Chapter 5

I opened my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. I was in my own bed, in my own bedroom, in my own house in Surrey. The light on my computer blinked from when I hadn't turned it off the night before, and yesterday's trousers lay in a heap on the floor, waiting for Mum to come in and put them in the washing basket. Everything was back to normal.

"Dudley," Mum rapped on my bedroom door, "Wake up!"

"I'm awake!" I called back.

The door swung open. I expected to see Mum's slight figure, her dark hair and pink dressing gown, as I usually did when I woke in the morning, but in her place stood a unicorn, silver and sparkling.

"Wake up, Dudley," it said.

I yelled and flung my leg out of the bed, but tripped and fell down a long, dark tunnel...

"Nice of you to join us again, Dudley," Professor Flip said, perched on the edge of the elegant sofa I was lying on. I stared at him, taking in his yellow suit and the silver unicorn snoozing on his cheek. I looked around the rest of the room, at yet more moving paintings and a chandelier that hovered eight feet in the air without support. Dedalus was standing by one of the paintings, a portrait of a woman with flowing golden hair and an old fashioned dress. After a moment, I realised he was having a conversation with her and groaned. It hadn't all been a dream, after all. I was stuck in a world of magic, that was alien to me and I to it.

"What happened?" I asked Professor Flip, sitting up, embarrassed about having passed out, "What did the crystal ball say? What's wrong with me?"

Professor Flip leaned back and cocked his head to one side.

"Well," he said, "It was hard to see you in the crystal... I mean difficult to see you, your destiny."

I had never really believed in destiny. Mum, as a fan of romantic films, had. She was always babbling on about finding your own true love and your purpose in life, among other rubbish.

"I'm not sure why," the Professor continued, "possibly because you are a muggle or maybe it is down to the fact that I had no idea what I was looking for. However, I did see that you are a very important young man, Dudley. Your ability, to see the invisibilis monstrum is a gift!"

He leaned forwards, so his breath tickled my face.

"You could be the key to winning the battle against the Dark Lord! You could save wizarding kind from corruption and destruction!"

I wasn't sure how to respond to this. I was glad that Professor Flip had been upfront about what he had seen in the crystal ball, unlike Hestia and Dedalus, who had stuttered and hesitated throughout telling me about the invisible monsters, but who was this Dark Lord and how was I supposed to save wizards? I don't have magical powers! I'm not special! I am an ordinary person, who was dragged into this by unfortunate relations to be safe from forces beyond my control, which I was then supposed to fight?

"How can I possibly be of any use to you in your fight against this 'Dark Lord'?"

Professor Flip shrugged and crossed his legs, causing his left trouser leg to ride up slightly, but enough to expose the fuzzy, orange socks he was wearing. Despite my bizarre and frightening situation, I couldn't help but wonder where he bought such odd attire.

"Well, I still don't know why you can see the invisibilis monstrum. I need to engage in further study of that type of dark magic and carry out some experiments, but you will come in very useful, although I have no idea how, but you simply must stay here until I have a better understanding of this."

"What if I don't want to stay here? What if I want to go back to my parents? You can't keep me here against my will you know, that would be kidnap and you would go to jail."

Professor Flip barked out a laugh and clapped his hands.

"That's the spirit! I think we will get along just fine!"

I glared at him, starting to get angry.

"I'm not joking," I told him, "I don't want to stay here. I don't belong here and I want to go home!"

Before Professor Flip could reply, Dedalus appeared beside me, having finished talking to the women in the painting.

"Oh, Dudley," he gushed, "I understand if you don't want to stay here, but you have to-"

"I don't have to do anything."

"Oh yes, you do," said the Professor, smiling in a creepy way, "If you leave you will be removed from our protection and vulnerable to attack."

"I'll take my chances," I said standing up, "Anything would be better than staying with you crazy people!"

"But your parents!" Dedalus interjected, "They wouldn't be safe! If you walk out, they'll have to go with you!"

Dedalus hung his head, looking sheepish. I looked from him to Professor Flip and back again.

"Are you... are you two blackmailing me?"

"Of course not-"

"Yes," said the Professor, "we are."

I thought of my parents back at the safe house, probably going out of their minds because their only child had gone missing in a world full of what they hated most. I thought of them being killed by monsters or murdered by evil wizards. Professor Flip wouldn't really throw them out if I walked out, would he? I could tell from the devious expression painted on his face that he would do anything to get what he wanted. I couldn't let Mum and Dad get hurt.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms, "I'll stay, on one condition- my parents have to be kept safe and happy."

Dedalus patted my arm.

"Of course. Hestia is already with them, and I'll go now and help explain your absence."

He smiled quickly, and left in a flurry of robes, muttering that he would let himself out. Professor Flip smiled.

"Let me show you to your room."

After collecting my bags, he led me upstairs to the third door on the right, talking about how other people he had kidnapped were out on some sort of errand and would be back soon. I was glad I wouldn't be left completely alone with him, and hoped they would be relatively normal.

"I'll let you get settled in before the others return," he told me, "and then you can meet them. It'll be so exiting!"

He smiled at me, before disappearing back downstairs. I shouldered the door open and was horrified to see that the room I was staying in was already occupied. There were two beds, one against each wall. One had no sheets, but was covered with empty snack wrappers and dog-eared magazines. Dirty washing was strewn across the floor, and the other bed was unmade, the blankets scrunched up at one end. Posters of pop groups I had never heard of plastered the walls, and the carpet had lumps of chewing gum stuck in it.

"Oh no," I said to myself, "I have the roommate from hell."

"I'm not from hell," said a voice from behind me, "I'm from Cheshire."