Let's move on
I would like to thank everyone for the numerous clicks and:
Have fun with the new chap.
Danny looked up from the letter he had received from the huge man.
He chuckled with pleasure when he saw the incredulous expression on the boy's face.
"Now you remind me a lot of an old friend of mine. Harry Potter... Oh, I'm sure you don't know who that is. You grew up with Muggles. Good man our Harry and a good friend of old Hagrid. He wasn't older than you when I told him he was a wizard."
"A wizard?!" Danny seemed to wake up. "Is that what I... I mean, can I do that...?"
"Of course!" laughed Hagrid happily. "And I'm telling you, the fact that you can already transform yourself into animals is something special even for us! Seems like you are a talented guy. But that's why the ministry sent me to you before your eleventh birthday. Actually, future students of Hogwarts do not receive their letter until they turn eleven. But the ministry was..."
"Ministry? There is a ministry of..."
"of magic. Yes, there is. It's basically our government," Hagrid explained. "Above all, it ensures that the Muggles, i.e. the non-magicians, are not aware of the magical world. This only gives trouble. The Muggles usually go crazy when they meet us. No! They should leave us alone and we'll do the same."
"And this ministry sent you to me, sir?"
Danny was still completely overwhelmed. His head felt like it was filled with cotton wool, but he wanted to know more!
"Don't say sir to me," Hagrid smiled. "But yes, they sent me."
Hagrid's friendly expression became a little more serious.
"You have to know that we also have laws. One of the most important is that you are not allowed to do magic in front of Muggles and as long as you are underage only in school! Well, no one saw you when you turned into animals, but..."
"Am I going to get in trouble now?" Danny asked worriedly.
"No, it's not going to be that bad. The ones at the Ministry know that you grew up in a Muggle orphanage and don't know the rules. A consultant for such things will have a conversation with you and explain the laws to you. It's just that the Ministry found out that you were starting to do magic and they wanted to intervene before something happened."
Hagrid clapped her hands and continued:
"Well then, come on, Danny. It's time we hit the road."
As if pulled by an invisible string, Danny followed the huge man. Actually, he had always been inculcated not to go with strangers, but this situation was so... different. Hagrid was the first person he could talk to about his abilities!
His skills...
So he, Danny Huntignton, was a wizard? a real wizard?! Like Merlin?
Danny wouldn't have believed it, but the fact that he was able to transform himself into a hawk and a cougar helped him digest it.
Hagrid now turned onto one of the main footpaths of the zoo and there was a large, somewhat old-looking motorcycle with a sidecar.
Danny was wondering how the machine had gotten into the middle of Chester Zoo when a little creature jumped up to him.
Danny's eyes widened, frightened.
The creature was a head shorter than him and had pencil-thin arms and legs, water-blue eyes, long bat ears and a knobby nose.
As clothing, the unknown creature wore a sofa cushion cover, which looked very well-groomed.
The little man immediately bowed to Danny until his nose almost touched the ground.
"Master Daniel, sir! Jakubi is very happy to finally meet his new master."
Danny was horrified. He should be someone's master?
"Jakubi!" Hagrid said reproachfully as he stepped next to Danny. "I told you to wait until I introduced you."
"Excuse me, sir!" the creature pepped. "Jakubi is just so happy to finally have a master again. It's not good for a house-elf to be alone for so long. At last I can serve the son of my old mistress!"
"Then you knew my mum?" Danny asked a little shyly.
The house-elf, for that was the creature, did not seem to notice at first that he had been addressed, but then he bowed again to Danny.
"Ohn, yes, sir! Sorry that Jakubi didn't notice right away that they were talking to him. Jakubi is not used to the "you". Jakubi and his family have served the Trever family for many generations."
"It was your mother's family name," Hagrid explained, smiling. "Very old wizarding blood, the Trevers. Good for you. Money shouldn't be a problem for you. And Jakubi here is a house elf. A servile being who is committed to your family. In the past, house elves were treated very badly. Like slaves. But your mum's family has always been known for treating their servants very well."
"Oh yes!" Jakubi affirmed immediately. "Master Anastasia has always been good to Jakubi. Always friendly. You know, sir, a thank you is to the house-elf what gold is to the wizards. We gain respect among our peers through faithful service. Jakubi hopes that his new master will also be happy with him."
Danny heard himself saying, "Absolutely." How he had managed to get these words out, he did not know. Sister Augusta had always valued politeness, and Danny had probably taken that to heart.
The house-elf seemed pleased with the words. He scurried back to the sidecar of the motorcycle and took a cloth bag from the sidecar, which he handed to danny.
"Jakubi knows that the young master will soon go to Hogwarts. He thought that the young master might use some of his mother's old school supplies. Master Anastasia always wrote keywords in her books that helped her. Jakubi has also added a pair of pictures of his old mistress."
Danny got really hot when he took the bag. This had belonged to his mum?!
"That's meant nicely Jakubi but Danny has inherited enough money from his parents that he didn't use any..."
"No!" for the first time, Danny found the courage to disagree." They belonged... well, they belonged to my mum."
Hagrid smiled understandingly.
"Of course."
Danny looked at Jakubi now.
"Thank you very much!" he said, and this time he meant it from the bottom of his heart.
"You're welcome, sir," the house-elf beeped happily. "Whenever they need Jakubi, all they have to do is call him."
The house elf bowed one last time, then simply disappeared. Danny's eyes widened.
"I'm glad you're so nice to him," Hagrid laughed, patting Danny on the shoulder so hard that the boy almost fell over. "Some wizards were just awful to their house-elves."
"My mum...?" Danny asked, still stunned. "And my dad, they were wizards too? How did they...? I mean...?"
Hagrid paused. He had just been pulling an old pair of motorcycle goggles over his white, wild hair. Embarrassed, he looked down at Danny.
"You really remind me of Harry..." he finally grumbled.
Embarrassed, Hagrid looked at the motorcycle goggles in his hands.
"Bad thing about your parents. Do you know... It's been a while since a very evil wizard and his people, called Death Eaters, tried to take over. It was a real war back then. Your dad came all the way from America to help. They both survived the war and then your mum and dad got married. Were aurors, you know? People who hunt down dark wizards and witches. And they were good at their job!
But after the war, not all Death Eaters were arrested, and some wanted revenge. Have attacked your house! Bad thing! Very bad!
I can't explain it very well. I'm not so good with words. At the ministry they will be able to tell you more and that's where we're flying now!"
"Flying?!" Danny wondered as he climbed into the sidecar on Hagrid's instructions.
"Sure," Hagrid chuckled as he put on his motorcycle goggles. We have to go to London! From Liverpool it takes too long on the ground. Don't be scared now!"
Hagrid pressed a small silver button on the handlebars of the motorcycle and suddenly everything was gone. The motorcycle, Hagrid, even Danny himself. He was nothing more than a pair of floating eyeballs.
"Invisibility servo!" Hagrid's voice explained, which seemed to come from floating motorcycle goggles. "My friend Arthur Weasly installed it for me."
Danny heard the engine of the motorcycle roar and with a blow the boy felt the vehicle start moving. However, it was not only forward, but also upwards. Steep upwards!
As they pierced the cloud cover, Hagrid suddenly reappeared. The motorcycle also became visible again. Danny couldn't believe it as he squinted down over the cart! They flew! Fast and very high.
"We don't need the invisibility at this altitude," Hagrid explained over the wind. "Next stop: London."
Now that he could see his arm again, there was no stopping Danny. As hard as he could, he pinched himself. No, no doubt about it! He was not dreaming. He flew, in the sidecar of the motorcycle of a bearded giant! in his arms he held a bag of school books that had supposedly belonged to his mother, who was said to have been a famous witch - and the books were handed to him by a house-elf who now regarded him as his master!
Danny was sure: If this was a dream, then he had gone completely crazy!
Time passed as the motorcycle raced through the dark sky.
It had been 11:30 p.m. when Danny had left the orphanage, and he had been hanging around Chester Zoo for about two hours before Hagrid had spotted him. So they had started at about 01:30. After they had flown for several hours, it should not have been a surprise to Danny that morning was already dawning in the east when Hagrid pressed the invisibility button again and they went into the landing approach.
"Hagrid!" shouted Danny against the wind. "When they notice in the orphanage that I'm not there..."
"Don't worry!" replied the motorcycle goggles (which were all there was to see of the bearded giant). "Someone will take care of it. as far as your home manager is concerned, you have an interview for a scholarship. They don't expect you back until tonight. We can do that easily!"
Reassured, Danny now looked over the edge of the sidecar. Down there was London. Danny was astonished. He had never been to the capital.
The buildings beneath them grew bigger and bigger and finally Hagrid landed the motorcycle in a small side street. There they became visible again.
"You can leave the books here!" said Harid as he hung his goggles on the handlebars. "They would only hinder you."
Hesitantly, Danny did as he was told. He calmed himself with the thought that no one would steal school books from a flying motorcycle and then followed Hagrid who crossed the street with quick steps and stopped in front of an old, rickety telephone booth.
Danny hadn't seen such things in a long time. They had disappeared when the mobile phone had begun its triumphal march.
Apart from this old telephone booth, however, there was nothing that made this street unusual, let alone impressive. Basically, the surrounding buildings looked a bit run-down.
"So, here we have the visitor entrance," Hagrid explained, opening the phone booth (much to Danny's astonishment). "Go in, go in."
Hagrid demanded and pushed Danny into the phone booth.
"I'm afraid you'll have to go it alone," he grumbled embarrassedly. "Together, we don't fit in. Watch out. It's easy. You take this banana-shaped thing there..."
"The listener?" asked Danny.
"Exactly! and then you choose... Let me see... I wrote it down."
Hagrid began to rummage through the depths of his coat and finally unearthed a small piece of paper.
"Ah yes, so you dial: 62443. Then you say your concern. You're here for a "briefing on the magical community! Then, when you reach the entrance hall, just look around for the fountain. So wait for me at the well. I have to close the door now, otherwise it won't work."
With these words, Hagrid closed the door of the phone booth and Danny felt terribly alone as he began to dial:
6...2...4...4...3
"Ministry of Magic, visitor entrance. We welcome them." Danny cringed when the voice suddenly began to speak. It seemed to come from everywhere!
"Please state your names and concerns!"
Nervously, the eleven-year-old spoke into the listener:
"Daniel Huntington. Ah... Introduction to the magical community."
Again, Danny was startled when a small plaque tumbled out of the coin slot of the phone.
"Please attach this to your cloak or other clothing so that it is clearly visible. If you have a magic wand with you, please have it registered in the atrium. Their Ministry of Magic wishes them a good day."
Uncertainly, Danny picked up the phone, Danny hung up the phone and grabbed the small plaque.
"Daniel Huntington, legal briefing"
Just as he had read the words, the telephone booth suddenly jerked and the ground sank into the earth. Danny looked around at Hagrid, who waved at him through the dirty windows.
Danny drove into the depths for almost a minute. Time that he used to attach the plaque to his jacket. Then, suddenly, light fell on the floor into the cell and a short time later Danny found himself in a place he never thought existed. In front of him was a spacious atrium. On the ceiling, strange, strange shapes moved across the purple colored ground. In elaborate chimneys, green flames flared up again and again and men and women in wizarding cloaks emerged from the flames.
At the end of the hall, Danny actually spotted a huge fountain and he hurried towards it. He felt so insecure and out of place in this wondrous environment that he saw it as a piece of security to follow Hagrid's instructions.
As he waited, he looked at the fountain in front of him. He saw a man and a woman, presumably wizards, sitting around a campfire together with a human who was half a horse, a house-elf and a rather mean-looking little man. Instead of Flemish, however, water shot out of the fireplace in an elegant arc. On the side of the fountain there was a memorial plaque.
It said:
Fountain of new beginnings.
Redesigned after the second Death Eater uprising, it is intended to encourage us to respect and mutual understanding.
(The monetary donations will go to St. Mungo Hospital for Magical Injuries.)
Donations. Danny looked into the reservoir of the well. Dazzling coins glistened on the ground.
"Much better!" thundered Hagrid's voice.
Danny was relieved to see him. The giant-like man pointed to the well.
"I always like how they rebuilt it. The old well... That wasn't the real thing. At first it was a fat lie. And I just want to forget what was here when the Death Eaters had the store under their control. But yes, I like it."
"Why a lie?" Danny asked.
Hagrid sighed.
"There are always problems when people who are different live together. It gets worse when you pretend that the problems don't exist. Have made the wizards for a long time and the old well... Well... You could see that.
So, let's go. Actually, someone should pick us up here. Well.. are a bit early."
"Don't worry. So am I."
Danny looked around for the new voice that had spoken to them.
A friendly-looking witch in her thirties approached them. She had strong brown hair and wore clothes that looked like a wizard's cloak (as Danny knew it from storybooks) combined with an elegant costume worn by bankers.
"Hello Hagrid!" smiled the stranger. "You just couldn't be missed!"
"Hermione!" Hagrid laughed and pulled the unknown woman, who was just up to her waist, into a hug that had washed herself. "Hermione Granger, what are you doing?"
"First of all, it's no longer Granger, it's Weasley," the Ministry Witch corrected, pointing meaningfully to her wedding ring.
"Sorry," Hagrid assured. "Ron has more luck than he deserves. But I didn't want to lead him."
"It's all right," laughed the woman, who concluded that Danny's name was Hermione Weasley. "My poor husband is at war right now anyway."
"Why?" asked Hagrid, dumbfounded.
Hermione laughed.
"Rose is coming to Hogwarts this year. Not only has our daughter rebel set her mind on becoming the first Weasley who doesn't go to Gryffindor, no, her brother Hugo constantly teases her by hiding her school books! Rose wants to prepare as well as I did back then."
"You mean by memorizing all the books?" Hagrid asked with a wink.
Hermione Weasley raised her shoulders with an innocent smile and continued:
"In any case, Rose is not particularly happy and follows Hugo through the whole house with her wand drawn! Fortunately, she has not yet mastered any curses, but always shoots her brother only with sparks. She has already burned a hole in a carpet, set fire to the curtains twice, and pushed Ron to the brink of a nervous breakdown.
That's why I'm here earlier. I fled the battlefield!"
"And you're doing Danny's introduction?" Hagrid asked. "It's not your area of expertise, and as far as I know, you work here in the executive suite!"
Hermione Weasley turned slightly red.
"Well, I volunteered for it," she explained. "Hebziba got sick and I still remember what it's like to suddenly be confronted with the mgic world."
She looked down at Danny, who had been quiet as a mouse.
"So you're Daniel Huntington right?"
Danny nodded and shook hands with Hermione Weasley.
"It's all a bit much?" she asked with a wink.
Danny nodded even harder. He didn't trust his voice.
"I remember that well. My parents are not wizards, you know. They are dentists and all of a sudden we had to come here because I'm a witch. I remember. A magician from the ministry came to us to talk to my parents. They only thought it wasn't a joke when he turned our sofa into a zebra.
Well then come along. And don't be afraid, Danny. It won't be too bad."
So, that's it for today.
I actually wanted to include explanations of Danny's abilities, but we'll have to wait until the next chapter. Otherwise it would have been too much.
Hope you enjoyed it again.