Chapter Two
Ginny had forgotten all about the stranger that had been in front of her, interfering with the most important day of her life, but Arthur and the twins hadn't. To Arthur, he was a fascinating individual. The man was dressed strangely, wearing a shirt that he believed that Dumbledore might have liked. It was full of color and light and somehow reminded him of some distant tropical island. And he was wearing strange slacks, jeans he believed they were called. Those pants had pegged him as an American from the start. People from the Colonies coming to Diagon Alley was a rare event indeed, but what captured his attention was his request to have a wand made, not merely selecting one from what was considered the best wand maker in the world.
The man turned to Arthur and with a lazy smile, he glanced at the youngster who was all but bouncing off of the walls while the shopkeeper tried to complete his measurement.
"She must be a handful," he said as the young one acted like she was being tickled each time Ollivander came near her to measure her wand arm.
"Oh, yes, she is," Arthur responded gaily. "She's my baby girl and today is wand fitting day and we all know how important that is for young ones." The father smiled with obvious pride. "Mister…" he prompted.
"Alexander Harris," the mand replied. "At your service."
"Hello sir, I am Arthur Weasley," he cheerfully said. "And these are my boys Fred and George and of course by baby daughter, Ginevre."
"Merlin! You are an American," George said.
"We've never seen one before," Fred said.
"…Until now," finished George.
Alexander shook his head, amused by the twins. "Born and raised in Southern California."
"There's a wizarding community in California?" asked a curious Arthur.
"There are a lot of things in Southern Cali, but I grew up in a non-wizarding community."
Arthur perked up. "You grew up in muggle territory?" he asked excitedly.
Behind them, part of the store caught fire which was quickly put out by the who was muttering that that wasn't the correct wand.
"Yes, I grew up in a, I can't say non-magical community, but were both magical and non-magical people lived together."
"But the Statute of Secrecy! Muggles aren't supposed to know about magic," said a surprised George.
"It really didn't come up," muttered Alexander, "not in a way that you mean. Too much crap was going on in good old Sunnydale."
"Yes, I've heard of American violence in their towns and villages,"
Arthur solemnly nodded to which Alexander just laughed. "You have no idea."
"And they didn't try to burn you at the stake like they did those people at plym stone?" asked a somewhat surprised Fred. "I thought muggles loved to burn witches and wizards all the time."
Again, Mister Harris laughed. "Those days are long, long gone, err, for the most part," once more remembering good old Sunnydale. "But I think you are referring to Plymouth Rock, and that wasn't where the burnings occurred. That happened somewhere else and those who were burned weren't witches or wizards although many were accused of it by unscrupulous people interested in power, not to mention playing off on other's fear for personal gain, and let's not forget general insanity."
"Sorry," George responded being somewhat confused and embarrassed. "We don't know that much about American colonial history."
"I can tell," Harris answered but not unkindly.
Arthur jumped in. He didn't want the twins to unintentionally insult Mr. Harris. "I've taught them as much as I knew which I admit isn't very much. But I am ecstatic to know that magical and muggles can live together in peace. I've always believed in the equality of both, although I confess that I'm in the minority among my peers." He smiled at his understated comment. The Ministry didn't even think of muggles other than by some abstract concept. In truth, many in the Ministry and in the community wished they could just go away and never come back. But he wasn't one of them which wasn't to say that he wasn't somewhat afraid of them. "I do however have a question, if you would be so kind to answer." Now, the red-haired father looked hesitant. "Do you know much about muggle technology? I mean, did you ever use things like the more modern-looking automobiles they seem so fond of, or the tele with those amazing black and white moving pictures?"
"Black and white moving pictures?" mouthed Alexander. He was about to give a sarcastic retort when he stopped. The man looked so excited and sincerely innocent that Harris couldn't get the cutting remark out of his mouth. "Er, yes. I use it all of the time, all of my life." Behind him a small counter was blown to bits. Seconds later it was repaired by the nonchalant shopkeeper who was muttering about the wrong wand again. "Why do you ask?"
Arthur puffed up with obvious pride. "I have an automobile myself," he announced proudly. With his wand, he produced an image of a vintage car that looked like it was built in the late forties' early fifties. "The family and me have wonderful Sunday drives. Had it for about six years now."
"A magically enhanced car," assumed Harris. It looked a lot older than he was.
"Naturally. It's registered and everything. All legal. Strict Ministry rules and all that rot," he laughed. "Do you, perhaps own a car. I hear that most muggles have one. which I expect you have, coming from a muggle village as such?"
Yes, Mr. Weasley, I have a one at my home just outside of London. It's a modified Lexus 520T built to European specifications. It was built by non-magicals."
The elder Wesley started beaming. "I would love to see it one day," he said wispily. "And do you use the tele sometimes to talk to your muggle friends?"
To his surprise Alexander's demeaner changed just enough so that he'd noticed. "Mister Weasley, I have to correct you on something. You should say non-magical, or no-mags when you speak about non-magical people. The word 'muggle' may not seem an insult to you, but it is a derogatory that many of my friends would not react well to." Harris' tone was polite, but it carried a sternness that Arthur didn't fail to catch.
"I'm sorry," he said, and Harris saw that he really meant it. it was just that he hadn't thought of it that way. "We always use the term. I didn't think it to be insulting to no-mags. If it is, then I am dreadfully sorry."
"You don't speak to non-magical people, so you would not know it is a form of insult. The very word sounds derogatory. But you should tell your friends. If you think about it, it makes you sound like a different species and I don't know if that's a good thing. It separates us more."
Arthur hadn't thought about it in those terms before. now, however as he did, he could see the sense of it. "I will tell them, but I don't believe that they'll listen," he muttered. "But I will."
"Do you know lots of no-mags, Mister Harris?" asked Fred while all of the duck from flying pieces shrapnel from the latest explosion from his wand -waving sister.
Standing up, the American smiled. Gnny was just like Dawn's baby girl. Thinking about that, something else came to him. He used to hate being called 'Mister Harris'. Now that he was older, it didn't bother him at all. He wasn't his father. Good grief, he was getting old! But to answer the boy's question… "Quite a few, Fred. Most of my friends don't have any magical abilities as you understand said abilities."
George perked up as it hit him. "You can tell us apart!"
"Yep, it's obvious," Alexander responded while quirking an eyebrow.
"How?" asked George/
"It's obvious, once you know how," Alex smirked which the twins to mean that he wasn't about to tell them. Both of them glanced at each other in excitement.
"Our mother has trouble telling us apart. That means this…"
"…Is a challenge!" both twins said.
"We shouldn't disturb Mr. Harris anymore," Arthur said. He was still feeling a little uncomfortable about the 'muggle' comment. He didn't know the man and he didn't want to insult him any more than he thought he'd already had.
Alexander noticed his change. "That's okay boys, I will enjoy the challenge. You've thrown the gauntlet. I can only pick it up."
Both the boys looked at each other. "Challenge accepted."
"Now, boys…" said a worried Arthur Wesley.
Alexander struggled not to roll his eyes. Arthur hadn't done anything wrong and now he exhibited all the signs that a puppy being yelled at would. "Arthur, I want to show you something," Alexander said as he pulled out a small rectangular box. "This is my cell phone, or tele as you would call it." He handed to small thin boxlike piece of no-mag technology to Arthur who gingerly grabbed it from Harris' hand. "It's a Samsung J12 PERX. It's one of the latest phones in communications technology. But it's not the most expensive, couldn't afford that," he muttered. "That's the S series, little too expensive for my taste."
Some of the explanation went over Arthur's head but he got the gist of it. The patriarch handled the small box carefully, flipping it over a few times trying to understand exactly what he was looking at.
"This is how it works. If you turn it over so that the black glasses facing you and you move your hand over to the edge you will feel a series of three buttons. Press the top button."
Arthur's curiosity getting the better of him as it so often did, pressed the small thin button. Immediately, the glass lit up into a crystal-clear image of Alexander's name and his title. Alexander, with his finger, then moved in it a series of unusual patterns on with his finger across the screen. The image then changed into a series of around, multicolored symbols with small identifiers underneath suspended on a blue background.
"What is this?" gasped the man. The images were so clear despite his small size, that he could barely believe it. "This can't be a phone! It must be an American magical device! It's too small and has no wire connections and has pictures on it!"
"I will admit that this is a more advanced version of anything that you can find at the regular no-mag stores now." He didn't bother to mention that this type of phone wouldn't be available for about thirty years as he didn't feel like explaining that little bit of information. "But this will rapidly become a common device used by every normal in the world. It will become the most used wireless device across the world. A lot of people these days have or will have a variation of it with more people being added every day. If you went to a store, you would find bigger, blockier versions and they won't have all the features this one has; however, they're getting there. Now Arthur, if you flip it around, you'll notice that no matter what position you put it in, the icons will flip to the top."
Arthur did so and he was stunned by the ability of the icons the flip to whatever position that was best facing up. Fred and George crowded around the father looking over shoulders at this amazing sight. "And it's not magic? It has t be. This is impossible without magic!"
"No-mags have developed lots of things without magic. They call it advanced mechanics."
"Again, amazing! And you say this the Tele-phone?
"It's much more than a phone. It has numerous functions and it would be better described as an all-in-one communications and entertainment device." Alex pointed to the screen. "Each of those little round icons can do something different. For example, I can find out about the weather. I have photographs of all of my friends and places that I've been. It has a built-in camera that can take still picture or vides."
"What is video?" asked George.
"Moving pictures–in color," explained Alexander. And here he touched the icon name 'photos' and dozens of photographs appeared on the screen. Xander quickly showed Arthur how to slide his finger over the screen to change images. To the stunned the light of all three Wesleys, Alex then instructed him how to expand and contract the images on the screen. All three were surprised by the clarity and the beauty of the overall photographs. A short video of three women, a blonde, a brunette and one red-head appeared onscreen at a restaurant seating and laughing together. The appeared in their early thirties and were gulping food down like there was no tomorrow. Another woman appeared with two little children. All of them looked like the blonde. The family resemblance was impossible to miss.
"This has to be magic," exclaimed Fred while George nodded enthusiastically.
"No, it's technology," says Alexander. You would be shocked by the things that regular people can do, but my Samsung does have a slight magical influence that I placed on it so that it would be compatible with other phones around the world. Plus, I have both magical and non-magical security in case someone tries to steal it. Trust me, there are people in both worlds that would be interested in this little baby. Had to do that because this is more advanced than anything else around," he cryptically answered. "And this green icon here is the phone part." He touched the green symbol and immediately a series of numbers came up. "With this I can call anybody in the world and talk to them. And communication in instant so it sounds like we're talking to each other in the same room. Invoices perfectly clear. It can send and receive messages both written and in something called voice-mail. It can find people's contacts and I can recall the information and hit just one button to phone. Sadly, the internet isn't up to par yet here."
"What is an internet?"
"I'll have to show you one day. It's easier to show you rather than try to explain it."
Speaking of which, he would have to connect his computers and phone to the net of his true home. A mystical commlink would do nicely. He'd have to research this to make sure some unwanted entity of force didn't try to hitch a ride to this world. This place had enough trouble coming down the pike for him to inadvertently adding to it.
Arthur, perhaps for the tenth time examined the small 'phone' with intense interest. "How does it work? Non-magical technology shouldn't be able to do the things that you've just showed us. Where are the gears? Where is the wiring? It's impossible for a phone to be this small."
Alexander just laughed. "If I explained it to you, you would have no idea what I was talking about. It will say this. The non-magicals use technology the same way you use magic. And we're becoming more advanced every day. To you, technology is magic, no-mag magic." The men heard a sizzling sound and then the scream of the delight just as all four of them ducked once more. Black smoke filled the store just as the shopkeeper snatched the latest wand from Ginny's hand. "I think he's doing that on purpose."
Arthur, Fred, and George thought about that, and then agreed with Alex. "It's so exciting for the first-years to get their wands. I think he's just adding a little spice to the excitement. I also think it gives him a bit of a thrill to see their faces when something happens. It enhances the quest to adulthood."
"I can see that. But blowing up stuff's also fun. In any case, here's my card. There's no way I will able to explain how this phone works to you in a way that you can fully understand, at least not here. But I can show you a lot of other pieces of non-magical technology that you've probably never seen before, and I will be to explain those to you. Some of it, you will be able to take apart and I can show you exactly what's in them and probably," he added, "show you how to put them back together again. All of it will work in the presence of magic so you won't have any problems there. Should be fun."
"Non-magical technology doesn't work in our community," George complained.
"It's been proven that magic interferes with no-mag science," said Fred.
Harris stared at them both as he tried to decide if he should share his secret.
"Boys, Mister Weasley, I'll tell you a secret. Magic or rather bio-magic that you use does have what is called an electromagnetic effect on non-magical technology. But its minimal and most products today aren't affected. But here in your communities, there are wards and spells in place to make sure that it doesn't work. I think it's done to keep our two worlds separate and to continually prove that magic is superior to anything non-magicals could possibly create. As for myself, well, I've gotten around those wards." He looked knowingly at Arthur. "Why are they doing that?" he wondered out loud. "Something you should think about."
Arthur looked as if he had just received the greatest gift Christmas gift in the world ever. At the same time he looked pensive. Why would the ministry do that? It was a foolish thought. He knew exactly why the old foggies would do such a thing. He couldn't help it, the thought of them doing such a thing hurt him. "I would be delighted to come to your shop one day, as soon as its open."
"I look forward to seeing you there," Alexander responded. "I have to go now. Things to do, places to be. I'll see you again," he said nodding to all three men. "Please tell Ginny that I hope she truly enjoys her new wand...when she finally finds one, that is."
"Goodbye," waved Arthur as the American left the store. He glanced at the card.
Xander's Magic Shop and Curiosities. Proprietor Alexander Harris, Arts Master.
A few seconds later, he heard Ginny's squeal of delight and he smiled.
"I found my wand!" she yelled. The with the up most decorum that she could muster, she commanded, "Pay the nice man please, father!"