Disclaimer for rest of fic: Anything in this fic you don't recognize theoretically belongs to me, but everything else in the Harry Potter world belongs to the fantastic author J.K. Rowling. So please don't sue.
The next morning, Harry woke up, thinking, It was only a dream. I only dreamed that my mum's cousin and another lady took me from the Dursleys and brought me to live at a school in Ireland. Then he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the most comfortable bed he had ever been in. It was even more comfortable than his aunt and uncle's bed, which he had once lain down on when he was vacumming the master bedroom.
Suddenly there was a loud popping noise and Harry sat up to see a small creature with large, bat-like ears, bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls, and dressed in a little shirt and black pants with an apron over it. Harry just managed to keep from screaming. After staring at the creature, who was drawing open the curtains and building up the fire, for a minute, he said in a trembling voice, "Who are you?"
The creature turned in surprise and said, "Tizzy the house-elf, sir. Tizzy is Mister Evan's house-elf."
Harry was about to ask what a house-elf was when there was a knock on the door, then Stuart came in. "Ah, I see you're awake, Harry, and have met Tizzy." He smiled and continued, "Well, good morning. Harry, please get dressed and wash up. The bathroom is between our rooms. When you're done, you are to have breakfast with me in my room, and I'll explain everything."
Harry quickly brushed his teeth and washed up, then got dressed in the clothes he find in the wardrobe. The shirt he put on was a bit large for him and he had to roll up the sleeves. Then he went to the next room and said, "Good morning, Uncle Stuart. What's for breakfast?" Then he cringed, as the Dursleys had never liked him asking questions.
Stuart merely smiled and said, "Look at the table, Harry." Harry saw a table in front of the fireplace, with breakfast laid out. He sat down and was given a bowl of porridge with plenty of milk and honey mixed in, toast with strawberry jam, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a tall glass of orange juice.
After hed's finished his porridge and was starting on the eggs and toast, Stuart looked up from his breakfast and began speaking. "I suppose the Dursleys never told you about magic?"
Harry shook his head. "Uncle Vernon said magic didn't exist."
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Harry," admonished Stuart gently. "Well, magic does exist." He took out his wand and demonstrated by shrinking Harry's shirt slightly until it fit perfectly.
Harry stopped eating and looked down at his shirt, wide-eyed. "Magic's r-real, Uncle S-Stuart?"
"Yes, Harry," answered Stuart, looking amused. "Your parents were magic as well, though they didn't attend Merlin Academy. They attended Hogwarts, another school of magic which is one of the top magic schools, though in my opinion, not as great as Merlin Academy."
Harry blinked and stared at Uncle Stuart, his breakfast forgotten. Stuart continued, "I attended Merlin Academy, Harry. I was given the chance to attend Hogwarts, but I chose Merlin Academy instead. Your parents, and three of their friends were also invited, but they chose to attend Hogwarts. Though if Hogwarts hadn't accepted one of your father's friends, he would have attended Merlin Academy, I'm sure."
"So magic is real," said Harry slowly. "There are different schools of magic. What's a house-elf?"
Stuart looked surprised by this question, but responded, "A house-elf is a magical being in the wizarding world. They are the ones who do the cooking and cleaning, and they like doing so. The ones at Merlin Academy are treated differently from most house-elves, however. We have never had them wear pillowcases or tea-towels, but instead have them wear clothes, and pay those that want to be paid for their work. Which is only one elf."
Harry still looked slightly confused, so Stuart said, "I'll explain further later. Now, I have to tell you how your parents' died, Harry."
"They died in a car crash," said Harry. "That's what Aunt Petunia said."
Stuart turned his face so Harry wouldn't see the anger, then calmed himself and said neutrally, "Your aunt was lying. Lily and James Potter didn't die in a car crash. A bad wizard killed them. His name was Voldemort, and he wanted to keep the wizarding world for those who were pureblood. That is, came from a family who were all wizards. He didn't like Muggles, which is what wizards call non-magic people, and the witches and wizards who came from Muggle families or had a parent that was a Muggle or Muggleborn."
"Vol-Voldy-er, this bad wizard, killed my parents?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said Stuart sadly. "They were fighting Voldemort, which is why they were targeted. And your mother was a Muggleborn witch. Well, on Halloween night in 1981, when you were just a baby, Harry, Voldemort went after your family. He killed your father when James tried to fight, then went after you. Your mother let herself be killed to save you, then Voldemort tried to kill you."
He didn't mention the prophecy, as Harry was too young to be told about it, but did say, "It seems Voldemort went after you because you might have power to defeat him. Anyway, your mother dying for you saved your life, because when Voldemort tried to kill you, he couldn't. The Killing Curse, which nobdy has ever survived before, reflected off you and hit Voldemort. Some say he died, but in my opinion, and some other people's, he merely lost his body and power and fled, biding his time until he can come into power again. And because as a baby you were able to defeat Voldemort, you are famous in the wizarding world and known as the Boy-Who-Lived."
Harry looked shocked. "I'm famous?" he gasped. Then he remembered the man in a violet top hat who had bowed to him in a shop a few months ago. Now he realized why the man had bowed to him. He must have been a wizard, and recognized the 'Boy-Who-Lived'.
"Yes, you are famous, and you are a wizard," nodded Stuart. "And when you are eleven, you will attend Merlin Academy and learn how to do magic. Unless you wish to attend Hogwarts like your parents. But I wouldn't do so. The headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, left you at the Dursleys, when your parents' expressly said in their will that they didn't want you there. I was to take you in, if the other guardians your parents named weren't able to. Now, Dumbledore is on the side of the Light, and he is a good man and has good intentions, but because of your being able to defeat Voldemort, he may try to use you. After all, 'The road to disaster is ordered by the righteous, planned by the well-meaning, and paved with their good intentions'."
Harry looked confused and Stuart said, "It's a proverb. You'll understand it when you get older. Now, I have a class to teach in half an hour, so I'll drop you off at the children's classroom. You see, most of the staff here at the school have children, so there is a classroom set up for them until they're old anough to attend the Academy. My wife, your Aunt Alice, is one of the teachers there. She teaches the five to seven year-olds, which is your age group."
Stuart led Harry downstairs to a large classroom on the second floor. Several children were already inside, with the two teachers. One was a slender young woman with curly black hair and blue eyes, the other a plump, motherly woman with red hair. "Harry, this is your Aunt Alice," introduced Stuart. "The other lady is Mrs. Weasley. Her husband is the Muggle Studies teacher. He teaches those from wizarding families about Muggles."
Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry and patted him on the head. Stuart drew her aside and had a whispered conversation with her. Aunt Alice took Harry's hand and said, "Let's introduce you to the other children. This is Ron and Ginny Weasley. Ron is your age, while Ginny's a year younger. The twins are Fred and George Weasley, two years older than you, and that's Percy Weasley, who's ten. They have two older brothers, Bill and Charlie, but they're already students at the Academy. This is Luna Lovegood. She's a year younger than you and her mother is a teacher here at the school. This is my son Eric, who is two years older than you, and my two daughters Madeline and Stella. Maddie is the same age as you, while Stella is a year younger. And finally, that is Violet Harbring, who is nine. Her parents are the school caretakers."
Harry shyly said hello to everyone, then noticed that Uncle Stuart had left. He felt very nervous, but Aunt Alice had things in hand. She soothed Harry, telling him that everything would be all right, then had him sit at the desk next to Ron. Ron grinned at him and said, "I'm glad you're here. I'm the only boy in my age group, and I don't like playin' tea party with the girls all the time."
Harry shyly returned the grin, then turned his attention to Aunt Alice, who was handing out worksheets. Ron, Harry, and Maddie began doing their addition problems, while Aunt Alice helped Luna, Ginny, and Stella with their reading. On the other side of the room, Mrs. Weasley was teaching the others, and had her hands full with keeping Fred and George in line.
For the first time in a long while, Harry was able to do his best, for in the past, he had been shouted at and beaten by his aunt and uncle if he came home with better marks than Dudley. After half an hour, the younger girls were assigned to practice their writing, while Aunt Alice went over the math worksheets. Harry received a perfect score, and was given a gold star and had a smiley face sticker stuck to his worksheet. He was delighted to have received his second gold star.
He had gotten a gold star on the first day of first grade, and thought that his aunt and uncle would be pleased. Instead, they had gotten mad over his being better than Dudley. That had resulted in a spanking, extra chores, and no dinner for two days. After that, he'd stopped trying and didn't win any more gold stars.
After math was reading, then recess. Ron took Harry's hand and dragged him outside to a small shed that contained several toy broomsticks. "Let's go flying, Harry."
"Flying?" asked Harry.
"Yeah," said Ron impatiently. "Haven't you ever flyed before?"
Harry shook his head. "My aunt and uncle were Muggles and I never learned to fly. Uncle Stuart, my mum's cousin, found out that I was s'posed to live with him and took me away last night."
"Oh," said Ron. "Well, I'll teach you." He grabbed one of the toy brooms and handed it to Harry. Then he took another for himself. "These are only toy brooms, so we can't fly really high. Just a couple of feet at most. When we're older, we can fly real brooms and go higher."
He demonstrated, then Harry got on the broom and the two boys took off. Harry found it exciting, and Ron said admiringly, "You fly good, Harry." As they flew, they barely managed to miss colliding into Ginny, Stella, and Luna, who were having a tea party. As Ron swerved, he did collide into Maddie, who was also flying a toy broom.
The two fell to the ground. Harry quickly dismounted and said, "Are you all right?"
"We're fine," said Maddie, sitting up and laughing. "Toy brooms don't fly very high, so if we fall off, we won't get hurt." She picked up her broom and took off again.
After twenty minutes, Aunt Alice and Mrs. Weasley called everyone inside and lessons resumed until lunch, which was eaten in the room next to the classroom. When lunch ended, there was another two hours of class, then lessons ended for the day.
In the afternoon, Luna announced, "Let's go pretend hunting for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
Harry looked confused and was about to ask what it was when Maddie whispered to him, "It's an animal that Luna thinks is real and lives in a country called Sweden. Witches and wizards haven't found out if it's real, though. But maybe it is real. It could be like how Muggles say unicorns and giants aren't real. But they are real, it's only Muggles can't see them."
Harry nodded in understanding and joined in the pretend hunt. After an hour, it ended and Harry went inside, where Aunt Alice and Uncle Stuart was introduced to the rest of the staff.
Auhtor's Note: For those who are curious, the staff members are: Potions- Nicolas Flamel, Charms- Stuart Evans, Defense Against Dark Arts- Remus Lupin, Transfiguration- Minerva McGonagall (She was disgusted with Dumbledore leaving Harry at the Dursleys so when Merlin Academy offered her the empty Transfiguration post, she accepted and left Hogwarts), History of Magic- Edward Perkins (a ghost, but not as boring as Professor Binns), Herbology- Malati Ghandi, Astronomy- Cassiopeia Goldberg, Ancient Runes- Selena Lovegood, Arithmacy- Parvana Haseem, Muggle Studies- Arthur Weasley, Divination- Miku Kishi Elliot, Care- of Magical Creatures- Nicole Adams, Computer Use- Kenneth Adams (Muggle and Nicole's husband), and the caretakers- David and Felicity Harbring. Professor Goldberg's husband is the rabbi for the Jewish students, Mr. Elliott the chaplain for Christian students, Professor Haseem's husband the spiritual advisor for the Muslim students, and Professor Ghandi's husband is the advisor for Hindu students. Merlin Academy is a rather liberal school who accepts students with great potential from all countries. All staff either attended Merlin Academy, or could have attended but chose to go to Hogwarts instead. Children of staff normally attend the Academy, unless they don't have the required potential, in which case they attend Hogwarts.