Magical Rackets

Summary: "Not all wizards use wands, some use their magic through other mediums. Swords, brushes, pencils….and in your case, tennis rackets." HPXover

Author's Notes

This was just a random idea because all of them do spectacular moves and tricks that don't seem to be too real. So I thought this would be quite fitting.

Magical Rackets

"Magic?" Echizen Ryoma repeated, staring up at an old man with a peculiar looking purple robe and twinkling blue eyes.

While getting a drink for himself, Ryoma found this old man standing in front of the machine pressing the buttons of the machine as if he were playing with it. Echizen was hardly truly suspicious of others, but this old man made it hard not to be suspicious. Who wore a heavy purple cloak in the middle of the summer? What type of foreigner walked into a junior high to play with the drink dispensers?

That was when the old man turned around and smiled at him. Sitting down on one of the benches, the old man patted the empty space next to him as if beckoning Ryoma to sit with him. The man introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore.

"I'm not someone to be cautious about. I'm just how I look, a harmless, old man," he said as if to relax the boy sitting beside him. Echizen didn't know why he felt suddenly relaxed as the old man started in a one-sided conversation. Then he suddenly asked, "Do you like to play tennis?"

"…" Ryoma didn't answer the old man, instead he walked up to the drink machine to get himself something. It was hot, and the jersey wasn't helping. He tucked his racket under his arm in a casual fashion that he always did, as he bent down to take the can that fell from the bottom he no longer felt the weight of his racket under his arm. Looking for the disappeared racket, Ryoma found it in the old man's hands.

Those old, wrinkled fingers seemed to inspect it and he turned it around scrutinizing every side. He asked him question, when he got the racket, how long has he had it with him, and how he treated it. Suddenly the old man looked up solemnly to Ryoma, his blue eyes still twinkling. That's when he asked the question that would turn Echizen's world around, "Do you believe in magic?"

Echizen stood in a daze, what did this Albus Dumbledore mean? Magic as in magic tricks with disappearing coins and flying cards, or magic as in fire flying off the tips of fingers and making the weather change? "You mean wizards and witches with wands and potions?"

"Yes, 'wizards and witches with wands and potions' as you put it," the old man said in an amused way. He reached for a long stick in his pocket and flicked it reciting some words in some unknown language. Ryoma froze as the can in his hand floated above his head. As he stared at the can that hung suspended in midair, he didn't notice Fuji Syusuke coming their way with a towel and racket in hand.

Fuji was having a relatively normal day; waking up, breakfast, practice…. Everything was just going like a normal day that was when he choose to cool down after doing some hand-and-eye coordination exercises. The facets were near the drink dispenser, where their youngest regular wandered off during practice to presumably get a soda. As he was thinking about having a drink himself, from under his towel he noticed something in the air that cast a shadow over his face. He would have just ignored it if it left, assuming it as a bird or something similar. However, the object stayed in one place forcing the famed genius to look up to see a can of soda hanging in midair.

The racket in his hand almost slipped out of his grasp, but the towel did. Hastily he bent down to retrieve the white cloth, looking up again the can was still suspended in thin air. No trick wires or anything. He opened his eyes to reveal icy blue sapphires that were melted with shock. Fuji never questioned magic or such, but he never thought of magic in such a literal sense. Looking around for the source, he spotted their freshmen player and an old man with a peculiar sense of fashion. The old man was holding up a stick that was pointed to the floating can, as the stick directed it back down the can followed. A soft 'plunk' as it fell into Ryoma's awaiting hands.

"That's your magic?" Ryoma asked, examining the soda can looking for anything that didn't look right. Finding none, he opened the can in a nonchalant manner. "That was pretty flashy, Dumbledore."

"If I didn't do such, would you have believed me?" the man, Dumbledore, reasoned. Fuji decided to just observe from there, it was a cozy spot on the grass beneath the leafy trees. He listened intently as the purpose of this foreigner slowly unraveled.

Eiji Kikumaru was playing with his double partner, Oishi Syuichiroh, when he spotted something in the air. It was small and almost unnoticeable, ignoring it as his imagination in the heat he concentrated on the game. As he went into a Dive Volley for a ball the small object started lowering, it was slight and slow but still descending. Then it fell, disappearing into the trees making Eiji completely turn his head away from the ball to see missing the yellow tennis ball completely. His vision was near perfect, it couldn't have failed him now.

Dabbing the sweat on his face with the back of his hand, he pondered maybe the heat was making him see things? Curiosity killed the cat…Eiji thought to himself resisting the temptation to give an excuse and go find out what exactly did he see. He looked toward that area once more, Eiji called to his doubles partner, "Oishi, I'm going to cool down!"

"Sure, I'll be going up to the conference room to help Tezuka with the match ups," Oishi yelled back wiping himself with a towel. "Just do some practice matches with Taka-san or Momo when you come back."

"Hoi!" …But satisfaction brought him back.

Dashing down the blacktop he was about to run right into Echizen when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a bush. Eiji was about to exclaim but someone, who he identified as his best friend, placed his hand over Eiji's mouth. Fuji placed his other hand in front of his hand signaling him to stay quiet and pointed to their freshman player.

"…I'm giving you an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the old man who was with Ryoma said.

"Eh, Ochibi's being scouted!" Eiji whispered loudly making Fuji shush him once more and listened intently.

"To play with magic tricks?" Ryoma asked taking a sip of his soda.

"…they're not your normal magic tricks, not everyone can do these things," the old man said quietly handing Echizen a brown envelope with some type of seal on it.

"Only 'wizards and witches' can do these tricks," Ryoma clarified with a slightly disbelieving tone.

"True."

"I don't wave wands around and say Latin or Greek words," Echizen said in confirmation, however his hand was still clasped around the thick brown envelop.

"Not all wizards use wands, some use their magic through other mediums. Swords, brushes, pencils….and in your case, tennis rackets," the old man said.

"Tennis rackets?"

"Your fellow teammates can use little to a lot of magic," the old man said. "It's not normal for a middle school student like your captain, Tezuka was it, to be able to play in an almost pro level."

"Then why are you asking only me?" Ryoma inquired.

"They've used their magic with their tennis racket for so long, that they will not be able to change mediums," the old man said calmly. "However, you still can become a fantastic wizard if you decide to change. You haven't made your magic stable on one medium yet, it could still be changed."

"...I won't go, there are still things I have to do," Ryoma answered. He held out the envelop for the older man to take back, however he pushed the envelop back.

"You still have until all of August to make a final decision, Hogwarts starts their year on September 1st," with some last parting words, the old man disappeared in thin air leaving Ryoma with only a brown envelop proving that the man even existed and it wasn't a dream.

Owari (probably)

A/N: Actually I'm probably going to leave it hanging there since my inspiration just abandoned me. I may continue it later showing their reactions and maybe Ryoma's final decision. Be nice, this is my first PoT fic. Reviews are happily accepted, constructive criticism is gratefully taken, and flames are used to light up my fireplace for Christmas! Only 9 days before Christmas!