he didn't notice the dark, cloaked figures pointing at him from across the street. It was now very late, and Henry was starting to get very tired. He picked up his head and started looking around for a hotel. Henry figured he might have just enough to stay at a cheap place for a night or two. As he was looking at the stored, his eyes went from a mattress place directly to the department store right next to it, and Henry kept walking because those places had no use for him right now. But then Henry stopped dead in his tracks. He looked back at the two stored, but then he noticed a small little place right in between them. Henry had no idea how he even realized it. It didn't seem like any one else noticed it. Henry squinted to read the name of it.

"Knight Time Hotel."

Henry just continued to stare at the place. The Knight Time Hotel? Could it be? No, no, it was just a coincidence, Henry said to himself. But he was not fully convinced. He couldn't help thinking that it just seemed way too convenient that the one thing he needs just shows up almost as if it out no where. Especially with that name. As fishy as it seemed, Henry had no choice, so he walked up to the hotel and stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was a bald man wearing glasses staring at him from behind the counter.

"Hello Henry. We've been waiting for you." Said the man.

Unexpected Visitors

"Waiting for me!" exclaimed Henry, both shocked and confused. "Why? And who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you are safe. We have room seven ready for you."

"But I barely have any money," Henry explained to the man, still confused. "and about this place -"

"Oh, money doesn't matter right now," the man cut him off, "now enough questions, you must be tired. Just get to your room and we'll bring you some tea."

Without another word, the man walked away into another room. Henry was left absolutely dumbfounded. However, his spirits were now much higher because he had a free room to stay in. But questions still lingered in Henry's mind. Who was that guy and why was he waiting for him? Was this all a joke? Had the Walkers planned ahead knowing that Henry needed a place to stay? That seemed like the most logical explanation, but it still did not make sense. He doubted the Walkers even knew about this place. It didn't seem like any one knew about this place. Henry walked to room seven and stared into all the deserted rooms. This confirmed Henry's thoughts that this place wasn't too well-known. Henry entered his room and changed into the pajamas he brought in his trunk.

Moments later, the bald man entered his room with a cup of tea. Henry knew better than to accept drinks from strangers, but since he was so thirsty he figured he'd take his chances. He drank the whole thing in two gulps. It tasted wonderful! At last, Henry finally lied down after a long, hard day. He had been beaten up by a bully, followed by a tabby cat, crashed into a solid barrier, and made a complete fool of himself twice in public. Henry was still thoroughly satisfied because he figured he had made some progress. Maybe tomorrow he'd have another go at the Knight Bus and hopefully he'd see the tabby cat again. Yeah, this was all going great, thought Henry. That was the last thought Henry had because he immediately drifted off to sleep.

Henry had a strange dream that night. He dreamed he was being taken away, but he couldn't see by whom. All he knew was that he was being carried away so he couldn't move. He couldn't speak either because something was in his mouth. Before Henry could find out anything else, he woke up. It was still very dark out. Then he heard a tapping noise on his window. He looked out the window but no one was there. Not one single person or one single car. Henry was about to open the window and peak outside when a thought occurred to him. What if this is a setup? A setup to get him alone outside? No, that's ridiculous... Who would be trying to set me up? Thought Henry. A loud yawn made Henry realize that it must be really early in the morning and he was still very tired. He lied back down on his bed and fell back asleep.

Henry awoke once again, but this time it was daytime. He looked out the window and saw that the streets were back to being flooded with people and cars. Henry changed into his normal clothes, gathered all his stuff, and walked out into the main room. The bald man was standing in the corner, staring at the wall. He appeared to be on the phone.

"Yes he's here," The bald man said over the phone, "no need to worry. He's perfectly safe. He came in last night just like you said."

This was all getting too weird for Henry. He sneaked across the room and left out the door without the man realizing. What was he going to do now? Should he dare go back to the train station? Henry finally decided he should start walking and he'd think what to do next along the way. He had only walked a couple of blocks when it happened. Something really bright streaked across the street towards Henry. It just missed him and Henry felt something hot brush against his hair. Henry could only catch a glimpse of what it was. All he saw was a bit of red light. Henry turned around quickly and across the huge street he could see several cloaked figures pointing at him! Henry started to run, but there were cloaked figures running towards him from both directions! Henry could only think of one thing to do. He quickly whipped out his wand and stuck it up high in the air. He didn't care if muggles saw him. This was a life or death situation. All of a sudden a huge bus came out of no where and stopped dead in front of Henry. Finally! It worked! It was the Kni- … The city bus! Good enough, Henry figured. He ran on board and the doors closed behind him as soon as he entered, and the bus started to drive away from the cloaked figures. Henry let out a huge sigh of relief.

As he entered, Henry looked around the bus. This was nothing like the Knight Bus. There were no beds, no wizards, Stan Shunpike wasn't even there! It was just a normal, plain, stupid city bus. Henry sat down in a seat and started to reflect what just happened. What was going on! People were obviously after him. But why?

"Hello" said a dark, cold voice from the man next to Henry. Henry realized that he never even looked at who he sat next to. He was afraid to do so, but he still turned his head to see. His worst fears were confirmed. There was a man wearing a pure black cloak and a hood that was concealing his face. Henry started to shout.

"STOP THE BUS! STOP THE BUS! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP THE BUS!"

The bus stopped immediately and every one turned to Henry. But he didn't care. He ran as fast as he could to the door and dove out onto the sidewalk.

As the bus started to drive away, the man in the black cloak that was next to Henry took off his hood and it was really a very old women!

"I was just going to ask him for the time!" she said to herself.

The Dream Diminished

Henry ran as far as he could until he could run no more and ended up in an alley in between a couple of buildings. He was very tired so he sat down on a bench that was in front of an entrance to the subway station. He took out his wizard robes and put them on because it was chilly and out and he started to break out in a cold sweat.

Henry had no idea what to think. Who are these people after me? Surely they can't be Death Eaters? Why would they be after him… surely he didn't do anything wrong?

"Look at this freak!"

A few teenagers had just emerged into the alleyway and were pointing at Henry and laughing very hard.

"Nice cloak, freak!" yelled one of the teenagers.

"I've got enough on my mind without having to worry about stupid muggles! Leave me alone!" yelled Henry.

The teenagers' smiles vanished from their faces. Instead they were replaced with looks of fury.

"Wha'chu call me, freak? C'mon, stand up! Face me like a man!"

Henry was the one laughing now. Look at these blokes, Henry thought. They stand no chance against a great wizard like me. He whipped out his wand and shouted an incantation at the teens.

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

Nothing happened.

"IMPEDIMENTA! STUPEFY! FURNUNCULUS!" shouted Henry at the top of his lungs. Next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor with his head in throbbing pain from a vicious punch. Before Henry could get back up, the teens surrounded him and started kicking him. There was nothing Henry could do. To top off the assault, one of the teenagers picked him up and shoved him down the stairs. Pleased with themselves, they walked away. Henry lied at the bottom of the steps for a few minutes in excruciating pain. Finally, Henry got himself up and started to limp.

He was in a completely empty underground train station. Henry started to get a little suspicious as to why it was so empty. But then Henry started to experience a feeling of deep disgust.

Look at you, standing here in an empty station half beaten. He tore off his wizards robes and threw them to the ground. He then realized that his wand had snapped in his fall down the stairs and then proceeded to chuck that against the wall. Look where all this has gotten you. You're not a wizard. You're just a stupid, plain, normal person. There's no such thing as wizards.

Henry walked over to a bench and sat down. He had never been this depressed in his life. He even started to cry. It's all fake. After all these years of believing, it was all for nothing. Henry was now getting a feeling of hatred. As of right now, he hated everything about the wizarding world. He hated Hogwarts, he hated Hagrid, he hated Dumbledore, he hated magic, and he even hated Harry Potter himself. All Henry wanted to do was go home. He started to walk down the train station hoping he could catch a train. But it was still completely deserted.

Or was it? The back of Henry's neck started to prickle and then he heard a soft rustle from behind him. He quickly turned around but nothing was there. Nothing except a small boot lying in the middle of the station. A few hours ago, Henry would of thought that boot to be a portkey. But now the boot meant nothing to him. Henry walked over to the boot and as he approached it he lifted up his leg in preparation to kick it as hard as he could. He swung his leg forward, and as he made connection with the boot, he felt a hard jerk somewhere upon his naval, and his foot could not move away from the boot. Henry felt a dizzy, swirling sensation and the train station disappeared around him. Next thing he knew, he was laying on a wooden floor in a small building. Some one was sitting down in a chair next to Henry. Once his eyes came back into focus, Henry turned to look who the person was and felt his jaw drop to the floor.

It was Albus Dumbledore.

The Truth Uncovered

"Hello Henry," said Albus Dumbledore. His blue eyes were twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

Henry said nothing. Surely this couldn't be real.

Dumbledore smiled. "Do you know who I am?" he inquired.

Henry nodded.

"Do you know why I am here?" Dumbledore asked.

Henry shook his head.

"This may come as a bit of a shock, Henry. You are a wizard. A famous wizard, in fact. You are the last remaining descendant of Godric Gryffindor."

"W-What?" the fact that he was a wizard didn't surprise him that much. But the Gryffindor bit was the last thing he expected to hear. "But… But… why – "
"Back when you were young, there was an accident at your house. Your parents were killed. We thought you died also. The muggles you have known your whole life to be your parents found you in the destruction and took you in. This knowledge only came to us a few weeks ago thanks to our spy of the Death Eaters. I'm just glad we found you before they did."

It was all starting to dawn on Henry. That's why all those cloaked people were chasing him. Henry had so many questions to ask. But before he could say anything, he could hear screaming from out the back window and could see dark cloaked figures running towards the place they were in.

"Go! Quickly," Dumbledore said. "Go outside and summon the knight bus. Take it to King's Cross Station. Take this wand. I'll fight them off."

Dumbledore handed Henry a wand and Henry dashed outside and faced the street. He took a deep breath and then raised his wand.

CRACK!
The Knight Bus appeared from what seemed like out of thin air. Before Harry could get in and request his destination, he was pulled inside and the Knight Bus took off. Henry looked to see who pulled him in. It was Stan Shunpike.

"Professor McGonagall's told us everything. We're taking you to King's Cross right now. Speed it up Ern!" shouted Stan.

"Aye," Ern answered.

"Why haven't you guys ever stopped for me before? Henry asked. "I've called for you guys so many times.

"Sorry chap." answered Stan. "We thought you were a muggle. You think we have time to stop for every muggle that foolishly waves a plastic wand around thinking they're a real wizard?"

Next thing Henry knew, the Knight Bus came to a halt outside of King's Cross.

"That was quick, thanks!" Henry said.

"No problem, just go quickly!" yelled Stan.

Henry didn't need telling twice. He ran inside King's Cross and instinctively ran to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Henry ran towards the platform ready to run through it but then he came to a halt. This hasn't worked any other time, why should it work now? Henry thought to himself. He still had the bruises from crashing into the barrier earlier in the day. Just do it, Henry thought to himself once again. He closed his eyes and ran towards the barrier. To his delight, there was no crash. Henry opened his eyes and found himself staring at the Hogwarts Express.

"It is true!" said a high pitched squeaky voice.

Henry turned around and saw Dobby the house elf staring at him, tears in his eyes.

"You!" Henry shouted. "It was you that sealed the barrier when I tried to get through it before!"

"It was Dobby, sir," Dobby explained. "But Dobby must, Sir. The platform was not safe for you at the time. I was told to seal it. Dobby begs for your forgiveness."

"It's alright Dobby, I'm not mad." Henry was finding it hard to be angry at anything at the moment. I'm a wizard, he kept thinking over and over to himself. I'm really going to Hogwarts!

"Dobby knew of Henry's fame, for he is a descendant of Godric Gryffindor! But Dobby had no idea he was no noble, so forgiving, so –"

"Come here Henry!" said a harsh voice

It was Professor McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall!" Henry exclaimed. "Am I going to Hogwarts?"

"Indeed," answered Professor McGonagall.

"You followed me throughout my whole journey these past few days, haven't you?

"Yes," stated Professor McGonagall. "Good thing too. Some one had to fight off those Death Eaters for you."

"Thanks," said Henry with a huge smile on his face.

"You better hurry," said Professor McGonagall. "Your chariot awaits."

"Chariot?" asked Henry. "I thought I was taking the train"

"It was just an expression."

"So no chariot?"

"No."

Henry thought for a second. "But if there was a chariot, would it be taken by horses or thestrals?"

"Get on the train."

Professor McGonagall was looking daggers at him, so Henry thought it was best to just get on the train. He got in and sat alone in a compartment as the train started to take off. Henry thought he might die of excitement. He was going to Hogwarts! All of his dreams have come true! Henry was hoping he would get a chance to go to Hogsmeade before going to Hogwarts, as he wanted to get a new quill. He wasn't going to miss this genuine chance to get an autograph from Harry Potter!