Chapter 10

Hello and Goodbye

'Hello, Jennifer, Cody. How have you been? Have you enjoyed England?' Dumbledore asked.

'Yeah, it's been good.' Cody replied.

'It has been a long time since I've had a real vacation. And those house elves kill me.' Jennifer laughed.

'They are an eccentric bunch.' Dumbledore said.

'Yes, they are hilarious, and they were delightfully helpful in learning the ins and outs of the Manor.' She said.

'If you treat them as you are they will be extremely loyal and helpful.' Dumbledore said.

'Yes, that is apparent. I think we are all packed up, and ready to head back home.' Cody said.

'Very well, do you need more time to think about school? Or do you have any more questions?'

'Not so much a question as a request.'

'Proceed.' Dumbledore rolled his hand in a "go on" gesture.

'Well, if I attend school, I'll likely need help. Whether that is catching up academically, or just getting used to new surroundings and the like. I'd rather not have people assigned to help me.'

'What do you suggest?'

'I'd like to be able to ask people personally. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to help me. I can try to find them myself, or maybe have the teachers create a list of students they suspect would be willing to help.' Cody suggested.

'That seems like a very good idea, we could definitely help you on that front. Does this mean you are considering Hogwarts?' Dumbledore had hope in his voice.

'Yes, in fact I'd say it's passed the point of even consideration. I'd like to attend.'

'This is most wonderful news.' Dumbledore replied cheerily, his eyes twinkling.

'What do you need from me?'

'Not much, just a copy of your birth certificate since you are technically an international transfer student. I suppose you should come up with a story you will be using as to why you are coming here. It is going to be a unique situation and you will surely be questioned.'

'Yeah, that's true. And mom is planning to move into the flat so she can be closer. We could probably use that as some reason. You might need to get a job here.' Cody said turning to his mom.

'That shouldn't be a problem.' Jennifer replied.

'Anything else?' Cody asked Dumbledore.

'There is one other thing to consider, if keeping "Harry Potter" a secret is important to you. . . your eyes.'

'What about them?' Cody questioned.

'How closely have you looked at the pictures of your mother?' Dumbledore prodded.

'We have the same color eyes, I've noticed.'

'Maybe it doesn't come across through pictures as much, but your eyes are almost an exact replica of your mother's. That wouldn't be such a meaningful circumstance if they weren't such an extraordinary shade of green to begin with.' Dumbledore elaborated.

'It's true, Cody, your eyes have been one of the first things people notice about you for your whole life.' Jennifer added.

'Now, the reason I bring this up is because there are a number of current faculty that were acquainted with your mother, in one way or another, some she became quite close to. Given the uniqueness of your eyes, I would expect them to identify —or at least suspect— you as her son rather quickly. And though I would trust them to maintain your confidentiality, it may be easier to avoid putting them in a place where an honest slip of the tongue might give you away.'

'So how do I go about changing my eye color?' Cody asked.

'We won't actually change your eye color. We can use your contacts, I'll show you the spell when you get your wand. In fact, if you would do me the honor, I'd love to accompany you to obtain your wand. I always find the wand selection process most interesting.'

'I think that would be ok. When should we be back here?'

'Oh, a few days before term should suffice. Now, would you like to stop at the Statue of Liberty again, or are we skipping the pit stop? Just a warning, the longer the journey the higher the risk of nausea overcoming us.' Dumbledore cautioned.

'Let's hit the Statue again, that view was nice, and I'm not thrilled about the prospect of spilling my stomach.' Cody said, Jennifer nodded her agreement.

'The Statue of Liberty it is.' Dumbledore said as he prepared the portkey.

Professor Dumbledore dropped them off and they coordinated the date he would return to bring Cody and his mom back to England. Sleep was hard to come by that night with so many thoughts running through his head. He wasn't particularly looking forward to facing his friends the next day.

He awoke rested the next morning, the peaceful feeling quickly vanished when he remembered his first task on his to do list. It was one of those things that was better to just get over with, so he nervously made his way to Jamal's apartment.

'Hey guys.' Cody said.

'Hey, Cody. How was England?'

'It was good. Interesting that's for sure.'

'You don't seem all that happy about it.' Jamal observed.

'Well, I, um, I've got some news. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be going to school in England this year.' Cody stammered out.

'WHAT! No way! You can't go!' Victor cried.

'Are you serious? You're really going?' Jamal said in shock, but without the raised volume.

'No! You said you were never going! You even said they wouldn't take you anymore!' Victor declared.

'Yes, I'm really going. This school in Britain, they don't care so much that I'll be behind—' Cody replied.

'I knew it! Soon as you told us about your trip. I told you, Jamal. And now, now you're ditching us. Well, fine, see ya later. I'm outta here.' Victor yelled, and stalked to the door.

'Victor, wait.' But it was too late, the door was already slammed shut.

'Let him go, man. He needs some time to cool off. Christina hates him again, so he was already in a bad mood. He'll come around. But you're really going? That really sucks, man. No offense.' Jamal said solemnly.

'I know, and it certainly wasn't easy. But I was only there for a few days, and I learned and saw so much incredible stuff. And I realized, if I just try to learn this magic stuff on my own I'm never going to figure out as much as I could if I go to school for a few years. I mean, in the last 3 years I've hardly learned anything new. Otherwise, it's just been practicing stuff I already know.' Cody explained.

'I guess that's true.' Jamal conceded, but now he was curious. 'What kind of things did you learn?'

'When Victor gets back I'll show you. It's a real game changer, like, it's the reason my decision is bearable. I'm not going to be gone permanently. I'll be able to come back more often, like weekends and stuff. I made that part of the deal for me going.' Cody said with a little excitement entering his voice.

'Well, that's good. Vic's probably gonna be gone for a bit, so how are you gonna tell Stephanie, or Chelsea, or Coach Williams —you have to tell him, you can't just not show up— those are not going to be fun conversations. I don't envy you, man.'

'Harder than this?'

'Yeah, at least we had some warning. Vic's been working himself up over this ever since you told us about your trip, but at least he had an idea. If you would've just dropped it on us without warning, he probably would've attacked you. You know that, you guys have brawled over less. But what are you going to tell people? Since they don't know about the Force and all.'

'Well, I'm not nearly as close to all of them as you guys, so I don't think it will be as bad. Me and my mom were thinking about saying I got accepted to a foreign exchange program.'

'That's not a bad idea, and it's basically true.'

'I think I'm gonna tell Chelsea about everything, there's no way I'll be able to explain away how quickly I can get back and forth between here and England. I think we are going to tell your mom and Elisa too, my mom is probably going to be going back and forth with me sometimes.'

'I wonder how my mom will react, she's a wild card, Elisa more so. Chelsea will probably think it's cool' Jamal agreed. 'And she might help keep Victor calm.'

'Oh yeah, that's a good point. Let's get her over here as soon as possible.' Cody jumped at the idea.

It didn't take long for Chelsea to arrive and they started explaining past events and how they discovered Cody's Force abilities. Victor came back in the middle of the discussion and added his two cents. His walk had cleared his head, and Chelsea's presence did seem to keep his temper in check. Chelsea didn't even really need much convincing either, the transportation to Disneyland had her curious enough already, this explanation seemed to fit.

'So, you are a wizard.' She stated.

'He's a Jedi.' Victor corrected forcefully.

'No, he's a wizard. You can play your silly games, but I'm going to call it what it is, magic. And, Cody, as long as you keep taking me to Disneyland you can call it whatever you want, and I won't say a thing.' Chelsea declared, tilting her nose in the air in an attempt at coming off distinguished.

'It's ok, you can call it whatever you want, magic, the Force; wizard, Jedi. It's all the same to me, I even mix them up depending on who I'm with or whatever. I'll probably call myself a Jedi if some wizard is getting all high and mighty, just to piss him off. Otherwise I'll just go with the flow.' Cody said.

'You'll always be a Jedi in my book.' Jamal teased.

'I still think you need to learn to Force choke, you're gonna be on your own over there. We can't protect you anymore, you'll need to take care of yourself.' Victor said playfully.

'I'm not Force choking anyone.' Cody declared.

'You're gonna wish you listened to me.' Victor responded knowingly.

'Ok, can I practice on you?' Cody taunted.

'No way! Not after I saw what you did at the basketball court.' Victor replied, waving his hands in the air.

'That's what I thought. And I'm not practicing on some stranger either. If I overpower that, I could crush a windpipe, or worse. I don't need that on my conscience.' Cody said resolutely.

'Alright, that's fair, but I still think you should find a way, it would be awesome if you could control it like Vader. Now, let's see this cool new thing you learned on your last trip.' Victor challenged.

'K, everyone grab hold of my hat.' Cody said, removing his hat from his head. He had practiced creating his own portkey back in England when traveling between properties. He found it wasn't that much different from apparating, he just had to focus on his destination, and to take those touching the portkey with him. Then when everyone was grabbing hold he did a little countdown in his head to activate the traveling device. He went through this routine, and soon enough they were at the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

'We're in New York.' Jamal said in astonishment once he caught his balance.

'So, this is how you are going to be able to pop back and forth from England to LA, no problem.' Chelsea observed.

'Yup.' Cody grinned.

'Alright, man, I forgive you. I'm still not happy you're going, but if you can seriously take us across the country like this, I can't stay mad at you for wanting to learn more stuff like this.' Victor apologized.

'Hey, I know this is some crazy stuff. And I honestly expected you to be mad, that's why I was so nervous to tell you. I've just realized there is too much to learn, I have to at least give it a chance. And there's one more thing I should probably tell you.' Cody said solemnly.

'What?' asked Victor.

'With all this magic stuff coming out, my mom told me something else. I learned I'm adopted. My parents were from England and were both magical. Apparently magic is hereditary in some way, nobody seems to really understand it.'

'Whoa.' Jamal breathed out.

'Man, I don't—' Victor started, but he cut himself off when the rest of the sentence wouldn't form in his head. They were all silent for a good moment.

'It's ok, I didn't know what to say either when I found out. It's like something that should rock my world, but nothing really changes; so I'm just left with this weird kind of feeling.' Cody explained.

'It certainly is news.' Chelsea said. 'And adds a reason to go to England, finding out about your heritage is important. I know I would want to find out more.'

'That's what my mom said. It's natural to be curious, even if I keep telling myself I don't care that much.' Cody replied.

'You know, we are basically adopted brothers anyways. It doesn't change anything for me.' Victor encouraged.

'Vic's right, we've been brothers since before we can remember, and our moms wouldn't have it any other way. Some little ocean isn't going to break us apart.' Jamal declared. 'On that note, are you ready to go tell your other moms the news?'

'No time better than the present.' Cody replied feeling refreshed.

He took them back home, where they hung out until the late afternoon. Dominique and Elisa joined the boys and Jennifer, Chelsea didn't stay for dinner. They had a raucous meal, their "family" gatherings always turned out more like parties. As the meal wound down Cody said that he had some news to share, his serious tone quickly brought down the party like atmosphere.

'So, as some of you know we recently took a trip to England to look into an educational opportunity for myself. After discussing with my mom, I have decided that it is something I want to pursue.' Cody announced.

'England? You're letting him go to England?' Elisa was the first to speak up. The other two boys were just sitting with smirks on their faces. Jennifer just nodded to Elisa's question. Dominique was eyeing all the boys carefully before she spoke.

'Ok, what do you two know? You should be through the roof hearing your best friend is leaving the country.'

'He already told us, and that's not even the juiciest detail of the whole thing, just wait till you hear the rest of the story.' Jamal's smirk only grew. The women's heads snapped towards Cody, and in unison they commanded,

'You better get talking, son.'

'Hey, take it easy, I'm obviously prepared to tell you.' Cody placated. 'But first, it needs to be said that this is like top secret stuff. I'm talking CIA level secret intel here. The dude that explained this to me said that this information is prohibited to be shared outside of someone's family. Fortunately, I consider all of you family, so I'm creating my own boundaries here. But no matter how much you want to, you can't share this with anybody else, I mean anybody.' Cody's face was stern, his friends and his mom shared a serious expression. Dominique and Elisa only nodded, unsure exactly what could be so serious.

He started at the very beginning with his adoption and vague details about what he learned about his parents. Jennifer was a bit shocked at this turn of events as they hadn't discussed what was going to be shared ahead of time —she was put at ease by her son and friends— and she realized it was a comfort to have others, who supported her, in on the knowledge. Explaining about his parents gave him a fairly easy segue into magic. He avoided revealing his given name, he wasn't ready for his friends' ridicule yet.

He described things he had done, showed them his lightsaber and even gave some demonstrations. The two women were in disbelief, and only managed incoherent stuttered responses, which caused their sons to laugh endlessly at their expense. Finally, he got to the point that the school he was going to attend was a magical school where he would be learning more about magic and how to use it. It all ended on a happy note when he showed them how quickly he could transport all of them across the country with a quick midnight trip to the Statue of Liberty (he was going to have to find other cool places to go).

'So, you boys have been sneaking off to all kinds of places for years now, and we had no idea.' Dominique pondered.

'This travelling cross country stuff is new. We'd never been outside of California together before today.' Jamal answered.

'Yeah, mainly it's just been football games, Disneyland and the beach.' Victor added.

'And you didn't think your mothers might like a trip to Disneyland or the beach?' Dominique asked while folding her arms across her chest.

'Uh, I guess we were too worried about keeping it a secret.' Cody admitted. 'Sorry, I'll be sure to make it up to you.'

'That's better.' Dominique replied, satisfied.

'I don't know if to scold you or be proud of you.' Elisa added. Then she turned to Cody, 'you have some loyal friends, and we will keep your secret as well. One mom might have officially adopted you, but you have two more that have done it unofficially.' She gave him a big hug. Which started its own chain reaction of embraces all around.

Embraces were also being shared in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts where Dumbledore had shared the good news with his friend Minerva McGonagall. After the initial celebration, they spent much of the time discussing how they would arrange Cody's schedule. As far as they knew he had virtually no magical knowledge, and he was essentially a first year. She expressed her desire to meet Cody —Dumbledore was still trying to engrain the name in his head, she didn't seem to have the same trouble remembering— before the school year.

Cody was able to find Coach Williams at one of the weekend wrestling tournaments. He was surprised at how supportive the coach was of his decision. He was proud of him for taking a chance with something unknown, but also exhorted him to not neglect his physical training, cause if he came back looking like a noodle there would be hell to pay. Then he went off on his metaphors for life, something about broadening your horizons and enlarging your perspective; spreading your wings and soaring with the eagles; and how the strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. The coach's metaphors were sometimes a bit much —and Cody couldn't help but chuckle when his coach's cauliflowered ears started to turn red— but his enthusiasm for Cody's new adventure helped brighten Cody's mood. He had been a bit down after he found out Stephanie had just left on a family vacation and it would be a close call whether she would be back before he was off to England.

The last afternoon before Dumbledore was to come and pick him up, he was alone with his guitar, on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He loved the isolation this location gave him, whether it be for meditation, or for jamming out on some of his new favorite songs. Watching the sun slowly disappear over the horizon had a cathartic effect on him, his stress levels had slowly been growing, as the reality of his departure was drawing nearer. He put down the guitar and listened to the sound of waves crashing against the rocks below, and of birds chirping and singing.

He was broken from his trance by Key slithering up his arm. She enjoyed getting out of the confines of the apartment complex, so he regularly brought his snake with him to give her time to explore other habitats. Though this was his preferred spot.

§Did you catch anything?§

§I wasn't hunting, just exploring.§

§Find anything interesting then?§

§Not particularly, it hasn't changed much around here.§

§Do you need a new place to explore?§

§I think I could use some new surroundings.§

§England is a new place. Do you want to come with me? Sorry, I hadn't thought to ask, my mind has been on overdrive. I'm going to be living in a big castle, I'm sure there's plenty of things for you to eat around there.§

§I'd like to come with you. There's no one else I can talk to.§

§Great, You can travel in my sweatshirt pocket, just don't go poking your head out. I want to save scaring my mom for another time.§

Upon returning to his apartment he discovered his mom on the sofa. When she saw him enter the room a large mischievous grin spread across her face. Cody didn't like that look, it usually meant bad, or rather embarrassing, news for him.

'What did you do?' He asked accusingly.

'Me? Nothing. I was just minding my own business, getting things tidied up, when somebody came by to see you.' She teased.

'Who?' There was only one person left he had hoped to see before he left, but he had already given up.

'Well, let's just say that I've confirmed my theory that she is a nice girl.' She taunted.

'Are you serious?' Cody groaned.

'I'm sorry, honey. I tried to stall her, we even chatted for quite a while, but eventually she had to go. Though, I'm kinda glad you didn't come back. I would've looked pretty bad telling her you weren't home, only to have you come strolling out of your room.'

'Yeah, that wouldn't have been great— did you say you talked to her? Oh no!' There was very little good that Cody could picture coming from a conversation between the two of them, from his perspective.

'Oh, yes! Don't worry, it was a good conversation. She is very impressed with you taking your education so seriously now.' She added a wink.

'You talked it up, didn't you?'

'Of course I did. My son didn't get accepted to some low level exchange program. This program is only for the elite. I wasn't even lying, that is factually correct, from a certain point of view.' She intoned.

'Maybe so, but I can almost guarantee you embellished it.'

'Whatever.' She waved off his implication. 'She left this for you, she wrote it while she was here, so it probably says everything she wanted to tell you.' She handed him a little folded up note with his name meticulously etched on the outside. It was fitting —their friendship for all intents and purposes was developed through written communication, outside of dancing— that she would leave him with just a note.

Dear Cody,

Look at you! Taking your studies all serious, I'm impressed. And I can't help but admit that I am more than a little bit jealous, studying abroad sounds so exciting. I may have to follow your example and pursue other academic opportunities, you're quite the inspiration. :)

Really though, it's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. Promise me you'll do that with your next adventure. Yes, that means I expect you to write me back, I'll leave my address at the bottom. I want to hear all about it.

Thanks for being such a good person and good friend, it doesn't go unnoticed. I'm really going to miss our dances, making me find a new favorite dance partner really isn't fair. I'll also miss watching you wrestle, but I'll still keep going since I actually like the sport!

Good luck in England, have lots of fun, learn tons, and don't forget about your friends on the other side of the world, especially this one.

Your friend always,

Stephanie

P.S. - I'm sorry I missed you, but your mom was great company. She's a hoot, and had some very entertaining stories. And I'm glad I was able to thank her for teaching you how to dance. ;)

'What kind of entertaining stories did you share?' Cody asked heatedly.

'Nothing that didn't end up putting you in a good light.' She said soothingly, and he just grunted in response.

'Ok, I'm going to go see her.' Cody declared.

'Don't.' She said sharply.

'Why not?' He replied, irritated.

'Because you don't need this right now, she doesn't need this right now. What are you going to do? You've been friends with this girl for a couple of years now. And from what I can tell, you might actually be good for each other. So, you're going to go over there and tell her how you feel, or that you wish you could've been more than friends. And then maybe you kiss her.'

'Yeah, something like that, maybe.' He said hesitantly.

'Ok, then what? Where does that leave her? You might be able to just leave it at that, but it's different for girls, especially one her age. Even if you didn't plan to, you'd eventually find a girl in England that catches your eye and you'd move on. And that's how it should be, you shouldn't go over there and be daydreaming about your girl back home. You need to immerse yourself in everything while you're there.'

'But—'

'But what? Stephanie will still be here when you come back. Right now you're leaving her in a good place and there won't be any of those awkward "what are we?" looks. You'll be friends, and when you're older, maybe you can pursue a real relationship. A long distance relationship is no way to have your first girlfriend, it's not fair to you or to her.'

'So, what should I do then?' He asked, looking for guidance since she had shot down his original plan, and he had learned sometimes it was actually best to take her advice, as much as he hated to admit it.

'I'm sure she wouldn't protest if you wrote to her on occasion.' She suggested.

'Ok, yeah, I can do that.' He replied, slightly encouraged.

'It'll be ok, Cody. This will make things easier. I'm not going to say you are too young for this, because heaven only knows people younger than you have made lifelong commitments and gotten along just fine. But I'd say that is more the exception than the rule. Now, go get ready for bed, it's already late.'

It was late morning the next day when Dumbldedore arrived to escort the pair back to England. They had said their final goodbyes to his friends earlier in the morning, and they acted tough, but the tears were not particularly well hidden. He told them he would be back the first weekend he was able to get away.

They made the same pit stop at the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

'I have set up a private appointment after hours with the wand maker to ensure we avoid prying eyes while you partake in the wand selection process. We are headed directly into his store from here.' Dumbledore said.

They landed in the middle of the wand shop, Ollivander waiting for their arrival. They went through introductions and began siphoning through what felt like every wand in the shop until he felt that connection. The holly wand with phoenix feather core called out to him. Ollivander's surprise was clearly evident on his face.

'Well, that is most interesting.' Ollivander said, as he gave Dumbledore a somewhat worried look.

'Are you gonna tell me what is interesting about it? Or are we just gonna pretend you didn't say that?' Cody asked, slightly irritated.

'Well, the Phoenix that gave this feather also gave another. The wand that contains that other feather is called the brother wand, the owner of that wand was a very dark wizard.' Ollivander said with a tenor of fear.

'Are there a lot of dark wizards out there?' He asked curiously.

'The term does get thrown around a bit loosely, so as far as truly evil wizards, there are only few.' Dumbledore clarified.

'And what are the chances that the wizard Ollivander is referring to is the same one you've told me about?' Cody inquired.

'I suspect the odds are fairly high. Is the brother wand made of yew?' Dumbledore asked Ollivander.

'Yes, it is.' Ollivander answered.

'How would all this affect me, anyway?' Cody asked.

'I don't actually know that it would.' Ollivander responded.

'Let me guess, another one of those mysteries of magic.' Cody said sarcastically.

'I suspect you are correct there, Cody. I presume it is more ironic —if that is the right word, I don't quite know— than anything, that this wand should choose you.' Dumbledore said cryptically. Cody furrowed his brows at Dumbledore.

Ollivander paused, taking a good look between his patrons, before softly asking, 'Are you Harry Potter?'

'Yes, I am. Though I'd prefer to maintain my semblance of normalcy by not having my identity made public.' Cody said sternly.

'I can understand your desire for privacy, and you have my word. And that does at least explain my curiosity over the wand. And the scar, is it real, is it there?' He asked pointing to Cody's forehead, Cody nodded. 'May I see it?'

'I prefer not to show people. Though, if you —say— remove the Trace from my wand, I could break from tradition.' Cody responded thoughtfully.

'I am not able to remove the Trace entirely, but I can hold off on sending in the activation parchmentwork until after the beginning of school.'

'I suppose that would be something.' Cody removed his hat and pulled his hair back, revealing the scar.

'Merlin! It still looks fresh, though the location isn't where I had heard, nor is it as large as portrayed.' He observed.

'Thank goodness for both.' Cody sighed.

'I had been expecting you some time ago, but better late than never. It has been a pleasure to meet you. Harry, you were never here. Cody, take care of your wand.' Ollivander added a wink. 'If your wand is ever in need of service, don't be afraid to contact me.'

'Thank you, I appreciate it.' Cody said appreciatively. And they left the shop walking towards Gringotts.

They made a stop at Gringotts to pick up a trunk for Cody to use, no need for purchase of a new one. Dumledore showed him how to change the initials from "JFP" to "CEL." He also helped him reset the security features to be tied now to Cody's blood. Cody loaded all of his parent's old school books at his mom's suggestion.

'I apologize for essentially revealing your identity to Ollivander. I hadn't foreseen the curiosity he would have, though had I known you were to find yourself with that particular wand, it would have been more easily predictable.' Dumbledore said.

'Well, I guess it's better he's in on the secret and knows to keep his mouth shut than if he were to be asking questions and talking to other people about me. And I did get a little something out of it.' His irritation had subsided already.

'Yes, that was rather cunning of you.'

They proceeded to Flat Potter where Dumbledore showed Cody how to change the color of his contacts. Cody couldn't help but notice how much easier it seemed to channel magic by using the wand. He also realized that he didn't feel nearly as tired as he usually would after learning new magic, which he also attributed to the effect of the wand.

They exchanged some documents. Jennifer signed his Hogsmeade permission form. Cody received his supplies list, it wasn't short.

'When would you like to gather the rest of your school supplies?'

'I think we want to get things for the flat tomorrow, so the next day would probably be best.'

'Wonderful, I have been in touch with another student in your year. I know you wanted to personally ask any person that is going to assist you, but I can assure you that she is more than willing to accompany you to Diagon Alley.'

'Are you sure she is ok with that?' His response was uneasy.

'Absolutely. She is muggle-raised also.' Dumbledore responded assuredly.

'Muggle-raised?'

'Muggle is a word wizards use for persons without magic.'

'So, I would be called a . . . muggle?' Jennifer asked pensively.

'Correct. She would be great at explaining some of the transitions to you.' Dumbledore continued, ignoring or oblivious to the Langdons' interest in this specific word.

'Interesting. How would we travel there?' Cody asked.

'I was hoping you could experience the Knight Bus for the first time. It is an experience every wizard needs to have.' Dumbledore replied almost mischievously.

'Will my mom be able to come with us that way?'

'Oh, I had not considered that.' He said resignedly. 'Well, Professor McGonagall —you may recognize the name from your parents' will— also wanted to come by and visit with you before the term begins. She could easily transport you there.'

'Alright, that sounds ok.' Cody agreed.

'Magnificent. I will inform her, and then I will have Fawkes let you know what time to expect them. Have a pleasant evening, and a splendid day tomorrow.'

'Thank you, Professor. Good night.' Cody and Jennifer said, and without a sound Dumbledore was gone.

'Looks like the textbook racket crosses over into the wizarding world also.' Jennifer said, noting the supply list.

'Huh?' Cody grunted.

'Oh, every few years these publishing companies will "update" their textbooks. They change a few things here and there, maybe reorder a couple chapters and then put out a new book. Try to make older versions obsolete so they can't be reused, it's all a farce. You have over half of these books already, from your parents. My guess is there is hardly any difference.' She said disdainfully.

'So, you don't think I should get all the new ones?' He asked.

'I wouldn't, your mom's books are in pristine condition, and she seems to have marked important parts and made notes in the margins, those are way more valuable than any updates they've made in 2 editions.' She added.

'Sounds good to me.'

The next day came and went quickly with shopping to stock up and update the flat. He practiced shrinking things, which made moving appliances and furniture wonderfully easy. They had time to visit Potter Manor and talk with the portraits and the elves, Jennifer couldn't get enough of them. The next morning they had finished the morning routine and were awaiting the arrival of their visitors. They arrived promptly with a soft knock at the door, Jennifer answered the door.

'Hello, Jennifer, I presume?' McGonagall greeted warmly in her Scottish accent.

'Yes, and you must be Professor McGonagall. Please, come in.' Jennifer replied.

'That would be correct. This is Hermione Granger, she is a prefect in the same year as Cody, and one of our best students.' McGonagall said, as Hermione beamed while they passed through the door. 'And you must be Cody.'

'The one and only.' Cody smirked. 'Nice to meet you Professor, and you as well Hermione.' He shook hands with both of them.

'Hi, Cody. Are you excited to go to Hogwarts? What do you think about Britain so far? How could you say no to Ilvermorny? How could you say no to magic? How do you feel about being a transfer student? I couldn't imagine not learning magic. I'm sorry, sometimes I can't stop all the questions.' Hermione stopped only to catch her breath.

'Wow, that was actually impressive.' He whistled to add emphasis, before turning his expression more serious. 'Hermione, I need to ask you something. Did they force you to do this at all?' He wanted to make sure there weren't any shenanigans going on under his nose.

'Oh no! I volunteered before he even got around to asking if I would be willing to come show you around. I will also give you a tour of Hogwarts once we get there, as a prefect it is part of my duty and I am happy to help.' She said cheerily.

'Ok, so more of a duty to the school than a duty to me. I can handle that. And, what is a prefect?' He responded, content with her answer.

'It's a student that has the authority to enforce school rules.' Professor McGonagall answered.

'Oh, well I certainly don't want to get on your bad side then.' Cody replied with a little smile at Hermione.

'Don't let him fool you, you might have to keep your eye on him. But he won't be causing any real trouble, will he?' Jennifer added with a stern look in his direction.

'Hey, I haven't done anything yet and you're already getting me in trouble.' He replied playfully.

'I'm sure you can't be worse than the Weasleys, and now I know where to go if you do cause too many problems.' Hermione said smiling, while gesturing towards Jennifer.

'Well, now that we have introductions out of the way, and we've finished discussing my nonexistent rebellious streak; should we go?'

'Yes, if you will all grab on. Now, the landing may be a tad uncomfortable, so be ready to catch yourselves.' McGonagal said while extending her arms.

They landed in Diagon Alley, with Hermione stumbling more than anyone else. McGonagall raised her eyebrows in surprise admiration at Cody and Jennifer.

'Beginners luck?' Cody suggested while shrugging his shoulders. Hermione huffed and led the way to the potions shop.

'How'd you do it? Hermione asked him as she was showing him some of the potion supplies he needed and giving a brief explanation of a few of them.

'Do what?' He replied nonchalantly.

'Not stumble when we apparated here.' She said, annoyed with his coy response.

'Dumbledore must've forgotten to tell you that I'm an elite athlete.' He said, emphasizing the sarcasm.

'I highly doubt that is the case.' She responded, still annoyed but a little more playful now.

'You're right. Dumbledore apparated us a bit last time we were here. We got the hang of it then. I take it you haven't done much apparating.' He said without the sarcasm now. He didn't want to antagonize her too much, yet.

'No, they don't teach us until sixth year, and I haven't done much side-along either.' She said slightly disappointed.

'Well, it doesn't take much to get the hang of it, just a matter of repetitions.' He encouraged. 'So, we really make potions in cauldrons? It's funny how many of the fictional witch/wizard stereotypes are actually true.'

'Yeah, a lot of that stuff came from times when the societies weren't so separated. Things like witch burnings forced the magicals to become more secretive, and you're going to notice that now there's an animosity towards muggles and sometimes muggleborn magicals.'

'Really? There's a prejudice against those born from muggles? And I can't help but notice that you use that word like it's no big deal.' He said curiously.

'Yeah, there really is a prejudice, sometimes it's subtle, sometimes not. And there is actually another word that is used for muggleborns that is legitimately frowned upon by most magicals . . . mudblood.' She whispered the last word, so as to not be overheard.

'That honestly doesn't sound as bad, to the ear, but the insult is more obvious. Pretty clever of wizards to create a more clearly insulting word that distracts from the use of another offensive word. Though, that's unfair of me to judge it as a wizard thing, that stuff seems to be a human condition.' He reasoned.

'Yes, I don't want to make you think all purebloods —those born to magical parents— think like that, but I also don't want you to be surprised when you come across it. As a muggleborn you won't be able to avoid it.' She cautioned.

'Thanks for the heads up.' He wasn't going to correct her assumption if he was going to go along with the charade, and avoid the inescapable chaos of being Harry Potter. His social studies teacher would probably find this to be a great project. These words already bothered him, but they didn't elicit nearly the same emotional response as the ones he'd witnessed hurled at his friends. So, he wasn't worried about flying off the handle like he had done before.

They had already made their way through purchasing parchment, ink and quills. Cody was not enthused about the prospect of writing with these utensils. But when he suggested that he would just bring a bag of Bics, his mom quickly reprimanded him and said he would do as the rest of the students.

'If you can pick up on how to travel side-along so quickly, surely writing with a quill will be nothing.' Hermione snarked, but added a small smile to lessen the blow.

'You got me, I've got no excuse.' He conceded this round. 'Penmanship just has never been my strong suit. I can't imagine this being easier. What's next?'

'Looks like . . . robes.' Jennifer drew out the sentence to magnify his pain. Cody threw his head back with a low groan, he remembered all the wizards from his one jaunt through Fantasia. And they made their way to Malkin's.

As the measuring was taking place, he thought he was close to being done, before Jennifer taunted, 'Says here something about dress robes.'

'Oh yes! There will be a formal ball held this year. All students attending will need to wear formal attire' McGonagal explained excitedly at first before transitioning to her administrative tone.

'Well, if I have to wear something like that,' he gestured toward the display, 'then I think I'll sit this one out.'

'You can't sit out a ball, you love dancing!' Jennifer cried. Eyebrows of the other two shot up at this comment, while Cody furrowed his own.

'Yes, I enjoy dancing, but I don't think even Michael Jackson could dance comfortably in those.' He countered.

'You're just stuck on the fact the word dress is involved. See how you feel wearing your normal robes, then we can revisit this. You certainly can't make that decision today.' She said formally ending the argument.

'We keep all the measurements in a ledger, so if he needs to order anything there is no need to come into the store.' The store assistant mentioned, attempting to placate both sides.

'That's perfect. I certainly wouldn't want you to later regret making such a quick decision.' Jennifer added haughtily. Hermione and McGonagall both had a good chuckle at the interaction between the two.

The assistant was almost done with him, he leaned in close to her ear and whispered an idea that had come to him, 'Can you get some measurements from my mom without her knowing? I know it probably won't be perfect but that's ok. I'd like you to make her a set of robes also, royal purple, really make it pop.'

'I think I can pull something like that off.' She responded with a sly smile. 'It'll be wrapped inside one of your robes in the pile.'

'Great, and make sure to throw in a hat, the tallest one you got. We'll be back to pick it all up later, thanks.' Cody walked away with a grin on his face.

'Do you want to get an owl? It's how we send letters and such.' Hermione asked.

'I wasn't planning on it. I think I'll just use the school owls if I need to.' That, and after what happened at the wand shop he wanted to avoid any purchases that weren't absolutely necessary. Not to mention the crowds that were out today. They had already seen multiple kids that he assumed were around their age. Some Hermione waved at and some waved at her; though none approached to talk, and she didn't seek out anyone beyond a simple "hello." For much of the morning, Professor McGonagall and his mom had been following at a distance that was not close enough for people to assume they were all together. He did take notice that those that saw them together frequently ended up conversing with their heads together in hushed tones. This gave him a mischievous idea, he only needed the right situation to execute it.

They made their way to the bookstore and started collecting those they needed to buy, Hermione was also doing her school shopping. She was extremely helpful in this store, Cody felt like this could be a second home to her with the way she navigated through the aisles and shelves.

'So, what was it like for you to learn about magic, before you knew what it was?' Cody asked. She had been asking most of the questions and he didn't want to seem rude. She was obviously a well of knowledge, and in that regard she reminded him a lot of Stephanie, though Hermione needed much less prodding to release the dam holding back her tongue. He didn't see her becoming his best friend, their personalities didn't quite mesh, but he also didn't want to alienate the first witch his age that he met. And she did have some authority over him, though he didn't yet want her to know he couldn't care less about that.

'It was amazing! I was so excited to go to a school that would teach me more about it.' Her enthusiasm exploded out of her.

'And your parents? They were fine with it?' He asked.

'They took a little convincing, but they saw how excited I was, and I don't think they wanted to take that away from me. I didn't exactly have a whole lot of good friends in primary school, so for me it was kind of a fresh start.' She had some sadness in her voice when describing her primary school days. 'Why did you not go to Ilvermorny when you were first invited?' She wanted a subject change.

'Just the opposite of what you said, I have two friends that are like brothers to me, I didn't want to leave them. We'd done everything together —still do, mostly, until this— so leaving them was a big deal for me as an eleven year old. But beyond that it was my mom, back then, that kept me from going. She never actually said anything, but I could just tell that my mom really didn't want me to leave her alone, almost like it would be her worst nightmare.' He answered without explaining the reason behind those feelings. Then I found out I am adopted and she really did feel like I would abandon her at some point.

'So, what changed your mind for you to decide to come now? Did things change with your friends and your mom?' She asked curiously.

'With my friends, no. They aren't exactly happy, and I'm not happy about leaving them either, but we're all a bit older, so I think we'll manage. Me and my mom have worked stuff out so she knows I'll never abandon her. But what changed? I'd say I got exposed to how much magic is potentially out there, and my mom helped me realize I'd always regret not learning about something that could really change my life. Dumbledore said Hogwarts will help fill in the gap in my education, where Ilvermorny wouldn't, so that's how I ended up in England.' They had decided to go with a story as close to the truth as possible, the only deception would be that he had initiated the contact instead of Dumbledore, but there was no one who would disprove that fact.

'Well, I'm glad you did, you won't regret it, it really is amazing. But I have to admit, it has been hard, the relationship with my parents, that is. We just don't see enough of each other, the summer feels so short. I tell them all about school through letters, but it's just not the same as coming home to them every night.' She said wistfully.

'I can see that. What do your parents do? He asked.

'They are dentists.' She said somewhat hesitantly, most magicals didn't know what that was. And muggleborns inevitably shot glances at her teeth, fortunately Cody didn't do that. She felt a little wave of relief, until he responded.

'Really? Both of them?' He asked in surprise.

'Yes, I know, why haven't they done anything about my teeth yet? It's just that—' She was embarrassed, she hated this topic, but it was hard to avoid with her parents' choice of profession.

'No, that isn't what I meant. I mean, I've noticed your teeth, but I wouldn't be stupid enough to actually make fun of you for it. I'm surprised that both of your parents are dentists, I don't know many, but I've never heard of both doing it, maybe I'm just ignorant.' He said carefully.

'Oh, I thought you were surprised they hadn't fixed my teeth yet. I suppose it is rather unique to have both parents in that line of work, but for me, it's normal.' Her embarrassment about her teeth was gone, only to be replaced by her embarrassment of jumping to conclusions.

'Since you bring it up, why haven't they?' He asked delicately.

'Braces take a lot of maintenance. Regular checkups and such. With me being gone so much of the year, it just wouldn't work.' She replied downheartedly.

'That's true, I hated all the tightenings. They hurt so much after, you can barely eat. Once I overheard one of the assistants make a joke when she thought no one was around, "I hope he has a good blender." She thought it was so funny I was going to be on a soft food diet.' He said with scorn.

'That's rude, kind of funny, but rude. And speaking of food, isn't it lunch time?' She asked.

It was, and they all enjoyed lunch together, while conversing more about school and the magical world in general. They briefly began discussing the different houses at Hogwarts, but before Cody could ask for more clarification Hermione had begun interrogating Professor McGonagall about who the male prefect was for their year. Though she wasn't showing it, Professor McGonagall must've taken some pleasure in refusing Hermione's inquiries, thus subjecting the whole table to her rant about the boys in her year.

'It can't be Seamus, he is way too focused on girls. Dean basically follows Seamus around, and he is more caught up in his sports than school. Neville, well, he is a good enough boy, but he has absolutely no confidence, and there's no way others would take him seriously. That leaves Ron, the default leader of the group —why— because he beats them all in chess. He doesn't take his studies seriously either, if the lot of them took school half as serious as they took the Quidditch tables they'd all be getting O's. I suspect it's going to be Ron, as sort of a reclamation project, hoping the increased responsibility will whip him into shape. He's so opinionated, and loud, so so loud. I don't know how you can choose. I guess I'm glad it's not my decision, but I still don't know how I'm going to work with one of them.'

'You have got to be one of the top ten ranters of all time.' Cody commended. Hermione glared back at him.

'I'm impressed, seriously.' Holding his hands up in the "I give" position. 'Your lung capacity must be amazing. I'll bet there are professional singers that would die to be able to do what you just did without taking a breath.' He added in admiration. Hermione smiled as she realized he wasn't actually making fun of her, at least not directly.

Professor McGonagall only added that she would find out on the train, and not even any clues would be given today. While they were eating Hermione got her first real visitor of the day.

'Hermione!' A girl with shoulder length light brown hair said as she approached the table.

'Katie!' She replied, as she stood from her seat to give her a hug.

'Getting all ready for school?' Katie asked.

'Yep, all done, actually. You?' She answered.

'Almost done, just a few last minute things left.' She said before glancing at the table Hermione had stood from, those three were watching the interaction. 'Hermione! Who's the boy?' She asked playfully, nudging her shoulder.

'Let me introduce you. This is Cody Langdon, he is a transfer student from America. Cody this is Katie Bell, she's a year ahead of us, and Seeker on the house Quidditch team.'

'Hi, Cody. Transfer student, huh?' Katie asked.

'Yeah, what Hermione isn't telling you is that this is our first official date.' And he flashed her a giant smile. Hermione's jaw dropped.

'Oh! Now this is news. How long—' Katie couldn't finish her question.

'We are not on a date!' Hermione declared.

'Hey, it's ok. People have already seen us and started whispering. There's no point in trying to keep it a secret at this point. And to answer your question, Katie, it hasn't been long. We're just starting to get to know one another at this point.' Cody said confidently.

'This is ridiculous, you don't believe him, do you?' Hermione said, exasperated. Katie looked at Hermione, then at Cody, who mouthed, "it's true."

'I think I do, and I think a little fun would be good for you. Even with your O.W.L.s this year, you can't be all work and no play. You may as well embrace it.' Katie said with a grin. Either she believed him, or was willing to play along.

'See, Hermy, I'm good for you.' Cody teased.

'OH! You did NOT just call me Hermy.' She growled.

'Oops, too far. Ok, no Hermy, still just Hermione, for now.' He said apologetically, then turned to Katie, 'See, still getting to know each other.'

'Oh yes, you've got a ways to go yet. Better get back to your date.' Katie laughed. 'Well, see you later 'Mione. Nice to meet you, Cody, see you at school if you make it past today.' She added with a smile.

'Nice to meet you as well, Katie.' Cody said.

'Bye Katie.' Hermione called.

The two older women at the table couldn't decide whether to shake their heads or laugh them off. They finished their meal, and it took a while before Hermione would speak to Cody again. Eventually, he promised he wouldn't claim to have been on a date with her, or to be her boyfriend, if that came up. She also made him agree to correct anyone that he heard to be spreading rumors about them when they got to school. He was fine with all that, he didn't actually want to be tied down so quickly, and he had gotten the rise out of her that he wanted. Katie ended up being the perfect person with whom to enact the charade.

They grabbed the robes and apparated back to the flat. They were given instructions on how to reach King's Cross in a couple days. Hermione said she would find him on the train after fulfilling her prefect duties, he was ok with that, she had been plenty nice to him even with his teasing, and he had only briefly met one other person. He took it as a good sign that he enjoyed his first day out with magicals of his age.