Chapter 6: Flying Quidditch
A few more changes. These little changes are going to cause some big ones down the line. Like Harry's metamorphmagus ability is going to come in as a big play in his ordeals.
DaughterOfIris23 and Dashti-the-dramione-shipper are the betas for this chapter.
Hp-Btvs-Hp-Btvs
"Of course, he is. Do you think I'd bring him here without giving him the means to protect me and my home?" Joyce asked as she went to a painting in the far corner. She tapped on the frame three times, and said to the lion-like being portrayed there, "Regulus, could you give me my documents?"
"Is it time, my Lady?"
The being yawned and stretched as if he hadn't moved in over a century, which likely he hadn't. Not since the last time Joyce talked to him.
"Yes," was all she said. The painting popped open and Joyce removed the large stack of pristine parchments from inside. She carried them to the desk and waved Kingsley over to test them. "You'll find that they are all in order." Joyce smirked and went to stand by Xander.
"You gave me a castle?" he murmured to her. He knew she had given him the run of her accounts, but not the whole shebang. What the heck was he going to do with a school? The small group of Slayers he had overseen had been hard enough.
"And the surrounding land," she stated with a huge smile.
"What am I supposed to do with all that?" he whined.
"Protect it, and use it to protect Harry," she answered as if it were obvious.
"Merciful Zeus, that's a lot of responsibility, Joyce. I have a hard time keeping my socks in order," he complained as he watched the dark-skinned Auror perform an age test on the papers.
"You'll be fine. I have a lot of faith in you," she commiserated, patting Xander on the arm. "Unlike my daughter," she mumbled under her breath. She always hated the way Buffy would put Xander down. Oh, her oldest daughter liked him well enough, but she had no faith in him whatsoever. No matter how many times the man who stood by her saved the day, even the simple things, like confronting a centuries old vampire, Buffy still saw Xander as a lackey. Sure, when he was a teen he had been the class clown, but that didn't stop him from throwing himself into whatever danger needed to be resolved. She truly hoped that he could give Harry some of that bravery and loyalty. Her thoughts were interrupted by the documents flashing green.
Kingsley nodded at the indication that the documents were indeed valid and went to Xander. "I'm going to need a drop of blood to verify that you are the person named in these papers," he said.
Xander shrugged and reached behind his waist and pulled a sharp dagger from nowhere.
"Wow! Where did you hide that?" Dora asked, looking for some sort of bag or holster and seeing none. Something like that would help her career a lot. An arsenal that no one could see? Yeah, that would be super cool.
"I'm not entirely sure. A friend set it up for me, something about a pocket dimension… I call it my pocketspace. I just reach in and get what I want." Xander frowned, wondering if he could set that up himself now. Obviously, it would be useful for Harry, and especially Hermione. That girl carried far too many books. She was like a mini-Willow. "It cleans whatever I throw in it. Clothes, weapons, even dishes. Saves a lot of time on the road."
"Tonks, pay attention." Kinsley admonished as he made his way back to the desk. He tapped the papers with the blood-tipped knife, and the blood spread out and glowed green. A name appeared above them, hovering in the air: Alexander Lavelle Harris – Lord Hogwarts, King of the Goblins.
Xander groaned. "Couldn't you have magicked that away?" he whined at Joyce, who just stuck her tongue out at him.
"Tampering with your name would have made the documents invalid," she smirked.
Meanwhile, the spell continued to list what seemed to be his genealogy, only instead of his parent's names, the spell added a single name above his: Joyce Summers – Lady Hogwarts. The names flashed a bright white and then disappeared.
"Immaculate conception?" he asked Joyce with a grin.
"Divine intervention," she countered. "When I was brought here, I made sure that you, and the girls, were counted as my children. I always wanted to adopt both you and Willow, but mostly you. That blasted Sunnydale Syndrome kept interfering."
"Does this mean I can call you mom?" he asked cheekily.
"Of course," Joyce said with a smile and opened her arms.
Xander strode over and pulled her into a hug.
"Oh, somebody please kill me," Snape groaned in disgust.
"Oh, oh! Me! Me!" Dora said, jumping excitedly like a hyper child after too much candy.
"Control yourself, Miss Tonks. Even in the line of duty, you would not be permitted to do so," the greasy man sneered.
"No, but I'd love to try. The battle would be half the fun," she said snarkily. She, like 85% of the school, hated this man. If she hadn't had her mother to get her a tutor during the summer, she might not have made it into the Auror Academy. She had even invited all her friends to her lessons. Because of those summer teachings, the Academy had a good class her year. She felt really bad for those that didn't have a parent who could afford it, or a parent who could teach potions. This man alone was the reason why many professions were lacking in apprentices and employees.
"Well, it all seems in order," Kingsley said, tapping the parchments, which produced copies and filed to their appropriate offices. He turned and handed the original papers back to Joyce, who disengaged from Xander and accepted them with a smile before placing them back behind the portrait.
"Search away, my good man," Xander said to Kingsley, smirking at the ever-paling Snape.
"I need formal permission," Kingsley stated.
"You have permission from me, Alexander Lavelle Harris, to search the office, classroom, and living quarters of Severus Tobias Snape," Xander stated, standing straight up. "And I thought my middle name was bad," he grumbled under his breath. "Of course, with a name like Severus…" he mumbled, letting the unheard comments drift off. Poor guy must have been teased terribly as a child. Not that he felt sorry for the man, but still.
"Excellent. Tonks and I will transfer him to a holding cell at the Ministry and return immediately to conduct the search." Kingsley said with a smile. "If we find what we think we will, then Mr. Snape will undergo questioning by Veritaserum." Snape somehow managed to pale even further. He even took on a hint of green. With that, they frog-marched the Potions Master away.
"It's going to be a long night," McGonagall stated, slumping in her chair.
"I'll handle it," Xander stated. "It's kinda my responsibility, seeing as it's my castle now."
"As Provisional Headmistress, I should be there as well," she sighed. Not that being provisional was much different than being Deputy Headmistress, since Albus handed most of his workload to her anyway. His many offices made his time very short, so she was responsible for most of the paperwork and day-to-day running of the school. The difference was that she could now sign off on a lot of things she couldn't before. With the owner here, it would be much easier, and far more permanent. Those plans they had made might just come to pass after all.
"Well, I'm going to make sure the kids are in bed and that no one else is blinded," Joyce said, popping away. She found both of her charges in bed and a very tired Percy Weasley slumped in a chair. She praised him for taking initiative and sent him on his way.
It was a long night and they found many things that would put Severus Snape in Azkaban for a long time. They hit the jackpot with his journal, which documented a great many crimes. He had abused the students in his care, plain and simple. Mostly it was verbal abuse, but with his harsh detentions, it traversed to physically as well. The only line he didn't cross was sexual deviancy. Why he would keep such a thing on hand no one knew. Perhaps he felt that Albus Dumbledore would keep him from prison no matter what may be found. The journal did give them reason to question him under Veritaserum, and his many crimes as a Death Eater came to light. He was not the good guy Dumbledore would have had you believe he was.
No, things were not looking good for Severus Snape. Kingsley promised to keep them informed and was quite pleased to say that this would be a career maker for both him and Dora. To Dora, it was better than the seizing of Borgin and Burkes, though she wasn't going to sneeze at that opportunity. She was already making great headway in that and it had only been a day. The dark objects they were recording and destroying were many items that had vanished during raids. Those and the books they found were putting many purebloods in the scope of the Auror department. They were going to be keeping a very close eye on those bastards.
Both Minerva and Xander were exhausted the next morning. Xander was introduced to the lovely potion called Pepper-Up. When the smoke came from his ears, the poor man freaked out a bit.
"What the hell was that?" Xander shouted, batting at the smoke spewing from his head.
"It's normal, Mr. Harris," Poppy stated, patting him on the head like a child.
"There is nothing normal about smoke coming from any orifice of my body. That way lies trouble," he disagreed. He really didn't want to be turned into a demon.
"No, Poppy's right, Xander. It's the potion releasing extra adrenalin from your body," Joyce said, snickering at his plight.
"I better not sprout horns, or anything," he stated, pointing his finger at the three women and two kids giggling at him.
"Can I try?" Harry asked, not really needing one, but wanting to see what his new bodyguard would say.
"No," came the resounding rejoinder from all four adults.
"Aw," he pouted, then smiled to show he was kidding. "So, is Snape really gone?" he asked to change the subject and get Xander's mind off the smoke.
"Yeah," the one-eyed man said, ruffling his hair. "Hopefully, he'll be put in that prison, Arzkabin," he stated, looking at the older women.
"Azkaban," Hermione immediately corrected.
"Wherever he goes, he's not welcome back here," Joyce stated firmly, folding her arms across her chest.
"Hear, hear," Xander stated cheerfully. "Why don't you kids go get ready? I'm taking us to London to get kitted out, as Spike would say." He waved them to the bedrooms. The kids scurried off and the staff left. While he waited, he flipped on the TV to the news to try and get used to being back in 1991. He snickered to himself as he realized that technically, he was about the same age as Harry and Hermione. He grabbed a stick from near the fireplace and began whittling a stake just to have something to do.
A few minutes later Hermione came bounding down the stairs where she saw Xander and stopped.
"What are you doing!?" she screamed.
Causing the poor, sleep-deprived, yet very awake man to jump and wield the half-carved stake. "It's just a stick, honest," he said, taking deep breaths to calm down.
Hermione just stared at him in confusion. "No, the TV! You can't use electronics around magic," she explained.
Xander looked between Hermione and the TV, currently showing the BBC morning news. "You sure about that? 'Cause it looks to me like you can."
Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but found she had nothing to retort with.
Xander thought Hermione might have a nervous breakdown as her knowledge betrayed her, so he called in an expert. "Joyce?" The Lady of Hogwarts appeared. "Hermione says you can't use electricity around magic… the TV says otherwise. Care to explain?"
"Ah, yes. That used to be true when electricity was first discovered. But with all the improvements in insulation and conduction, they work just fine now. However, after the first failed attempt, the magicals didn't try again. They feel that the non-magicals messed up and that they were as stupid as they first thought they were. That, and someone put a ward up to prevent them from working while I was asleep. I don't know why they would if they thought they couldn't work, but someone must have learned of the improvements. I've taken it down, but…" she trailed off.
"I'll never understand that attitude. I mean, don't they know that a press of a button could see the end of them?" Xander snorted.
Harry soon joined them, and they headed for breakfast while Hermione grilled Joyce about phones and other electrical devices. Xander listened with half an ear and made a few tentative plans to get some of those items in Hogwarts. He did own the building, and if he wanted to update, it was his prerogative. He'd have to sit down with Joyce to see if they could. Even if it was only phones so the kids could call their parents, that would go a long way in keeping them from acting out. He'd have to talk to the goblins about installing some in Gringotts as well. Business would be more conducive that way.
Xander joined Minerva at the staff table with Joyce, leaving the two kids to spend the morning with their friends.
The three adults fielded questions from the staff regarding last night's events. Dora joined them after breakfast, and a little before 10 am they headed out. It being a Sunday, the shops closed earlier. Xander headed off the females that would have seen them hours in Harrods. He felt that Harry didn't need to shop upscale. The boy only needed casual clothing. They did stop at movie stores to pick up a wide variety of movies. Xander, being a kid of the 80's, felt that much could be learned by the media. So he made sure to grab novels and comics as well. If he had his say, Harry was going to get a well rounded media education.
It was an exhausted group that arrived back at the castle that evening. Xander was worried that Harry had been traumatized by the whole shopping deal, but he was still asking Dora and Hermione questions. He realized during dinner that he hadn't spoken with the goblins yet about replacement teachers. He and Minerva left Dora with the kids as they Floo called a goblin advisor to discuss what or who was available. Flooing made him concentrate more on the fact that phones would be so much easier, and his tentative plans became a bit firmer. There was no way he was ever going to be comfortable sticking his head in fire.
It was eventually decided that goblin teachers would be provided for Potions and History of Magic. The goblins would commute, since they really didn't want to live with smelly humans, and everything was set up for next week. They even snuck in some weekend teachers for the three R's. Reading and Writing would be handled by Joyce, but who better than an accountant to teach the kids math? There would even be a course on how to handle your finances, but it would only be a few days a month, taught by a goblin. They didn't want the children to burn out with too many changes at once. They would be electives right now, and Xander was paying for them out of pocket. That way the Board couldn't say anything.
The following week passed without much incident, though a lot of purebloods, mostly Slytherin, found themselves in detention for commenting derisively on the new teachers and classes. Not much was said about Snape being gone, though there were those like Malfoy who grumbled about not getting away with things they had in the past. Many students signed up for the new electives. Hermione, and quite a few Ravenclaws, were ecstatic that they didn't have to give up the basics.
The professors were happy with the new arrangement because the new classes would help improve things like essay writing and Arithmancy. Though, with a word from Xander and Minerva, many of the old teachers were happy to cut down on written homework and assign practical work. They set aside an hour each day for the students to come and show they could to the spells taught in class. Those that couldn't were assigned written homework until they could. Foundation was important. Everyone seemed happy with this arrangement.
Saturday was the first Quidditch match and Harry was very nervous. Hermione encouraged him to eat that morning, but his nerves were getting the better of him. Xander could see the worry on both his charges faces, so he decided to have a word with them.
"What's up, Harry? Nervous?" Xander asked as he took a seat next to the very anxious boy.
Harry just nodded his head in agreement, not trusting himself not to spew anything that was in his stomach, which wasn't much.
"Now, I don't know much about this game, but you're the Seeker, right?"
The poor boy nodded.
"So, it's your job to fly around and catch the… snitch? And doesn't that sound wrong," Xander chuckled. "Reminds me of a guy named Willie."
"It's a small winged golden ball," Hermione said helpfully.
"Okay," the one-eyed man drawled. "Still, you get to fly above everyone else, while the other players actually score until you find this 'small winged golden ball', right?"
Another nod.
"Sounds to me like everyone is going to be watching the other players. By the time it's your turn to win the game, most of the job will be done," Xander said, clapping the shaking child on the back. "Try and eat some toast. Don't want you to fall off your broom from being lightheaded."
"Xander," Hermione chastised.
"Just kidding. You'll be fine. I'm sure there are lots of precautions for such an event," the one-eyed man chuckled as the ruffled Harry's hair again and left the table.
Harry picked up a piece of dry toast and started nibbling on it, not sure if he was relieved or even more anxious. He was thankful that Xander would be there to prevent any mishaps.
Soon enough, it was time, and the teams left and the students and staff made their way as well. Joyce decided to stay in the castle,as she never liked quidditch. So Xander walked with Minerva down to the stands as older woman told of some of her antics as a Chaser during her schoolgirl days. They were seated by a young boy with dreadlocks named Lee Jordan. According to Minerva, if she didn't sit right behind him, he tended to become slightly unruly with the commentary. As the players took their places, Xander became very uneasy as he saw how high Harry was going. He squashed it quickly, hoping what he had said earlier was true and that there were precautions to prevent injury. There should be; it was a school after all. He soon got caught up in the game, even to the point of occasionally forgetting Harry was up there.
After thirty minutes and no sign of the snitch, a scream was heard from the Gryffindor corner. "Harry!"
Xander recognized Hermione's voice immediately. He followed her gaze to see Harry barely hanging on to his bucking broom.
"Potter has lost control of his broom!" Lee Jordan yelled through the mic, and all eyes focused on the struggling boy.
"Xander!" yelled Harry, who was gripping his broom like a life line, which it was. Even if it was trying to kill him.
"Shit," Xander said, standing up and blocking quite a few teachers' views. "Hang on, Harry! I'll get you down!" he bellowed up to his charge. Harry's broom stopped bucking and the boy quickly climbed back on, but that was not good enough for Xander. "You guys do have safety measures, right?" he asked Minerva, without looking away from Harry.
"No," she answered with pursed lips.
"What!? Why the ever-loving hell not?" the one-eye man asked, almost looking away. "These are just kids, you know."
"It was never deemed necessary," she replied, bitterly. "It is tradition, something about toughening them up." She, for one, had never liked that policy, but was denied every time she tried to change it.
"Well, I'm going to change that right now. Tradition be damned," he said and shot a spell at the ground, which didn't seem to change much. "I'm going to get Harry, and we'll be discussing why school quidditch isn't professional." He then shot out of his seat like a superhero.
"Adult on the field," Lee called. "Does that make him a streaker?" was the confused question, which resounded throughout the stadium, causing the tense air to lessen a bit, as a few girls giggled.
Xander made it to Harry, who was hugging the front of his broom. The broom had started bucking again, only to stop when Xander reached him.
"Xander, what are you doing? And how are you doing it?" the scared boy asked. He was also a bit disappointed; it was his first game, and then this happened. How was he supposed to win for his team if he couldn't fly?
"Ummm, flying?" Xander said as he grabbed the now-still broom.
"Without a broom? I was told that was impossible," Harry said, easing to an upright position.
"I'm not totally sure, but it's just like I told Neville, if you want it, you can do it. I wanted to fly, so I am. I just made it so gravity around me doesn't exist," he tried to explain. "You should try it," he suggested. He really wanted to see if Harry could do it. It would be one more thing that could save his life.
So, Harry closed his eyes and willed gravity away. He did feel lighter, but for some reason Xander kept ahold of him.
"Easy up, Harry," came Xander's chuckled suggestion.
"Why?"
"Because you're putting too much power into it and everyone is floating off their seats."
"Oops," Harry said sheepishly and lowered his intent. He pictured a bubble around him, so that only the air in that bubble would be gravity free. He was still flying and now Xander let his arm go.
"Dude, you're like a nuclear reactor to everyone's lightbulb," Xander chuckled again. "Okay, Harry. We better head down now. I think the game has been called off on account of a rogue—" He was interrupted as Harry's hand snatched past Xander's ear and came back with the snitch. "—broom. Or that works." He shrugged.
"Potter caught the snitch, does that count?" came the confused announcement.
"I made it so the ground was like a spongy trampoline. That way if anyone falls they'll be okay. Wanna try?" Xander said with an evil grin.
"Sure," Harry smirked back. And the two of them freefell to the ground, causing the whole stadium to scream. When they bounced and shot back up, some cheered and others yelled.
"XANDER!" came the angry voices of two different females.
"Oi! Xander!" George Weasley called out from his position floating next to his brother. "Can we do that?"
"Have at it, guys," Xander shrugged as he paused in mid-air.
The twins looked at each other grinning before they literally leapt off their brooms, eliciting more screams from the stands.
Having seen Xander, Harry, and the twins successfully and safely fall to the ground, the majority of Hogwarts population started leaping from their seats, and a good few teachers did as well. Hagrid caused a great many of them to fly in the air when he took his turn, giving a mighty roar as he did so. Teens and teachers had a great time bouncing around the field as Harry and Xander joined a very irate looking McGonagall. He shrugged and said, "It worked. It's better than his broken body splattered on the ground."
Harry grabbed Hermione and made her join in the mayhem, leaving Xander to his fate.
"You do realize that every student in the school will be wanting to know how to fly? I dread to think how many accidents are just waiting to happen!" Minerva ranted, worried for the students.
"Meh, don't worry. Harry doesn't know enough to teach them. Well, maybe Hermione might, but we'll get her to promise not to teach anyone else. As a matter of fact, we'll make them take vows of silence to put off anyone who asks. Do you want to learn?" he asked the prim teacher.
"I believe I am too old to be taught such new magic," she answered a bit despondently.
"Nah, it's easy, actually. Probably easier for you since you really don't know much science," he disagreed. He grabbed her and flew off towards the castle, talking her into making herself weightless. It took the better part of the day, but by the end she got it. They sat the children down before bed and talked to them about how important it was not to teach anyone. Harry and Hermione agreed that it would be a secret until such a time that Xander gave them the go-ahead.
Tonks came the next evening to help Harry with his Metamorphmagus ability. Xander was delighted to see him pick it up so quickly. Harry spent all of Sunday as someone else, which was a blessing and a curse. He listened in on what the school was saying, and many were upset that the way of flying was denied to them. Quite a few were blaming him. The students complained that he was getting special privilege, which he was, but for a very good reason that they didn't know. They didn't have a semi-dead Dark Lord after them. His soon-to-be-ex-friend Ron was the biggest whiner, but the twins and Neville were his biggest defenders. This made him sad and happy at the same time.
When he told Xander, he said, "It's better you know you're real friends now, than get stabbed in the back later," which Harry took as truth. He vowed to continue to spy, and make sure he knew who his enemies were.