» One year later
It was early June, and the two of us had just graduated from that terror of an educational institution. No more listening to the sounds of annoyingly immature children for five days of the week. It was bliss.
「 How does it feel to finally graduate from primary school? 」 I asked Harry, who was strutting his way back to the orphanage, alone.
Apparently, post-year six was the cutoff point where the assistant deemed you responsible enough to walk back home alone. Not that the orphanage was much of a home to begin with.
I could tell my brother was extremely pleased with the distinct lack of an adult chaperone dictating every move he made. Guess I didn't count in that regard.
"Pretty fucking awesome." He said, "Though I am definitely going to miss those bench privileges. Tell me I don't have to go back to the floor in year 7."
I snorted in amusement. In assemblies, everyone in years one to five had to sit on the cold hard floor in the hall, while year six had the 'honour' of sitting behind them all on an actual piece of furniture.
「 Not a chance. 」 I said.「 It's off to Hogwarts in September anyway, if we're eligible. 」
"Brilliant," Harry replied, grinning. "Don't worry Art, there's no way we aren't eligible - we can both do magic after all."
All it had taken was three honest years together and he could already read me like a book. I was actually proud.
I was worried that the Hogwarts letter wouldn't even show up to offer Harry a place there. It felt like an illogical thought but after the whole ordeal with Bellatrix and Co. I wasn't sure of anything anymore.
I didn't even know if there was a child of prophecy at this point; though Neville Longbottom was my best guess if there was.
「 I hope so. 」I said. 「 So you keep an eye out for that letter okay? It should be arriving somewhere in July. 」
"I will." He replied.
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» One month later
"Harry, the Matron is calling for you." The younger boy, Brian as he was called, beckoned to Harry from the open doorway. "C'mon."
My brother didn't even spare our visitor a glance, keeping his green eyes trained on the passage he was reading. "What does she want?" He asked.
"Erm, something about a letter?" Brian replied, his eyes finding the book's title. "Dr Jekeel and Mr Heed?" He said, butchering the pronunciations in the way only a five-year-old could manage.
"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde." Harry corrected, giving Brian a flat look that made him blush with a poorly concealed embarrassment.
Inwardly though, my brother was bouncing with excitement.
'Art! That's got to be it right? Our Hogwarts letter?'
「 Hopefully so, 」I replied.
Harry slammed the novella shut, dropping it onto his mattress and climbing out from his place underneath the topmost bunk.
"Lead the way, oh great illiterate one." He affirmed, gesturing for Brian to move back toward the room's entrance.
Brian smiled toothily, clearly not fully understanding what my brother had said. He recognised the word 'great' though.
I watched as the kid bounded down the hallway and led us out of the dormitory's section of the building.
A minute later we joined the Matron in the lobby where she was waiting for us, letter in hand. There was, to my surprise, another person waiting for us beside her. Someone I recognised immediately.
An old, stern-looking woman stood next to the matron, her attire crisp and formal.
The Matron introduced the visitor sniffily. "Harry, this is Professor Minerva McGonagall. She's come here today to ensure that this letter reaches you personally."
She held out the letter to pass it on to Harry. He took it, cueing the matron to walk past him and usher Brian away; leaving Harry and the newcomer alone in the lobby.
'Is she…?' Asked Harry, trailing off as he stared at McGonagall's pointed witch-esque hat.
「 I think so - she's probably here as a guide. 」I answered, trying to sound thoughtful as I knew who the visitor was immediately.「 We are in a muggle orphanage after all. 」
'Can she be trusted?' He asked, his eyes hardening ever so slightly.
I reflexively wanted to tell him no; she could definitely not be trusted.
What would happen if Harry told her about me?
I didn't know too much about magic beyond what the stories had described - what if the woman tried to exorcise me or attempt something to that effect?
「 That remains to be seen. 」I said, opting for what could be considered a half-truth at best.「 Err on the side of caution for now. 」
Harry stared at the tall woman suspiciously, before breaking the seal on the envelope and flipping it open. My brother then reached inside and pulled out the parchment that was contained within.
He unfurled the letter, his eyes widening with a poorly concealed glee as they skimmed the first line.
" HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY "
My brother's gaze snapped up, his eyes burning with an intense curiosity.
"This… Is this real?" He demanded, staring up into the woman's eyes; his searching gaze passing through her sharp rectangular glasses.
She and I stared back at him.
"I assure you Mr Potter, it is quite real." She replied, "As is magic for that matter."
「 Flinch. 」I ordered, sending Harry some instructions.「 Act defensive too, but don't lay it on too thick or she might get the wrong idea. 」
Now I did not doubt my brother's acting ability, but sometimes Harry didn't know how to respond convincingly when under pressure. But he was up against someone who had spent decades teaching dishonest teenagers - and she would have noticed something was wrong if I hadn't helped direct him.
I felt my brother's acknowledgement through our connection.
Harry flinched at her declaration.
"I know magic's real." He mumbled defensively, glancing back at the letter and skim-reading it. "That makes you a witch then, right?"
I watched as his gaze lingered on the bottommost signature.
" Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. "
"And you a wizard." She replied, the faintest of smiles crossing her stern-looking face. "Would you be more at ease after seeing some proof?"
The woman had clearly noticed my brother's apparent unease.
Harry paused, his eyes flickering over the letter one more time before stowing the letter away in his pocket and nodding slowly.
The woman flicked her arm sharply, and the both of us watched as a wand shot out of her sleeve and landed in her palm.
The wood it was made from was a light brown, with dark waves covering its thin surface. I hazarded a guess that it was somewhere around nine inches long.
Harry stared at it longingly - he couldn't help himself. Ever since I had told him about wands and the purpose they served, he had wanted one desperately.
She twirled the tip of her wand, causing a cascade of multicoloured lilies to spew from the tip and hang in the air above us.
I could sense the nature behind her magic, though it was difficult to do so due to how refined it felt. Harry's and mine seemed practically feral in comparison.
『 Lilies. 』I thought absently, wondering if her choice of flora was purposeful or not.
My brother's eyes widened in shock at the vibrant display she had put on for him.
I could have sworn I almost saw the ghost of a satisfied smirk flash across the elder woman's face before she vanished the array with a single flick of her wand.
Harry opened his mouth and began sending her a rapid series of questions.
I tuned out their conversation, instead focusing on the phantom feeling that McGonagall's magic had left behind.
It was partially indescribable - definitely far harder to pin down a proper comparison for that than with Harry's. It felt restrained - maybe because it was wand magic?
I mulled it over carefully.『 Systematically restrained, yet undeniably free. Wild inwardly, yet tame outwardly. And what is this outdoorsy feeling I keep getting? 』I frowned, confused.『 Is it because she summoned flowers? 』
I was broken from my brooding as Harry heard McGonagall utter a sentence I would never have expected from the older woman. Nor from anyone for that matter.
"As your previous guardians didn't seem fit to inform you, it falls on me to do so instead. Your mother, Lily Potter, is still among the living."
I blanked.
Harry did too.
McGonagall looked down at Harry sadly. "She is not, however, in her right state of mind right now. Nor will she likely ever be again. I'm sorry Mr Potter."
'Art, you said she was dead, so how…?'
「 I don't- 」I stuttered, at a complete loss for words. Lily was still alive? Why hadn't the Death Eaters killed her?「 I mean - I didn't actually see her die. I just thought that there was no chance they would. You know… Leave her alive. 」
My brother didn't reply.
"Where?" Harry asked, his green eyes flaring. "Where is she?"
"Mrs Potter has been held in St. Mungo's hospital for magical maladies and injuries for the past decade. She's also the reason I am here today; as I thought you would've liked to meet her." McGonagall's tone was tentative, her last statement sounding more like a question than anything else.
"Of course I do," Harry whispered, his once defiant eyes hitting the ground, flames suitably doused by the woman's unexpected tenderness. "Please, can you take me to her?"
"Of course Mr Potter," McGonagall replied softly. "If you'll take my arm?"
Harry reached out slowly, only to be forcefully yanked away from McGonagall by way of the Matron's firm hands.
"Harry will most certainly not be going anywhere with you Madam - I expected better behaviour from someone of your standing. And what's this nonsense I'm hearing about a magical hospital?"
The elder woman's nostrils flared in annoyance, and she once again retrieved her wand from her sleeve before brandishing it at the suspicious Matron.
A faint whisp of pale light shot out from the tip of McGonagall's wand and hit the unimpressed Matron square in the forehead, causing her grip on Harry to slacken and her eyes to glaze over unnaturally.
Harry pulled away from the subdued woman quickly, his gaze switching between the now submissive Matron and McGonagall's outstretched wand.
"You will forget about our interaction," Ordered the stern-looking witch calmly. "You will not question Harry's absence from the orphanage today and you will go about your business as usual."
"I will forget about our interaction. I will not question Harry's absence from the orphanage today and I will go about my business as usual." The Matron droned in reply, before blinking in confusion. She then turned around and exited back from whence she came, disappearing into the hallway.
"My arm Harry." The witch repeated, holding out the appendage for my brother to grasp onto.
He didn't answer, still staring after the Matron in shock.
「 Harry? 」I asked.
The boy started, quickly turning back to McGonagall and placing a hesitant hand on her outstretched forearm.
She glanced down at my brother to visually confirm his stable attachment to her person.
Then, the woman's magic soared and the world around us suddenly twisted away; leaving behind an empty lobby in our wake.
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