Chapter 8

Vesryn slipped the back of his thumbnail beneath the seal of the letter to break open the wax seal. As he pulled out and unfolded the two pages held within, he could see the two men exchanging looks with each other from the corner of his view. With his ears focused on the two men, Vesryn turned his eyes to read the letter that was written in green ink.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Haerel,

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 the first of September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Vesryn furrowed his brow as he flipped the first page over before looking at the second page that was enclosed. On it was a long list of items and what seemed to be book titles that only seemed to cause his brow to crease as he continued to read.

"The hell is this? Hogwarts? What kind of name is that? Supreme Mugwump? A pointed black hat? You can't be serious." Vesryn dropped his arm holding the letters to the side as he scratched his eyebrow with his other hand. His eyes looked over at the two men that were whispering to each other as they kept their eyes on him.

"Is that?"

"A Hogwarts' acceptance letter, yes." Moody answered before his partner could finish.

"That means he's only-."

"Standing right here and can hear everything you're saying." The two men recoiled slightly at Vesryn's interruption as he folded the letters in his hand.

"I'm guessing from your words that you know what THIS is all about. If you could be so kind as to explain, I'd greatly appreciate it." He added as he held the papers up by his face with a smile.

"Wait, you mean you don't know what Hogwarts is?" Kingsley asked in surprise, as Moody placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Not the time or the place, Kingsley." Moody gestured towards the three hooded individuals that were tied up by their side.

"Meet up with the others and take this lot back to the ministry. I'll talk with the kid and see if I can't get all of our questions answered." He added as he walked forward, his left hand grasping a large wooden staff that had a ram's head at one end and a cloven hoof at the other.

"You're not coming?" Kingsley asked as he looked at the three captives.

"I'm retired, remember? Besides, you know as well as I do that most of them would prefer that I never show up there again."

"C'mon laddie, take my arm. Let's see if we can't get answers to both of our questions." The man said, as he stepped in front of the boy, holding out his arm. Vesryn took a moment before finally reaching out to grab hold of the man's forearm before a strange sensation that felt like his body was being squeezed and twisted on all sides and pulled through a tight passage. Then as quickly as it began, the feeling disappeared as he found himself standing in the middle of a rural town. He could see and feel the density of ambient magic in the air before his eyes fell on the few individuals, who were all dressed in plain robes of differing colors, most in black, others in varying shades of purple and green, walking past him on the road going from one stone brick building to another. None of those passing by seemed to care that a scarred, old man and young boy had just appeared out of thin air. Far off in the distance, Vesryn could make out a large castle that stood out from above a large forest.

"That is Hogwarts. But that's not where we're going." Moody said with a hint of surprise on his face as he pointed his wand in the direction of the castle and sent a ball of white smoke flying through the air.

"C'mon laddie. One of the professors will be along to speak to you later." He continued as he started walking down the street, his staff tapping on the stone bricks below.

"So where is this?" Vesryn asked as he followed after the man, his ears picking up a scoff from one of the nearby individuals as they walked in the other direction.

"Hogsmeade, it's the only wizard village without any muggles nearby. And it's also one of the safest villages, if not the safest." Moody answered as he stopped in front of an old, worn brick building. A battered wooden sign hung loosely from one chain above the door, the other chain broken from rust and dangling below. A fading painting of what looked a decapitated boar bleeding on a white cloth with the words 'Hog's Head Inn' painted beneath. Pushing open the old wooden door, the pair stepped into the small interior that smelled like he was walking past a field of goats. The various surfaces around the room were filthy and coated with a fine layer of what looked like sawdust. Standing behind a small counter, was a tall, thin old man with a mass of long, wiry gray hair and beard and piercing blue eyes that glanced up at them over the dirty spectacles on his face. His eyes followed them as they entered while hands were busy wiping an old glass mug with a dirty rag, which only resulted in it getting even dirtier than before. Looking up, he saw two paintings hanging, side by side, on the wall of the second floor above a fireplace. One portraying a blonde teenage girl with a small book clasped in her hands, a vine and flower covered arch behind her back and a gentle smile on her face. The other held an older looking man that was sleeping peacefully in a large chair, his long, silky black hair framing the sides of his face, his hand resting softly atop the head of a large, green python that was gently coiled around his torso and shoulders.

"Moody. I see you've crawled out of your hole." The old barman said before he turned his eyes back down at the dirty glass in his hands.

"No choice, Aberforth. Death eaters showed up and killed a couple of muggles in my neighborhood." Moody answered as he walked towards the bar.

"So there were more rats that slipped the net. And who are you, boy?" The barman asked as he looked over the bar at Vesryn.

"Vesryn." Vesryn answered as his gaze fell back on the dirty glass in the man's hands that was now completely clouded with dirt and grime.

"He just got his Hogwarts letter, but according to Kingsley, he's already capable enough with wandless magic to take down a Death Eater." Moody stated, causing the barman to raise an eyebrow.

"He had some questions and I have some of my own, so I brought him here to talk. I've already sent a message to the castle, so there should be someone on their way shortly."

"Fine. It's not like there's any other business right now anyway. Just keep it down, he's sleeping upstairs." Aberforth responded as he turned his attention back to the filthy glass in his hands. Moody nodded slightly before moving towards a table situated in the corner of the room beneath the old, wooden staircase. After brushing away the layer of dust on the chairs and sitting down, Vesryn noticed how easy it would be for Moody to see the rest of the room from this position, not to mention how difficult it would be for anyone to see him from the second floor.

"Alastor Moody, retired auror. Now that we know each other's names, what were you doing there alone, laddie?" Moody asked as he pulled out a silver flask and took a long draft from it. Judging from the grainy and woody scent that he managed to catch when the man opened his flask, Vesryn assumed it was some sort of whiskey.

"I was travelling." Vesryn answered as Moody put the flask back inside his coat pocket.

"Alone? What of your family? Where's your home?"

"I am all that remains of both my family and my home." Vesryn answered, his eyes falling to stare at the table in front of him. Moody removed his hat and set it on top of his staff, revealing one dark brown eye that looked perfectly normal compared to the other electric blue eye that was wide open and looking around the room independently.

"What happened?"

"Someone messed with things they shouldn't have. Destroyed everything and killed everyone." Vesryn looked up at the man, their eyes locked onto one another. Moody noted the composure the boy showed even as he listened to his short answers.

"How did you survive then?"

"I was... Sent away. I'm not entirely sure how, but when I woke up, I was by the shore of that lake." Vesryn paused briefly as he answered, giving as little information as he could.

"So what are you? You look part human, but what's the other part?"

"I'm part-elf. What, is that a problem?" Vesryn answered as he crossed his arms.

"Elf? Like house-elf?" Moody asked, turning his head slightly.

"What the hell is a house-elf? No, I'm part high-elf." Vesryn responded, confusion clearly written on his face.

"High-elf? I've never heard of-" The door to the inn opened as a loud voice shouted out through the small space, interrupting Moody mid-sentence.

"Keep it down!" The barman grunted as he pointed upstairs while the woman stepped inside.

"Sorry, Aberforth." The woman apologized before her face hardened and she turned to look at the pair sitting by the stairs.

"Alastor! What is this about death eaters and you apparating a child halfway across the country!?" A tall and rather serious looking woman dressed in a simple emerald green robe with her long black hair loosely hanging over her shoulder marched towards them. Her face was flushed with anger and it looked as though sparks could fly from her eyes as she glared at the man sitting across from him through the square spectacles that rested on the bridge of her nose.

"Ah, Professor McGonagall. I thought he might send you." Moody responded, his blue artificial eye turning to look in the woman's direction as his head and normal eye maintained focus on Vesryn.

"This is one of the professors who will be teaching you at Hogwarts. Professor, this is Vesryn." Moody said as he gestured with one hand in her direction.

"Ah. Hello professor." Vesryn greeted as he turned to look at the intense looking woman.

"Where are your parents? Did you never learn not to follow strangers?" McGonagall turned her head to look at the young boy.

"Well as I already told Moody here, I'm the only one left of my family. And as for strangers, well, I'm confident in my ability to defend myself." Vesryn answered calmly, his violet eyes meeting her green eyes. He could see her face visibly soften as she looked at him.

"Young man, I think you're underestimating how dangerous some people can be."

"Shacklebolt might disagree. The kid, here, was able to use wandless magic to take down a death eater." Moody interrupted as he retrieved his flask to take another swig.

"Wandless? Are you sure it wasn't accidental magic?" McGonagall asked as she looked at the man in surprise.

"I'm pretty sure he knows the difference between accidental and wandless magic."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I still have questions to ask." Vesryn said as he looked back and forth between the two individuals.

"Right. Take a seat, Professor. I was just about asking him about his parentage. Something about him being part high elf." Moody said, gesturing towards a chair nearby. McGonagall paused momentarily, her eyes widening in surprise, before moving to take a seat.

"High-elf? That's... interesting." McGonagall muttered as she sat down.

"What you've heard of it?"

"Heard of it? More like studied it. If you paid more attention to ancient history or ancient runes, then you might have heard of it. There are several stone carvings that were found in Norway that spoke about how gods and elves once walked the earth and fought an army of ice giants." McGonagall explained before she turned to look at Vesryn, her eyes scanning his form through her spectacles.

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and the head of transfiguration. You said you have questions?"