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Harry Potter Squib Tales Chapter 17
🕑 Added 2023-07-15 20:05:16 +0000 UTCChapter 17: An Owl of a Good Time
A loud and frantic rapping on my apartment door caused me to look up from my work at the dining table. I had a jeweler’s Loup over my right eye, and a metal file and engraving tools in my hands, while a metal ring was being held in a vice as I worked on etching runes into it.
“Inky, who is it?” I asked, and a faint pop answered me.
“It’s Young Harry Potter, Young Master Eddy!” the house elf called back.
I frowned, confused. What was he doing here this early on a Wednesday? Sure, it was summer break, but it was an odd time all the same.
“Let him in,” I said after a moment, putting my tools down.
The door was opened by magic, and in rushed Harry, breathless and wide-eyed.
“I got it! It was just as you said! I got it!” Harry exclaimed as he waved a piece of paper around.
‘No, wait, that’s not paper… it’s parchment!’ I realized, eyes widening.
“Your Hogwarts letter?” I asked, surprised. ‘Wait, what day is it today?’
I’d been so focused on runecrafting these last couple of days that I’d lost track of time. Think back on it, it was July 31st. Harry Potter’s 11th birthday and the day he got his acceptance letter.
“Yes! Yes! It came! It really came, just as you said it would!” Harry said, tears in his eyes.
“I’m so happy for you!” I said, getting up and hugging him. “And happy birthday as well!”
“Thank you,” he said happily, wiping the tears from his face after I let him go. As I did, I glanced over him, glad to see the changes almost a year of steady food and potions had done for him. He was still a scrawny kid, but no longer undernourished and pale. He had muscle to him. Not much, but enough. And he was taller, too, by a few inches.
“Have you read it, yet?” I asked, turning my attention away from his healthy body.
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t want my aunt and uncle to find out, so I waited outside all morning for the owl to come. And it did! Flew down and dropped the letter on my head! I ran to the bus stop immediately afterwards and came here!”
“I’m honored,” I said with a smile. “Come on, open it!”
He did, and we read it together. It was the same letter as Rudy had gotten, and that Harry himself had received in the books.
“So, how do we reply?” he asked.
“I don’t have an owl, but Inky could always deliver it, I suppose,” I mused. Then, an idea hit me. “Or, we could do something else. Something… sneaky.”
“Like what?” he asked, curious.
“Follow me and find out,” I said, a grin stretching across my face. I grabbed my shoes, wallet, a magic ring (one I wasn’t working on) and my bag of rune bones, then made sure I got some directions to where I wanted to go by flipping through the London equivalent of the Yellow Pages.
We then left my apartment and hopped onto the bus, traveling into London. I had a special destination in mind, and I hoped Harry would like the surprise. He was bewildered, but trusted me, and followed along.
We got off the bus, and after some walking, soon came to a building that was in the newer, urban side of London where many new businesses had risen. There, we found what I was looking for; a seemingly ordinary dentist’s office. One I’d been too a couple times in the past for yearly check-ups.
Harry and I went inside, the door chiming as a puff of cool air hit us. There were a couple people sitting in the lobby, waiting and reading magazines.
“Hello,” I said to the receptionist within. “I’d like to speak with Doctor Granger. Either of them.”
One of the people sitting in the lobby, a girl with curly brown hair, perked up at the name I’d uttered.
“Are you trying to make an appointment?” the secretary asked, confused. I just shook my head.
“Nope, not this time. Or, well, actually, yes, maybe, I don’t know when the last time my friend here had his teeth checked. But for the moment, I wanted to discuss something with them. About the school their daughter is going to be attending?”
The secretary’s brow raised, while the brunette leaned in curiously to listen in better. After a moment of staring at me, the secretary got up and went into the back. She then returned a minute later with a woman with black hair. She was wearing a doctor’s scrubs, and looked at me curiously.
“Edward Rose, right?” she asked, leading me and Harry off to the side to converse. “You’re one of my husband’s patients.”
“Yes. I am. And I’m here to talk to you about an important matter. Your daughter can listen in, too, if she likes,” I said, turning to the girl in the waiting room and smiling at her. She let out an adorable “Eep!” and tried to look like she hadn’t been eavesdropping.
The dark-haired woman frowned, but nodded, beckoning the girl forward. All the while, Harry watched on in bewilderment.
We were led into an unused room, which Harry looked around at in wonder, clearly never having seen the inside of one before. I made a mental note to rectify this matter ASAP. For now, though, it was time to talk.
“Hello, Doctor Granger,” I said, giving a polite nod of my head to her. “It’s a pleasure to see you, again. Sorry that it’s not for teeth related business right now.”
“What is it, then?” she asked, crossing her arms impatiently.
“This is Harry Potter,” I said, introducing the boy beside me. “And he is also going to Hogwarts this year, alongside your daughter.”
Both Grangers, young and old alike, jerked in surprise, shooting me curious and suspicious looks.
“How do you know that?” Dr. Granger demanded.
“I have contacts in the magical world, even if I do not live there myself,” I told her, lying smoothly. “And Harry here is a friend of mine who lives with non-magical relatives. So your situations are similar. He only found out about magic recently as well.”
“Are you a wizard?” Hermione asked eagerly, unable to contain her curiosity any more.
“I am not. I am what is known as a Squib. Non-magical person born to magical parents,” I explained. “I can’t use a wand, but I can use some magic and magical items.”
I turned back to Doctor Granger. “I was hoping you could help out with Harry, since he’ll also be going in the same year as your daughter.”
“I suppose we could do that. And we have arranged to meet with one of the teachers this Saturday,” she revealed after a moment. “We were going to be given a tour of Diagon Alley, and get our school supplies.”
“Wonderful! You can take Harry with you,” I said happily. “I’d also be happy to show you around as well.”
“Why did you come to find us?” Dr. Granger inquired.
“I live with one foot in the magical world, and I can understand the confusion you might be going through right now,” I said. “However, the main reason I came to you, is because Harry needs a friend. One who is his own age, and will be attending the same school. I can only do so much for him.”
“How sure are you my daughter and him will be able to become friends?” Dr. Granger asked, while Hermione and Harry shared bashful looks with each other, embarrassed to hear themselves being talked about.
“Besides the fact that I know Harry here would love to? Well, let’s ask Fate what she thinks, alright?” I asked slyly, taking out the velvet bag where I stored my rune bones and walked over to the nearby counter with all eyes on me.
“Will Harry Potter and Hermione Granger become friends?” I asked aloud as I shook some of the bones out onto the countertop. Four of them clattered out, and they danced and spun for a moment before falling still.
“Well, that’s the most blatant answer I’ve seen so far,” I muttered, staring at the rune bones and what they said. The symbols for friendship, strength, and longevity stared up at me, along with the symbol for certainty. It couldn’t have been more obvious if they’d spelled out the words ‘YES’ in front of me.
“What was that?” Hermione asked excitedly, rushing over to look at the carved bones. “Are those dice? What did you do?”
“I was attempting to divine the future,” I explained. “Those dice as carved with runes that are supposed to resonate with my magic and reveal a glimpse of the future. Never gotten a fortune so clear and obvious before, though.”
“Fortune telling is real?” Dr. Granger asked, surprised.
“In some cases, yes. Most people you meet who claim to know the future are going to be hacks,” I informed her. “Even for magicals, it’s a rare gift. One I’ve spent years cultivating.”
“I see,” the dentist murmured. “Hermione, do you want to take Harry and go talk somewhere quiet? Mr. Rose and I need to discuss a few things.”
“Okay, mom,” Hermione said with a nod. She then grabbed Harry’s hand and dragged him off, the poor boy blushing at the contact.
That left me alone with the good doctor, and I smiled. “Cute kid,” I said.
“Yes, she is smart and adorable all rolled into one package,” Dr. Granger said proudly. She then shot me a frown. “What’s the real reason you came here?”
“I told the truth,” I said. “I wanted Harry to make a friend. He needs them. And so does your daughter, if I’m seeing things correctly.”
“There’s more to it than that, though,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. I simply nodded.
“Yes. It can wait, though. Harry – and now Hermione – are more important. And there are things you need to know about the magical world that you likely haven’t been told.”
“The teacher who showed up to speak with us gave us a brief overview,” she replied. “We spoke for an hour about Hogwarts and the magical world.”
“An hour wouldn’t be enough time at all to cover the stuff you needed to know,” I said firmly. “Let me elaborate on some things that were likely glossed over.”
I didn’t have much time to do so, only half an hour before her next patient, but I made sure to stress how divided and backwards the magical world would be. I didn’t sugarcoat it, and did what I could to prepare her for the culture shock.
“I think this conversation would be best finished over dinner,” she said when our time was up, the doctor’s head clearly spinning from information overload.
“Harry and I have nothing else to do today,” I claimed.
“My husband and I get off at four this afternoon,” she said, scribbling an address onto a notepad which she then handed to me. “Meet us at five?”
“Can do. That lets me do some stuff with Harry before then,” I said with a nod.
I bid the dentist farewell and left the room, rescued Harry from Hermione, and made an appointment for Harry to have his teeth examined before school started.
“So, what did you think?” I asked Harry as we left.
“She was very… forceful,” Harry replied, looking like he’d just escaped a hurricane.
“But was she nice?”
“Yes,” he admitted after a moment.
“Great! Now, we’re going to Diagon Alley for some shopping,” I said. “I wasn’t planning on it originally, but I think it’s best if we grab some supplies before your ‘official’ trip there. Not much, just a couple things you are going to need. And after a nice dinner out somewhere, I’ll take you back to the Dursleys. I need to have a ‘chat’ with them, anyways.”
Harry swallowed nervously at how ominous I’d made that sound, but nodded in agreement.
Comments
Alatoic
Great! Harry and Hermione being friends before Hogwarts is amazing, I am sure both will benefit a lot, also of the influence Edward can have in her. Cant wait for next chapter to know what extra stuff Harry will purchase and the talk with the Grangers.
