The days dragged on for Harry. He wrote his friends. Then decided to wander the Alley. With his new-found freedom from the 'Family-That-Ruins-Everything-Potter-Has' Harry decided to get a new Wardrobe of muggle clothing, including a few sets of workout clothes just in case. He stopped at Flourish and Blotts, picking up rare and downright expensive books, that he had to order in advance, which would arrive Friday by open. After his few purchases, though expensive, he returned to the Leaky to wait the rest of the week.
Friday morning was slow to arrive, but like all mornings it did arrive eventually. Harry sat up in his bed from the Hospital Wing, it was so much more comfortable than the one in the room and went to the bath. Freshly cleaned and dressed in his new jeans and a Star Wars T-shirt, the boy left, leaving his key on the bar. In his gallop towards Gringotts he stopped at Flourish and Blotts to pick up his books. He was about to continue down the Alley when he stopped short in front of Ollivander's. Slowly, he pushed the door open and entered the shop.
"Mr. Potter. Come to get a new Wand? I doubt that very much, something far more is in store for this young man. How can I help you?"
Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when the old man appeared behind him, its like he waits for people for just that purpose. "Actually, Sir. I came to apologize for destroying the Wand you worked so hard on."
Ollivander outright laughed at the boy. "I knew what you would do with it when I sold it to you. Even then I could tell that the Darkness within it would disturb you. I am just glad you did it far earlier than expected, else the attachment could have been catastrophic to your Magic. The Wand itself was looking for someone to do that to it. Phoenixes are not compatible with Dark Magic, it disrupts their very existence. Now, move on. You have places to be." The old man ushered the boy out the door.
Harry glanced back at the shop, slightly confused by the man, before shrugging and finishing his trek to the Bank. Harry entered the grand marble building and saw, for the first time, the place completely empty. It was about six in the morning and it seemed that the only being, outside the guards, was a well-dressed, tall Goblin, who seemed to growl slightly when he saw the boy.
"Mr. Potter. A pleasure. My name is Changeclaw. I have the distinct… pleasure, of being the welcome party as it were. Since you are here, let me take you to the cart that will deliver you to the school, so you can get settled." The being, without waiting for a response, walked toward a long hallway.
Harry followed silently down the gold inlayed corridor. The twists and turns confusing the boy after a while. Finally, the hall ended with a large silver door that would give the Great Entry Doors of Hogwarts a run for their money. As the two approached, the doors swung open revealing a rather tall Elvin creature.
"Mr. Potter, I am Avous a High-Elf, sadly one of the last. I am Headmistress here at Gringotts. I am pleased to meet you and welcome you to our school." The tall being dipped into an intricate bow, her long hair pooling on the floor as she did. When she was back to full height she looked to the Goblin who escorted Harry. "The rest should be arriving soon. Please, welcome them and give them a tour. I will walk with Mr. Potter." The Goblin nodded and left. "Mr. Potter."
"Harry, please, it is far easier and it's the least I can offer for your assistance in my education."
"Harry then. Harry, here at Gringotts we set very high standards for education. Though we have never let anyone outside of Goblins and High-Elves in this Academy. This year, Dumbledore, to whom we owe many favors, begged us to let in a few students. Of course, you know we obliged. However, we will not go easy on you and you will learn the same way the rest of our students do, but with mild differences. You will be learning material starting in what would be Hogwarts' fifth year, however for our students it is their third, and without the use of a magical focus as you have not earned the privilege according to our bi-laws. This of course puts you at a major disadvantage, with this being the case, we will do something a little strange with you and your classmates. You will be separated, not because you are not one of us, the Muggle World is good at that, we are accepting of all who make it into our school, but because of your disadvantages. You will be relearning the first four years of material this summer, hopefully, you will have earned the right to your focus by the end, and the true schooling can begin. If all goes well, we could see a number more transfers to our school from schools around the globe.
"You are the head of your year. It will be your responsibility to bring together each of your classmates and keep them I check. It is not that we do not trust humans, but this is new territory for us and your family tends to lead others without warning. The students arriving with you will be far outside what is comfortable for them when we get started. This is to be expected. They have the option to leave here, you do not. Sadly, this puts us at an impasse that will be far heavier a weight on you than anyone else. You will report to me once a month on the status of your classmates, from there I can guide you to the best thing to do. Can we strike a deal on that Harry?"
Harry stopped in front of the delicately carved wooden doors which seemed to hold a dorm area of sorts and nodded. "Is this ours?"
"Yes."
"Boys or girls?"
"Both. We do not feel it appropriate to separate our students by genders. We feel it breeds a far deeper understanding of each other when all are together. Of course, privacy curtains can be summoned, after you have your focus."
Harry stood, a thinking look on his face. He did not know who, or even how many classmates he would have, but it would definitely be an adjustment. "Then we will abide by your decision." Harry opened the door and pulled his trunk in, laying it at the foot of the bed closest to the door. "Shall I wait for the others here or…?"
"To our Great Hall."
Harry sighed as he followed the twists and turns of the cave systems to the Hall. When he entered he noticed few students were up this early, most to tired to notice him. The Hall was set up much like the Hogwarts Great Hall, however there seemed to be no House system in place. Avous pointed to a table off to one side. "We set it apart to allow you all to get used to the customs here before joining others, as well as allowing you space to study and catch up to students here. The school here goes all year round, students have far more impact on their own schedule than anything else. Most of our classes are voluntary outside of the basic four, Transfiguration, Defense, Charms, and History. Everything else is voluntary and separated by class year and lesson number. We have plenty of opportunity to allow you to take every class when you want to. Most of these students are coming in from the Enchanting Class. Food here is available on request, meaning if your Class doesn't line up with a meal, eat when you want. Very few meals are mandatory and will never have a Class at that time. The Calendar in your Dorm will give you the day, time, year, and class number every day for what is available after you get a focus."
Harry was slowly absorbing the knowledge laid before him as he listened to the Headmistress, who proceeded to sit next to him at the table reserved for their new guest students. Harry and the Headmistress talked for some time about several things, waiting for the other students to arrive. Finally the door swung open and revealed to Harry his new classmates.
Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Gabrielle Delacour, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Changeclaw entered the room. Harry was not expecting this many students. To have been allowed into the Academy. "Welcome students. What a pleasure it is to meet you all." Avous stood and greeted them all by name and with a handshake and a slight bow. "I must apologize to each of you but would you please pull out your Wands?" Each student did as was asked, eyebrows slightly raised. "Good, you all know how to follow instructions, something very needed in this environment. Now, would you each take your Wand and snap it in half for me?" The students eyes popped out of their heads before Harry stood up and walked to Luna, the person he knew least and spoke to her.
"Luna Lovegood, right?" the girl nodded, shyly. "I am Harry Potter, but you likely knew that already. The school here is going to be different than the one we've all known and loved, but if we want to learn what they have to teach, we have to be willing to follow their rules. We cannot have our foci here as we have, in their eyes not earned them. I do not know the process for it but I am sure we can learn if we are willing to give up what we have in the process. I know it is going to be hard, however, as alive as your Wand is, it is not connected to you in wholeness. If you really want to learn here, I need you to trust me and do as Headmistress Avous asks. Can you do that?"
The blonde girl started at Harry for nearly thirty seconds, her distant eyes slowly focusing on him, then further almost like she was looking at his soul. Then she cocked her head slightly to the side and snapped the Wand. The rest of the teens looked shocked as the girl put her faith whole-heartedly into a boy she never met in person. Enough so for her to take the one thing that kept her magic flowing at will and breaking it. Everyone else looked in their own hands at their Wands. Each one slowly coming to terms with the thoughts behind the command. One by one each snapped their Wands and handed the pieces over to the Headmistress.
"Thank you, Harry, and each of you. Now, I am assuming you've all eaten before coming here today?" The children nodded. "Good, then let us begin your first day. Follow me." Avous led them to a door seeming to be made from stone. "This is the Beginner's Room. Here, you will learn until you are ready for your focus. You will have breaks to eat every 6 hours and you will have 5 hours to sleep at night. The process is horrible but, is designed around what we know of Wizards. Goblins have it far worse, so you should be fine. Shackleblade is a wonderous Professor in this department and will be working with each of you. Luckily, we don't accept new students often in the Summer months, so you should have him all to yourselves. Have fun, I will see each of you tomorrow." And with that Avous left the children at the door to their first Goblin class.
