Chapter 2:
Sal looked around the room he and the old man had been brought to for their 'chat'. His eyes roved the many books that surrounded him; in an entirely different language than he was used to.
He noted that the words he'd spoken earlier had also come out in another language. Unlike the spoken word, however, he understood none of the writing.
Sal was cautiously positioned in the corner of the bookshelf filled room. The strange walls were bright blue and unsettling in every way for the man- er, boy. But they were sturdy and unlikely to be hiding anyone.
The 'Headmaster' stared at him, and Sal stared right back. For a long moment, the two were locked in a tense battle of wills until Dumbledore spoke at last:
"Have you ever heard of Oclumency?"
Sal blinked at him, startled and confused. He knew better than to reveal how much he didn't know about this place, but from the man's tone and expression, he gathered that it was best to be ignorant of this 'oclumency'.
"No," he stated, his unusually young voice steady.
Dumbledore nodded with a pleasant smile belayed by the suspicious glint in his eyes.
Sal didn't mind.
He had a right to his own opinion, and if he wanted to be suspicious of Sal. Well, that was his choice.
Sal had his own suspicions of the man, though he didn't display it so obviously.
"Tell me, Sal, do you believe in Magic?" The man asked, blatantly, as if there were no danger in this strange building. Surrounded by muggles as they were.
Sal forced himself not to react. He didn't want to give himself away if this man was a Knight sent to search for the common-born wizards and witches. The man hummed, the suspicion in his eyes fading a little.
"You see, I am Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts. A school for wizards and witches such as yourself."
"What?" Sal said blankly, shocked.
Hogwarts?
Had he gone forward in time?
Wait, forget that! Why in the world was a Hogwarts representative being so obvious?
It was unsafe! Not to mention reckless!
What had his school come to?
"Magic is real, young Venture," Dumbledore stated, drawing a look of incredulous disbelief from Sal. He chuckled as if this was a perfectly normal thing to say.
"You've been invited to attend the school on September 1st." He handed Sal a small, thin piece of parchment with strange writing on it.
"Platform 9 and 3/4." He said, "A representative will take you to get your supplies if you wish."
Sal nodded. He was unsure if he could speak through the cloying feeling of disbelief and disappointment. Was this honestly what his school had become?
Somehow Sal managed to have Dumbledore agree to have a representative take him to get supplies in a week. Which gave him time to process the 'existence of magic'; and the fact that he'd somehow travelled through time.
He left the room and was immediately grabbed by the blue-eyed man. He then dragged Sal off to an odd room with several mirrors upon the walls.
He was picked up (Exactly how small was he? he wondered.) and settled upon the long shelf with basins built into it.
The man turned a knob above a basin. Which caused water to flow out of the tube that curved towards it and wet a cloth.
Sal stared in bewildered amazement. What was this wondrous thing?
Sch.
The water stopped flowing with a simple twist of a knob. Sal reached over to try it himself. But then he realized he should act like he knew what it was.
Acting unusually would attract attention, and he would prefer to avoid being killed for being 'possessed'.
The wet cloth made contact with his forehead, and he flinched away, startled. He frowned at the stranger in confusion before he realized: he was cleaning the blood off of him.
"I'm Caleb." said the man as he ran the cloth over Sal's left temple and cheek.
"I realize it's odd and probably scary to suddenly not remember anything. It's certainly scary for us. But if you need anything or have a question, don't hesitate to ask." Caleb said with one last gentle swipe. "We will have to take you to the hospital, of course, but for now..."
Hospital?
"I think I just... need a bit of space," Sal admitted quietly. The many overwhelming feelings of the day had already started to crush him. Caleb nodded, a sympathetic expression upon his face, and left.
Sal turned to look in the mirror and stared blankly at the reflection.
Brown eyes were the only features that he recognized of himself on the child in the mirror.
Wavy black hair rested below his ears, pale skin that seemed to have never seen the sun, and brown freckles that dotted his cheeks stared back at him.