Author's Note: This is the continuation of my story "An American Muggle at Hogwarts' Court". If you haven't read it I highly suggest you do so before reading this one. It will mostly be following the adventures of Elanus Green, Samuel Green, Maria Esteban and James Evans. Some attention will be paid to the Canon characters but I don't intend for it to be the bulk of the story.
Formatting Note: I'm trying a bit different formatting style here so if it changes in the middle of the story, just bare with me.
Disclaimer: I fail to see the reasoning behind this but all canon characters in this story belong to JK Rowling, all non-canon characters belong to me.
The Aftermath of Voldemort
Voldemort had been defeated, there was no doubt. Hundreds of wizards from all over England, and even the rest of the world had come to see the Dark Lord hanged. His corpse was inspected several times over before the throngs of people brutally dismembered it and burned the pieces. Stripped of his power by the Opposite Gene Evans, Voldemort's soul simply passed on like any other, unable to return to the living.
A great upheaval in the wizard world followed in his wake. The Ministry of Magic was without a Minister, as the traitorous Cornelius Fudge had been imprisoned for his crimes, awaiting execution. Arthur Weasley was named Minister in his place. The people thought it time to have a strong leader with an interest in the muggles that saved them. Mercifully Arthur dismissed Fudge's execution, and imprisoned his predecessor in his own home.
The centers of influence had suddenly and drastically shifted as more then a dozen pure blood wizard families suddenly found themselves stripped of all property as their Death Eater patriarchs and matriarchs were imprisoned or executed for treason. Dozens of minor families who had once depended on their wealthier cousins were now without a meal ticket. Other, once repressed, pure blood families now found themselves at the top of the ladder so to speak. The Malfoy Estate managed to be the only exception as Draco had inherited and managed to seize his father's assets. How a sixteen year old managed such a feat is unknown, though his efforts in the fight against Voldemort seemed to have something to do with it.
Politics in the Ministry had begun to change rapidly as well, under the direction of the new Minister. Weasley implemented laws that virtually ended the wrongful oppression of the goblins, centaurs and house elves. Better fairness to muggles policies were brought forth, and dozens of other reforms were put on the table. Harsher punishments for those who abused and took advantage of muggles were also set in place. The muggle parents of wizard students were given more access to the wizard world as well. Arthur thought much could be learned from them if given the chance. Several muggle families even moved into wizard neighborhoods.
There were doubts among many though. Some didn't believe the events that took place at Hogwart's the year before had really happened. Many couldn't let go of their old fears, and still many others wished to take advantage. Rumors began to circulate, and those who managed to escape justice began to look for ways to reclaim their power.
Much was covered up as well, to save the embarrassment of those who were imprisoned. The truth simply wasn't told to those who most needed to hear it. Millennia of hiding from the world made wizards very good at keeping secrets, especially those that should have been told.
Chapter 1: The Summer
Hermione Granger sat at a small desk penning a note to her friend Harry. It had been an unusual summer in that Harry had actually been able to write back. Since she'd known him, his oppressive relatives had forbidden him to write to his friends. If not that, then circumstances beyond anyone's control had prevented letters from ever reaching him. At any rate, it had been nice.
She felt a pang of guilt as she signed her name to the end of the letter. This was only her third letter to Harry, when she knew full good and well more letters could have been sent. Her budding relationship with Ron Weasley had monopolized a large portion of her time, though and surely Harry realized that. She also felt guilty for neglecting her studies over the summer. It was a lack of discipline pure and simple she felt, despite the fact that no homework was assigned over the summer months.
Carefully she folded the letter in thirds and placed it in an envelope. She then placed it in the beak of an owl that was sitting on her window sill.
"Take this to Harry, and hurry," she said, patting the owl on the head.
The owl seemed to nod in response before taking flight. Taking her pen up again, she decided to write a love letter to Ron. She nervously penned a few lines before laying her pen down. He wrote such lovely letters that made her shiver every time she read them. Writing this sort of letter was never something she was good at, and it always made her nervous to send one. A small pile of crumpled notes in her waste bin were proof enough of that.
"Pull yourself together," she mumbled, "It's not as if this is a school paper I'm getting graded on. Goodness knows I wrote plenty of letters to Viktor."
Thinking of the things she liked most about her boyfriend she settled into writing him a letter. At first it was slow but the longer she wrote the easier it was. Finally she laid her pen down and read it to herself quietly. Shivering with delight she lovingly signed it. The letter needed more though. She looked around her room as if to spot whatever it was missing. Then she remembered her mother telling her how she used to perfume her letters to her father. A good idea except she didn't own perfume, and she was fairly certain her mother didn't have any either.
Inspiration hit her as she stared out her window. Her mother's flower garden! Searching through her school things, she found the small folding knife that she used to trim her quills. Quietly she made her way down stairs and to her mother's rose garden. Selecting a small budding rose, she started to cut it away from the bush. She winced in pain as a thorn pierced the tip of her finger. Sucking on her bleeding finger she also realized her knife was extremely dull. Not knowing how to sharpen it without magic she managed to cut the rose from the bush without butchering the stem too badly.
Once inside with her newly freed rose she trimmed the end with a large pair of scissors. After dipping the cut end in wax from a burning candle, she made her way back upstairs. Smiling she tied the rose to her letter with a piece of red ribbon and placed it in a small cardboard box she had salvaged from the post a few days prior.
It would be that evening before an owl came that she could send the box with, so she sat daydreaming of the beginning of the school term.
-*-
Many miles away and several hours later a young Harry Potter welcomed a large white owl into his window. He eagerly opened the letter it carried in its beak and started reading it before he'd even unfolded it all the way. It was nice to be receiving letters from his friends for a change. It was from his friend Ron Weasley.
Dear Harry,
School will be starting soon, Dad said they'd started filling out the invitations already. Fred told me this would be our easiest year yet. It would have to be don't you think? Considering what happened last year, and with the O.W.Ls. Anyway, they say the books will be expensive again as usual.
Heard from Hermione the other day, she's fine. Ginny says "Hi". Write back soon.
Ron
P.S. Do you think Professor Green will be back this year? I hope so.
Harry smiled and folded the letter back into the envelope and gave Hedwig a pat on the head. He was looking forward to an easy year. All the years up to this point had almost ended in his death or had ended in the death of someone near him. Voldemort was dead and gone though, he'd seen the body himself. If there was one piece of wisdom he'd taken to heart from his Uncle Gene it was this: Always, always check the bodies. He thought Gene had meant it figuratively but it was always a wise thing to do literally.
The invitations were being prepared already? He had no idea it took so much time in advance to prepare for a school year. It was at least a month before the invitations would arrive. Having a best friend whose father was Minister of Magic was going to come in handy he could tell.
He didn't know if Professor Green would be back, though he sincerely hoped he would be. There had been quite an uproar when everyone found out a real muggle was teaching Muggle Studies. That was nothing compared to the reaction when everyone found out the Dark Lord was defeated by muggles, though. Even with the new tolerance for muggles he'd been hearing about from Hermione, he doubted seriously that Hogwarts would be admitting a muggle teacher again. He'd been surprised before though.
-*-
Ron Weasley lounged about on his family's living room sofa reading a well worn Quidditch magazine. It had been a long boring summer and he missed his girlfriend terribly. His mother had been frantic since his farther was made Minister of Magic. She insisted on making the house more "presentable" as she expected visitors at any time. While it was true his father was entertaining guests on occasion, he mostly preferred to keep his work and private lives separate.
It wasn't as if no one knew they weren't well to do. The Weasley family had never been rich. His brothers Fred and George seemed to be changing that with their new joke shop though. Every so often they'd send a small amount of money home in thanks for all their parents had done for them, and put up with. Along with his father's increase in salary, it finally looked like he and his sister would be getting new clothing this year. Books wouldn't be a problem either as they only had to buy books for two.
His wand was perhaps what he was most proud of. Professor Green had crafted several superb wands the previous year. The wands were unique in that they contained more then one magical component. He wasn't quite sure what two were in his, but he did know that most of the materials were gleaned from near Hogwarts. Unicorn and spider hair were the most probable choices. They were also quite a bit more powerful then the average wand and he didn't just give or sell them to anyone. Harry was the only one who received one that he knew didn't use it, preferring his phoenix feather core wand.
"Where is that bloody owl," he said as he jumped up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. He peered out the window and gazed up at he sky looking for signs of an owl.
"Waiting for Hermione's letter?" a female voice from behind him asked.
Startled, Ron hit the top of his head on the opened window and cursed. "Don't sneak up on me like that, Ginny," he said, rubbing his head and cursing under his breath.
He turned around to see his sister Ginny, once a small red headed girl. Over the last several months though, she'd grown and developed a bit of a figure. She was leaner then the twins but didn't have the gangly appearance of Ron either. Mercifully, the family resemblance leaned more towards her mother then her brothers and father.
"I haven't got a note from Harry either," she said, "The owls normally aren't this slow."
"I know," Ron replied, "It's strange, but they come. They are sending them from muggle cities you know."
Ginny nodded and stared out the window for a few moments, "I can't wait to get back to school."
"Can't wait to see Harry you mean," Ron teased. Ginny rolled her eyes and walked off. Ron shrugged and looked back out the window.
-*-
A quarter of the way around the world, and in the heat of the afternoon an old red and white pickup truck made it's way down a dusty Texas road. From the inside of the pickup looking out there was nothing as far as the eye could see. The High Plains stretched for miles in every direction, the flatness only deviating slightly in the form of small ripples in the land. It looked very much like an endless, grassy ocean. The effect was only heightened by the wind blowing across the grass giving the appearance of waves. A small herd of antelope raced the truck along the barbed wire fence that lined the road, not looking much different then schools of dolphin swimming alongside a ship. Keeping up for a short while but ultimately conceding to the truck the antelope stared at it as it moved off into the distance.
The two men inside the vehicle sat silent, staring out into the distance. The one in the passenger seat was a younger man with black hair and a set of small square rimmed glasses. He had a rather average if not plain look about him. In fact nearly everything about his appearance suggested "medium" and "average". Like the sort of person you'd see, and talk to but only remember in the back of your mind. His nearly hazel eyes sparkled as they passed a small water filled pond used to feed cattle.
The other man, obviously the young man's father was much shorter and heavier of build. His mostly graying hair gave the impression of age, but his muscular build and nearly wrinkle free skin said otherwise. He depressed the brake pedal with his foot and turned right onto a larger paved highway. Soon they came upon a two story white house out in the middle of nowhere. The old man parked the pickup and the two hopped. A small and very attractive Hispanic woman ran out of the house towards them.
"Samuel!" she said as she jumped to hug him. The young man caught her easily and hugged her back. "Maria!" he said as he kissed her, "I'm glad to see you too." She kissed him and then hugged the older man.
"So is everything ok, Gene?" Maria asked the old man, "You've been gone for days."
"Yeah, it was just a broken clamp. We had to take the whole rig apart to get to it though," Gene replied, "Honestly I don't know why they don't replace the whole thing."
"Because if they did, you'd quit coming out there to fix it," Maria replied.
"She's right," Samuel said, "Mrs. Estrada likes you."
Gene muttered, "Well like me or not, they'll have to replace the whole pump soon or they won't have any water. Speaking of water, I need a shower."
Gene walked into the house and slammed the door behind himself. Maria stared at Samuel quizzingly.
"What's his problem?" asked Maria.
"He doesn't like the fact that things wear out and that people won't replace them before they do," Samuel said, "He's been fixing that old pump for decades, he's just mad they didn't get a new one sooner."
"Not everyone can afford it," Maria commented.
"He offered to build them one for free," Samuel said, "It's a long standing source of irritation for him."
"Why does he keep fixing it then?" Maria asked.
"There is the contradiction that is Gene Evans," Samuel said, laughing.
"I guess so," Maria said, staring at the door and shaking her head. "Oh, James received an invitation from Hogwarts today."
"Really? I didn't think those were sent out for another few weeks," Samuel said,
"This one is dated a week ago," Maria said, "I think they sent his early so he'd have time to decide."
"Makes sense, is he going?"
"He wants to," Maria said, "Hasn't talked to Gene about it yet obviously."
"I'm sure he can, Elanus is supposed to be in next week, so it's not like Dad would have to pay for airfare."
"Since when has Gene ever balked at spending money on things like that?" Maria asked.
"Never, thankfully," Samuel answered.
"Do you think it's wise?" asked Maria.
"What?"
"Him going back, after what happened last year. He won't get the same kind of education he would get here," she responded.
"He'd just attend the private school here," Samuel replied, "He's already on a post high school level in reading, and math. Everything else they teach at Hogwarts just like any other school."
Maria nodded and smiled up at Samuel, "Shall we go inside?"
"Yes we should," Samuel said, extending his elbow.
Maria smiled, took his arm and followed him inside the house. A young man was sitting in a large reclining chair, somewhat sprawled out. He wore baggy jeans, a slightly oversized t-shirt and was most definitely Gene's youngest son. The resemblance was undeniable. His dark blonde hair was spiked and in his hands he held some sort of portable video game.
"James, get off that lazy rear end and heat supper," Maria snapped.
"Already did, it's simmering," James replied, not looking up from his game, "Are you going back to Hogwarts this Fall Samuel?"
"I haven't been invited," Samuel replied, "And I hate it when you talk to me without making eye contact."
"That's why I do it," James said as he turned his game off, "How did the Estrada repairs go?"
"Dismal, as usual," Samuel replied, "Good food though."
Maria muttered something under her breath. "Well at least you came home to her, she was a complete basket case the whole time you were gone," James commented, "Really leaving your wife so soon after the marriage."
"Aww, did you miss me?" Samuel asked Maria.
"A lot," Maria replied, hugging Samuel.
"Get a room," James said, "I'm going to go check on the stew."
James walked off into the kitchen. Maria stuck her tongue out at him and giggled. Samuel rolled his eyes and sat down on the sofa. Maria cuddled up next to him.
"What about you? Do you want to go back to England this year?" she asked.
"I do miss the children, and Elanus has been telling me a lot of good things," Samuel replied, "Do you want to go back?"
Maria leaned back slightly and thought for a moment. "I've thought about it, and yes. I would be fun. That fencing class was fun to teach and the countryside was beautiful."
Gene stepped into the living room, still slightly damp from his shower and sat down in the big chair James had been sitting in. "Whoa," he said, lifting up a bit. He reached behind himself and pulled out James' game. Muttering he sat the game on the floor beside the chair.
"A little uncomfortable?" Samuel asked.
Gene rocked his hand side to side, "You better clean up so your lady doesn't run from you gagging."
"I like how he smells after a good sweat," Maria commented.
"That wasn't something I needed to know," Gene said with a chuckle.
"Stew's Done!" James yelled from the kitchen.
The three in the living room got up and headed for the kitchen. Soon after the meal was finished and the dishes cleaned they all sat in the living room.
"Dad," James said, "I need to talk to you about something."
"What's that?" Gene asked.
"I got an invitation to Hogwarts," James replied.
"Oh really, and?" Gene asked.
"I'd like to go if we can manage it," James answered.
"I think we can, we'll have to pull you out of the school here though," Gene said.
"That's ok, I was gone all of last year practically, I flunked that grade."
"I see, well I guess we'll put you on the plane to England this August," Gene said.
"Really? Thank you," James said.
"What about you Samuel? Are you teaching again this year?" Gene asked.
"I haven't received any word yet," Samuel replied, "Elanus is supposed to be here next week, he'll know."
Gene nodded, "Well I'm sure they haven't decided yet."
Samuel shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me, I can always go back to programming or rejoin the Slayers."
"Why'd you quit?" Maria asked.
"To be with you silly," he said tickling her.
"Stop," she giggled.
Later that night Samuel and Maria were lying together in the smallish bed in his room. The moonlight reflected off the guitars on the wall and a slight breezed gently ruffled the curtains.
"I have had fantasies about this room, and not that I mind the closeness but could we get a bigger bed?" she asked.
"We'll have one soon as the house is finished," Samuel said.
"It was so nice of him to build us a house," Maria commented.
"Yes, it was," Samuel replied, "Dad has always been generous."
"How rich is he?" she asked.
"I don't know, but I do know that with the money I made selling those wands we'll be well furnished when it's done," Samuel replied.
"Well good night my love," Maria said, kissing him.
"Good night," he said, kissing her back.
The two drifted slowly to sleep in each other's arms. Outside the house a dark figure stood in the road, watching silently. A car sped by, ruffling a long black robe of some sort. Soon the figure disappeared into the quiet night. A coyote could be heard howling in the distance, then the roar of a bull. Finally all was still, save for two hooded figures speeding towards the house from miles away on what appeared to be broomsticks.
