Harry Potter and the Icemaidens

"There it goes . . . "

It was just after nightfall. Everyone watched as the interior of the Garden of the Galaxy lit up like it was high noon, the carved runes on the trilithons blazing with energy as a spiralling vortex of magic formed in the centre of the Garden. On Albus' shoulder was Fawkes, a collar around the phoenix's neck with a tied letter in a metal case (that had been suggested by Elaine) hanging from it. Napaeae and Elaine were both monitoring the strength of the magic inside the Garden. "Alright, I think the gate is opening," the former said. "Are you ready, Fawkes?"

Fawkes trilled with delight and anticipation. "He is more than ready," Albus affirmed with a smile as he reached up to gently pet his familiar's head.

"The gate's open!" Elaine then called out as a string of rune markings on the capstone of the trilithon facing west lit up. "Lord Fawkes!"

With a cry of delight, the phoenix leapt into the air and raced through the portal surrounded by the west trilithon, and then yelped in surprise as he suddenly vanished just as the vortex suddenly exploded in a geyser of power, no different than what Old Faithful did at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. People shielded their eyes as the burst of energy blinded them temporarily, and then they blinked as the Garden went dark. Silence fell as they took that in, and then Harry breathed out. "Wow . . .!"

"Grandpapa!"

Heads snapped around, and then people gaped as they watched Albus -- a stunned look frozen on his face -- sink to his knees and then collapse to the ground. "ALBUS!" Severus screamed as people raced to the headmaster's side . . .

* * *

Elsewhere . . .

Who are you?

Fawkes came to a hover as his eyes locked in on the rapidly-approaching Earth before her. He was caught in an invisible tunnel of energy that was warping him towards the east side of Asia, the Home Islands of Japan looming directly ahead of him. I mean no harm, the phoenix sang back as he spread his wings wide. I seek one of your world that came to mine many years ago. My bonded one needs his help.

Silence fell as Fawkes felt a mind probe his own.

So ANCIENT . . .

So POWERFUL . . .

And for so long, so LONELY . . .

The phoenix moaned in heartbreaking sorrow on feeling such pain, his song reaching out to caress the soul of the Ancient Traveller he now communicated with. Even if he was but a mere hatchling in comparison to a being that was clearly older than all life on Earth, he still had to try and ease such a cauldron of pain . . .

That is not necessary, young phoenix, the voice -- clearly female with a touch of a Scottish brogue to it -- seemed to titter. Do not fear.

The tunnel then warped northward slightly, angling away from the great nest on the bay known to those who lived there as "Tokyo" and towards a smaller nest called "Sendai." As Fawkes allowed the Ancient One to pull him towards her, he was quick to see a glitter of reflected sunlight -- it was approaching sunset on this part of this Earth -- on the east coast of a small peninsula, near a mountain containing the ancient soul magic that was fed and supported by the local animalist belief, called "Shintou" -- the Way of the Spirits -- by its adherents. A beautiful shrine, no doubt.

Yet now lying just north of it . . .

If he could smile, Fawkes would.

Did the people who lived there actually REALISE . . .?

A titter. If they do or they don't, it does not matter, young phoenix, the Ancient One advised him as that small mountain of glittering crystals loomed before him. It is not my place to impose what I know onto their minds.

A wise belief, Fawkes cried back as he felt himself drawn into a glowing warp tunnel that took him past the surface of the Ancient One's crystal skin . . .

. . . to land on the outstretched arm of a beautiful woman.

"Hello there, laddie," a voice -- laden with a much stronger brogue than Fawkes had ever heard from Minerva McGonagall -- called out as Fawkes found himself gazing into a pair of deep green eyes on a face framed by hair the same shades as the phoenix's feathers and dotted by small crystals the size of knut coins and made of the same beautiful material that the Ancient Traveller's very body was composed of. "Now what brings a handsome laddie like ye to our wee corner of the Multiverse?"

Fawkes crooned as he leaned over to rub his head on the woman's skin . . .

* * *

Beckery Hill . . .

"Is the Headmaster alright, Healer?"

"I can't say, Elaine. Calm down," Hamilton stated as he ran his wand over Albus' head, the scanning pentagram floating in the air nearby as his free hand darted over it to give him a reading. "Damn! He's bonded to Fawkes!"

"And that means?!" Remus demanded.

The healer sighed. "With Fawkes now in another dimension, it's as if the poor bird went through the Final Burning and died," he said as he stared at the werewolf. Albus had been apparated to Hamilton's clinic in the Reevewick within seconds of his passing out near the Garden. While Minerva and Elaine were comforting a pair of teary-eyed children now hugging their legs, and Remus was pacing around the examination room, Severus and Napaeae had gone into the pharmacy to join Hamilton's elf nurse, Florence, in preparing some potions. "I pray that he gets back here soon . . . "

"Dinnae worry about that, Doctor."

Albus suddenly jolted, a moan escaping him. Gasps filled the room as people registered that voice. Minerva and Remus drew their wands, spinning around to see the woman in the dark tartan hooded cape standing at one corner of the examination room, parts of her skin glistening with silver diamonds of light. Fawkes was perched like a hunting falcon on her outstretched left arm, looking quite proud of himself. "Who are ye?" Minerva demanded, her brogue thick with anger, as Severus and Napaeae walked into the room, their own wands drawn. "Ye cannae be Ryuuji . . . "

A sigh. "Calm down, Minerva," the newcomer said, pulling the hood away from her head to reveal a woman in her mid-twenties, her red hair cut tomboyish short and dotted with diamond-like crystals that Minerva swore were buried right into the skin. Her face and the backs of her hand had those same crystals inserted in the skin as well. Her green eyes flashed with a level of intelligence that Minerva would only associate with old wizards and witches like Albus Dumbledore and Griselda Marchbanks. On her arm, Fawkes trilled in reassurance, which made the people around them relax. "Ye were lucky my friend was able tae sense the laddie here come flying intae my dimension. If he had fully passed out of the tunnel formed by yuir Garden on the hill yonder . . . " -- She nodded towards the Reevetor and the Garden beyond it. -- " . . . he would've died once he was cut off from all magical links to this world."

Minerva sighed as she lowered her wand. "My apologies," she said as she slipped the wand back into her robes. "We're concerned about several things that have come to be known to us in our dimension that Ryuuji Hirosaki set into motion when he came here to study magic." She then blinked. "Forgive me, but did you go . . .?"

"Ravenclaw, NEWT Class of 1958," the other woman said as she offered her free hand to the transfiguration mistress. "Nicole McTavish, Minerva. You were my transfiguration teacher in the last two years I was there; Albus preceded you."

Minerva shook her hand as the other people relaxed and holstered their wands. "I pray that I -- excuse me, the OTHER me! -- taught you well, Nicole."

"She did." Nicole then allowed Fawkes to fly over to land on the examination bed near Albus' head. Walking over, she gazed intently on him for a moment, and then smiled as she leaned over to slap the back of her hand into his gut.

As Hamilton stared wide-eyed at the visitor from another Earth and many of the others in the room felt their jaws drop in shock, Albus yelped as he bolted up, and then he coughed. "Now, laddie!" Nicole said as she glared at him with eyes that reminded Hamilton, Severus and Napaeae -- who were in viewing range -- of the colour of the Killing Curse. "In th' future, are ye gonna be so bloody daft that ye'll send th' poor laddie there traipsing into other dimensions without protectin' him?!" she demanded as she indicated Fawkes -- who was chirping with laughter -- with a nod.

The headmaster coughed several times as he sent her an admonishing look. "If you were still in school, Mrs. McTavish . . . " Another cough. "I would be docking points from Ravenclaw . . . for such disrespect to a teacher . . . "

"Then I hope ye'd do th' same thing tae Gryffindor for being sae cruel tae such a beautiful animal," Nicole added as she reached into her cape to pull out the metal tube that had contained Albus' letter to Ryuuji Hirosaki. "Ryuuji got to read this when I called him up to Oshika after Fawkes came, so he knows what's going on here. He's too magically exhausted now to even try to spend time to understand what his friend ended up doing to Rose and the others affected. So what the devil's wrong?"

Albus nodded . . .

* * *

"So it will not hurt her?"

"Nor any of the others that were affected by this," Nicole stated as she manipulated the rings of energy now surrounding Rose's head. The young girl was now floating in mid-air asleep, supported -- from what Albus and the others could tell -- by Nicole's very willpower. "Magic, as ye know, Minerva, is like the muscles of yuir body," she then stated. "Ye need tae exercise it or it'll nae be useful tae ye."

"Wand training?" Remus asked.

Nicole nodded. "Aye. And get her a wand crafted specifically for her, not one of the ones Octavius normally will have in stock." She glanced at Harry for a moment. "I would do the same thing for Harry as well. Even if he didnae get the type of boost Rose here received from Ryuuji's friend, he got a lot of power forced on him thanks to Tom Riddle, if the events in yuir universe were anything like what happened in mine. He'll need tae exercise it as well."

Everyone in the living room nodded. "Napaeae, is there anyone affiliated with you that are expert in crafting wands?" Albus asked. "I hesitate on bringing Octavius Ollivander into this at this time. The less Harry is seen in Diagon, the better."

Napaeae nodded. "Yong'il Mun," she stated. "He lives in the Korean part of Kingston-upon-Thames. His eldest son is going to Hogwarts now, I believe; his oldest daughter will be in Harry's year and his youngest daughter will be in Rose's year. He was a wand-crafter at the Keumshillu School close to Keumgang-san until he was forced to flee North Korea when the idiots in P'young'yang wanted to remove all magicals from the country and they fled to the South and elsewhere when the Chinese Ministry of Magic came down to force them into the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture they have located north of Paektu-san. He still does it from time to time, but he doesn't want to be officially licensed to the Ministry like Ollivander is."

"It would be a wise idea, Albus," Severus noted. "Having a spare wand -- one not traced by the Ministry -- will be of considerable advantage to Harry and Rose."

The headmaster nodded. "A good point."

A trill turned everyone's attention to Fawkes, who was now wiggling with excitement. "Are ye sure, laddie?" Nicole then asked. As the phoenix stared at her, the visitor from another Earth warned, "Ye should know that one of the feathers ye gave Octavius went into Riddle's wand. Do ye want tae put Harry at such a disadvantage?"

Fawkes blinked, and then he trilled as he rose from the table he had stood on, and then vanished in a burst of fire. "What did that mean?" Remus asked.

"Voldemort's want was yew with a phoenix feather from Fawkes," Albus said. "Nicole raised a very important point. If Harry or Rose came into conflict with Tom and their wands locked up in Priori Incantatem, they could be rendered helpless."

Remus blinked, and then he nodded. A second later, a burst of fire heralded Fawkes' return. "Ah, Fawkes! What did you . . .?" Albus began . . .

. . . before a SECOND burst of fire heralded the arrival of ANOTHER phoenix, this one with golden feathers on the back, head and wings and light silver feathers on the chest. Seeing that, everyone gasped as the new arrival seemed to orbit around the room for a minute before she came to land on Harry's shoulder. He cried out in shock and fear as the bird landed, and then blinked as the newcomer trilled a long greeting to the young man before he smiled and reached up for her head. She ducked in immediately to allow him to pet her feathers. "Hi, there!" he said.

Jaws dropped from all around save for Nicole, who was still busy scanning Rose, though she had seen the new phoenix arrive. As people watched this, Fawkes turned and trilled something to Albus. He listened to that, and then perked. "Really?!"

"What is it, Albus?" Minerva asked.

A chuckle escaped the headmaster. "It turns out that our new friend here is Fawkes' very own sister," Albus announced. "She was looking for someone she could bond with herself when he came to visit her and encouraged her to come see Harry."

Harry blinked. "Really?!"

"Yes, my boy! Even better, she'll be more than happy to donate a pair of feathers for you and Rose to have placed in your wands."

The young boy took that in, and then he smiled. "Wicked!" he breathed out, and then turned to stare at the phoenix. "Thank you, Lucy."

People stared at him. "You're naming her 'Lucy?'" Minerva asked.

"No, Auntie Minny," Harry said, shaking his head. "She chose the name," he said as he waved to Lucy, who trilled in affirmation. "She just told me."

The jaws of everyone around them dropped in shock save for Nicole, who could only smile as she moved to disperse the scanning rings around Rose . . .

* * *

"I do appreciate you taking time to come here to help us, Nicole."

"Oh, dinnae thank me, lad," Nicole stated as she and Albus walked slowly back towards the Garden of the Galaxy. Night had fallen over the Somerset Levels, though the lights in the Reevetor and the Reevewick were burning bright. As soon as Rose found out about the new pet in hers and Harry's lives -- she automatically claimed Lucy as "their" phoenix, which the beautiful bird didn't seem to mind -- she ran down into the village below the hill to relay the news to everyone else. "Ye never travelled to other dimensions before, so ye never knew what could happen to ye if ye did so. And many people in yuir society still nae understand the links between magical beings like Fawkes and Lucy to the world they live on." She nodded towards the Garden. "Ye best be careful if -- when it comes time for Harry and Rose to start training in earnest -- they not be too bonded to Lucy if they decide to go to other dimensions."

Albus blinked, and then he hummed. "Tell me, if you can: What of Ryuuji?"

A sigh. "He's had a hard time of it these last few years," Nicole stated. "This is 1986 here, right?" At Albus' nod, she shook her head. "Well, there's now a considerable time difference between your dimension and mine. It's 2025 where I come from now." As Albus stared wide-eyed at her, Nicole breathed out, "Earlier this year, a large earthquake -- it was a 9.9 on the Richter scale; it literally broke all the measurement systems the Japanese use for earthquakes -- struck the Kantou basin. Ryuuji himself survived, but his granddaughter Chikage is right now at Death's door. She was barely saved when a wizard trained in the ways of the Mundus Magicus, Negi Springfield, nearly killed himself to save his students from the quake and ended up saving many more. Ryuuji's busy helping the Kantou Magical Association do something to shore up the shattered and damaged ley lines that normally run through and around Tokyo."

Albus winced. "Terrible! How bad were the losses?"

"Well over two million in the first five days after the big one hit. That wasn't helped by the dozen or so aftershocks that followed it," Nicole answered as she stopped before stepping under one of the trilithons into the Garden. "But I've hope for all of them, Albus. I have a bright laddie working now on a way of cloning bodies to give Chikage something of a new life for herself." A look of distaste crossed her face. "Technology on my world has now developed to the point where cybernetics -- machines designed to augment human body functions -- have become something of the rage. People turning themselves into cyborgs to be faster, smarter and do more than what they could have done as mere flesh-and-blood humans." A shake of the head. "Still too many people across the planet dinnae realise some of the things wizards and sorcerers came to understand ages ago about the human body." A sigh. "What's worse, we're now at the stage where people are developing their own house elves with a very advanced form of artificial intelligence. 'Cyberdroids' as they're known. That's also become quite popular. And it will impact all the magical and normal communities all over Earth in ways I fear will nae be well liked unless something's done ahead of time about it." A chuckle. "My world is probably as much of a mess now as it was when Ryuuji came back from this one after ye finished teaching him what he had to know, Albus."

"He did express hope for the future," he recalled.

"Aye. It's a good thing to do. But he's become quite the cynic these days." Nicole stated. "If the chance comes that Chikage does get back on her feet and elects to go on her own Magical Quest, I'll make sure she willnae reveal tae much about what happened to yuir counterparts in my world back in the 1990s and afterward."

"I thank you for that, Nicole. And please tell Ryuuji that I pray that Chikage does make a full recovery." He then perked. "But what happened to . . .?"

"Chikage's mother Jalynda?" she finished for him. At Albus' nod, Nicole took a deep breath. "She rejected any idea of using magic. Can ye believe that?"

The headmaster's eyes widened, and then he sighed. "How terrible."

"Aye. Take care, Albus."

With that, Nicole stepped into the Garden . . . and in a sparkle of light that reminded Albus of the transporter effect on Star Trek, vanished. "Do take care of yourself as well, Nicole," he said before turning to head to the Reevetor . . .

* * *

Over the next year . . .

It was a time of growing stability in the wizarding world of the United Kingdom.

The initial furor over the disappearance of Harry Potter eventually died away as wizards and witches throughout the British Isles returned back to their normal lives. While calls did erupt on occasion on the floor of the Wizengamot to try to find some way of locating the "Boy-Who-Lived-And-Vanished" (as Harry was now pretty much known as), those calls quickly fell on deaf ears thanks to backroom politicking on the part of Albus Dumbledore, assisted by Augusta Longbottom. Often would many of those esteemed elders of wizarding society be invited over for a delightful cup of coffee at one of the private rooms in Cructan's where Albus or Augusta would swear them to secrecy before revealing that they were in infrequent contact with Harry and his guardians (never naming Remus Lupin by name, of course) and that all was well, Harry was having a wonderful childhood and was looking forward to the chance to attend Hogwarts. Of course, none of those who had loudly claimed the "Imperius defence" when they were found to bear a certain tattoo on their left inner arms in the late fall of 1981 after the downfall of the Dark Lord were let in on the secret.

Harry and Rose grew up in a loving household managed pretty much by Remus and Lilian, with the other elves always there to help out as they grew and matured. It didn't take Harry long to catch up to his sister when it came to overall magical knowledge and the two began to train with their new wands -- delivered to them within a week of Napaeae Runcorn delivering Lucy's tail feathers into the eager hands of Yong'il Mun -- as soon as they were brought by a smiling wand-crafter (with the help of Hogan Roper) to the Reevetor on the first Monday in September, just after the Potter siblings returned home from their first day attending school together (they were two years apart in grade, of course) at Millfield Preparatory School near Glastonbury Tor.

When he had fled North Korea, Yong'il brought all his supplies of magical tree planks with him so that, as he rebuilt his private crafting business (while acting to his neighbours as a normal grocery store owner), he could provide future generations of ethnic Korean wizards and witches with wands made from trees actually grown in their ancient and beautiful homeland. In reflection of his desire to thank his new land of residence for opening their doors and allowing his family to move in without much in the way of problems (it was Reginald Spelthorne, as the Magical Sheriff of Surrey, who had helped the Muns settle in; Kingston-upon-Thames was within his patrol zone), he combined the phoenix feathers from Lucy with special wood from Korea.

Harry's wand -- in reflection of the powerful love his late mother felt for him when she had given up her life for his -- was made of the wood of a Korean aeng tree, the variation of cherry wood known throughout the world by its Japanese name, sakura. Like in Japan, viewing the cherry blossoms as they bloomed in springtime was a favourite pastime in Korea, despite the tradition having actually been brought over during the years the Land of the Rising Sun had occupied the Land of the Morning Calm. "It is a symbol of renewal, of new life at the coming of spring," a grinning Yong'il said as Harry first took his wand and a whole fountain of sparks came out of it as a result. "Even if Harry's life began in the shadow of death, the fact that he is alive and growing is a sign of hope for us all."

Rose's wand -- in reflection of her saviour's service to the Crown and Britain's long history of seafaring -- was made of the wood of a Korean sonamu (pine) tree. Pine had gone into the hull construction of the famous koubuksoun fighting ships of the navy that protected old Chosoun from invaders from Japan in the 1590s. One of the men who designed the koubuksoun for the legendary admiral Sunshin Yi was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Magic in Hansoung (modern-day Seoul), who gladly used his expertise to ensure that if any Japanese wizards were part of the armadas, they would not find the sailors fighting under Admiral Yi easy meat for a killing curse. "I doubt Voldemort will find Rose easy meat, either," Yong'il said after he and Remus witnessed the shower of sparks that burst from her wand when she held it . . .

* * *

Harry's social life had been all but non-existent when he had lived in Little Whinging. Thanks pretty much to Dudley Dursley and a small group of bullies that he had befriended when they began attending infant school together, anyone that ever tried to make friends with Harry was often chased away. Now that Harry was going to school in Somerset, many kilometres from Surrey -- and now that Dudley himself had been cured of the urges to bully his cousin -- there was simply no way that people such as Piers Polkiss, Dennis Blunt, Gordon Burgess and Malcolm Cairncross could bother him anymore. Of course, Harry soon learned thanks to a letter -- Lilian arranged for a post office box in Glastonbury for the Dursleys to use when they wanted to write their relatives; the letters, for Harry's and Rose's safety, were always addressed to "Harrison and Rose Evans" -- from Dudley that his cousin had turned away from picking on kids weaker than he, turning his energy into protecting those not able to protect themselves.

"It isn't funny anymore," Dudley wrote Harry sometime after school began. "I used to laugh a lot when I saw girls cry after I took their lunches. Now it makes me think of how you must have cried. I'm glad I'm not friends with those guys anymore."

On reading that, Rose would write back, "Don't let berks like them run your life, Duds. What do dunderheads like that know about a great guy like you?"

Vernon would later write that in the wake of receiving Rose's complement, Dudley really felt good about himself and was becoming a very well-respected young man in the neighbourhood, especially in the eyes of the parents of those children he protected from his former gang friends, who had remained together under Piers' leadership. "To believe I just blinded myself to all the things my son did to other people," he would confess to Remus in a private letter later. "I never was like that when I was growing up. Oh, yes, a little tumbling about in the dirt was expected, but not to that level."

"Don't be surprised, Vernon," Remus had written back. "You're all recovering from years of a curse that made you into what you actually felt you hated the most when you first met James and Sirius at your wedding. It will come with time, but I think that one day, you'll look into the mirror and be pretty impressed by what you see."

* * *

School life was much better for Harry now that he was free of the Dursleys. When he first began attending infant school (unlike Dudley, who had been allowed by his parents to go to nursery school a year earlier) at age four, Harry was shown to be quite intelligent and capable of many things once the teachers got the chance to show him what he was doing. For the first term of the 1984-85 school year, he had done much better than his cousin. And while he had been pretty proud of himself when he saw his report card at the start of the Christmas holidays, Harry would wind up spending most of the following days locked in the cupboard under the stairs, only having a meal a day as his relatives punished him for showing their precious Dudley up in front of his friends. "You're a freak!" Vernon had yelled at him after shoving Harry into the cupboard the night after the last day of classes. "Freaks don't deserve high marks in school! You probably lied and cheated in all your classes! Now get in there and stay quiet! We're having company tonight and you'll suffer if you make noise!"

Naturally, as a result of that, Harry toned down his performance in classes.

But now that he was attending Millfield, he didn't need to worry about retarding his performance for the Dursleys' benefit anymore. The teachers -- all of whom had immediately accepted the new student in their classes thanks to Tamara Simmonds' elf magic -- were quick to see that the shy young boy now in the second year of studies was quite smart and willing to learn as much as he could. Harry was a voracious reader, often spending free periods in the library scanning any book that caught his interest. Sensing that he was very much reading above his school level, some of the teachers elected to use Harry as a tutor for those students that were still struggling with the material. This would, atop allowing Harry to learn how to teach others, endear him to many of his peers and prevent him from being given the label of "bookworm."

Of course, there were still the problem kids. Even in a boarding school like Millfield, where discipline from the teachers was more strict than what was normally found in day schools, there were the bullies. Soon to take Dudley's place in Harry's life was one Homer Maclean, a gruff-looking kid in fourth year who liked the idea of intimidating those smaller than himself, usually to make himself feel good (since half the students like Homer at Millfield were boarders, money was controlled and thus, not a popular target for theft). And while Harry had recovered from years of malnutrition while living in Little Whinging, he was still smaller than normal for his age. And because a lot of Harry's classmates liked him -- he was really a friendly person once people got him to open up -- Homer decided that Harry would be his next victim.

Unfortunately, even if Homer did intimidate Harry at first, it was simply more of the same for the latter. And what was worse, this time, Harry had friends to help him, both open and hidden. One of Harry's "open" friends was Donald Hawkhurst, a sixth year student (a day student like Harry who lived in Glastonbury) whose younger sister, Simone, was Harry's classmate and one of his tutorial students when it came to reading and arithmetic. Seeing how happy his little sister was now that Harry was helping her "learn letters and ciphering" (as Donald's father Ronan called it) -- the Hawkhursts had actually been afraid that Simone might be forced to repeat a year if her performance didn't improve -- Donald made it a mission in life to make sure Homer was kept in check. That resulted in a couple interesting accidents the bully suffered which he attributed to "tripping on the dorm building steps when I walked out in the morning." No one believed him, of course, but since Homer didn't want to admit that he had been beaten by an older boy who was protecting the friend of his sister, nothing was done.

Homer DID try to get his vengeance against Harry by attacking Rose once he learned they were siblings. But that turned into a total disaster since Rose -- who had been living in the company of house elves and wizards since birth -- was quite well protected even while out in the normal world. And Lilian Evans, Modesty O'Donnell and Tamara Simmonds always could use their elf-sight to see what was going on with their charge even all the way from Beckery Hill. If Rose herself didn't deal with Homer -- usually with a kick between the legs when no teacher was looking -- Lilian, Modesty or Tamara would unleash some nasty trick that would scare the poor boy senseless, then vanish what she had done before any of the teachers became any wiser. By the time Harry was about to move out of Key Stage One in the summer of 1987 and enter Key Stage Two (otherwise known as Third Year or the first year of junior school), Homer Maclean had ceased to be anything of a major problem in the Potter siblings' lives . . .

* * *

Life in Little Whinging went back to a normal pace for the Dursley family once they had fully adjusted themselves to no longer having Harry Potter living with them. While there were still flashes of guilt felt by Vernon, Petunia and Dudley -- usually when they would look on the mantelpiece over the fireplace and see that they never had any pictures of Harry there -- they soon faded as time went on and they strove to push forward to make their lives better for themselves.

Of course, the wizarding world didn't FULLY leave the Dursleys alone after that incredible week in the summer of 1986. While most wizards soon found out that any attempts at sending letters via post owls wouldn't work thanks to the shield protecting Little Whinging from magical intrusion, some of the smarter of them -- usually those with some connection to the normal world thanks to a normal-born relative -- soon learned of a "really remarkable Muggle system they call the 'Royal Mail!'"

When Reginald Spelthorne had explained to the Dursleys what he had overheard Arthur Weasley talk to his wife Molly about one day at the Leaky Cauldron, Vernon then exclaimed, "We've had the ruddy post since the sixteenth century and personal letter deliveries to homes since the eighteenth! And they're only finding out about this NOW?! How bloody out-of-date are most wizards, for God's sake?!"

"I'm still trying to figure that one out, Vernon," Reginald replied.

And with that, the Dursleys found themselves the recipients of a small amount of fan mail from wizards and witches all over the country. Usually, the letters were, for the most part, quite inoffensive, containing compliments to the Dursleys for "showing such an attitude of forgiveness for what James Potter did to you all" and "coming to care for Harry Potter well enough to let him go and see him properly raised as a wizard." Before anything more dangerous could come in to harm the Dursleys, the Magical Sheriff of Surrey set up an extra set of wards around the Dursley home on Privet Drive that would detect any potentially threatening articles of mail (poisonous potions smeared on pages inside the envelopes, for example), then teleport same to the Reevetor Surrey in Ripley for Reginald to examine. Those letters normally resulted in an anonymous letter being sent to the Daily Prophet from "A Concerned Wizard in Surrey" (many believed it was Albus Dumbledore that wrote those letters; it was actually Reginald Spelthorne) that detailed each threatening letter, the poisons that were found on them and a good idea where said letter had first originated from.

Many across the wizarding world got the hint.

The Dursleys were muggles, yes. But they have very powerful magical friends.

And those friends were clearly and obviously determined that THIS particular family of muggles would be allowed to live in peace.

Soon, much to everyone's relief, the letters finally stopped.

Just in time for Petunia to drop a bombshell on her husband and son . . .

* * *

Alfred William Dursley was welcomed into the world at the Frimley Park Hospital, west of Little Whinging, during the early evening of 12 May 1987. He was a week premature but still healthy according to Doctor Joanna Spelthorne, the Dursleys' new family doctor, who had attended the birth along with Doctor Hamilton St. John, a retired general practitioner, winner of the Military Cross and veteran of World War Two who had also befriended the family in the last year or so. Vernon was there with his wife when Alfred was born. Dudley had been kept waiting for a couple hours while Petunia went through labour, accompanied by Vernon's nephew and niece, Harry and Rose Potter, as well as the Potter siblings' guardians, Remus Lupin and Lilian Evans.

Of course, by the time a giddy Petunia had been wheeled out of the birthing theatre to a recovery room, carrying the sleeping Albert in her arms, the Dursleys had been joined by friends of their family and the Potters. Atop Joanna's husband Reginald, there was an elderly man name Albus Dumbledore, a past-middle aged woman named Minerva McGonagall, a woman of equal age named Dame Wilma Skegness, a young raven-haired man name Severus Snape, a slightly older but more muscular man named Hogan Roper, and a very beautiful young woman named Napaeae Runcorn. As soon as the all-clear was sounded, everyone was invited into Petunia's recovery room and the nurses were made to leave, Albus then set up a privacy charm, and then gazed on the new parents.

After congratulations were exchanged and handshakes, hugs and kisses passed around, Vernon, Petunia and Dudley gazed on Albus. The headmaster had a very big smile on his face. "I have some news for you," he stated.

Petunia blinked, and then she gaped. "He's magical?"

"Yes," Minerva confirmed. "The Roll Book at Hogwarts just recorded his name down." As the Dursleys exchanged a surprised look and Dudley and Harry exchanged a high-five before Rose hugged them both, the transfiguration mistress added, "It was created by Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of our school. It has the power to sense out the birth of every magical child in the United Kingdom." She decided it was best to not mention the problems with Rose Potter's registry. "That means that come the spring of 1998, a letter will be owled to you inviting Albert to come to Hogwarts."

Vernon perked. "But what about the shield around Little Whinging?" he asked. "That would stop a post owl from reaching us. And what about his magical growth?"

"The shield around your town will not affect Alfred in any way, shape or form," Joanna assured them. "But it WILL help cut down on incidents of accidental magic, which are always a bit of a pain to deal with. As long as you make sure he stays healthy, he will be in good shape when it comes time to go to Hogwarts."

As soon as that settled in, Petunia felt tears in her eyes. "It was my dream to go to Hogwarts," she admitted as she gazed on the sleeping Albert. "I never got the chance to live my dream. But he'll live it for me."

"That, my dear, he will," Albus assured her with a nod and a smile . . .

* * *

That night, when she slept in the guest room at 4 Privet Drive, Rose dreamt once again of her five special friends and told them the good news.

The next morning after breakfast -- and after saving poor Neville from yet ANOTHER attempt by Algeron Wilde to provoke an incident of accidental magic! -- Grace Longbottom passed on the news to Augusta. Naturally, the matriarch of the Longbottoms was more than happy that another magical child had been welcomed into the world.

After a quick calculation, Augusta told her granddaughter, "You'll be past your OWL years when young Alfred will come to school. You make very sure that he is well looked after when he comes to the school and gets sorted into Gryffindor."

"But what if he gets sorted elsewhere, Grandma?" Grace asked.

"He will be a Gryffindor," Augusta assured her. "He's the first magical child of a woman who long dreamt of being a witch but never got the chance. I'm more than sure that Rose's aunt will drive Alfred to do his best in everything to prepare him for that day. And Rose and Harry will always be close to him as well. That will pretty much ensure that he will be sorted into Gryffindor when comes his time."

Grace smile as she pulled out her wand -- another creation of Yong'il Mun's, it had been made of Korean aeng wood, but had a core made from a mixture of hair and heartstrings from a magical bear descent from the Great Lady Ungnyou, the mother of Korea's first true king, Tangun-wanggoum -- and made a wave with it. Like it did every time she held the beautifully-crafted device, many sparks flew from the tip.

"I will, Grandma," she vowed before turning back to her spell book . . .

* * *

At their homes, Raven Malfoy, Cassiopeia Lestrange, Ariel Goyle and Charlotte Crabbe wisely kept quiet, though they all rejoiced at the wonderful news from Little Whinging. None of their relatives asked them about the smiles they had . . .

* * *

That day would not prove to be all pleasant for the Dursleys, though.

As Harry, Rose, Remus and Lilian helped set up the nursery in the spare bedroom upstairs at 4 Privet Drive -- Reginald Spelthorne had given all four of them rune charm bracelets that would allow them to work their magic while still allowing the Kokujun shield protecting the whole town to remain in place -- Vernon got a call. He would soon come up to the bedroom, glad to see it was ready for Alfred, who was being nursed by Petunia in the master bedroom and watched over by a very over-protective Dudley. On seeing the tired look on his face, Remus asked, "What is it?"

"Marge is coming," was the answer.

Hearing that, Harry moaned. Marge Dursley, Vernon's older spinster sister. A woman who lived out in the countryside of Surrey and raised bulldogs like her own favourite Ripper, a dog that Harry hated with a passion. "Oh, great!" he breathed out. "Well, this is almost done, so we can get out of here before she arrives."

A shake of the head. "I'm sorry about that, Harry."

"Don't apologise, Vernon," Remus stated. He was feeling under the weather thanks to the full moon expected that evening, but the Wolfsbane potion prescribed to him by Hamilton St. John since he had moved to Beckery Hill the previous August was allowing him to keep control over himself. "Lily told me about her once. You, at least, had the excuse of James' prank to blame for what you did -- pardon me, what you were MADE to do! -- to Harry. What the devil is that woman's excuse?!"

Rose was scowling. "I'd love to try a few curses on her!"

Remus and Lilian were quick to see her fingering her wand. "DOWN, kitten!" the former urged as the latter reached over to pat her shoulder. "Much that in some ways she might deserve it, we do not DO that to normals! Put that away!"

"But Uncle Moony . . .!" Rose whined.

"NO, kitten! Sheathe the claws!" Remus urged.

Rose huffed as she gave him a pout. "Hey, Uncle Remus!" Dudley called out from the doorway to the master bedroom. "Why don't you let Rose zap the dog at least?!"

Rose blinked, and then she cackled, rubbing her hands together in a very good imitation of a mad scientist about to unleash a new horror on the world. Remus moaned, though there was a smile on his face. "Dudley! Don't put ideas into her head!"

Vernon and Harry laughed while Lilian could only shake her head . . .

* * *

The magicals left the Dursley home and walked out of Little Whinging well over an hour before Marge arrived, accompanied as usual by Ripper. Of course, while Marge was more than happy to come by and congratulate her brother on the birth of her new nephew, she seemed a little lost when she noted that Harry Potter no longer lived there. Much to Petunia's and Vernon's annoyance and Dudley's wide-eyed disbelief, Marge readily launched into yet another tirade about the "bad blood" that Petunia's sister had married into and that the Dursleys should not have let Harry go so that he could be properly disciplined and made more useful to society than his "wastrel of a father!"

As she continued to rant, swallowing goblet after goblet of brandy, Petunia was quick to note Vernon looking more and more angry, his face reddening and his teeth almost audibly grating as his fists seemed to clench and unclench.

Just when he seemed ready to explode, though . . .

" . . . this namby-pamby, wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting . . . "

"SHUT UP!"

Silence.

Vernon and Petunia stared wide-eyed at Dudley, who had bolted to his feet, his eyes flashing with anger as he glared at a gobsmacked Marge. After a moment as her mind tried to wrap around the idea of her own nephew having just yelled at her for something she normally had said -- and her relatives had often AGREED with! -- about Harry Potter, Vernon's sister then finally sputtered, "D-d-Dudley . . . "

"QUIET!" Dudley yelled. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HARRY! OR AUNT LILY EITHER!" He pointed to the hallway and the cupboard that Harry had been trapped in for five years. "DON'T SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT HARRY! DID YOU KNOW AUNT LILY AND UNCLE JAMES WERE MURDERED WHEN HARRY WAS JUST A YEAR OLD?! DID YOU KNOW HARRY HAS A SISTER WHO ALMOST DIED THAT NIGHT, TOO?! AND DID YOU KNOW THAT HARRY'S FAMILY ARE RICH?! THAT UNCLE JAMES AND AUNT LILY DIDN'T HAVE TO WORK?! NO! YOU JUST LOOKED AT HARRY AND DECIDED YOU'D SIC THAT STUPID DOG OF YOURS ON SO YOU COULD GET A BIG LAUGH OUT OF IT! YOU MIGHT THING IT'S OKAY, AUNTIE, BUT I DON'T!"

With that, he turned to storm out of the living room, and then he stopped before turning back to point at Ripper, who was seated on the floor beside his mistress, looking a little lost. "You know, you're lucky Rose -- that's Harry's sister -- wasn't here when you came. She'd take a KNIFE to that mutt and then send the corpse to her Korean friend in Kingston!" As Marge gasped in horrified shock and Vernon and Petunia gaped at him, Dudley then smirked. "You wanna know what Koreans do to dogs, Auntie?!" He then made a munching motion with his mouth.

"They EAT them!"

Marge's face went totally white on hearing that, and then she gasped as her heart started to hammer hard in her chest before she collapsed in a dead faint in her chair, the glass of bourbon dropping from her hand to land HARD on Ripper's head! As the poor bulldog started yelping as the alcohol smell assaulted his nose, Dudley turned and stormed up to his bedroom, the door slamming shut behind him.

Much to Petunia's and Vernon's relief, Alfred didn't cry at the noise . . .

* * *

18 May 1987

Aesup Mun,

116 Malden Road,

New Malden, Kingston-upon-Thames, London

Dear Aesup,

Thanks very much for the nice package of rice cakes with the sweet bean paste you sent to us from that shop in New Malden. They were really, really, really good. Albert (my new baby brother) really liked them, too.

Please tell your mom that Mom really wants to know the recipe.

By the way, what are they called again?

Yours truly,

Dudley

P.S. What's the recipe for dog stew in Korea, anyway? We're not going to have it here, but I want to have it around so I can scare my Aunt Marge in case she comes back and starts saying bad things about Harry and his family again.

* * *

20 May 1987

Dudley A. Dursley,

4 Privet Drive,

Little Whinging, Surrey

Dear Dudley,

Mom was really glad to hear that you liked the ch'apssal-ttouk (the funny mark over the "ou" means that you pronounce it like the "o" in "hot") that we sent you. If your mom won't mind it (I know your mom and dad don't really like being bugged by wizards, but Mom knows how to drive a car), she'll come visit your mom.

I'll make sure she'll bring over a recipe for poshin-t'ang so that you can scare your aunt next time she badmouths Harry and Rose. Harry told me about the time that berk's dog chased him up the tree once at your place. I can't believe that your aunt actually let it happen! What a mudbrain!

Cheers!

Aesup

* * *

22 May 1987

Aesup Mun,

116 Malden Road,

New Malden, Kingston-upon-Thames, London

Dear Aesup,

Wow! Your mom's so cool! She brought over the recipe for poshin-t'ang and even taught me how to read Korean letters while she showed Mom how to make ch'apssal-ttouk! Boy, your King Sejong was really a smart guy! Did he get wizards to help him make all those letters? It was a good thing he did, too! Your mom showed me some Chinese letters your people used before you got chosoun'geul (and yeah, your mom showed me how to write that in both Korean and English). Boy, and folks back in Korea have to remember 1500 of them by the time they get out of junior school? Wow!

Anyhow, Aunt Marge called in when your mom was visiting. She sounded really mad because I yelled at her because of what she said about Harry and Aunt Lily when she came to visit after Albert was born. Mom didn't really want to talk to her, but she made me go on the phone. I told her I was sorry for yelling at her but I wasn't sorry for sticking up for Harry. So when Aunt Marge started yelling about him again, I looked at Mom and asked her if we were going to try dog meat stew tonight.

Boy, did Aunt Marge scream!

Dad got upset at me later and set me to my room without dessert. But I think deep down, he knows why I did what I did, so I don't mind it.

Yours sincerely,

Dudley

P.S. Why is it your mom calls herself "Aemo Pak?" Mom was wondering why her name's like that if she's married to your dad. Shouldn't she be "Aemo Mun?"

* * *

25 May 1987

Dudley A. Dursley,

4 Privet Drive,

Little Whinging, Surrey

Dear Dudley,

Mom was sad you were punished for only speaking the truth about Harry and his mom to your aunt Marge. I think she's gonna hex her if she ever runs into her. And believe me, if we get hold of that creepy dog of hers, we'll have a big stew feast!

Anyhow, Rose floo-called us last night and said that she wanted to start getting people together to celebrate Harry's birthday on 31 July this year since you never could celebrate it because of what Harry's dad did to you guys. If you want to go visit Harry and Rose over where they live now (make sure you ask your mom and dad about it, too, okay?), write back and tell us when you can come down.

Cheers,

Aesup

P.S. Korean women don't change their names when they get married, so Mom will always be "Aemo Pak" instead of "Aemo Mun." Don't ask me why, though.

* * *

To be continued . . .