Harry Potter and the Hall of Justice

Chapter 39 Across The Pond


At noon the next day, Harry left the Hall of Justice for the British Columbia School of Magic. Owing to the difference in time zones, he arrived at four in the morning, as he and Headmaster Martin Dumbledore had earlier agreed.

The headmaster was sitting at his desk when Harry appeared in a flash of emerald green light.

“Harry! Right on time!” the man said, after jumping with a start.

“I hope I didn’t cause you too much grief getting you up this early in the morning,” Harry said, but noticing the older man seemed to look fully rested. All about the man’s desk were stacks of papers and folders. It looked like a big disorganized disaster to Harry.

“Not a word of that, Harry. I’m an early riser; I always have been. I’m most always at my desk by five in the morning - - - winter, spring, summer or fall,” he replied with a large grin on his face. Martin Dumbledore wished Harry could sit down for a long chat. However, he knew time was something he didn’t have a lot of right at the moment. He then noticed Harry was holding a hand strangely at his side. “Do you have a means to travel, Harry? Would you like to borrow a broom?”

Harry had noticed the old wizard had looked down at his left hand. He raised it in front of him. “I’ve got one,” he replied with a smile.

“Really? You’ve got an invisible broom? How extraordinary!”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my dressing before I use the portkey,” he said, watching the man before him, amused by his surprised look. Harry leaned his broom up against the man’s desk and went about removing his invisibility garments from inside his heavy outer cloak.

“You realize you’ll be getting to Santa Fe just after five in the morning? Considering the time of the year, it’s going to be awfully dark and quite a while till the sun comes up. Will you be able to find your way?”

Harry stopped long enough to pull a GPS receiver from inside an inner pocket. He held it out in front of him for the man to see.

“Marvelous! It looks like you youngsters have grown to appreciate our non-magical brethrens good work. That’s an outstanding device you have there. One of the best made, it is. It surprises me the Ministry is letting you use such things.”

“The Ministry has changed radically since Arthur Weasley became our new Minister of Magic. He loves muggle devices. They completely mesmerize the man.” Harry turned the face of the GPS unit around to make sure it was turned off. He couldn’t risk frying the fragile circuitry when using the portkey. “I have the coordinates plotted, and I’ve put in some waypoints to help me skirt the towns and airports. About the only thing I’ll have to worry about is staying away from the missile ranges in New Mexico and the few small airports along the way. I’d hate to collide with a jet,” Harry said with a little laugh.

Martin Dumbledore joined him in laughter. “Yes, that would surely ruin your day. By all means, Harry, avoid those jets.” He continued to laugh uproariously. Harry had begun pulling on his invisible pants and booties. The older wizard’s eyes watched in wonder.

“I’ve never thought about that, Harry! Of course, I’ve never owned an invisibility cloak, myself. That is an amazing idea. But it must cost a fortune. Invisibility cloth is the most expensive thing in our world for its weight. Amazing! Truly amazing!” He said, watching Harry slowly disappearing in front of him. The only items he left off were his hood and gloves.

“Anytime you’re ready, Professor,” Harry said.

“Yes!” Martin Dumbledore exclaimed, shaking his head. “I’ll go through and see how things are Harry. Everyone should be sound asleep. If so, I’ll be right back to get you.”

Harry nodded his head as the man walked to a shelf in the corner of the room. He reached up, placed his hand on a small figurine, and whispered “Santa Fe”. In a flash, he was gone.

Within seconds, he returned. “Good to go, Harry. Take this with you.” Martin Dumbledore held out a large silver ring, handing it to Harry. “You can use it to link right back here when you’re ready to return. Don’t leave the ring, though, keep it in your hand and simply say ‘BC’. It’s a special portkey, which can be used over and over to link to the one on my desk. Hurry along now and good luck. And remember, if you need me to talk with Austin, please come back and get me. I’ll be waiting.”

Harry walked over to the figurine and placed his hand upon it. “I’ll see you soon, Headmaster.” Harry turned around, closed his eyes and whispered the required words to activate the portkey.

He appeared within a small library and quickly found his way outside the small adobe home. He looked back around to fix what he saw in his mind before withdrawing the GPS unit. He turned it on and fixed his exact location, as an emergency backup if he should need to return this way. He then changed the display to show him the direction to the first waypoint.

After putting on his hood and gloves, Harry whispered an incantation he had been taught to produce an invisible, streamlined windscreen in front of his broom. He then kicked off the ground and soon reached breakneck speeds.

Within an hour, Harry had reached his first waypoint and slightly altered his course in a southerly direction toward the second. The winter sun had cleared the horizon when he reset his course toward the third and final waypoint. In all, he had to travel slightly over three hundred and fifty miles to reach the ranch. His final checkpoint would take him east of Pecos, Texas where he would fly directly toward the destination.

The special order Nimbus brooms Professor Dumbledore had designed were extremely fast. Without any doubt, no other brooms could touch their speeds in the magical world. Harry was able to assume a very comfortable position lying almost flat down along the top of the long handle. The considerable size of the broom itself worked nicely as comfortable foot rests. It was possible to fly for many hours and not get cramped, as it felt almost like lying face down on a reclining bed.

Harry had set the GPS device to give him an audible signal when he neared the checkpoints. He withdrew the device one last time and turned in the direction the arrow pointed him. In the distance, Harry could easily see the mountain range pushing out of the seemingly flat semi-arid desert all around him.

He quickly approached the mountains and thought back on the landmarks the Chief Justice had told him to look out for. The first one quickly came into view. He adjusted his heading, flying hundreds of feet above the dark red basalt rock. As he ran the length of a large flat mountaintop, he veered slightly to the southwest. The land quickly dropped away to another high shelf and in the distance Harry made out the line shack he was looking for.

He slowed his approach to a crawl and descended to within a hundred feet of the ground. Taking his time, Harry began flying slowly around the perimeter of the camp. He saw nothing living except for three horses in a corral. He did notice they had just been fed, as they where pulling hay out of a hayrack.

Harry slowly lowered himself to the ground close to the small line shack. He stood motionless for sometime, listening for any sound giving away a living presence. From the house, he could smell bacon frying. Austin was making himself breakfast, Harry thought.

Slowly he walked around to the north side of the small house. Before getting there, he remembered the Chief Justice telling him that was where the kitchen would be. At the northeast corner, he knew he would find a small porch and a door with a large window. Harry slowly stepped up on the porch to it to see if he could get a better view.

The door opened suddenly and a young man Harry’s height walked out onto the small porch. He looked directly at Harry, as if he were not dressed in the invisibility garments and spoke.

“If I’d known I was having company, I’d have put on some more bacon. Are you hungry?”

Harry was shocked. As far as he knew, only Professor Dumbledore, Hermione and himself could make out anyone through invisibility cloth. It startled him so badly he had a hard time finding his voice.

“Yeah. It smells really good. Do you have enough?” Harry replied.

The young man held the door open for Harry and pointed him inside. Harry reached up, pulled his hood off and began getting out of the invisibility garments.

Austin Preston saw immediately who his uninvited guest was. “Harry Potter!”

“Yeah,” Harry said, holding out his hand to shake Austin’s. He didn’t need to ask how he knew. Harry was sure his hair must have been pushed back from his scar.

“Sit!” Austin said, after shaking his hand. “I was expecting a visit, sooner or later. But I never would have believed it would be from you.”

“You were?”

“Yeah.”

“How is that?” Harry asked.

“I’ve been informed,” Austin said, turning back to the stove and tending his bacon. He went to his small icebox and pulled out more bacon and a carton of eggs.

“Someone told you to expect a visitor?” Harry asked.

“A friend,” Austin said, pulling apart several more thick slices of bacon and dropping them into the large skillet.

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Nah. Just sit. It will be a few minutes. You want coffee or milk to drink?” Austin asked, turning to look down at Harry sitting at the table.

“Yeah, I’d like to try some coffee. I’ve never had any before, but I’ve heard our headmaster talk about it,” Harry replied.

Austin reached up to an open shelf and picked up a large mug. He held it for a few seconds under the tap at the kitchen sink, rinsed it out and reached for a large pot sitting on the stove. Carrying the pot and mug to the table, he sat it down directly in front of Harry before carefully filling it with dark, steaming coffee.

“I drink it on the strong side, Harry. Best damn stuff you’ll ever drink on a cold morning. Course, I drink it all year long. I make it out of spring water I bring in from one of the springs west of here. Best tasting coffee I’ve ever had. If up ask me, I think the water is the secret,” he said, smiling at Harry and watching him lean over to smell the heavy, hot vapors.

Harry slowly lifted the mug to his mouth and sipped a little of the hot liquid. “Wow! This stuff is hotter than blue blazes!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, you might better let it cool down a bit. Take the hide right off your tongue, it will,” Austin said, laughing out at the thought.

“You know why I’m here then?” Harry asked, lowering the mug back to the table.

“Yeah.”

“I was tasked with coming here and seeing if you would come back with me. We need your help. But I guess you know that,” Harry went on to say, watching the young man tending their breakfast.

“You don’t need my help, Harry,” Austin replied, in a matter-of-fact way.

Harry hadn’t expected his meeting to go like this. How had he known he was coming? Who had told him? How come he could see him under the invisibility garments? There were too many questions. Harry didn’t like the way this was playing out at all.

He sat quietly for a few minutes and watched Austin remove the bacon and lay it across some paper towels to drain the fat. He then went about frying a large number of eggs.

“I honestly don’t know what they have planned for you, Austin - - - Professor Dumbledore and Chief Justice Webster.”

“Professor Dumbledore? Martin or Albus?”

“Albus. He’s been put in charge of the Chief Justice’s Department of Special Investigations. Of course, we met with Martin. Oh, yeah!” Harry exclaimed, reaching inside his robe. “He wanted me to bring you this.” Harry removed the necklace and held it out.

Austin looked at it but turned back to the stove. Harry lowered his hand to the table and gently laid it down. “He said you’d forgotten it,” Harry said, regretting he lied as soon as the words escaped his mouth.

Austin carried two plates of fried eggs to the table, gathered up some silverware, extra paper towels and carried the plate of bacon over before taking a seat. He reached over for a loaf of bread and put it in front of Harry before sliding a bowel of butter towards him.

Harry was hungrier that he thought. He again reached for the mug of coffee, which had cooled somewhat, and sipped it before turning back to the plate of eggs. “That’s a good tasting drink,” he said with a smile.

Austin drank a little of his coffee and watched Harry. It had been months since he had anyone sit at this table. In a way, it was comforting to have someone to talk to, but it was strangely annoying at the same time. He knew someone would be sent to find him sooner or later. He never had expected Harry Potter to be the one, though. Somehow the young wizard looked much as he had pictured him. Of course, Harry hadn’t even started school when he left BC. He would have been only about nine years old at the time, he thought.

“I’ve heard you’ve been through quite a bit these last years, Harry. You’ve had a round or two with Voldemort himself, hey?”

“Yeah. He’d like nothing better than to see me skinned alive or hung on a wall somewhere. We’re hoping he’s out of the picture for a while, though. We caught him up in the Carpathian Mountains about a year ago. He was in the process of transforming back into physical form, but we got him while he was at his weakest. It took us less than a minute to send him to whatever evil, spirit world he goes to. But Professor Dumbledore expects him to one day try taking over the body and mind of another. I guess we’ll never get rid of him,” Harry admitted, looking up into the eyes of Austin. He noticed the young man didn’t seem to have any emotional reaction to what he had said. It made him wonder how much he knew of the current state of their world. Again, the question resurfaced in his mind: How did he get his information?

“More coffee?” Austin asked, aware Harry was rolling questions over in his mind.

“No, I’m fine,” Harry said, then again turning back to his plate to finish the breakfast.

Austin, too, finally started in on his plate of eggs. Harry noticed he was a very hearty eater. He ate at least four fried eggs and ten or twelve large strips of bacon, along with four pieces of thick sliced buttered bread.

“Great breakfast, Austin. I was much hungrier than I thought. It feels strange, though. You see, I had breakfast about ten hours or so ago back at the Hall of Justice.”

“Yeah, it’s the difference in time zones. What is it, like seven hours or something like that?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“The Chief Justice used an old device called the Orb of the Oracle. He can find anybody but it really takes a lot of effort for him to do so,” Harry said.

“Daniel Webster. Yeah, he used to live here. Did you know that?” Austin Preston asked Harry.

“Yeah. He was amazed you were here, too. It really gave him a shock. How did you happen to come here? We figured it wasn’t a coincidence,” Harry said.

“I’ve been here about eight years. A friend pointed me here. He knew it would give me the seclusion I was seeking,” Austin admitted.

“A friend?”

“Yeah.” Austin replied, not offering any more information.

“I’m sorry about your parents, Austin. I realize it was much rougher on you than it was for me. I was just a baby. I never knew my folks,” Harry said, standing up and carrying his plate to the kitchen sink.

“They are doing okay, Harry. They’re in a good place. One day you’ll be with them again,” Austin said flatly, not looking at Harry but slowly lifting his mug of coffee back to his lips.

“What are you saying, Austin? You know something about them?” Harry rushed back to the table from the sink, anxious to look into the young wizard’s face.

“Yeah. They’re fine. They’ve passed on into the next reality. We’ll one day pass on, too, Harry. Unless, that is, we become wrapped up in the evil trappings of this world. That’s why Voldemort can’t pass on. He’s trapped here and he doesn’t even realize it. His greed and wicked cravings have seized him in this reality, caught like a fly in a flytrap,” Austin explained.

“How do you know this, Austin? I don’t follow you,” Harry asked, desperately wanting to know exactly what he meant and how he knew these things.

“There are those I talk to who know, Harry. You shouldn’t worry over it. That knowledge wouldn’t give you any comfort,” Austin said, getting to his feet and taking his plate to the sink. He then reached over for the pot of coffee, lifted it and carried it over to refill their mugs.

Harry watched the young man closely but still had no earthly idea what he was talking about. Who did he know? How did they know these things?

Austin reached down and picked up his necklace. He rubbed the small crucifix between his thumb and index finger. Harry noticed it was the first time he saw any evidence the young man had any emotions. There was a great sadness and longing in his eyes. He was obviously thinking back to another time.

“My parents gave me this the day I started BC,” Austin said quietly. “They were very spiritual people, Harry. They felt the existence of God. They were good and loving parents. I’ve missed them so much.”

Harry saw tears well up in Austin’s eyes. He, too, felt his sadness as if it were his own. He couldn’t help but think of his own longing. How desperate he had always been to hold his mother and father, to talk to them and to be with them. Tears gathered in his eyes. He raised an elbow to the table and wiped at the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Austin noticed Harry’s emotional release, and his increased. He got to his feet and walked to the kitchen sink where he lowered his hand to the cold white porcelain to support himself.

“I am to ask you if you would come back with me, Austin,” Harry said, realizing he must change the subject.

“You don’t need me, Harry. Nothing I can do will make things better. This reality is just one of many learning phases we will all go through - - - one of many realities. The happiness, sadness, good and bad experienced here we will take with us into the next reality and then on to the next, until God decides we have been tempered and transformed by our experiences enough to finally join him in his reality. He’s letting us grow. Letting us realize we must turn away from evil, cruelty and pain by experiencing them. One day even Voldemort may realize that and be able to finally pass on,” Austin told Harry, still grasping the large white sink.

“If what you say is true, Austin, then you must realize what we are trying to do is to check their evil. We know we can never eliminate it completely. But we might be able to keep many other children from losing their parents as we did. We might be able to allow good witches and wizards to live their lives without constant fear. I don’t see how that conflicts with anything you’ve just said,” Harry told the young man.

Harry came to his feet and walked to the young man’s side. “That is what I ask you to consider, Austin. You’ll not be asked to do anything more than you are comfortable with. I would like you to hear Professor Dumbledore out, though, if you would. He can explain all this much better than me,” Harry said, watching the young man closely for any reaction to his statement.

“Come with me, Harry,” Austin said, walking back into another room in the small house. From there, they turned to the left and entered another room. “Sit in that chair.”

Harry walked to the chair Austin pointed out. They appeared to be in his bedroom. There was a small space heater on the floor, a small bed against one wall and an old chest of drawers. Nothing else was in the room. The only window had been covered with aluminum foil and completely shut out the outside light. When Austin closed the door to the bedroom, the room became totally dark. Harry heard him walk over and sit on the bed.

“Abraham!” Austin called out into the dark room.

Seconds passed like minutes as Harry anticipated what he was trying to do. Who or what was he summoning?

Off to Harry’s right a figure of a man appeared in a mist, as if he had just walked through the wall. He was a very old man with a long white beard and even longer white hair. The robe he was dressed in was white as snow, almost blinding. He held a large staff in his hands, leaning into it as if supporting his weight.

“You have a visitor, I see,” said the ghost, looking at Harry.

“Harry, this is Abraham.” Austin said in introduction.

The brightness of the man’s garment lightened up the room enough for Harry to plainly make out Austin sitting on the bed.

“Abraham,” Harry said, nodding his head slightly.

“It is good to make your acquaintance, Harry,” the old man said, nodding knowingly at him, as if he had just read his entire life story and knew all there was to know about Harry Potter.

“Harry has come to me at the request of another. I’ve been asked to help them in their crusade, Abraham. What council do you give?” Austin asked.

“It is for you to decide, my young friend. It is your path and yours alone. The one who seeks you out is Albus Dumbledore, a good and wise old wizard but somewhat misled and anxious. He wishes to take steps best left to the next reality. But his intentions are pure and noble. Much he knows he has yet to reveal. Many secrets. Though, his thoughts are of others,” the old man said, speaking slowly, as if the knowledge was coming to him as he was speaking and he was merely repeating it.

“Harry tells me their purpose is to keep the great evil in check. Is this not contrary to God’s plan?” Austin asked the old prophet.

“Why would you think that, my young friend? Needless pain and suffering should be mitigated, whenever possible. What greater purpose can man serve than to fight against evil and do good things? Their crusade is honorable and just. But the path you take must be of your choosing. You should only do what you feel is right,” Abraham said, turning again to look into Harry’s eyes. “You have looked into the face of much evil and more there will be, Harry.”

“Abraham, do you know about my parents?” Harry bravely asked out.

“Yes, of course,” the old ghost said, sadly nodding his head, looking into Harry’s eyes, into the depths of his soul. “You have suffered great loss. They are not far away, only in the next reality, you see. They are aware of your actions, Harry, and are very proud of the young man you’ve become. Your children will be powerful beings capable of many great and wonderful things. They know this, too. They wish you to remember what has been written, Harry: ‘Eyes have not seen nor ears heard, neither has entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him’.”

The old ghost disappeared and the room again became as dark as the darkest of nights. Austin and Harry sat quiet for long minutes. Not one sound was heard except the gentle stirring of the cold winter wind outside the thin walls of the line shack.

The old man’s statement left Harry shaken. “Is it possible my parents are really conscious of all that? How is it they are aware of so much concerning me yet I can’t see through to them?” Every question that came to his mind was quickly followed by another. Harry was confused, yet somehow comforted, by what the old man had said.

Austin soon stood and reopened the door. Harry came to his feet and followed him back into the next room. Austin turned to his left and opened a door leading out to another small porch, on the south side of the small house. He walked on out to the corrals where the three horses stood stomping at the hard, cold ground.

The winter sun was high in the sky and the day was much warmer than the January weather Harry had left behind him in Scotland. Austin walked up to the corral made of pipe and rested his forearms along the top rail of the pen. One booted foot he raised to the first pipe and stood staring at the three large animals.

Harry walked up alongside the young man to peer at the beautiful beasts in front of him. One of the horses slowly approached Harry and sniffed at his hand on the fence. Satisfied, the horse shook its head and ran off to scatter his two friends.

“It was he, wasn’t it? Abraham. He was the one who told you to come here to live?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. He knew I would find the solace I sought. I couldn’t handle the death of my parents, Harry. It was so damn hard. I just wanted to get away and leave the magical world behind me. It was a very confusing time for me. I worked at some menial jobs up north for a couple of years. One night, Abraham came to me and pointed me here. He’s been with me ever since. He comes from another reality, many times removed from ours. Abraham is my friend and counselor,” Austin said.

“How is it he hadn’t told you those things before, then?” Harry asked.

“It was the first time I’d ever asked him that question. It is like he doesn’t know the answer until he is asked the question. Almost like the question or answer didn’t exist until it was asked. It is strange, but I’ve gotten used to it. Did you ever study Quantum Field Theory or Quantum Mechanics, Harry? We find it hard to understand such strange things. It would be like a muggle trying to understand the magical world. Certain things just don’t seem to obey laws in the classical sense, or as we perceive them to be. That’s how Abraham is and others like him,” Austin said.

“There are other’s like him?”

“Yes, many. But only Abraham is my mentor, my adviser. He’s the only one who reliably appears when I call him. Sometimes other’s will respond but not all the time,” Austin admitted.

“Why does he respond to you? Why should he come?” Harry asked.

“I once asked him that very question, Harry. He comes because he is allowed to. He is far removed from our reality - - - much farther along on his journey. It is his way of doing good, his way of helping others along the way. You could call him a guardian angel, I guess. He advises me in such a way to keep me along my path, giving me understanding and counsel. Our journey is not exactly linear, Harry. But for us to understand it, at this stage in our evolution, I guess it’s easier to think of it in that way. Like you and me beginning a walk to that water tank up on the hill there,” Austin pointed off in the distance to a large silver painted tank.

“There’s a beginning and an end. But this eternal journey our souls are on will have many forks in the road, so to speak. And it’s not that only one of the forks must be taken to reach our ultimate destination. However, from what I gather, all will share the next several realities we will experience without much deviation. As we go forward, more and more of the evil we know today will be left behind but there will be other unknown and incomprehensible blocks in our way, other obstacles to overcome. We have far to go, Harry, far to go,” Austin said, turning his head to look back at the horses in the corral.

“We take our knowledge and experiences with us then?”

“Yes, of course. Without them we couldn’t continue to grow and evolve,” Austin said, turning back to look into Harry’s eyes and seeing his amazement at what he was learning. Austin liked this young wizard. He wasn’t the egotist he thought he would be. He knew he was different, though; the first time he laid eyes on him. Austin could sense his power, too.

“There must be many on this journey then?”

“Countless beings I would expect, Harry.”

“And is this our first reality? Why haven’t our souls existed before? Why don’t I sense somehow being somewhere else, somebody else in another time and another place?”

“Most of us are at the beginning of our journey, from what Abraham has told me. There is no before, for us. However, evil souls such as Voldemort may spend an eternity reappearing within this existence. I do not know the criteria God uses to filter us through his sieve but only those who are ready will pass through. Your parents and mine passed his criteria, though, and have gone on,” Austin explained.

“This is all too much. I’m having a hard time grasping it all, Austin. It makes sense but somehow, I don’t know, it’s like it’s somehow surreal. At Hogwarts, for instance, we have a number of ghosts who have taken up residence. Obviously, they haven’t gone on, either. Yet, I don’t think they are wicked, evil souls. In fact, quite the contrary,” Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“There are those, too, Harry, so caught up in this life, this reality, they simply do not go on for many years. It isn’t like we have a certain timetable we must adhere to. Those ghosts you speak about may live on for thousands of years in this reality but one day, for whatever reason, they will move on, too.”

“Like I said, it will take me a while to come to grips with it, I guess,” Harry said, excited about what he had learned but somehow troubled by it, too. He had much to think about.

Austin turned and walked down to the corral’s gate. He opened it wide and the three horses ran out into the open pasture. He took one last, long look at them and smiled. They had been very dear to him. The large sorrel gelding had been with him since he first came to work on the ranch. He knew he would never see him again. It was time for him to move on. His days of solitude, of mourning, were over. There was new work for him to do.

The large horse turned around one last time and looked back at the figure of the man who had been his caretaker. It was as if he knew something was going to change, too. Austin smiled and raised his hand quickly above his head. The horse lowered its head, swung around and raced away with its tail swinging in the cold January air.