Disclaimer: The characters are Rowling's. Zack and the plot are mine. No money is being made.
From very far away, Zack slowly felt consciousness return. He had no idea where he was, or even when "if" he was.
But he gradually became aware of a discussion taking place nearby.
"He must come with me, Albus. He was able to do something unheard of before and it must be studied!" he heard a shaky man's voice utter. Zack decided to keep his eyes closed so he could hear what was going on.
"Cornelius, this man needs to be educated in our ways, and I will not allow you to make some kind of experiment out of him. He will be coming to Hogwarts and that is the end of the discussion," another voice answered, but this one, while temperate, invited no argument.
"We shall see about this. I'm…I'm going to file a complaint with the board. This is not the end of the discussion," Cornelius uttered, none too bravely.
"That, of course, is your option. Have a nice day, Cornelius," Albus said as a door shut. "Madam Pomfrey, I believe our patient is awake," Albus said and Zack knew he'd been found out.
He opened his eyes to find that he was in a small infirmary. He saw no medical equipment of any kind. With a start he remembered the accident…
"Oh god, I killed Bethie. I remember now…she fell off the bike…my helmet was too big…" Zack started to sob.
"Zack, it's quite all right. Elizabeth is resting quite comfortably in the other room," Albus said gently, approaching his bed and drawing up a chair.
"How? Did I dream the accident? Don't lie to me," Zack demanded, an edge creeping into his voice.
"Zack, everything must seem confusing to you at this moment. But I assure you Elizabeth is fine and so are you. Thanks to the ministrations of Polly Pomfrey and the potions of Miss Granger."
Thoroughly confused, Zack didn't know what to think, and seeing "Albus" for the first time clearly, he thought he might be looking at St. Nick complete with long white hair, a beard, and a funny hat.
"Who are you?" he finally managed to say.
"Oh dear me, I must appear so rude. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of course, you have no idea what that is, but I assure you it is a fine institution and one with which I hope you will become acquainted," he explained with a smile. "However, before we continue, your parents and aunt and uncle are here, and I promised them they could see you as soon as you woke up."
"One question before you go," Zack asked. "Where am I, and why?"
"That is two questions," Albus corrected, looking over his glasses. "You are at the Oxford Wizarding Hospital and you are here because you were injured."
"Wizarding hospital?"
"Yes. You are a wizard. You weren't yesterday, but today you are. That is why you are in a wizarding hospital."
Zack started to interrupt again but Albus stopped him. "Don't worry, I know you have many questions; I also have many answers," he said cryptically. "But now you need to see your relatives and have some food and rest; I will return later. I'm glad to see you are mending." Albus walked over to talk with a stern looking woman with graying brown hair, dressed in a white apron.
"Polly, I am going to speak with Zack's family for a moment. You should know, I have given Zack permission to see his family." Polly started to interrupt, but he cut her off with an upturned palm. "I wouldn't do it if it wasn't important," he told her.
"As you say, Headmaster, but he needs his rest more than anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to minister to his wounds again."
Albus smiled. "Thank you Polly. You and your sister are both credits to your profession."
"Pish-posh," she huffed but looked pleased. Albus smiled at her and walked out through the double doors. She headed over to Zack's bed.
"Your family will be coming in to see you in a little while, but you must promise to stay relaxed, otherwise out they go," she said officially and poured some purple liquid onto a white cloth and wiped his arms and face. It smelled terrible and stung a bit.
"Excuse me, what is that?" Zack asked somewhat nervously.
"It's a wound cleaning potion. How are you feeling?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
"I feel remarkably well. I thought I was injured much more seriously than a few bruises and scrapes," he answered, looking over his arms and feeling his face.
"Oh, but you were seriously injured. You are very lucky that the Ministry got you here as quickly as they did; you were in bad shape. It's also lucky that Miss Granger was available to make the Sanguination potion; you had lost a great deal of blood."
"Given the advanced healing of my wounds, I must have been in a coma for weeks then," he said without conviction.
"You have been here only two days, Mr. Flood. I would be an embarrassment to my profession if it took me two weeks to heal the wounds you had," she said in a huff, turning a light shade of red.
"I meant no disrespect, I assure you. But I am really at a loss right now as to how?" he said feeling completely bewildered.
Potions, wizards, Hogwarts…what is going on?
"Perhaps I can help," a smooth, confident female voice said, entering the room.
"Professor Granger, it is good that you are here. I am not sure how to answer his questions," she said, turning to the woman entering the room.
Zack was quite pleased at the new addition to the conversation. The woman was in her twenties, quite pretty he thought, above average height, with long, thick light brown hair, brown eyes, and a great smile. She was wearing a red knee-length skirt, a patterned short-sleeve pullover and an ankle length, open front robe. She looked to be in good shape, too, although shorts and a clingy top would have afforded a better opportunity to assess…
"Ahem," she cleared her throat to get his attention. Zack blushed slightly as he knew he'd been caught "looking her over." But she didn't seem to mind too much and gently smiled at him again.
"I think you are starting to feel better," she said, and gave him a cup of steaming liquid. "Here, drink this." She saw his quizzical expression and added, "It's a restorative with just a touch of the Sanguination potion. I know you don't know what I am talking about, but don't worry about it. Your parents and Professor Dumbledore have filled me in on your history, and I assure you it will become clearer in the next couple of days."
He drank her potion, which had a not too unpleasant woodsy taste. "Uh, Professor Granger…"
"Call me Hermione," she interrupted, looking at him.
"Um, okay, thanks…and you can call me Zack," he offered.
"Okay, Zack. You were saying?"
"Am I insane, dreaming, or both?"
"None of the above. You are awake, and I believe you have complete control of your faculties," she diagnosed.
"For the moment I will take you at your word." He paused, trying to find the right words. "I have no idea where to start -- my head is literally exploding with questions."
When Hermione looked a little alarmed, Zack added, "Figuratively speaking, that is."
"It might help you to know that both of my parents are Muggle-borns. In fact, they are in the medical profession as well; they are both dentists. So I am no stranger to the Muggle world. Away from Hogwarts, I have a phone, a TV, and even a computer, which I sneak away to use now and again," she admitted.
"I'm sorry…..umm, Muggle-borns?" Zack asked at a loss.
"Muggles are people without magic." She looked at him expectantly.
"Hogwarts?" he asked next.
"Hogwarts is a school in England that teaches young wizards and witches how to use and control their power. I am in my second year as Potions Mistress there," she added with pride.
Zack leaned back against his pillows and took a deep breath.
"Perhaps tomorrow," Hermione started and Zack reached out to her.
"Please don't go yet."
"I know that Headmaster Dumbledore plans to have a nice long chat with you tomorrow. I'm certain he will answer your questions then. In the meantime if you have some, let's say, less complex questions, I will be happy to answer them."
"Why is there no technological equipment at Hogwarts?" Zack asked out of the blue.
"Excuse me?"
"You said you had a phone, a TV and a computer away from Hogwarts. Why not at Hogwarts? Surely, the Internet would be useful for doing almost any kind of research?" he asked, and tried to sit up.
"Why don't you get up and sit in a proper chair for awhile?" Hermione suggested pulling over another chair. Zack got up gingerly and stood on shaky legs, managing to make it to the chair without falling on his face.
"Technology doesn't work in the presence of magical structures like Hogwarts. I did a research paper on it when I was in school for Muggle Studies class. In summary, magic seems to intensify electrical currents making them unstable and thus rendering any items that use electricity worthless. I furthermore researched the properties of electricity to see if there could be a way to shield…"
Zack coughed a little into his hand and she paused. "Should I be taking notes, Professor?" he said with a smile.
She blushed slightly at his remark. "I guess I still act the know-it-all on occasion. If Professor Snape were here, he would be sure to let me know about it."
"Professor Snape…is he here?" Zack asked.
"If he was, you would know," she answered with emphasis. "And just between us, the potions would taste a good deal worse."
"Oh really, what's he like?" he asked warily.
"I wouldn't want to ruin it for you. You will likely meet him soon enough. In fact, I look forward to your assessment." Zack couldn't stop looking at her.
She's enchanting and has a smile that could light up an entire city block.
"Would you like to see a demonstration of magic?" she said, changing the subject. "As a doctor, I'm sure you cannot accept the existence of magic without some proof?"
"Yes, I would like to see some magic, but I wasn't exactly sure what the protocol would be for such a request," he said with interest. "You mean there isn't some kind of training video…Magic and You: Using Magic in Everyday Life?" he asked.
"Now you are just being silly. I will start with a simple spell, since I'm just introducing you to the concept. First, I will increase the size of your mug." She pulled a wooden stick from inside her robe and pointed it at the mug. "Engorgio," she said and pointed the stick at the mug. He saw something shoot out of the end of the stick and impact the mug. The mug grew to three or four times its size as he watched it.
"Whoa," he said, leaning back in his chair and looking at the mug apprehensively.
"Don't be afraid," she said firmly. "Why don't you get up and touch it?" she suggested.
"Okay," he said with more bravery than he really felt. He got up a little too quickly and Hermione steadied him.
"Haven't you been out of bed since you got here?" she said, concerned.
"No, but don't worry. I'm fine…it actually feels good to stand," he said, straightening up and stretching his arms and back cautiously. He noticed her watching him.
Was her interest purely clinical, he wondered.
"The mug Zack," she said, bringing his attention back to it.
"Of course, I'm sorry. I'm not usually this absent-minded," he apologized and took a fresh look at the mug. "Amazing," he said, touching the mug and looking at it from all sides. "Except for its size, it looks exactly the same," he said dumbfounded. "Does the weight increase proportionately? Because I don't think I'd try and lift it right now," he admitted.
"Yes it does; in fact, this spell increases every aspect of an object in equal proportion."
"How do you control the size?"
"Good question," she said in teacher mode. "When you cast any spell, it is critical that you - as the caster - have in mind exactly the outcome you want."
"So, I guess there is more to being a wizard than just…doing it, huh?"
"To say the least," she replied.
"What's the stick for?" he asked, gesturing toward her hand.
"I forgot how little you know," she said, and then realizing how that sounded, quickly added, "about magic of course." He waved away her comment, and Hermione continued.
"It's called a wand, and every wizard needs one in order to control the use of magic. Most wizards can perform magic without one, but the results are highly erratic and rarely effective."
"My head is swimming, trying to make sense of all of this," he admitted, shaking his head.
"I think that's enough for today," she said putting her wand away inside her robe. "It's time I went anyway. I'm sure your parents will be in any moment."
"Err, okay, um…It was nice to meet you, and thanks for everything. You know it's nice to see such a pretty face attached to such an intelligent mind," he ended and Hermione blushed furiously. What the hell am I saying?
"Please wait, I'm sorry about that. I…I didn't mean to say that out loud to be honest -- it just came out," he added lamely. "Maybe it's the head wound I suffered," he said swooning a little for dramatic effect.
She looked at him, clearly dubious. "Men," putting her hands on her hips, "can't live with them, can't spell them into a rock wall." Then she smiled and they both laughed. "It's okay really; in fact, I'm flattered. I don't often hear compliments at Hogwarts. While I hold the staff in the utmost respect, most of them are…not anywhere near my age."
"In other words, you're saying they're all really old and wouldn't be interested in a beautiful young woman such as yourself…in that way."
She gave him a reproachful look and Zack winced…Ouch.
"You're quite a flirt aren't you?" she asked mildly amused.
"Only when properly motivated," he said with a winsome smile.
"I think I will get back to work now. You and Elizabeth used up most of the Sanguination potion I brewed yesterday."
At her words his expression became thoughtful, "I seem to have lost sight of the fact that you saved my life." She flushed a bit but kept eye contact.
"Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were also significantly involved in your treatment," she countered.
"Of course, I will thank them in due course. But…I'm not sure how to say this…I don't understand how medicine works here; there seems to be a potion for everything. But from what I've heard from Madam Pomfrey, I believe I owe my life to you," he said earnestly. Hermione looked a bit nervous at the intensity of his words. Zack added, "I won't forget it."
Hermione responded a little sheepishly, "Madam Pomfrey may be exaggerating a little bit; anyway, making potions is my job." She rose to leave and added, "We will talk more soon," then walked toward the door.
"I surely hope so," he said, and she turned and smiled and walked out the double-door.
I hope I didn't scare her off, he thought to himself. I wonder if she's attached? He shook his head and decided not to speculate about that just now; he had enough confusion in his life, without worrying about some jealous wizard after his hide.
Now that he was alone, he reflected on the events of the past hour. While he was still confused, he was most glad to hear that Bethie…Elizabeth, he corrected himself…was okay. The rest was just something to sort through he decided. In his head he started creating a list of questions to ask: How is it that Elizabeth is okay? How did I heal so fast? What is a Sanguination potion? Why weren't he and Elizabeth in a proper hospital? He was getting dizzy thinking of all the questions and laid back onto his pillows.
He heard the door open and sat up. He saw his parents and his aunt and uncle enter the room. They looked exhausted, but relieved.
"Oh Zack," his mother said with uncharacteristic gentleness. "We were so worried when you and Elizabeth didn't return, we didn't know what to think, and then we received the news of your accident…". She put her hand, which clutched a well-used handkerchief, to her face and continued. "You looked so hurt…" she choked up and couldn't continue; his dad put his hands on her shoulders and continued for her.
"We could tell the accident was bad. Your right arm was shattered, and you had several deep lacerations on your head and arms. You looked so terribly pale; we feared the worst," he ended ominously. Zack was shocked to hear this account because he felt fine…and he shouldn't be fine.
"I am so sorry to have put you through this," he apologized, looking first at his parents and then at his aunt and uncle. "I don't know what happened. We were doing fine, having a great time when some car, I think it was a car, hit us, and the rest is a blur."
"It was a green VW bug that hit you," his uncle interjected. "It's too bad they won't remember it -- it may have taught them a good lesson," he said shaking his head.
"Why won't they remember it?"
"The Ministry had to obliviate the whole scene, of course," he answered. Noticing Zack's bewildered look he added, "We can't have Muggles going around telling everyone what you did, can we?"
"Obliviate? What are you talking about?" Zack asked getting a little agitated.
"Zack, you need to stay calm. You are still healing," his aunt broke in.
Zack shook his head. "I'm sorry to get worked up. I just feel so awful that Bethie almost…" Zack started to tear up again at the thought of all the blood at the scene, Bethie's blood.... His mom come over and hugged him.
His aunt, with bright eyes, said "But she is fine and it was you that saved her life, so please stop blaming yourself."
His uncle added. "How you saved her no one knows for sure. One thing is clear, it was some very powerful magic, magic unheard of before. We never knew that you…"
"Perhaps we should not burden him with so much information, so soon," Albus Dumbledore interrupted, with a hint of power in his voice.
Startled by his sudden appearance, Zack watched as Dumbledore walked over towards his bed. Curiously he noticed that no one else seemed particularly surprised.
"It was remarkable, Albus. And the Ministry…" his uncle tried to continue but Dumbledore cut him off again.
"Please, Lawrence. I will be speaking at length with the boy. There is plenty of time for research and questions later." Beckoning to Zack's aunt, Albus continued, "Why don't you say your good byes for now so Zack can get some rest? I am sure Madam Pomfrey would agree." He glanced toward the corner of the room where Madam Pomfrey was now heading toward them.
"I certainly do agree. He needs his rest now. So please leave him in our hands. You can see him again tomorrow," she said brusquely.
His aunt and uncle said their goodbyes, followed by his parents.
"We love you very much, Zack," his mother said, still appearing so fragile to him. Her fragility unnerved him as much as anything else. "Before I forget, I've been taking care of your cat for you."
"You rest son, and do what Madam Pomfrey tells you," his father added, leading his wife toward the door.
"I love you guys too. I'll see you tomorrow." Zack said, watching them file out.
"Polly, I think we should allow just one more visitor before we administer the sleep potion, don't you think?" Dumbledore asked with a wink. "Would you mind?" Madam Pomfrey left and soon returned with a familiar blond girl who ran toward Zack as soon as she entered the room.
"ZACK!" she yelled and ran into his outstretched arms, hugging him with all her strength. "You're okay," she said happily.
Overcome with emotion for moment, he finally managed to say, "I was fine until that bear hug you just gave me."
"Am I hurting you?" She looked at him with concern.
"No, I'm only joking. You can hug me as long as you like," he said. He took a good look at her. "You look all healed," he said in astonishment, noticing only barely discernible cuts and bruises. "Let me see your head," he directed. She leaned in and he carefully looked all over her scalp and saw absolutely no evidence of the skull fracture. "Remarkable," he said at last.
"Thank you," she said mischievously.
"I see your sense of humor hasn't changed," Zack quipped, and smiled.
"I think that is enough for now," Dumbledore interjected. "Elizabeth, would you mind heading back to your room now? You need to get some rest too," he instructed.
"Okay, Headmaster. I love you, Zack," she said shyly, and turned to go.
"I love you too, Elizabeth."
"She's a remarkable girl," Dumbledore said favorably, as they watched her leave the room.
"Yes she is, she really is," Zack agreed. "Can we talk now? I have a list of questions swimming in my mind."
"Tomorrow Zack, I promise. Right now you need to rest," he said, gesturing to Madam Pomfrey who brought over another mug of something. "Now I want you to drink all of this, and try not to worry about anything. We will have nice long chat tomorrow," he promised.
"I guess that will have to do," Zack reluctantly agreed and drank the potion. This potion was quite different from the first one, gentler, more soothing. A hint of chamomile, he thought, and faded off to sleep.
"It is your choice, you can only save one," a steely voice said without a hint of compassion. "However, both will most certainly die if you do not do exactly as I say," the man warned, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"But, how can I choose…I won't choose…"
"I WILL NOT CHOOSE!" Zack yelled and sat straight up in his bed, sweat pouring off of him.
"My heavens!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, grabbing a bottle off of her desk and a mug from a nearby cabinet, moving quickly to his side. "You are sweating like a troll in summertime, dear. Drink this now," she ordered, filling his mug with a pine-scented liquid.
"But I want to be awake. I have so many questions," he pleaded while gathering himself.
"It's not a sleep potion, dear. It's a restorative with a just a wee bit of calming potion to relax you. Now, drink up," she insisted.
"Okay. Thank you," he muttered and drank the potion. He made a note that he would need to do some serious research on potion making.
Now that he was awake, he couldn't remember his nightmare. All he remembered was his utter panic and that voice…
Just then his stomach growled loudly and he realized he was absolutely famished. But before he could even draw attention to his hunger, two small, odd-looking … creatures came in and provided a most respectable repast, and left without a word. They startled him so much he didn't even thank them. He'd never seen such odd physical birth defects before, and for two of them to have similar defects was unbelievable: pointed ears, very small, long thin fingers, big flat feet. Still, they were very nimble. Zack shook it off and tore into his food. Everything was delicious -- French toast, bangers, croissants, and coffee, thank the Goddess.
"Ahhh, real French roast…. mmmm," he said quite happily to himself. No matter how much he ate and drank, and he did plenty of both, there was always more. Very odd, he thought, but he wasn't going to argue, at least not just now. After a good solid half-hour of gorging himself, he sat back feeling very full. Before he could call attention to his dirty dishes, the creatures came back, cleaned up, and left.
"Thank you," he called after them. They stopped for a moment, looked at each other, then scurried off with a scared backwards glance at him.
Shaking his head, he looked up to see Albus Dumbledore entering the room, looking quite chipper.
"Good morning, Zack. I trust you slept well," he said with a smile, and pulled up a chair. "I believe I promised you some answers." He paused and said, "Dragon's Blood, Wronski Feint, and billiwigs."
"What?" Zack asked, completely at a loss.
"Those are some answers I know."
This guy was seriously off his rocker.
"Are you comfortable?" Albus asked. Zack nodded warily. "Very well then, let's begin."
"Zack, I spoke with your parents at length about your life up until now, so I know a great deal about you," he started. "In short, you are a wizard, just as I am. I believe it is important to address this first as it clearly is the most important issue." He looked Zack straight in the eyes. Zack couldn't believe what he was hearing, but the look in Dumbledore's eyes left no doubt that he was serious.
"Well, Hermione showed me a spell yesterday, but I still can't believe that I am a 'wizard?' When it comes to magic, I think of hocus pocus, rabbit out of the hat, Siegfried and Roy…"
Dumbledore looked over his glasses at Zack's remarks. "Please, let us not discuss those two…although I do like white tigers and Las Vegas."
"Las Vegas?"
"But of course, it's not just for Muggles. But I think we are getting off topic."
Zack was taken aback at the thought of Dumbledore on the Strip, but shifted back to their discussion. "Do my parents know?"
"Your parents are more aware of the magical world than you are. They sheltered you from it, because they believed you to be a Muggle, like they are. A Muggle is our word for people without magic."
"How is it my parents know so much about this and I don't?"
"Zack, your uncle is a wizard and your aunt and Elizabeth are both witches. In fact, you have wizards and witches on your father's side of the family, as well. You have been to your aunt and uncle's house, yes? I'm certain you have seen that they are…different."
Zack nodded, sitting in rapt attention.
"I know becoming a wizard all of the sudden is hard to accept; it is also hard for us to understand." Albus stood up and started to walk slowly around his bed. "Perhaps some background information may be helpful. Usually a person's talent manifests itself at a very young age. Convincing a child that they are magical is quite easy, as they are more trusting than adults and readily accept their gift. To be honest, I have never come across anyone that first demonstrates their magical abilities at your age," Dumbledore said honestly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "There have been a couple of incidents where a person with very limited magical ability was miscast, but this is quite different."
"How is my case different?" Zack interrupted.
"There are ways to tell the relative level of power a wizard or witch has. It is far from exact, but in general one can find out if someone has great power or limited power or somewhere in between." Looking at Zack over his glasses he said quite seriously, "You have a significant amount of power, which makes it even stranger how you could have been missed all these years."
"Did my parents mention my unusual photographic memory?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Do you think that could be…magic?"
"I have been giving that a great deal of thought. It is my personal opinion they are linked. But your unusual memory is not magical, per se."
Zack thought he was leading somewhere but Dumbledore stopped and gestured for Zack to continue. "Other than that, I have been pretty normal. So what happened? How is it that one day I'm a…Muggle and the next I'm a wizard?"
"I'm hoping that you can help me determine that. Please tell me everything you can remember about the day of the accident, and leave nothing out, no matter how inconsequential."
Zack proceeded to tell him everything he could remember. Dumbledore stopped him several times and asked questions to better understand the circumstances. He smiled as Zack related his meeting with the Weasleys and, of course, was particularly interested in how he had healed Elizabeth.
"As you replayed the operation over and over in your mind did you feel any…resistance or pain?" Dumbledore asked.
"Now that you mention it, I do recall thinking that some barrier was there, but I was practically in shock from my own wounds so I can't be sure," Zack stopped, unsure how to proceed.
"Please continue. I know this is difficult, but I believe this is very important. Just say whatever pops into your head," Albus suggested.
"Well…" Zack paused and rubbed his chin. "Right before I passed out, I remember feeling like I was pushing and pushing on something and I felt…wait a minute, I actually heard a shriek as something gave way. That's when I saw Elizabeth's head wound heal. Then I passed out."
"Very interesting! There have been rumors around for many years of a suppression spell for magic. I never gave it much credence, but given what you described, I believe you may have been the victim of one," he said. "It is curious that someone was able to mask your magical ability for all of these years. But if you were a threat to someone, why would they go to this trouble instead of just killing you?"
Zack blanched. "Kill me?!"
"I believe it would take a powerful witch or wizard to suppress your magical ability, and someone that powerful would have no trouble killing you… Hmmm," he paused. "I need to think on this. In any case, I wouldn't worry about it right now; I believe you are safe for the time being. You have more questions, I'm sure?"
No need to worry about it, easy for him to say. He didn't know whether to be relieved or frightened, but decided to plow ahead. "I have a lot of questions, too many, but…I guess the one question I need to know is…what now?"
"Ahhh, what indeed? Zack, I cannot pretend to know what you are going through, but you have to understand that you are a wizard now, and you cannot just go back to your former life. For that I am sorry," Dumbledore said soothingly. "But with the amount of magic you have, you need to be trained in how to use it, and, more importantly, how to control it. An untrained wizard is a very dangerous thing. If you get angry or scared, you might kill or hurt someone with just a thought. Furthermore, it is also in our best interest to keep our presence a secret from the Muggle community."
"I can understand that. People fear what they cannot understand. Fear quickly turns to hate, and hate turns to violence," Zack summarized.
"Very succinctly put," Albus said approvingly.
"Given your age and education, I do not feel that I can dictate what you must do," he said looking at his hands.
"I sense a 'but' coming on," Zack said.
Dumbledore smiled at him. "Unfortunately we do not have any program to teach someone your age from 'scratch,' I believe is the term." Zack nodded warily at this and Dumbledore continued, "It is my intention that you attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a first-year student."
"What exactly does that entail?" Zack asked worriedly.
"I will not lie to you. Every first year will be 11 years old, so you will definitely be noticed. That cannot be helped, but I believe this awkwardness will dissipate quickly as everyone becomes involved in their studies."
"Hogwarts, again…I've heard that before…Elizabeth!" he exclaimed. "That's where she is going to go to school isn't it?"
"Yes she is," Dumbledore said and smiled at him.
Going to school with Elizabeth -- that would certainly be interesting. But a 33-year old among a bunch of 11-year olds would grow tiresome quite quickly. He looked up and saw Dumbledore patiently watching him. What a strange guy. But deep down Zack knew that Albus was not a person whose counsel should be taken lightly. Zack had always gone with his instincts when making a decision -- that was how he ended up at Oxford Med, which turned out pretty well. Magic, he shook his head, I have magic. Perhaps this was the "destiny" he thought had been missing. Zack knew what he needed to do and was honestly excited at the prospect, even if he was more than a little apprehensive. He looked at Dumbledore again who was smiling. Could he read my mind?
"Can I bring my cat?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Of course you may, if the cat won't mind."
Zack thought on that. Would Russell even like this place? What have I done?
"You are making the right choice, Zack. You will love Hogwarts. It is an interesting place." Zack somehow knew that was a vast understatement.
"Okay then, I've made my decision, now what? What about my hospital?" he remembered suddenly. "I can't just leave them in the lurch like this."
"Zack, do not be alarmed. I have taken the liberty of speaking with the director of the hospital and they have been made aware of your situation," he said slyly.
"You told them I'm a wizard!" Zack said incredulously.
"Not exactly. Let's just say they understand you will be away for a while. If you want, they might welcome you back during the summer breaks."
"You knew what my decision would be, didn't you?" Zack accused.
Dumbledore ignored his question. "Given your almost complete lack of knowledge of our world, I have a suggestion as to how you can spend the last two weeks before term starts."
"And that would be?" Zack prompted.
"Arthur and Molly Weasley have agreed to put you up at their house. To be honest, they were thrilled at the prospect. They raised a family of seven wizards, and therefore can impart a great deal of information about our world. Arthur works for the Ministry of Magic and so can fill you in on all the rules and regulations governing the wizarding world. Molly is…well…she is a woman that will see to it that you are ready for the start of term. I think this arrangement offers something for all of you. You won't be completely at a loss when you arrive at Hogwarts, and they will have a chance to take care of someone again, if only for a short time."
"That sounds workable," Zack said while still feeling a bit apprehensive. "Before you leave, what is the deal with Arthur?"
"Arthur has always been interested in Muggles. He was head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts section for many years, and the interest seems to have stuck. He is now the Deputy Minister of Magic. I think you will have an interesting time." Dumbledore rose to leave.
"Thank you…for everything I guess," Zack said lamely. Dumbledore acknowledged him with a nod of his head and departed. Why does it feel like I've just been hoodwinked?
Thanks again to Crow, Juliane and Lillith for proofreading and other editorial help.
Thanks also to the people who have been kind enough to send reviews.