A/N: This one's a bit large, thirteen pages to be exact. I understand there are parts that seem to repeat themselves, but they are a necessary evil and I must apologize before hand. I couldn't find a way to cut it shorter. Forgive me this. I do however; hope this will answer some of your questions and such. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, it means the world to me. Thanks again and enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Eight
A History Lesson and a Gathering
Leaky Cauldron
Evan Knight steps slowly into his room and proceeds to promptly dump the remaining of his purchases down on his already cluttered bed. He sighs exhaustedly at the sight of so much stuff he has needed for all of his life. His thoughts take a different turn as his tries to think how both Hermione and Ginny would react to such an unruly display of unstructured existence. Something he hasn't been for, well, all of his remembered life. He never had much as a child so there wasn't much for him to make a mess of. When he was at Hogwarts his aunt's training sort of stuck with him, thus he never really had a messy room. His trunk maybe, but he soon figured out how to arrange it to his satisfaction. He quickly pulls his thoughts away from his friends, he misses them so, and he misses his world.
With a glance at the bed, he almost wishes he could just dump himself there as well, but he knows better. He would never be able to sleep and there is no one in this world to help him in the middle of the night when he sits up screaming, sweating, distraught, and lost. Hermione and Ron used to do that, now he knows what it means to be truly alone.
Forcing himself away from such unproductive thoughts he looks back over at his purchases of the day, both Muggle and Magical. He was correct this morning when he said today was going to be a long day, though he was way off by how much of an understatement that had been. With a sigh he decides to put things away the Muggle way, the hard way Ron would say. He takes out his wand and un-shrinks his trunk and quickly sets the new passwords and adds his own security measures to the ones already in place. He opens the top most lock and turns to the bed. With a shrug he grabs all he can and tosses everything from the bed into the seemingly bottomless pit of a trunk. Once his bed is empty, he then proceeds to send himself into the trunk with an easy jump.
With a quick landing, Evan finds himself inside the now designated Clothing Room of his trunk. He looks around and can't help the shudder from going down his spine, way too much green in this thing. With a wave of his wand he changes the Slytherin colors to that of his beloved Gryffindor red and gold. Once the area is now habitable he levitates the pile of clothes near the drop point over to the closets. He opens the closet door closest to him, he squints his eyes in question before he remembers having placed an altering charm on his eyes to avoid scaring the Muggles with his gray eyes. Something he doesn't want to repeat, for the last time it happened it wasn't a pretty sight; luckily Hermione had a ready answer that time, contacts. With a shake of head he removes the charm and shrugs slightly as he remembers a time when he had to have glasses. Something that changed when he gained his advanced sight, and all of the other curses he has been stuck with.
Shaking his head again he tries to return to the present, for as Albus Dumbledore once said it does no good to dwell on the past. With this in mind he starts to separate his clothing and placing them into the right closet of his choice. As he does so, he makes sure there are no wrinkles, no lint or anything like that. Even though he has been through a war he doesn't like his clothing messy or un-presentable. Something he picked up from both Hermione and Ginny over the years and something he was pleasantly surprised to find helped him with his confidence.
Once he gets to the more personal items he closes the closets and walks over to the Chester drawers and proceeds to de-wrinkle them as he carefully folds his boxers and socks, placing them in their own drawer. He looks around and shrugs slightly, knowing he is done with this part of putting things away. He walks back over to the entrance area and looks down at the floor to an optional addition he had placed into the trunk when he purchased it, a ladder of sorts. "Arrange," he ordered the added equipment. As soon as the words left his mouth the ladder grew and attached itself to the top allowing him to easily climb out of the area.
He did this with the remainder of his purchases, saving the books to the last. Once he was to the last compartment he snatched his new Firebolt and the shrunken bag of books and jumps down into what Hermione called his portable library and weapons locker. He lands with a thud on the ground of the trunk and looks around at the empty space. This room is moldable to the owners taste, and so this room ends up being a spare bedroom, a library, an excessive library, and the place he keeps not only his broom but any other type of device he figures is a weapon. Hermione used to come here to this room often during the war, she put all of her duplicate books in here and told Harry what books he needed to add to the already grand collection. With a sigh he configures the room to his liking, book cases along three of the large walls, leaving one for his weapons collection. The center of the room has six desks, Hermione's, Ron's, Neville's, Ginny's, his, and of course Mrs. Weasley's. The collect of books in his other trunk rivals that of Hogwarts that includes the restricted section.
He takes his new Firebolt and places it in its' new home; he removes his dear friend, his first wand and places it in there as well. He figures he might as well use his new wand in this new world. He isn't sure what the differences in worlds are, but he isn't about to damage his wand if he can help it. He then precedes to shelf the books he had purchased, all but one. Hogwarts: A History, with a reluctant sigh he decides to forgo his shower for the moment for a bit of, as Hermione called it, 'light reading'. He walks with said book over to his desk; he reluctantly sits down and slowly opens the cover of the book, a book that holds not only his fate, but many others as well. It is with this book he will learn what happened that Halloween night so long ago, it will be with this book he will learn if Hermione was killed by the troll and about the life of Voldemort. With a sad sigh he sits forward and begins to read knowing this is going to be a long night of learning about a world he was never to have come to. A world he never wanted to come to. How he misses his family and it has only been a day since he has last seen them.
Headquarters: Order of the Phoenix
A tall dark figure stalks into the room only to be confronted with loud talking; he shakes his head as he strolls past the people in the back of the room, though there are only thirty people attending this particular meeting. He is still amazed at how he came to be part of all this. One thing he knows for sure is he is glad his family is safe. At this thought Sirius Black smirks, odd to think he doesn't even claim most of his blood family as true family. He looks around and smiles widely and mischievously as he spots his family. His steps widen in an attempt to get him there faster. "Moony, Prongs and my dear Lily how very sporting to see you here," he greets enthusiastically as he takes Remus Lupin's hand into his own and pumps it energetically as though meeting for the first time.
James Potter looks over at his wife with a smile, "I think Padfoot here has finally lost it," he says conspiringly as he looks at the folder tucked under Sirius's arm in question.
"Finally," Lily Potter says disbelievingly, "he would have to have it, to lose it," she continues as the topic of their conversation looks over at them with a grin.
Sirius places his right hand over his heart, "you wound me my dear Lil's," he says trying his hardest to look offended.
"Would you knock it off," Remus asks as he shakes his head. Before Sirius can respond the room instantly quiets down, telling the pack of dear friends the meeting is about to start. The four of them quickly locate their chairs and wait for everything to get rolling.
Right then three people walks into the room, two who are professors at Hogwarts and the last an Auror who happens to have a peg as a leg and a fake magical eye to replace the one he lost in a battle with a Death Eater. Albus Dumbledore smiles softly at everyone as he passes by, as he, Minerva McGonagall and Alastor Moody make their way to the front of the room. Once they arrive at the front of the room, Albus continues to the podium as the other two take their seats directly to the right of the podium and facing the gathered group. "I would like to thank all of you for coming this evening. I know times are very difficult and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to hide our Order," he says to the knowing room. "I would like to thank you again," he pauses as he looks around the room as though personally thanking each person there. "Now before we get on to our planned business does anyone have any new news," he asks and with a look over at Sirius he tells the younger man to hold off on what he was asked to look into for the moment. Sirius nods his head in confirmation of his request.
"What did you do," Remus asks curiously as he watches the exchange.
"You'll find out," Sirius answers cryptically, loving to be able to tease his friends.
When no one came forward with anything, "I guess we can just jump to our planned business then, I received a letter this morning from Mr. Ollivander," Dumbledore says as he starts this meeting with what he considers the most pressing matter. "He wrote to me to tell me about a young man who came into his shop to purchase a new wand, granted this is nothing new," he says with a small nod of his head. "However this young man did something very few have done," he pauses dramatically. "He has gained the curiosity of Mr. Ollivander," he informs the now interested group of people. "The wand purchased was a very powerful wand which is only one of two of this type. Mr. Ollivander claims this young man looks and feels familiar, but he can't place who he is, he is said to seem older than his years, and has an odd scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. Mr. Ollivander described this young man as a kind fellow, but curious," Dumbledore finishes with his synapses of what was written to him earlier. As he finishes this he looks over at the Potter's and their friends to see them giving each other curious looks, looks stating they too know what this might mean.
"Who is this person," someone calls from the back of the room.
Albus Dumbledore looks back to the remaining group of friends, "he gave the name of Evan Knight," he answers the question. At the mention of this name a few whispers can be heard, "does anyone else know of Mr. Knight," he asks hopefully.
Tom the bartender of the Leaky Cauldron stands up from his chair, "I know him," he says with a smile.
"What can you tell us about this young man," Albus asks hoping Tom will be able to tell them if this man means them harm or not.
"He came into the pub late last night to get a room, it looked as though he had just been through a war," Tom explains. "He said you're the only one to know why he's here," he says receiving gasps in response to this news. "He's very kind, he even helped me," Tom says with a foreign smile, a smile few has seen in years. "Very smart kid," he adds, "he's no threat to us," he tries to convince everyone. "He tries to help others not hurt them," he says as he sits down.
"Thank you Tom what you've given us is very useful. It's good to know he's not a threat," Albus says with a smile as he wonders just what this young man said to Tom to make him smile again. Making Tom smile was something a lot of people had given up trying to do, it seemed impossible. "Anyone else," he asks and then smiles wider as another person stands up, a person who everyone knows is still suffering the loss of her youngest child. A person who hasn't been able to smile these past four years, "Molly," he prompts as everyone turns their head to look at her is shock.
Molly Weasley looks around the room questioningly, "um," she starts and then she catches the eye of Madam Malkin, she swallows as she nods her head at her, at this Madam Malkin stands up as well once again surprising everyone with this movement. "I met Evan," Molly says surprising everyone including her husband and her two oldest children. Not only surprising them by the fact she is standing up but also by the fact she has just called this stranger by his first name. Molly pauses, "I think Melissa Malkin should start the story because she met him before I did," she says with a small shrug.
Melissa smiles at this, "Evan," she starts once again surprising them at the use of such familiarity, "came into my shop this morning to purchase a few things," she says with an understated smile. "He was very kind and made sure I knew he was no threat," she tries to explain. "He was able to put me at ease without really trying, its as though peace and trust radiate off of him," she says, "he gave a list of the products he needed and also made a special request which required me to go into the back room. As I left the front area Molly came in," she says and then looks over at Molly.
"As I stepped into the store, I was surprised to find someone there so early in the morning," she says still amazed someone so young was up willingly at such a time in the morning. "He greeted me as he was being attacked by Melissa's measuring devices," she says with a knowing tone as she looks teasingly over at Melissa who pretends to be affronted by her words.
"It's not my fault they learn from the students," Melissa laughs out causing everyone in the room to giggle. A foreign thing to happen and something Albus finds to be very interesting. For he knows something important has happened this morning between this Mr. Knight and Molly Weasley, something that seems to have allowed her to be more herself, now if only she would smile.
"Right," Molly counters disbelievingly causing more laughter in the room. "Anyway," she says as she continues softly.
"Molly," James Potter says softly, "why don't you go up to the front," he suggests, "people are getting a kink in their necks," he teases and is totally shocked when Molly glares teasingly at him. Something that hasn't happened in many years, causing James to wonder just exactly who this person is and what he did to cause such reactions from the different people he met.
"Very well James," Molly says with a shake of her head as she makes her way to the front of the room. "As I was saying," she says as she throws a mock glare at James for interrupting her story. "Evan knew who I was," she continues her story surprising everyone with her teasing and her words. "Though I know he couldn't see me," she continued. "To me it seemed as though he knew me by my voice," she tries to explain. "He asked how I was doing and for some reason I told him," she pauses as she glances over at Melissa who smiles her encouragement back at her. "Well," she says, "I told him everything," she whispers to the silent room who gasps at what they hear.
Mrs. Diggory stands up and Molly looks over at her in question, "by everything do you mean, EVERYTHING," she asks.
"I told him I was as well as to be expected and I missed her," Molly says looking straight at Mrs. Diggory and avoiding her husband and two sons. "He knew who I was talking about," she says to the group and this caused instant whisperings to spring up.
"If he knew who you were talking about and knew you then he's a threat," a voice yells.
"That's not true," Tom yells as he stands up and turns around to face the source of the voice. "Mr. Evan's not a threat," he all but shouts back.
Minerva stands up from her chair and looks glaringly at the room, "I don't know about you," she says in her sternest voice, "but I'd like to hear the rest of this story," she demands as she looks around the room until the whispering stops. Once the noise level dropped dramatically Minerva sat down and looked at Molly with a small smile, which turned instantly into wide shocked eyes as Molly Weasley smiles back at her. As people see this, the room is plugged into absolute silence.
"As it turns out," Molly continues after clearing her throat, "Evan did something no one else did," she says trying not to sound accusing and knowing she wasn't successful in her attempt. "He," she pauses as tears, start to form in her eyes. "He got to know my little girl," she whispers hoarsely.
"He knew Ginny," Bill asks shocked.
"He knew her," Molly agrees with another smile. "He told me things about her only someone who knew her would. Things I never knew," she says and then looks over at Melissa. "I know what the gloves where he bought," she says to her, "but I know he knew her," she says to her hoping against hope Melissa agrees with her.
"He knew her alright," Melissa agrees easily. "He even knew her temper," she teases the red head up front, who it seems has the decency to blush at this comment.
"Something he learned quickly not to do," Molly agrees with a soft laugh.
Charlie Weasley stands up, "how do we know he really did know her," he asks trying to hide the hope in his voice at this comment.
"He could remember the story she used to love," Molly says with a smile at remembering that morning and all the times she had to have the story read to her.
"How can that be," Arthur Weasley asks, "We can't even remember the story let alone find the book," he says in shock.
"He also answered that question," Molly says looking directly at her husband, "Ginny took it with her to Hogwarts," she says shocking everyone in the room. "He told me he and Ginny would have to tell embarrassing stories to each other if they lost at exploding snap," she continues with a small burst of laughter at remembering his groan. "It turns out that Ginny so loved Robin Hood," she continues as her sons and husband gasp in recognition of the title. "She always dreamed of being Maid Marian and to have her very own Robin Hood," she tells the group as a tear rolls down her cheek. "He knew her," Molly says looking at Bill and remember his words, "he also suggested something to help with the loss, a loss I know he was feeling because I was the first person to tell him, he didn't know she died, he didn't know," she whispers as she drifts off trying not to break down. "He said you," she continues after a moment still looking at her standing son, "would want to join me tonight for some cookies and milk," she says surprising him as he looks back at her in shock.
"Cookies and milk," Bill asks in question.
"Chocolate milk," Melissa corrects.
"Right, I almost forgot," Molly agrees. "He said someone suggested this for him and that it's helped him. He sits down as he eats his cookies and dunks them in his chocolate milk and writes down memories of those he has lost," she pauses as she remembers just who he has lost and knows she has just added another name to his list. "I'm going to do it tonight," she tells the shocked room, "I'm also going to take his advice and offer this chance to everyone, to you Bill specifically," she says knowingly. "He said you didn't like the, no talk rule," she says as Melissa agrees with a nod of her head. "Evan's new to Diagon Alley," she says trying to get back on task. "He knows of some things but not of others," she explains. "He," she pauses here for a moment, "he helped me to see I can continue to live a happy life without destroying the memory of my daughter, he helped me to understand that Ginny would want me to be happy and not to let our loss control my life, I'm indebted to Evan," she says as she steps out of the front of the room and heads back to her seat.
"I've a question," Sirius says as he stands up with the folder in his hand and looks at Molly as she sits down. "Did he tell you whom he lost," he asks curiously.
"He said he's lost a lot of people," Molly says slowly as she tries to figure out if she should tell them all of it. Then with a shrug, "he said his parents were murdered," she finally says receiving a gasp of shock. "He lost others but he didn't give any names or anything," she pauses, "he did talk about one death that hit him hard, it was a death of a man who had become something of a grandfather to him," she says. "He made this man a promise to live as this man was dying in his arms," she says to Sirius who is standing looking at her in shock.
"Thank you," Sirius says softly in shock as he sits down again.
"What did he buy," Remus asks trying to hide his own shock as he remembers something said about what he had purchased.
At this question Melissa stands up, "Evan purchased four black cloaks, one dark blue cloak, one set of black dress robes, six uniforms similar to the students of Hogwarts, a set of dragon hide gloves, a Gryffindor scarf, and seven Seers gloves," she lists off from memory.
"Seers gloves," Lily Potter whispers in question and shock at the item told to the room, let alone the amount of said item.
Melissa smiles at the whispered question, "he didn't even know what they were called," she says with a small shake of her head. "A dear friend of his used to get them, he only knew what they looked like," she explains.
"Were they for him," Remus asks logically.
"As far as we know," Melissa answers truthfully.
"So he may have been fooling you with knowledge about your daughter," Severus Snape voice sounds mockingly through the air.
At this Tom once again stands up and faces him, as does both Molly and Melissa, "That's not true," all three of them shout at Severus at once.
"He doesn't believe in Divination, can't stand the subject," Tom adds on after changing glances with the other two.
"You could tell when he was talking," Melissa says in agreement.
"Things he knew as fact were said more easily and without hesitation, but things that were suspect he seemed to try to keep to him self, he hesitated as though he doesn't want to believe it," Molly says knowingly. "He wasn't using it to lie," she growls at the smirking character, "he wasn't hiding it either," she adds on and smiles triumphantly as this shocks Severus.
Albus stands up, "thank you Melissa, Molly and Tom," he says as the three people retake their seats. "Mr. Flourish," he calls out. The man in questions stands up and waits for the question he knows is about to come. "What did Mr. Knight purchase," Dumbledore asks.
Mr. Flourish clears his throat, "Mr. Knight came into my shop and purchased the following books, Hogwarts: A History, um," he pauses, "the new edition and five of the past editions," he clarifies to Lily Potter who was about to ask. "The first rise and fall of the Dark Lord, Famous Witches and Wizards of the century, all six editions, The Dark Wars Series, The Second Rise of the Dark Lord, The Victims of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Both Reigns, Modern Quidditch, the last twelve editions, 666 Good Hexes, text books from all seven years of Hogwarts," he pauses as everyone in the room gasps in shock. "Strange Incantations, Alternate Worlds, World Portal, Modern Military Tactics, Advanced Military Tactics, Advanced Auror Training, Special Forces of the Unknown Kind, The Funniest Mistakes made in the Last Decade," he pauses again. "For entertainment he said, he also got Cooking With and Without Magic, Diagon Alley: A History, Ministry of Magic: A History, the complete set, Self Defense both Magical and Muggle, um, every version I have and he ordered some other versions as well, The Modern Threat, Signs of a Death Eater, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named an annotated story and six journals," he finishes as he sits down.
"That's quiet a list," Remus mutters.
"That's his homework," Tom laughs out.
"He told you he had homework," Remus asks as he looks over at the oddly happy bartender.
"He said there're things, he needs to know, before he can decide where to go from here," Tom answers.
Melissa looks puzzled for a moment, "why to school of course," she says as though it's the most obvious choice.
"What do you mean by that," Lily asks in shock.
"Well, I figure she means he should return to school," Tom says with a knowing smile, "he's only fifteen years old after all," he answers to the shock of everyone in the room, a shock to even the unshakable, Albus Dumbledore.
"Almost the same age as Harry," Remus stutters out in shock.
"That's impossible," Sirius Black shouts out. He would've noticed that when he looked in his folder, even with his brief glimpse of the file. Wouldn't he have, he asks him self.
"Sirius will you give us the information you've gathered at my request," Albus asks before anyone else can question.
All eyes in the room move to Sirius as he stands up with the folder in his hands, he walks to the front of the room and places the folder on the podium. He clears his throat as he opens the envelope, he reads part of it as his eyes widen in shock as he confirms the age of the man, um, boy in question. "Evan Knight," he starts reading from the file in front of him. "Was born at midnight July 31, um," he pauses as he looks over at Lily and James, "a year before Harry," he confirms for the startled group before him. "His record shows he's not only taken his O.W.L. s but also his N.E.W.T. s and has passed both of them receiving the highest scores ever known in Hogwarts history," he pauses at the shocked whispering passing through the room. "He went to Hogwarts," he says in a whisper as this news sinks into his muddled mind.
He coughs once and continues, "he's also been declared independent and cleared for underage use of magic, he is licensed to Apparate, he is licensed and registered as an Animagus, Seer, Empath, Healer, Reader, and it seems," he pauses in shock. "It seems," he starts again, "he's trained as an Auror, Unspeakable, and a Military officer, um, his Military Career has been classified," he says to the shock of everyone in the room, including one Sirius Black. "He's received the Order of Merlin First Class, um, three times," he pauses at the uproar of whisperings at this revelation.
After a moment Sirius continues, "he's received various Military Awards, including the Purple Heart, Prefect Certification, various student awards, Hogwarts Graduation Certificate with honors in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, Potions," he pauses here, "there's a side note stating he failed Divination," he chuckles as he looks up and sees what he is registered as.
As the room hears this they all laugh at the irony of what the note says. "As I said before his Military record is classified but I do know he had his own division, his own command," he says to the startled group in front of him. "His file shows he lived with his mother's only living relative, her sister," he continues as he confirms what Evan told Molly and Melissa. "His Aunt and family have since been murdered, as was his Godfather, his Godmother is unlisted," he continues, "it seems he was then placed with a friends family but soon thereafter was forced due to the Ministry or something," he says as he tries to find the reason, "he was forced to fight in court to prove himself as an independent minor, thus granting him status as an adult at the age of fourteen," Sirius says and then turns around and looks at Albus Dumbledore. "Sir," he says with wide eyes, "it also says here he's in a Special Forces group called the Phoenix's Order. There's a note here in a specially sealed envelope for Albus Dumbledore and only Albus Dumbledore," Sirius says as he lifts said envelope and hands it over to the Headmaster.
Albus Dumbledore takes the letter with a look of confusion clearly on his face. He turns it over to look at the address, or the part of the letter stating who it is for, only to be shocked more than he thought possible. The handwriting he sees is his own. With an intake of breath he breaks the seal and removes the paper within. He opens the letter and begins to read aloud to the gathered trusted group.
Albus Dumbledore
It seems as though I've you at a disadvantage. I understand what you're more than likely feeling at this very moment, or at least what I would be feeling at this moment. Confusion, am I right? Not to worry, I believe I'd be more worried if you understood what's going on, what's happened. For there's no real way to understand it, without knowing everything about this young man and that's something you, as I did myself, must learn. You'll find him to be quiet an amazing person with a heart of total gold, surpassing by far even his parents.
I don't know what's going on in the world today, but I do know Evan Knight hasn't had an easy time of it. He's new there and I promise he's no harm. Yet, I know you won't believe this. How I know you ask, well, I'm you and you're me, so the knowledge is in and of our-selves. Know this, Evan Knight has an interesting history and no he won't tell you. At least not yet if at all, I highly suggest you get to know this young man for you'll learn more about yourself and the world around you than you ever thought possible. I know in our hundred plus years this seems to be impossibility in itself, but it's possible. Evan Knight is impossibility, yet, he's possible and he does the impossible.
He's the most honest person I know, the name Evan Knight is not his birth name, may not be his own, but might as well be. For it sums up not only his family, but those he called such, the meanings will only seem logical once you learn what they refer to. He doesn't give his trust or his love easily, but he'll give his life instantly for another, whether or not he knows them. Make sure he doesn't do this, I'm intrusting his life into your hands. I only hope you are worthy of such considerable trust. His life is worth more than even my own, I know I'll give my life to protect him, I only hope it's enough.
In his lifetime he's been forced into such things he never should've been. He never complained, he never argued, he took what was given to him and tried to learn the best from it. He was forced to witness many murders. He himself had to fight out of a situation most grown adults would have faltered in. He's forced to face such evil and yet he never lets it taint him. Ask him about Adam, it's a story of truth, a story that'll make you think and now this, he followed what he learned that day to a tee. There never came a day when he would let the world collapse around him. He does everything in his power to make life seems better, easier for those around him, no matter what he is feeling on the inside. (Only one person was truly able to know what he was feeling, one person who could push past his shell.) Impossible, I know, but true. I bet he's already done something of this sort, why else would you be looking into his files. His files can never begin to cover the amount of knowledge and ability he has. His files can't touch the strength of his heart, such great strength, but if you didn't know this first hand, you never would.
To try and explain what he's gone through is impossible. Yet, he never quit, and he never complained. He did as he was told; he even made things easier for those around him, even after having to watch his Godfather and his parent's last friend get murdered. I can only imagine what he's going through. Yet, I know I don't have a clue. Everything he has done, he's done for those he loves, for his family of the heart.
He's his parent's son, he's smart, studious, caring, understanding, and the biggest prankster this man has ever had the pleasure of knowing. He does everything he can to lift the spirits of those around him. Yes, he's a Seer, an Empath, a Healer, many other things, and has this ability for trouble to find him. Although he is all of these things, he protects not only himself from invading others; he protects others from his projections. You'll find he has an enchanted arm bracelet that inhibits most, as he calls it, background invasions of his mind. He loves his privacy and he respects the privacy of others, thus these abilities are very difficult for him.
I suggest you don't treat him any different than anyone else. He'll know, and maybe not through his added abilities. He's very able to tell what others are feeling, thinking and such. He calls it profiling them, something he's exceptional with, something he's been doing all of his life. He doesn't need these added abilities to know what's going on around him. He's very perceptive of his surroundings and those within it.
One conversation with this young man can change your way of life. He has the ability to explain truth in its' barest most honest form, astonishingly, so at times. He can explain life with just a glance, he taught me to live, not just exist as I've been, but live. You more than likely don't know this feeling I feel. He's become more than a student, more than an ally, more than a friend; he has become the grandson I never had.
Evan doesn't need the burden of your world placed upon his already over burdened shoulders. Let him live his life as he wishes. Talk to him, yes, but don't force anything onto him. Hogwarts was his first home, his true home. I hoped you like the side note, failing Divination. He can't stand the subject and doesn't believe in it, if you can imagine that. His logic's hilarious at times and sometimes down right frightening. In one moment he can cause you to sit where you are with your mouth hanging open in total shock, and the next your wiping tears from your laughter. Another thing I'm sure you're questioning, the Order of the Phoenix? Am I right? Yes Evan does know of it. How much is up to him to revel. He's done more than his share; let him try to be a kid again. Something he's never had the chance to be.
Once again, I ask that you protect Evan Knight, and if you don't trust him, let him be. All who know, who really know him, love him. You don't know him. You can't, even if you wanted to, but know that it'll take a large amount of time to do so. Not only that, he's there because of a promise I had him make me. A promise he knew nothing of the consequences, a promise where he had to leave his family behind possibly forever. He doesn't want to be there, so don't make matters worse for him.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore looks at the letter in total disbelief. Removing his wand he casts a few spells on it to revel he himself did write this. Something he doesn't remember ever writing. After a few moments of spell casting he looks up at the thirty or so gathered people, confusion and shock clearly evident on his aged features, "it's my writing," he confirms for them.
Thus causing uproar of conversations to arise because of this shocking news, Albus sits down next to Minerva and Alastor, he hands the letter over to Minerva who takes it with shaking hands. She rereads what they've just been told. Once she's done she looks up at her friend of many years, "what could this mean Albus," she asks almost afraid of the meaning, yet excited at the same time.
"It means I trust this young man with my life, with my heart," Albus says just as shocked as she is.
"It could be a bluff," Alastor growls out. At this Minerva hands the letter over to Alastor to look at. After he rereads it and casts his own set of reveling spells he too is convinced on Albus Dumbledore wrote the letter. "Then again," he growls out in his own type of shock. "There's no way this kid could've done all that," he says after a moment, "we all would've known about him, he graduated from Hogwarts," he all but shouts out not realizing he has the attention of everyone in the room. "we all should've met him long before now," he repeats, "where's he been, where'd he learn this stuff, we all know the only way for someone so young to learn this is to be someone's apprentice, who was the master of this apprentice. Where's the letters to the schools telling them of his advanced training, where is this Phoenix's Order, why didn't we receive knowledge from this enchanter about this arm bracelet, why did he just all of a sudden appear as if out of nowhere," he continues to shout out in question. "More importantly what are we to do with him," he asks in an almost whisper.
Tom stands up, "I say we let Evan alone," he almost pleads as he remembers how Evan looked the night before. He remembers the injuries, the battle worn look, the shock and pain in his gray eyes.
"I second that," Molly Weasley and Melissa Malkin say at the same time as they two stand up.
Mr. Weasley looks between the two of them, "I say we talk to him," he says as he stands up. "If for nothing else then to be sure he's no threat," he agrees with them.
"Who knows maybe we should offer him the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts once the new professor quits," Sirius Black suggests with an amused shrug.
To everyone's surprise Tom snorts at this, "I asked him if he'd come here for the position, he just responded in an amused voice, 'I highly doubt the Ministry, School Council or the Professors would like a fifteen year old to teach the students,' and I believe he truly forgot parents in that list," Tom says as he remembers what had happened to the young man's parents.
"The letter talked about an Adam," Sirius says with a questioning voice, "who's Adam," he asks.
"Adam," Tom says as everyone turns to look at him, "was a student who went to school with him. Mr. Evan said Adam was a Muggle born placed in something similar to that of Slytherin," he tries to explain.
"Talk about suicide," James says with a shake of his head.
"We are," Tom says instantly causing everyone to gasp in shock as they turn to look back at Tom. "Well, at least almost," he clarifies. "Mr. Evan and a friend of his would smile at this young man every time they passed, they didn't know him, but they didn't judge him. One day Adam stopped the three of them and told them one day he'd been on his way to off himself when he was greeted by Mr. Evan and his friend. This caused Adam to think about his life and the world around him, it gave Adam a reason to live. Mr. Evan and his friend unknowingly saved Adams life," Tom says hoping he got it mostly right. "Mr. Evan says that from that day on he tried to greet people with a smile, for he may never know when that very simple action could help someone else," he explains. "It's because of Mr. Evan I've changed my ways, it's because of Mr. Evan I'm no longer afraid to get to know people, it's because of this great kid I'm able to continue with my life, my work, my beliefs, Mr. Evan is only trying to help," he ends as he sits down and lets everyone think about what he has just told them.
"A friend of his," Remus says in question wondering if it was Tom who left out names or if Evan did.
"He never gave me names," Tom answers the question.
"Interesting," Dumbledore says with a knowing look in his eyes. "Has Mr. Knight told anyone else anything about his past," he asks to the three couple there.
"When he learned about Ginny, he asked how she had died," Molly says reluctantly. "He knew about the Chamber of Secrets," she pauses as she waits for the renewed talking to stop. "He visibly paled as I told him about what'd happen, he didn't know," she chokes out. "I'd just told him one of his friends had died and here he was helping me, me who've known for years," she says as she tries to fight against her tears. "It was then he told me things only someone who knew her would know, he said the first time he met Ginny, she placed her elbow in the butter on the table," she says with a shake of her head at how true to form that was of Ginny. "He than called her a spitfire, energetic, honest, inventive, almost as bad as the twins," she says as she drifts off.
"He pissed her off one time," Melissa picks up knowing Molly needs time. "He really pissed her off; he said he learned real quickly not to do that again. He even said that Ginny's temper rivals Molly's. He continued to explain that she's shy, assertive, never backs down, she loves her family, and then he went onto something I never knew Ginny tried," Melissa says looking over at Molly.
"He said she's smart, talented in charms, good at dueling, loves to fly, to play Quidditch, she listens to anything you wish to tell her, he talked about playing exploding snap, he then said she told him the story of Robin Hood and her secret wish, he said when she confessed that she blushed redder than her hair," she sighs with a shake of her head.
"He said since they couldn't bet and were too much like brother and sister to do anything else,' Melissa says with a smile, "telling embarrassing stories was the consequence of losing a game of Exploding Snap," she repeats. "From what we could guess he told her some of his own stories," she says with a smile as she remembers his groan.
"He than went on, to tell us he's lost many but not as much as others," Molly tries to explain to the group hoping they won't hate this young man. She couldn't take it if she was the cause for him to be ostracized from her world. "He tries to honor those he's lost by living his life to its fullest," she continues to the silent room. "As he describes the loss of one person he considered to be his grandfather, he compared the pain to that of the Cruciatus, he said the pain of the curse paled in comparison to the pain of this loss. He then told me Ginny would want me to continue living, to be happy. He explained for me to be happy doesn't mean I have to forget her, it simply means I'm embracing her love by being her mother," Molly finishes with her words, her reasoning, her life changing experience brought on by a fifteen year old boy.
"He then paid for his purchases, plus the six pairs of Seers gloves I have ordered," Melissa continues the story, "he paid up front for everything," she says to the shock of everyone. "He came by just as I was about to leave to pick up his order," she says telling them something none of them knew. "He looked like he had walked all day," she continues. "I asked him how his day went," she says shaking her head at the memory. "He said something like, 'oh it was okay, been busy causing a ruckus if you know what I mean. It seems everyone here loves a mystery. At least I don't have to go out tomorrow, I feel as though I've been going non stop for a year and a half,' at least I think that's what he said," she says with a shrug. "He then said he has much to do and he turned around to walk out of the door when he paused. He turned around and looked at me for a moment, it seemed as though he was trying to decide whether or not to continue. He finally did, he said, 'in your gathering tonight, all will be based mostly on fact, but some things are best left unknown. To be torn from a place you call home and moved to a foreign world almost is a lot to ask of someone, even if that someone didn't know. However this maybe, a meeting of the minds will come, only when they are required to,' he than shrugged. 'Sorry about that,' he apologized. 'Sometimes I've no control, it just needed to be said,' he tried to explain to me. It was the strangest thing to see. I knew he was fighting against saying it, he didn't want to say it but it seemed as though he had to. He then said it was best to get going, he has a lot to do tonight and I should get going before I'm late," she says as she tries to remember how it went exactly. "He then left my store and I realized I was almost late for coming here," she finishes her tail.
Lily Potter looks at Melissa with a dazed look, almost envious in nature, "you got to hear a prophecy," she whispers softly.
"Yeah," Melissa says with a nod of her head. "The question is, what does it mean," she asks in return.
"Well the gathering is this meeting," Minerva explains reluctantly. Everyone in the room knows of her dislike of the Divination subject.
"So all of what we say here will be mostly on fact," Bill says going on with what his former teacher started.
"However some things are best left unknown," Charles says after a moment. "What things," he asks out loud.
"It seems he was torn from his home and moved here," Tom says as he remembers the look of disbelief, of shock on Mr. Evan's face last night. This could explain his reaction to being here.
"A meeting of the minds," Sirius repeats, "whose minds and what about them being required to," he asks.
"I think," Molly says surprising everyone, "it means when it is time to talk it'll be the right time for it and not before. I think it means he won't tell anyone anything he isn't comfortable with until the right time has come," she says surprising everyone with her insight.
After a moment of silence as everyone thinks about these things, all of a sudden James Potter realizes something, "You can't be serious, Sirius," he finally blurts out. "Having a fifteen year old teaching DADA," he asks his friend.
Sirius looks over at his friend with a look of shock, "If that kid has done even half of what his file says he did, if he has received the Order of Merlin not once, not twice, but three times just imagine what he knows," he says defending his words from what seems to have been hours ago but was in truth a short few moments before.
Lily sits there for a moment and then nods her head, "We're almost at the point of offering the job to my sister Petunia," she says to her husband.
"Your sister's a Muggle, a horrible one at that," Remus points out and then his eyes widen in shock as he realizes what she means.
"Right," Lily agrees. "We're in definite need of a professor," she says, "however whether to have a child as the teacher is as he said something the board would never grant. Besides, graduation or not he should be in school, and not out in the world on his own. This boy needs our help, it seems he's alone in the world," she says looking up at the front of the room. "I know what we've learned here tonight, but I feel we need to help this child. He needs to go to school where we can watch over him and help to protect him just as we protect every other student," she says almost pleadingly to the Headmaster.
Albus Dumbledore thinks about this for a moment, "I believe you're right Professor Potter," he says to Lily. "I think this Evan Knight needs to remain close to us as we can possibly get him," he continues. "Whom shall we send to talk to him," he asks as he looks over at Tom, Molly and Melissa.
"You," Molly says instantly.
"Yes," Tom agrees, "You're the best choice for it's you he said he needed to see," he explains his reasoning.
"Hey," Melissa says with a rise of her hands, "I always say you," she agrees with the rest causing laughter to be heard.
"Very well, I'll go and greet Mr. Knight tomorrow," Albus concedes but he finds himself excited at the prospect of meeting this young curious man.
Leaky Cauldron
The one now called Evan Knight gently closes Hogwarts: A History with a weary sigh. It is worse than he had ever feared. This world is very different than his world. It seems time here in this world is behind by a year. So he is older than the Harry James Potter of this world.
It seems everything started to change on that Halloween night when he was fifteen months old. Voldemort was after the Potters of this world, but in the end he chose the Longbottom's. Thus meaning Neville Longbottom was to be the marked one. However, it seems something in this world didn't work. Alice Longbottom gave her life for her son just as Lily Potter did for hers in his world. In this world, the result was much different. When Voldemort finished off Alice, he attacked Neville. The spell did backfire onto Voldemort, thus taking his body away, but Neville was also killed by the curse.
In this world, peace didn't return as quickly as it did in his. This world was in an uproar, their savior is dead. They have nothing; they have no one to look to for hope, no one to save their world again. The Death Eaters still held their ground and helped Voldemort return much quicker. Thus allowing him to do the most damage to the Muggle born families, it was then he learned of the death of Hermione Granger. She was murdered at the age of eight years, and as of this moment her parents are still alive. It was with this news he realized how much he was hoping she would be alive in this world.
The Harry James Potter of this world is currently attending Hogwarts and is accompanied by his siblings, Destiny and Jacen Potter. Mrs. Lily Potter is the professor of Arithmancy. James Potter is head of the Auror division, closely followed by Sirius Black. Remus Lupin is assistant grounds keeper and protector of the students as is Rubius Hagrid.
It seems to Evan, everything he held dear is now torn asunder. His world no longer exists until he can find away back home, if there is one. It is here Evan realizes he doesn't care if he gets to know his parents or not. In fact he prefers not to. What he does want is to, well, go home. And no matter how closely this place is to it, it isn't home. He wants to be home with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George Weasley. He just wants to go home. It was with this sadden thought in his mind that Evan Knight drifted off into the horrors of the night, but he knew this was the only place he would ever be able to see his family ever again.