Author's Note: I just got this idea while browsing through Kurinoone's profile, there is a whole list of "what ifs "over there. It was just a spur of the moment chapter. And…I hoped you liked it.
Summary: Set before Darkness Within. What do you get when you mix a ten year olds, phone calls, and doxys. Harry and Daimen talk to each other, ignorant of their identity. Oneshot.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The story belongs to Kurinoone, writer of 'The Darkness Within' trilogy, a story inspired by 'The Shattered Prophesy' by Project Dark Overlord.
Enjoy!
Conversation with the unknown
It was Seven p.m. and Ten year old Daimen Potter was currently in his house in Godric's Hollow. He was sitting at the couch in the living room, in Indian style. An empty pack of exploding snaps was on the table in front of him, the cards inside it were all scattered on the table as well as on the floor. There were empty packets of various chocolates (Bertie Bott's Beans, chocolate frogs and some mars bars) on the floor all across the living room. He was looking through pictures from the latest book his father, James Potter, brought for him –Quidditch terms and tactics, by Ludo Bagman-, and Daimen was completely mesmerised by the book.
For any outsider it looked like an ordinary evening, with Daimen immersed in Quidditch and chocolates, but for Daimen this evening was like a dream come true. His parents- completely overprotective and worrying (the latter was the major characteristic of his mom)- has finally left Daimen alone in the house, all by himself, while they attended the order meeting. After lot of efforts from him, which included begging, whining and crying, his parents finally granted his wish. For the very first time in his life, Daimen was the in charge of the house. It was only for an hour, but something was surely better than nothing.
Don't take him wrong, Daimen loves spending time with the Weasleys, but he wanted something to brag in front of his friends. None of them had been alone in the house, with having six siblings and lots of gnomes. Daimen practically danced with glee when he thought about the reactions on Fred and George's face.
Speaking of Fred and George, Daimen was hundred percent sure they would be hugely disappointed when they will come to know that Daimen spent this precious hour reading and eating, rather than planting booby traps all around the house. But after being grounded for the last week with no sweets and Quidditch in any form, the chocolates and his broom seemed like they were calling for him. Daimen tried to unlock his broom, but his mom has locked it magically, unlike the chocolates.
So here he was, sitting on the couch, reading Quidditch and eating lots of chocolates.
It was pure heaven.
He looked at the clock; there was still forty three minutes for his parents to return back. Forty three minutes of freedom.
Just then, the phone rang.
"Alex, Alex, Alex…"
"Congratulations, Alex!"
"You go, Alex."
"You practically killed him!"
"That was awesome!"
"You made me 200 Pounds just in ten minutes, Alex." Harry turned around at that familiar voice, looking straight at John. He was a old man, with spirit still as young as him. His wrinkled face and balding head did nothing to reduce his charm, and with the brain of his, Harry thought the man could have been great if he was a wizard.
"John, I thought you were at home tonight." Harry said, looking at his fighting mentor.
"Yes, but I had to see you now, didn't I. I still don't trust any of my men to handle the money earned in your matches; half of it goes in their pocket."
"I am sure you earned more than 200 pounds tonight." They both stopped near John's car.
"Oh I have, but I earned 200 in just ten minutes. It was just from one bet, and all the others are still remaining. I think I am going to give myself a little treat tonight." He said, coughing a little.
"Good for you." Harry said, searching for an escape root. His father knew he was here today, but wanted him back within an hour. They both needed to plan the next raid Lucius will be leading this time. And Harry have some really good plans for it.
"Oh, here it is." John handled him an envelope, similar to the other ones he always declined. His prize money.
"You know John, I don't need money."
"Oh, but its not money. I want you to leave it on the given address, since you are going to your regular pub. It's on the way." John said, handing him the envelope.
Now, Harry respected John, he really did. But at the same time he cannot take orders from a muggle.
"John, I am not-"
"John! Good to see you old pal." Some random man said to John, and dragged him away before Harry can do anything.
"Great." He muttered, glaring at the envelope. He was almost ready to dump it, but his Gryffindor side won.
"Blame the god awful genes."
Half an hour later, Harry was still searching for the address, and he couldn't find it. Now, there were two ways- either dump the letter, or contact John. Harry had John's private number memorised, but he had no cell phone with him. He just wanted to learn muggle techniques, not insult his father by using some muggle device under his roof.
And now Harry was regretting it.
"Hey!' Harry shouted over the blasting music of the pub.
"Hey, what can I get you?" the bartender shouted.
"I need a payphone."
"We don't serve payphones." Stupid muggle!
"I want to call someone. Can I use your phone?"
"Oh, Sure, it's in the game room."
Thankfully, it was lot quieter in the game room than it was out there. There were various people, mainly couples, scattered around, playing pool. Harry found a phone, dialled John's number and waited for him to pick up.
"Hello."
Daimen practically had a heart attack when he heard the sudden ringing. At first, he thought there was something wrong with the wards of the house, but as his heart started working again, his brain cooperated too. It was just the phone.
Oh no, the Dursleys!
Daimen debated with himself, whether he should pick up the phone or not. It was not a hidden fact that Damien's aunt, Petunia Dursley, hated Lily Potter with passion. She hated her so much, that she never even tried to contact her after she got her Hogwarts letter. Lily Potter got that ruddy muggle device installed in their house just so that her sister can contact her. And the first time she was actually doing it, Lily was not at home.
Daimen sighed, and walked towards the phone. He stared at the black coloured device, hanging proudly from the wall. It was the first time Daimen was looking at it, and he had no idea how to pick it up. He remembered his mother placing the sort of rectangle box connected with the machine through coiled rope in between her ear and mouth, and Daimen did the same.
"Hello."
No reply came. Daimen can listen a very faint "Hello" coming through the other end of the box. He looked at it, and remembered her mother's lesson about the phone. One should speak through the right end of the box, and then only it'd work.
Daimen guessed it was not the correct end.
"Hello." He said, this time with the correct end at his ear.
"Hello, I want to talk to John." The voice on the other side said.
Daimen scrunched his nose, getting a bit confused. As far as he knew, his dad's name was James, and his middle name was definitely not John. Uncle Moony middle name was John, though. Maybe he is searching for him.
"There is no John here. Although my uncle's middle name is John." Daimen said.
"Oh okay." The voice on the other end said. Then suddenly, Daimen saw it, moving towards him, a small, fairy like, fur-covered body with shiny wings and sharp teeth.
A Doxy!
"Aahhh…"
"Woah! What happened, kid?" the voice asked. But Daimen kept screaming. He didn't have doxycide with him right now, and Doxy stings hurt badly, he knew it from experience.
"Help, help, help…"
"You do realise you are screaming like a girl, right?" the voice said. That made Daimen absolutely mute. He was still staring at the doxy with wide, fearful eyes; whose one wing looked broken, and now was lying on the floor.
"Now, calm down and tell me what happened?" the voice asked.
"There's a do- spider on the floor." Daimen said, barely avoiding the slip up in front of a muggle.
"A spider? How old are you?" the voice asked with a chuckle. Daimen was now embarrassed and angry.
"It's coming towards me, crawling and all."
"Okay, and how old are you?"
"Ten." Daimen said proudly.
"Okay, Mr. I-am-ten-and-I-am-scared-of-spiders, why are you scared of it?" He asked.
"I don't know?" maybe because they can fly, sharp teeth dripping with poison and scary, "They crawl weird."
"They crawl weird! Listen kid, toughen up, it's just a bloody insect, what is the worst can it do?" he asked.
Maybe bite you so hard you'd be taking potions whole week and scratching its stings even in sleep. Anyways, who are you to give me 'toughen up' lecture?
"You know what, shut up! I bet my galleons you would also scream in fright if you were in my shoes." Daimen said angrily, thinking about any muggle's reaction after seeing a doxy.
"Galleon?" Crap! "You are a wizard?" Wait a minute…
"You are a wizard too?" Daimen asked, not believing his luck.
"Name the hovering charm." The voice asked. Daimen had no idea about charms, hi didn't have his wand yet.
"I- umm…"
"Of course, you are only ten. Okay, name the school you are supposed to go, and at what age." He asked again. Daimen knew the answer this time.
"Hogwarts, and when I am eleven." He said, proudly.
"Good kid. Now I know the insect is definitely not a spider. What is it?" he asked.
"A doxy."
"Fully grown?"
"Yes."
"Where the hell are your parents? He asked.
"Or- umm…out." Daimen said, covering his slip-up again. He cannot go on announcing his parents are atOrder meeting.
"Do you have a doxycide?"
"No. Why do you think I am scared?" Daimen asked, screaming a little after seeing the doxy move again.
"Is there a window near to the insect?"
"Yes, about ten steps away." Daimen replied, confused.
"Okay kid. Now listen to me very carefully. It's not a life and death situation, but doxy stings hurt like hell, for at least a week. I want you to focus on the insect and try to levitate it out of the window. Got it?"
"What! Are you mad? I cannot do magic using my wand, let alone wandless." Daimen said, temporarily forgetting about the danger. As the insect moved again, Daimen screamed a bit.
"Are you a squib?" the voice asked angrily.
"No!"
"Have you done accidental magic before?" he asked again.
"Of course. Plenty of times." Daimen replied
"So do as I say, concentrate. Look straight at the insect and keep saying Wingardium Leviosa. When it hovers, throw it out of the window. Got it?" The voice asked.
"No!"
"Atleast try. What is the worse that can happen?"
"I don't know, get angry and bite me." Daimen replied.
"If it had to bite you, it'd have already done it. Try!"
And Daimen tried. He stared straight at the insect, muttering Wingardium Leviosa continuously. After five minutes, the insect rose a bit.
"It works!" Daimen shrieked on the phone, shattering his concentration. The insect fell down.
"Fool! Try again, and do not break concentration until the insect is out."
"Okay." And he did it again. This time, the insect rose, inch by inch. Daimen focused on it and wished it to move towards the window. Slowly, the insect moved. Daimen could feel the magic around him, practically on his fingertips. It was not strong, but it was still there.
Wandless magic was great!
"Yes!"
Finally, the insect was out. Daimen dropped the pone, ran towards the window and slammed it shut. He felt exhausted. He didn't know magic could take so much out of you, especially the wandless kind.
He walked back to the phone.
"Hello."
The line went dead.
Later that evening, when the Potters came home, they were in for a surprise.
"Mum, Dad, I did wandless magic." Daimen shouted and told them the whole story. To say Lily and James were surprised would be an understatement. Learning wandless magic at the age of ten was a great achievement. James was bursting with pride.
"That's my son!" James said, patting his back. "If leaving you alone in the house can make you do wandless magic, then I am sure I will leave you alone frequently."
"James!" Lily laughed.
"What? He is man now, aren't you?" James looked at Daimen.
"Yes!"
"The caller didn't tell anything about himself." Lily asked.
"No, when I went back, the line was dead." Daimen said.
"Looks like the kid will be a phenomenal teacher one day." James said, still looking proud.
Little did they know…
