Chapter Four: Fastidious Flitby

Harry left the small cottage. He walked past the flowers which were perfuming the air with their sweet scent. It floated along the warm summer breeze but did nothing to make him feel more cheerful. He walked to the gate and sighed as he opened the gate, he was so tired lately. He was getting old; he had to face it at some point. He could only hope that he had gotten through to Daniel.

Daniel's situation was so complicated, Harry had not been sure how to proceed. Abby didn't want anything to do with the magical world. He didn't want to turn Daniel against his mother, but he wanted Daniel to know about his father and fulfil his father's hopes and dreams for him.

Harry sighed again and looked up at the sky as he trudged towards a place to Apparate from. He finally found a secluded spot and Apparated to Hogsmeade. From there, he made his way towards Hogwarts. He could have Flooed, but he wanted the walk to clear his head. The slight incline up to the castle invigorated him.

Once inside the castle he came across the Bloody Baron muttering something about Peeves and his latest mischief. Unfortunately, after Dumbledore and McGonagall had left, Peeves listened to no one but the Bloody Baron. Harry was about to open his mouth and ask what is was this time, but reconsidered and made his way to his office.

No sooner had Harry sat down at his desk, there was an urgent, persistent knock at his door, only one person knocked like that. He sighed and said rather half heartedly, "Come in."

In walked Nerissa Flitby. Harry groaned inwardly. Nerissa had been the last person McGonagall had hired before she had left the position of Headmistress. She reminded Harry too much of Umbridge to even give her a chance to prove otherwise. Harry could almost feel the old scar on his hand begin to prickle whenever she was near. Harry had no evidence that she was not completing her duties and he had no reasonable grounds to dismiss her, but he watched her like a hawk and was looking forward to the day when he could fire her.

She was podgy but not fat, she reminded him somewhat of a large turkey. Her brown hair fanned out around her head in a bushy mat of fuzz that she teased into such a state. Her neck was terribly distracting, it wiggled and wobbled whenever she talked and her mouth always seemed full of something. She wore many rings on her podgy fingers and they all sparkled and clanged together when she clasped her hands. Her favourite colours were pink and brown and she made no qualms about putting them together. She always wore glasses on a chain around her neck, but Harry had never seen her actually use them, they merely dangled about her big chest on that chain of big pink beads. She had become Head of Slytherin House after Slughorn had left Hogwarts and Harry knew for a fact that the students all made fun of her and enjoyed competitions to see who was the best at imitating her. He found it rather amusing himself but would never let the children know this fact.

She made her way over to the cushy chair in front of his desk with mincing steps caused by the pink high heels that she insisted on wearing with everything. The shoes were at least two sizes too small and her podgy feet were bulging out of them. She plunked herself heavily into the chair as it groaned against the sudden weight. To any unknowing person, she looked harmless enough, until she opened her mouth. She couldn't say much of anything positive and she was very condescending in her manner. Her voice was a high-pitched nasal whine that grated Harry's nerves.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything," she said, completely ignoring the pile of papers on his desk "Now, Harry," she began while trying to cross her podgy legs, "Peeves has been out of line before but this is totally unacceptable."

Harry sighed and began shuffling papers to give her the hint that he indeed was very busy. "Nerissa, you know he listens to no one and he is impossible to get out of the castle," he said tiredly.

"Yes, but this time he has overstepped the bounds!"

"What has he done now?"

"He came into my quarters and turned everything orange! He threw dung bombs and released a cage full of Cornish pixies in my closet!"

"Nerissa, I am truly sorry," Harry managed to lie, "but there is nothing I can do about it. I will speak to the Baron and see what he can do, but that is all I can do."

"These things cannot continue when the students return! He has to be stopped; it is a bad influence on the children. How are they supposed to learn anything when he is gallivanting around doing whatever he pleases?" she asked in her high pitched voice.

"Generations of children, including myself, have studied in these very walls with that very poltergeist gallivanting and they have gone on to become very well balanced professional witches and wizards. I truly think you are overreacting."

"Well I never! This institution used to be run with decorum, with dignity, with pride and with tact! I will have to bring this situation to the attention of higher powers," she said in a huff as she tried to extract herself from the chair. After some heaving she managed to accomplish this and move towards the door.

By that time the impact of her words had worn off and Harry didn't feel threatened by the lump of a woman who had difficulty trying to extract herself from a chair. Many people did not agree with his appointment as Headmaster and Harry was used to threats to his position. But Nerissa Flitby did not intimidate him in the least. She was a weak woman and easily swayed by power. She held only empty threats. If she did whine to the Wizengamot they would listen out of obligation and then merely dismiss her claims.

Sighing, Harry looked at the time and made a mental note to stop in one more hour and go home to his beautiful wife. It was Friday and he was looking forward to spending some quality time with Ginny. With renewed vigour at the thought of going home, Harry dug into his work and soon made some progress in the piles of paperwork.

Meanwhile, on a small lane in a small cottage surrounded by flowers, a young boy lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. Harry had left hours ago but his words lingered. Daniel gently fingered his father's wand between his fingers. It was all too much to think about, magic, his father's profession, his father's death, his mother's decision. It all went around and around in his mind. He was trying to think about every angle and every possible outcome, it was what made him good at chess, but also what paralyzed him with indecision.

He spent most of the afternoon staring at the ceiling, and when his mother called him to dinner he went only to make her happy rather than out of hunger. They sat and ate quietly, each in their own thoughts. His mother finally broke the silence.

"So, what do you think?" she asked curiously.

Daniel stared at her blankly, "About what?"

"About what Harry told you about being a wizard."

"I almost don't believe it Mum, it seems too fantastic."

"Oh honey, it isn't. It really is true; it just wasn't something I was prepared to face every day. I am sorry I took you away from it. Your father would be ashamed of me."

"Mum, don't say that. Harry said that Dad was just trying to protect us and that so were you when you left."

"Really? Harry said that?" Abby asked her son.

"Yeah Mum, Harry thinks that you did what you thought was best for me, and I do too."

Abby lapsed into silence again. She finished her meal and sat there staring at her son across the table. "What do you think you will do?" she asked hesitantly, as if she did not really want to know the answer.

"I have not decided yet," Daniel answered truthfully. He had not yet made any decisions.

Dinner resumed in silence and the two sat together, drinking their tea. They sat for a long time each retreating further into their own thoughts. Outside the sun was setting and a day was ending. Daniel couldn't help but feel as if the life he had known was changed and gone forever. For those few moments, as they silently sat drinking their tea, Daniel felt that time slowed and that this moment would be one he would remember for the rest of his life.

That night, he could not sleep. He merely stared into the darkness and thought. Sleep finally conquered his tired mind and he drifted off into a restless slumber. It was riddled with bits and snatches of dreams and long lost memories. He tossed and turned most of the night and had strange dreams.
In the morning he woke up tired but with his mind made up. He needed to stay at home and take care of his mother. No one else would do it and no one else could do it the way he did. Maybe she could teach him a few things at home. He would just have to tell Harry that he couldn't go to the school.

Daniel got out of bed and began gathering his clothes for the day. Maybe he would help his mother in the garden that day. He walked past his desk where he had placed his father's wand. It almost seemed to be calling to him to pick it up.

He stood there staring at it for a long while. He took a cautious step forward and slowly reached his right hand out towards the thin wand. He picked it up by the fatter end and held it in his hand. He remembered a magician had come to school once and pulled a rabbit out of a hat. The magician had waved the wand and then poof! The little rabbit had hopped out of the hat. His father's wand didn't look anything like the magician's wand had, and Daniel did not have a hat, but he flicked his wrist just to prove to himself that it didn't really work.

To his surprise, sparks flew out of the tip and filled the room with multi coloured sparkles that slowly drifted down to the ground and disappeared. Daniel stood there in shock. It had felt so natural, so normal, and comfortable. He wanted to try again. He took the wand again and flicked it harder. As he did so, the wand pointed at a book on his desk and a bolt of light shot out of the tip of the wand and made a hole in the middle of his book. Daniel dropped the wand and heard it clatter to the ground. He cautiously approached his book and was amazed to find a whole the size of a walnut that went clear through to the back of the book. He could put his finger through it.

Thoughts racing through his head, he rushed down the steep stairs to find his mother.

"Mum! Mum! I want to talk to Harry again! Mum? Mum!"