A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Magical Details

"It's not polite to call him the Harry Potter, so just call him and his friends by their first and last names, whatever it is they prefer," Colin's mother said that night. He wasn't so sure, given Harry Potter was The Boy Who Lived, the only person ever to survive the Killing Curse, as well as the person who defeated Lord Voldemort.

Of course, he wondered if there was something to Hermione Granger not explaining to her parents the peculiarities of The Boy Who Lived when he tried to explain them to his parents, along with the importance therein. They looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language; his habit of babbling not helping them understand what he was saying.

Dennis, his younger brother, finally said, "There was a really bad wizard. He killed lots of people, but he couldn't kill Harry, and that led to the bad wizard being defeated. Harry's the only one who survived a spell that kills people."

"Wait," his father said, both of their parents startled at what Dennis said. "Where are this boy's parents?"

"Dead," Colin said. He watched his parents look at each other, frowning, before turning back to focus on him.

"Well, no wonder that boy doesn't like the fame, as his friend put it," his mother said.

"I wouldn't like to be reminded I'm famous either if every time they did so, I was reminded of the fact my parents were dead," his father said. "So don't call him the Harry Potter and treat him like a normal boy."

"But he's not normal," Colin said as his parents sighed. "He's the youngest seeker in Hogwart's recent history, but he's really good at it.

"Seeker?" His father asked.

"Quidditch," Colin replied.

"Oh! That Wizard sport with the goals, kind of like soccer but not," his father said. "With three instead of one."

"Yes," Colin said.

"You should still treat him as if he's a human being, just like you are."

"Oh," Colin responded. He mused over the conversation until he started taking pictures again the next day when all of what his parents said flew out of his head when. Colin found himself distracted by taking photos of more tourist destinations, including the magical ones Hermione wrote down for his parents.

Of course, the pictures couldn't be developed while they were on the trip.

The moment he got home—

"No, Colin. You need to go to bed. Then, after breakfast, you can develop your pictures in the dark room," his father said, laughing. "Be sure your mom knows, as tomorrow morning; I'll be delivering milk again."

"Yes, sir," Colin said, letting out a deep sigh. He got up in the morning, as early as he thought his mother would allow, and found her already preparing breakfast for him and his younger brother Dennis.

She wouldn't let him rush off, either. "No. You have a good sound breakfast, and be sure to take a break for lunch, Colin."

"Yes, yes," Colin said, diving into his eggs, beans, and toast that his mother had prepared. A tapping sound on the window made Colin look up just as his younger brother entered the kitchen.

Dennis went to the window, climbing up. "The wizard rag is here."

The owl flew in, dropping the paper on the table. Colin leaned forward, frowning as he continued eating, expecting something along the lines of Ron Weasley and his family vacationing in Egypt because they won a trip as he had the other day while they were still on their vacation. Still, instead, he saw looking at him one Sirius Black, someone who had escaped from prison.

His mother looked over. "Wait? So the escaped person we saw on the telly last night when we got home and had dinner. That's actually a wizard?"

"Apparently."

"Well, this actually makes me feel more at ease with sending you back to Hogwarts if they do try their best to inform us Muggles of such things, right?"

"Right," Colin said, shoving the last piece of food into his mouth before hurrying into the dark room to set everything up. A few minutes later, he heard the door open and close as Dennis entered the dark room to watch his older brother develop pictures, one of the few times Dennis wasn't bouncing off the walls.

He started by developing the film, going into the darkest of the darkest places and taking a break at lunchtime, where the picture of Sirius Black continued to stare back at him, and Colin glared back, wondering how anyone could be so insane. His father had come home, having made his milk deliveries for the day, and read over the article.

And then he was back in the dark room, developing photographs from the film he took on the trip. When he finished developing his first picture, Colin frowned.

"Something the matter?" his brother asked, curious as ever.

"Well, I was hoping when I developed this one that I'd be able to tell whether you're magical like me or not."

"Oh? Did you mess up then?"

"No," Colin said, letting out a sigh. "I'd hoped Muggles wouldn't move in a Wizard photograph like Wizard and Witches do, but mom and dad in this picture are moving just like we are."

"Oh! That's why you had us take a family portrait before we started the trip," Dennis said.

"Yeah," Colin said. "That means I won't be able to secretly capture a wizard unexpectedly in any of my photos. Just like I couldn't get a picture of whatever was freezing us."

"Petrify," Dennis said. "They never found the culprit?"

"Something about," Colin frowned. "To be honest, I didn't understand any of the rumors floating around the school. Something to do with involving a student, but the student not being at fault. Oh! And one of the students got taken into the chamber. Ginny Weasley. I just realized she's the younger sister of the Harry Potter's friends."

"Mum and dad said you should stop that," Dennis said. "It's not polite."

"I know. I know what they said," Colin sighed, moving on to the next pictures to be developed, leaving a silence between the two brothers. Yet, he found himself pausing at the sight of one photo in particular, his mouth forming a deep frown as he looked at the picture.

"Is something the matter this time?" His younger brother asked.

"I don't know," Colin said, looking at the picture closer.

"Well, what is it?"

"I think I caught Sirius Black on film."