Wilson's office

Andrew had questions for Professor Wilson. A lot of questions. And he didn't want the professor to see how afraid he was. He was hoping that the professor just took for granted that a lot of first years had that "deer in the headlights" look their first few days here. But Andrew wasn't just a deer in the headlights, he was feeling like a fish out of water as well. And that wasn't helping. He hadn't seen a shorter, smaller first year so far in the whole of the school. That made things seem even more weird.

His experiences had been, in his young life that most adult men were louts and drunkards, who were most often big, abusive and stupid. He had learned to survive by pickpockettiing and taking care of himself and trusting no one. Women, well, he trusted them less. They were just too often drunken, loose, and full up of themselves on their own beliefs about their own beauty. And they always had lied to his father about what a wonderful man he was. The truth was he was just a rich, drunken bastard.

He was trying to redefine for himself exactly what a proper adult was. So he was trying hard not to prejudge the adults he found here. But the kids had said Professor Wilson made the decisions about what went on in Gryffindor Tower. So they had suggested he start by talking to Wilson. He was hoping, beyond hope. that Wilson had not been smart enough to read his file--too much.

He swallowed hard to get up his nerve and knocked, as politely as a knock could be, three times on the Professor's door.

Wilson was reading a Muggle book in his office, alone. He like silence, no one disturbing him and combining that, he could do whatever he wanted - reading, listening to music, writing reports or just plain old sleeping. The book he held in his hands was a book he had read many times, especially during his long and happy childhood. Nothing and no one could describe London than Charles Dickens, the great Boz. His books were always interesting to read, even the much mentioned Christmas Carol had a very strong message and a strong philosophical background in it. But old Scrooge was not the character of this book. Rather, it was a young boy, a boy raised in the streets. His reading of Oliver Twist was interrupted by a knock. Who could this be, he wondered with a very strong irritation present in his mind. ''Enter, but it better not be stupid'', he said and closed the book.

Andrew crept inside, trying not to feel intimidated. Were his questions stupid? He wasn't sure. "Um..Professor? I understand from some of my house mates, that you are the man in charge of Gryffindor? Could I, Sir, have a moment to ask you a couple of questions? I..I don't know who else to go to. You see, my father, well, he didn't..believe in schools until my Hogwarts letter came. He never let me go to school before. So, there's a lot I don't know. I'm not trying to ask stupid questions. Honest.

"I need to know, Sir, how does one know if one has any magical abilities? The only thing my dad ever called me as some sort of a squib. But then in class with another professor the other day, I sorta, well, I saw something while I was looking at him. I mean, like energy waves all around him. And some of them had colors. I've never seen that before. I felt like if I looked at him any longer I was going to see inside him--like I wasn't supposed to see that. I've never had anything like that happen before.

"And--my second question--I..well, I had a really great little bitty green frog as a pet at home. I know they said I could have a toad, but is there any way, I could have my little frog? He's..well,, the only friend I ever had. We used to talk a lot. And I was starting to train him."

OOC: Andrew is going to be developing leglimens, second sight, and talking to animals, if that helps, Wilson. I just haven't claimed it yet.

''You used to talk to the toad? That happens, but not that often boy. But still, keep it. I do not care that much what you have in your dormitories unless you cause havoc with it. Keep it.'', Wilson said looking at the small boy. One of the bad sides of being Head of House.

''Energy waves? Now, that reminds me of Japanese Muggle cartoons, called anime. Whatever you saw was in your head... you can't see energy waves coming out of people, that happens only in cartoons. Not even in our world. The other part, seeing inside him... that is possible. It is called legilimency and it is one of the most difficult branches of magic. It allows one to enter someone's mind and, if strong enough, to manipulate that same mind. But, be aware that there is an opposite branch called occlumency, which allows you to defend yourself against penetration. A skilled wizard knows both. So, the fact that you have experienced that can only indicate two things... either your are complete nut case, or you have some special abilities. I know both legilimency and occlumency boy, do to not try to trick me if you are looking at this as a game. Now, boy... what is your final answer?'', Wilson asked.

Andrew's eyes grew wide. "Oh no! No, Sir. No, no game, Sir," he said quickly. "I...I just..needed to know...well, " he knew he was stammering, but Wilson made him nervous. "I..needed to know if my father was right...if I am a squib. That was the first time anything even looked magical to me. But I've been talking with my frog for a long time, it seems. Him and the other animals in the woods around our house. But the frog is the best.

"But, with that other professor--well, I didn't want to see any farther. Like I was getting into something personal. It felt wrong. I closed my eyes really fast and started trying to think about other things to shut it out.

"I know my dad was..is..a wizard. Saw him do magic all the time, but well, he and I, I guess we just never got on real well." If this professor knew that same skill, then he might be able to see into Andrew and find out that Andrew's father was gone. Andrew had no guardians anymore. Plenty of money--big shortage of guardians--except that Steven fellow who wanted to be his guardian. The only decent thing his dad had done was to sign Andrew's Hogwarts papers before he had been killed. Maybe Andrew needed to write to that Steven fellow right quick and see if he was still serious about taking him on before this professor saw too much.

''Don't be afraid boy. The worst thing that can happen is me killing you. So, no need to worry.'', Wilson said. He leaned back in his chair and started playing with is pen. ''Boy, tell me about yourself a little. Better for you to tell me than for me to do research. Less painful.'', he said.

Andrew sighed. He knew. "My father is dead, "Andrew finally confessed it. "Mom died when I was born. There is nobody else. The only decent thing that bastard did for me was to sign my Hogwarts papers before he got killed in a bar fight--that, and he left behind a lot of money and a great big house. He called it an "Estate." Big deal. Big empty house if you ask me.

" Most of the education I got was the 'bar women', if thats what you want to call them, taking me underwing to teach me how to read and write. The other thing I learned was how to avoid being mashed into the floor when some big dumb guys drank too much firewhiskey. I can take care of myself. I dont need nobody. But there is this other big guy I met, when I was in Diagon Alley. First time I can remember anybody actually being nice to me. Said he'd be my guardian if I needed it. But like I said. I don't need nobody. Never have, never will."

Andrew could feel his bitterness rising up inside him about all the abuse he took from his father. And in front of this guy he barely knew. As far as Andrew was concerned, being rich didn't make his father better. He was just a rich bastard, that's all. Andrew had a lot of drive. He wanted to be the complete opposite that his father had been. He wanted to learn how to be a good wizard, who could actually amount to something. He didn't want to have to live by pickpocketting or stealing or using cons in order to just survive. He didn't want to do that anymore. He was making some friends here, and he'd never had friends before. And he never went hungry or cold. This was definately better. He didn't want this professor to throw him out. But, the threat the professor had made of killing him had not phased Andrew a bit. He'd heard that too much in his life to be moved by that whatsoever. Big bloody deal. Being thrown out? Now that was far scarier.

''You are a real Oliver Twist, aren't you? So... you are rich, but miserable. And you want to know if you are a wizard? If you can talk with animals, and I do mean talk, not some idiotic imagination that you had seen a magic swan that has told you that you will find happiness in life. I do not care about. You are also a legilimens... well, those are two complex branches of magic... one can be learned, the other can't. But, being able to see and speak does not allow you to call yourself a wizard, just a freak of nature, like those Divination idiots. What I want to know is... can you perform any spell? Do you even have a wand, lad?'', he asked, cleaning his glasses.

"I took my father's wand after he died. Well, he didn't need it anymore, did he? I've never tried to use it. It was always forbidden for me to even touch it. So when I hitchhiked to London, I put it in my pack and brought it along. I wouldn't have the first idea on how to use it. Though I did see my father kill many a man with it," he said, quieter now. "I didn't want to accidently do the same thing with it. So I never tried it."

"And I don't know anything about any magic swans or anything, and nobody ever talked to me about happiness--ever. All I know is that if I ask my frog to jump, he'll jump. If I put him in my pocket and ask him not to make any noise, he does it. If I'm hungry and I need to fish, I can ask him and he'll show me where the best bugs are for bait and where the fish are hiding so I can eat. Does that sound like imagination to you?" he didn't know why Wilson seemed to think he was nutters. But, oh well, he'd try better to explain himself.