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Enjoy this installment!
No Trigger Warning
Chapter 8
Before heading off to the ministry, they stopped in the Leaky Cauldron for a meal. Tom gave them one of their more elegant private rooms. He gave Harry a secretive wink before he left, which gave him the impression that Tom offered it more for him than any other reason.
The children chattered excitedly amongst each other like a group of monkeys. The parents spoke with each other as well, but mostly they peppered Professor McGonagall with questions. Harry knew she could be an amicable person, but he was surprised at her seemingly endless amount of patience.
He got to know the muggleborn students a little better than from his previous timeline. Justin Finch-Fletchley was a Star Wars fan and liked to collect the action figurines. A girl named Erin Green with curly red hair liked to do gymnastics and had actually been an aspiring Olympian before she got her letter. She hoped that she could continue with her workouts, but was really excited to be a witch and the subject she was looking most forward to was Charms. Another boy by the name of Sean Price had an obsession with dinosaurs and now that he knew dragons existed, his new obsession would be them. The last girl, Julia Brooks Carpenter really enjoyed fashion and makeup, reminding Harry a lot of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Hermione, of course, talked all their ears off about the books and classes before her parents interjected to reel her in.
When it came time for Harry to talk, he casually skirted around his home life and didn't even bother mentioning his fame. He talked about Cloud a little, since he was going to come to Hogwarts with him, but mostly talked about how excited he was to start classes and get on a broom. That started McGonagall on Quidditch and she was happy to explain the rules, the Hogwarts houses, and how she longed for her house of Gryffindor to win the cup after nearly ten years of Slytherin house winning it.
Once the dishes were cleared away, they began getting ready to go to the Ministry. People were coming in and out of the lavatory. For the first time, Harry felt a little alone and awkward as he stood there waiting. As a waitress was hovering the dishes out old Tom came up to him and said, "I hope everything was satisfactory, Mr. Potter."
"Oh, yes, it was a nice meal. Thank you," he replied.
"I remember the first time I saw you you were with Hagrid. I must admit, I don't think I've ever seen him here."
Harry felt a shiver of fear run down his spine and he turned around to old Tom who still had the pleasant smile on his face as if all he was asking about was the weather. "You know?'
"Yes, I do. I recommend coming by another time, if you'd like a clearer explanation. You should bring Dumbledore too. I'm sure he'd like to know what's going on. Have a good day, Mr. Potter."
Harry couldn't help but stare as old Tom left and he tried to comprehend the whirlwind going on in his head. He did his best to shove it aside, especially when McGonagall announced they were ready to go.
She led them to a fireplace and Harry had to contain his groan. He was not particularly fond of the floo, but he had a feeling the muggle parents would be less than thrilled to go through the toilets and it would undoubtedly take too long to have people go through the telephone booth.
"Now, we shall travel by fireplace to the Ministry. This is floo powder. Toss a handful in the fire, step in, and say 'Ministry of Magic.' Try to speak clearly or you might end up at the wrong gate. Also, it's a rough landing. Who wants to go first?"
"I will," Harry said, trying to smile, but he was nervous. He remembered his first trip through the floo and ending up in Knockturn Alley. He tossed the powder into the fire and once it roared green he stepped in and yelled, "Ministry of Magic!"
He pinched his face and wished he'd thought to take his glasses off. He'd have to remember that for his next time through the floo. Finally after a whirl of color and a brief glimpse at dozens of fireplaces, he stopped spinning and just managed to catch himself before he broke his glasses again. He hurried to step out of the way and started swatting at all the soot on his clothes. He hoped McGonagall would use a cleaning spell for him because if he entered Privet Drive #2 like that, no one would be able to find his body afterwards.
He was a little surprised when Hermione came stumbling in after him, coughing up a storm and hitting the ground as she tried to brush the soot out of her eyes and hair.
"My hair! It'll take forever to get this soot out," she cried.
"Don't worry. I'm sure McGonagall has a spell she can use to clean us," Harry replied, pulling her out of the way before someone else showed up. Right on time Mr. Granger popped out.
"That has got to be one of the worst ways to travel."
Way until you see the Knight Bus, Harry thought, but he kind of doubted the Grangers would ever get that chance.
While they waited for everyone else to show up, Harry and Hermione stared around at the Ministry in awe. Witches and wizards were coming and going, popping out of fireplaces, walking in and out of Victorian style lifts to their own schedules. A crier from the Daily Prophet was touting the latest Ministry blunder. There were other witches and wizards lined along the walls with clipboards; the little he caught from them they sounded like interests groups.
When McGonagall finally stepped through as the last one, she instantly took her wand out and swept them all clean with a simple, "Scourgify." The smeared ashes disappeared from their faces and their clothes became pristine.
"Ooooh, that is a handy spell," Mrs. Granger said. "Hermione, I already can't wait for you to help with the laundry."
"Yes, mum."
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. We have a wide array of departments that aid primarily in concealing our presence from muggles."
One of the parents raised their hand and McGonagall nodded at them to continue: "Why do you hide yourselves?"
"Good question. It mostly comes down to the witch hunts of 1600s. While it was rare for a witch or wizard to actually be caught and killed, it was still a dangerous time and we ultimately decided it would be safer to go into hiding. Also, if muggles knew witches and wizards existed, they'd be clamoring for magical solutions to their problems all the time. We can't solve everything."
"Hmm...that makes sense," Mrs. Granger said. They walked to one of the lifts that was too small to fit everyone, but McGonagall just gestured and it seemed as they streamed onto the lift it adjusted and got bigger and bigger. Everyone just seemed to stare around them.
"I know it's magic, but this is crazy," Mr. Granger muttered. Hermione seemed to be struggling herself and had a pained look on her face.
"The Sanctuary, please," McGonagall said.
"Yes, professor," the worker said, looking young and nervous.
"Does everyone know you here?"
"I taught almost everyone here," she replied dryly.
"How big is the wizarding world?" Justin's father asked.
"Compared to you muggles, our society is quite small. We number about ten thousand here on the British Isles."
"That's it?"
"Indeed. The most populous place for witches and wizards is in China, with about a million or so. The United States isn't too far behind it either."
"Wow," Hermione whispered. She looked over to Harry; "That's not very big at all. I suppose there are other wizarding schools out there too. Wouldn't it be fun to do a study abroad?"
"A study abroad? I wouldn't mind exploring, but I think I'd want to stay and learn at Hogwarts."
"I'm afraid a study abroad would be out of the question for you, Mr. Potter. It is important that you stay at Hogwarts."
Harry grimaced, but he nodded. He had no intention of crossing any oceans until Voldemort was no longer a threat. There's no telling how many people he'd kill just to get to him if Harry made any notion of escaping. Not that I need to escape, he though. I just need to find his Horcruxes and destroy them again. Would he be able to break into Gringotts and break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault again? The last time he'd been at the edge of a precipice and one wrong move could have landed him in Azkaban or prematurely in front of Voldemort to die, along with Hermione and Ron. With any luck he'll be better prepared magically this time around and won't have to rely so heavily on Hermione.
The Victorian door opened on its own and a cheerful female voice announced, "Companion Sanctuary." They piled out of the elevator and went through a simple door with wrought iron elegantly styled across it. A young man with black hair in a style that reminded Harry of Elvis was sitting behind a desk with what looked like a planner open before him, but what grabbed most people's attention was the lemur sitting on his shoulder. There was a bowl of grapes on the desk and it was picking through them and eating jovially.
At their entrance, the man looked up and smiled warmly. "Professor! Glad to see you again! The students still giving you trouble as usual?"
"Of course they are. They wouldn't be students otherwise," she replied.
He grinned and got up, the lemur only shifting with the change in position. "These are your new students? Welcome, to the Companion Sanctuary! I am Alex Cross and I will be your guide today. And this is Charlie, he is my animal companion. I actually found him when I was out hunting companions."
"Hunting companions?"
"Yes, we have a team that runs the daily operation here at the Sanctuary and there's another team that hunts companions. Our job is to find animals with a rather peculiar magical signature and bring them to the Sanctuary to meet their potential mate. We call them mates, because those of us who have found our companions liken it to having found a part of your soul."
"Soul mates," Harry blurted out without thinking about it, then snapped his mouth shut at a stern look from the Professor.
"Yes, exactly like that."
"What do these companions do?" Dean Thomas asked.
"Primarily they augment a witch or wizard's power. Before I found Charlie, I was an alright wizard. Nothing too extraordinary, but once I found Charlie, my spells became more powerful and I was able to dip fully into my magical well and my endurance improved. When I created rune squares, I could barely keep my runic objects charged for more than a month; with Charlie, I don't have to charge any of them for three months. It really has improved dramatically."
"What's a magical well?" Hermione asked, after raising her hand and he nodded at her.
"Professor McGonagall might honestly be able to explain this better than me, but every witch and wizard is born with a well of magical energy. If you use some of your magical energy, it replenishes over time with food, water, and rest, but you can never draw more energy than your well has. How much magical energy in your well partially determines how strong of a witch or wizard you'll be. That said, you cannot access much of your well without discipline, practice, and training, which is what Hogwarts will provide you. Study hard and the more magical energy you'll be able to access as you grow."
"I appreciate you promoting study," McGonagall said, at all the eager looks on the children's faces.
"Would I be able to do anything else with you here?"
"Hmmph. It seems you're just as cheeky now as you were then."
He chuckled. "Well, shall I take you all back to see if you can connect with any of the companions?"
The children all cheered and they whispered excitedly as they followed Alex through the double doors. It was very much like a muggle zoo, but the habitats were fairly small, but seemed more authentic as Harry peered around in surprise. Most of the animals looked like they belonged in a zoo more than at people's sides. He saw a fox, an otter, a mountain lion, a wolverine, even a stag and a jaguar.
"Oh, the poor animals. They look so sad here," Hermione said next to Harry, frowning around her. He had to agree. There wasn't really a lot of open space for most of these animals to roam around in. Hermione raised her voice, "These animals just stay here waiting for their soulmates to show up?"
"Yes. Don't worry, the habitats are much bigger than they look. You know how the elevator expanded as more of you walked in? The same concept has been applied to the habitats. They have limits, but they are quite expansive and for the predatory animals, we release live prey in their environment at variable times to keep them occupied," Alex said.
"How do you know if you've found your companion?"
"This will seem odd, but you can start to hear a voice in your head. It grows stronger or fades the closer or farther you get. If you're well-studied, some witches and wizards even described sensing the magical signature of the animal. You have to make physical contact to complete the connection."
"You have to touch a mountain lion?" Erin Green cried out in alarm.
"If it's your soulmate, it won't attack you. It's looking for you as much as you are for them."
"Where do witches and wizards keep their companions? I would think it'd be pretty hard to hide a mountain lion or a toucan," Mr. Granger said as they passed the colorful bird.
"Once these animals are your companions they don't need to hide, at least not in the magical world. If a muggleborn student here were to find their companion and they were something difficult to conceal, you would not be able to take it home with you until you have found a way to permanently move to the magical world," Alex replied with a grim expression on his face. "It's harsh, because once you've bonded it is very difficult to stay apart for long, but it's necessary for the safety of you and your companion."
"Mr. Cross," Hermione spoke up again, "Most of these animals aren't ones that live very long lives. It doesn't seem like you'd be able to keep your companion for the rest of your life." She looked very concerned.
"That's part of the bonding; your companion gets an extended life to match yours. What you brought up is something of a concern here. The animals don't get the lengthy lifespan until they meet their match, so we have speculated that most companion animals die before they can meet their mate. It's why we think so few witches and wizards are able to meet their companions. Currently there are only twenty known registered pairs in Britain," he replied.
They whispered amongst themselves at the revelation. "That's really sad," Hermione mumbled to Harry and he nodded, unable to say anything as his mind raced.
Was Cloud his companion or was there another animal out there waiting for him? Having his companion for when Voldemort came back would certainly be useful, but with so few matched wizards and witches, the odds were not in his favor to find his. I hope Voldemort doesn't have his companion, Harry thought, but it sounded like the sort of thing Voldemort would put his mind and soul into searching for. He was, after all, only ever interested in power.
"Can dragons be companions?" Sean Price piped up and everyone laughed.
"Not as far as we can tell. Dragons are magical creatures, but so far we haven't been able to find any dragons that have the same magical signature."
Sean deflated a little, but he still looked around the room eagerly.
The area was about the length of two football fields, if Harry had to guess and they walked through, with occasional commentary on some about how he caught them. Alex explained that the population here at the Sanctuary wasn't static and that every six months or so they rotated out a few of the animals to other nations that was also collecting companions to see if they could find compatible matches elsewhere. Sean asked if all people who found their companions became hunters for them, but as it turns out he was the only one on the team who had found their companion. Most people with companions worked in the Ministry of Magic and tended to be senior members of the Wizengamot, which was a kind of parliament, mostly because they were wealthy and could afford to travel to different countries and put a more concerted effort into finding their companion. When they reached the end, Alex and McGonagall seemed a little disappointed that no one had heard the distinct whisper of a companion, but as it was an expected outcome, they did not linger on it for long.
Before they parted, McGonagall asked, "Now, I presume that most of you left your - vehicles? - near King's Cross, am I correct?"
"Yes," most of the parents said, but Dean Thomas' mother mentioned taking the bus.
"Very well. There's a fireplace on Platform 9 ¾. If you take the floo and say the name of the platform, you should get there." All the parents grimaced at that, but she held out her bag, they formed a line, and started grabbing handfuls of floo to toss in the fireplace, and shout the name of their destination. After only a few minutes everyone, including Hermione and her parents, had gone through to the platform. Only Harry and Dean, his little sister, and his mother remained.
"Now, as for the rest of you, I highly suggest you take the Knight Bus. It will take you straight to your houses." They all looked eager at this until she said, "It's even worse than the Floo, but it's quick and precise enough."
Once they got onto the Knight Bus, Harry grabbed onto the safety bar by his seat, but almost fell out of it anyway when the bus started up. It first dropped off Dean Thomas and his family; they practically ran out of the bus to escape it.
When they finally reached #2 Privet Drive, Harry turned to McGonagall and said, "Thank you, professor, for letting me come on the tour. It was very informative."
"Of course, Mr. Potter. Now, I'm going to see that your aunt and uncle did what I ask. With any luck, they shouldn't trouble you too much. It's a shame you didn't get an owl, or I'd suggest sending me a note with it if they gave you any grief."
"I'll just use the postal service like last time."
McGonagall didn't seem to have much faith in that system, but she didn't say anything and was courteous enough to knock on the door. Petunia answered and her eyes instantly grew to the size of saucers and she swallowed nervously, not even bothering to hide her fear.
"Good afternoon, Petunia. Now, you need not fear me if you've done as I asked," McGonagall replied, walking through the door with Harry in tow. Uncle Vernon had apparently not returned from work yet. McGonagall tapped his trunk to make it feather light and they walked upstairs.
"F-first door on the right," Petuna squeaked.
As McGonagall reached it, it swung open slowly on its hinges as she peered inside. She peered in and huffed in disappointment then continued to walk down the hallway. She opened the next door on her left. It was the guest bedroom done up simply, but it was clean and it had a dresser at least, which Harry knew Dudley's second room didn't have.
"This should do nicely," McGonagall said as she hovered Harry's trunk to a spot against a wall. She gave her wand another wave and the rest of his meager belongings sailed from Dudley's second room to his new one. "Now, is this satisfactory to you?"
"Yes, it's great," he said, smiling at her.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Potter. I look forward to seeing you in my class at Hogwarts." She turned to Petunia before she left, "I will be checking in periodically to make sure you're treating your nephew properly."
Once she'd left, Petunia gave him one last fearful look and then headed down the hall. Harry smiled as he flopped on his first proper bed in a long time. His next step would be to move Cloud in and then they could start tackling his books.
