My fellow co-writer and I have decided to post the first chapters of stories that we have wanted to write, have wrote a little on but haven't had a chance to fully develop and finish. We hope you enjoy the beginnings. We are in the process of finishing up already posted stories and will be picking on of these to finish next. Enjoy
The following first chapter is from a story we wanted to do where Harry attends a different school other than Hogwarts. It turned into a Creature!Harry fic though as we started writing. I hope you like the first chapter of The Academy.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.
WARNING: THERE IS SLASH IN THE FOLLOWING!
Chapter One
Harry Potter sat in the smallest bedroom of Number Four Privet Drive. He had returned from his fourth year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry only three days ago. It was late at night as Harry sat on his bed trying to keep the arms of Morpheus from claiming him. He didn't want to sleep. Every time he slept he dreamt of his former classmate, Cedric Diggory, being struck down by the killing curse and Voldemort emerging from a giant cauldron.
'Is it too much to ask for a normal year at school?' Harry mused to himself.
He was brought out of his musing by voices talking quietly from downstairs. He listened as they got closer and closer until he could hear the voices outside his door. He heard angry whispers as the locks clicked open.
Standing in the doorway was Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius' scowl changed into a look of delight as he bounded into the room towards Harry. Remus followed him at a more leisurely pace.
"How are you?" Sirius asked wrapping Harry in a hug. Harry was about to say 'fine' but decided to be honest.
"I'm not doing too well. I'm having awful nightmares and haven't slept well since the last task," Harry said feeling a small weight leave him. 'Maybe I need to talk about things more,' he thought to himself.
Sirius squeezed Harry tighter after his words. He finally let him go and settled onto the bed next to Harry.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Harry asked. "You both look great by the way!"
They both appeared more youthful than the last time that Harry had seen them. It was like years were slowly melting away from the both of them.
Sirius looked grim, "A situation has come up. We can't talk about it here. I had to wait until Remus had guard duty before I was able to come."
"Guard duty?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore didn't tell you?" Remus asked.
"No, he never said anything."
"Well, members of the Order of the Phoenix have been guarding you around the clock since you returned to your relatives house," Remus said.
"What's the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked.
"We'll answer all of your questions as soon as we can get you to a secure location. Is your trunk packed?" Sirius said looking around the small room.
"Yeah, just let me grab a few things and I'll be ready to go," Harry exclaimed. He was thrilled to bits to be able to leave the Dursley's.
Harry got down on the floor and pulled up the loose floorboard to retrieve his wand, invisibility cloak, and his photo album. Throwing the items in his trunk, he changed out of his sleep clothes and was ready to go.
"So where are we heading?" Harry asked.
"To Gringott's," Remus said as they left Harry's room. They left out the back door and walked down the alley. As they reached the end, Remus looked around and stuck out his wand as Sirius changed into his Padfoot form. The Knight Bus arrived with a bang. Remus paid the fare and they were on their way.
The sun was beginning to rise as they made their way through the Leaky Cauldron. There was only person in the bar as they passed through to the entrance of Diagon Alley. Remus hastily shrunk Harry's trunk before they walked down the alley. Sirius trotted alongside the pair as they made it into the bank.
"Harry Potter wishes to speak with his account manager," Remus told the available teller.
"Key please," the goblin asked.
Harry searched through his pockets and laid his key onto the counter. The goblin looked at it closely before nodding and motioning them to follow him. The trio followed the small goblin down a series of hallways before stopping at a plain door with a gold name plate. The goblin inside gave a muffled reply.
"Go on in. He's waiting on you," the teller said. Harry, Remus, and Sirius entered the office and took the seats in front of the desk.
"Good morning Account Manager Slipknot," Remus said.
"Good morning. What can Gringott's do for you?" Slipknot inquired.
"Harry needs a statement for his accounts and also a list of properties," Sirius said popping back from his animagus form. Harry was about to panic, but Sirius patted his leg and gave him a small smile. "The goblins know of my innocence. On record, I'm still your magical and muggle legal guardian. That makes everything easier."
Harry nodded as several stacks of parchment were placed in front of him. He picked them up and started to sort through them.
"I don't even understand most of this," Harry said. "But I do have a question. This past year Mrs. Weasley said she bought my school supplies for me and implied that she used money out of my vault for it. Who all has access to my vault?"
"Dumbledore asked for authorization from me to give to Molly. She didn't know I was still listed as your guardian so it looked like it came from Dumbledore. I gave the goblins explicit instructions that she show how much was taken out, how much and what was bought and give the full accounting to the goblins. I don't trust Molly Weasley with unchecked access to any of your vaults," Sirius said.
"That is correct Mr. Potter. It is on one of those papers what she purchased and how much was spent. The last parchment is a list of properties owned by the Potter family," Slipknot said.
Harry passed the stack of papers over to Sirius, "I'm not sure what I'm looking for so I'll let you do it."
Sirius simply nodded and sifted through the papers until he reached the property list. He looked over the list and handed the papers back to Harry.
"Can we get a portkey to Potter Manor?" Sirius asked.
"Certainly," Slipknot said. "I would like to bring another matter to your attention before you leave."
"What it is?" Remus asked.
"Due to the conditions of the Triwizard Tournament and Harry's forced competition, magic has recognized him as an adult wizard."
All three had looks of astonishment on their faces. It never occurred to Harry about the consequences of his involvement. Sirius and Remus shared a look and soon were grinning madly.
"That would make many things so much easier," Sirius said. "Could you bring him the Head of House ring?"
Slipknot nodded as summoned another goblin. Soon, the other goblin returned with a small box and handed it to Harry.
"Just open it up, slip the ring on your finger, and let the magic do its work," Sirius said to Harry who looked a little lost.
Harry opened up the box and slipped on the ring. He felt magic wrap around his body as the ring glowed softly and shrunk to fit his finger.
"So what exactly does the ring mean?" Harry asked.
"Don't worry too much about it now. We'll explain everything once we make it to Potter Manor," Remus said.
Slipknot agreed to keep running the account and handed Harry the portkey. Sirius and Remus grabbed onto Harry as he activated the portkey to take them to their new home.
Harry was able to stay upright with the help of Remus and Sirius as they landed in the entrance hall. Once he had a chance to look around, his breath was taking away at the beauty of the old manor.
"Wow!" Harry exclaimed.
"You're grandparents used to live here with your father while we were in school. It was built in the 1560s as a place for the Royal family to visit. After they stopped using the house, some of your ancestors bought it and warded the place to high heaven," Sirius said. "Your grandmother's favorite place was the walled garden. There is a rose garden, an herb garden, and a flower garden past the courtyard."
"Courtyard?" Harry asked. "Just how big is this place?"
"It is fairly big. It is three stories with a great hall, drawing room, a very extensive library, numerous bedrooms, bathrooms, dining room, kitchen, and a few other rooms which I'm sure you'll explore," Remus answered.
Harry followed Sirius and Remus through various hallways until they reached a sitting room. Harry couldn't get over how elegant the old manor was. Sirius sat in a squishy arm charm while Remus and Harry took a seat on a comfortable loveseat.
"Why isn't this place dusty?" Harry asked unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice.
"I think it has to do with the preservation charms your father activated the very last time he was here," Sirius said.
"So, why did you come to get me? What's the Order of the Phoenix and why do I need guards watching me all day?" Harry blurted out.
Sirius and Remus took turns telling Harry about the Order of the Phoenix and their roll in the war. They explained that with Voldemort back that Dumbledore felt that he needed to be protected during these crucial months of his return.
"The reason we needed to get you is a complicated situation that Dumbledore can't know about," Sirius said. "First, we wanted to tell you about ourselves first."
"You know I'm a werewolf correct," Remus said. Harry nodded. "Werewolves have one mate and they mate for life. My life span is as long as my mate is around. With my mate around, my transformations are easier and I'm pretty much healthier as long as we have daily contact."
"When we were younger, Remus discovered I was his mate. Everything was fine until my twentieth birthday," Sirius continued. "We had been out celebrating when I was caught by a vampire on the way home. She said that it was foretold of my turning. Next thing I knew, I woke up in my bed with Remus looking after me. I had been turned."
Harry sat wide eyed as his mouth opened in closed in disbelief. He finally stuttered out, "You're a vampire?!"
"Yes, but let me tell you first hand that vampires aren't like what most people think, especially wizards in Britain. I don't need blood to survive, but I do need it from time to time. The one thing that was detrimental was being apart from my mate for so long. Now that Remus and I are back together, you can tell that we are slowly getting better."
"I can tell," Harry said. He was slowly processing everything that they had said when his thoughts got stuck on one thing. "Remus, if your life span is dependent on your mate, and Sirius is an immortal vampire, then does that mean you'll live forever too?"
"Yes, it does. We're not sure how that is going to work yet, because there hasn't ever been a werewolf bonded to a Vampire," Remus said.
"There was another reason we brought you here other than to tell you about ourselves," Sirius said.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Well, Remus and I were talking and a lot of things were not making sense were you and Dumbledore were involved," Sirius continued. "Do you know the reason you and parents went into hiding and were attacked?"
Harry shook his head as Remus continued the tale.
"There was a prophecy made concerning you and Voldemort that stated you would be the only one to defeat him. Voldemort heard part of it and decided to go after your family and the Longbottoms who also had could have fit the prophecy."
"I asked Dumbledore at the end of my first year, after I faced off against Voldemort, why he had come after me, but Dumbledore said I was too young and he just wanted me to enjoy my childhood," Harry said recalling the words of Dumbledore had spoken to him three years ago.
"We did a lot of checking on the muggles placed you with, and also about your schooling and we appalled to find out about your upbringing and also that Dumbledore hasn't giving you any sort of training."
"So I'm the one destined to face Voldemort, and I've not been told about it?" Harry asked with an incredulous look on his face. "What right does he have to dictate my life?"
"We don't know what he is playing at," Remus said. "That's why we decided to get you now. He is going to notice you're missing so hopefully we have everything taken care of before everything gets out of hand."
"That sounds fine for now and everything, but what are we going to do when it comes time for me to go back to Hogwart's?" Harry asked. He really didn't like the sound of returning there for the upcoming school year.
"We were hoping you would say something like that," Sirius stated. "My sire, well, she's the headmistress of a school."
"Which school?" Harry said with interest.
"It's simply known as The Academy."
Harry was stunned. Hermione researched magical schools this past year after hearing that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were coming to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. She was stunned to learn about a very exclusive school that was merely referred to as The Academy. He remembered her telling him all about it. It was said to take and produce the best of the best. The majority of the students were creatures because humans simply weren't powerful enough to make it. The last known British wizards to be accepted into The Academy were Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenell, back before Nicolas had even created his famed Philosopher's Stone.
"I can't get into there!" Harry exclaimed. "Are you serious?"
Remus was quick to shoot a silencing spell at Sirius. "Please never say that around him."
Harry cast a quick look at Sirius who was grinning ear to ear. He shook his head in amusement before carrying on.
"How come many humans haven't been able to get into The Academy?" Harry asked. Hermione hadn't been able to find the answer in any of her books.
"Why don't you save all your questions about school until we've had a full nights rest? I'll contact Xara and see if she can come and talk to you about the school," Sirius said after Remus released him from the spell.
Harry nodded his head tiredly. The three headed upstairs and found rooms to sleep in for the night.
Harry woke up the next morning and took a quick shower. He headed downstairs to find Remus trying to fix breakfast while Sirius sat giving unhelpful tips.
"Morning pup," Remus said frying up some sausages.
"Morning," Harry said cheerfully. "Where did the food come from?"
"I walked to a nearby village early this morning," Remus said putting everything on plates in front of them.
They all sat down to eat with casual conversation filtering in throughout the meal. After the trio was finished, Remus sent the dishes to the sink to clean later. They all returned to the sitting room where they had been the previous evening.
"I sent a message to Xara, my sire, last night and she replied that she would be here sometime this morning," Sirius said.
"That's good. I'm nervous. What if I don't get in?" Harry said anxiously.
"I'm not sure what the requirements are, but I'm sure that you'll be able to get in. The one thing you'll have to get used to is being around other creatures such as elves, fae, vampires, werewolves, the occasional selkie, drakken, and who knows what other sort of creatures attend," Sirius replied.
Harry's back stiffened as he suddenly felt a change in the atmosphere. He looked at Remus and Sirius who were smiling softly. Harry gave his magic a little push to allow the person entry. Soon he felt a very magical person enter into his manor and make their way to the sitting room they were in.
A slender woman about 5'4", dark chocolate eyes, caramel skin and black silky hair cascading down to the middle of her back stood in the doorway. She was breathtaking beautiful. She walked gracefully into the room as Sirius stood and gave her a small bow.
"Sit child. I told you that you didn't have to do that," she said taking a seat beside him. "It is good to see you again Remus."
"It's always a pleasure when you grace us with your presence," Remus said with a smile.
"This must be your godson, Harry Potter," Xara said looking him over.
Harry lowered his head shyly, "I'm Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Sirius tells me you have interest in joining my school," Xara said taking the cup of tea Remus had went and got.
"Yes ma'am. My friend researched other magical schools and could only find the name of your school, but nothing else. All I know is that it produces the best of the best and the last British wizards to attend were Nicolas Flamel and Perenell."
"You are correct. The reason we are so exclusive is because mainly the amount of discipline it takes to excel at our academy. We squeeze year's worth of work into one semester. Our graduates have multiple masteries when they leave the school. The students in their mastery semester must help out the instructor and other students in lower levels. It's a way to help create alliances I'm told," Xara said letting the information sink in.
"That doesn't seem too hard," Harry said. "It sounds like a dream school for Hermione, but I have a feeling there is something you're not telling me."
"Of course, you have to have a certain power level to be able to attend. I can't just let a weak human in only to be destroyed either physically or magically by another human or creature."
Harry had a look of shock on his face from it being put so bluntly. He was used to adults attempting to hide the truth or skirt around it. Xara was a breath of fresh air.
"What do we need to do to determine if I'm even eligible?" Harry asked swallowing a lump in his throat.
"Just two simple things, first I'll need you to touch a power measuring orb, and the second is I'll need to run a blood test for creature blood and to see if it is going to make itself known in you. I've brought them both with me if you want to get started now," Xara said.
Harry looked over to Remus and Sirius who were giving him an encouraging smile. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, he nodded his head at Xara.
"Excellent!" She proceeded to reach into the air and pull out a small, smoky orb and then a small basin, a potion vile, a quill, and a new piece of parchment.
"Where did all of that come from?" Harry asked staring at the space of air.
"I kept most of everything I need in a pocket dimension that only I can access," Xara said lining everything up on a small table she conjured. She motioned to Harry to come over towards her.
Harry stood and wearily made his way over to her. She held the orb out to him, but he had no idea what to do.
"Just take out your wand and tap the orb," Xara instructed.
"That's it? What exactly are we looking for?" Harry asked.
"Yes, that is it. After you tap the orb, it will get a feel of your power and produce a number which will come out of the orb. Many normal witches and wizards will have numbers from anywhere between 60 and 90. Wizards like your Professor Dumbledore are usually around 100 to 200. Other creatures power ranges anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000," Xara explained. "Just most humans and creatures aren't trained to use all of their magic. Most people don't need to use more than even a percentage of their magic in a day."
"How much do you need to have to attend The Academy?" Harry asked wearily.
"Humans must have a power level of at least 500; whereas, creatures need to have at least 2,500."
"That's quite a bit," Harry said trying to wrap his head around the numbers of it all. "So even Dumbledore couldn't get in?"
"No child, he couldn't and he didn't like it when I told him that either," Xara said with a smug grin.
Harry did a double take at that, "Youtold Dumbledore that? May I ask how long you have been headmistress?"
Xara's laugh sounded angelic, "I'll be starting my 212th year this fall."
Harry's eyes bugged out a little more. He gulped, "Would it be impolite to ask how old you are?"
"I wouldn't mind an answer to that question too. I knew you were older than most," Sirius said with Remus nodding his head in agreement.
"Most of what is said here is in the strictest of confidence," Xara received nods of reply and continued on, "I am one of the first of my kind. I'm about 6,000 years old give or take a couple of centuries. Written word and records wasn't the best back then."
Harry, Remus, and Sirius had looks of astonishment on their faces. Xara didn't look that old.
"I may tell you the story sometime, but for now let's get Harry started on his testing," she said bringing them back to the matter at hand. "Now Harry, I need you to put your wand in your hand and close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and then when you open them, simply touch your wand to the orb."
Harry did as instructed and everyone waited anxiously. Instantly the smoke in the orb started swirling around and slowly leaked from the top of the orb and formed a number above it.
"842?!" Sirius exclaimed. Xara even looked surprised, while Harry and Remus could just stare as the numbers made their way back into the orb.
"Congratulations Harry," Xara said after she pulled herself together quickly. "You're more than welcome to attend the school, but we still need to check if you have any creature blood in you."
She moved the basin to the center of the table with the parchment and the quill to the right of it. She uncorked the vial of potion and poured it into the basin. She looked around and pulled out an athame out of her pocket dimension.
"Oops, forgot about that. Now, all you need to do this time is prick your finger with the athame and put three drops of blood into the potion. After that I'll take care of everything else," Xara said handing the athame to Harry.
Harry took a deep breath and cut his finger. The blood pooled to the surface as Xara, Sirius and Remus all made a face.
"Pup, what in the world happened to your blood?" Sirius said throwing a bubblehead charm over him and Remus.
Harry shrugged his shoulders and dropped the required blood into the potion, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Xara looked at Harry strangely, "Has any magical substances ever been added to your blood?"
Harry thought about it as Xara placed the quill into the potion. She let it set there for a bit then plucked it out and held it in a writing position on top of the parchment. The quill started writing on its own.
"In my second year of school, I was bitten by a basilisk. When I was dying from the venom, a phoenix came along and cried into the wound," Harry said glancing at the quill.
"That would explain it what I'm seeing," Xara said examining the parchment. "You had dormant Elvin and Fae blood that wouldn't have awoken, but do to the potency of the basilisk venom and phoenix tears, it seems you're going to go through your creature inheritance."
"What?" Harry exclaimed.
"Child, on your fifteenth birthday you are going to go through a creature inheritance. Due to your current power levels, you can't stay here to do it. You will need a special reinforced room. There is one at The Academy you can use. I'll give you today to pack and take care of your affairs here. I'll be back in the morning to collect you."
Sirius could tell there was more that Xara wasn't saying, but knew better than to question his maker. She bid them goodbye and left the manor. Remus hadn't moved since the whole process started. Sirius bounded up and wrapped Harry into a hug. This brought Remus out of his daze and soon he too was hugging Harry too.
"You got into the Academy!" Remus and Sirius repeated over and over while doing a little dance.
"Well, if I'm going to go through a creature inheritance than I still might not be able to go to the Academy," Harry said remembering the power requirements for creatures.
"Harry, knowing the power you have now as a simple wizard, you will have no problems getting into the Academy once you change," Sirius said giving Harry an encouraging smile.
Remus went into the kitchen to make them all a light lunch, while Harry and Sirius went up to the library. Harry was going to look up more information on elves and fae while he had a bit of time.
Sirius was amazed at the speed at which Harry was going to the books. He had originally come up to help Harry go through the books but now he seemed like he wasn't needed.
"Have you always been a closet bookworm?" Sirius asked as Harry put a book down and started in on another one.
"I guess you could say that," Harry said looking at his godfather. "You have to remember that when I was little, I was beaten for getting better grades than Dudley. When I got to Hogwart's, I was excited that I wouldn't have to hide my smarts. Then I made friends with Ron and Hermione. Both of them would have been pissed and thrown a fit if I showed them up in classes. They would have different reasons, but it would have led to jealously none the less. So I just read everything on my own when no one was looking."
"I figured you wouldn't care that much of what they would think," Sirius said.
"I do care about them, but I've been doing a lot of thinking since this whole Triwizard Tournament fiasco. I figured Ron would grow out of his jealously issues, but when my name came out of the goblet, it came back with a vengeance. I would have loved to have taken Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, but Hermione has this unnatural need to be the best at everything."
"I guess I can see where you're coming from," Sirius said.
Sirius and Harry stayed in the library talking until Remus called them down to eat lunch. They enjoyed the stew that Remus had whipped together. After lunch was over, Remus suggested they return to the bank to settle their affairs because they didn't know how long they would be at the Academy or if they would be able to come and go from The Academy as freely as they could. Soon the three were at the bank being ushered into Slipknot's office.
"It is good to see you all again. What can I do for you today?" Slipknot asked as everyone settled into their seat.
"We're going to be gone for a while and we wanted to make sure that Harry still had access to his vault where we are going," Remus said.
"May I ask where you are headed to?" Slipknot asked.
"This morning I was tested and gained admittance into the Academy," Harry said.
Slipknot was surprised, but covered it quickly. "Congratulations Mr. Potter. That is quite an honor."
"Thank you," Harry replied softly.
"I'll contact the Atlantis branch and let them know you will be using their services. I have a cousin there that would gladly look after you're affairs while you stay there," Slipknot said.
"Atlantis?" Harry said hearing his voice crack. Sirius and Remus also had a look of astonishment on their faces.
"I take it you were never told exactly where the Academy is," Slipknot said. "What many people don't know is Atlantis was just removed from this dimension."
"It's in another dimension?" Sirius said incredulously. "We'll certainly be safe from Dumbledore."
They spent a little bit longer getting everything taken care of then they headed home. They decided to spend the even just relaxing since they were already packed. Harry spent the evening hearing stories of his parents. He couldn't ask for a better night.
The next morning found the three eating breakfast when Harry felt Xara reach the wards. He gave the magic a push to let her in and soon she was sitting in the kitchen waiting on them to finish eating.
"Are you ready?" she asked as they stood around her with their belongings shrunk in their pockets.
"No, but when am I ever ready?" Harry said. "May I ask a question?'
"Certainly."
"Is the Academy really in Atlantis?"
"Yes. How did you find that out?" Xara asked.
"My account manager, Slipknot, told me," Harry said.
Xara nodded and instructed the others to grab hold onto the portkey and hang on tightly. Once she saw they were ready she tapped the portkey and they were off.
Harry never liked portkeys, but this one seemed different. They seem to spin forever until the portkey slowed down and slowly set them on the ground. Once the world stopped spinning, Harry was finally able to get a good look at where they were.
It was breathtakingly beautiful. Harry could see a fairly good sized village surrounded by lush field to one side with a forest with lead to a mountain range. Sitting on top of the mountain tops was a very large castle.
Xara smiled at the trio as they took in their surroundings. She ushered them into a carriage that was waiting for them and soon they were off towards the castle. As the carriage pulled to a stop at a large gate, Xara stepped out and did something the others couldn't see before climbing back in. The gate swung open and the carriage proceeded down the pathway.
Xara smiled at the three who were still trying to take everything in.
"Welcome to The Academy."