Dear Harry the message began as Harry unfolded the letter Dumbledore had forwarded to him from Hogwarts along with the latest letters from Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid.
You probably don't remember me because the last time I saw you was when you were still a baby. My name is Remus Lupin and I was good friends with both of your parents. I have wanted to see you for a long time to know if you were well or happy. Your parents designated me as one of the people to look after you if they died. Unfortunately because of a condition I have I was not allowed to do so.
I'll be honest with you. I'm a werewolf. I've never killed anyone or even attacked anyone. I always take precautions to make sure that it's impossible for me to harm anyone during the full moon and so far it's always been fine. However the laws of Britain are heavily biased against people like me. The law didn't allow me to take custody of you. In fact I'm not allowed to have any contact with you unless you initiate it first. The only reasons why I can send you this letter is because Headmaster Dumbledore is delivering it so technically it could be argued that the letter comes from him – a very big stretch I know, but the headmaster says it will hold up and he usually knows what he's talking about. If it doesn't Dumbledore also pointed out that you're not in Britain and this law doesn't apply where you are (wherever that is).
I'm the new DADA professor at Hogwarts this year and I was looking forward to having you as a student and finally getting to know you again. As my student the law would not have stopped me from having contact with you. I was very sorry to learn that you had left Hogwarts. Dumbledore told me why you had but he didn't tell me everything because he said that it wasn't his secret to tell and other people were involved. I understand you're learning material that you can't get at Hogwarts although Dumbledore won't tell me what that might be. I won't ask you to tell me either, after all you hardly know me. As long as you're happy that's all that matters.
I hope you'll consider writing back to me. I would really like the chance to get to know my honorary nephew again.
Sincerely yours,
Remus J. Lupin
Harry put the letter down and sat thinking for a while. He remembered Lupin's name from the list of people left behind by his parents to look after him and why it hadn't been allowed. He frowned. A biased law had stopped someone who actually wanted him from raising him and with the other potential guardians out of the picture he'd been stuck at the Dursleys. Well, maybe he could get to know Mr. Lupin now. At the very least he might learn more about his parents.
Dear Mr. Lupin he wrote back.
Thank you for your letter. I would be glad to hear from you. I don't care that you're a werewolf. So you're dangerous one night a month, right? But as you said you take precautions to make sure you don't harm anyone on that night. That's good enough for me. I'm not about to condemn someone because of a condition over which they have no control. That's just stupid.
Harry wrote a few more paragraphs before he was satisfied with the letter. He sealed it in an envelope and put it aside before turning to Hedwig who was eyeing the letter.
"I'll send it with you soon enough" Harry said to her, "I don't want to overtax you so I won't send it until I have letters for Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid too and you can take all of them at once." Hedwig looked at Harry for a moment before bobbing her head up and down in a nod.
"Thanks Hedwig," said Harry, "you're the best." Hedwig gave Harry a look that clearly said that he'd better not forget it before she spread her wings and flew out of the window into the evening sky to go hunting. He watched her go with a smile on his face. He remembered what had happened when she had returned to Xavier's School at the end of her first trip back to Britain in August. He had been levitating in his room while reading a book when she came flying in through the window, took one look at him and gave a bark of surprise which caused him to look up.
"Oh hi Hedwig" he had said, "welcome back. I hope you had a good trip." Hedwig barked something else and Harry smiled.
"That's right" he said, "I've learned how to fly on my own. Now I know why you like being busy." This time she hooted at him and landed on his shoulder. Despite the addition of her weight he stayed floating in the air.
"Yes we can go flying some time if you want" Harry said to her, "I know you'll always be better at it than I will and I'm sure there's a lot you can teach me." Hedwig puffed up a little at that and looked at him as if to acknowledge what he had said as simply her due.
"Harry" Professor Xavier was calling him, breaking into his revery.
"Yes professor?" Harry said as he came back to the present.
"Please change into your uniform and come to my office."
"Right away" said Harry. He quickly changed into his X-Man uniform and then headed to Xavier's office where he found Cyclops and Angel already there but Iceman was absent.
"Hi guys" Lightning said, "what's going on?"
"The professor sensed another mutant" said Cyclops, "Iceman's gone to scout it out."
"Is it dangerous?" asked Lightning.
"Maybe" said the professor, "I sensed some tumult around the new mutant just recently and thought some advance knowledge would be good. I'm just waiting for Iceman's report before I decide how to proceed.
"A possible mission?" Lightning asked. He hadn't gone with Cyclops and Iceman when they went to recruit Angel as he hadn't been an X-Man at the time. If he went with the others in helping to find this mutant it would be the first time he saw any action outside of the Danger Room since joining the team.
"We'll see what Iceman has to say when he gets back" said Professor Xavier.
The waiting made Lightning antsy. He didn't know what to expect but somehow he had a feeling that all was not well. This was confirmed when Iceman finally returned.
"I don't know how it happened" Iceman told the professor, "but the whole family was gone and the house was a mess. There were signs of a struggle so somebody must have broken in and taken them."
"Someone else must have seen his power" said Professor Xavier, "I can detect him but it's weak. I'll need to use Cerebro to find him." The professor activated the Cerebro outlet in his desk and began using it to trace the mutant. While he did this the X-Men talked quietly with each other.
"What was it like?" Cyclops asked Iceman.
"It was pretty bad" said Iceman, "I don't know why they were all taken but hopefully the family is all right."
"I hope that getting him back" said Lightning, "will be a little easier than it was to get my friend Ron's sister back from the Chamber of Secrets."
"The basilisk?" said Angel.
"The basilisk" said Lightning.
"I highly doubt we'll have to deal with a monster like that" said Cyclops, "but humans can be just as bad so be prepared."
"I have them" said Xavier calling their collective attention back to him, "they do need help."
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Angel, "let's go get them."
"One moment" said the professor turning to look at Lightning, "Harry this will be your first time in the field and I cannot stress enough that real missions are not the same as sessions in the Danger Room. Don't be reckless or take chances. Remember that Scott is the team leader so do what he says – unless I tell you otherwise. If I do, I will let Scott know about it. Do you understand?"
"Yes professor" said Lightning.
"Good" was the reply, "now let's go."
It was a long trip to where they were going. Although the new mutant, whoever he was (the professor had confirmed that it was a he and his name was Henry McCoy) didn't live all that far away he and his family had been taken quite a distance by their kidnappers. They drove west through the night. Fortunately the windows were all tinted so no one outside could see who they were even if the light had been on inside the car. Lightning wasn't even sure where they were anymore. New Jersey? Pennsylvania? Ohio? As a Brit these names didn't mean all that much to him beyond being places on a map. Eventually he fell asleep in the back seat of the car. The next thing he knew someone was shaking him awake.
"Wake up Harry" came Angel's voice, "we're here." Lightning opened his eyes and yawned.
"What time is it?" he said, "and where is here?"
"It's not long before sunrise" said Angel, "and as for where we are take a look." Lightning looked to where Angel pointed and did a double take.
"What is that?" he asked looking at the nearby building above them. It looked like some kind of modern fortress but with some weird solar panels attached at the top.
"That's where the young mutant and his parents are being kept" said Professor Xavier.
"I get that" said Lightning, "but is it a castle or a power station?"
"Both" said Xavier, "the man inside is attempting to build a device that will give him unmatched power from the energy of the sun. With it he intends to threaten the world into doing his bidding."
"Oh great" said Lightning sarcastically, "another Voldemort type."
"Voldemort doesn't have a monopoly on megalomania" said Angel.
"Go" said Xavier, "rescue the mutant and his family. I will be with you as you go and will help you as much as I can."
"Right" said Cyclops, "let's go." The four young mutants headed toward the building. Lightning felt nervous but he fought it back. He wouldn't let his teammates down.
They found their way inside without any trouble which took them all by surprise.
"You'd think there would be some security" said Iceman.
"It's probably all in the main control room, wherever that is" said Angel.
"At a guess" said Cyclops, "I'd say upstairs" and upstairs they went where they soon ran into a closed and locked steel door. They could hear a humming noise coming from behind it of a machine powering up.
"I think we've found our quarry" said Cyclops, "stand back, all of you. I'm going to blast the door down." He opened up his visor and aimed his optic blasts squarely at the door. It took a few seconds before the door was blown completely to pieces.
"Guess I overdid it" said Cyclops as he led the others into the room. Lightning's first impression of the place was that it looked like some futuristic mechanical laboratory with all of the machinery along the walls. Not far from the door was an unconscious teenage boy lying on the ground. He was probably around the same age range as Cyclops and Angel and one look at him was all it took for Lightning to know that he must be the mutant they had come to find. He had the biggest hands and feet Lightning had ever seen and his arms were unusually long. The boy's whole build somewhat resembled that of a gorilla's. 'I wonder if he has the strength of one too?' Lightning thought.
Opposite them was the man who was obviously behind it all. He was dressed like some sort of 16th century Spanish conquistador.
"Hey Cyke" said Angel, "did Halloween come early this year or something?"
"Don't make fun of El Conquistador!" yelled their foe ('of course that's his name' thought Lightning. 'What else would it be?'), "my men will take care of you!" From another door a bunch of armed henchmen burst into the room and opened fire on the X-Men. Iceman threw up a thick ice shield in front of them and the unconscious mutant.
"It won't hold them back for long" said Iceman.
"It'll be long enough" said Cyclops as he opened his visor and started to blast their enemies, "Lightning, you see to the boy. We'll take care of these guys."
"Okay" said Lightning who crouched over the boy and began trying to shake him awake. The whole situation reminded him a little too much of trying to wake up Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets.
"Come on, come on" he said, "we need to get you out of here." He sent a low powered electric bolt at the boy. That did the trick and the boy woke up with a start.
"What?" he said, "I feel like I collided with an enormous formation of granite – who are you?" He'd seen Lightning and the other X-Men behind him.
"My friends and I are here to rescue you" said Lightning still bending over him, "are you all right?"
"I've certainly had more auspicious occasions than this one" said the mutant.
"I'm Lightning and we're the X-Men" said Lightning, "are you Henry McCoy?"
"Henry P. McCoy if you desire to be completely precise with my identity" was the answer, "but everyone calls me 'Hank' Now allow me to be of assistance to you and your gallant comrades in taking down the Conquistador." Before Lightning could say anything Hank was up and away bounding into the fight and Lightning realized that he did have the strength of a gorilla as he started taking down foes left and right.
"Wow" said Lightning as he watched Hank go, "he can really move!"
"Lightning" Professor Xavier's voice was in his head, "the Conquistador intends to use electricity for his plans and the weapon he's carrying is electric too. None of that will affect you. Short circuit his machines and he won't be able to threaten anyone."
"Right" said Lightning and without hesitating he fired off several electrical blasts at the machines in the room and they all promptly burned out.
"What have you done!" yelled the Conquistador turning to face him.
"Hopefully stopped you" replied Lightning as he began to realize that this fight wasn't like his fights against the troll, Voldemort and Quirrel, or the basilisk. Maybe it was the training he'd been undergoing in the Danger Room. Maybe being masked made him bolder. At any rate this time he didn't feel anywhere near as afraid as he had in the past. He actually felt confident. He could do this.
"Those who oppose me must die" said the Conquistador who whipped out a tri-pronged weapon and blasted him with a large electric blast of his own. It didn't hurt Lightning in any way whatsoever. He looked at where the bolt hit him and then back at Conquistador and raised an eyebrow at him as if to say "really?"
"How are you alive?" demanded the man, "and even standing? That was 5,000 volts I shot at you."
"Electricity doesn't harm me" said Lightning who fired a lightning bolt back at him. Conquistador avoided the bolt and swung his weapon around to point it at the other X-Men and Hank who were in the last stages of finishing off the other fighters.
"Maybe it can't harm you" said Conquistador, "what about your friends?"
"No!" said Lightning as Conquistador prepared to fire on the others, none of whom were in a position to do anything about it even if Lightning got their attention in time. This couldn't happen, Lightning thought, not now, he couldn't let it, he just –
The fear he felt at that moment for the safety of his friends caused him to unconsciously lash out in a way that he hadn't since a certain day in the reptile house at the London Zoo.
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!" Lightning and everyone else in the room stared at the Conquistador. Instead of his three pronged weapon he was now holding a rather irate rooster in his hand. It was pecking him like mad and that caused him to drop the bird with a cry of pain before Hank leaped at him and put him down with one more punch.
"Oops" said Lightning in a small voice and looking horribly embarrassed as everyone turned to look at him, "I haven't done that in years."
"What was that?" Hank finally asked him.
"Uh, would you believe it was magic?" said Lightning.
"Normally I would respond to such a query in the negative" said Hank, "as I like to think of myself as a rational human being. However after seeing you four, and what you've been able to accomplish here tonight, I realize that I'll have to reconsider what I believe and what I don't believe. At this point I just might be willing to believe anything."
"Thank you" said Lightning sounding relieved. At that moment the sun rose and peeked in through the large window of the room. The rooster threw back its head and crowed again. That broke any remaining tension and the X-Men and Hank all laughed.
They were driving back from the McCoy home later in the day. They had freed Hank's parents and arranged for the police to arrest Conquistador and his men. Then they had helped Hank and his family to get home where everything was explained to Hank and his parents who were recovering from their ordeal. Hank would join them at the school in a few days as soon as all of the arrangements were made.
"Hey Harry" said Iceman to his teammate. Lightning had been dozing in the back seat again but quickly woke up when Iceman put a cold hand on his chin.
"Don't do that!" he said as Iceman laughed.
"Sorry" said Iceman, not sorry at all, "I just wanted to ask you something. When you turned Conquistador's weapon into a rooster what kind of magic was that?"
"That was accidental magic" said Lightning looking embarrassed again, "I didn't mean to do it. I just got so afraid when I saw him threatening you guys that I lost control."
"Does that happen often?" asked Cyclops.
"No, no" said Lightning quickly, "I haven't lost control like that in years. Accidental magic usually only happens to little kids who can't control their magic yet. It usually happens because some strong emotion like fear or anger causes the kid's magic to lash out. Anything can happen although what happens the most often are things around the kid shaking or breaking. But other things happened to me too. In primary school I once turned my teacher's hair blue when she was yelling at me for something I didn't do."
"How did you explain that?" asked Angel.
"I couldn't" said Lightning, "I didn't know about magic back then because the Dursleys always drummed it into to me that magic wasn't real. Another time when Dudley and his gang were chasing me across the school playground I suddenly went from the ground to the school roof. At the time I thought the wind had blown me up there. I know better now of course.
"That's why magical kids go to school so they can learn to control their magic. By the time they turn 11 their magic has normally settled down enough so stuff like that doesn't happen so much and after you get a wand and start learning how to use your magic consciously it usually stops altogether. But even the most experienced wizard can still lose control on occasion. Thankfully that's very rare. I can't imagine Dumbledore ever losing control."
"You'd be surprised" said the professor in a cryptic manner but didn't elaborate.
"You said you hadn't done it in years" said Iceman, "when was the last time?" To everyone's surprise Lightning actually chuckled.
"It was on Dudley's 11th birthday" he said, "I set a boa constrictor on him at the zoo."
"How did that happen?" asked Angel.
"Well" said Lightning, "Dudley's about five or six weeks older than me so this was about two and a quarter years ago. Usually on days when the Dursleys went out I would be left with Mrs. Figg, a neighbor, but she was in the hospital and no one else could look after me so they had to take me with them when they went to the zoo.
"We were in the reptile house and I was looking at a boa constrictor that was telling me it had never been to Brazil – "
"You can talk to snakes?" interrupted Cyclops.
"Yes" said Lightning. After the horcrux had been removed from his head he thought he might not be able to speak Parseltongue anymore as he'd always assumed that he'd got it from Voldemort. But a few weeks ago he'd run across a garter snake outside the mansion and he was able to speak to it. He remembered that at Gringotts he'd learned that Salazar Slytherin was one of his ancestors ("I really am the heir of Slytherin" he muttered wryly to himself, "who knew?") and he'd probably gotten the ability that way.
"Anyway" continued Lightning, "I was talking to the snake who actually understood me when Dudley came up and pushed me down so he could see the snake. I hit the floor and the next thing any of us knew the glass front of the snake's enclosure had disappeared and the snake was slithering out of it. As it slithered past me it actually thanked me."
"That's pretty wild" said Iceman.
"Yes it was" said Lightning, "that's what accidental magic can be. It wasn't long afterwards that I found out I was a wizard and suddenly all of those incidents made sense."
"And today really was the first time something like that has happened since that day in the zoo?" asked Angel.
"Yes" said Lightning, "I got my wand soon after and began actively learning magic and those kinds of things just didn't happen anymore. Tonight when I saw Conquistador turning his weapon against you I was so afraid for you guys that my magic reacted."
There was a silence as the other X-Men and the professor took this in.
"I hope you realize" said Professor Xavier, "that things like that will almost certainly happen again. It's part of the job. If you feel you're not ready – "
"No, no" said Lightning, "I'm ready. I am. Maybe I wasn't fully prepared for everything until tonight but I am now. I'll do better next time."
"I'd say you did pretty well this time" said Angel, "accidental or not you did stop Conquistador."
"And we all got a good laugh out of it" said Iceman.
"Harry" said Cyclops, "I told you after your first time training with us in the Danger Room that you were an X-Man now and you'd be a valuable part of the team – and you are. You did what you had to do and you got the job done. Who cares if it was done in an unusual way?" Angel and Iceman both nodded in agreement.
"Thank you" said Lightning.
The rest of the drive was done in silence and they were soon back at the mansion. The X-Men parted company and all went off to rest but Xavier went back to his office. The night's events had given him an idea and he needed to think about it before raising it with Harry.