AN:
1) Alright, hello all! It will be an exploration of the Harry as a Genius theme. This was inspired by "Knowledge is Power" by Fettucini (who sadly never finished his work). Below are some things you should take note of. Warning, Spoliers!
2) When this story begins, Harry will be three years older than canon, putting him at the same age as Viktor Krum. Just go with it. Some of you may be saying something like how this is only possibly unless Lily was pregnant in school or something. If it helps you sleep better at night, just try to imagine that perhaps they are older than canon here?Anyways, I don't care what explanation you come up with, just please don't comment about this issue.
3) He will have a younger brother. Obviously, the Potters haven't died. And No, there is no Prophecy here.
4) There are some scenes/concepts borrowed from The Santi's the Boy Who Lived.
Disclaimer: I don't own HP
Prologue
June 4, 1988…
Minerva McGonagall sighed deeply as she stood in front of a pair of sturdy, mahogany doors, eyeing it with certain distaste. She had been trying to avoid meeting him for as long as she could, but logically, she supposed it was only a matter of time before official matters brought them together once more. Summoning up what Gryffindor courage she had left in her frail body, she gently pushed the door open and slipped in as inconspicuously as she could. That is, to say, not very well at all.
As soon as she entered, every eye in the room shifted to watch her. Minerva cleared his throat rather loudly, gazing at the assembled conclave coolly. "Highmaster Dvorsky, Headmistress Maxime," she began formally, nodding slightly to each. Her voice hitched when she spoke to the last person in the room though.
"Albus," She greeted curtly, refusing to meet his eyes, "I apologize for my lateness, but I had some business to take care of that could not be postponed." She explained.
Olympe Maxime nodded her head in acceptance. "Eet is nothing. Dumbly-dorr," she gestured to the aged man sitting beside her, "'as not yet even begun." Dvorsky did not express his agreement vocally, but he did grunt at least.
"Well, now that we are all here, perhaps he can explain why he has called a meeting with us?" Minerva asked pointedly, moving to take the farthest seat from Dumbledore.
Her actions did not escape Dumbledore's notice, who frowned visibly at the coldness of his former colleague. "The International Confederation of Wizards believe that, in light of recent developments in the war against Voldemort, an increase in the standard of education is an absolute necessity to effectively combat him…beginning with the three premiere European institutes, namely Durmstrang, Beauxbatons and, of course, Hogwarts."
His pronouncement was met with varying degrees of hostility.
"And vat," Dvorsky cut in gruffly, his brow furrowed, "exactly does this 'increase in the standard of education' mean?"
Maxime growled in a rather unladylike fashion. "Is ze ICW questioning our abilities to handle ze schools?" She asked sharply.
Minerva, though the least vocal, was, for that same reason, the one Albus concerned himself the most with. People like her were time bombs. The anger, the hatred…it was there, but hidden masterfully behind a façade. You could ignore their feelings easily enough at first, but without defusing the situation, they were bound to blow up in your face.
And when it did, you were pretty much screwed.
Albus raised his hands to stave off their accusations. "Friends, please, clam down!" He pleaded, looking each into the eye. His right hand moved mechanically to withdraw a set of parchments from his robes and set them on the table. "Take a look at these parchments."
Dvorsky grabbed the parchments hastily, scowling at the Supreme Mugwump. He brusquely offered a parchment to both Minerva and Maxime without so much as a glance in their direction.
Minerva graciously accepted the parchment, ignoring the Polish purebloods terrible manners, and read through it thoroughly. She had heard rumors about something like this being discussed, but had thought nothing of it at the time.
Once she had finished reading, she tilted her head to get a better view at her colleagues' reactions. Maxime had a thoughtful look while Dvorsky….well, he just seemed like he wanted to punch Dumbledore, clenched fist and all.
"Vat," Dvorsky spat out, "is this garbage! Demanding that ve accept muggleborns and half-bloods into our Institute? I agree vith you that half-bloods should be allowed in," he conceded, "but the only way for muggleborns to haff a chance in hell of making it in Durmstrang vould be to make my school's preliminary test easier. That seems like a double standard to me."
"And what of zese 'physical education' classes zat you want? And ze mandatory muggle studies class?" Maxime voiced her own concerns, a tinge of worry mixed with her words.
"The amount of classes that you want us to implement is staggering." Minerva said icily. "While it might be simple for Durmstrang and Beauxbatons to comply, the same is not for Hogwarts. One, they have much more funding." She raised a finger, beginning to count her points. "Two, they already offer most of these subjects unlike Hogwarts. Again, this is due to lack of funding. Three, some of these things are illegal. And four, there is a sudden lack of qualified individuals to teach in Britain."
Dumbledore offered them an apologetic smile. "I will answer your questions to the best of my abilities. The Ministry of Britain has decided to grant another half a million galleons to the Hogwarts budget for all of the staff that need to be hired. The Minister has also agreed to temporarily suspend the dark arts ban. The mastery classes have been implemented due to the lack of safety in this world nowadays. Simply put, people don't have anywhere to go to within Europe if they want to take up an apprenticeship in, say, Warding." He said pointedly.
"The physical education classes are meant to keep students in top physical condition to give them a chance in this war. The muggle studies and admittance of muggleborns, I suppose, are an attempt to change the views of some pureblood extremists."
"How long do we have to put this in effect?" Minerva asked.
"As soon as possible." Dumbledore answered grimly.
Minerva shook her head. "Then I won't be able to take in any first years. I don't have enough staff members even if I went on a hiring spree to both implement this and take on the workload of teaching new students."
Dumbledore frowned. "Surely you exaggerate, Minerva, I-"
She banged the table with her fist, shutting him up. "I lost three staff members already; one dead, the other two leaving for fear of their lives! Added to the fact that I wasn't even fully staffed last year and you'll see that I am not exaggerating." She hissed. "I have professors juggling two to three subjects already. So unless you want me to bring in potentially dangerous wizards and compromise Hogwarts' security or kill my professors from over exhaustion, I cannot accept first years!"
Albus wisely decided not to press the issue. "Will Beauxbatons face similar problems?" He asked, turning to the French half-giant.
"I suppose zat eet is possible to implement before school starts. Some of my staff will not be happy about all zese extra work though. I will have to pay them overtime."
Dumbledore nodded. "Fear not, you will be compensated accordingly by the ICW. Dvorsky, any concerns?"
The man sneered. "I stand by vhat I said before. Besides, it does not matter vhat the ICW vish. We are under the joint jurisdiction of the Russian and German Ministry! You should know, Albus, you vere one of the signatories after you defeated Grindelvald." He pointed out, appearing very smug as he did.
"I am aware of that. I am also aware that those two governments never agree on anything, leaving the decision making to your Board, am I correct?"
"That is right."
"Then I shall speak to your Board. I am sure they will see reason." Dumbledore assured him.
Dvorsky raised a brow at him. "Ve shall see about that." He nodded to the other occupants of the room before walking out.
"I'm afraid I must take my leave as well, Dumbly-dorr. I have preparations to make." Maxime said.
That left Dumbledore and Minerva together and alone. Clearing his throat, Dumbledore broke the awkward silence that had settled in the room. "How have you been all these years, Minerva?" He asked politely.
"I've been fine." She snapped.
"Minerva, I know that you're upset-"
"Damn it, Albus! Of course I'm upset!" She shouted, standing up. "How did you think I would feel? You just packed up and left one day without so much as a by your leave." She began pacing back and forth. "You abandoned Hogwarts and the children. You left the staff without any instructions or a suitable replacement. No, you just woke up one day and jumped at the chance for glory!"
"The world needed me once more. Had I not intervened, we would have lost!" He protested.
"You had a responsibility to that school, to those children! You wanted to be back in the spotlight, not rotting away in a school." She stopped pacing to look at him. "This wasn't about a war. This was about you. It always has been, hasn't it?"
"We were losing the fight against Voldemort." He said solemnly. "The situation had turned dire. I regret leaving Hogwarts, but it was for the Greater Good! Voldemort had to be stopped."
She gave him a scathing look. "And where are you with that now, by the way? As far as I remember, we're still losing. Since you became involved, he has managed to gain a following in Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Let's not even forget about the pseudo dark lord that's backing him in France! He is stronger than he ever was."
"I managed to kill him once, didn't I?"
"Yes, and a lot of good that did. Not even a week had passed and he was up sending curses left and right. He's even managed to grow stronger with whatever dark ritual he used to raise himself from the dead."
"That was hardly my fault." Dumbledore protested. "How was I supposed to foresee his actions? How was I supposed to know he had lapsed into such madness as to delve into arts no mortal should ever touch?"
"There's not a man in this world that understands him more than you do. So if you can't find a way to stop him, we don't have even a slimmer of a chance." Her shoulders slumped at the disheartening thought.
"Minerva, it might seem that-"
"I have no more time to hear your false promises. Good day, Supreme Mugwump." She nodded curtly before storming out.
June 10, 1988…
"Can you believe this?" James Potter threw the copy of the Daily Prophet he was reading onto the table. "They're saying that Hogwarts isn't going to be able to accept new students this year!"
Sirius Black made a grab for it instantly, but before he could begin reading, he was met with the business end of Lily's wand. "Hand it over, Sirius." She growled. "And maybe I won't hex your bits off for letting Harry and Robert play with an actual Bludger."
Whimpering, the wizard complied. Lily Potter was not one you wanted to cross, after all.
Sirius, still sulking, watched as she read through the newspaper with envy. Lily's eyes widened as she skimmed through the article. "I don't believe this." She muttered, lowering the paper. "I'll Floo McGonagall to check. You know how the Prophet likes to make things up these days."
Once the redhead was out of earshot, Sirius whispered to his best friend. "She's never going to forget about that is she?"
"That was pretty stupid of you mate." James chastised. "They could have gotten seriously hurt."
"They begged me to! I took every standard precaution. Safety pads, slowing charms, the works! Besides, I was watching them the whole time." He said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, and that would have made it fine by me, but you know how overprotective she can be. You should have asked her first."
Sirius pouted, but did not reply.
"James!" They heard Lily call out. "McGonagall just confirmed the rumors!" She said, walking into the room.
"At least you can still send him to Beauxbatons or one of the local schools." Sirius said."And there's always home schooling to consider."
"Let's not forget Durmstrang." Lily added. It gained her suspicious looks from the other two. "What? They sent an acceptance letter, didn't they?"
"Durmstrang doesn't have a history of accepting non-purebloods." Sirius explained. "This new policy to accept halfbloods is really controversial in some circles."
"Maybe they're just becoming more progressive?"
He shook his head. "I heard from some chaps in the Ministry that Dumbledore had to get personally involved before they would even consider It."
"I say you send him to Beauxbatons." Sirius said. "I mean do French chicks ring a bell?"
For the second time that morning, he, all too suddenly, found himself facing a wand's point. "Care to repeat that?" Lily asked, a deceptively sweet smile plastered onto her face. He shook his head fervently as sweat began to break out on his forehead. "That's what I thought."
"Home schooling is of the question." James mused loudly. "We've kept our children protected for far too long. They need to interact more with kids their age."
"Yeah, all they do here is read books, fly and read more books. Then again, that's all there is to do here." Sirius said.
"Local schools are substandard, aside from Hogwarts. That leaves us with Beauxbatons or Durmstrang." Lily concluded.
"Durmstrang's notoriously dark." Sirius' voice rose in amplitude. "Sending him there might be dangerous."
"I agree. He should go to Beauxbatons." Lily said. Sirius pumped his fist into the air triumphantly.
"I'd rather he go to Durmstrang." James said.
"What?" His wife and best friend turned their heads sharply.
"Beauxbatons is a fine school, but Durmstrang's specialty is Dueling. Try to protect him as we might, Harry's going to grow up one day. And when he does, he's going to get involved in the war whether we like it or not." Lily turned ashen.
"Don't they teach in Russian there though? How is Harry going to learn that in time to attend?" She asked.
"Perhaps there's a charm or potion to help?" James said, running his hand through his hair nervously.
Lil's face scrunched up. "I'll have to check before I can be sure. I vaguely remember Nicholas Flamel's experiments with this sort of thing. It requires a Ritual Circle, if I'm not mistaken."
James nodded. "In that case, I'll go tell Harry."
With determination, James wandered the halls of his ancestral home with a thoughtful expression etched onto his face. Although, he hadn't shown it, he himself wondered if sending Harry to Durmstrang was the right choice. Sure his argument made sense, but that wasn't the only reason. It was something...instinctually deeper than logic that compelled him.
For as far as he could remember, Potters had always gone to Hogwarts for their education. He had gone there, his father had gone there, and his father before him.
So what had caused this sudden change?
Could it have been the danger? James was doubtful. His great-grandparents had lived through Grindelwald's time, and without hesitation sent their child, James's grandfather, to Hogwarts still. One could argue perhaps that Voldemort had become far more dangerous, but fear was hardly the reason. James was a Gryffindor after all, and it certainly wasn't because he was afraid of Voldemort.
Perhaps a need to keep his children safe? But that too wasn't completely it. Even though he had used that to convince his wife, he didn't feel entirely convicted by the notion. Durmstrang had gained its harsh reputation because of the tolerated student violence there, keeping in line with their sink or swim policy. It was barbaric...but horribly effective. It certainly wasn't the safest place to learn magic, but those that did learn became the best, which was why it appealed to many.
In the end, James chalked it up to his gut feeling. He could somehow feel, for some inexplicable reason, that sending Harry there was the best choice for his family. And if James had learned anything in life, it was to always trust your gut.
So it was with renewed conviction that James walked into the Library where both of his children were reading a muggle book entitled The Final Problem. If one didn't know any better, one would mistake them for twins. Both had inherited James's looks and raven hair. The differences, though slight, were distinct, however. Whereas Harry had his mother's eerily green eyes, Robert had the brightest blue eyes James had ever seen.
Their differences in appearance ended there. Their differences in personality contrasted in more ways than one though. Most of his childhood had seen him restricted from being outside without supervision due to the war. There was a time, though, when he was free to do as he pleased. The sudden limitation gave him a keen passion of having nothing to do. To that extent, he alternated his time between playing Quidditch and reading History books.
Robert was his opposite in that sense. He was content with his situation, never outwardly moving to exert himself for the sake of having something to do. More often than not, he would simply tag along with his brother and let him think of what to do.
"Harry, Robert, we need to talk."
The two boys directed their eyes at him in curiosity. "What is it, dad?" Harry asked.
James sighed. They wouldn't take this news very well. "Harry, you're mother and I have decided that...that it would be best if you began attending Durmstrang once term starts."
Harry tensed visibly. "What about Robert?"
"I'm afraid he's too young to go to Durmstrang." James said, shaking his head.
"Why can't he remain home schooled with me until I'm old enough then?" Robert cried out, obviously distraught.
James frowned. "You're brother has to go to school, unless he says he doesn't want to."
Harry shot a sorry glance at Robert, before replying. "I'll go."
Robert looked crestfallen.
"Robert, I'm afraid this isn't up to you. Harry is going to Durmstrang this year." James said, putting some steel into his voice.
"No, you can't take my brother away!" Robert cried out.
James sighed. "Robert-"
"You can't let him go!" Robert yelled.
"Robert, please-"
"No!" Robert shouted, running out of the room.
"Robert!" James shouted after him, moving to follow.
"Don't worry dad, I'll talk to him." Harry said.
"Thank you, Harry." Once his eldest was out of earshot, James mumbled to himself. "Well, that could have gone a lot better."
"Robb." Robert did not reply.
Harry tentatively reached out to his brother. "Come on, Robert, it won't be so bad."
Robert sniffed. "It won't be the same without you."
"And I'll miss you too." Harry replied. "But this is what we've been waiting for all this time, isn't it? Going to school, learning actual magic instead of theory."
"I didn't think you'd leave me behind."
"Well, I have to go." Harry said, poking him. "Because if I don't, who's wand are you going to borrow to
practice over the summer?"
Robert smiled. "I can't use your wand during the summer, you dolt. The Ministry tracks underage use of magic." Robert said. "We'll just have to nick Uncle Remmy's wand." He grinned mischievously. "And, once you learn real magic, we can finally get Uncle Siri back for his pranks!" Robert jumped up and down in excitement.
Harry took a more solemn mood. "I don't want to leave you behind." Harry said sadly. "But I promise I'll write to you every day."
Robert's forehead creased. "I'm pretty sure your owl will drop dead form exhaustion if you do that."
"Fine, maybe once a week then." Harry amended. "It won't be so bad. Before you know it, the term will be over and I'll be back here with you again."
"And you better be here for Christmas."