The Wonderful Wizard of Awesome

Chapter 4: There's No Place Like Hogwarts

The Wizard of Awesome: Chapter 4: There's No Place Like Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore was intent on keeping his promise to Jaina. Weeks of frustration had given into despair, as he was not able to glean any useful information from the arcane tomes he had so thoroughly read. It was only by chance that he had walked into an unused classroom containing the mystical Mirror of Erised, which gave him the idea to bring Jaina to have the mirror show her what her heart's deepest desire was.

He toiled for several days, using various charms to enchant the mirror to create a portal or at least a line of communication to Azeroth. His efforts would finally pay off.

It was late November and the air had started to turn quite chilly. Jaina and Hermione were outside for a flying lesson when Professor McGonagall approached Madam Hooch. "I need Miss Proudmoore right away," she trilled. "It's urgent". Madam Hooch flew up to Jaina on her broom. "Proudmoore. Professor McGonagall needs to see you. She has something very important to tell you."

Jaina guided her broom to the ground to meet up with Professor McGonagall. "Oh Jaina, we have had a breakthrough! Professor Dumbledore's work has paid off, finally." Jaina glowed with excitement. "That's great, Professor. Are we going to the headmaster's office?" Professor McGonagall gave Jaina a reassuring look. "No, my dear, it's quite impossible right now. He has made me acting headmaster as he has urgent business to attend to." "Urgent business? Where?" inquired Jaina. Professor McGonagall smiled. "In Dalaran, Jaina."

The magically-attuned capital city of Dalaran nestled peacefully by Lake Lordamere. Professor Dumbledore had never seen such exotic flora and fauna in his many years. The magical runes and wards surrounding the city were far different than anything he had ever seen. The purple motif, gentle breezes, and breathtaking scenery however offered him a sense of tranquility that he had not felt in a long time.

"Fascinating, Archmage. Positively fascinating!" exclaimed Dumbledore in awe as he and Antonidas took a leisurely stroll through the streets of Dalaran. "Thank you so much for reaching out to me, Professor," Antonidas said. "I'm relieved to know that Jaina is doing well. The magic from your world does seem to be markedly different than what we use in Azeroth." He chuckled as they passed a couple of apprentice wizards practicing their polymorph spells.

Dumbledore looked at Antonidas, with an expression of curiosity on his face. "I still don't know how she got into our world, Archmage. She said that she fell asleep reading a spell book before she went to bed, and woke up in Diagon Alley, a business district on our wizarding world." Antonidas smiled. "She is such an inquisitive thing. She always has her nose in a book. She delves into spellbooks normally far too advanced for apprentice wizards her age. She does have the aptitude to handle magic that is normally reserved for fully-trained wizards." Dumbledore nodded, not at all surprised to learn that Jaina was a prodigy in her home world.

Antonidas continued. "She may have inadvertently cast a particularly powerful teleportation spell while nodding off to sleep." "One powerful enough to traverse planes and bend the laws of spacei-time," Dumbledore said. "Precisely," said Antonidas. "

"She has talked so fondly of you, Archmage. I promised her that I would return her home, and it was not an empty one that I intend to break," said Dumbledore. "You certainly are a capable wizard to be able to contact me. I'm sure it was not easy." Dumbledore nodded. "It took me nearly three months to contact you. I know you had to be terribly worried." Antonidas smiled. "I was, but maybe not to the degree you'd suspect. Jaina is a very talented apprentice and I knew she could take care of herself. She happened to get lucky and end up in another wizarding world. Tell me, Professor, is she otherwise happy?"