When Harry Met Dan

Harry Potter and his best friend, Ron, sat in Ron's bedroom at the Burrow. Harry had arrived a few days before to finish out the summer holidays at Ron's house, and they had just spent the morning playing Quidditch in the backyard with Fred and George. Now, Harry was browsing through the latest issue of Quidditch Illustrated while Ron fiddled with his Wizardisc player.

"Harry, have you heard there's a new Weird Sisters album out this week? I'd like to get it, I've only got their old ones that Charlie let me have." Ron slipped the small disc into his palm-sized player. He had just inherited the Wizardisc from Charlie who was cleaning out his CD collection and upgrading to a newer player.

Harry looked up from his magazine. "No, I've only heard whatever they played at the Yule Ball. Haven't really heard many wizarding bands at all, actually."

"Yeah?" said Ron. "Hey, we should go down to the record shop in the village. Bet they'd have the new Weird Sisters, and maybe some other ones on sale or something."

Harry was intrigued. "There's a wizarding record shop in Ottery St. Catchpole?"

"Well, it's a Muggle shop, but the owner is a wizard," Ron explained. "Dad knows him from somewhere, helped him get the Ministry's permission to set up shop here. That's right up dad's alley you know, 'Wizard and Muggle Relations'. Anyway, they have Muggle and wizard music. Bill and Charlie used to go down there all the time."

"But what happens if a Muggle picks up a wizard CD? Does it work in their players?" asked Harry.

"They can't. The wizard discs are only visible to wizards and witches. Muggles pass right over them."

"Yeah, let's go! I'd love to see that," Harry said, jumping off the bed.

They stopped in the kitchen to tell Molly where they were going (reciting for her the Weasley mantra that they would "not do anything that might seriously undermine wizard and Muggle relations") and set off down the long drive toward the village.

"So," Harry said, pointing to the Wizardisc in Ron's hands, "how does this thing work anyway?"

"Well, you can set it for one person or two. See, if you set it for one, only the person who's closest to the player can hear it. If you set it for two, the nearest two people can hear it. But you have to be kind of close."

Harry stopped and leaned in toward Ron's ear. Suddenly he could hear the music of the Weird Sisters clear as day, blaring in his ears. He leaned away again and it faded into silence.

"Cool. Hey, you could get a lot of mileage out of that two person setting with a witch, huh? 'Here, just lean in a little closer...'" They chuckled and spent the rest of the walk joking about the relative gullibility of the female gender and which girls they might or might not be interested in leaning close to.

When they reached the High Street of the village, Harry scanned the shops. Nestled between the apothecary and hardware store was a small blue storefront with a sign reading "Music Magic" hanging above the door. They joined the handful of people inside browsing through the stacks.

Ron flipped through the Ws and found what he was looking for. "Here it is, 'Weird Sisters: Cauldron Bubble.'" He pulled out a smaller rectangular case from the stack and looked at the price sticker, marked in galleons rather than pounds. "Ouch, bit steep. Not sure if I have enough with me." He dug into his pockets and shook the money out into his hands.

"Let me pay for half," said Harry. He interrupted the look of protest on Ron's face. "Oh, come on, we can share it, and then you can let me borrow your player sometimes."

"Well, ok then. Thanks mate!"

"Right, I'm going to go look down here," Harry said, moving to another row.

After a few minutes, Ron glanced up and saw that Harry had moved to the aisle directly across from him. He was bending over the stacks, flipping. Ron leaned over and said, "Harry, see anything good over there?"

The boy looked up at Ron. He glanced sideways to see if Ron had been addressing someone else, but then realized it was him. "Oh sorry," he said, "it's Dan, actually."

"What?" said Ron. He wondered why Harry wasn't wearing his glasses.

"I just mean, Harry is the character that I play, but my name is Dan." He smiled at Ron in a patronizing sort of way.

"What?!" Ron shook his head, "Have you gone mental?"

The boy frowned, "Look, there's no need to..."

Harry came around the corner toward Ron with a disc in his hand, reading the back. He didn't look up, but stopped and said, "Ron, take a look at this one. Ever heard of these guys?"

Ron started and turned to stare at Harry, and then back at the boy opposite him. His eyes grew wide. He saw that the other boy was staring at Harry with the same open-mouthed expression. Harry didn't seem to notice.

"Ron? Ron Weasley?" Ron turned around to see a middle-aged man smiling at him from behind the counter. "Thought that might be you, haven't seen you in here in ages! How are your brothers doing?"

Ron struggled to regain his composure as he nodded and smiled back. "Hello there." He couldn't remember the man's name, but recognized him as the friend of his dad's who owned the shop. "We're all fine, thanks. I'll tell them you asked." The man nodded and turned to help a waiting customer.

Ron turned back around and saw that now, Dan had turned white as a ghost, and Harry was looking at Ron in confusion.

"Is your name really Ron Weasley?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" Ron shot back.

"And you're..." Dan pointed at Harry. "Don't tell me you're Harry Potter."

Harry, who had never been at ease with his fame in the wizarding world, shifted uncomfortably. This boy was obviously a wizard and had recognized him.

"Yeah, I'm Harry." He stuck out his hand good-naturedly, not wishing to be rude. "Nice to meet you."

But Dan didn't return the handshake. He backed up a bit and continued, "And you're for real, you're not just some crazed fans or something."

Harry looked at Ron. Something wasn't right here. "Fans?" he asked, "Of yours?"

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" Dan said, shaking his head. He looked a bit nervous now.

"Sorry," said Harry, "should we?"

"And what did you mean by 'Harry is the character that I play'?" Ron wanted to know.

Dan seemed to gather himself a bit and, in a higher than normal voice, asked, "Would you two mind stepping outside with me just for a moment?" He gestured toward the door. "Sorry, it'll just take a second. I think you might be interested to hear what I have to say."

Harry turned to Ron, who shrugged, "Yeah, alright. Just let me pay for this."

Dan watched as Ron and Harry got out their galleons and handed them over to the shop owner. He chuckled and muttered an exclamation under his breath.

They walked outside and Dan turned to face them. "Look, I'm really sorry about that back there. You just caught me off guard. Hi. I'm Dan Radcliffe." He held out his hand and shook Harry's first, then Ron's.

"So, what's up then?" said Ron. "I assume you're a wizard since you seem to know Harry. Are you a reporter?" Dan seemed lost for words. "You are a wizard, right?"

"And how come you look so much like me?" Harry questioned.

Dan took a deep breath. "No, I'm not a wizard. I guess you'd have to say I'm a... Muggle." They waited for him to continue. "There's a series of Muggle novels about a boy named Harry Potter...I mean, you, I guess...they're written by a lady called J.K. Rowling. And they were enormously popular, still are, and they've started making them into movies. And in the movies, I play the part of Harry."

"So, you're an actor?" asked Harry. Dan nodded. "And you're playing me in a Muggle movie?" More nodding. Harry tried to wrap his brain around what he was hearing. He knew about Muggle cinema, of course, but the idea that his wizarding fame had somehow reached into the Muggle world was a bit disconcerting. "But, what are you doing here?"

"A friend of mine told me about this place. He knows I'm a huge punk music fan, always looking for new music shops to browse around in. I thought since this one was in Ottery St. Catchpole, might be a bit of fun to come have a look... you know, because this is where the Weasleys live..." he looked at Ron, "in the books..." his voice faltered. "Blimey," he breathed.

"Wait a minute," interrupted Ron, "J.K. Rowling? Joanne Rowling?" Dan nodded. "I think my dad has a cousin named Joanne Rowling. Yes, I'm sure he does."

"Are you kidding?" Harry asked.

"No," said Ron, "I remember she came to the Burrow once or twice, but that was years ago."

"So, is she really a witch then?" asked Dan, shocked by the possibility.

"Dunno, she may be a Muggle-born," said Ron. "But she definitely knows all about the wizarding world."

"I wonder if your dad had anything to do with her writing those books?" wondered Harry.

"Probably. That'd be just like him, probably put the whole idea in her head to begin with. But then told her to make it look like a fantasy so the Muggles wouldn't catch on that the wizarding world is real." Ron shook his head in disbelief.

"Do you really live here, at the Burrow? Is it far from here?" asked Dan.

"It's about a half-hour walk." Ron looked at Harry and gestured with his head toward Dan. Harry nodded. "Do you want to come see it?"

"Are you serious? That would be brilliant!"

During their walk they talked animatedly, asking all sorts of questions. Ron had never been to the Muggle cinema, and he didn't understand how they could make a movie about wizards without using real wizards. Dan explained all about camera tricks and special effects and what it was like to work on the set. Then Dan asked if they had their wands with them and inspected each one with awe. He tried some simple swish and flick movements, but nothing happened. That is, until Harry took his wand back and performed some simple spells to demonstrate its authenticity.

When they arrived at the Burrow, Ron went ahead to make sure the coast was clear. Harry turned to Dan.

"So, I guess you're pretty famous yourself."

"Yeah, I reckon so. Sometimes at publicity events there's all these girls screaming at me and I can't believe that I'm the one they're screaming for," he said sheepishly. "I even have my own action figure! Well, it's a Harry Potter figure, a toy."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Ugh. It's a bit strange to think of people playing with you, isn't it?"

"That's what I said!" Dan commiserated.

Ron had returned. "Mum and Ginny have gone shopping in Diagon Alley. Looks like it's just the twins."

"Fred and George? Excellent!" said Dan. He looked up at the Burrow. "I can't believe this is really real."

They entered through the kitchen and Dan smiled, taking in the somewhat familiar surroundings, when he spied Fred and George in the living room, engrossed in a game of Exploding Snap.

"Hey," said Ron, "This is Dan. We met him down in the village."

Dan held out his hand and shook Fred's. "Wow, you don't look anything like Oliver and James."

"Well, no, I wouldn't think so." Fred turned to George. "Who are Oliver and James again?"

George shook his head. "No idea."

"I think we'd better get you upstairs," Ron interrupted.

Dan turned excitedly. "There's an upstairs?"

"Yes, that's generally how houses work," Ron said, "living area downstairs, bedrooms upstairs?" Harry tried not to laugh.

Dan waved goodbye to the twins and followed them up the stairs. "I just meant...on the set we've only ever used the downstairs of the Burrow. They never actually built the upstairs."

Ron shrugged. "Well then, today's your lucky day."

As they climbed the winding staircase to Ron's room, Dan looked cautiously into the rooms shooting off from various landings. "This house really is held up by magic," he whispered under his breath. Harry turned and smiled at him reassuringly.

Dan looked closely at the Quidditch posters on Ron's wall as the players zoomed in and out of view. "Emma will never believe this. She will freak."

"Who's Emma, your girlfriend?" asked Ron. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh... no, not really," Dan stammered. "We're great friends though. Emma plays the part of Hermione Granger."

Ron's eyes went wide. "Hermione's in the movies as well? No way."

Sensing Ron's embarrassment, Dan chuckled. "So Ron, have you and the real Hermione...er...hooked up at all?" he asked innocently.

Ron grimaced. "Hooked up?! Of course not." He hesitated. "Why, do they get together in the movies?"

"Well, looks like it's heading that way." Dan grinned at Harry.

Harry could take it any longer and burst out in laughter.

"Always in denial, that one," Harry said, pointing at Ron.

"Oh, shut up."

They spent the rest of the afternoon showing off their various wizarding skills and magical items around the house for Dan. They filled him in on the real Hogwarts and its professors and students and took a few quick circles around the backyard on their broomsticks. As they landed, Dan pointed to Harry's Firebolt.

"Not the most comfortable thing in the world, is it."

"Flying? Why? I love it," said Harry, a bit defensively.

"I mean, the handle's a bit hard," said Dan.

"Oh, no Cushioning Charms on the movie broomsticks?" Harry asked. Dan shook his head.

Ron gave a pained look and sucked in his breath. "Ouch."

The sun was starting to set, it would be dinnertime soon. Back up in Ron's room, Dan said, "I can't tell you how great it was to meet you guys. Really, it was brilliant. But I think I'd better be getting back, I still have to catch the train home tonight."

"Um..." started Ron, looking nervously at Harry, "do you think we should, I don't know, do a Memory Charm on him or something?"

Dan's face fell. "Oh... do you really have to?"

"Well, that's what they usually do with Muggles, isn't it? But I suppose you're a different case." Ron rubbed his chin. "I've never done a Memory Charm on anyone," he said, turning to Harry. "Have you?"

"Only that one I did on you after the incident with Hermione and the Giant Squid," Harry deadpanned.

"What?!" Ron yelled.

"Just kidding," Harry grinned. Dan laughed, but Ron eyed Harry suspiciously.

"No offense guys," chuckled Dan, "but I don't think I want either of you doing a Memory Charm on me."

"I think it will be ok, Ron," said Harry. "It's not like he's going to go announce it to the world."

"No, I promise," said Dan, holding up his hands.

Ron gave in. "Yeah, alright then. But how are we going to get him out of here? Mum's bound to be back by now, she's probably in the kitchen."

Harry took off his glasses and gave them to Dan. "Here, put these on." Then he reached into his trunk and took out his Invisibility Cloak. "I'll follow you downstairs in this. They'll never know the difference. Just pretend you're me."

Dan smiled. "Finally, something I know how to do."

They walked into the kitchen, trying to act naturally. Molly Weasley glanced up from the stove where she was waving her wand over a pot of potatoes. "There you are, boys. Dinner in about fifteen minutes. Did you find anything down at the record shop?"

"Yeah, you could say that," said Ron, steering Dan past her. But Dan stopped abruptly when he noticed a red-haired girl sitting at the table, chopping carrots. Harry narrowly missed plowing into him from behind.

"Hi, Ginny," he said with a wide grin.

Ginny looked up and colored slightly. "Hi, Harry." She smiled and went back to her chopping.

Ron opened the door and let Dan and Harry pass through. "We'll be back in a minute, mum," he said and quickly closed the door behind him. When they reached the end of the driveway, Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak and Dan handed him back his glasses.

"Well," said Dan, extending his hand, "thanks again, guys. This was quite amazing."

"It was great to meet you, Dan," said Harry, "Good luck with everything. And don't do anything I wouldn't do." They laughed as he disappeared around the corner and out of sight.