Soul Weaver

“So, your birthday is in a few days?” Celeste asked Harry as they exited the house.

“Yeah, I suppose I’ll be here for it … unless you decide to come to England in the next few hours,” he said in a hopeful tone.

“Nice try,” she said in a good-natured tone as he followed along beside her to the gate. “You will have to understand: I can’t just up and leave, I have a life here and my family is here …” she informed. “You’ll have to do better than that to get me back to England,” she challenged.

“Why did you leave?” Harry asked. “I know that the Defense against the Dark Arts job is cursed. Dumbledore said he hadn’t had a teacher stay for more than a year. I am just curious; what made you leave?”

She got a thoughtful expression on her face and then frowned slightly. She did not look over at him as they walked and he wondered if he might have been too forward asking that question.

“Albus didn’t explain about him hiring me or why I left?” she questioned.

“No, he didn’t say,” Harry answered.

“Well, I was really only hired for a year. It was always my plan to teach at Hogwarts for just one year. Though I did consider staying. I very seriously considered it,” she elaborated and paused a moment in thought before she continued. “It didn’t matter regardless because something came up and I had to leave. I decided it was better for me and my own personal situation if I didn’t go back,” she finished and glanced over at him as they continued to walk.

He nodded and wondered what had happened to make her not want to return to Hogwarts as a teacher. He supposed it was as she said - her life was here in America, not in Britain. It could not be an easy thing to move so far away from everything and everyone you knew.

“I just realized that if you had stayed at Hogwarts, you would have been my professor,” he said. “I’m sure I would have preferred you to Quirrell, especially after he turned out to be a follower of Voldemort,” he decided, a bit annoyed to be remembering his first year and his first Defense against the Dark Arts professor.

Celeste was staring at him as if he had just cursed her; her face went very pale and her eyes widened. He would even have said her expression was pained.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked with worry.

“I … no … it’s alright,” she replied stiffly and waved a hand. “I guess a lot has happened over there since I’ve been away,” she answered. “Who was your Defense teacher this past school year anyway?” she asked.

Harry managed to choke out, “Snape” in answer to her question. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. She closed it hastily and proceeded to get a very angry expression. She stopped walking and stared at him a moment as if she were searching for what she wanted to say. It took a few moments, but she eventually soothed her face to be calm and composed.

“Harry, there is something I need to know about your relationship with Albus Dumbledore,” she announced unexpectedly. He had noticed she could change the topic of discussion quite quickly. “Well, truthfully there are a lot of somethings I want to know, but right now I’d like to find out about you and Dumbledore and why he would send you to me,” she persisted.

Harry was confused, since he had already explained at the house why he had come to America to meet her.

“I don’t understand,” Harry said awkwardly.

“What I mean is, he must have trusted you greatly … I know that sounds stupid for me to say, considering who you are,” she stated as they continued to walk along. “I understand the part about him wanting me to come back to England and I even get it that he might want me to give you a few lessons in magic,” she went on.

She seemed to be ready to continue but stopped. Her expression was one of concern and worry as she stared into his eyes.

“Let me speak frankly with you,” she decided and studied his eyes for a second or two before she continued.

“You being here puts my family and me in danger, even my whole town,” she began. “I know Albus well enough to be certain he wouldn’t do that unless he considered you capable of guarding certain information with your life,” she suggested. “There are things that you can never share with anyone about Westbrook and even things about my family … but … it’s more complicated that than really. It’s not so easy for me to just up and return to England, especially with a war going on,” Celeste explained. She seemed torn, as if she wanted to say more but either would not or could not.

“Look,” Harry said stiffly. “I know better than anyone that just knowing me or associating with me puts people’s lives in danger,” he asserted passionately. “Please believe me when I say it’s the last thing I want to do … I came here because Dumbledore asked me to, I had to do it for him. He meant the world to me; he was more than just my Headmaster … he was my friend. If this was important to him then I would have come here anyway, regardless of what anyone here will say or do,” he finished in the same passionate tone.

Again she was staring into his eyes and it unsettled him the way she did it. He could not quite explain why, but it was like she was trying to figure something out by just looking in his eyes.

A moment later she gave a sigh and nodded her head. She took a further moment to consider what she wanted to say before she spoke again.

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘the eyes are a window to the soul’?” she asked gently. Harry had not really expected this unusual question.

“Erm … yeah, I think so,” Harry replied, not quite sure why she would ask that. It made him think about what people were always saying about him. “People tell me that I have my mother’s eyes. They say I look like my father but have my mum’s eyes,” he informed and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know what that would say about my soul,” he added.

Celeste smiled and studied his eyes a moment longer before she resumed.

“I suspect if it’s true then all I can say is, yes, I believe you and that you have no desire to put anyone in danger … I hope you know, surely you must, why I ask these questions. It’s not an easy thing to do … to trust someone you’ve just met. Especially when I have so much to lose if I did consider going back,” she insisted somberly.

“I know what you are talking about … my parents trusted someone and …” Harry stopped because that old emotion welled up in him, reminding him of everything he had lost at the age of one.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” she said gently, seeing his discomfort. “It’s really stupid of me to say these things to you. After everything you have been through and what you have lost,” she submitted. “We are in similar positions, I think. You’ve lost a lot and can lose so much more … I think I know what you are feeling and have been through. Please accept that I don’t mean to offend you; I just need to be sure you understand that I have just as much to lose as you do,” she expressed.

“I do understand,” Harry began. “If you want to know something about me, I’ve been told I have a ‘saving people’ thing and it tends to get me into trouble,” he admitted a bit sheepishly. “I don’t know how I really stack up with magic. I would say I’m just average, but I’ve also been told I’m not very good at keeping my mind closed to external magical invasion,” he informed; he said the last part a bit sarcastically.

“Hmm … that sounds like either some Occlumency lessons or even Legilimency,” she said in a matter of fact tone. “Teaching Occlumency is less frowned upon, but the second is definitely something most would not be willing to teach openly in school,” she informed.

“I’ve had Occlumency lessons and I didn’t enjoy them very much. I even think they opened my mind to Voldemort … ermm … you see it’s a bit complicated, ” he said warily.

“It usually is,” she replied cynically and seemed to wait for him to elaborate further.

“I have this kind of connection with him … or had one … I don’t really know the whole of how or why I have it, or even really know how to explain it to you,” he insisted. He worried she might send him away if she knew about him and his connection with Voldemort.

“I know from first-hand experience, anything involving mental powers of magic … ah, well … let me put it to you this way, Harry,” and she paused as if she were searching for exactly what she wanted to say.

“Powers of the mind are considered a gray area of magic. It can all come down to the simplest thing that makes you better than someone else in this field of magic,” she described with a wave of her hand and then continued.

“It’s not to say that every other magical ability isn’t the same way, but things involving the brain are never as simple as we would like them to be. The round peg doesn’t always fit in the round hole … sometimes it does take the square. I know that sounds silly, but it’s very true,” she explained. “Also, like everything else, it takes a lot of practice and sometimes there are people that are just better than you, there’s no crime in that … you just have to work on it and try your best,” she finished.

“I guess that makes sense,” he replied. He thought he should know that already, but somehow it did make a little more sense the way she worded it.

“Maybe it would be best for you and I to sit down and have a discussion about everything that has happened. I realize that you don’t know me at all, but the more I know, the more I’ll be able to help you,” she suggested.

“That might take a while,” he considered.

“First we have to get you a pass. No use worrying about it till we’re sure you can stay for at least a few days. Before that, there is something I need to show you and something I need to … um … pick up,” she said.

“Okay,” he said and nodded. She smiled briefly and then started to walk. All he could do was to follow along as they continued further into the town of Westbrook.


“What … is this?” Harry asked in astonishment as he stared down at the lake area. There was something going on there, an event that had drawn many of the inhabitants of Westbrook. He had simply followed her and had been unaware to where exactly they had been heading. He thought it would be a place something like the Ministry of Magic, but this looked more like some sort of gathering of magical people than an office building.

Harry saw rides and food being prepared and there appeared to be small booths where people were playing games of skill, most of them seeming to involve magic. It reminded him a bit of the Quidditch World Cup because of the mass of people, but this was something entirely different.

“You did say your birthday was in the next few days. I suppose this is the best I can do for a birthday party,” Celeste teased and was grinning at him deviously. Harry stared at her a moment bewilderedly. She laughed and shook her head.

“I’m joking, Harry. This is called the Summer Festival. We always have it near the end of July,” she explained with another laugh at his expression.

“So, this is a kind of carnival or circus or … something like that?” he asked. There were so many people around, children running and watching different events going on. The Summer Festival seemed to encircle the lake and fan out in all directions. Harry had never really been to a carnival and he was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of what was going on only a few meters away.

“Yes, it’s a traveling magical carnival. They go all over the country and are very popular. They usually stay for about four days,” she went on. “There are all sorts of things to do on each day while they’re here … it’s quite an experience to have, especially when you are young,” she explained, still grinning at him. “From the look of you, I’d say you’ve never been to anything like this.”

“No, not really … there was the Quidditch World Cup, but this isn’t exactly the same,” Harry replied, distracted by a balloon that floated by; it appeared to be enchanted as inside was a dancing unicorn. She nodded and then began to scan the area as if searching for something.

“Is this why we came here first?” he asked, feeling an excitement bubble up in him. He remembered that Dudley had many opportunities to go to events like this, but Harry never had. Whilst he was here, he wanted to seize the chance to enjoy it.

“Not exactly the reason,” she replied. “You see there is someone I have to find,” she explained in a preoccupied tone as she continued to scan the carnival. “I think we’ve taken too long though, but I’m pretty sure where he will be,” she finished in a tone that suggested a touch of impatience.

She moved forward on down the hill and into the mass of people. Harry hurried along beside her, quite interested in what he was about to experience. Every once in a while people in the crowd would greet Celeste and she would stop and say hello and introduce Harry as Emil Fairstone.

They proceeded along and Harry soon found himself in the midst of an area filled with all sorts of magical games. The colorful workers at the booths were calling out challenges for townspeople to come play and Harry was tempted to take out his wand and have a go at one or two. He had no American money to pay though, so he had to pass by them reluctantly.

The area seemed a magnet for young children and all about were parents and their kids playing games together. Celeste stopped in the center of this area and all of a sudden put both hands on her hips.

She assumed an expression Harry had seen before on another woman’s face, Mrs. Weasley’s to be exact. Molly had the same look sometimes when she was watching the twins.

Harry turned to gaze in the same direction as Celeste to try and find what had caused this expression on her face. As he glanced around he noticed a little boy running towards them.

The little boy was holding out what looked like a clear plastic bag as he ran in their direction. Harry became a little worried that the child was not going to stop but run straight into Celeste. Thankfully the child stopped right in front of her and was staring up at her quite excitedly.

“Mommy, look! I won a prize!” the little boy announced to Celeste. Harry gave a little jerk of surprise and his eyes darted between Celeste and the little boy.

“Mommy?” Harry said aloud in confusion.

The little boy turned his head to Harry and seemed perplexed over why Harry had said ‘Mommy’.

“I’d like you to meet my son - this is Orion,” Celeste introduced.

Harry simply stared at the little boy. It had not occurred to him that she would have a child or that she might be married. Dumbledore had not said anything about her having children. Obviously Dumbledore might not have known or just did not consider it important to tell Harry.

The little boy was eyeing Harry suspiciously and then stared up at his mother, quite confused by her introduction of him to Harry.

The little boy had dark messy hair; it appeared as if the child had been running and playing and had no care for what state his hair might be in. He was small, but Harry figured all children this age were small. Actually Harry was unsure of his age since he really had nothing to compare the boy to; he had not been around a child this young since he was a small child himself.

The boy had dark expressive eyes. They were alive with life and full of every emotion that crossed the little boy’s face. Right now Orion was staring at Harry and trying to figure out exactly who Harry was. The little boy was searching his face for any sign of recognition.

The child’s mouth quirked to one side and his brows knitted together in dismay; even with the scrunched up face he still seemed very cute. Maybe even handsome was the right word, if one could call a child this young handsome.

“Why is he going to be at our house?” Orion asked. Harry did not know why, but he felt very uncomfortable being studied by this little boy, more so than he ever had by any adults he had known.

“First, I want to know what this prize stuff is?” Celeste asked. “What did we talk about before you left this morning to come down here?” she pressed in a stern tone.

Harry watched as Orion lowered his bag and seemed to want to hide it behind his back. He frowned and looked down like he was ashamed of something he had done. Celeste reacted to this by leaning her head to the side and scowling.

“Orion, I thought we talked about this … didn’t Mommy say you were not to do anything till I got here?” Celeste scolded. Orion’s frown increased but Harry noticed a very determined expression move over the little boy’s face. The child lifted his eyes to Celeste and seemed ready to plead his case.

“You didn’t get here, Mommy … and everybody else was getting to do the games … and I didn’t get to try them…I wanted to do them and then Emily gave me a dollar to play one and so I did the game and I won the prize … and then I said to her that she could have the prize, but she told me that she wanted me to have it because I’m her very best friend and she wouldn’t take it so I had to keep it.”

Harry simply gawked at the child, who had spoken without even taking a breath in his explanation of how he had won a prize. Harry glanced over to see what Celeste’s reaction to her son’s words would be. Harry thought she might want to continue scolding Orion, but she seemed unable to because of what the child had said.

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” Orion announced. “Everybody said I was real lucky to win.” he added sadly. He was peering up at Celeste with a face that Harry had to admit was very convincing; it was both innocent and pleading at the same time.

“Alright, Orion, but please don’t do that again. You also shouldn’t take money from Emily,” she insisted firmly. “And we’ll also have to keep that thing in something it can’t get out of,” she ordered forcefully as she reached out and took the bag from her son.

To Harry it simply looked like a round gray rock in the bag. It might break a window if it was thrown hard enough, but other than that it seemed small and insignificant to Harry.

“If this thing escapes and runs loose in Granny’s garden, she’ll not be happy … not to mention we’ll end up having hundreds of them,” she muttered with dislike as she studied the little gray rock.

“The man had one as big as me … he said it was the mommy of the little ones,” Orion proclaimed excitedly.

“What is it exactly?” Harry asked curiously.

“They’re called Living Rocks or some just call them Rock-Rocks. It’s never really been determined what they are, animals or enchanted objects. There is a whole debate over if they are really alive or if they’re some wizard’s idea of a joke. Maybe a spell that has lasted for a really long time. I personally think they’re alive,” she informed and held out the bag to Harry so he could look at the rock.

Harry took it reluctantly and examined the small rock in the bag; it did not move around but just laid in the bottom of the bag unmoving.

“They’re native to this continent. I don’t think they’ve ever been found naturally in England, Europe or anywhere else in the world. They’ve been mainly brought in from the southwest of this country,” she went on in her explanation of the little rock, “Not to say you will not find them anywhere else, but I’m pretty sure England has a ban on them,” she informed with a laugh.

“They’re fairly harmless and as they get larger they pretty much do nothing. I’ve seen some as big as houses out west, but you’d have a hard time telling them apart from regular rocks and boulders,” she finished.

“So, they do nothing?” Harry asked curiously.

“Pretty much, unless they get into soil that is rich in nutrients and that has a wide variety of different minerals so they can grow very large. But they need a lot of different things to keep them growing big … sun, water … they can grow slow or fast depending on where they are,” she said and grinned at him because Harry had a frown that indicated he would like to see the thing move or do something. Secretly he was wondering what Fred and George might do with one.

“They tend to be fast when they are small, but they more likely will only move when they sense you’re not paying attention. The only time I’d say they would ever be dangerous is if they are large and felt threatened or if something they had formed an attachment to was in danger,” she suggested. “But when they get bigger they don’t move much, so there’s not a lot of room for attachment to anything,” she added.

“So can I keep him?” Orion asked hopefully after it seemed Celeste had finished her lesson on the rock.

“How do you know it’s a him?” Celeste asked with a grin as Harry handed the bag back to Orion.

“Cause he is a he and cause I named him Chompie,” Orion proclaimed proudly and took the bag back; smiling in approval at the little rock.

“Chompie?” Celeste muttered. “Couldn’t you name it something more pleasant?” she asked curiously.

“I named him that cause when the man grab him out of the box, he bite the man’s finger,” Orion stated with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“So much for being harmless,” Harry said with a grin. Celeste gave the rock in the bag a suspicious gaze.

“Chompie will not bite me … he likes me,” Orion insisted happily. Celeste stared doubtfully at her son. Harry figured this was a case of a little kid and his imagination getting the better of him.

“Just to be on the safe side, I want you to promise me you will not touch it without an adult around,” Celeste ordered. “I want you to make a big promise. I’ll let you keep it, but we are not going to have it biting off fingers, understand?” Celeste stated firmly.

“Okay,” Orion answered reluctantly, “but can we get him a nice house? Charlie Monroe has a hamster and he’s got a really neat cage. He -”

“No, you can use that plastic container you kept the sick turtle in last year,” Celeste cut in before the boy could continue.

“But Chompie might like to have a new house, not the old turtle’s place,” Orion insisted, as if he knew exactly what the rock wanted.

“Well, Chompie isn’t in a position to be picky. He’ll have the old turtle box or we’ll give him back to the carnival worker,” Celeste said firmly. The tone she used told Harry that she expected only one answer.

“I guess he’ll like it good for a house,” Orion decided. “Okay, Mommy,” the boy agreed.

“Wait here while I let Emily’s mother and the rest know you’re with me,” Celeste informed. “I’ll be right back, just wait here with Orion,” she said to Harry and walked off in the direction from which Orion had run to them.

Harry got ready to stop her, but she had already moved quickly enough that she had disappeared into a crowd of people. He looked down to find the little boy staring up at him expectantly.

“Mommy didn’t tell me who you are. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers I don’t know, but she says I gotta wait here with you, so who are you anyway?” the little boy asked.

“Erm, I’m a friend,” Harry replied, not knowing if her son could know who he was. Surely he would know his cousin and that Harry was not Emil Fairstone, so Harry was unsure of exactly what to tell the boy.

“Are you my friend, Mommy’s friend … or Granny’s friend?” asked Orion curiously.

“All of you, I think,” Harry said repressively.

“Grandma and Grandpa too?” the boy pressed. “What about cousin Aaron and Uncle -”

“Look, I don’t know,” Harry interrupted before the little boy could name more family members. “Sorry, can we just wait for your mother to come back then she can tell you all about me?” he pleaded. The little boy gave him a puzzled gaze and then shrugged his shoulders.

“Are you a wizard?” the little boy asked.

“Would I be in Westbrook if I wasn’t?” Harry asked impatiently.

“Mr. Jones isn’t magical and he lives here … and so is Daisy Edwards’ daddy, he can’t do no magic … and so is -”

“Okay, yes I’m a wizard,” Harry cut in. “Can we just wait quietly?” Harry asked hopefully.

“Are you mad?” Orion questioned warily.

“No,” Harry answered.

“Are you a dark wizard?” he inquiry suspiciously.

“Of course not!” Harry complained sharply.

“You sound mad,” the boy proclaimed in a serious voice.

“Do you always ask so many questions?” Harry said depressively.

“Granny says that if I can’t ask questions, I can’t never learn nothing … but sometimes Grandpa says I need to just not say questions and listen,” Orion admitted sheepishly.

“Thank Merlin,” Harry announced, but it was not because of what Orion had said; it was because Celeste was heading back in their direction.

“Is everything alright?” Celeste asked as she stopped beside them.

“He says he’s not a dark wizard, but I don’t know … he don’t say who he is,” Orion replied to his mother quite forcefully.

“Orion, we have to go now and -”

“But Mommy!” Orion cried desperately. “You say we could get to be here today and play games … and you’re late and now we have to leave … that’s not fair,” Orion complained forcefully.

“We can come back later, Orion. Mommy has something important to do and you are going to come with me,” Celeste began, but the little boy appeared quite upset and Harry thought the child was getting ready to throw a tantrum.

“Orion, don’t you do that,” Celeste said very sharply. Her son poked out his lip and stared up at his mother as if she had just cursed his best friend. His expression of frustration changed to one of sadness. “Honey, we’re going to come back … we’ve got all the rest of the day and tonight, but I can’t let you run around here by yourself.”

“But Emily’s mommy was watching me and the other kids; she can still do that,” he said in a pleading tone.

“Orion, you did what I told you not to. Now, you will come with me or I will take you straight home,” she ordered. Again it was the tone she used that Harry recognized: he had heard Professor McGonagall use that same voice before. It meant no complaining or arguing.

“Ohhh, alright,” Orion muttered with a depressive sigh and held out his free hand. Celeste promptly took his outstretched hand into her own and glanced over at Harry.

“Let’s go get your pass,” Celeste said to him pleasantly and moved off.

Harry followed along on the other side of Orion. He felt kind of weird walking along beside a little kid, especially when the little boy kept glancing over at him suspiciously.

After walking a little while they ended up back on one of the quiet little streets of Westbrook, away from the carnival area and the festive sounds of people having fun. As they walked along they soon came to an area of town that was not houses but began to look like businesses. A sidewalk soon appeared and they moved onto its smooth concrete surface.

“Orion, there is something important Mommy needs you to do. This is a most special thing,” she said as she stopped beside a bench that sat at the edge of the sidewalk. She picked up the little boy and lifted him onto the bench, then sat down beside him.

Harry glanced around - there was nobody in the area close enough to overhear them. There was a man down near the end of the street, but he appeared to be sweeping the sidewalk in front of what was some sort of business. Harry could not tell exactly what it was because they were not close enough to read the sign.

“This is a big promise,” Harry heard Celeste say, so he turned his attention back to her and the little boy.

“Not another one, Mommy … I don’t like doing big promises all the time,” Orion insisted sadly.

“You don’t like having special things that only you and Mommy know just between us?” Celeste asked in a sad tone.

“But he’s here, so he can hear it,” Orion replied as he pointed up at Harry.

“This big promise is about him,” Celeste said gently and glanced over at Harry for a moment before she turned her attention back to her son.

“What kind of big promise is it?” the little boy quizzed.

“Did your teacher tell you in class about a boy in England that is fighting a very bad Dark Wizard?” Celeste began. “Do you remember that it was in your school book and you learned all the names of different kinds of magic?” she went on.

To Harry it seemed she was trying to get her son to remember something, but the weird thing was Harry had not even considered that he would be in school books for children this young. He remembered that Hermione said she had read about him in a book, but this little boy was not old enough to learn about magic, was he?

“I think so,” Orion said and appeared to be thinking then shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you remember the name Harry Potter?” Celeste asked.

“Yeah, I remember that name. Hey! I heard Grandpa say that name before when he reads the newspaper … but in school the teacher tells us about the boy who lived and that a bad wizard tried to get him and that he lived after a bad curse cause his mommy protected him and … wait … is that him?” Orion spoke excitedly and pointed at Harry, his dark eyes twinkling with the same excitement that carried in his voice.

“Yes. That’s why I need you to listen to me,” Celeste said gently, but the boy seemed too excited now to listen.

“Can I show him to my teacher and Emily? I don’t know anybody that’s from a book before. Can I see your head?” Orion pleaded turning his full attention to Harry. “The picture in my school book says you got a bit cut on your head when that bad wizard tried to kill you? Did it hurt bad when that man did that? I bet it hurt real bad. I got a cut on my arm one time and Mommy fixed it. Who fixed your head if your mommy died? That was bad for that bad man to hurt your mommy and daddy -”

“Orion!” Celeste interrupted. “I need you to listen and not talk right now,” she ordered. Harry just gawked at the little boy and was embarrassed and a touch annoyed. Did the little boy always talk so much? Celeste used one hand to turn her son’s head back to face her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk so much,” Orion submitted. He sounded worried that he was going to be punished and looked up at Harry as if he were afraid he had said something wrong.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Celeste soothed gently and laid a hand on top of her son’s head. “I know you got excited,” she added. She turned to look at Harry a moment and smiled kindly at him.

“Granny says I can talk the leg off a mule,” Orion offered in a tone that suggested that was the answer to why he had exploded with talkative excitement.

“She says the same about me, dear,” Celeste admitted and turned back to Orion. “Now, we can’t tell anyone who Harry is. Can you guess why we can’t say he is Harry Potter?” Celeste quizzed. The little boy’s eyes darted between his mother and Harry and he seemed to be thinking.

“I can’t tell nobody? Not even Emily?” he prompted.

“Not even Emily. This is a really big important secret that Mommy needs you to help me keep. Now, can you try and guess why we have to keep the secret?” Celeste pressed. “You said you heard Grandpa say something about Harry being in the paper, what did he say?”

“He says that there is a war, and then he talks about it with Mr. Patterson and the other Councils … and I hear him say yesterday something about a dumb door got murdered, but I don’t know what that means and then -”

“Okay, Orion,” Celeste cut in as she frowned deeply and paused a moment in thought.

“Are you mad at me?” Orion asked softly.

“No, sweetie, I’m not mad at you,” she offered and began to use her hand to straighten his hair. “The bad wizard that hurt Harry is trying to get him again. That bad wizard is making war on the magical and non-magical people in England,” she explained to her son in a solemn tone.

“Harry has come here to have Mommy help him with magic so he can make the bad wizard go away. But if we tell anyone he is here, the bad wizard might find out the secret and it can put Mommy, Granny and everyone in Westbrook in danger,” Celeste suggested. This statement caused Orion to go pale and his expression changed to one of fear.

“I don’t want him to get me … is he going to come here and get me!?” Orion cried fearfully.

“Orion, Mommy is not going to let any bad wizard get you. Now I need you to just listen to Mommy and not get upset,” she insisted in a firm tone. The little boy slowly calmed himself and glanced up at Harry nervously. His cheeks turned a bit pink and he looked to be embarrassed by his outburst of fear and that Harry had seen it.

“Now, we are going to pretend Harry isn’t Harry. We are going to tell everyone that he is Emil,” Celeste revealed. “We are going to say he is our cousin Emil from California. You remember Emil, don’t you?” Celeste questioned.

“Yes, I remember him … he plays with me when we go to Florida,” Orion replied softly.

“We have to pretend that we don’t know Emil and that he has come to see us for the first time. Emil has never come to Westbrook so nobody here in town will know it is not him. Can you pretend with Mommy and Granny that Harry is our cousin Emil? That way nobody will know he’s Harry and his secret will be safe,” Celeste pressed in a hopeful tone.

“I think I can do that,” Orion pondered. “But is Grandma and Grandpa going to know too?” he asked.

“I am going to talk to them later so they will know who Harry is, but we can’t tell people who are not in the family. It’s going to be a big family promise,” she said and stared at her son intently.

“Okay, I think I can do it, but I hope I don’t mess up, Mommy,” Orion replied and got a thoughtful expression. “I promise not to tell who Harry is for you, Mommy,” he said with a rather formal nod.

“That’s my good boy,” Celeste said and leaned forward to hug Orion and then got up from the bench. Orion scooted forward and Celeste took his hand and helped him to stand off the bench.

“Now, let’s go get your pass, Harry,” Celeste said as she got ready to walk on, but Orion pulled back on her arm.

“But Mommy, isn’t it telling a lie what we are doing?” the boy questioned seriously. Celeste glanced down at her son and then over at Harry.

“He has a point,” Harry advised, finally deciding to say something. Celeste gave him a dark expression so he decided to stay out of it as Celeste looked down at her son.

“We’re not supposed to tell a lie, but sometimes if something bad can happen and lots of people might get hurt it is okay to tell one,” Celeste began as she tried to explain the difference to her son. “If a bad wizard is going to hurt people then sometimes the good magic people have to trick him so he can’t do bad things. You understand that we are not supposed to lie, but this is not to hide something bad, this is to hide something good from the bad wizard.”

The little boy seemed perplexed and was considering this answer very carefully before he spoke again.

“How do I know when it’s okay to do that?” he asked.

“Mommy will tell you when,” Celeste answered firmly. Harry gave a slight snort of humor and she cut him a sharp glance so he pretended to cough and returned her expression with an innocent one.

The little boy stared up at his mother doubtfully but gave a nod of his head. He then stared up at Harry with something like awe.

“Alright, let’s get going so we can get Harry, I mean Emil, a pass,” Celeste corrected and smiled mischievously, realizing her own mistake. Orion grinned sheepishly and Harry simply shrugged his shoulders as they started out again.

He followed along with Celeste and her son as they made their way into the town of Westbrook. The new area was filled with businesses and then they came to an area that seemed very different.

There was a large park with gardens filled with all sorts of flowers and trees. They walked along through it and at its center was a statue of a man on a horse holding up a wand. Harry did not get the chance to investigate who the statue was of; they passed by it and walked on out the other side of the park area.

On the other side was a group of buildings that looked to be very old. Harry thought they were quite different from the homes around Westbrook he had seen. They were all white and shining. As they drew closer Harry would say they were carved right out of marble. To his eyes, the grand columns that guarded the entrances to the buildings, the windows that reflected darkly in the bright summer light all seemed rather imposing and quite important.

“These are the offices of the Government of Westbrook. That over there is our courthouse and this one beside it is the Police and Protection offices for our town and this one here we are going into is the general office for pretty much everything else that goes into running a magical town,” she explained.

“So this is where a person would get a pass?” Harry asked curiously.

“Yes. Now I want both of you to let me do the talking. Say as little as possible and let me handle it,” she replied. “Alright then, let’s see if we can manage this,” she added as she proceeded on up the wide marble steps. Harry followed a bit reluctantly as they entered the imposing white building.


“Good afternoon, Mr. Patterson,” Celeste said in a friendly voice as they entered the office. Harry followed behind Celeste and Orion. The man behind the desk was chubby and balding. He also had a sour expression on his face until he looked up and his eyes fell on Celeste.

“Celeste, what a surprise!” Mr. Patterson announced cheerfully. He glanced over at Harry curiously and then his eyes lowered down to Orion. Mr. Patterson’s expression gave a twitch to annoyance as he stared at Orion. Then the man soothed his expression back to a pleasant one as he lifted his eyes to Celeste again.

“I see you’ve brought your little boy with you,” he said to her smoothly and then glanced down at Orion again. “I hope he has been behaving himself this summer.”

For some reason Harry liked neither the tone Mr. Patterson used nor the way he stared at Orion. Orion seemed to not like it either and frowned, then leaned against his mother’s side.

“As always, Orion has been a good boy,” Celeste replied as she laid her hand on the top of Orion’s head.

“Of course,” Mr. Patterson agreed; somehow Harry did not think he did. “I understand that trouble with my dog surely had nothing to do with him,” he stated in an appeasing tone. “It was just that the other boys said it was him.”

“I didn’t do it, Mommy, it was Charlie Monroe who done that bad thing,” Orion stated passionately, looking both afraid and frustrated at the same time. Celeste patted Orion gently on the head before she spoke; when she did, she had a determined expression on her face.

“My son did not hurt your dog, Mr. Patterson. I hope you will believe he would never do something like that.”

“Of course,” Mr. Patterson replied. “I meant no harm or disrespect, please have a seat,” he added softly. He held out his hand to the chairs in front of his desk. Celeste came forward and sat down in one of them. She picked up Orion and sat him in her lap.

Harry took this action to mean he should sit in the other chair. He sat down and studied Mr. Patterson as the man moved some papers about, seeming to want to finish up whatever he had been working on before he spoke again. Once Mr. Patterson had finished shuffling his papers, he looked up at Celeste again.

Harry became uncomfortable because of the way the man’s eyes roved over Celeste; it was so blatant and surely Celeste must have noticed it. She made no comment though and adjusted Orion on her lap.

“I do not believe we have met,” Mr. Patterson said as he turned his head to Harry.

“His name is Emil, and he’s from Calofordya,” Orion proclaimed firmly. “He’s my cousin and I never saw him before,” he added.

“Thank you, Orion … please let Mommy talk to Mr. Patterson,” she insisted gently. She turned her attention back to Mr. Patterson and did something unexpected - she smiled at him. It was a very pleasant smile Harry thought; he had never really seen her smile that way before.

Harry glanced at Mr. Patterson, who returned her smile with an odd expression. Harry almost thought it was because of the way Celeste was smiling; the man just stared at her as if she had zapped him with a spell.

“As Orion has so eloquently told you, we have an unexpected visitor … this is Emil Fairstone, he’s Gregory’s son. I’m sure you must remember my uncle, he’s my father’s youngest brother,” Celeste explained in a friendly manner. Mr. Patterson nodded and listened politely as she spoke. As Celeste went on, Harry was reminded of what Orion had said earlier, something about talking the leg off a mule; he understood what that meant now.

“I know it’s out of the ordinary as we’re always suppose to tell the City Council and Government offices when we’re expecting someone … but you know I clear forgot all about he might be visiting,” she informed, and to Harry’s surprise went on some more.

“You know we didn’t know for sure that Emil was coming and since Gregory hasn’t been back in Westbrook for years now … oh goodness, I think even before Emil was born was the last time he was here. Emil here has never been to Westbrook of course, but he has decided to visit us after all these years … and it’s so wonderful to finally get to see him. I’m sure you can understand how exciting it is for us. I hardly recognized him, he’s changed so much from his baby pictures.”

Mr. Patterson nodded and gave a mmhum, and listened and nodded and another mmhum as she spoke. Harry could have laughed - Celeste was so talkative and just went on with her explaining of who Harry was and why he was here. Harry was sure if she were actually telling the truth and that he was Harry Potter, he might not have any trouble getting into Westbrook at all.

“So you see, I need a pass for him. I know it’s such short notice, Mr. Patterson and I hate to be a bother to you. I know you are terribly busy with forms and passes and all the … um … important things you do to keep Westbrook running smoothly. Oh, and I nearly forgot to tell you, Granny was admiring your garden just last week, and sends her regards … but back to the matter at hand. As I said, I know it is a bit of a hurry, but is there any way I can get Emil a pass for the summer?”

“He looks sort of familiar to me,” Mr. Patterson announced as he eyed Harry curiously.

“Well, he is a Fairstone,” Celeste proclaimed cheerfully and then leaned forward as if to share a secret, causing Orion to squirm so he would not be squashed. “To tell you the truth, I have heard a couple of people say he looks like that boy from England, the one that’s famous. Oh what’s his name … I completely forgot it just now,” she whispered and sat back in her chair again, pretending to try and think of the name.

“I think that boy’s name is Harry Potter … I heard Grandpa say it from the newspaper,” Orion stated firmly and grinned over at Harry like he had done something wicked but knew he would not get punished for it.

Mr. Patterson glanced over at Harry and seemed to be considering him very carefully. He then gave a laugh and smiled over at Celeste brightly.

“He does, doesn’t he, but what in heavens would Harry Potter be doing in Westbrook?” Mr. Patterson announced cheerfully. “That’s quite silly, isn’t it?” he added and began to shift through papers again.

“Normally of course we would not do this, but seeing as how your father is on the Council and you being one of our finest teachers … oh, my cousin’s little boy adores being in your class, he goes on and on about you, my dear,” Mr. Patterson chatted as he hunted for papers.

Harry saw Orion sit up and appeared ready to speak up, but Celeste put an arm around her son and pulled him back firmly into her chest. This stopped whatever it was he might have been getting ready to say.

“Here we are. If you can just fill out this form, I’ll go ahead and get the pass created,” Mr. Patterson said as he came around his desk and held out the form to Celeste. As she took the form, he did not leave but stood by her chair; he also had not given her anything to write with. Harry almost thought the man wanted to say something and indeed Celeste acted as if she expected him to say something.

“I’m sure that you always are very busy,” Mr. Patterson began, his voice very quiet. “Taking care of a child on your own is a very hard thing for a woman in your position to do. Perhaps you will reconsider my request for an evening out with you? I think a woman like you deserves a chance to leave all her responsibility and burdens behind for a few hours,” he asserted.

Harry almost fell out of his chair. Did this man, Mr. Patterson, just ask Celeste out on a date? The way the man spoke, all silky and smooth, it reminded him of someone he did not like at all. Also the way the man edged closer to Celeste’s chair as he held out the form to her … Harry almost wanted to run out of the room screaming.

“Mr. Patterson, it’s very kind of you to ask,” Celeste declared. “But I know as well as anyone else how it would appear if we went out. I would not want you to have your own very good reputation brought down by the things so many in town say about me,” Celeste advised in a kind but very firm voice. “Can you imagine what people might say … if they saw us together? Really Mr. Patterson, you are too kind, but I wouldn’t want your image tarnished in the slightest by the scandal people associate with me,” she cautioned as she gazed up at the man pleasantly.

“My dear, I’ve never believed a word of it. And -”

“Please,” Celeste cut in softly and smiled brightly up at him. “I might be able to persuade my father to invite you over for dinner one evening. I’m sure nobody would be able to tarnish your name in association with me if that happened,” she offered, and continued to smile at him.

“Yes, my dear, that is an excellent idea. I do find your father’s home quite an ideal place. You are correct and it would be the most appropriate way for us to meet, given your circumstances,” he determined and smiled back at her. “I look forward to an invitation,” he added and simply stood there unmoving.

“The pass, Mr. Patterson,” Celeste prompted because he did not move away from her chair.

“Ah, yes. I will return shortly,” he said and moved to the door of his office. A moment later he was gone out the door, leaving Harry, Celeste and Orion alone.

“Harry, can you grab me a pen?” Celeste asked.

“Sure,” Harry replied. He stood up and found a pen on the desk.

“I need you to stand up, sweetie, so Mommy can write,” Celeste said to Orion as she helped him up out of her lap to stand beside her chair.

“So, you use pens here instead of quills?” Harry asked as he handed the pen to her.

“Um, well, it’s both,” she replied as she took the pen. “Some still use quills. I think it just depends on the person,” she informed as she began to look over the form. “There are distinctions between our magical communities, Harry, but we can talk about the differences later, after I get your pass for you.”

She began to read and write on the form quite hastily. Harry sat back down and waited quietly. He could not see everything she was writing, but she knew Emil Fairstone and he did not, so he really could not offer any help in filling out the form. Orion on the other hand seemed to be bursting to speak.

“Mommy, are you going out on a date with Mr. Patterson?” Orion said darkly as he watched his mother write.

“Of course not,” Celeste replied as she wrote.

“Is he going to come to Grandpa’s house and eat dinner with us?” he pressed forcefully.

“He probably will,” she answered and continued to write. Harry thought she must be expecting these questions since she was able to complete the form and answer her son at the same time.

“I don’t like him. He … he don’t like me and he don’t believe me,” Orion complained in a desperate voice.

“Orion, Mr. Patterson is a nice man,” Celeste began and stopped writing to stare at her son. “He just misunderstands what happened with his dog. Sometimes even good people make mistakes in judgment and that is what he is doing,” she insisted. “We have to be able to not worry about it,” she added and went back to writing.

“How come you say you got a scandal? Is it because of what some kids at school say to me?” Orion questioned.

“What?” Celeste muttered. She sounded surprised and looked up from the form to her son.

“Charlie Monroe said stuff to me that I didn’t like and he said it is because of me that you have one of them scandals. Did I do something bad?” he questioned worriedly.

Celeste sat for a moment; to Harry she appeared to be thinking very seriously about what her son had just said.

Harry wondered in what sort of scandal she was involved. He thought about Rita Skeeter and when she was writing things about him in the Daily Prophet, twists on the truth that were actually lies. He could not possibly imagine what Celeste might have done; however, he did not really know her. He would just have to wait to find out from her, if she would elaborate on it later.

“Orion, I don’t want you to pay any attention to what people say about me, alright?” Celeste prompted firmly. “Sometimes people talk about things they don’t know anything about, so they make up something that sort of makes sense. Then other people start to believe the made-up story and nobody wants to believe what the real truth is,” she explained.

“Is that like what we’re doing now?” Orion asked innocently. Celeste frowned and glanced over at Harry a moment.

“Honey, what we are doing isn’t going to hurt anyone,” Celeste said gently. “We are doing this to protect Harry. The other things are called rumors and they are sometimes lies and they are done to hurt people. Do you understand the difference, Orion? Can you see why it’s different?” she asked.

“I think so,” he replied softly.

"We'll talk about this later. First I'd like to fill out this form and get Emil's pass before I have to hand out any more dinner engagements for your grandfather," Celeste said and turned her attention to the form again.

Harry remained silent, but Orion peeked around Celeste and stared at him for a few moments. Harry stared back and wondered what the boy was thinking; Orion seemed to be scrutinizing him quite carefully. Harry wondered if he measured up to whatever it was the child was trying to discern. The boy eventually looked away and watched his mother as she wrote.

Harry was thankful that he did not have to explain to the child what exactly the difference was in what they were doing. Though he was sure life at Orion's age had to be much simpler than what he himself was going through. Harry wished it could always be as easy as having your mother tell you when you could do something and when you could not.