The Lost Wizard

Author: Unknown

I can't tell you my name. I don't want the Death Eaters to find me. But there's also the fact that I simply can't remember my real name. It's an unfortunate consequence of being hit by a Memory Charm. I recall only bits and pieces of my past life. I live under an assumed name, at an address that I will not reveal. The Death Eaters are still searching for me and I don't want to make it easy for them.

At this point you will scoff and say that I am a lunatic who is confusing fantasy with real life. A raving idiot who has read too much of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. But I assure you that wizards and magic are real. Non-fiction. Voldemort exists, as do Harry and the rest of the characters from the book series. But the book series written for Muggles is intended solely to deceive. The war between good and evil in the wizarding world has not ended in a victory for Harry and his friends. On the contrary, it rages on with no end in sight. Every day the Muggle news will deliver fresh stories of death or natural disaster. These are actually cover-ups for the murders that the Death Eaters commit. Voldemort is still alive and murdering innocents.

There is only one explanation for this. Some of you may find it exceedingly difficult to accept the cold hard truth. But the fact is that J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter series, is a Death Eater. She wrote the Harry Potter book series deliberately to mislead. It was designed to trick both the Muggle and wizarding public, to make them think that Harry had beaten Voldemort. In reality, Voldemort is still alive and committing murders with frightening regularity. Thanks to J.K. Rowling, the public eye has been drawn to other things, allowing Voldemort to operate without obstacles. I believe she has also changed names and appearances of Order of the Phoenix members, in order to make it more difficult for them to identify themselves to friendly wizards.

Many of you are no doubt skeptical. If I were you, I would feel the same way. Why take the word of someone who has already admitted severe memory loss? Why should you believe a nameless man who cannot reveal himself for fear of death? I don't have an answer to these questions. At best, it's my word against the word of J.K. Rowling. All I offer is the truth, whatever small bits of it that I can recall. And all I ask is that you listen to me, and consider what I have to say. With luck, some of you will believe, and perhaps our world can be saved.

I will start with how I managed to regain my memory after being hit by the Memory Charm. The months immediately following my memory loss were terrible. Imagine living without knowing who you are, without even knowing your name or age. It was as if I had been reborn that night I lost my memory, rising from that river to begin a new and tortured life. I carved out a meager living for myself among the Muggles, for I had no way to contact the wizarding world. I wandered alone through a foreign land, haunted only by recurring nightmares of magic and Death Eaters. The dreams were so incredibly vivid that I remember believing back then that they were subconscious memories from my past. Now I know that my beliefs were correct. But the dreams offered only brief glimpses into my past, so I was never able to piece together a coherent memory.

In an attempt to take my mind off the dreams, I began reading Muggle books. Eventually, I stumbled across the Harry Potter series and the magic of J.K. Rowling. The names and the spells just sounded so familiar. As if I had heard them before. The books reminded me of my dreams. I began to think that maybe this Rowling lady had the answers that I sought. So when she came to the Muggle city I resided in for a book tour, I went to go see her.

In the end, there were so many fans there that I never got close enough to Rowling to talk to her. All I got was a brief glimpse of her face, but that brief glimpse gave me the answers that I needed. I had seen her face many months ago, glaring at me from under the hood of a Death Eater's cloak. I don't know how, but seeing Rowling's face triggered something in my brain and my memories flooded back. I remembered that I had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix. I remembered that fateful night where I had done battle against the Death Eaters for the last time. My memories of that night are as clear as yesterday, but I remember little else of my life as a wizard.

That night, we were up somewhere in northern England, helping Harry look for a Horcrux. Rowling's books had at least kept that bit of truth. Voldemort did use Horcruxes - several of them - but I strongly suspect that she has altered their true descriptions and locations. In any case, Harry had determined that a Horcrux was hidden inside a cave on a small rocky island in the middle of a large lake. The island was protected by enchantments that prevented anyone from Apparating or Disapparating to it. As such, it was only accessible by broomstick or swimming. The Order split into two groups: a small one to retrieve the Horcrux from the island, and a larger group on the closest shore as a line of defense against the Death Eaters. I was chosen to be in the smaller group, which consisted of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emmeline Vance, Seamus Finnigan, and me. We flew to the island on broomsticks while the rest of the Order took up positions among the trees by the shore.

"Okay here's the plan," Harry said once we landed. "Ron, Hermione, and I will go into the cave and after the Horcrux. Voldemort will probably have spells in place that will alert him when we go in. You four stay topside and make sure the Death Eaters don't trap us inside. Kingsley, you're in charge."

Harry's voice was steady and confident. When the war with Voldemort first began he was often uncomfortable with giving orders, but since Dumbledore died Harry had grown into a leader that the Order could trust. He had changed. All of us had changed.

I snuck a glance at my comrades. Being the same age as Harry, Seamus was one of the youngest members of the Order, but he was already a veteran of several battles with the Death Eaters. His young face was lined with scars from torture at the hands of the Death Eaters and he rarely smiled anymore, not since the news that his best friend Dean Thomas was missing, presumed murdered by Death Eaters.

Most of the Order had lost family or friends. Emmeline had lost her entire family to Death Eaters three months ago. Kingsley still spoke with the same calm baritone voice that I remembered, but his eyes had a tightness to them now that wasn't there before the war.

That's why the Horcruxes were so important. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were killing us off one at a time. It was a race to see whether we could destroy the Horcruxes before the Order was completely eliminated.

"Alright." Harry said. "Let's get this Horcrux." He raised his wand and walked into the cave, followed by Ron and Hermione.

Harry was right about Voldemort being alerted. It didn't take long before the Death Eaters arrived in force. Since they could not Apparate directly to the island, they concentrated their efforts on the shoreline where most of the Order waited in defense.

The shoreline became the scene of a pitched battle, which I silently spectated from the island. Shouts and screams traveled across the lake, and I saw brief flashes of light through the trees as the curses flew. Here and there a tree would burst into flames, shining like beacons against the night sky. The Dark Mark rose into the air, wreathing the lake in a ghostly green light. With every scream that floated across the water I prayed that it wasn't another friend lost in this terrible war.

"BEHIND US! TAKE COVER!" Kingsley yelled. I spun around. Death Eaters! Four of them on broomsticks had used the cover of night to sneak behind us and were dive-bombing the island! Jets of red light streaked from their wand tips through the darkness, quickly outpacing the airborne Death Eaters as they headed straight for us. I had very little time and even less cover.

Thinking quickly, I took a few quick steps and dived headfirst into the lake, streamlining my body to go deeper underwater so I stood a better chance of not being hit. The cold was a shock, and a few spells lanced through the water around me, but I escaped unscathed. The world became deathly quiet as I floated underwater. Flashes of light above the surface meant that at least some of my companions still fought on the island. I fought the instinct to surface immediately and join the fight. The Death Eaters would have seen me dive into the water, and reappearing in the same spot would make me an easy target. Instead, I held my breath and swam a short distance away before slowly surfacing.

I blinked the water from my eyes. Seamus and Kingsley were each dueling a Death Eater, with a third already Stunned. Emmeline Vance lay slumped against a boulder with her eyes closed. The fourth Death Eater stood over her, and as I watched he blasted her body with a Killing Curse. Her body twitched once, then lay still. I felt a surge of rage. Another friend taken by this horrible war. But this one I could avenge. The Death Eater who had killed Emmeline had his back to the water, clearly not expecting attack from my direction. It was simple for me to pull out my wand and Stun him from behind.

The remaining two Death Eaters realized they were outnumbered and ran for their broomsticks. Kingsley Stunned one in the back as he attempted to take off, but the last Death Eater was able to get airborne. I could tell she was a woman from her physique. She pulled up hard on the broomstick and ascended out of range of our Stunning Spells. There was a brief respite as Kingsley, Seamus, and I regrouped near Emmeline's body.

Her eyes were open, but fogged by death. Kingsley knelt down and closed them with a gentle movement of his large hands. Despite our sadness we did not shed tears. We had long since become accustomed to death. "She is with her family now." Kingsley said.

The shoreline was quiet now, with only the soft crackle of burning trees from the battle. Our comrades in the Order had all been killed or driven off. Soon the Death Eaters would arrive on the island in force.

Just then, Harry emerged from the cave with Ron and Hermione. All three were coated with sweat and grime, but thankfully unhurt. In fact, all three of them were grinning. Harry was clutching a small cloth-wrapped object in his hand.

"We got the Horcrux." Harry said briefly. "What's the situation like up here?"

"The Death Eaters took the shoreline and four of them attacked us on broomsticks. Emmeline Vance is dead. And if we don't leave soon, we'll be dead too." Kingsley reported.

"Okay then, let's get back to our broomsticks and get out of here!" Harry said. He tossed the cloth-wrapped Horcrux to Kingsley. "If we get attacked, you get this to safety. The Death Eaters will be going after me, so it's best if I don't hold the Horcrux."

But when we ran to the broomsticks, we found that three broomsticks had been reduced to blackened splinters when the Death Eaters dive-bombed our island. My Cleansweep Seven was shattered beyond all recognition. With Emmeline Vance dead, that still left two of us without broomsticks with Death Eaters quickly approaching.

Harry did some quick thinking. "Seamus, you share a broomstick with Ron." He ordered. "You," he said as he pointed at me, "You come with me. My Firebolt's speed should be enough to make up for the extra weight."

I jumped onto the Firebolt with Harry, and the six of us flew off the island, skimming close to the black lake below. It was very quiet. Where had the Death Eaters gone after the battle on the shoreline?

Just then, there was a flash of green light directly in front of us. It was Voldemort! His wand was raised, pointed right at our group. "Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted. We scattered. Kingsley pulled up hard on his broomstick, Hermione went left, Harry and I went right, but Voldemort's Killing Curse hit Seamus square in the chest, narrowly missing Ron. His body tumbled backwards over the tail of Ron's broomstick, his eyes frozen wide as he hit the lake and sank beneath the water.

"I believe you have something of mine, Potter!" Voldemort snarled. By some Dark Magic, he was flying behind me and Harry, his wand sending out a stream of Killing Curses. Using his Quidditch skills, Harry weaved and ducked around the Curses, buying time for the others to get to safety. But with the added weight of a second rider, he could not outrun Voldemort.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted again. This time, he was on target. The Killing Curse flew straight at my back. Harry saw it in time and was forced to do a barrel roll in order to avoid the curse. As the world went upside-down I lost my hold on the Firebolt and tumbled off into the lake with a great splash of water.

I was fully submerged. The water was quiet and cold. It was so dark that I couldn't tell which way the surface lay. Fighting panic, I forced myself to remain still, knowing that the air in my lungs would float me upwards. When I finally broke the surface, Voldemort and Harry were long gone. Without a second rider, Harry's Firebolt should be able to carry him to safety. I had lost my wand when I hit the water, and it was probably on the bottom of the lake by now.

Suddenly, a Stunning Spell hit the water next to me, close enough to feel the spray on my face. As I spun around to locate the source of the spell, I saw her. It was the last Death Eater of the group that had attacked us on the island. In the chaos of Voldemort's attack, we had forgotten her. Her hood pushed back, and by the light of the moon I saw her face … it was none other than J.K. Rowling herself.

Without a wand or a broomstick, I was an easy target on the lake. But our flight had taken us close to the shore, and I was close to a swift river that flowed off the lake. Dense trees shrouded its banks. If I could swim to it, then I had a chance of losing her in the undergrowth. So I poured every ounce of strength into a last swim for survival.

I almost made it.

The river's current was pulling me in. Above the roaring of the water I heard J.K. Rowling's voice as she cried "Obliviate!" Why did she not use the Killing Curse? Perhaps she did not have the magical ability to pull one off. Not many did. But when her Memory Charm hit me in the back, it might as well have been the dreaded Avada Kedavra.

In that instant my life was ripped from me. My name, my friends, my magic all disappeared. It was as if the raging waters of the river had washed me clean of all identity. When I crawled from the river the next morning, I had no memory of who I was.

So here I am. I wander alone, without a wand, trapped in the world of the Muggles. Without my wand I am magic-less. I dare not attempt to make contact with any wizards, for I cannot be sure whether I find friend or foe. I worry for the lives of friends whose names and faces I can no longer remember. I fear for the fate of wizardkind.

In my heart I know that Harry survived that night, and I hope that he can destroy the remaining Horcruxes to bring an end to this conflict. But my part in this war is over. All that is left for me is to live the boring life of an ordinary Muggle, forever lost in a world that knows not who I am.

And so my story ends. I have written up what I can remember and posted it online in the hopes that someone from the Order will stumble across it. I hope that Muggles will also read it, so they can know about the war that rages in the wizarding world. Most of you will not believe me. But this is the truth.

All I can say now is this: Harry, if you're out there, keep fighting.

The Lost Wizard