My Name Is Julius Lestrange
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, plot, or any original vocabulary. We are simply borrowing (lol) the characters for our own creative leisure.
Julius's P.O.VI nodded goodbye to my friend Jai, and strolled up the steps of my front porch. All the lights were off and it looked as if no one was home.
But this was not the case.
I presumed that my younger sisters Ruby, Eva, and Claire were at friends' houses –I wasn't worried about them. In fact, I was glad to have the house to myself for once! Expecting long hours of drinking Hypnotic and watching porn, I reached under the welcome mat and retrieved the house key.
When I opened the door, I almost had a heart attack. An ancient looking man with a beard scraping the ground and half moon spectacles was sitting comfortably in my living room.
"Well, hello, Julius!" exclaimed the old man with a British accent. "I haven't seen you since you were a baby. My, how you've grown! Care for a crumpet?" He said all this very fast, and held out a tray of crumpets to me. Well, you better believe I didn't take one. Who knew what the crazed lunatic had put in them!
"Do I know you?" I asked cautiously, fingering the Swiss knife in my pocket.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. I knew you when you were a baby, and I knew your parents."
"My parents? You mean Ernest and Rosemarie Logan?" I asked.
"No, I mean Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange. Crumpets?"
I didn't know what this old man's problem was, but it was definitely a serious one. Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange?
"Um, sir…" I began.
"Call me Professor Dumbledore."
"Um, yeah, Professor Dumbly…. My parents are Ernest and Rosemarie Logan. I've lived with them my whole life. They even have baby pictures!" I protested.
"Julius, listen very carefully," said the old man, staring at me with intense blue eyes. "Come sit down and listen to what I'm saying. It may sound unbelievable, but it's true, and you've got to believe it. When the Logans get home, I'll explain it to them, too."
I reluctantly sat down in a blue chair opposite Dumbledore. "First off," began Dumbledore, "Imagine a whole other world, where witches and wizards have magical schools, banks, and organizations, and their own currency and customs. Your real parents were a part of this world, as I am. Your father was a wizard and your mother a witch. But a few years ago, there was one very, very bad wizard. He didn't like non-magical people, called muggles, and he wanted to take over the world. He had several followers called Death Eaters. Your parents were Death Eaters. They tortured two aurors, the Longbottoms, which got them landed in Azkaban, the wizard prison. You were one when all of this happened. Voldemort was defeated and his powers were weakened, but he was still alive. He fled and the Death Eaters disbanded. It was I who proposed that you be brought up in America, away from your criminal parents, the Death Eaters, and Voldemort. For, if any of those people had found you, you would've been caught up in a world of evil. I wanted you to grow up uncorrupted by all that. So here you are, a 16-year-old wizard with no magical training. I'm sorry about it, but it was the only thing we could do. Now, Voldemort has returned. He has set your parents free, and the Death Eaters are reunited. Your parents know where you are and are trying to get to you this very moment. That is why we must flee to Hogwarts tonight. Hogwarts is the only safe place, besides Gringotts, in this time of danger."
I sat in my chair, stunned. Of course, I didn't believe any of this bull…but still…. sometimes I did make funny things happen when I was mad…and I didn't look like anyone in my family…they were all blonde and blue eyes, while I was olive-skinned and dark haired…
"So, my parents are evil, and they want to turn me evil, too?" I said shakily. I couldn't believe I was listening to this old nut, but I was. I found myself asking questions about this wizarding world and the things that took place in it. It sounded really entertaining. Dumbledore told me about quidditch, about Hogwarts, and about magic in general.
Dumbledore said, "We are to leave for Hogwarts School tonight. We'll stop by Ollivander's for a wand, but I've got everything else for you-books, robes, and a surprise."
Just then, the door opened, and Mom walked in with my sisters. She looked completely alarmed.
"Julius, who is this man?" she gasped. Ruby, Eva, and Claire looked on curiously.
"This is Professor Dumbledore," I said, taking a deep breath. "He has a lot to tell you."
Mom and my sisters sat down. I listened to Dumbledore tell them everything he had told me. I was mad that Mom hadn't told me that I was adopted. After 15 years, I had to find out from somebody else!
Mom looked frightened by the idea of witches and wizards. She was a strict Southern Baptist and thought that magic was the evil of Satan. When Dumbledore finished, Mom was silent.
After a few seconds she said, "He's not going. Definitely not."
Professor Dumbledore gaped at her. "He has to! He'll be in danger if he doesn't come. Madam, I'm sorry, but he is coming, with or without your permission."
I looked nervously at mom to see how she would take it. "Get out of my house, you evil man. Magic is wrong! It says so in the scriptures!"
"Madam, please," began Dumbledore, but he was cut short. Mom grabbed his arm with a strength you wouldn't know was in her little body, and pushed him out of the door.
She turned to me. "I would never let those wizards lead you away from Christ," she said, kissing me on the head. I smiled at her. "I have to go do my homework," I told her, and trudged up the stairs to my room. I felt bad about what I was about to do, but I knew it was necessary. Plus, I was always up for an adventure. I opened the window of my bedroom and called out to the old wizard.
"Professor! Professor?" I called. Dumbledore emerged from the shadows of a willow tree and waved his arms around.
"Climb down!" he said, trying to keep his voice down.
I grabbed a picture of my family, my basketball, and my CD player, and stuffed them into my backpack. I also grabbed my guitar case. Then, I belly flopped down onto the lawn. As I lay sprawled flat on my stomach, Dumbledore came to lend me a hand, chuckling. We crept quietly down Caesar Lane, which was usually lit with streetlamps on both sides, but tonight was dark. When we reached the end of the street, Dumbledore stopped and turned towards me.
"Excellent escape!" he exclaimed, grinning. Then he pointed his wand into the air, and a vehicle moved towards us in the dim moonlight.
I could see it was a vivid purple color, bearing the words Knight Bus. "This is all too weird," I thought.
A kid with serious acne stepped off the bus. "Hullo, I'm Stan Shunpike and I'll be your conductor for today," said Stan in a thick London accent. I followed Dumbledore onto the bus.
"Eleven Sickles, each," said Stan, holding out his palm. Dumbledore paid for both of us. "Where to?" inquired Stan.
"Diagon Alley," Dumbledore replied and walked into the back part of the bus. I followed. About eight other wizards were passengers on the Knight Bus, too. There were beds in the back, and tables with food on them. I made a mad dash for the tables and consumed five pieces of fried chicken in fifteen minutes. Dumbledore stared at me, smiling.
"Well, I haven't eaten since lunch," I said defensively.
Dumbledore sat at the table with me, reading a paper called The Daily Prophet. He was trying to tell me about some things going on in the wizarding world, but I was not listening at all and proceeded to fall asleep in an empty bed.
I woke with a start. It took me a moment to realize where I was. All of a sudden, the strange events of the day before came back to me like a whirlwind. I looked around for the professor but didn't see him. As the bus screeched to a halt, I looked out of a window. It looked like early morning outside. We were in some deserted part of a city, in front of a shady looking bar called The Leaky Cauldron.
I wandered to the front of the bus, looking for Dumbledore, and found him near the conductor's seat, chatting with a pretty young witch about international wizarding relations.
When Professor Dumbledore saw me, he said to the witch, "Excuse me," and led me off the bus.
Right through there," he said, pointing to the door of The Leaky Cauldron. I slid the black door open, and stepped inside. I could tell the people in the bar were witches and wizards. They wore brightly colored robes and funny hats.
Several called out to Dumbledore, saying, "Ho, Dumbledore, old boy! How are you?"
Dumbledore replied, "I'm taking Julius here shopping for a wand." They smiled and nodded at me. I smiled back.
These people are a little strange," I observed, "but I like them." Dumbledore led me through the back door of the Leaky Cauldron; there was a brick wall in front of us. Dumbledore tapped the bricks with his wand, and they rearranged themselves, causing a doorway to appear. Then, we set off through the doorway and into a busy, bustling street filled with robe-clad people.
"Diagon Alley," said Dumbledore, "now off to Ollivander's, the wand store." We walked past stores selling love potions, fast racing brooms, and magical cliff notes. Finally, we came to Ollivander's. It was quieter and darker-looking than the other stores.
We walked inside and noticed that this was because Mr. Ollivander only had one candle lit in the whole store. A girl with tousled blonde waves was buying her wand. It looked like she had gone through about fifteen wands already.
Mr. Ollivander was saying, "Try this one…eight inches… beech wood…very springy." The girl gave it a wave, and beautiful sparks emitted from the end of it.
"This is the one!" said Mr. Ollivander excitedly, his pale eyes shining, "Have fun at Hogwarts, dear!" The girl waved goodbye and exited the wand shop.
Ollivander looked up at me and Dumbledore. "Well, hello, Professor. What can I do for you today?"
"This is Julius Lestrange. He'll be starting at Hogwarts this year, and he needs a wand." said Dumbledore kindly.
"Lestrange, you say?" Mr. Ollivander, said, eyeing me curiously. "Not the son of Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange? If so, then you have very powerful blood running through your veins." His piercing blue eyes were very serious and calculating; he seemed to be sizing me up.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and said in an irritated tone, "Ahem…What about what we came here for?"
"Very well, then," said Mr. Ollivander, grabbing a wand. "Try this one…twelve inches…rather sleek…willow…very flexible…"
I tried it, and succeeded in emitting sparks from the wand.
"Yes, yes!" said Mr. Ollivander, smiling. "I got it on the first try. That'll be fifteen knuts. Dumbledore gave Mr. Ollivander the money and steered me out of the store. I kept fingering my wand all the way through Diagon Alley, wondering what types of spells I would be casting with it.
We reentered The Leaky Cauldron and sat down at the bar. "Two butterbeers," said Dumbledore to the bartender, Mr. Tom.
I sipped my butterbeer slowly, savoring every moment of it. The robust beverage warmed you up from your hair follicles to your toenails.
I decided that I was in a very strange situation. Off in some city with a weird old man that I had just met the day before, about to embark on a journey to a magical school that I would be attending. The whole thing struck me as very odd- but also as very exciting and adventurous. I was wondering about Hogwarts and whether or not I would like it. Professor Dumbledore must have known what I was thinking, because he placed his wrinkled hand comfortingly on mine and said, "You'll have the time of your life at Hogwarts- there's adventure waiting around every corner. I definitely had quite a time in my youth." Dumbledore winked after this last statement. "And now, back to the Knight Bus."