Geneticus

CHAPTER TWO: THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE

Morning broke right on schedule, and the rays of hazy sunlight pierced through the thin shade into Mulder's eyes. He blinked, gave a sigh, rolled over, reaching for Scully.

His hands met with cool sheets.

Suddenly, he was wide-awake. Where was he? A motel? He looked to the side to glimpse the alarm clock, but was surprised to see that there was no clock. Nor was there a light. In fact...he couldn't find any evidence of electricity at all.

What the...?

England. The train. Hagrid. It all came rushing back to him. Mulder dressed quickly, knowing that he'd be heading over to the nearby castle soon to meet with the man who'd contacted him.

There was a gentle knock at the door. "Mr. Mulder, sir? It's Rosmerta."

"Come on in."

The door opened, and indeed it was the woman from last night. "Good morning! I've brought you some breakfast."

"Thank you, ma'am, but you didn't need to go through all this trouble for me! I'm not even sure how I'll pay for this...you don't take American dollars, do you?"

Rosmerta smiled. "No, we have our own currency. But don't you fret about that. The Headmaster's taking care of your tab." She pushed the tray towards him. "Now eat, you! I won't let you leave this room without a properly filled belly!"

With a grin, Mulder began to eat.

An hour later, he was standing outside the Three Broomsticks, watching with an investigator's eyes as men and women scurried around the town, clad simply in robes of varying colors and states of wear. Many of them took a moment to stare at him; he supposed his jeans and leather jacket were terribly foreign to them.

"Oy! Mornin' there Mistah Muldah!"

"Hey Hagrid. Look, would you please just call me Mulder? That's what all my friends call me."

Hagrid chuckled. " All righ' then, Muldah. Dumbledore sent me ter bring yeh over ter Hogwarts now. Yeh ready then?"

"Lead on, Hagrid."

* * *

The castle was huge. He walked through the hallways, trailing Hagrid by a good distance, taking in all the bits of magic that jumped out at him. The pictures moved, their subjects whispering to each other undoubtedly about the stranger now in their presence. The knights in armor turned their heads to follow his path. And the students who were out and about studied him carefully, quite curious. He wondered if some had ever seen a Muggle before.

"Be careful with these stairs, Muldah," Hagrid advised. "They change themselves 'round every so often."

"I'll keep that in mind...are they on any sort of schedule?" Hagrid looked back at him, quite confused. "Never mind."

"Ah, well, Dumbledore's quarters are just over this way..." The giant man stepped over to a large, ugly gargoyle. He looked around, making sure there was no one to hear him, then muttered, "Chocolate Frog!"

The statue swung aside, revealing a spiral staircase that reached up into the darkness. "I'll let you finish the journey, Muldah. Just go up and knock on the door. Dumbledore'll be waitin' for yeh."

Mulder nodded. "I'll see you then, Hagrid. Thanks a lot." He walked onto the first step, and the stairs below him began to move, spiraling Mulder upwards to the top of the tower. Finally, Mulder found himself staring at a heavy wooden door. He raised his fist and knocked twice. It swung open.

"Well, I'll take your clothes and confused expression to mean that you are Mr. Fox Mulder, am I correct?"

Mulder simply stared at the man now standing before him. He was old. His white hair grew down both in front as a beard and back as an eccentric waterfall of hair. His robes were elegant, even a bit flamboyant, and the pointy hat matched. The man just stood there smiling, allowing Mulder to take it all in.

"Uh, yes, I'm Fox Mulder. And I take it you're Professor Albus Dumbledore?"

"Right you are, Fox!" Dumbledore said with a laugh. Mulder held back a shudder at the sound of his given name, but couldn't pluck up the courage to ask this imposing man to call him anything different. "Now, let's get that shocked look off your face; come on inside, son. I imagine you have many questions, and, luckily, I have many answers."

To his surprise, Mulder felt quite at home in Dumbledore's office. It was cluttered, filled with odd trinkets that spoke of an odd and fantastic life. On a stool in the corner sat an old, tattered, pointy hat. On a shelf was a bowl filled with...was it water? It seemed too thick and silvery to be water, but Mulder had no idea what else it could be. And behind the grand desk was a grand pet: a beautiful bird with bright red and gold plumage. He stepped towards it to admire it further.

"Ah, I see you've taken a liking to my phoenix. I'm not surprised. His name is Fawkes." Mulder looked up in surprised, and again Dumbledore chuckled. "F-A-W-K-E-S. I'm glad I got to see your reaction to that, though!"

"Did...did you say he's a phoenix? As in the bird that bursts into fire and..."

"And is reborn from the ashes. Yes, that's it exactly. That's the wonderful thing about you, Fox: you already know so much about our world...you just don't know it yet." He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down. Get comfortable. My schedule is clear and we have many things to discuss!"

Mulder sat. "I have so many questions, Professor...I wouldn't have any idea where to begin."

"Then allow me to ramble for a bit. I am a wizard. Everyone you have met since stepping onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters is also a wizard, or some sort of magical being. Magic does indeed exist. However, over the ages, we've discovered that those who do not have magical powers fear it. So we've distanced ourselves from the Muggles, truly removed ourselves from their -- your -- society. Everyone is much happier that way.

"Now, magic is not simple. Children aren't born with acute magical abilities. It's not until around age eleven that they are capable of performing even simple spells perfectly. That's what this school is for: training wizards in the art of witchcraft. However, not every wizard or witch in the world is born into the wizarding world. Sometimes, magically-inclined children are born to Muggle families. They are still invited to join Hogwarts, or another school like it in their geographic area, and if they believe and accept the invitation, their parents are brought into the world as well."

Dumbledore gestured towards an open book. A quill stood upon it, poised to write. "Whenever a magical child is born, that quill writes down their name and birthday. When they turn ten, the proper school of wizardry is informed, and, when they are eleven, they receive a letter that summer inviting them to attend that school the next fall.

"About a week ago now, the quill wrote down the name William S. Mulder from the United States." Mulder gasped. "I recognized the name Mulder, and looked through my files. I'd heard of your work; we keep track, you see, of the Muggles who find out anything about the wizarding world. And you, Former Special Agent Fox Mulder, have found out a good bit."

Dumbledore now stared into Mulder's eyes. "I also know of some of the dangers facing you at the moment. I know about those who wish to bring harm to your son. I cannot allow them to succeed. Your son is quite special, Fox. With proper upbringing and training, I believe he can become a very talented and important wizard."

Mulder took a deep breath. "Why? What about him makes him so special? I mean, aside from your allegation that he's a wizard."

"It is hard to explain, Fox, especially to someone who knows little about magic. But there are precious few wizards who have been considered 'great'. Four of them came together and founded this school. Others have been Headmasters or Ministers of Magic. Some have gone bad, worked for the darker side of magic.

"But before each one was born, there was a sign. The last time a sign like that appeared was over fifteen years ago, when a boy named Harry Potter was born. I expect you'll meet him while you're here."

"Was there a sign...did William's birth follow one of these signs?" Mulder wasn't sure if he should be relieved or frightened. If this man was right, William wasn't alien, but simply magical. He laughed inwardly. Exchanging one X-File for another, eh Mulder?

"I believe there was, Fox. I cannot explain what it was, but I believe that your son has been born to unite the Muggle and Wizarding worlds in a fight against a common enemy."

Mulder was surprised. "You know of the colonization plans?"

"No," Dumbledore frowned. "I'm talking about Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord our kind has ever seen. He is coming back into power, Fox. And if he succeeds, it will be the end of us all."

END CHAPTER TWO