Chapter Three:

Pieces to the Puzzle

Standing in the doorway of the cottage was a tall, thin man. The dimness of the cottage and the brightness of day outside made it hard for Daniel to make out the man's facial features. The man stepped into the cottage and the light from one of the windows streamed in and shone on the man's face. Daniel gasped.

The man was wearing long flowing black and burgundy robes, his black hair seemed to have been blown about by some great wind, and his round glasses seemed slightly askew, as if that was how the man liked to wear them. But Daniel's eyes were caught the most by the two scars on the man's face. The most notable one, a long thin gash that ran from the top of the man's left eye down slightly diagonally onto his cheek. The other one, small and less noticeable was over his right eye. It was the shape that was so intriguing; the small scar was shaped like a lightning bolt.

"Good morning, Daniel," said the man. "I suppose you read your letter."

"Yes, sir," Daniel managed to mumble.

"Well, that is what I am here to talk to you about."

A long silence ensued, neither Harry nor Daniel moved.

"Why don't you two sit down and chat? I have to go and clean up the breakfast dishes," said his mum with fake enthusiasm.

The two looked awkwardly at each other for another moment and then sat down uncomfortably. Daniel sat and waited, not sure what to say, and Harry sat and wondered where to begin.

"My name is Professor Potter, but you can call me Harry until you start at school. That is, if you want to start at Hogwarts," he ended lamely.

Daniel said nothing, he wasn't even sure he knew what Hogwarts was yet.

Harry cleared his throat and tried again, "I was a good friend of your father's a long time ago, when you were just a little boy. Your father and I worked together."

Daniel had never heard what his father did for a living.

"How much has your mother told you about your father?" asked Harry.

"I know his name was Jude, he used to take us for walks and he could make my mother laugh," Daniel said before he realized what he had said. He couldn't look at Harry; he was too embarrassed, and instead looked down at the floor.

"I see. Have you ever seen pictures of your father?" Harry asked gently.

Daniel shook his head and then shyly lifted his head to look at the Harry's face. This time he was not so surprised by the scars but instead by the deep intensity of his green eyes.

"I brought some with me if you would like to see them."

Daniel nodded cautiously.

"Why don't you sit here on the couch and I will tell you who else is in the pictures," said Harry gesturing to the seat next to him.

Daniel stood up and moved to the couch, but he felt stiff, he was still not sure what to think about this man or his ideas or his intentions.

Harry pulled from a small pocket a leather-bound album that surely could not have fit in such a small space. He opened to the first page, a picture of Harry, Ginny, Jude and Abby. Abby had a big grin on her face and Jude was standing behind her with his arms around her big belly. "This," Harry explained, "is my wife, Ginny and I with your mum and dad, right before you were born. Your dad was so excited when he found out he was having a son."

Daniel was surprised because the pictures moved! He did not know what kind of trickery Harry was using to make them move, but he was glad to be able to see pictures of his father and his mother looking so happy.

Harry pointed to the next picture, "This is your father and I after a game of Quidditch with some friends."

Daniel stared at his father's face. He was smiling so widely. His short, brown hair was spiked up all over his head and his eyes were sparkling with excitement. Both were holding the ends of long brooms and Harry was holding up a struggling little ball with wings.

"Your father was an excellent Chaser. We used to play all the time," said Harry wistfully before turning the page.

The third picture was a picture of a large group of people. Daniel looked for a while before picking out his father in the middle of the second row.

"This picture was taken after we finished our auror training."

"What's an auror?" asked Daniel.

"An auror is like a muggle… er… non wizarding policeman."

"Oh," said Daniel, but he was just as confused as he was before he had asked.

"In the picture are Mad Eye Moody, Tonks, Seamus Finnigan, Robert Garvey, and your father and I with some of the other graduates from that year."

Harry was studying Daniel's face very closely, but couldn't read much from them. Daniel noticed and looked into Harry's eyes. There were so many feelings there, deep emotions, wistfulness, a bit of nostalgia, excitement, contentedness, and a deep undercurrent of pain like Daniel could see in his mother's. This man had been through something awful like his mother.

Harry cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his chair and flipped the page. There was a picture of Jude, Abby, and Daniel. Jude was holding Abby's hand and Daniel was on his shoulders. The first emotion that Daniel's face had betrayed so far was that of shock.

"I remember that, this whole time I thought I had just made it up in my mind," he whispered.

"No, that day really happened, Daniel," said Harry. "Your father was so heartbroken that he could not be with you as you grew older. I was there with your father… at the end. He only thought about you and your mother. He gave me something for you and told me to keep it for you until you were ready," Harry said taking the long thin wand out of the inner pocket of his robes. "He wanted you to have this and learn to use it for good, to become a man who could be proud of who he is."

Daniel stared at the thin stick. It hadn't been quite what he had been expecting. It was the stick Harry had shown his mother the other day, that had made he cry.

When his throat opened up, he asked, "What exactly is it?"

"It is a wand, Daniel. You are a wizard, just like your father and your mother. You are at the age when young wizards go to Hogwarts and learn to use their magic."

"But I can't do any magic," said Daniel warily.

"Well, a lot of times people don't even know they have magic inside them. That is why you have to go to school and learn how to control the magic that is all around you."

"You say my father was a wizard? If he had magic why didn't he use magic to save himself?" Daniel blurted before he could stop himself. He had always wondered about his father's death and if it had been preventable.

"Well Daniel, just like there are good people, there are also bad people. It is the same with magic. If you get sick, the doctors can help you, but they can't save everyone. There is evil magic out there Daniel, and that is what your father was fighting."

"At this school, is that what they teach you to do, to fight evil?" asked Daniel.

"Well, yes in part, but you also learn many other things: Arithmancy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Herbology, and Charms. Many things that will help you use, control and enjoy your magic."

Daniel had always enjoyed knowledge, books, and intricacies of how things worked. It was intriguing to think that there was a power inside of him that he had not known.

"You say my mother has magic too…" Daniel began somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes, she is a witch," said Harry reassuringly.

"Well, how come she never does anything magical?"

Harry's face fell. "Well, Daniel, you know your mother is very sad," said Harry slowly, Daniel nodded. "Well, sometimes things happen to us and we feel like we can't ever go on the way we were before, and so we change everything in an attempt to forget what has happened, to lessen the pain. After your father died, Daniel, your mother didn't want to use her magic anymore. She felt it was because of magic that your father died, she didn't want to be reminded of his death everyday, so she left the wizarding world and came here with you. She was doing what she thought was best for both of you."

Daniel sat there thinking about all the things Harry had said and absorbing the new found information about his father. It seemed like too much for one day.

Harry looked at the young boy's face and remembered his own introduction to the wizarding world. It had been a lot to absorb, but Harry had been eager to leave his situation, Daniel had his mother, he had a school, a nice home, the decision was different. He didn't want to pressure Daniel into making any rash decisions.

"Here, Daniel, take your father's wand, think about it over night. I will come by tomorrow and we can talk some more. If you need me, I'm here for you, just let me know."

"Thank you, sir."