Chapter 4: A New School
"Mum, Daddy, the Grangers and the Wilkinson's are here with me," said Dora, entering the Tonks kitchen.
"Dora, please bring them all into the sitting room," they heard Andromeda reply.
"Ginny, come back here," said Molly Weasley, seeing her daughter race over to hug Harry, as he entered the sitting room. Seeing a ghostly presence appear, she gasped, "Whoever you are, get away from my daughter and those other children!"
"Dear Molly, and everyone else present, I am the spirit of Lily Rose Evans-Potter, and somehow, I was called from the great beyond by the reunion of my son, Harry James Potter, and his twin sister, Hyacinth Lily Potter," said the ghost-like essence of Lily Potter.
"Excuse me, but which of the girls are you referring to?" asked Jean, eyeing Lily suspiciously, as she instinctively pulled Hermione into a protective embrace.
"My daughter and my son's twin sister is the little red-haired girl still hugging him tightly," answered Lily. "Not long after she was born, my husband James and I made arrangements for Arthur and Molly to adopt our daughter, which was by far the hardest decision we ever had to make. As we had been targeted by Voldemort, we wanted to better insure at least one of our children survived to carry on the Potter line."
"Molly, James, Lily, and I were the only ones who knew Molly and I adopted Ginny," said Arthur. "At that time, Lily made me the secret keeper of the adoption, when she cast the Fidelius Charm concerning Ginny's adoption, and I have never revealed this secret to anyone other than the four I just mentioned. This leads me to believe you are indeed the spirit of Lily Potter, but I am at a loss as to how or why you were called from the Great Beyond."
"Everyone please remain calm, and I will explain all that I can," said Lily. "As I already stated, I am the spirit of Lily Potter, and I really do know why or how I was summoned from the great beyond, but it happened when my twins, Harry James and Hyacinth Lily Potter were reunited. I cannot find any fault with how Arthur and Molly are raising my daughter, while the same time, I firmly believe Barry and Glenda are wonderful parents to my son."
"Barry and Glenda, it's a good sight better, that this Dumbledore bloke accidentally left Harry with you, instead of those bloody Dursleys' isn't it," commented Lionel.
"The Dursleys!" snapped Lily. "Dumbledore wanted to leave my son with Petunia and her lager lout!"
"Albus Dumbledore left Harry in a basket at our front door two days after Halloween almost three years ago, and he left him with a letter addressed to someone named Petunia," replied Barry. "The wife of the family that my wife and I purchased our home from was named Petunia, and as Lionel, Jean, Glenda, a whole host of others and I had already had the misfortune of meeting that horrid lot, Glenda and I determined Harry would be better off living with us than someone like them."
"Petunia Dursley is my sister, and she and the lager lout she calls a husband despise everything to do with magic, and I am most certain they would have made my son's life a living hell," explained Lily. "That's why in our will, James and I stated that upon our deaths our son was never to even meet my sister and her family, let alone be raised by them. We named Sirius Black as our first choice to raise Harry upon our passing, and not that I have anything against Barry and Glenda, but could you please tell me why Harry is not being raised by Sirius?"
"Lily, Sirius told 'You-Know-Who' where you were living, and was sent to Azkaban for his crime," said Arthur.
"Sirius took the unbreakable oath when we named him Harry's godfather, and he would have died if he'd betray us," said Lily. "Additionally, against our better judgment, we made Pettigrew our secret keeper, and he's the bloody rat what betrayed us to Voldemort. If I ever see that bloody rat again, I'm going to haunt him…"
"Hey, Scabbers, come back here!" Percy Weasley shouted, as his pet rat suddenly leaped from where he had been hiding and listening in the seven-year-old wizard's shirt pocket.
"Stun that rat," shouted Lily, seeing the rat lying motionless on the floor in front of Percy, where it had its breath knocked out of it from the force of slamming hard onto the floor, "He's Peter Pettigrew!"
"Arthur, Dad!" shouted Molly and several of the Weasley children, as Arthur quickly turned and stunned the rat just as Percy was reaching down to pick it up without injuring or stunning his son in the process.
"I apologize for having Arthur do that, however I just recognized the rat as being our secret keeper and betrayer, Peter Pettigrew," said Lily.
"Peter Pettigrew's dead, Black killed him, all this rat is, is my son's pet," argued Molly, comforting her visibly shaking son.
"I can prove what I said is true if any of you can perform the Animagus revealing charm on the rat, as Pettigrew is an unregistered Animagus, and his form is that of a rat," added Lily.
"Ted and I can perform that charm," said Andromeda, before she and Ted performed the charm on the rat Arthur had stunned on the floor.
"I don't believe it, Scabbers really is Peter Pettigrew," said Arthur, seeing the balding rat-faced traitor lying stunned on the floor. After casting ropes to bind the wizard from his wand, he added, "Andromeda and Ted, would you mind calling for the Aurors?"
"Before you do that, I would like to set things in order so that Dumbledore cannot place my son with my sister and her family," said Lily. Turning to face her son, she added, "Harry, I know you probably don't understand what's happened here today, but I am the ghost of your mother, Lily Potter, and I have some things I'd like you to say after me."
"Yes, Harry, you may repeat all that your mother tells you to say," said Barry, seeing his foster son looking at him with a scared and confused look on his face.
"If I say what she says to say, can I still play with Hermione and Dora?" asked Harry.
"Harry, yes, you may continue to play with Hermione and Dora, and that's why I want you to say what I tell you to say," answered Lily, smiling warmly at her son.
"Okay," replied Harry, staring intently at his mother.
"Good, now Harry, please say exactly what I want you to say," said Lily. Pausing a moment, she added, "I, Harry James Potter."
"I, Harry James Potter," said the young wizard with Ginny and Hermione moving to cling tightly to him.
"Heir to the most," Lily continued.
"Air to the most," followed Harry.
"Ancient," said Lily.
"Harry, say it like this, ain chent," said Barry slowly, seeing his foster son struggling to pronounce the word.
"Ain chent," repeated Harry slowly.
"And most," added Lily.
"And most," said Harry.
"Noble," said Lily.
"No bull," said Harry.
"House of Potter," said Lily.
"House of Potter," repeated Harry.
"Do here by," said Lily.
"Do here by," Harry repeated.
"In voke," said Lily slowly.
"In voke," Harry slowly repeated.
"The will," said Lily.
"The will," Harry said.
"Of James," said Lily.
"Of James," said Harry.
"And Lily Potter," said Lily.
"And Lily Potter," Harry said.
"So mote," said Lily.
"So mote," said Harry.
"It be," said Lily.
"It be," said Harry.
"And now we are done my darling and no one can take you away," said Lily.
"And now we are done my darling and no one can take you away," repeated Harry, causing several adults to laugh and Harry to have a confused look on his face.
"Harry, dear, what I meant was that we were finished and you could stop saying what I told you to say," said Lily.
"Oh," said the blushing Harry, as his hair began rapidly changing colors.
"Now, Ted and Andromeda, you may call for the Aurors," said Lily.
"What is an Auror?" asked Jean.
"An Auror is the magical world's equivalent of a police detective," explained Barry, as they heard a knock on the Tonks back door.
"Why, hello, Professor Dumbledore," said Ted Tonks, opening his back door. "What brings you to our humble home?"
"It has come to my attention that young Harry Potter is visiting your home, and I have come by to check on his well-being," answered the tall eccentrically dressed elderly wizard.
"Harry's in the sitting room with our other guests," said Ted, leading Dumbledore into his home.
"Ah, Albus, it's good that you are here, because you can be a witness to this arrest and arrange for a possibly innocent man to finally get a trial," said Amelia Bones, having arrived with a contingent of her finest Aurors. "You now see before you, Peter Pettigrew, a man we all thought had been murdered, and once we take him to the Ministry we're going to thoroughly question him about the night of October 31, 1981."
"While you're at it, Amelia, you can question Dumbledore as to why he did not see to it that a Lord to an Ancient and Noble House get a trial as is his right," said Lily.
"Lily, is that really you?" asked Dumbledore.
"Yes, it's me, Dumbledore, now cut to the chase and tell us why the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black be sent to Azkaban without a trial," snapped Lily. "Or did you conveniently forget that is the right of all Lords of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses?"
"Lily, please believe me, that I was under the impression that Sirius was your secret keeper, and that he'd been cast from the House of Black by his own parents," answered Dumbledore.
"Sirius's grandfather, who was Lord Black at the time, was still alive when we were murdered, and he refused his son's and daughter-in-law's request to have Sirius officially cast from the House of Black," replied Lily. "Because of this, you will use your position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot to get Sirius the trial he is due, as is his right."
"Yes, Lily, dear, I will do all that is within my power to ensure Sirius Black is given his day in court," said Dumbledore, "Now, as to the reason why I am here in the first place. I am here to check on wards I set up around your sister's home to keep Harry safe from those who would seek to do him harm. I am happy to say the wards in this neighborhood, especially around your sister's home and the home on the other side of her home are stronger now than when I first set them. That being said, I would like to ask just why you are all in the Tonks family's home and why the Weasley family is here, as well."
"As Arthur is my second cousin, and he and Molly have magical children close to young Harry's and Hermione's ages, I asked he and Molly to floo here with their family, because Harry's and Hermione's families wanted their children the chance to interact with magical children closer to their own ages," answered Andromeda.
"Ah, yes," remarked Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling. "The Weasley children would make most excellent playmates for Harry, Hermione, and your own lovely young daughter, too, and I very much approve of such an endeavor. I have long been a proponent of play as being essential for growing magical children and such interactions should be encouraged."
"If we could get enough magical children to make such an endeavor worthwhile, wouldn't it be more beneficial to perhaps start a magical primary school similar to what the Muggles have for their children under age eleven?" asked Barry.
"An excellent suggestion, however, I am afraid I do not know your name, sir," commented Dumbledore.
"My name is Barry Wilkinson, sir, I am a first generation squib, and Molly is my second cousin," answered Barry. "Additionally, you may have heard of my parents, Dwight Wilkinson, and Marybeth Prewitt, as they both graduated from Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes, I remember them well," replied Dumbledore. "As for your suggestion for starting a magical primary school, I find your suggestion has merit, and although I do not have the time to assist you in such an endeavor, you have my approval for such a school. As I must now go to the Ministry of Magic to assure a trial for a quite possibly innocent man, I bid you farewell with my wish that you find success in your new school. "
"Is he daft?" exclaimed Glenda after seeing Dumbledore leave. "He actually believes Barry and I are those horrid Dursleys."
"Albus Dumbledore is at heart, a very good and noble man, but he does have an infuriating belief that he's rarely wrong in his assumptions," said Amelia. "Now, I don't mean to pry, but would you be willing to accept more children close to young Harry's age in your school? I have been wishing for such a school for my niece, Susan, and my best friend Adelicia's daughter, Hannah. They both just turned four in past few months, and the time has come to start planning their educations."
"That's what Glenda and I were talking about after Harry and Hermione first met Dora earlier this morning," said Jean.
"If you need a teacher, I would be more than happy to volunteer," said Lily.
"As I don't have a job outside the home I'd be happy to help out, as well," said Glenda.
"For much the same reason, I'd be more than willing to help out as well," commented Molly. "That, and at the moment, because my lot makes up more than half of our students is why I'd like to volunteer."
"The next questions I have are, where will we have our school, what time of the day and week will it be in session, and what will we teach our students?" asked Lionel.
"For what is taught, may I suggest the Home Education curriculum Andie and I use to teach Dora coupled with some magic related subjects like basic potions, Herbology, and meditation," said Ted Tonks. "As for a place to hold our school, we have a rather large basement that could be utilized as a school setting, and as we already Home Educate Dora, I see no reason why we cannot have older and younger students learning at the same time."
"Was the curriculum you use developed by Muggles?" asked Arthur.
"Yes, Arthur, the curriculum we use was developed by Muggles, why do you ask?" replied Andromeda.
"We use a Home Education program developed by the Ministry of Magic for our children, but if you don't mind we would like for our children to learn from the Muggle way of learning, as well," Arthur said.
"I believe that could be arranged," said Ted. "So, when would you like to start our school?"
"How about this coming September 3 as a start date for our school," Molly said. "Our Bill starts Hogwarts on September 1, and September 3 is the following Monday. Additionally, how long will our school day last? I usually spend about six hours a day teaching our children numeracy, reading, penmanship using a quill, and English from the program we use. Plus, when the weather is such that they can be outside, I teach them basic Herbology."
"What about physical fitness, sciences, foreign languages, and the arts like music and art?" asked Jean.
"I'm afraid we in the magical world do not study things like that, but we I believe we should," replied Andromeda.
"Perhaps we could use a combination of both the Muggle and Magical curriculum to ensure our children have a well rounded education, so that when they go to Hogwarts they'll be more than ready," said Lily.
"As it appears, that at least at the beginning Lily, Glenda, Molly, and Andromeda are to be our teachers, why don't they get together and plan a curriculum for our school," said Barry. "That way, when September 3 rolls around we'll be ready to go."
"That sounds good to me, and if there are no objections, we'll let the ladies get down to business," said Lionel.