Harry Potter and the Dice Roll

On Dudley’s eleventh birthday, he was showered with a bunch of gifts and taken to the zoo. Harry slipped away quietly to join his friends. Magda brought a bunch of scary books from college (they had a half-year course on horror) and also a new game system—Call of Cthulhu. They had to read the book with a similar title aloud since they couldn’t agree on who would read first. Now, the friends actively traveled to different historical places and encountered monsters. “Are you sure they’ll let you go to that school?” Martha wrinkled her nose discontentedly, trying to build a tower from all seven dice. She couldn’t manage to make more than four, but Martha didn’t give up. “It’s so far away… You’ll come back once a week, like Magda…” “And what else should I tell the Dursleys?” Harry himself didn’t want to go to High-Camrons, but there were no other options. Should he throw a twenty-sided die to alter their memories? That’s a fifth-level spell… and it’s unethical! “Well, I don’t know…” Martha pouted and finally broke down the stack that she managed to create. “We’ll miss you without you…” “Every superhero has to experience isolation and return to their hometown!” Stan sternly reminded her. He still believed that Harry wasn’t a wizard but a mutant, like in the X-Men comics. No one argued with him. How is this version worse? Mutants hide from ordinary people, that’s it! “What’s the use of talking?” James waved his hand. “Let’s have some real fun for the farewell! Today we’re going on my adventure, the twenties, a journey to Egypt…” Sorrows were forgotten; the detectives took out their revolvers and character sheets and headed to an ancient tomb. A week before Harry Potter’s birthday (Garret’s wizard birthday was on September 1, and Harry enjoyed this holiday much more than the official date), a letter was dropped into the letter slot. There was nothing surprising about it—The Adventurers loved fully immersive games. It was considered good form to creatively design an invitation to a new campaign—after all, why should Harry be the only Dungeon Master? Everyone took turns fulfilling this challenging but noble role. Wizard Garret (and ten other of his various personalities!) also wanted to play! This time, James outdid himself. Stanley liked to run superhero games, Martha preferred classic fantasy, and James had been very into urban legends for the past couple of years. So, the “wizards among us” game was clearly in his style. “Wow, he went all out!” Harry exclaimed, admiring the quality of the paper, seals, bright green ink, and titles of all the NPCs. The Dursleys didn’t exactly approve of the boy’s games (Mrs. MacMillan put an end to their active disapproval), so Harry stashed the letter in the cupboard under the stairs and handed over the rest of the mail to Uncle Vernon. After finishing breakfast, he secluded himself in the cupboard with the invitation. After reading all the attached documents, Harry was thrilled. He tucked two sets of dice and the letter into his pocket and rushed to James’s house. The chubby boy sat on the flower bed with a mournful look, pretending to weed the asters. “Jamie, you’re a genius!” “I know,” the buoyed-up boy said modestly. “So, what exactly is my genius in this case?” Harry showed him the invitation and pointed out: “You could have invited Garret Thalieri, the Dragon Lord, you know I don’t particularly like my real name.” “Uh, first time I’m seeing this. But it’s done well,” James said, puzzled. “So it wasn’t you? And you didn’t get one?” Harry questioned his friend, who shook his head. Harry scratched his head. “Maybe it’s from Magda?” Hornet suggested. “Or from her club? You’re an honorary author there, right?” By that time, Harry had written a good dozen one-shots and two major campaigns for the Dungeons & Dragons club at the literary college. For each game, club members chipped in for the young author, and his works were printed, so Potter was already building his portfolio. “Oh, thanks for the hint!” Harry rejoiced and dashed to Mrs. MacMillan’s house. He was greeted warmly, offered a ham sandwich, and directed to the basement, where the sisters were gathered. “Magda, is this from you?” Harry waved the letter. “No,” Magda disclaimed, “but it’s done well! Listen, our magazine is bought not only by college students! Maybe someone liked your works, and they decided to invite you to participate before asking you to be a master? Writing is one thing, but role-playing is a whole different game.” “They threw in some owl business,” Martha scratched her nose. “Maybe you need an owl? To answer. Otherwise, they won’t accept you into the party.” “And where am I supposed to get an owl?” Harry puzzled, rereading the letter. “You have to figure it out yourself! And, in general, use your imagination,” the redhead said. “Remember the wizard’s book. I’m sure there was some owl in there.” “Oh, right!” Harry caught the hint. “Thanks for the tip, Martha! Bye, Magda!” “Bye! Tell us how it goes later!” The elder sister waved to him and turned to her sister. “Such an intriguing campaign from the invitation… Cool!” “Probably half board game, half role-playing,” Martha shrugged. “Don’t get distracted, we’re going now…” “Oh, right!” Magda shook her head, and they returned to the one-shot they were playing before Harry’s arrival.

***

Finding coal was easy—there was a whole bag of it for the barbecue in the Durleys' shed. Harry managed to pluck some herbs from the suburban grove, and he found a few things at the homeopathic pharmacy. The brass brazier was the most challenging, but at the city dump, Harry (with the help of a lucky roll of the dice) found an antique brass jam pot. A secluded clearing in the same forest served for the ritual. Harry placed the pot in the middle of the clearing, filled it with coal, set it ablaze, and generously sprinkled it with herbs. He thought for a moment and started dancing around, shaking his twenty-sided die in handfuls and howling at the top of his lungs, “Find familiar, find familiar, find familiar!”. Following the Wizard’s Book, after an hour, the coals burned, and Harry finally tossed the die onto them. The die pondered and landed on fifteen. With a loud pop, a creature appeared beside Harry. “Kind wizard sought a familiar?” It exclaimed with an ecstatic sigh. Although… Harry took a closer look and realized the creature was a boy. So, he could refer to it in the masculine gender. “Yeah,” Harry replied, a bit puzzled. “But I wanted an owl…” “I can be an owl, kind wizard, or anything you wish!” The creature said with immense hope, folding its paws in front of its chest and gazing sweetly into Harry’s eyes. “Take me! I’m better than an owl!” “And what’s your name?” “My name cannot be pronounced by a human mouth. Once the kind wizard gives me a name, I’ll become his familiar!” Just recently, Harry finished a campaign in which Garrett Thalieri received the title of Lord Dragon and befriended the dragon Beledros. Wizard Garrett endeavored to strike a dramatic pose. “Well… I, Wizard Garrett Thalieri, Lord Dragon, accept you, my familiar, and henceforth name you Beledros Witherbloom.” The creature emitted an utterly ecstatic squeal and transformed. Before Wizard Garrett stood a little copy of himself—bright green eyes behind round glasses in a golden frame. Shaggy black hair, thin but strong arms and legs. Another flash of magic, and the newly named familiar Beledros was enveloped in a garment resembling a Roman toga. On the toga, a crest was visible—a dragon in a crown with a twenty-sided die in its front paws. On the side, a small gladius could be seen. “Ready to serve the great Wizard Garrett,” Beledros bowed with dignity. Garrett nodded in satisfaction. “And now, become an owl.” “As my wizard pleases!” replied the familiar, and a second later, a plump-eared owl in a toga and glasses fluttered onto Garrett’s shoulder. “So that’s what you are, a owlin!” Harry exclaimed with joy and handed his familiar a pre-prepared response letter.