I blinked from where I was lounging on the cot of my cell as the lights suddenly went out. I frowned and sat up the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. As the lights came back on it caused me to jump to my feet at the sight of an old man standing in the middle of my cell. He had a long white beard with half moon glasses that held blue twinkling eyes behind them. He also was wearing a garish purple pinstripe suit that looked 50 years out of date.
"Ahh you're Ace i presume?" the man asked as he waved his hand the cell door opening soundlessly. "Walk with me?"
"I… what?" I questioned in shock and confusion
"Or stay it's your choice really" the man hummed as he walked out of the cell.
"Wha…" i questioned in confusion glancing at my cot before looking back at where the creepy old man had gone. I frowned as i yet again looked back at the bright white walls of my cell before glancing at where the creepy old man had gone.
"Huh…" i said before ultimately following after the man
I quickly moved down the corridor as i moved i kept glancing around warily waiting for a guard to appear and sound the alarm. However as i continued i saw no one and the other delinquents that i passed took no notice of me as if they were looking right through me.
Once i stepped out onto the sidewalk i could see the old man sitting on a nearby bench seemingly intent on unsticking two lemondrops he pulled out of a bag.
"Wise choice Ace" the man hummed as he looked up at me "Lemon drop?" he asked
"Yeah alright i guess I'll bite, who are you?" i said taking the lemon drop and popping it into my mouth.
"My Name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, most call me Dumbledore however and i am the headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and Wizardry. A school which you have the honor to attend. Though at School you would be known by your given name." the man, Dumbledore said calmly as if talking of the weather.
"Right…..so your a wack job…" I said flatly but since i was in no way keen on going back to my cell anytime soon, "but i'll bit if only for another lemon drop" not having had any candy in years.
Dumbledore handed over another lemon drop as he said, "excellent, here is your letter." he then handed over a thick creamy envelope that had my given name written on it in acid green ink. The paper was heavy and thick like parchment and had a red wax seal on the back.
"How did you?..." my tone confused no one at the facility having known what my real name was. I gave him a suspicious look before I turned envelope over and opened it up pulling out two sheets of parchment. One was a welcome letter to the school that Dumbledore had mentioned and the other was a list of supplies that I would need.
"For a crazy guy… this looks oddly legit…" i mumbled warily not liking he somehow know my real name and had gotten this much effort to convince me but honestly my curiosity was getting the best of me so, "lemondrop me" i said holding out my hand and was rather pleased when he gave me another one, that i quickly popped into my mouth before i stated, "alright i'll go, but you'll have to get me out of here" i pointed a thumb behind us. "And pay for this" i tapped the paper, not believing he could get me out of Juvie but curious to see what he'd do.
"I thought you might come so i've already taken the liberty of erasing the staffs memories of you ever being here. I have a foster home set up for you that you will be staying during school breaks." Dumbledore said as he stood up
"Course you have" i hummed unconvinced as I grabbed his bag of lemon drops and popped a few in my mouth, "lead on then" honestly thinking we wouldn't get very far but prison breaks we're always fun so might as well.
Dumbledore smiled before he hooked his arm through mine and i got the sudden feeling of being squeezed through a straw. The next instant we were landing on a gravel path outside a modest cottage.
Instantly i hit my knees gagging and choking before suddenly my throat was clear the lemon drops seemingly disappearing. "Sorry bout that should have warned you it can be a bit uncomfortable." Dumbledore hummed
"What the..where the….how the bloody hell did we end up here?" I spluttered as i looked around wildly
"Apparition my dear boy" dumbledore beamed
"Appa...what?" i asked as i caught my breathe and stumbled to my feet.
"A form of magical transportation." Dumbledore said, "Now come along." he hummed as he walked up the gravel path and opened the door walking in. I followed a foot or so behind him with uncertainty and as we entered the cottage i heard a woman saying loudly, "we cant take a foster child in! what about remus? And his...condition? It's too dangerous!"
"We need the extra income things are tight enough as it is!" a man said sharply
Dumbledore moved into what appeared to be a dining room and cleared his throat. I stepped up next to him my shoulders pulled back as i stared at the two occupants of the room my expression blank. So they only took me in for the money? Who was remus? What medical condition did the git have?
"Dumbledore!" the woman exclaimed in shock her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.
"Mrs. Lupin always a pleasure, mr, lupin good to see you. I just want to thank you for taking in young Liam here" dumbledore said patting my shoulder
The sound of my name being spoken out loud made my shoulder twitch no longer used to hearing it. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice or made no comment of it as he continued saying, "now then i don't want to overstay my welcome, i look forward to seeing you again mister liam and don't worry mrs. lupin everything has been taken care of for when your son arrives. I'll leave you all to it" and with that there was a loud popping sound as he suddenly vanished
I stared at the spot where dumbledore had been for several seconds before looking at the Lupins as i shifted uncomfortably.
"Well...i'll show you where you'll be sleeping….your trunk is already in your room…." said
"Trunk?..." i questioned in confusion
"Your school trunk, it was dropped off earlier this evening. I believe your things are already in it" Mrs. Lupin said
I nodded slowly as i said, "Lead on" hoping my jacket and dog tags were inside. Mrs. Lupin nodded and quickly moved down the hall to a room on the right. "You'll be sharing a room with remus….." she said as she walked in and gestured to a trunk on the left side of the room that was sitting at the foot of a twin bed.
"Alright." I said as i glanced around the room and nothing that there was only one bed in it before striding over to the trunk and pulling it open. Spotting my bag i grabbed it and quickly pulled out an old leather aviator jacket and a pair of silver dog tags which i instantly put around my neck. The jacket itself was rather big on me and I had to roll the sleeves up.
I glanced up as a tall skinny bot about my age walked into the room. He had sandy brown hair and...green? eyes.
"remus dear this is liam he'll be staying with us for a short time" mrs. Lupin explained to the boy, "you'll have to take turns using the bed for now"
I scowled at her words befpre saying, "I can sleep on the floor." wondering how long they would keep me here before deciding to kick me out.
"ummm… no… that's ok… you can have the bed…." the boy remus said shifting a bit at the door as if uncertain if he could come into his own room.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "look i'm obviously not wanted here. You can take the bloody bed for all i care." i hummed as i moved to the opposite side of the room and leaned against the wall.
"liam don't be rude, you are a guest in our house and I will not tolerate that kind of tone" mrs. Lupin said sharply, "now you boys behave" she then gave remus a kiss on the cheek before walking out.
I huffed looking at remus and not bothering to move from where i was leaning on the wall. As i stood there my hand went up and i started to play with the dog tags out of habit.
Remus shifted at the door uncomfortable, "umm… I really don't mind taking the floor tonight…"
I stared at him my expression blank before i said, "Alright, i'll take it tonight you can have it tomorrow." deciding not to argue with the git.
"umm… so… I'm.. umm remus…" he said introducing himself
I gave him a flat look, "I know, I was there when she introduced us to each other"
"Right…." remis saidakwardly blushing in embarrassment
"are you going to come into our room are just stand in the doorway with that confused look" I sighed in annoyance
Remus flushed more before moving into the room looking at Liam before he asked quietly, "So...where you from?"
"Around." I hummed vaguely
"oh… ummm… did… Dumbledore bring you here?... I thought I heard his voice…" remus said shifting a bit
"Yeah, he did." I said nodding
"so… your a wizard?... are you going to hogwarts?…." remus asked clearly trying to make conversation
"Apparently, just found out. I was in it for the lemon drops." I answered a slight smirk on my face as I held up the bag.
"oh…." remus said not seeming to know what to say to that before saying, "soo…. Your a muggleborn?"
"Are you trying to insult me? I've heard better to be honest." I said raising an eyebrow
"what? No! No! I'm not!" remus said quickly almost despite, "muggles are just what you call non magical folks. A muggleborn is someone who has muggle parents but has magic themselves"
"Oh well I guess I'm muggleborn than." I hummed having never known my mother so i wasn't sure if she had been a witch or not.
Remus seemed to sigh in relief before saying nervously, "if… ummm… you want… I have a book on hogwarts.. you can borrow it.."
I narrowed my eyes at him as i asked,"What do you want in return?" my tone suspicious.
"what? No.. nothing… I just… thought… you'd like to read it…" remus said quickly his voice nervous, "you don't have to… if you don't want… I just.. it's a good book…."
I looked at him for a long minute before i said, "I would like to borrow it…..if...you don't mind." the words seemingly odd on my tongue.
Remus seemed to brighten at that, "of course!" he said quickly before he moved over to a small bookshelf tripping slightly as he went and pulled out a book. He then moved over and handed to me, I took it looked at the title Hogwarts, A History by Bathilda Bagshot.
I flipped it open and looked through a few pages before looking back at Remus as i said, "Thanks,"
"You're welcome." Remus said quickly
I nodded before moving over to the wall and sitting down against it. I flipped the book open and slowly began reading the book. I needed to learn as much as I could about this school before i went. It served one well to know the area they were going to be in.