Michael Brown

Nothing, nothing, nothing, not... wait, was that a bug?!... No, just a speck of dust. Nothing, nothing, nothing...

The first weeks of vacation proved to be surprisingly relaxing. After a year of magical intrigues and ministry enforcers, simply lazing around, watching random cartoons and TV series and looking for bugs planted by my parents turned out to be quite enjoyable, as strange as it sounded. I guessed that after dealing with something for over a decade, you get used to it, no matter how scary it is? Wait, did that mean I would eventually get used to the tyranny of the Ministry? Quite a disturbing thought.

I was currently in the middle of the last of the activities I mentioned, completing my usual morning routine of looking for bugs by searching the bookcase in the corner of my room. Looking for bugs was actually quite a time-consuming process, taking up most of my typical morning, but it was a necessary activity. After all, becoming complacent would only make it easier for the government to know my secrets. Normally I would have assumed that they already knew most of them, being the creators of my artificial mind and all that, but things changed recently.

For the first time in my life I had a secret that was actually mine to keep.

As far as I was aware, neither the Muggle government nor the Ministry knew about Tom's resurrection so far, which was something I wanted to keep going for as long as possible. Tom, newly resurrected and alone, was in a very difficult spot at the moment, so I had to be careful not to reveal any details about his situation. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I would soon be visited by the only person aware of my relationship with the Heir of Slytherin, so I needed to be extra careful today.

As per our previous agreement, Luna was supposed to arrive at my house today to spend a week with my family. It would allow her to learn more about Muggle culture while also having a good time, which I thought was a very good idea. I, of course, would in return spend the week with Luna and her dad, learning about various magical creatures and befriending a rebel from the previous generation, namely Xenophilius. I was, of course, very excited, both about spending time with Luna and getting to know Xenophilius, but it posed a serious security risk. That was why I spent the entire morning looking for any signs of tampering, hoping to finish before Luna's arrival.

Such a job would normally be quite boring, as it basically consisted of rummaging through my own stuff every day, but fortunately I recently gained a welcome, albeit unexpected, companion who made the whole activity more bearable for me.

"HAVE YOU CHECKED THE LOWEST SHELF OF YOUR WOODEN STRUCTURE DESIGNED FOR STORING PAPER MEDIA OF KNOWLEDGE? IT IS THE MOST OPTIMAL PLACE TO HIDE A MECHANICAL DEVICE CREATED BY HUMANS TO EAVESDROP ON OTHER HUMANS." A disturbingly deep voice came from my left. When I looked in that direction, I noticed my recorder hovering next to me, seemingly looking at my bookcase despite not having any eyes.

"I did, but thank you for asking." I replied with some gratitude in my voice. While I would never be careless enough to leave the lowest bookshelf unchecked, it was nice to have someone, well, something, double-check my work.

While some might have considered this scene strange, for me it became surprisingly normal as of late.

My voice recorder began talking to me about a week after I returned home for summer vacation, seemingly gaining a consciousness of its own. At first I was quite surprised by the event, talking recorder and all, but eventually I just assumed it was one of those "magical artifacts that gain consciousness over time" things, like Arthur Weasley's car... only, you know, not malicious and feral. After all, I created it, so as the creator I shouldn't be in any danger, right?

It made my usual boring chores, such as looking for bugs or looking up at the sky to see glitches in the program, much more enjoyable. It even had a useful habit of disappearing from view when someone approached, which was very convenient, especially with my family often entering my room unannounced. Still, it had some... quirks...

"YOU ARE WELCOME" Recorder replied. For a moment it was silent, as if thinking of something, but soon it continued, its voice surprisingly eager "WHILE YOUR ACTIONS MEANT TO ASSURE YOUR SECURITY AND HEALTH ARE COMMENDABLE, IT IS MY OPINION THAT YOUR BEST OPTION WOULD BE TO MAKE A PACT WITH ME AND ACCEPT ME AS YOUR PATRON. IF YOU DID THAT, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BEING INVIGILATED BY THE HUMAN ORDER ORGANIZATION"

"Maybe later? Luna will be arriving soon and I want to make sure my room is clean." I replied absentmindedly, still searching. Although it was a bit rude not to focus on its words, the Recorder had already broached the subject many times.

For some reason, it was constantly trying to make me swear allegiance, tempting me with power and "forbidden knowledge". I was apparently the perfect candidate or something like that, so it was trying very hard to convince me. At this point it was becoming a bit tiresome, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Since the recorder had become a sentient artifact, I wasn't really comfortable with changing its personality for moral reasons, so I had no choice but to bear with it. Well, it wasn't that bad and I finally had someone to talk to during the summer vacation, so I wasn't really complaining.

I had the urge to call it Recorder-kun instead of simply Recorder, but I wasn't sure if it would like it.

"YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MANIPULATE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THIS UNIVERSE, BENDING REALITY TO YOUR WILL. YOU WILL SHAPE THE STARS AND TRAVEL THROUGH THE VOID, SPREADING MY INFLUENCE TO THE DARKEST CORNERS OF CREATION" The recorder suggested, still trying to convince me. I actually admired its persistence. It was quite impressive.

"Sure, sounds fun." I said distractedly, not really listening to it at this point. I was finally done with my daily bug check, but I had to check everything again, given that I was to receive important guests today. After spending another ten minutes observing my room, looking for a place I could have missed, I finally smiled and nodded, satisfied with my work.

Just in time, because as soon as I finished, I heard a distant sound of a bell coming from downstairs, a clear signal that someone had appeared at our front door. As I walked down the stairs, excited to meet our guests, I saw Agent Mother standing in front of the open door with slightly widened eyes, looking at the newcomers in mute wonder.

Across from her stood two people. One of them was familiar to me, as she was a teenage blonde with wide blue eyes. She was wearing a bright yellow sweater and blue jeans. There was a large, pointy hat on her head, full of various flowers and trinkets, which were most likely meant to scare away/attract some magical creatures. She was, of course, Luna, my best friend and the person I had invited to spend time with me.

The second person was less familiar, as he was a blond-haired middle-aged man wearing a bright red suit and a tall top hat. He stood in front of my mother with a large bouquet of unknown flowers in his hands, giving her a huge smile. Although I had not met the man before, it was obvious who he was...

"Good morning. You must be Michael Brown's mother. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Xenophilius Lovegood." The man announced softly, taking off his hat and handing my mother flowers. She took them, still somewhat shocked by the attires worn by the newcomers.

I smiled. The Lovegoods were finally here.

It's time for the PoA arc to start. The first few chapters of this arc will be mostly about summer activities: Michael and Luna spending some time together, Michael and Tom spending some time together and Tom doing, well, you will see in a few chapters...