Disclaimer: In this chapter, the author of the harry potter books is mentioned. However, she is the author of the harry potter books published in my alternative muggle universe, and so a completely different person to the real harry potter author. I know full well that Rowling is the author of the wonderful Harry Potter series, and no resemblance is meant in this story to my character, Jessie. Unlike her, Rowling created the magical universe completely from her own imagination, Jessie had it put on a plate in front of her. Thank you for understanding, hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 13

Professor Dumbledore stood outside the muggle bookshop, Waterstones, his cowboy hat, red skiing jacket, and baggy, charity shop jeans blending in surprisingly well with the crowd, despite his long silver beard that was tucked neatly into the black belt of his trousers. He was staring with extreme displeasure at the window display, which was adorned with sparkling starry decorations, black wizard hats (fake of course) cardboard wands, and large blown up drawings of Harry's head. On the stands were brightly coloured hard-backed books, bearing the title 'Harry Potter and the Grander Phoenix Wands' with a well drawn picture of the trio on the front; they were emerging from what looked like a fiery golden phoenix, and brandishing their wands triumphantly. Along the top of the window ran a huge banner, announcing 'Sixth Potter instalment now in stock!' and a trampled damp newspaper on the pavement below Dumbledore's feet bore the headlines, 'Harry's final adventure? Rennal's sixth and possibly final book hits stores all over the country'.

Letting out an enormously long and frustrated sigh, Dumbledore stepped away from the window. He moved past the crowd of avid fans who were standing on the street discussing the book in loud and enthusiastic tones, and as the words 'twin... Harry Potter's identical twin brother... awesome!' met his ears, his icy blue eyes glinted with worry, and he pursed his lips determinedly, turning on the spot quickly, and vanishing from sight.

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Jessie Katrina Rennal was sipping coffee in her living room and flicking through a huge pile of letters from fans, a copy of her new book sitting open on the table in front of her, when there came a loud and urgent knock on the front door.

With a frown she placed her mug on the table and pushed the pile of letters onto the edge of the chair, where they immediately fluttered to the floor. Sparing them only a brief glance, she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and hurried to answer the door, where the visitor was still knocking impatiently.

'Coming, coming,' she muttered under her breath, and opened the heavy front door to find a cowboy attired Dumbledore standing angrily on her doorstep.

'Dumbledore! What a nice surprise,' she greeted with a winning smile, 'Have you seen my new book? Please, do come in.'

Dumbledore did not return her smile, but stepped onto the thick, cream rug in the hallway. He frowned at her seriously. 'I have indeed seen it, and that is precisely why I am here, Jessie.'

The famous author's smile disappeared immediately. 'Oh,' she said quietly. 'I see... well come and sit down, I suppose this will take a while.'

Dumbledore nodded and followed her into the sitting room, his eyes immediately drawn to the open book lying on the table. With a spasm of almost longing he turned his back on it, drawing away like sticky toffee or melted cheese.

'Now, I shall get straight to the point,' he said, facing the author sternly. 'Your new book.'

Jessie smiled. 'Oh yes, do you want to see it? I hope its satisfactory, like the others, I-'

'RENNAL' bellowed Dumbledore, interrupting her cheery chatter, and she jumped in surprise, cowering away from the angry wizard. 'Do not under any circumstances let me see the book. I must. Not. Know. What. Happens.'

Rennal immediately picked up the book and closed it with a loud thud, placing it under the cushion on her chair.

Dumbledore relaxed at this action, feeling a lot easier without the book's visual presence, and took a deep and calming breath before continuing. 'You have broken the terms of our contract by releasing this book way too early, by revealing what will happen in the future before it has actually happened. Do you have any idea what damage you could cause from doing this?'

The author shook her head, worry in her eyes. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered, 'I was only doing what I thought best. You see, the publishers and public were getting more and more demanding… and seeing as I had the means to produce a hundred books in one day if I wanted, I thought it wouldn't matter if I brought out the books a little earlier.'

Dumbledore was not affected by her humble manner, and certainly did not buy her feeble excuse. 'Time is an extremely precious and complex dimension, Miss Rennal,' he explained seriously. 'Altering any of its stages, whether past, present or future can result in complete disaster, and the deletion or rather death, of a persons life at any time. I am sure that I told you this back in our first meeting five years ago; nobody should know their future before it has happened, and if others know, it is equally dangerous. I do not know what the consequences will be of your releasing the book about Harry's (and so I have heard rumoured, David's also) sixth year before that year has actually happened. Even now at this very minute events may be taking place in a different way to how your book describes, due to your want for fame. However, there is nothing we can do about it now, except make sure that nobody mentioned in this book even sees so much as its cover. The pull towards the forbidden is a very strong power.'

J.K. Rennal's face was now a pale grey colour, her cheeks tinged pink. 'I understand,' she said quietly, 'and I can see that it could be a very serious thing to do, meddling with time, but surely nothing will happen from my harmless writings. You did, after all, make sure that no person in contact with magic could access the books or muggle merchandise and media that came out of it.'

Dumbledore's expression did not change. 'I did make sure of that,' he said gravely, 'but that does not mean that it is foolproof, nor that the contents will not reach Harry's ears. You forget, in your blindness from all the excitement, that Harry's twin David is a muggle, and not just any muggle, but the actor of Harry in one of your films.'

Rennal's eyes widened with realisation.

'Yes, so you see your 'harmless writings' as you put it, will indeed have had a result, possibly far greater than you could imagine. I cannot possibly allow you to continue with your job, not after you broke our agreement, whether the task is complete or not. My only choice is to take away the means for your concealment and living in the magical world. The cloak please, and the time turner then, Miss Rennal.' He held out his hand expectantly, but the muggle fiction writer just stared at it blankly.

'Y-you're going to stop me writing about Harry?' she asked, somewhat trembling.

Dumbledore smiled kindly at her. 'For now, yes,' he said firmly. 'You will not be needing the cloak and time turner for a while, if ever again. You are lucky that it isn't your memory that I'm asking for. As I told you many years ago, muggles in your situation would have been obliviated immediately and certainly not left to explore the magic world at will. If you misplace my trust ever again, I will be forced to take action.'

His expression softened slightly at J.K.'s shocked face. 'Jessie,' he said calmly, 'you have done a marvellous job in telling Harry's story to the world, and look at how famous you have become? You don't need the magic world to continue with your career, learn to let it go, be proud of being a muggle. Oh, and you are welcome to visit any time you like of course. Now, I am in rather a hurry, I have a meeting with Fudge to get to, and I think I should probably change before I go to the ministry… The cloak and time turner, if you please.'

Once again he held out his hand to the author, and this time, looking like a naughty school child that had just had some toy confiscated, she slowly and reluctantly delved inside her pocket and extracted a silvery, flowing material. Then she reached for a gold chain that hung around her neck and pulled out a glittering golden time turner. Without so much as a word she gave both these precious objects to the Hogwarts Headmaster, who immediately pocketed them safely in the lining of his skiing jacket.

'Thank you,' said Dumbledore, ignoring the look of regret and loss in her eyes. 'Good bye Miss Rennal, I am sure we shall meet again one day.' And without so much as a word of warning, he turned on the spot, and with a loud crack, vanished from the comfortable living room.

J.K. Rennal stared blankly at the spot from which the wizard had just vanished, too shocked for a moment to realise what had just happened. Then she slapped a hand to her head and sat down hard on the sofa, wincing as she did so, and pulling out the copy of her book from underneath the cushion. 'Stupid, stupid Jessie,' she said out loud, and flung the book across the room, where it landed upside-down beside the hearth, which luckily wasn't lit this afternoon.

With a sigh she lay back on the sofa, touching absent-mindedly the spot on her neck where the time turner had always hung. Closing her eyes she began to remember back to that one eventful day when her life had changed forever…

It was the first of September, and Kings Cross Station was a great mass of bustling people hurrying to catch their trains, the noise of whistling guards, chattering voices, and sing-song announcements filling the tense atmosphere. The 10:45 train from Birmingham pulled into platform nine, and Jessie gathered up her handbag, notebook and pen and made her way down the isle between the blue-patterned seats to the nearest door, stepping neatly off onto the dusty platform. Looking around with eager, interested eyes, she found a flashing board and noted that her next train wasn't due for another three quarters of an hour. Deciding to go and find a drink to pass the time, she headed towards a small café at the end of the platform, and once inside, queued shortly at the coffee machine.

Two minutes later she stepped outside with the steaming polystyrene cup, and found a clear space opposite the barrier between platforms nine and ten, where she leant against a wall sipping at her hot drink and observing the crowded platform.

Suddenly there came a disturbance from amongst the hustle and bustle, and her sharp, imaginative eye was caught by the sight of a cluster of bright red headed people making their way towards her. Standing up straight with extreme interest, she peered closer at the group, counting their number to be six; a rather plump, motherly looking woman holding on tight to the hand of a small, freckled girl; a young man looking extremely well groomed; two identical looking twin teenagers, and a rather gangly looking boy just a bit younger than them, who had a smudge of dirt on his nose. What was so extraordinary about this red headed family was not, however, the colour of their hair, but rather their belongings. Each of the children were wheeling a trolley containing a large, shabby trunk, and on top of the eldest boy's trolley perched a cage containing a handsome screech owl, and on top of the youngest boy's trolley sat a meshed cage containing a sleeping, fat rat.

'What's the platform number again?' asked the mother wearily, as they paused in front of Jessie, who was now frantically scribbling in her notebook.

'Nine and three quarters,' piped up the little girl, jumping up and down on the spot excitedly as one of her brothers asked, 'Shouldn't you know that, Mum?'

As the mother replied, Jessie strained her ears even more. Platform nine and three quarters… Did she just hear that right? She looked up just in time to see the eldest son walk forward… and disappear completely out of sight!

What the- Jessie blinked, looking around frantically to see if she could see him anywhere, but it was as if he had never existed.

'You next, Fred,' came the mother's voice, and Jessie moved forward a little to see the family clearer, determined this time to find out what was happening; this could be the perfect core to a successful story!

One of the twins stepped forward, wheeling his trolley. 'I'm not Fred I'm George! Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother!'

The woman sighed and smiled apologetically. 'Sorry George dear,' she said, as he passed her, and the twins smirked. 'Only joking, I am Fred!' came the cheeky reply, and Jessie watched with widening eyes as the twins ran forwards with their luggage, straight towards the brick barrier… and disappeared just like their brother.

'Right. Now lets get a move on, this place is packed with muggles…' began the woman briskly, clearly annoyed at the joke her sons had played on her, but she was interrupted by the sound of a small and lost voice asking, 'Excuse me?'

Both Jessie and the remaining red heads looked around to see a black-haired, skinny, bespectacled boy standing just behind them, pushing in front of him a trolley containing a heavy trunk and another owl's cage, this time with a beautiful snowy owl perched inside it.

'Excuse me, do you know how to…' the boy began again, rather timidly.

'How to get onto the platform?' asked the woman kindly, smiling with encouragement.

'Yes,' said the boy, relieved.

'Don't worry dear, its quite simple; you just walk straight into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. It's Ron's first time to Hogwarts, too!' The gangly boy with dirt on his nose grinned. 'You go now, before him. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous.'

Muggles? Hogwarts? Jessie was completely baffled by what was going on, yet at least she knew now where the kids were disappearing to; they were supposedly going through the seemingly solid platform barrier! Yet that wasn't possible! Feeling slightly alarmed now, she watched as the boy with black hair pushed his trolley forwards, gathering speed, and heading straight for the barrier, his face set in a nervous expression. He was surely going to crash, any second now…

But to Jessie's utter and complete astonishment, he did not crash. In fact, he never seemed to make contact with the brick at all, but instead ran straight through the wall as if it were thin air, disappearing out of sight.

Before she had time to think on this, or even look away, she was watching as the rest of the red heads followed behind, one after the other, the young girl still clutching her mother's hand and skipping along beside her.

Leaning against the wall for support, and pinching herself in case she be dreaming, Jessie wrote this phenomenon down in her note book, then made her way cautiously over to the barrier, glancing around her to make sure nobody was watching. Then she pressed casually against the brick, bracing herself for what might happen.

Nothing.

All she could feel beneath her body was the rough solidness of stone. With a disappointed sigh, and feeling slightly silly about her suspicions in the first place, Jessie stepped away again. Must have just been a trick of the light… But she had barely turned her back when she saw three more people heading her way, one of them a young girl with bushy brown hair, and they, too, had a large trunk strapped to a trolley.

Jessie blended carefully into the crowd, keeping a watchful eye. The three with the trunk as luggage stopped right in front of the barrier. 'This should be it!' exclaimed the bushy haired girl. 'Platform nine and three quarters!'

Her parents exchanged looks. 'But dear, how do we get there? Is there magic involved?'

Jessie immediately became alert. Magic? But there's no such thing, surely!

The girl sighed. 'Of course there's magic involved… this is a magic school I'm going too, after all. But it shouldn't be complicated. I read in a book about magical transportation that you just walk straight at the barrier, and if you are a witch or a wizard, will be able to get through.'

Jessie held her breath and listened closely, eager for more information.

'But what about us, dear? We're not magic, how will we get through to see you off?' The father looked worried, and his daughter frowned. 'I don't know… follow closely behind me, maybe my magical power will activate the way through long enough for you to get through too!'

'Well it's worth a try…' shrugged her mother, sounding doubtful.

'Of course it is,' said the girl indignantly. 'Come on, we've only six minutes till the train leaves!' And she grabbed her mother by the hand and walked confidently up to the barrier, her father following close behind with the trolley. With one effortless push she was through, and her parents with her.

Jessie rushed after them, but the barrier had already resealed itself. 'Damn,' she muttered angrily, alarming a passer by. As the electric board above her flashed three minutes to eleven, she was about to move away, having had enough strangeness for one day, when there came the sound of running feet, and another family appeared, pushing two trolleys and a frog spawn filled tank in front of them. 'Come on, Mum, hurry! We only have two minutes to catch the train!' called one of the children, and Jessie moved in quickly behind them, careful not to be noticed, following the father barely a centimetre behind as they walked briskly towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Please let this work! I want to know where they are all going!

The brick wall loomed up in front of her, and all she could see was the blue material of the jacket of the man in front of her. If this didn't work, she would have one hell of a bruised face… She screwed up her eyes and kept walking forwards, waiting for the blow.

It didn't come.

She opened her eyes again to the brightness of a sunny platform, a magnificent scarlet steam engine hissing and steaming gently on the tracks in front of her, the words 'Hogwarts Express' painted on its side. All around were many excited, chattering and laughing children from the ages of eleven to around eighteen, some wearing smart, black, robe like cloaks and pointed hats, others just in normal clothes. A whistle sounded from somewhere amongst the billowing steam, and there began a mad rush for carriages as trunks began to be hauled up into the train's long and winding body.

Coming to her senses with complete and utter amazement, Jessie didn't think twice before running along the train to one of the doorways at the end, where she slipped onto the train unnoticed. Only when it began to move, chugging smoothly along the rails did she think that maybe it had been a bad idea, getting onto a strange train that was going to goodness knows where, especially when the platform it had left from was invisible and accessed by a transparent barrier. She had utterly no idea where she was going to end up, or how she would get back, and was beginning to attract some stares from students (for students of some kind they must certainly be) including the red haired boy from Kings Cross, who was now dressed in the smart black uniform, a silver badge baring the letter 'P' pinned to his chest.

Deciding that maybe it would be best to act as if she knew what she was doing, Jessie followed the majority of the student's behaviour and entered a compartment right at the back of the train, beside the luggage compartment. Luckily there was nobody already inside except for a dark green toad, who immediately leapt beneath her feet and out of the door as soon as she slid it open.

With a laugh she sat down comfortably in a window seat and watched the scenery going by, and was only interrupted a couple of times by some young students peering in at her as if they were looking for somewhere to sit. However, no sooner had she turned to look at them they disappeared again, the word 'teacher' reaching her ears.

Soon, however, Jessie began to feel bored. The train was hot and stuffy and she did not dare sleep less she miss anything important that may help her work out where they were going. Also she was beginning to feel extremely thirsty and hungry, the coffee at the station seemed like days ago.

Finally there came a welcome interruption; the sound of a clanking trolley moving out in the corridor, and a cheery voice asking, 'Anything off of the trolley dears?'

Jessie sat up straight and looked eagerly towards the doorway, which slid open not long after to reveal a short and smiling woman with a trolley full of food and drink.

'Anything off the trolley, dear?' asked the woman sweetly.

Jessie got to her feet. 'Yes please,' she answered gratefully, moving over to take a look, ready to buy a cup of tea and a sandwich. When she looked closely however, there did not seem to be any tea whatsoever, and no sandwiches. Instead there were cartons of drink labelled as 'pumpkin juice', pasties that also claimed to be pumpkin, cakes in the shapes of cauldrons, and many strange and exotic sweets that she had never heard of in her life.

She looked up in confusion at the trolley woman, who smiled expectantly. 'What'll it be today, dearie?'

Jessie gulped. 'Err… any chance of a cup of tea?'

The woman threw her head back and laughed. 'Sorry, no tea! Only pumpkin juice, you see, its mostly students to cater for, and none of them ever ask for tea. Of course, if you were to go to the staff compartment that'd be a different matter. Why aren't you there, anyway?'

Jessie racked her brains for a good excuse. 'Reverse travel sickness,' she said quickly. 'If I sit at the front I go ill.'

To her surprise the woman nodded sympathetically. 'Ah the reverse travel sickness… my sister suffers from that. Have you tried the Glistening Potion? Works wonders that does.'

'Cant say that I have,' replied Jessie.

'You should then! St. Mungo's will supply it to you if you ask. Now, what do you want from the trolley? I need to get back down to the driver...'

'Um, I'll have a carton of pumpkin juice, a pasty, one of those cauldron cakes, and a packet of every flavour beans please.'

'Righto, that will be seven sickles and two knuts.'

That will be what? Jessie blinked and tried again. 'How much, sorry?'

'Seven sickles and two knuts,' repeated the woman firmly.

'Well I have, um, a five pound note…' said Jessie feebly, reaching into her handbag.

The woman looked at her strangely. 'Muggle money? Nobody ever pays me in muggle money on the Hogwarts Express. Who are you, anyway? There aren't many teachers who travel on the train to the school.'

Jessie's heart sank. 'I-'

'Doris!' came a cheeky voice from outside the compartment. 'Doris my lovely, any chance of a liquorish wand?'

'Or a pumpkin pasty?'

The trolley woman's cheeks tinged pink. 'I'll be back,' she said, eyes still suspicious as she left the compartment, pushing her trolley in front of her. Jessie had a glimpse of two vividly red heads of hair surrounding her before the door banged shut.

Sinking gratefully into a seat once more, Jessie mopped her sweaty brow and tucked her blonde hair into the neck of her t-shirt. What am I doing here?

Later that afternoon, the scenery outside the window grew wilder, and the sky above darker and billowing with clouds. The train ran through majestic mountains and into a valley, through a forest with deep and sinister trees on either side. Then finally, orange lights started flickering in the distance and a voice echoed all down the train; 'We will be approaching Hogsmeade station in ten minutes time.'

Jessie awoke from her miserable trance and stood by the compartment's door eagerly, watching the students dashing in and out of the corridor all down the body of the train, now all wearing the same uniform of black robes. The rhythm of the train slowed to a steady chug, and then stopped altogether, steam billowing past the windows. They had arrived at a small and quaint platform, the apparent destination, and Jessie slipped off of the train behind the crowd of black-hatted students, unnoticed. Or so she thought.

What is this place? She watched the students around her all flock to the exit of the station, where she could see a track leading off towards the village. A loud voice sounded over the chatting voices, 'Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere.' And she looked around in bewilderment to see a giant of a man standing to one side of the platform carrying a lantern, and was jostled to one side by a group of scared looking first years who were not looking where they were going as they headed towards the bearded giant.

A hand gripped Jessie's shoulder and she yelped in shock, spinning around to see a stern looking woman, tall and willowy, her greying hair tied up in a tight bun underneath a violet coloured hat, and a billowing green cloak wrapped around her shoulders.

'Come with me,' the woman said sharply. 'I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwarts School. But of course you will not know what Hogwarts is… How a muggle like you got this far into our world I do not know! You should have your memory wiped, but the headmaster has insisted that I bring you to him directly.' She sighed, and then smiled slightly at Jessie's pale face and scared eyes. 'I will not harm you, what is your name?'

'Jessie Katrina Rennal,' replied Jessie indignantly, meeting her eyes. 'And I do know what Hogwarts is, it's a magic school. But what is a muggle? And a sickle? And a Knut?'

McGonagall's mouth twitched. 'Dumbledore will explain all, Miss Rennal. Now hop on.' And she pulled out a shiny broomstick from behind her back, which immediately hovered lengthways in mid air. 'Come on!' she barked, as Jessie stood there, staring blankly at it. 'Oh for goodness sake!' and she swung a leg over the handle of the broom until she was sitting right on it. 'Sit behind me,' she said, offering a hand to Jessie, who, not believing her eyes, took it and swung her own leg over the broom.

'Hold on!' cried McGonagall, and Jessie barely had time to grip the elderly teacher around the waist before the broom zoomed up high into the air, flying across the village behind the station, and alongside a huge lake, glimmering in the pale light from the evening sky. And on the hillside above the lake…

Jessie gasped, the wind blowing her hair everywhere.

'That is Hogwarts Castle, Miss Rennal,' called McGonagall.

Hogwarts Castle? That crumbled old ruin!

'But it's just a ruin!' said Jessie in disappointment. What kind of a situation had she got herself into?

'Just you wait and see, Miss Rennal, all will become clear to you when we pass over its protection boarders.'

There was a ripple in the air, and the broom passed through what felt like a smooth and cool substance, then a warm wall of dry water. Jessie could hear McGonagall muttering something under her breath, and the broom vibrated loudly.

'Nearly- there…' spluttered McGonagall, concentrating hard on something. There came a loud, bell like sound ringing in their ears, and then the broom shot forwards, the scene below changing rapidly in Jessie's eyes. The pile of old stones and nettle stems disappeared, instead many grand walls rose up out of the ground, and a huge and magnificent castle appeared in the ruin's stead, its high towers welcoming, and many windows shining.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' said McGonagall dryly as Jessie gasped once more, this time in awe. 'You are the first muggle ever to see it in its full glory. I hope you know what an honour that is. Now, hold on, I'm taking you down now, the headmaster is waiting.'

The broom flew gracefully towards the sweeping drive below, and McGonagall landed softly at the bottom of some stone steps leading up to a huge, oak front door.

Jessie had barely slid off of the broom when these doors opened wide to reveal a wizard (for Jessie was beginning to call these people witches and wizards in her head, as that was the only seemingly fit description for their attire). He had a long, silvery beard coming out from a pointed wizard hat, and was wearing a midnight blue cloak scattered with gold stars. But it wasn't his appearance that caught Jessie's attention, more the kind and wise expression in the wizard's twinkling blue eyes. 'Welcome, friend, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,' he said solemnly, opening his arms wide. 'I am Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster. Come with me.'

Jessie glanced at McGonagall, who nodded encouragingly, then followed the headmaster through the front doors and into a huge marble entrance hall. There were many staircases climbing high above, and Dumbledore led the way up one of them, his cloak fluttering on the steps in front of Jessie.

She stared around her at the hallways and landings they passed through, eyes wide and curious. In her pocket her fingers grasped her pen, itching to write about the portraits covering the wall, for they were moving!

The man named Dumbledore was silent all the way until they reached the statue of two gargoyles. Here he stopped and spoke the words, 'chocolate frogs'.

Jessie blinked. Did the gargoyles just salute?

They were most certainly moving, revolving around in a circle to reveal a hidden staircase, which Dumbledore stepped up onto lightly, beckoning her to follow.

At the top of the hidden stairs was his office, high up in one of the side towers, and he sat down in a high backed chair behind a desk, gesturing for Jessie to sit down opposite him. He then proceeded to take out a well polished stick, which he waved in the air, causing two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate full of sandwiches to appear on the table. 'Help yourself,' he said warmly, noting Jessie's longing look, and taking a sandwich for himself.

'Now,' began Dumbledore, looking down at Jessie through his half moon spectacles as she sipped at her hot chocolate gratefully. 'Tell me, right from the beginning, how you managed to get onto the Hogwarts Express.'

And so she did, relating everything from getting her coffee and seeing the red headed family ('Ah yes, the Weasleys,' said Dumbledore) to finding her way through onto the platform and boarding the train.

When she had finished, the headmaster regarded her thoughtfully. 'So you are a writer, Miss Rennal?'

'Yes,' she answered. 'That is to say that I took a degree in creative writing at University, and now I hope to be a famous author.'

'So you have not yet published?'

'No. I am still looking for ideas.' She clutched at her black notebook as she said this, and Dumbledore, noting this movement, asked to see it.

'Hummm…' he murmured, flicking through the pages. 'So you thought all this was a good basis to a successful story? The red headed family, the bespectacled, parent-less boy, the vanishing through the platform, the train, the school, and the magic…'

Jessie nodded. 'Naturally, Sir.'

'But did you really believe it; think it real that there is a school for magic, and witches and wizards living secretly all over the country? Or was that just guesswork?'

'I had to believe it. The evidence was before my own eyes.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'Of course, of course… but you weren't intending on producing a book that claimed that it really was true, were you? Because I'm afraid that it just wouldn't work. Firstly, nobody would believe you, they would think you mad; and secondly, our wizarding law just would not allow it. You see, Miss Rennal, you are unfortunately what we call a Muggle - someone of non-magical blood, and our ministry has worked for centuries to make sure that the secret of our world does not get out, and remains just that… a secret. Any muggle coming close to discovering our existence is immediately obliviated, which means they have their memory erased by a spell.' He looked seriously at Jessie, who had paled at these words.

'That is, however, something that we would normally do to meddling, bumbling muggles, and also something that only Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, would do, as it is his job to protect the magical world from discovery. You on the other hand, are a special case. Never before has a muggle succeeded in actually getting onto platform nine and three quarters, unless their child is a witch or wizard, let alone making it all the way to Hogsmeade. You are extremely bright and intelligent, Miss Rennal, and I am not Cornelius Fudge. However, I most certainly cannot just let you go back home knowing everything about us.'

Then what will you do with me? Jessie was feeling extremely puzzled, and slightly worried by all this talk of obliviation of the memory, and not letting her go back home.

Dumbledore noted her displeasure and speechless state. 'I would like to make a proposal to you, Miss Rennal, and your choice will be whether you go home with your memory obliviated, pretending none of this ever happened, or whether you except my proposition. Is that agreeable to you?'

Jessie didn't look very happy. 'I guess so…' she said hesitantly. 'Tell me of this idea of yours.'

Dumbledore smiled in satisfaction. 'Excellent. Well, this is what I have to say. You know the young boy with black hair that you saw talking to the Weasleys at Kings Cross station? Well he is no ordinary boy. He is the Boy-Who-Lived, and his story is famous within the wizarding community all over the globe. If you accept my agreement, I will tell you all about him. However, his story I fear is only just beginning, and will be one that must be told to the world at large, not just within our magical boundaries. And you, my dear, are a writer. You have the means to publish in the muggle world, something that Cornelius would never allow should he get to know about it (which, by the way, he won't). My proposition is this: Follow Harry and his friends through their life at Hogwarts, and write his story for me. You will publish the books, one per year, as children fiction stories. In return I shall not remove your memory, and will allow you to continue exploration of the magical world. Do we have an agreement?'

Publish this fantastic story as novels? Be given free access to exploring this new, magical world? I would be crazy not to accept! 'We most certainly do!' answered Jessie, beaming with happiness.

Dumbledore chuckled. 'I am glad you agree. In order to complete this task fully, you will be needing these…' he opened a drawer in the desk and took out a small box not unlike a jewellery container, and a flowing, silvery piece of material.

'This is an invisibility cloak,' announced Dumbledore, handing her the fabric, which felt like soft warm water beneath her fingers. 'And this…' He opened the small box, pulling out a fine, golden chain, upon which was hanging a small and delicate looking golden hourglass '… is a time turner.'

Jessie gasped. 'A time turner?' she asked, 'For me?'

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. 'Yes, you will be needing it to go back in time to know what happened in Harry's childhood, and also occasionally for finding out what happened to Harry at times in which you may have missed the action. But remember…'

He stared at Jessie intently, blue eyes serious. 'Remember… time is an extremely complex dimension, and should not be meddled lightly with. Nobody should know their future before it has happened and if others know, it is equally dangerous. I trust that you will remember this advice and not use this time turner for your own personal needs. Do you understand?'

Jessie nodded solemnly, this time turner business sounded dangerous, if also fun, and she had no intention of mucking anything up with it. 'I understand,' she said, taking the beautiful glistening pendant from the headmaster. 'And the cloak?'

'That is for concealment within the wizarding world, and to enable you to follow Harry, or anyone else, without being seen, so that you can write about what happens. Having said that, please respect people's privacy, not everything needs to be told in books.'

Jessie nodded. 'You can trust me!'

Dumbledore smiled. 'I'm sure I can. As to the matter of making sure that nobody knows about our agreement, especially the minister, I shall perform some complicated magic on the copyright side to your books, so that no person of magical blood, or anyone who is in any contact with someone of magical blood, will be able to see or speak of the plot. This will work as well on anything to do with the media side - films for example, or merchandise, and will completely repel those in contact with magic.'

Jessie nodded once more, and helped herself to another ham sandwich. 'Sounds like a good plan,' she said, 'anything else I need to know?'

Dumbledore shook his head. 'I don't think so… Now, you must know Harry's story before you can start this job, however, I am late to the start of term feast, and my presence is required. You may come down with me, under the cloak, and practise discreet observations. Afterwards we will return to my office and resume this discussion. Agreed?' He held out his hand, and Jessie didn't hesitate.

'Agreed,' she said with a smile, giving it a firm shake…

The telephone rang shrilly, startling Jessie from her dreaming. 'Stupid, stupid Jessie!' she groaned to herself again, rising from the sofa to reach for the phone. 'Not to use the time turner for your own personal needs was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask, yet you forgot all about it… Now look what you've ended up doing!'