Fiona's Notebook: Case 3 -- Visit to Harry Potter-land

I've been looking back through Neava's files, to learn more about the agency's history. I was especially looking for this case, because I had heard something about it from my father and two of my brothers, who are all members of the Eau Claire Police Department.

I hadn't written about this case for Weird Wisconsin because there didn't seem to be a monster (my specialty) involved. And the reporter we had on the story didn't find all the information the agency did, so we never realized what an interesting story it could have been.

I'm only sorry that Neava's notes seem a little incomplete – but I've written up what's there.

Third Eye found out about the story when a month before they got the case, a body showed up in the library of the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. The body proved to be that of David Morgan, an archeology major and one of five students, a group of friends, who all disappeared from campus on the same day in 1964 shortly after graduation.

Morgan's body was not the first of the five missing to show up in the library. In 1974, the body of Vava Gilbert, a business major, was found laid out on a table naked, with multiple stab wounds, wounds that the coroner's report indicated appeared to have been made by a sword. His clothing, which bore slashes, was folded near the body, and on top was his wallet, which contained his expired driver's license and student ID. No weapon was found at the scene.

In 1988, the body of James Fisher, who had studied agriculture, turned up in the library. He had died of a more natural cause – a heart attack. His body was dressed in a suit and tie. More unusual was the fact that his teeth were in bad shape. He had apparently totally neglected going to the dentist for years.

Morgan had died of a parasite infection of his liver, and had been suffering from various vitamin deficiencies as well.

The library security system recorded an alarm at 1:38 am the morning of the day Morgan's body was found. The tape from the security camera showed two people running away from the building at that time.

The other two of the five who had disappeared together were Gary Gabriel, who had majored in American Literature, and Wayne Devery, who had majored in agriculture.

The school's library was built in 1902 as a school house. Investigators from the agency discovered that a set of bookcases covered an area that had originally been a door leading outside. The doorway was bricked up in 1912.

The other side of the doorway was a book storage area. An agency investigator found on a lower shelf a space where the lack of dust indicated a book had been stored until recently.

The agency discover the two had been seen at a charity soup kitchen near the campus, and with the help of his dog,Bruiser,  Henry Wilson tracked them to a rundown apartment building where they had been sleeping on the roof.

The agency was hired by the university to investigate more disappearances – so recent that their possessions hadn't yet been cleared from their dorm rooms. One of those who disappeared was (Dan?) Blakesley – who was described as having “geek” leanings. In his dorm room there were Babylon 5 DVD s and 1955 signed edition of The Lord of the Rings. In that room and those of some of the other missing students the agency found laptops, I pads, other fantasy novels and anime costumes.

There was a calendar (possibly on a laptop?) indicating planning for an upcoming event, occasion or something, and notes from Blakesley that Joan “was an evil, evil person.”

They interviewed his (roommate?) Wes (Emmerich?), an engineering major. He said that Joan was Dan's girlfriend from high school. The two had been inseparable. He had proposed to her, and she had put him off. Eventually Joan had “put the moves on” to Wes and broke up with Dan.

Four days prior to the disappearance, the group of friends had gone to Maggie's, a local bar popular with students, and ran into Wes and Joan there on a date. That's when Dan realized why Joan had broken up with him.

“Dan started to scare me,” Wes told Neava. “He walked differently.”

Wes said he has never seen his friends since.

The agency got a copy of the security tape from Maggie's and saw Dan, in a cloak, go down a hallway toward the kitchen, but he never showed up on the kitchen camera and did not reappear on the hall tape.

In Dan's room, they found a bookmark tucked into one volume of the Harry Potter series. They took the book to Maggie’s and walked down the hallway and found a doorway which opened for them and found themselves in the London of the Harry Potter series. They took themselves to Diagon Alley, stopping first in Gringotts Wizarding Bank to get the money transfer to enable them to go shopping.

Almost everyone went to Ollivanders Wand Shop, but only some members were able to purchase a wand, among them Neava. Chloe was particularly unhappy that she could not use a wand. She led a group (possibly also including Sky and Kevin) who went shopping for for robes and clothing. Henry and [Simon (?) or Connor (?) or Jess (?)] purchased magic text books intending to learn magic.

While at Ollivanders, Neava learned that Dan and his friends had been there, but only Blakesley had qualified for a wand. She and Kanaka continued asking at various shops in the district to locate Dan and his friends. They eventually found out they had taken rooms in the Leaky Cauldron pub.

The agency team eventually reunited in the Leaky Cauldron. Henry and (Simon? Connor?) rented rooms and spent several hours memorizing the magic textbooks. At Neava's insistence, the agency team confronted Dan and his friends. Chloe was very impressed by Dan's ability to use his wand and he seemed happy to have the attention of a good-looking girl.

The agency team eventually convinced Dan and the others that they needed to return to the real world, after telling them of the fate of the previous bookmark owners. They went and found the brick wall, but could not pass through it.

[End of 3rd game session]

They returned to the Leaky Cauldron and began considering other means of getting home again.

With the help of a young man by the name of Justin Stett (or perhaps Stettler?), Jess conducts a signal-tracking project in downtown London. In the process, he his attacked by a vampire, and taken to the hospital.

Conner is also injured or attacked and taken to the hospital. Both men find their stay much less onerous because of a nurse who is exceptionally seductive (perhaps a succubus?)

Kevin goes to the (Ministry of Magic?) and searches the offices, and in the process meets Dumbledore, the headmaster of the Hogwarts. Neava and Henry, worried about the dangers that vampires present, follow Kevin. Neava also gets inside, while Henry battles and captures a vampire. Neava also gets to talk to Dumbledore, who lets her look through his glasses to see how powerful they are compared to the current universe.

Reassembled at the Leaky Cauldron, the group deduces that the world they are in is the Harry Potter universe as created by the mind of Dan. With the help of Chloe, he is persuaded to really want to return to the real world, and the group suddenly reappears at the pub Maggie's. Those who had changed their clothes for robes and other garments acquired in the Harry Potter world find themselves undressed.

Neava unsuccessfully tried to convince the pub crowd that the appearance was an illusion to advertise her next magic show. She fetched clothes for Chloe, who had immediately bolted for the ladies room.

The agency collected a good fee from the university.

