With a crack echoing between quaint buildings and stone-paved pathways, two figures appeared in a shadowed alley. One stumbled and bent over while the other jumped away hurriedly.
"Oh God, that's just the worst way to travel," Beau said, in-between dry heaving as most of what he had in his stomach came up earlier.
"You'll get used to it," Tonks said with a playful smirk. Beau was beginning to think she was enjoying this a little. Perhaps it is deserved in some way. "It's the fastest way to travel, aside from a portkey. I don't know many people who can make those as casually as apparating though."
"Yeah, well," Beau said, finally standing once more, "I think I'll be sticking to more traditional forms of travel. I'm going to be feeling sick the entire day..."
"Oh, grow up!" Tonks said, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Come on, let's go see the old man."
With that, Tonks started walking out of the alley into the streets of, what Beau could only describe as, a village out of time. Each building, built out of thick, grey stone, showed its age in wear alone. The chimneys of many jutted out into odd directions, adding an almost otherworldly aesthetic to the otherwise old-fashioned exteriors.
The large windows on each displayed a variety of products Beau had never seen in his life. Zonko's Joke Shop had an assortment of curios in the window, all promoting impossible outcomes. One item, in particular, grabbed his attention.
"A nose-biting teacup? Is that all it does?" He said out loud.
"Oh yeah, nasty little things. I heard a few years back one had been modified. Bit a kid's nose clean off." Tonks said from behind him.
"And they sell these to children?" He asked, amazed.
"Oh, sure. A nose can be re-grown or re-attached. No real harm done."
Beau stepped away from the window and stared disbelievingly at Tonks. "We have different definitions of what harm is."
Tonks laughed, "I never thought I would hear anything like that coming from you."
"You mean who I used to be?" Beau corrected, and Tonks nodded, her smile faltering. It was perhaps a bit harsh, but he wasn't her version of Beau.
"Yeah, that. This…," She waved her hand at Beau, " is still taking some adjustment on my end. You act like the exact opposite of how Beau used to. He was always the one joking between the two of us. He used those a few times when we were in school." She gestured toward the teacups.
"You two must be very close," Beau said as they continued walking the stone pathways. It was rare to find a friendship the two seemed to have.
"Extremely. You, well he, is like a brother to me. I've known him since we were children. I'm hoping Dumbledore has some ideas on how to get him back." Tonks quickly backpedaled a bit. "No offense! You seem like a great guy and all. You just aren't him."
"No offense taken. I get it. I'm not sure how you are handling all of this so well. It must be tough talking with me like this." Beau replied. He wasn't quite sure how he was taking it so well either, to be honest. It helped that they hadn't stopped moving since he first arrived. Physical activity was a great way to keep the mind busy.
"It is a bit, to be honest. At a certain point, I just kind of got used to the ridiculous happening when magic is involved, you know? Although a bit more personal, this is just another Monday." Tonks chuckled lightly and Beau just nodded. He imagined that would be the case. If magic is an everyday occurrence, then the magical happening would not be as hard to adjust to.
"By the way," Beau had a question that had been at the back of his mind since they arrived, "Where are we?"
"Right! Wow, I keep forgetting the basics. Everyone knows this place. We're in Hogsmeade right outside of Hogwarts."
"Ahh, that's why some of the names seemed familiar," Beau said as they passed by Olivander's Wand Shop. Wands of various shapes and sizes were displayed prominently in its bay window. They all seemed so nondescript at the moment. It was incredible how much power could be channeled through them.
"Will I be allowed into Hogwarts, with the wards up and all?" Beau remembered from the books that Hogwarts was almost like a fortress with its multitude of protections in place.
"Yeah, sure. I think." As Tonks spoke, her brow furrowed slightly. "You know, maybe I should have sent a letter to Dumbledore first letting him know we were coming."
"Well, it's too late now, right? Might as well get this over with. I'll just hope I'm not evaporated on the spot." Beau grimaced at the thought.
The rest of the walk was relatively uneventful. The path to the castle was winding and beautiful. With various flora and fauna scattered across the vast landscape. He even saw, what looked like, flying horses off in the distance. Their screeches reached both of them from miles out. It hit home how out of place he was here. This world wasn't the world he grew up in.
Upon reaching the castle gates, Tonks stopped suddenly, and Beau followed suit.
"Wait here for a bit." She said and walked into the castle alone not giving him a chance to respond.
"This is fine' Beau thought, stranded alone in magical Britain. No way to get home. Well, he didn't even know where home was, to begin with. He watched as Tonks became smaller and smaller in the distance before entering the castle itself.
Looking behind him, he found a nice rock to sit down and waited. It was all he could do. Looking around, he was amazed at the size of the castle itself. Majestic felt like a good word for it. It's towering pillars and immaculate courtyard made him feel small and unimportant in comparison.
Sitting in place was a poor decision. His mind unconsciously wandered to thoughts of his two daughters. He would never see them again, would he? Even though he was alive now this wasn't his world. They wouldn't exist here. He shouldn't exist here.
He quickly stood up and began pacing. He couldn't get mired down in such thoughts. He spent all the time he could with them. They had grown up to be beautiful, intelligent, independent women. They would be fine without him there.
"I think you're here a few weeks early, young man." A high-pitched voice said, and to Beau's right was a very short man. He must have been only a few feet tall, up to Beau's knees.
"Hello, sir. A pleasure to meet you. The name's Beau." Beau held out his hand, which was met with the much smaller one of the man next to him. It never hurt to be polite.
"The pleasure is all mine!?" The man said back happily but also slightly confused as his tone shifted in the greeting.
"I'm afraid I'm not a student here. I just came with Tonks to meet with Dumbledore."
"Did you now?" The man said, shifting on his feet. "And what is it you need to discuss with the headmaster?"
"That is not something I should share with a stranger. Who are you?"
"I'm Professor Flitwick. I teach Charms here at Hogwarts." The man gave Beau a contemplative look as if looking for an answer to a question that had not yet been asked. "This certainly does seem to be an urgent issue. Come with me, Beau. I can take you to see Dumbledore."
So without any sign of Tonks still, Beau followed the man. He didn't have many options and the name Flitwick sounded familiar.
He was surprised at how spry the man was, given his size and age. Still adjusting to his legs as he was, Beau was finding it a challenge to keep up.
What an odd sight they must have made.
The castle was just as magical as described in the books. Towering ceilings, ever-changing staircases, moving suits of armor, and paintings where the residents were alive inside. A frightening thought.
"These paintings," Beau asked, his curiosity getting the better of him, "are what's inside alive? Do they have bodily autonomy and independent thoughts?"
Professor Flitwick didn't slow down when answering, but the words were spoken between heavy breaths, "That's an interesting school of thought that's still debated now. Some would say yes, and many others would say no. I try to treat them as I would any other person within the castle."
"Why would anyone create the paintings this way then? I can't remember fully, but wouldn't that be a dangerous use of magic, creating life?" Beau asked as they passed a painting of a man on a horse. He was wearing a heavy set of medieval armor Beau imagined would be hard to move in. He waved to them as they went. Beau waved back.
"That," Flitwick chuckled, "is a much better question for a philosopher than for myself. I know in the modern day, the witch or wizard often agrees to be turned into such a painting before death."
Beau thought that was a bit better, but it would be a horrible life still to be trapped in a painting. "I would never wish for such a thing. It feels like a poor man's immortality."
"Ahh, but it could still be immortality. That is enough for some. They are not forgotten if their painting hangs in a spot others can see." Flitwick said, stopping in front of an intimidating statue of a gargoyle.
"This is us. They should already be waiting." He said, rummaging in his pockets until finally pulling out a small slip of paper. "It's ridiculous how he keeps changing the password. Did he choose this? And he wonders how the students can figure it out so quickly." He grumbled under his breath.
"Sugar Quill," Flitwick said, reading from the small slip. With a grinding shudder, the gargoyle flipped around to reveal a winding staircase lit in orange and yellow hues cast by torches hanging on the wall.
"Security's not great, huh?" Beau asked as they began ascending the staircase.
"Well, it is a school. We don't want to create a prison, but rather a comfortable place that promotes learning. It's somehow still a work in progress."
Beau laughed at that. "You can never make a place perfect, can you? Sometimes you just have to make do with what's available."
It was absurd to think a school could have so much danger built into its design. Although, who knows if this all started as a school. Maybe this all started as some reclusive wizard's castle. Beau couldn't remember if the school's history was mentioned in the books.
At the top of the stairs was an old wooden door. Its arch came to a point at the top. Intricate carvings covered its surface in designs and languages Beau couldn't make out before the door swung open, and an elderly voice boomed out, "Come in!"
Entering the room, Beau was amazed at how similar it was to its description in the book. The room was circular, almost every inch of the walls covered in paintings of older men and women. Two staircases led up to a platform at the back of the room, and contraptions whose purpose was unknown were scattered about, occasionally making a tick or whistle that echoed throughout the space.
In the center of the room was a large wooden desk covered in a disorganized mess of papers. In the tall chair behind it was Dumbledore himself. He smiled at the two of them, his eyes brightening behind his half-moon spectacles. Perhaps that was just a trick of the light.
Sitting in a chair across from him was Tonks. She was looking towards the two of them, her left leg bouncing up and down in a steady rhythm.
"Come sit," Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the chair next to Tonks. Beau did so and was surprised when he sunk into the cushion. It had to be one of the most comfortable chairs he had ever had the pleasure of sitting in.
Beau turned back to see if Professor Flitwick would join them, but he had already left.
"I'm afraid Professor Flitwick is very busy preparing for the start of the school year. I'm sure you will get a chance to speak with him later." Dumbledore said, noticing how Beau looked back at the door.
"Let's start with introductions!" The man said, clapping his hands together. The sudden noise caused Tonks to jump in her chair.
"From what Miss Tonks has told me, you are having some memory issues, so let me introduce myself once more. I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but you may call me Dumbledore as many find my full name can be quite a mouthful." Dumbledore smiled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Beau Graham, although you seem to know me already."
"That I do, or I did." Dumbledore flicked his wand and one of the papers on his desk flew into his hands. "Let's see here, your name is Beau Moore. You were born to two muggle parents, both still alive and living in Bristol. Wonderful people from what's written down here. You were also a student here at Hogwarts, graduating last year. I believe you were hoping to join the Department of Mysteries as a curse breaker, but had some difficulty with the interview process. Is any of this sounding familiar?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes meeting Beaus over the top of the paper.
Beau shook his head. "No, I think I would remember if I could perform magic. How much have you told him?" He then turned to Tonks, who was looking toward the opposite end of the room. Without looking at him, she said, "Everything you told me so far." Her voice was breaking as she spoke.
Beau turned back towards Dumbledore, "Would you like me to share everything with you once more?"
"Please, if you don't mind. Share everything you can about the life you remember. It might give us some clues about how to fix the situation we find ourselves in."
So, Beau did. He shared everything he could remember that he thought could be relevant. His life, his hardships, his triumphs, all up until his death.
After he finished his story, the room was quiet. Perhaps he had shared a bit too much but even he wanted his life to be remembered, if only through this conversation.
"Would you mind if I looked through your memories? I would like to verify that nothing remains of the Beau we knew." Dumbledore finally spoke, asking to perform a very invasive act of magic.
"Go ahead." He acquiesced. "I told Tonks I would do what I can to help bring the Beau that belongs here back. Although, I must warn you that what I have told you is different from seeing it firsthand. I have done some horrible things at times of war."
"I am not a stranger to war and its aftermath," Dumbledore said softly. "To perform this magic you will just need to look into my eyes. I will handle the rest."
Beau did so and images of his life flashed in front of him. Vietnam, Betty, everything. His life was condensed down to just a few seconds and then it was over. His life was laid bare for Dumbledore to see and Dumbledore was looking much paler now leaning back into his chair.
"I had heard stories of Vietnam from colleagues in America. I had not realized the horrors that had truly taken place." Dumbledore mumbled, gathering his thoughts. "There are still a few things the two of us must discuss, but Miss Tonks you should head home. Get some rest. I will call for you once I have more information to share."
Tonks looked between the two of them, her eyes narrowing. "No, absolutely not. Not until I have some answers."
Beau glanced her way, "I'm not sure you can win this one Dumbledore. I don't mind having her here. Even if the outcome isn't what we hope, she deserves to know."
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his spectacles. "Then, before I go any further with treatment options, let's discuss Harry Potter."
And so, Beau began what would become a very long night of discussion between the three of them.