18 Interlude 1.

"Would you like a lemon drop?" - I couldn't help but ask, even though I knew the answer. No one seemed to like my lemon drops.

"Come on, Albus, why did you call us here? I don't have time to waste."

Severus, Severus, always irritated with everything. I've told him to relax dozens of times, but he prefers to stay locked up while making his potions.

"Calm down, Severus, all in good time. We're waiting for Minerva to arrive, and then I'll explain everything."

I could hear him grumble, but other than that, he remained silent as he waited. Sighing, I turned my attention back to the 'Cellphone?' - I think that's what the boy in the video called it. Devas was his name, wasn't it?

It was a magnificent device. I remember that Muggles had some like it, but nothing like this; theirs seemed larger and could only make calls. This one had so much more, even games to pass the time!

I spent the next few minutes playing this new game I found while we waited for Minerva to arrive. Severus only grew more irritable as time passed. If he's like this now, I don't want to think about how he'll be in two weeks when young Harry arrives at school. I hope he won't take out his father's grudge on the boy.

Speaking of which, I need to visit the boy. He was living with his Muggle relatives, if I recall correctly. He must understand more about these 'cellphones' than I do. I'll see how the boy is doing as well. I haven't had time to visit him all these years since I had to deal with the aftermath of the war.

I'll make a note, then I'll go with Hagrid when Harry receives his acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

Before my mind returned to the dark memories of the war against Tom, I heard the sound of the gargoyle leading to my office stairs turning and opening. It must be Minerva, as I didn't summon anyone else.

Looking at the entrance, I could see that it was indeed Minerva. She was in her cat form. Sometimes I wonder why she enjoys being like that so much.

Pausing my little game, before that zombie with a bucket on its head could start shooting peas at me, I placed the cellphone on the table. I'm glad that kind girl taught me a few things. These games were fun to pass the time.

"Good afternoon, dear Minerva. Would you like a lemon drop?"

The cat in front of me paused for a moment before giving me a dry look and transforming back into her human form.

"I hope you didn't call me here just for this, Albus. This is one of the few weekends without students at the school. If you woke me from my afternoon nap, may Merlin forgive me for what I'm about to do!"

I sighed; no one accepts my lemon drops.

Shaking my head, I popped the sour candy into my mouth and responded to Minerva in a hurry. The last time she said something like that, I woke up with dead birds all over my room. Sometimes I wonder if she's more cat than human in that regard.

"Of course not, Minerva. I called you and Severus here for a serious reason, something that can help us improve magical Britain as a whole." I believed in it seriously, other worlds! It was fascinating just to think about it!

Severus furrowed his brow a bit and looked at me displeased. "Does it have anything to do with that piece of wood you're holding? Because you've been looking at it with a little smile for the past few minutes. Have you finally gone senile?" How rude! I may be old, but I still have all my mental faculties intact... for the most part, perhaps.

But that was new information; they couldn't see the cellphone? Curious. "Minerva, what do you see in my hands?" She just tilted her head in doubt. Funny how she did that so many times like a cat and ended up picking up that habit as a human too.

She wasn't as irritated as before, realizing that there was something strange about the object in my hands.

"A piece of wood, as Severus said. I don't see anything unusual about it, why?" So she sees the same thing as Severus, or is it because Severus said it was a wooden plank, she saw it as a piece of wood too? If he hadn't said anything, would she have seen it differently? Questions, questions.

Well, anyway, let's get this over with. I want to get back to my little game before going to bed. Devas said he would start the stream early tomorrow; I don't want to miss anything!

Now, how did the kind Ruby say it? I needed to get to the invite section, if I recall correctly; it was in the right corner... here! Now I just needed to write the name of the person I wanted to invite or have their cellphone, as neither of them had a cellphone, I guess I'll just write their names.

I admit it took longer than necessary to write the names correctly, but these buttons were so tiny that I had to concentrate to avoid making a mistake!

(Guest number 1: Severus Prince Snape).

(Guest number 2: Minerva McGonagall).

There you go! I wish I could invite Filius and Hagrid, but I had already decided to give the last invitation as a birthday gift to young Harry. I know it might not be the best idea, but I think it will be good for the boy.

Double-checking one last time to make sure I spelled the name correctly, I pressed the confirm button. For the first few seconds, nothing happened. I thought I might have typed it wrong or something, but then two small lights shone in front of my fellow professors, and two cellphones appeared in the air in front of them, just before falling to the ground.

The look of surprise on their faces made me smile. It wasn't every day that I could see that expression on the faces of the two strictest professors at Hogwarts. I wish I could take a picture of this, but cameras take too long to take photos.

They didn't stay surprised for long before reaching out and grabbing the floating cellphones. When they touched and held the cellphones with their hands, I waved my own, drawing their attention.

"And now, what do you two see?" I couldn't help but wear a small smile of victory on my face. Ha! And they thought I was going senile.

Minerva was the first to recover from the surprise and looked at me in defeat. "Alright, it's not a piece of wood, but what does this little artifact do? Is it your new invention?"

I shook my head in denial. I may be considered an above-average wizard by most people, but this was beyond my reach. An object that connected other worlds was something I could only dream of creating.

Well, now, where do I start explaining the stream to these two without them thinking I've gone mad again? I guess I should have waited for Devas to start the stream before inviting them, but what's done is done.

[The story managed to reach the top 106, very close to the milestone. Theoretically, I wasn't supposed to release this chapter, but since you all tried, I'll leave it here and go to sleep. Good night, everyone! :D (PS: These two new members are theoretically difficult to identify. If you have any ideas, write a comment. I won't confirm or deny because it would be a spoiler, but it's nice to see that people care about the story. And please leave a review if possible; it would be appreciated.)]