WELCOME TO AMERICA, HARRY POTTER!

Chapter 2: Trading Information

I gestured toward my small living room and we all trooped in there and sat down. For a moment no one seemed to want to speak.

"Oh for pity's sake." The girl huffed. "Sir, were from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry here touched an ancient painting that showed this room and pulled him here. We followed him. Could you help us get back?" She asked politely.

I gaped at her for a moment. There was a school for wizards and witches? Where was it and how the heck did no one here know about it?

Before I could get my wits back, Bob suddenly jumped in.

"Hogwarts, did you say?" He asked, staring at them in eager surprise.

Well he obviously had heard of this place. I snapped my mouth shut and listened.

"Yes sir! You know of it then......thank goodness." The girl said in relief.

"Well, yes but that was over a couple of hundred years ago. Glad to know its still operating. You attend there, you say. I'm sorry but we were never introduced. My name is Hrothbert of Bainbridge. Dresden here calls me Bob for convenience sake. Your names are......" He asked.

"Oh, a pleasure to meet you sir. I am Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley and that's Harry Potter." Hermione told him.

Bob rocked back on his ghostly feet and looked even paler and that's not an easy feat for a ghost.

"Potter? Oh my no! You cannot be here! Oh dear!" Bob stuttered.

I frowned and looked over at the boy that had Bob in a dither. The poor kid looked like he was used to his name causing such consternation. Now I was really curious and worried.

Curious, because, the kid had eyes that had seen far too much.......an eery echo of my own and worried, because Bob, who was normally unflappable, seemed to be afraid.

"Okay, Bob. Why does this kid have you running scared?" I asked.

Before Bob could say anything, a familiar voice spoke from the shadows.

"Dresden!"

I mentally winced. 'Oh fine, this is all I need.' Standing there looking forbidding and cold was Morgan.

"Uh, Hi Morgan. What can I do for you?" I asked carefully.

The tall, powerfully built black male, frowned at me then stepped closer to stare down at the three kids.

"Who are you?" He asked in a deep voice.

The three huddled together. Something about this man was intimidating. He reeked strongly of power. Obviously another wizard.

Swallowing his fear, Harry said, "I'm Harry Potter and this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

The man's eyes widened and a look of anger flashed across it. He turned to look at me and Bob, barely restrained fury reflected in his body language.

'Oh joy! Betcha he knows who Harry Potter is too.....wish I did so I wouldn't be blindsided like this, because obviously he's more than he seems.' I cursed mentally. Morgan's next words confirmed it.

"Why is he here? Do you know how much trouble our city....our country....will be in when his guardians learn he is gone?" Morgan's voice was quiet but lethal.

"No I don't! I had nothing to do with their being here. They just appeared while I was preoccupied with a bridge troll, who by the way, should never have been in our world. Bob and I were just determining who they were and asking how they got here when you.....uh....showed up." I said defensively.

Morgan stared at me hard then turned back to the children. "Please explain how you got here and why?" He demanded, flatly.

"Yes sir." Harry said softly. "Well, you see, we were in an odd room at Hogworts. It looked like where all missing things went to. Anyway, we came across this unique painting. The images showed different locations for several minutes at a time. This room appeared and the painting stopped at it. I admit to being curious and reached out and touched the image. I felt myself immediately sucked into it, sorta like a port key. My friends were obviously worried about me and followed. When we arrived, this fellow was being attacked by a troll, I distracted it and Hermione levitated the thing until the gentleman was able to banish it." Harry finished and waited tensely.

Morgan stood there frowning for several minutes.

Bob dared to speak, not happy with the tense silence. "I believe the children found what was known as a vacation portrait portal. They were very popular with the wealthy pureblood wizard families. The spell on them allows people to visit areas of interest for several hours before automatically being whisked back home. I'm certain this is what will occur for our three here. We only have to wait the allotted time until the portrait draws them back." He explained carefully.

Morgan stared at Bob for a long moment. "I'm not familiar with such things so must rely on your obvious memory of it. I take it you know about this school they are from?" He asked.

"Yes, I once knew someone who was a teacher there a couple of hundred years ago." Bob said quietly.

Morgan turned his attention back on me. "Dresden, this boy is extremely important to the people of England. Nothing and I mean nothing must happen to him while he is stuck here. You will guard him with your life. When the children depart, repair your wards......you obviously have a leak somewhere to have allowed this to happen." He ordered me coldly.

What could I say. I wasn't happy that I was in the middle of something nasty and possibly dangerous but what else was new.

"I'll do my best." I said flippantly.

Morgan scowled at me. I don't know why I goad him so.....it's not like I have some kind of death wish.

"You said a bridge troll was here? You don't know how it got here either?" He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

My hackles rose. "No I don't know how it got here nor why it latched onto me. Murphy called me to investigate a report of a strange person downtown. I went and searched, found some witnesses who could only tell me it was some short guy wearing a coat and hat that hid who he was but who very presence spooked them. I never found him myself but when I got back here and opened my door the thing leaped on me. I was getting the crap kicked out of me and it looked like I wasn't going to come out of it alive when the kids intervened.......luckily." I bite out. Morgan knows how to pull my chain. I guess that makes us even.

Morgan snorted. "Too bad it didn't." He grunted. "It looks like someone has a vendetta out for you from Nevernever. Better watch your back, Dresden." He said with a slight smirk. He turned to leave but couldn't resist a parting word. "Remember what I said Dresden. Protect that boy with your life."

Then he vanished. I hated it when he did that. The kids on the other hand, didn't even bat an eye at Morgan's mode of travel. Boy, that must be some place they are from, speaking of which....

"Well, now that I've been literally ordered to keep you safe, why don't you tell me why you're so darn important in the first place?" I asked, letting myself relax a little.

"If you'll tell us who that was and who you are?" Harry asked.

"That was Morgan, a warden of the White Council. You don't mess with them." I said.

"But who are they?" Hermione asked.

"A kind of policeman for the wizarding society here." Bob answered.

"Oh, like our Aurors back home." Harry said with a nod.

"Probably." I said. "As for me, my name is Harry Dresden. "So about who you are......" I eyed them meaningfully.

Potter grimaced and stared at the floor. His red headed friend, Ron looked uncomfortable while Hermione studied me for several minutes as if trying to decide if I could be trusted. Now I really wanted to know what was going on. I was getting a very bad feeling I wasn't going to like what I heard.

Bob saved them the trouble, to my surprise. He began a tale that sounded like a whopper except Harry's face clearly showed the truth of the matter. He was silent, sad and distant as Bob relayed the tale of his life. It was filled with death spells, an evil wizard, a baby surviving its parents deaths, and a notoriety that dogged the young man's heels. No wonder the poor kid didn't want to talk about it. Sheesh! And I thought my life was bad. Now I understood that old look in his eyes. He and I had our youth taken from us early and were forced to face death and horror when we weren't ready. That will age anyone quickly.

I realized Bob had finished when the silence went on for a bit. Potter was staring at me and I returned the look. In that moment, my soulgaze activated and I saw what Bob had described except for an additional thing that made my gut tighten. His so called guardians had been abusing him all his life. I hated people like that. I quickly broke my gaze but the kid didn't seem as troubled by what had just happened as I was. We had an understanding he and I. I don't know how but I suspect he saw a little of my life as well. Poor kid!

I shook myself and straightened up. "Well it looks like you're my guests for a little while. Any one hungry?" I asked trying to be a good host.

I received a row of head shakes to the negative.

"Well then, I'm not sure what else we can do to pass the time. I'm afraid I don't have TV since electricity doesn't work around me very well." I said with a small smile and a shrug.

"You still didn't tell us who you are." Ron suddenly said, staring hard at me, suspicious. "You gave us your name and you apparently are some kind of wizard but we don't know anything else about you nor where we are."

"Oh that's true. Well, you're in Chicago and this is my office and home. I'm the only openly known wizard in the city and I hunt for things people have lost."

"You're joking?!" Ron blurted.

"About what exactly?"

"That you live among muggles openly? You look for things they've lost and no one has a problem with that?" Ron asked in outright disbelief.

I blinked at him nonplused. "Muggles? What the heck is that?" I asked in confusion.

"Muggles are non-magical people." Hermione supplied.

"Oh! Never knew humans to be called that. Well, in answer to your question. People believe what they want to believe. Those that come to me like to believe there are things beyond what they can see but in reality they don't want to know so they ask me to find things but don't look too closely at how I accomplish it. I don't blatantly perform magic openly. That's against council rules." I explained.

"That's the same for us but in our world we live apart from muggles. We are to never reveal ourselves to outsiders for the same reasons as you are.

I nodded. I least some things were the same. "So where exactly is this school you go to, located?"

"It's in northern Scotland." Hermione supplied.

"Scotland? Wow! You really traveled far then." I said in amazement. What an incredible way to travel.

"Yeah, but where is this Chicago?" Ron asked.

"It's in the United States, in the state of Illinois, Ron." Hermione said in annoyance.

I blinked at her in surprise. "How did you know that? From what I was getting from you three, the so called muggle world is unfamiliar to you." I said.

"Not everyone, Mr. Dresden. I was born to muggle parents. I didn't learn of the magical world until I turned eleven and was accepted at the school." Hermione explained.

"Oh." I said inanely. I racked my brain for something we could do to pass the time rather than stare at each other.

"Oh, I've had a terrible thought!" Hermione said, suddenly, her face reflecting horror and distress.

"What?" Bob and I asked at the same time.

"They will have enough time to find us gone. We'll be punished or expelled." She said with a moan.

"Well, you shouldn't be! Isn't it just after ten p.m. there?" Bob asked, frowning.

"Yes, but sometimes they do bed checks." She said, very distressed.

"Oh, sorry. Hopefully, you won't be missed. I'm guessing, but it should be no more than another hour or so before you're returned. Anyway, there's nothing you can do about it." Bob said with a shrug.

I had to agree with him. I hoped they wouldn't be missed since it meant we, as in the U.S., were going to be in shit creek if it was discovered they were missing.

"I guess you're right." She said unhappily. Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Ron asked, trying to take the girl's mind off the time passing.

Bob made a suggestion. "Well, how about an exchange of information. You tell us about your life at Hogwarts and Harry and I will tell you about Chicago and the wizard society here. How does that sound?" He asked with a small smile.

"Well it's certainly beats staring at the walls for hours." Harry admitted.

"Yeah sure why not." Ron grunted.

"I'd love to know more about this place." Hermione said, doing her best to set aside her distress.

"Excellent." Bob said, pleased to have found a perfect solution.

"Well before we do, does anyone need the bathroom, water or a stretch?" I asked.

"I could use some water." Harry said.

"The bathroom please." Ron responded.

"Water for me too. Thanks." Hermione answered, standing to stretch.

"If you'll follow me Ron....." Bob said. Ron nodded and got off the couch to follow the ghost down the hall.

"If you two will excuse me, I'll get your water and I need to make a phone call." I said, rising from my seat and heading for the kitchen. I needed to let Murphy know that her little problem was gone. Unfortunately for me, mine wasn't.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm beginning to think I should have placed this under the Dresden Files since most of it is turning out to take place more in his universe than Potters but too late now. Hope no one minds.