A Wizard Among Mutants

Chapter Three

As he was led to the "professor's" office, Harry again took in the unfamiliar surroundings. He seemed to be in a mansion with... lots of kids? Was this an orphanage? The walls were elegant and the doors seemed decorated with metal embellishments. It was almost familiar. Harry felt as though he's seen this sort of thing before.

He glanced at the woman, Jean, as she leads him through the halls. She was perhaps a caretaker or a nurse of this place. She had familiar red hair. Not like his Ginny or his Mother, more like- a character he's seen on television or in a comic. Jean Grey? What world was he in?

Silently, he searched through his memories for some sort of reference. Then, out of the corner of his eyes, he sees a blue man talking to one of the kids. Harry stopped walking and stood there, staring at the anomaly.

At a closer look, Harry found the blue man to have slight fangs and tufts of hair. The man also looked curiously intelligent. The kid the man was talking to looked completely normal for a muggle. It was so strange to see this sort of exchange. It was always weird for Harry when the world changed and wolfsbane-sane werewolves walked through the wizarding streets safely.

Jean nudged him, and he finally snapped out of his stupor.

"Are you alright? The professor is just this way," she said in a politely low voice.

Harry tilted his head, still looking the beast-man.

"Is he allowed to be around like that? Is he under anything?"

The lady frowned and glanced toward his subject of interest. Her eyebrows lifted and she grinned before she looked back towards him and answered, "It's safe here, you get to be what you want to be,"

Harry only nodded in response, doubt tracing his light frown before he mumbled an "oh"

Finally, they reached a pair of large wooden doors that stood closed. If anything, this world was as dramatic as Hogwarts had once been. The pretty wood had beautiful carvings. It made Harry miss the intricate stone statues of his old school.

Harry entered the office carefully. Before he looked at the supposed professor, Harry took in the knick-knacks and books that were placed around the room. Books with complicated titles and molecular structures decorated the fancy wooden office. It was less quirky than Dumbledore's but somehow more teacher-ly. A gentle 'ahem' brought his attention back to the current situation.

The man sitting behind the desk was bald and old. He was, however, very different from Dumbledore. Instead of a knowing gleam behind half-moon glasses, this man here seemed more confusedly interested and genuinely glad Harry was here.

"Hello! I'd ask for your name, but Jean here has already told me. My name, however, is Charles Xavier! You may refer to me as Professor Xavier if you so please" Charles greeted. Harry ignored the niggling wonder when Jean relayed that information and smiled at the slight accent the man had. When Harry didn't say anything next, Xavier continued,

"Now, you seem too young to be in America all on your own, do you have any family that you need to get back to?" He asked. Jean seemed to take in an expression of shock, ad she interrupted before Harry could get a word in,

"You can't hear him either? His thoughts are all clouded and gone behind a wall-"

"I don't have any family, no. I've just recently decided to... travel," Harry whispered, his old mind trying to process Jean's exclamation.

Xavier nodded in Jean's direction. His face seemed much more serious now. Serious and worried. For what? For him?

"Again, you are too young to be in America all on your own, especially now. As a young mutant, you must take care of yourself. You may stay here if you like, I know that Britain has outlawed is already." Professor Xavier lectured.

Harry's eyes widened in confusion,

"I'm not a mutant, I'm not special in any way-"

"It's fine lad, Jean had brought you to the infirmary but as soon as she laid you down she noticed that the injuries you had sustained had either healed over of healed completely. Furthermore, Jean and I are quite powerful... mind-readers you could say. We have great telepathic abilities. But for some reason, we can't seem to get into that head of yours. We know it's scary, but this is a safe-haven for mutants."

Harry only furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. The collected knowledge he had of mutants and the title 'Professor Xavier' brought memories to the forefront of his mind. Harry's confusion only grew at his revelation,

"X-men? Is that where I am?"

Harry's bewildered question was directed towards Death, and he could feel the ghost of a chuckle wisp by his ears. Then, a more-human chuckle reached his senses.

"That is the name of our 'Hero' team, however, you are currently inside of the X-Mansion. I promise I am not self-obsessed, the students themselves have named it so." Xavier rolled his chair back and out from the desk. His wheel-chair became more apparent now that the man has moved to the side of his desk, looking at Harry.

Harry looked down at the chrome chair and well-dressed man. Harry almost laughed at the thought. X-men being real? Maybe Harry really had gone absolutely mad from his loneliness. Though, this was definitely a different world from his. That means he can start over-completely over. At that last thought, Harry smiled widely and genuinely,

"Yeah, I'm a mutant"