*pins a gold 
on Sil for waiting 
*
mousechief ~ I know I said the Malfoys were to be in this part. I had to shift them to the next one.
Beyond The Written Word ~ Part 3C
Suddenly a brilliant flash of lighting coming in through the tall row of windows in the outside wall of the corridor startled them all and the loud rumble of thunder which followed soon after made them flinch.
“That was close. I wonder if the lightning struck Hogwarts,” Dillon mused while they all went over to the windows to look out.
“It can’t because of the magical charms placed on it. I’ll lend you my copy of “Hogwarts, A History” so you can read all about it,” Hermione replied. “As a matter of fact you will need all the books if you’re going to learn to be a wizard Dillon.”
“We can get those for you too after visiting Ollivander’s for your wand,” George said firmly when he saw Dillon about to protest that their buying him things wasn’t necessary to make up for what their rogue joke magic had done to him.
“It looks like a monsoon out there,” Ginny said while she watched as the heavy sheets of now wind driven rain pelted Hogwarts and the country side around it.
“Hopefully this rain will let up before we go to Diagon Alley. I hate traveling through really wet floos. It makes the soot stick more to you,” Fred explained with a grimace.
“Maybe we shouldn’t even use the floos. After all Dillon hasn’t traveled by them and we don’t want him ending up some place else like Harry did on his first time,” Ginny reminded then all which made Harry look a bit embarrassed.
“How I could mess up saying Diagon Alley I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.
“But how else are we going to get to the alley? It’s too far for brooms assuming the rain stops,” Hermione pointed out. “And the train isn’t running now either I believe.”
“I’m willing to give the floos a try,” Dillon offered as a way to make his friends getting him there easier although he still felt it wasn’t necessary to be going there at all.
Suddenly this earned him a slap on the back from a smiling Fred which startled him and nearly shoved him into Harry. “That’s the spirit! Now who is up for some lunch? It’s almost noon time and I’m starving!”
As it turned out everyone else was hungry as well so they began to troop down towards the Great Hall while showing along the way more of Hogwarts to Dillon. And it was also during this time that he met some interesting characters in the paintings that hung everywhere.
“Oh how delightful! We have another Harry!” one lovely blonde haired medieval lady in waiting with green eyes said happily while smiling at him.
“Um…no…not really,” Dillon stammered back. “I just look like him is all.”
“I say now! Are you for real?” a pudgy English man dressed in a Victoria era top hat and tails asked from the next painting while he bent forward and looked at Dillon through his monocle as if he were examining a bug through a magnifying glass.
“Yes…I’m real,” was all Dillon could think to say to such an absurd question.
Eventually he came to a painting of an equally lovely dark haired woman reclining back on a chaise lounge while wearing a long red dress the bodice of which was so tight that her bosom looked about ready to pop out of it. Suffice it to say she had Dillon’s undivided attention.
“And who have we here? Why it’s a handsome gentleman caller!” the woman purred with a come hither look to her smile and her dark brown eyes which Dillon found hard to resist. So he took a step closer towards the painting his eyes now taking on a look as if he were love struck.
Suddenly a frowning Hermione and Ginny were each taking one of his arms and dragging him away from the painting and towards everyone else who was now waiting at the top of the stairs that led down to Hogwart’s main entrance hall. “Ignore her Dillon!” Hermione said with a look of disgust towards the woman in red who stuck out her tongue at the younger woman. “She’s got nothing you want.”
“I’m not so sure about that!” he replied in an almost mesmerized tone of voice before he snapped out of it. Then he turned beet red when he realized what he had just said and how he had been acting.
“Don’t worry Dillon! You’re not the first male to fall under The Lady in Red’s spell,” George said with a big grin. “Ron had his lips pressed so tight to her that they could hardly free him.”
“I did not!” Ron exclaimed while he also turned a beet red which proved otherwise.
“I honestly don’t know why Dumbledore allows that disgusting painting to be hung in Hogwarts. It clearly isn’t a fit one to be around the male students,” Hermione said with a scowl while she looked at Ron whose ears by now were just as red as his face.
“Blimey Hermione you can’t be that dense to not know the reason for its presence!” Fred said with a mischievous wink to everyone else.
“And I suppose you do?” she asked him with a suspicious look on her face while she placed her hands on her hips.
“Of course! It’s because Dumbledore…”
However before Fred could finish the tall tale he had just invented to tease Hermione with Hogwart’s double front doors below them suddenly blew wide open and made a loud banging sound that rang as they hit the walls on either side of the entrance. Then a cloaked Hagrid entered along with much wind whipped rain which made him quickly turn around and close the doors. After that he spied everyone up at the top of the stairs but he didn’t see Dillon because the twins had swiftly moved in front of him so as to hide him. Now this surprised him and he was about to ask them why they had done that when George turned slightly and whispered over his shoulder “We want to spring you on Hagrid. We had planned on doing this while you were busy with the Lady in Red.”
“Now what are all of you doing here? Its summer and you should be out having fun or as much fun as this weather will allow anyway,” Hagrid said since he had been away visiting Gwarp and didn’t know a thing about the rogue joke magic and Dillon.
“We have someone we want you to meet Hagrid,” Harry began to introduce with a big smile before a similar smiling Fred and George stepped to either side of Dillon so that he was now in full view of the half-giant. “This here is Dillon Anderson a friend we’ve made through a rather unusual occurrence that I will let the twins tell you about. Dillon you of course know Hagrid and he is like the Hagrid in the books.”
“Hello,” Dillon said tentatively to the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts since he was taken aback by the look of total shock coming back at him. Normally all anyone ever did while meeting him for the first time was to just stare out of curiosity.
“Blimey Harry he could be your twin!” Hagrid was finally able to exclaim although he still continued to look in shock at Dillon which was making the young man feel uncomfortable for it gave him the impression that Hagrid’s eyes were now somehow riveted permanently on him.
“And he’s a wizard too!” Ron chimed in while he and everyone else now quickly descended the stairs so they could gather around the half-giant.
“I’m not much of one. I only know one spell,” Dillon quickly said lest Hagrid think him fully a wizard. “I only found out the night before last that I could even do that!”
“Blimey!” was all Hagrid could say to that his look of shock now turning into one of surprise.
After that everyone but Dillon took turns in giving Hagrid a quick run down of events that had led him to now being at Hogwarts which had the half-giant saying “Blimey!” every now and then during it as well while they headed into the Great Hall for lunch which was minus its enchanted ceiling due to the wildness of the outside sky.
“One storm of this magnitude is enough during our meal,” Professor Dumbledore had explained in response to Hermione’s question after he had greeted them all warmly from his seat at the head of the single long table now present in the middle of the hall. With him was Professor McGonagall on his right and Professors Flitwick and a frowning Snape on his left. “And I hope your visit with your brother was better then this weather,” he added to Hagrid.
“It definitely was Sir! And Gwarp is much happier in that cave you told me about then out in the Forbidden Forest,” Hagrid said with a big smile.
“That’s not surprising since he’s a giant and more accustom to living in such surroundings,” Snape softly snorted now with a smirk on his face.
“Splendid!” a pleased Dumbledore exclaimed while he ignored Snape’s remark. “Now everyone come and enjoy this fine lunch before it grows cold!”
Meanwhile Dillon’s eyes had grown wide in amazement while he had been watching the variety of delicious looking and smelling food magically appear on the table which included much to his surprise creamy peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches made from white bread which was his favorite. Then he gave a bit of a start when Harry touched him on the arm to get his attention away from the food so he would follow the famous young wizard over to his seat next to a smiling Professor McGonagall. After that Harry sat down next to him with Ginny next to him and then Hermione. Across from them were Snape, Flitwick, Hagrid, the twins, and finally Ron.
Soon everyone was passing the various dishes around to one another although the plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches stayed in front of Dillon. “Those are meant for you only,” Dumbledore said with a merry twinkle in his eye.
“Thank you Professor for having them made for me but how did you know that I liked them? I’ve never said a word that I did,” Dillon asked clearly confused.
“Oh a little bird told me,” was all the august wizard would say on the subject before he changed it to what Dillon’s impression of Hogwarts was.
“It’s fantastic! And way bigger then I had imagined it to be. None of the schools I’ve been in can hold a candle to it. I would have enjoyed going to school here!” Dillon said enthusiastically the latter part making Snape snort.
“Thank goodness that will never happen. Who knows what chaos that would have unleashed if there were
two Harry Potter’s roaming around here whenever they felt like it,” the Professor said in a contempt filled reference to Harry’s sometimes disregard for school rules concerning when and where students should be.
“Oh for crying out loud! Give it a rest will you!” Dillon suddenly said in an angry tone of voice which took everyone by surprise. “Look I know that Harry’s father bullied you about while the two of you attended Hogwarts and while I feel his behavior wasn’t right at all it’s time for you to quit dwelling on something you can’t change by verbally bullying Harry and move on!”
“Oh and who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?” Snape asked in a quiet voice that barely hid his own anger. “You no doubt basked in all kinds of wonderful attention from your school mates.”
“Actually I didn’t. There were those who didn’t like Harry’s story and often let me know how much they didn’t by ganging up on me to the point where I spent so much time in a hospital recovering during my last year in school that I almost didn’t graduate in time. Now if I remember correctly James Potter never physically hurt you so if anyone here has a right to carry a grudge then it would be me since I suffered more then you. But that would be pointless like I said for the past can’t be changed and dwelling on it would just keep me a victim of it. And that’s something I don’t want to keep being for life is too short,” Dillon said firmly his eyes never leaving Snape’s who looked stunned by the young man’s words as did everyone else.
For several minutes the only sound in the Great Hall was that of the storm lashing at the widows with its wind driven rain. Then a clearly upset Harry asked softly “How badly beaten were you because of me?”
“The last time was the worse for my assailants had used base ball bats which are longer and slightly thicker then the bats that are used to keep the Bludgers at bay in Quidditch. According to the doctors they had very little hope then that I would live since I had so many internal injuries to vital organs. But I did and here I am. As for my attackers they were rounded up and because of some fancy defending from their lawyers they got little or no jail time. Now Harry don’t you dare start thinking that this is somehow your fault because it isn’t!”
“Still if my story hadn’t been written…”
“Then no one would have learned of it and that would’ve been a greater shame,” Dillon said with a reassuring smile while Professor McGonagall, Hermione, and Ginny wiped their tearing eyes and everyone else shifted as if they were uncomfortable in their seats except for Snape. He sat still his face now the perfect one for a game of poker since it gave no hint as to what his thoughts were.
“Does nothing dampen your spirits?” a now smiling Harry asked.
“Actually there is and it’s this rain. I so want to see the Quidditch field and try out your broom.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible even if this rain suddenly stops,” Hagrid said after he had blown his nose in his napkin sized hankie since he had been moved to tears too by Dillon’s story. “The Quidditch field is flooded and I think some giant flesh eating leaches have taken up residence there. I’m going to have a devil of a time getting rid of them.”
“Don’t you go about it alone Hagrid. When the time comes let myself and the other Professors know so you have some back up just in case,” Professor Dumbledore advised.
“I will certainly do that Professor.”
To Be Continued...
Man, there goes my faulty memory again!!! Brain hiccup! Sorry. Will attempt to get it done today. 
Where, oh where did my memory go? Where, oh where can it be???? Must be off with my muse on the island.
How wonderful! The rogue joke magic is gone!!! Whoo-hoo! Lovely!!! Draco will probably be falling over from shock when he sees 2 Harrys!!! hehehehehe!
