On this December 1, 1984, Jean and Richard Granger were getting ready for their movie night of the month, having managed to get their 5-year-old daughter to sleep. Not an easy task. Richard was making sure the tape was rewound, while Jean was preparing the popcorn. Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the living room and a blinding light. Jean quickly went into the living room after hearing all the commotion and found that nothing seemed to have broken.
Richard didn't reply but was staring at something on the floor. From where she was standing, she couldn't see the body of a man in their living room. After a few minutes, Richard quickly checked to see if the stranger from nowhere was alive and injured. He asks his wife to fetch a first-aid kit. Meanwhile, he saw that the man was carrying a backpack. He decided to look inside. The idea of calling the authorities never occurred to the two adults. In the bag were clothes, medicines, a passport, a wallet (containing cash, credit cards, driving licenses, bills, and other cards), and a strange rectangular machine. The identity documents seemed legitimate at first glance, but the dates were not. The man was supposedly born on October 17, 2002, which is impossible. Who is this man?
Jean quickly arrived with the first-aid kit and Hermione in his arms, the latter having woken up crying. Jean quickly hands over the kit so that Richard can take care of the minor wounds. Then he decides to move the man to the sofa and talks to his wife about what he's discovered. So, to sum up, a man named Alexandre Gilbert, born in 2002, of Canadian origin (according to his passport), mysteriously appeared in their living room in early December 1984. Richard wondered if they'd inhaled a hallucinogen at the dentist's, and Jean figured there must have been something in the food. Her husband decided to use a rope to restrict the man's movements, just in case... Hermione's mother retreated to her room to calm Hermione down and put her back to sleep.
"Love, I'll stay downstairs to keep an eye on Mr. Gilbert," Richard says to his wife, handing her a baseball bat.
"Do you think we should call the police?" Jean asks nervously.
"I don't think that's a good idea, how do you expect us to explain that a man went poof in our living room? I'd rather wait until he wakes up before deciding on any future course of action," he replies.
The next morning, Mr. Granger wakes to find the phone ringing. He was about to answer it but he realized that the man was not an illusion or a dream and woke up. His wife was coming downstairs with her daughter at the same time as the stranger panicked when he realized he wasn't in his apartment. "Who are you? Where am I?" the stranger shouted, which of course made Hermione cry.
"We should be turning these questions back to you instead. You've entered our house illegally. So who are you and how did you get here?" replied Mr. Granger firmly.
"Okay okay, my name is Alexandre Gilbert and I have absolutely no idea how I got to your house. I was coming back from university to my apartment, that's all I remember" explains Alexandre quickly, trying to calm down.
"You're a student?! Where do you live? Your passport, which was in your bag, says that you're Canadian and that you were born in 2002." intervenes Jean for the first time.
"My passport!? it's supposed to be in a drawer in my office, not in my bag. And yes, I am indeed Canadian and I was born on October 17, 2002." he replies.
"Young man, I'm forced to tell you that it's December 2, 1984, and you're currently in the UK," Jean says.
Completely shocked, the young man tries to speak, but nothing comes out for a few seconds. He explains to them that he's from the year 2024 and that he's a sociology student. Alexandre doesn't understand how this is possible. When the two adults realized that Alexandre was not dangerous, the tension in their bodies eased a little. They introduced themselves and their daughter Hermione to Alex (he prefers to be called that). Alexander was no expert, but it was no coincidence that the girl's name was Hermione Granger, her parents were dentists and they lived at "8 Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London". Alexander then realizes that he is in a parallel world where at least one of the main characters from the "Harry Potter" book series existed. He decided to do nothing for the moment, he didn't want to make the situation any weirder and Alex didn't know if magic existed in this plane of existence.
After Mr. and Mrs. Granger had a private chat, they announced to Alex that they had a room for him and would help him obtain identification papers. They had some doubts about their decision, but it was as if an invisible force is encouraging them to help this young man. Luckily for them, Richard and Jean knew people who could handle his case "legally"
