Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this chapter.

Chapter 2

WIZARD GENIUS

Evening was closing in. Artemis Fowl was working on his laptop. He was trying to invent a new program for transferring the money from some Swiss Bank accounts into his. Little did he know that apart from being a genius, he would learn today that he was a wizard.

"Artemis, didn't you say that you wanted to meet that whaler from Wales on July the 25th?" asked Butler, who had just entered the room.

"I remember very well, Butler. We shall leave in another forty minutes."

"Any further improvements regarding your new program, Artemis?"

"Not specifically. But I am sure I will be able to design the program within this week."

"So which bank is it this time that you are attempting to loot from?"

"The Swiss Bank, Butler."

"Ah! So this time…"

Whatever Butler had tried to tell about this time, he didn't manage to tell it. Possibly, he never would. The calling bell had been rung by someone.

Juliet, Artemis thought.

But he was wrong.

Butler had opened the door to reveal a woman wearing a cloak and a hat standing before them.

The woman had a somber expression. Before either Artemis or Butler could ask her anything, she spoke, "I am Minerva McGonagall. Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

She waited for a response. Butler was first, "Hogwarts school of… what, precisely?"

Butler was utterly confused. His mind was racing through all the possibilities. She could be someone sent by any of their enemies. But who in their foolish minds would think that they could send a spy or some sort of such a person into the very Fowl Manor undetected, or rather that the person would return unharmed?

It seemed the woman understood the mindset Butler was in, or at least that he was confused. She smiled kindly and was just about to reply to Butler's question when Artemis asked, "Do you mean to say that wizards and witches exist in the world?"

"Yes, Mr. Fowl," replied the woman, "and if you would let me explain. Hogwarts is a school which educates young witches and wizards in magic and ways to use it, for seven years, from when they're eleven till they're eighteen. You are a muggle-born wizard, which means to say that your parents belong to the non-magical folk. We call the non-magic people as the muggles. I am here to tell you that you have been offered a seat in our school. Your name has been written down in our school throughout history."

Artemis gave a questioning glare. Butler still seemed perplexed and seemed ready for defending Artemis if the woman turned out to be an enemy's ally. But before Artemis raised his question it seemed that somehow the woman had read his mind and she answered, "Yes, Mr. Fowl, every student's name is indeed written down in the school. But of course, the decision to attend Hogwarts or not resides with you."

It obviously does, Butler thought. Or did she think she could force Artemis to join some school of hers that she said taught magic?

Artemis rubbed his temples. He then said, "If, as you said, such a school exists, I shall be more than happy to attend it. But… what is the evidence that what you are telling is true. In fact, all this seems too good to be true."

But Artemis knew deep inside that this had to be true. In those equations of Physics, he thought something was missing. And not knowing what, he could not raise objections either. But he could prove that they were incorrect. But then, he should have the correct answer before he started disproving that. And adding magic as another form of energy, he felt that the equations would truly be balanced.

"The only way I can prove it, I think, is by performing magic myself," she said, and withdrew from within her cloak, a stick that was around a foot long.

"This, Mr. Fowl, is a wand. A real one, not one for performing your silly magic tricks. It is what is used to do magic, mainly," she said.

Then she raised her wand, and muttered something under her breath. At once the large chair at the centre of the hall was transfigured into a table. She retransfigured it into a chair again pretty quickly.

Magic indeed, Artemis thought.

"And I will give you a letter, in which will be stated all your requirements for your First Year at Hogwarts. You must go to London, where you need to go to the Leaky Cauldron and then Diagon Alley… well, I'll send Hagrid for that. When do you think, Mr. Fowl, will you be ready to purchase your things for Hogwarts?"

"The day after tomorrow," Artemis replied promptly. He needed at least a day to both think over this and his old school and all his future appointments.

"Well then, here is your letter…," she gave it to him in a quick sort of manner that he found both funny and amusing.

"And I must leave, for I have more muggle-born wizards to attend to, who too will be joining Hogwarts this year. So, meet you at school, Mr. Fowl!"

And then she hurried off.

Artemis looked at Butler. He looked dumbfounded.

And so was, in fact, Artemis… he was a wizard. He was a genius until now, as far as he knew. Now, he was a wizard genius.

Note: Please review. This is my first fanfic!