A Hogwarts Owl
Harry's long awaited 11th birthday had finally arrived. The months before it had been filled to the brim with unexpected issues, a haphazard sleeping schedule for everyone and general confusion so he joyfully anticipated a stress free, ordinary day.
Everything had started to go downhill a little over two years ago. Harry had started his bouts of accidental magic at age seven and a half, the family had managed to become used to them, and they could be dealt with and explained away quickly, for the most part.
The most notable one, however, came said day two years ago. Rose and Harry had gotten into a fight with some older boys from Joseph's class, and the former had suddenly shouted in astonishment that Harry would put the bullies on the roof. What was even worse is that he did.
It hadn't been Harry's worst or strongest bout of magic, but what really bewildered him wasn't his sister's uncanny prediction, but his brother. One of the boys tried to get off the roof but fell in the process, ending up sprawled unconscious on the gravel path.
Joseph had walked up to him to check on him, but then disappeared as soon as he look at the boy's face. Instead, the boy rose with glowing green eyes in front of his horrified siblings and proceeded to shout in confusion, insisting he was actually Joey.
He returned back to normal by the time teachers came to resolve the debacle and the three of them ran home where after a few tests and freak incidents, Slade found out that while all three of his biological kids inherited standard enhanced strength and durability from him, the younger two were metahumans.
Joseph could possess people after looking them in the eyes, he didn't do it often as it was difficult to maintain, and he later learned how to avoid doing it when emotions ran high, just when he wanted to. Adeline found out the hard way, when she had Wintergreen over who had unfortunately fainted after an incident, that her younger son could also talk when inhabiting an unconscious person's body in their voice.
Still, that matter had been mostly resolved after a disastrous phone call between Adeline and Slade about the matter, and Joseph realising the extent of his abilities. Rose's problem though? Not so much.
Lillian had taken the revelation of her daughter's precognition very well and it initially didn't seem to cause many issues for Rose's life. The girl reveled in her newfound powers and used them to scare and confuse people with glee, but the casual throwaway comments ended after terrifying her mother when the panicked girl yelled at her to swerve sharply on the road and they narrowly avoided a fatal car crash.
They finally worked out that the powers are mainly fueled by adrenaline, especially the longer and more distant visions, but she could sometimes do it spontaneously, unnerving those around her.
In the meantime, Slade had recently taken up a contract to find some kind of magical artifact for Felix Faust who had been incarcerated on Themyscira. In the aftermath of the incident where his secret identity was revealed, he had promised to tell the children about any major jobs he was doing, and so Harry knew that this was something he didn't usually do but the price was high and the task had seemed easy, but he had still failed to retrieve it as the only lead he really had was what it looked like and a device to track it that he had proclaimed useless, and so was away or busy for extended periods of time.
Both children learned to control their abilities in time and Slade essentially gave up on the artifact, so Harry was hopeful his day would go on without any hitches and it didn't disappoint. He had spent the entire day enjoying his gifts, and an incredible party with his family and friends.
Evening came too soon for him, and before he knew it, Harry was sitting at the kitchen table with his father, siblings and Wintergreen, conversing while eating supper as a mass of clouds cloaked the outside world from view.
'Alright, you lot should probably be going to bed now, it's late.' Wintergreen announced as he started to clear the plates.
Harry started to complain, 'But-'
A loud thud on the window abruptly cut him off, as everyone in the room froze.
It was too high for anything to reach a window, no matter how well thrown.
Suddenly, scraping and scratching came from the window's direction.
Cautiously, Slade advanced towards it, and warily pulled open the blinds.
An owl sat on their windowsill.
Ruffled, matted grey feathers obscured the creature's features, and it's smooth claws tapped and scratched the glass as it looked at the astonished inhabitants expectantly. But the strangest thing about it was a rolled up piece of paper, tied to it's leg.
'That's weird. We don't get owls over here. I've never seen one anyway.' Rose remarked.
'Wait, look, is that paper or something on it's leg? It doesn't look like the anklet things some birds have.' Harry added as the bird continued scratching. 'Do we let it in? It seems to want the window opened.'
'No, it could carry diseases. Besides, it might just be looking for food, though I haven't heard of wild owls being so calm around people.' replied Slade, furrowing his brow.
'It might need help though. It doesn't look too well, it seems tired and maybe hurt, like it might keel over any second. We could get it to an organisation specialising in this.' Joseph signed to his dad.
After thinking for a moment, Slade answered, 'I'll open the window, if it flies off, it flies off but if it comes in and it's bad we'll try to contact someone, not sure there's any owl vets here though.' then he slowly opened the window.
Fluttering in, the bird landed on the table, and stuck its leg with the paper out, which Joseph gently untied. Harry gave a little bowl of water to the owl and turned to see his paling brother sign, 'It's a letter.'
'What do you mean it's a letter? It's not a carrier pigeon, who gives owls letters? Pass it here.' Slade exclaimed, and his face matched his son's when glanced at the front of it.
'It- it's yours Harry.' was all he managed to say as he gave it to him.
Curiously, Harry read the emerald green address on the thick envelope.
Mr H. Potter,
The Smallest bedroom,
19, City Gardens,
Gotham City,
New Jersey
Turning it around, he looked at the purple seal, displaying four animals surrounding the letter 'H' and his hands began to tremble.
'It's them, isn't it? They want me to go there.'
'Who?' Grant asked, as Harry shook harder and looked ready to throw up.
'The wizards.' Slade answered as a grim look of determination conquered his face, he took the envelope and opened it.
Dear Mr Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1.
We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
The tension in the room was palpable. Nobody dared to say anything, instead they looked at each other, or the floor, anxiously fiddling with things, brows knitted in worry until their collective gaze turned to Harry. It was Grant who spoke up.
'They can't make you go, can they? It said reply, just write 'no'. It says 'Potter' anyway which isn't you anymore. How do they know exactly where you live but not your name?'
Slade shook his head.' It can't be as easy as that. The headteacher in the first letter made it very obvious that he would go to great lengths to... make sure Harry goes there. I doubt this deputy is against him, or has any input when it comes to who attends.'
'It's not much of a question though, is it?' Rose commented, crossing her arms angrily, 'Those wizard guys wanna kill Harry! If we let him go there we're basically letting them!'
'Won't it be better if we do? He can learn how they think and act all the while learning how to protect himself with and from their own magic and they'll still think he's on their side, maybe not as much as the headmaster wanted him to be, but they won't know he knows the truth.' Joseph replied.
'You're right, and Harry can take care of himself in a way that most of these magic kids probably couldn't due to his training, but I don't know if it's worth it to take the risk.' added Wintergreen, as everybody started to shout over each other and argue.
'Okay, okay could you all just stop please!' Harry squeaked in a shaky voice, 'What if we just... don't write anything and see what happens?'
Slade sighed and resolved the matter in a resigned tone, 'That will have to do for now, until we can come to a reasonable decision. And now- oh no!'
The stench of burning food filled the air and the children were ushered to bed as Slade and Wintergreen hurriedly poured water onto the burning frying pan.
Harry shuffled around on his lower bunk restlessly, his mind racing with a multitude of emotions, none of them too pleasant, long after Rose had started snoring.
Slade then carefully opened the bedroom door and entered after seeing Harry lie awake, then sat down on a chair. 'You shouldn't worry about this magic school thing. Remember, the final decision will be yours and everyone will support you with it, whether it's making sure you're safe there or fending off evil wizards. We'll take care of it later once we calm down and everyone's well rested, especially you. Worrying won't do anything good, and I promise I'll do my best to help you.'
Harry had nodded but his sleep was fitful, and while the next few days showed no sign of wizards or magic, it did nothing to ease his worries. It was actually the opposite, with each passing day everyone anticipated some form of response to the lack of answer as the due date had passed, and Harry could only imagine what would happen and when.
The owl, on the other hand, was getting along splendidly, they had let it stay the night after realizing just how tired it must be after the arduous journey across the Atlantic and it proved to be friendly and almost domesticated to an extent.
One morning on an ordinary day like any other that summer, the Wilson family was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
Joseph had gone to open it as the kids presumed it was Wintergreen coming by, until a giant of a man stepped in.
He quite literally must have been a giant as he stooped under the door into the living room where the bewildered children sat, his head brushing against the ceiling. His hands were the size of dustbin lids and his arms like baby dolphins, he had a large coat with several pockets slung on his shoulders and a thick beard obscuring most of his face which was already difficult to see from below.
Looking around, his gaze finally settled on Harry sitting on the couch and he gave him a wide grin. 'Yeh're Harry aren' yeh? You was only a baby las' time I saw yeh.'
'Uh.... hello? Who are you? And how do you know me? What are you doing here?' Harry asked in confusion, as Rose and Grant stared wide eyed at the giant man.
'Sorry, I haven't introduced meself, it's just... yeh look so much like Lily an' James. Anyway, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Jus' call me Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore sent me here 'cause yeh seem ter have not gotten yer Hogwarts letter. It was a bit o' a surprise findin' out yeh were now in America, Professor Dumbledore figured the muggle authorities musta picked yeh up after that nasty business with the Dursleys. Can't say I heard anythin' good 'bout them so it might've been for the best. I'm goin' off topic here, it's jus' that we thought the owl might not have made it.'
At this point Hagrid had sat down on the couch next to Harry, causing it to sag dangerously. Slade then entered the room holding a gun, flanked by Joseph half hiding behind him. 'Who the hell are you, and what do you think you're doing barging into my house like that!'
Hagrid simply glanced at the gun, unconcerned and answered, 'I was jus here to give Harry his Hogwarts letter. We weren't sure the owl would make it.'
'I did get it, actually. It's on the table here.' Harry butted in, bringing said letter over to Hagrid, as Slade lowered the gun and resolved to simply glaring daggers at the giant.
'I don't want to be rude but it was a bit stupid sending an owl here all the way from England. Like you said, she was lucky to have survived, especially in Gotham. We hope she hasn't had any water from the river but we can't be sure. She's doing quite well though, can I keep her? I've named her Hedwig.' he continued, pointing to the snowy owl perched on the kitchen table, visible through the doorway.
Hagrid sat silently for a moment, looking over the letter given to him until he smiled. 'Is that why you haven't sent back a reply? I'm glad yeh're lookin' after her, I'm rather fond o' magical animals meself.'
'Well, um..' Harry's attempt at an answer was cut off by Slade, 'We're not sure if he's going to go there at all.'
'Yeh're not sure?' Hagrid's face was the epitome of shock, his eyes and mouth wide open, 'All the bes' witches an' wizards have gone to Hogwarts! Don't you wanna know where yer parents learned it all? Yeh're a celebrity there!'
'A celebrity? What for? Dorkiness?' Rose exclaimed incredulously, having quickly recovered from her initial shock at Hagrid's arrival.
'Hey, just because I read more than you-! Anyway I don't even know my parents. And I have a family here. You've got to be kidding about the celebrity part though.'
'Yeh mean you don't know?' Hagrid was almost shouting, finally turning to talk to Slade, 'have yeh not told the boy anything abou' who he is?'
'He knows everything I do. I found the letter explaining everything at the Dursley's house when adopting Harry. He knows he's magical, and he caused some evil wizard to die after his parents did.'
'You-know-who didn' die. There are a few people who choose to believe that, but myself an' Professor Dumbledore think he jus' lost his body, an' that he's in hidin' somewhere.' Hagrid then sighed and shook his head, 'Yer parents died tryin' to stop him, Harry. Lily an' James were good people, good wizards too. We lost a great deal o' them durin' the war. He used the killin' curse, and ever'yone who faces that, well, dies. But yeh didn', which is what makes you so special. People believe that if yeh stopped you-know-who once that yeh could do it again.'
'Um, what's 'you know who'? And what war? Also what's the smuggle thing you mentioned earlier?' Harry asked awkwardly.
'A muggle's a non magical person, and we call the evil wizard that to not say his name. Names have power, and it scares people to jus' hear it. He started the second Wizardin' War, which you ended. His followers scattered, some said they were put under the Imperius curse - mind control - and the rest went to Azkaban.'
'About Harry's letter,' interrupted Slade, 'I'd prefer to talk to him about it privately, it's a family matter.' The kids followed him to the kitchen as he closed the door on Hagrid who remained sat on the probably destroyed couch.
'I want to go.'
The words left Harry's mouth almost involuntarily, as he tried to get it over and done with.
He had been expecting the incredulous looks of shock, but he couldn't have been prepared for his father's response.
'Fine.'
'Wha- really? You're agreeing just like that?'
'Of course not, but I did say it would be your choice in the end.'
'There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?' Harry commented in a defeated tone.
Slade smiled, something he did very rarely, 'Yes, but if it's any consolation, it's just a few precautions to make sure you're safe-'
'I'm coming with him.'
It was Rose's turn to be the object of utter shock. 'Absolutely not! What are you thinking!?' Slade exploded, 'You're not magical, and it's way too dangerous, you have to think about your education, and besides, your mother will eat me alive if I have you shipped off to another continent practically alone to a place where they could kill you just by pointing a stick at you from afar. Just sending Harry is bad enough. I don't want any argument from you.'
'It could work dad.' Harry spoke up, to his own astonishment. 'We could look out for each other, and her meta stuff could maybe be passed off as magic. They shouldn't have a record of her if it took them so long to find ME when I'm supposedly a celeb. We could lie, and it'll look like she's bad at magic. I know we didn't see any normal subjects like English on the textbook list, but Rose is home schooled anyway. We could both get textbooks and look at online websites and stuff, I bet there are tons for that. You and Lillian could make sure we do enough.'
He looked up at Slade hopefully, attempting to pull off his best 'harmless and smart son' face, something he did often to get out of trouble, which seemed to find him even when Harry wasn't actively looking for it. But before Slade could answer, his sister continued the argument.
'Exactly, Harry's right! I'll ask mum, don't worry. And who knows, I might actually learn something.' she added with a grin. 'So? Hey, I'm sure that magic thing you're looking for could even be there, or at least a clue. There could also be something to help me and Joey with our powers. And if it's bad or dangerous or boring we can go back.'
After a minute of hesitation, Slade sighed deeply, akin to his reaction whenever he found out that one of his children had been suspended, or in a fight, or shouted at the teacher, or even a random passer by. Again.
At this point, Harry was certain that Joey was the only relatively unproblematic child, though this was partially caused by his inability to talk leading him to actually think through his words before he said something rash.
Perhaps their father had noted how Joseph had been 90% of the pair's impulse control, and was calculating how soon he would be called to pick them up from a burning magic school. Harry might not have had Rose's temper, but the uncanny ability to fall head first into problems and trouble kept him on his toes.
'Alright. Fine. But you two are going to text me, Wintergreen and your brothers at least once a week, hopefully more. If nobody hears from you for more than that, we're assuming you're dead. I'm buying you a laptop to share - and don't you dare break or lose it - for normal schoolwork that you'll face dire consequences for not doing, screw the magic work it's not important, but don't tell them that. And only- ONLY if Lillian agrees Rose.' Slade added after the two children grinned at each other. NOT a good sign. Hogwarts won't know what hit it.
Harry stepped into the living room, and turned to give Hagrid his answer, 'We're coming.'