31st July 1992
Carter Residence
We then visited Madam Malkin's to buy new Hogwarts clothes. Even with magic to help, this somehow became our longest stop for the day. From there we went to the Apothecary to top up our potion ingredients followed by Eyelops Owl Emporium for some owl treats.
At around 3 pm, a portal opened in our backyard and Harry, Neville and I trudged through, our shopping done for the day. Harry had been a bit surprised that Neville came back with us, but I told him that Neville just needed to use our Floo.
I opened the door and quickly entered followed by Neville, shielding Harry from the colourful decorations in the living room. As one, we moved to the side right when everyone popped up from their hiding places.
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"
Harry looked gobsmacked at sight of Hagrid and Hermione, even more so at the glowing balloons and the colour changing streamers hung all round the room. Glowing confetti rained down on him as flying origami birds placed a birthday hat on his head. The spell was broken when I patted him on the back.
"Happy birthday, Harry."
//////////////////////////
The next hour was spent congratulating and gift giving. It was a modest affair, with only the Grangers, Neville and Hagrid besides my family. But as his first birthday party ever, Harry looked like he really appreciated it. He certainly didn't stop smiling the whole time. Mum had ordered a two-tier chocolate cake from Diagon Alley and it was delicious. The Grangers, being dentists had been dubious at the prospect of so much chocolate, until Hermione told them about the potion-laced toothpaste that wizards use which completely cleans the mouth leaving no residue whatsoever.
The party was rounded off with a display of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet start, No heat fireworks, which filled the dining room with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for atleast an hour. Hagrid left soon at around 5 o'clock, saying that there was a trio of unicorn foals in the magical creature Reserve that he needed to tend to. Frankly, I was a bit relieved. I loved Hagrid as anyone who knew the gentle half-giant would, but the man couldn't keep a secret even if his life depended on it. And I was just about to bring out something super-secret.
"May I have everyone's attention, please?" I said, clinking a spoon against my glass of Pepsi. "Thank you. Last month I told some of you about a special power of mine."
Harry, Hermione, Neville and my parents had understanding looks while the others looked confused. At my urging, my parents and Hermione explained about my supposed power to Rachel and the Grangers. My sister took the news in stride, with nothing but renewed admiration for me. The Grangers on the other hand were intrigued.
"Naturally, I'd ask you not to speak about this to anyone else. The reason I'm bringing this up now is because I have found a way to show others some of the things that I have seen over the years. Consider this your birthday gift, Harry. And I hope you all enjoy it." Saying so, I retrieved the magical projector from my storage ring.
"How did you do that?" Hermione asked at once.
"Do what?"
"That. Where did you get that from?" she said, pointing to the projector. "Did you summon it?"
"Oh that. I just retrieved it from this storage ring I made," I said, showing them the ring.
"Storage ring?" Dad said with a confused look, at which I explained how I created the artifact.
"But that's impossible!" Mum cried out. "Everyone knows you can only extend space that is already available, no matter how small. It's not supposed to be possible to open dimensional pockets. Many wizards have tried only to fail, sometimes with disastrous results."
"Wait, wizards can expand space?! Like 'bigger on the inside' stuff?" Mr Granger asked excitedly.
"Don't mind dad, he's just a huge fan of Doctor Who," said Hermione, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.
"Yes, Mr Granger, wizards and witches know how to expand space, quite easily able to fit a house inside a police booth, I might add. Although the spell is heavily regulated." I told him with a wink. "As for opening dimensional pockets, I don't know why no one is able to do this. Maybe they never figured out how to. But it is quite a common practice in many worlds."
"Anyway, I've been working on this artifact for a few months and have just finished it," I said, displaying the projector. "Basically it allows me to store duplicated memories and displays them as holographic illusions."
I put the projector on the coffee table and made the necessary adjustments. Of course I had made sure to leave out the names and credits which might give away the fact that they were about to watch a movie that would be filmed 3 decades later from now, although that was highly unlikely to be the case in this parallel universe.
"There, all set." I took a seat between Neville and Harry on a couch. "By the way, are there any D&D fans here?"
Mr Granger instantly raised his hand.
"Really?" I asked.
"Oh yes, it had just come out when I was in high school," Mr Granger said with a nostalgic smile. "I spent years playing it with my friends."
"Nerd," intoned Mrs Granger, with a smirk.
"Nerd and proud, my dear," said her husband, holding his head high.
"Well then, you will particularly enjoy this." I then gave a brief introduction of the tabletop role-playing game to those who didn't know, before the video started.
A fearsome convict was being transported to a towering prison in a frozen wasteland. A large number of the inmates, including the new guy were not human. He was put in a cell holding two humans - Edgin Darvis and Holga Kilgore. Edgin tried to be nice, but the new guy started to make unwanted advances towards Holga. Holga put down her meal (a potato) and promptly broke his legs then smashed his head.
For those of you who still haven't realised, we were watching 'Dungeons and Dragons: Honour among Thieves', one of the finest depictions of the fantasy genre. I really liked that movie, so much so that I watched it multiple times.
The narrative unfolded with a perfect balance of excitement, suspense, and heartfelt moments. The witty dialogue and situational comedy were organic and felt perfectly timed, never rushed, forced or dry. As the characters faced unexpected challenges and crossed paths with formidable adversaries, the stakes rose, intensifying the emotional investment of the audience.
Our group formed a good audience, smiling and laughing at the right moments. When Xenk started explaining the formula needed to cross the bridge to Dol Blunde, I could see that Hermione was listening with rapt attention. The dumbfounded expression her face formed when Simon accidentally blew up the bridge was hilarious, and I couldn't help laughing out loud. The film's climax was a triumph, not only satisfying our desire for resolution but also tugging at our heartstrings, eliciting genuine emotions of joy and empathy.
The show came full circle with Edgin reuniting with his daughter and Forge taking Edgin and Holga's place in prison. As the light from the projector vanished, everyone took a moment to savor the visual feast they had just devoured.
"That was amazing!" said Neville with Harry nodding along. "Do you think we can do the spells we just saw in there? Like that "Time Stop" spell?" he asked.
"It's definitely possible," I said. "I can already do most of the spells we just saw. Although, that Time Stop spell will take a bit more time....it's quite complicated."
"I think being a Wild Shape would be awesome," said Harry. "To be able to turn into a bird and soar free must feel incredible!"
"You can," I said.
"What?" he asked.
"Turn into a bird and fly," I said, "that is, if it's your animagus form."
"Oh yeah, like Professor McGonagall," he nodded. "But isn't that supposed to be really advanced transfiguration and very difficult?"
"Maybe, but not if you had help from someone who's already familiar with the process," I said, remembering Sirius Black and how it might soon be time to get him out of prison. "What is it?" I asked Hermione, who seemed to be mulling something over.
"Is that what it's like?" Hermione finally said. "This is what you see every night?"
"Mostly," I replied. "Mind you, it's not always happy endings. There are quite a few worlds I'd be happy to never see again."
"Still, I envy you." She commented. "Don't they use wands in other worlds?"
"Actually, in that respect, our world is an exception," I explained. "Very few worlds have such widespread use of magical foci. Magic wands and staves are considered rare in most worlds, with powerful witches and wizards having to build their own out of gathered materials."
"I still can't wrap my head around the fact that D&D is real," said Mr Granger, lost in thought.
"Well, most fictional worlds are real, somewhere in sometime. Writers don't really create as much as get inspired by information that crosses over through the astral plane, when they are dreaming." I said.
The party soon broke up, but before they departed I gave Hermione and Neville alongwith Harry, each a pair of spectacles that had all my usual enchantments. We decided to meet up again in Diagon Alley after getting our booklists.
//////////////////////////
With the eventful day over, Harry and I made our way upstairs. I was just about to enter my room when I heard a soft 'pop' coming from Harry's supposedly empty room. Activating Magesight, I could see a child-like silhouette through the wall, packed with magical energy. Ah, so Dobby has finally decided to make an appearance.
"Looks like you have another visitor," I told Harry, as I entered his room. "Hello there," I greeted the house elf who was standing invisible in a corner.
I pointed to my glasses at Harry's puzzled expression, and he soon gave a gasp at being able to see the bundle of energy through his new spectacles.
"We can see you, by the way. It's considered rude not to greet someone in their own house, you know." I said towards the elf.
At once, a pitiful house elf appeared in our sight. Unlike the Hogwarts' house elves who dressed in spotless towels, the poor creature was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.
"A thousand apologies, sir. Dobby never meant to offend Harry Potter and his friend. Oh no, sir, Dobby wouldn't dream of it." said Dobby, bowing so low that the end of his long, thin nose touched the carpet.
"Relax, Dobby....was it? I was just kidding," I said, moving to sit on the bed where Harry soon joined me. "Why don't you sit down?" I waved towards a chair.
Immediately, Dobby burst into tears....very noisy tears. Thank Merlin, I had cast a noise muffling spell after entering the room, or else everyone in the house would've thought someone was dying up here.
"S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never....never ever...."
"I'm sorry," said Harry. "We didn't mean to offend you or anything...."
"Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard.... like an equal...."
I stood, gently picked up the pitiful sobbing thing and put him on the chair. At last, he managed to control himself, sitting quietly and looking at us with eyes filled with adoration.
"You can't have met many decent wizards, then," I joked.
Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
I used a Telekinetic pull and moved him to the center of the room.
"Please don't do that," I told him. "We don't allow corporal punishment in this house."
"Dobby is sorry, sir, but Dobby had to punish himself," said the elf, looking slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir...."
"Your family?" Harry inquired.
"The wizard family Dobby serves, sir....Dobby is bound to serve the family forever...."
"They don't know you're here, do they?" I said.
Dobby shuddered.
"Oh, no, sir, no....Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming here, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir - "
"But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?" Harry said, looking horrified.
"Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments. . . ."
"But why don't you leave? Escape?" Harry asked again.
"He can't. House elves must be set free by their master. Usually it's done by giving the elf clothes," I explained. "Would you like to something to eat, Dobby? I think we still have some cake left from earlier - "
Again Dobby started crying, this time devolving into wails of gratitude. I shook my head at the melodramatic guy and portaled to the kitchen. Opening the freezer, I grabbed a slice of the leftover birthday cake and a spoon. I briefly debated whether I should offer Dobby a glass of Pepsi, but decided against giving so much caffeine to the excitable little elf.
"Here you go," I offered him the plate as he was coming down from his watery ride.
"Thank you, sir....to be treated so kindly by a powerful wizard such as yourself....Dobby is honoured, sir." he said, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing.
"Now now, Dobby. Flattery will get you everywhere." I said with a smirk.
Dobby leaned towards me, his eyes as big as headlights.
"Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, "that Benjamin Carter met the Dark Lord just weeks ago.... that Benjamin Carter defeated him."
"It wasn't as hard as you might think," I said, trying to sound modest. "You know what they say, proper preparation prevents piss-poor performance."
Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears.
"But enough about me. Let's talk about you. Tell me, did you come by to warn Harry not to go back to Hogwarts?"
The plate slid from Dobby's momentarily frozen hands towards the floor, but thankfully I was prepared. A simple levitation charm, and the cake flew back up to settle on the nearby table.
"How did you know, sir?" Dobby asked, his eyes wide.
"It's what I do, Dobby. I know things." I gave him a smug look. "Let me guess, Lucius has finally decided to fob Riddle's diary on some unsuspecting Hogwarts student, preferably someone in Arthur Weasley's family, given the trouble his Department has recently been causing Lucius and his friends.
I suppose he hopes the piece of Riddle in the diary will possess the poor child and cause irreparable damage in the school, which will give Lucius the opportunity to target both Dumbledore and Mr Weasley. Quite a convoluted plan, I must say. But without the benefit of foresight, one entirely likely to work."
Dobby sat still as a statue, unable to formulate words, his eyes wider than ever.
"What do you mean 'piece of Riddle'? What diary are you talking about?" asked Harry.
"Remember what I said in the Headmaster's office about Voldemort's horcruxes?"
Harry slowly nodded his head, realisation setting in on his face.
"This diary is one of those," I said, before turning to the house elf. "Thank you for coming here to warn us, Dobby. But as you can see, we know what to expect. More importantly, Dumbledore knows. We've made preparations and I assure you, that diary will not harm anyone, least of all, Harry."
"But HOW!? How do you know all this, sir?" Dobby cried out loud.
"Well, it's complicated. But basically, I am, sort of, a seer. I saw all this happening years ago." I bullshitted.
"So that's how Benjamin Carter knows about the things to be!" Dobby said with an enlightened expression.
"Yep. It's also how I know that we're going to be great friends." I said, giving the house elf an encouraging smile.
"Friends?" Dobby echoed. "You want Dobby to be your friend?" He said with a disbelieving expression.
"Of course," I affirmed, "and so does Harry." Harry quickly nodded.
This was followed by another bout of crying, but these were mostly tears of joy. After a while, the excitable elf managed to calm down enough to finally finish his cake. Before leaving, he promised to inform us when Lucius takes the diary to Diagon Alley.
Turning to Harry, I asked aloud, "Was that the craziest birthday you ever had or what?"