The Safeworld Network
Disclaimer: Same as before. I do own Morgan Ylime though, and her family.
Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy, and please review, so I know someone's reading this. :) This chapter is rather long, but lots of stuff happens in it and it's worth reading it to the end!
Chapter 3: Student Wits and Sniper Pits
July 1st. Morgan's 11th Birthday. Her cousins had come down to visit, and they had all gone to Fort Wellington for the day, along with her parents. They had just finished the tour and were heading to the gift shop when Sarah realized that she had lost her head band somewhere along the way. "Well," said Morgan's mother, "I had been planning to let you kids do some exploring on your own, anyway. Morgan, you take Sarah and go find her headband. Elizabeth, you keep an eye on Matthew. Jonathan, you stay out of trouble!"
So here Morgan was, standing in the middle of an abandoned underground sniper pit from 18-who-knows-when, looking for her cousin's favourite zebra-striped headband. The pit was cold and damp, but Morgan didn't mind. In fact, she loved it. It was one of her favourite parts of the fort. She spotted a glint of white and bent over.
BLAM!
The door slammed shut. Morgan whirled around, and her jaw dropped. There, standing in the doorway as if they belonged there, was the strangest pair she had ever laid eyes upon.
(June 31st, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)
"ALBUS!"
Professor Minerva McGonagall's voice echoed through the hall. She stormed into the office, brandishing a scrap of paper.
"Good morning Professor. How is the student processing coming?"
"It was going fine."
"And?"
"Take a look at this," she said, handing him the note. Albus Dumbledore glanced down at it and chuckled softly.
"She certainly has a sense of humour," he commented.
"Sense of humour? She called Hogwarts a 'crazy magic school', and claims that there's no such thing as magic!"
"Well, she is technically a Muggle, with Muggle parents. She has never been exposed to magic, let alone our kind."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Do?"
"Yes, do! This child doesn't know she's a witch, doesn't believe magic exists, doesn't know where our school is, heck, she doesn't even live in this country! What are we going to do?!"
"We're going to pay her a visit," said Dumbledore, smiling.
"And what about her parents? How will we convince them to let their daughter come to a school for witches?"
"We won't."
"What?" McGonagall was exasperated by this point. She just could not understand what Dumbledore had in mind.
"Look at her marks," said Dumbledore, handing her Morgan's final term report card. McGonagall's eyes went wide. Dumbledore nodded. "She wasn't joking about the ridiculously smart bit."
"So we send the parents a separate letter, telling them that their child has been accepted to a prestigious private school for specially gifted students." McGonagall smiled. She saw where Dumbledore was going with this.
"Full scholarship."
"Pardon?"
"Best way to make sure they buy it. We can afford it. Besides, we want her here. " Dumbledore looked at her seriously. "She has too much potential to be waste."
"So when do we want to go see her?"
"Where does she live?" replied Dumbledore
"Canada."
"How about tomorrow afternoon?"
"It's her birthday tomorrow."
"We'll bring a gift."
Morgan stared at the man and the woman in the doorway.
They were an odd pair, really. The woman had greying-brown hair drawn up into a severe bun. She was dressed in a ¾ sleeve button-down blouse tucked into a navy, mid-calf length skirt. Black dress shoes and square spectacles completed the sharp ensemble. The man, on the other hand, seemed to be dressed for the golf course. He wore a red and orange vest over a white polo shirt with tan golf shorts. On his feet were white golf shoes over a pair of tan knee-high socks. His half-moon glasses framed a long nose that looked like it had been broken several times. The oddest thing about him was his beard. It was silvery and long enough to be tucked into his belt. Altogether the two looked completely out of place in the sniper pit.
"Well," said the man, glancing around, "this is a pleasant place for a meeting."
"Who the heck are you? And why the heck did you close the door like that? And why the heck are you doing here, anyway?" Morgan hissed, barely managing to keep her anger in check.
"Ah. I see that some explanations are in order." The man didn't seem at all surprised at Morgan's reaction, almost as if he had been expecting it. "But first, we'll need a little privacy. Professor…?"
"Of course." The woman took out what appeared to Morgan to be a stick, and muttered something under her breath.
"There. Now that we can be sure no Muggles can here us, we can speak freely." The man looked Morgan up and down. "Very nice to finally meet you, Morgan." He stuck out his hand. "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and this is our deputy headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall." Morgan, finally over the initial shock, remembered her manners and shook his hand.
"Pleased to meet you." She turned to Professor McGonagall. "And you too, Professor."
"Good afternoon."
"So you're the one who sent me that letter."
"Yes, I am." Professor McGonagall's tone was sharp.
"You weren't serious, were you? I mean, about the whole Hogwarts thing and me being a witch and all?"
Dumbledore looked her in the eye. "Yes, we were."
Well, this chapter was a lot longer, but I'm pretty pleased with it. I've always wondered what Dumbledore would wear if he had to go out in the Muggle world!
Please R and R!