***A/N: Harry Potter world had been moved back by several decades. Voldemort and Grindelwald worked together (and outed the Wizarding World) before being defeated. Goldendoodle is a breed of Golden retriever mixed with poodle. They are cute. When they're wet, it reminds me of Sirius' form in the movie. Big as a retriever with floppy ears, and a shaggy, curly coat. Ok, I'm sorry if I get it wrong but I could only find Brown eyes for Logan and Remy's red on black. I did find blue eyes for Remy but that was only in one picture and I'm not sure how accurate that is. I like to keep to physical characteristics as much as possible. Xavier can walk because magic healed him.***
It was odd, Harry decided. Walking was odd. He could have made everything so much easier, if he would just use magic. He wouldn't though, he'd hated using magic ever since his twenty-fifth birthday. The day he'd become a mutant. It was also really cold.
It had all been fine until that day; he'd gotten a good job at the Ministry as an Auror, he'd bought the ring to propose to Ginny, he'd finally gotten Godric's Hollow fixed up, and then he'd ended up walking right into the middle of a battle and gotten hit with at least five different spells. It was cold enough for Harry to see his breath.
He'd spent six months, in a restorative coma, in St. Mungo's because of whatever spells that had hit him. He'd spent another six months in St. Mungo's letting them keep trying to figure out what he'd been hit with. All seven spells instead of just five. Whatever it had been, it had blown up six blocks of Downtown London. Muggle news had said that it had been a 'terrorist bombing'. All because the Muggle Prime Minister's wife and child had been close enough to the blast that they and their bodyguards had to be taken to the hospital, and it was taken as a threat to the family of people in Government.
He'd come home to find Ginny, Seamus, and Dean in bed together. Yep, all three in bed together. He didn't say anything, he just wrote a note telling her to get her stuff and leave before supper-time. He'd come back to find her and all her stuff gone with Ron sitting at the island in his kitchen. He'd put all the groceries away and had sat down at the other end in his favorite spot, waiting for Ron to start in on him.
Harry stopped walking as it started snowing. He looked up at the falling snow. The only thing Ron had said?
**Flashback**
"I'm sorry, mate. I don't know what she was thinking."
Harry stood and got a couple of the beers he'd gotten when he'd made his stop at the muggle grocery store. Harry handed a bottle of Foster's to Ron after he'd opened it for him and sat back down to enjoy his own. "I don't blame her. I was gone for a year, nevermind that the year was spent in Mungo's. I was still gone, and she's still young. We all are, maybe it was just as well that I got hit with those spells. I wouldv'e been angry if she'd slept with them after I had proposed to her."
Ron put down the beer he'd almost taken a drink of. "You weren't joking when you said that you had gotten the ring?"
Harry shook his head and went into the living room where his muggle model cars where and took out the white 1969 Thunderbird. He brought it back into the kitchen and cancelled the transfiguration on it.
It was a platinum band with a one karat white diamond surrounded by several small black onyx stones and small peridot stones.
Ron smiled a small smile at the stones and the protective spells he could sense on the ring. Harry had always been protective and loving of the Weasley family, especially Ginny. "You had both her Birthstone and her Zodiac stone set into her ring. What are you going to do with it now?"
"I'm going to put it into the vaults. The platinum for the band and setting came from my mother's ring. I kept the garnets from her ring in the main vault, so I'm going to put this one with it." Harry shrugged. "As with the old days, since I'm the one to break off the wedding, I'll pay for all reparations. Including what would have been her dowry."
Ron shook his head. "You know you don't have to do that."
"It's already done." Harry smiled. "It's why I gave her so much time to get out. I knew I wouldn't be back here until supper-time."
"You're taking this a little too well, Harry." Ron looked at him shrewdly.
"No offense, but I kind of expected it. I mean, we went through different things during the war. We didn't even get together until two years ago. A year of that was spent with me in Mungo's."
*End Flashback*
Ron had calmed down since he'd been recruited by Shacklebolt to the Magical Law Enforcement Department. It had taken him a couple of raids and a few battles with Dark Wizards who had still been on the run from their time with Voldemort, but he'd calmed down after he'd almost lost his life... the third time.
It was actually why Harry had gotten hit with seven spells. He'd seen the spells coming and could only push Ron out of the way. Ron was already married with kids, he had a whole family of people who would miss him more. So, he'd taken the spells meant for him and Ron. Luckily, they had been only six blocks from the Ministry. Ron had kept the enemies off until back-up had arrived. Harry had been run off to St. Mungo's, Minister Shacklebolt and the Prime Minister had been informed, a cover story had been concocted, and Mass Obliviation had ensued. It had been kind of funny, considering that the Prime Minister's family had actually been inside the Ministry with the Prime Minister meeting with Minister Shacklebolt, and that the daughter had come up with the cover story. She was sorted into Slytherin when the Hogwarts year had started.
Harry could hear several motorbikes rumbling in the distance as he started walking again. //It's not safe to be riding bikes in this weather, I guess it isn't any safer to be walking while it's snowing either.... I wonder if I should move off of the road and out of sight. I'll just shift into a different form, just in case.//
It had been later that night, after Ron had left, that Harry had realized that he could shift into any form he wanted. Any. If he shifted into a muggle, his magical core hid and could not be used; same thing with a muggle animal. If he shifted into another Wizard, he ended up with their magical core, and if he shifted into a magical animal.... well, a Basilisk is a Basilisk, even if its' normal form is Harry Potter.
He'd went to the Ministry the next day got all the papers he'd need to live as a muggle, went to the Department of Mysteries to get the knowledge he'd need to survive, then went to Gringotts' and set everything up. The day after that, Harry Potter was the newest Liason to the Muggle Governments. The United Nations now had Muggle and Magical leaders sitting together, as with each government.
Slowly, the Muggle and Magical world was integrated. Some families didn't come out though, mostly the Pure-bloods but some half-blooded families stayed in the background. Even some Muggle-born families cut most of their ties with the muggle world. Only the potions that were needed to help cure diseases were let into the muggle world. Healthcare, worldwide, was strengthened. Even the Mutants were left alone, it was all normal now. The muggles who weren't Mutant were outnumbered by the Wizards and Mutants combined. There were still people who hated both, on all sides. There were still prejudice, still hate crimes. Always had been, always will be.
The lower schools were segregated but that wasn't likely to change. Mutants had to learn how to control their powers when they activated, which could be at any age; Wizards and Witches still had to learn how to control their magic; and the muggles had to be able to learn in safety.
The rumbling got closer and Harry made sure no one was in sight before shifting into a ragged looking Goldendoodle. Ever since he'd found out that he was a mutant he hadn't changed into a magical animal and since his shifting didn't use his magic, he was happy to use it to get by. He got off of the road and pawed at the ground, as if looking for something under the now inch thick of snow. He was glad that the roads had been salted earlier that morning, whoever was on the motorbikes could get hurt if they slipped on the ice that was going to form.
The rumbling stopped near him and he heard the crunch of footsteps come near him. He scuttled a few steps away when the person -- male, musky, and mutant by the scent -- knelt down to his level. He turned to face the guy, and got an eyeful of big broad shoulders, dark hair, and brown eyes that were kind, suspicious, and feral at the same time.
"The Professor would like to speak to you."
Harry barked softly, he didn't know who 'The Professor' was or why he'd want to talk to him.
The guy shrugged. " Might be 'cause you're a mutant, bub."
Harry stretched in this form and took a few steps towards the guy. The guy moved and Harry finally noticed that there were four motorbikes surrounding an Lincoln Town Car. The door opened as they got closer and a redhead stepped out. "Logan, don't be rude. His name is Professor Charles Xavier, not everyone knows him." She turned her attention to the dog that was walking by Logan. "Hello, Mr. Potter. My name is Jean Grey."
Harry stopped, growling at the mention of his name and only slightly molified since she gave hers in return.
She smiled slightly. "We mean you no harm, Professor Xavier wishes to talk to you peacefully."
She held the door open. He huffed but got in, sitting in the seat. The lady that had introduced herself as Jean Grey slid in beside the driver, another red-head. He had on weird glasses that made him look like he had on earmuffs.
//*Hello Mr Potter, do you mind if we continue on into the next town? My people are hungry and need food.*// A man's voice echoed in Harry's head and he automatically looked at the older gentleman who sat next to him.
//*I don't mind.*//
"Would you change back, Mr. Potter?" He had kind, regal features, this Professor Xavier. The car and bikes started forward once more as Harry changed back into the form he'd been wearing.
He looked like a male version of Ginny; he had the stature and build, the hair even the facial features. The only thing different was the eyes -- they never changed, still Lily Potter green -- and the fact that he was male.
"Your original form, please Mr. Potter."
//This guy is starting to remind me of Dumbledore. By that smile forming in his eyes, he can hear me.// Indeed, Xavier could hear him and was delighted to be compared to the first Wizard he'd met when he was a child.
"I'm more comfortable in this form, than my own." He changed his hair back, though he kept himself muggle, and lost the freckles while gaining his slight tan from Quidditch all those years ago. Xavier let the rest of it go, he didn't want to alienate the boy, even though the boy was barely any younger than himself.
The car was silent as they got into town. The silence wasn't like the solitude silence that he usually had, and it made him antsy. They stopped at a restaurant that looked like it could feed every single one of them and went in to eat. Xavier took Harry over to an end booth. Logan and a guy who had brown hair and red on black eyes that made Harry slightly breathless when he met them, sat at the table closest to them. A guy with blue skin and a tail sat with a girl who had pure white hair and mocha skin, they sat at the table next to the very next booth; the very next booth had the two red-heads that had been in the car with them, earmuff guy and Jean Grey.
Xavier chuckled softly and Harry looked at him and shrugged. //*It looks like he has on earmuffs....*// "What do you want?"
"I would like for you to come and teach."
Harry sat and thought about that for a few minutes while looking at the menu. It was getting toward dinner-time, so when the waitress came he ordered a rare steak with fried chips. He'd thought about getting some fries but they usually ended up being soggy before even getting to him.
He stopped the waitress before she left, making sure she got their whole party, and handed her the card that Gringotts' had given him years ago. "Why do you want me to teach, and what would I be teaching?"
"I was thinking about adding onto the curriculum and letting Witches and Wizards into Xavier Institute. If I can get enough magical teachers, whether they have the X-gene or not, then I can make my school more open to the public. I know that magic can be tricky but I would like to start the integration process." Xavier stopped as the waitress brought back coffee for each of them. Only Jean and the guy she had been sitting with had ordered soft drinks, and the guy with Logan had ordered a vanilla milkshake. She walked off to go to her other tables after she gave Harry his card back.
"I don't know how to teach, Professor."
"I know that you know several forms of Martial Arts, I know that you are also proficient in several art forms and music forms, I also know that you are good enough to teach them relatively well."
Harry scowled in dissatisfaction. "Who would I be working with, if I agree?"
Xavier smiled. "Logan Creed is one of the Physical Education teachers, he also teaches weight lifting and car repair. Remy LeBeau teaches music, both intrument and voice. Kurt Wagner teaches mathematics, from simple low grade math to calculus, he also works with Hank McCoy but he isn't here right now as he is at the school. Ororo Munroe teaches Plant Biology, Human Biology, and Physics. Jean Grey teaches Chemistry, and English, as well as several other languages; and finally we come to Scott Summers. Scott teaches Government and Geography, as well as Drivers' Education." The Professor pointed them all out as he told of what they did. "They aren't the only ones, but they are the ones that you would be working with more than the others."
"Would I have to use magic?" Harry was slightly tense, he hadn't used magic in almost a month. He went as long as he could without using magic for anything, but sometimes he ended up slipping and having to use some.
"Not if you don't want to, but I would like it if you did."
They were stalled from continuing the conversation by their food arriving and eating. After he was done eating, they sat there while Harry thought it over and the others talked and ate dessert.
"Harry?" Harry's head shot up at the soft, tentative voice that stopped his companions conversations. A brunet was standing there blue eyes wide in recognition.
"Neville..." He'd slimmed down and toned up from working with his plants in his gardens. He'd also aged, and had a few gray hairs, unlike Harry.
Neville smiled. "It is you, you haven't changed a bit. I almost passed you by.... till I saw your eyes. No one has eyes like yours."
Harry smiled. "Would you care to join us Nev?" Harry had always had a soft spot for Neville, he'd been with Neville during fifth year after the Cho incident and before Ginny had tried to get his attention. Harry looked at the Professor and he nodded. "Neville, this is Professor Charles Xavier. Professor, this is Neville Longbottom." Xavier reached out and Neville shook his hand.
"The Professor here has offered me a teaching job. What do you think Neville?"
Neville looked thoughtful, "Where would you be teaching?"
"The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning." Xavier said as he slid a business card to Neville.
He looked at it before looking at Harry. "I've heard they have beautiful gardens," he shrugged. "Let's ask Luna, though." That was when Harry noticed that Luna was coming towards them from the restroom.
"Hello, Harry." She stated, even though he didn't really look like Harry Potter, and smiled with the normal gentle dreamy look in her eyes. She looked at Xavier. "Luna Lovegood Longbottom."
Harry looked at Neville and raise his brows. Neville grinned. "Hannah ended up marrying Terry Boot."
Harry smiled at her and scooted over so Neville could let her sit down. Neville handed her the card. "Harry is being offered a job there."
She looked at the card, then at Xavier, then at everyone that had came with him -- even though they didn't sit at the same table; that action cause Logan to stiffen and Storm to blink in shock, while Jean smiled in amusement.
"I wonder if they have any Horned Toads." She gave the card to Xavier and smiled at Harry while Neville shivered in disgust. He'd had to disembowel an entire barrel full during a detention with Snape one year. Xavier and Harry shook their heads in unison. "What about Hinkypunks?"
Harry shook his head, "I don't think they have any bogs, Luna."
"Alright then, when do we leave?"
Neville put his hand on her arm and looked at Harry. "We need to finish collecting samples of some nearby Asphodel, we think that the geography might be affecting the strength of the plant, and I promised Snape that I would collect some Armadillo Bile, which I have to send off to him."
"How is that old bastard?"
Neville smiled slightly. "Planning to retire from teaching to make potions for St. Mungo's, that or for the Department of Mysteries to experiment on potions.... He hadn't decided the last time I talked to him. I'm on Sabbatical, supposed to go back next year. Not sure if I want to, the British Ministry is getting antsy with their laws again. Poor Remus had to move to Spain with Sirius, Tonks, and little Teddy."
"They don't treat werewolves like dirt." Harry quipped. "At least he's getting to live as normal as possible, since they supply high-grade Wolfsbane Potion. So, how's the threesome? I haven't even contacted Ron and Hermione -- or their children -- in about a year." Considering that Ron and Hermione were the first people he called, that was saying something.
Neville nodded. "They're good, Teddy is dating some Russian Witch who works with Dragons. Met her through Charlie, because she transfered to Spain to get away from her family for a while. Ron's oldest grandchild just got accepted to Hogwarts'...." Neville stopped and looked at Harry solemnly. "Ginny soul-bonded with Dean and Seamus a couple of years after you left."
Harry smiled softly, if a little sadly.
Luna frowned. "Whore."
Neville and Harry looked at Luna in surprise as Xavier's brows lifted. She looked like she wouldn't have anything bad to say about anything.
Luna sniffed, the dreamy look replaced with a cold, calculating glare. "Well, she is. She shouldn't have done that do you Harry. It isn't your fault that you were in Mungo's for a year, she should've had the decency to wait. You two were steady and she knew it, she just couldn't keep her shirt on. Or her pants for that matter."
Xavier spoke up. "I'm afraid we have to get going. I need your answer, Mr. Potter."
