Chapter Text
Harry Potter sprinted at full speed towards the library. Footsteps pounded behind him, drawing closer, his cousin Dudley and his friends hot on his heels. Their laughter echoed in his ears as he turned the corner to a dead end. In a last panicked effort, he jumped, reaching out for the roof. Suddenly he felt a hot pain behind his eyes, feeling the world shift around him. As he looked around him he realized he was now on top of the roof on the other side of the building, he could hear Dudley's gang yelling behind him.
As Harry sat on the roof's edge trying to catch his breath and calm down he noticed a shadowy figure appear in the distance. He squinted trying to make them out better. They were wearing a black hoodie with the hood covering their face, and dark jeans. They approached the building where he was sitting and looked up at him. They pull their hood off revealing a blond man with a worried expression and sharp grey eyes.
"Hello, Harry," he said quietly, his voice steady but filled with concern. "I've come to help you."
"Help me..?" Harry asked thinking of Dudley and his friends. The man held his hand up to Harry.
"Let me help you down and I'll explain everything, including how you got on that roof."
Harry hesitated but his curiosity overcame his worry and he carefully swung his legs over the edge of the roof and slid off, the man catching him and setting him down gently. The man held out his hand inviting Harry to walk with him. Harry followed him to the edge of the school grounds and sat on a bench with the blond man.
"Who are you and how do you my name?" He finally asked.
The man smiled and replied, "My name is Red, Red Grimm, and I'm a sorcerer Harry." Harry's eyes widened in shock. "And as for how I know your name, everyone in the magic world knows your name."
"Magic world..?" Harry said suspiciously. He was starting to wonder what was going on but he had a strange feeling the strange man was telling the truth, and that something much bigger was going on.
"Yes, the magic world. I had heard rumors that they had sent you to live with normals but no one had ever confirmed it. Do you really know nothing about the magic world?" Concern and worry shone on Red's face as he leaned forward.
Harry felt nauseated. "What do you mean? Is that how I got on the roof? What is going on why are you here?" He would have kept going but Red put a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"You're a wizard. You created accidental magic which is how you got on the roof. Accidental magic usually only happens to very little kids or magic children raised by normals although accidental apparition is almost unheard of especially for 10-year-olds. There is a whole other side of the world filled with magical beings, witches, wizards, and sorcerers. I know it's a lot to take in, but someone should have told you this a long time ago. There are so many things you don't know but should..." he trailed off looking at Harry.
Harry looked him right in the eyes. "I.. I believe you. Strange things keep happening to me, like ending up on the roof, snakes talking to me, floating plates. But why did you come here, how did you find me?"
Red looked uncomfortable, "It's a long story, one that we don't have time for right now. But I promise that I will tell you. I'll tell you everything you want to know." He grabbed Harry's shoulder. "There's a whole world out there for you, and it's time you stepped into it. I'd like to meet this Saturday at noon at the park a block from your house. I can explain everything and answer any questions you have."
Harry looked at him thinking it all over. "Ok," he said. "But before I agree to meet can... can you show me some magic?"
Red smiled "Of course I can." He swept his hand and the leaves on the ground in front of them fluttered up into the air and formed the shape of hippos doing the flamenco.
Harry laughed in shock. Maybe this was real. he felt a flicker of hope that maybe there really was more out there than number 4 Privet Drive.
"Alright," he said. "Saturday at noon, I'll be there." He worried a little about how his Uncle Vernon Dursley and his Aunt Petunia would react to him wanting to meet someone.
"Oh, one more thing," mentioned Red "well actually two. One, you can't tell anyone about the magic world, especially not your family, the magical world is very secretive and works very hard to hide its existence from normals or Muggles as they say here. And two, I'd like you to take this," he pulled from his pocket a very small owl no bigger than 5 inches. Harry looked at it in amazement.
"Is that.. an owl?" He asked.
"It's an elf owl. Owls carry letters in the magic world. If you ever need to contact me, or if your family gives you trouble Saturday, write a short letter and give it to him and he'll deliver it to me. He should be small enough to hide in your cupboard somewhere where your family won't find him." He handed the owl to Harry, who took it carefully. The owl was a soft grey, and it looked up at him with piercing yellow eyes.
"His name is toob."
Harry smiled at toob. "Thank you-" he said looking up, but Red was already gone. He looked at toob and smiled. For once he wasn't alone. He set off back to number 4 Private Drive with the hope that maybe things would change.