I own nothing. J.K. Rowling is the proud creator of Harry Potter, I am merely playing with the products of her imagination.
Today was the day, Caellum would wake up a full two weeks sooner than originally predicted, thanks in part to Grammy Cassi. She would need to speak to him to insure he knew what would happen now. They were not bad people, and would not be keeping their own blood imprisoned. While he couldn't go back to the Longbottom family he didn't have to stay here either. Though they would all prefer it if he did. He had options and she would go over them with him as soon as she told him her story and his.
Aurora changed her clothes four times. She did her hair, pulled it all out again. She cast the spells that would make her look like Harry, made herself nauseous when she looked in the mirror. Took all the spells off took a shower and started all over again. Finally she put on the most comfortable healer ware she owned, (still too high end for taste) put her hair in a pony tail and just took a seat by Caellum's bed.
His eyes twitched long lashes fluttered open and Neville groaned as he moved his body. The first thing he noticed was that while he could stretch and maneuver some he couldn't sit up completely. Before he could panic however, someone laid a gentle hand on his arm and whispered his name.
"Neville, it's ok, your safe." Aurora gave her cousin her sweetest smile "You are in a healing bed, right now its set to keep you laying down comfortably once I change the setting you'll be able to sit up and eat and in time to get out of bed and move around your room."
"But I can't right now?" Neville's eyes widened as he heard the changes in his voice.
"Only as a precaution, you've been in healing coma for nearly two months, while your body went through some necessary changes."
"What changes? Where is my Gran?" He demanded.
"She isn't here, she will never be allowed here." Aurora took a deep breath and looked into Caellum's dark purple/gray eyes. "There are some things you need to know. First you are not our prisoner you are here to heal, to learn, and then you may stay or leave if that is your wish. Second my name is Aurora and everyone here is related to you in some way, none of us will harm you, thirdly we have met before, back then I was wearing a very different face."
"How different?"
"Well, when you were twelve you had your first wet dream. You had forgotten to close your curtains and I thought you were in pain or something and woke you up just before you got to the good part if your whining was any indication. If that isn't enough."
"There's no way your Harry!"
"When we were thirteen you had huge crush on Septima Vector and kept calling out professor in your sleep then in class when she leaned over you to get a book you got a look down her shirt and came right in your pants."
"I believe you, you can stop now" He'd turned red in embarrassment.
"Then there was the incident with Seamus in fifth year" Ceallum yelled interrupting her.
"We agreed to never mention that again!"
Aurora laughed nodding "We did, didn't we."
"So, your Harry." Caellum sounded a little lost there.
"Not exactly. On October thirty first nineteen eighty one the dark lord Voldemort attacked the potter house hold, killing James, his wife Lily and unbeknownst to the rest of world there fifteen month old son Harry. Dumbledore was counting on his access to the potter votes and money so he acted fast and used a child, me, that James Potter had helped kidnap and adopt on Dumbledore's orders, as a decoy. He made the world think I was Harry. Then used me to further his own plans."
"That's crazy! Someone would've noticed eventually surely! What about the healers that gave you your immunizations, or yearly check up. Or even the school nurse after all the time you spent with her."
"The school nurse is barely qualified and is insanely loyal to Dumbledore. As for the rest I never received any. Dumbledore as Harry's legal guardian declined to allow any other healer to look at me, him. You know what I mean."
"It's the same reason Augusta Longbottom only ever allowed her brother to look over you"
"What do you mean?" Caellum asked with trepidation, recalling his earliest memories.
"On July thirtieth nineteen eighty, Alice Longbottom gave birth to a very sick baby. The healers concluded that the infant was a squib and might have a better chance of living if they moved the baby to a muggle hospital. The family declined and two weeks later the little boy died." Aurora continued to tell Caellum about Dumbledore's order and how they 'removed kids from undesirable homes' and relocated them to Dumbledore's allies and supporters. Some had been gifted others sold or exchanged for votes and support where Dumbledore needed it.
Than she continued on with Caellum occasionally interrupting to ask questions. Telling him about how she had discovered everything and how she had stolen from Dumbledore, and found out about him. He wasn't as surprised to learn his real name as she imagined he would be. She told him how they thought Dumbledore had used a modified fidelus charm to hide Neville's death, and his deal with Augusta Longbottom after Frank and Alice had been incapacitated.
"So what happens to me now? I don't have any where else to go."
"You stay here with your family learning all you need about how to not just survive but thrive." Aurora smiled, "And if your up to it you can join me and our cousin Maggie at Athena school of the Arcane arts when school starts back up."
"You mean I'd have to miss a year of schooling?"
"No absolutely NOT!" Aurora explained about the time dilatation wards, the family plan to get him and Maggie up to speed, and to teach them all a couple new languages that would help them at the new school. Athena school of the Arcane had a portal to the Library of Alexandria as did many other schools, as well as a portal to the Pantheon and the conclave of Oracles in Greece. The primary language used in the school was Fae Latin, so Aurora would have to brush up on that herself, it would be rigorous but both Caellum and Margose should be good enough to get by when school time came, they would continue to learn it at school. All of them would be using a combo of Language Lozenges' (a potion mix), translation spells, and a work book to learn Greek, and Egyptian Arabic. "As soon as you are up to scratch you'll take your IOWL's" Then we'll spend time learning about our families. We can visit your great uncle Rolland at Lestrange Hall on your families private island, maybe do a time ward there to give you more time learning about things you would have learned about growing up. We also have to take pictures and complete a background for you so it looks like you've been living with Uncle Orion, Grams and us all along."
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Meeting 'Grammy Cassi' was a bit overwhelming but the old gal was truly kind. She and Orion often gave him praise and even when they were correcting him they did so firmly without being unkind. In school work Orion taught them Arithmancy, Runes, and a bit of DADA. He also taught them physical education mostly sword fighting with some hand to hand thrown in. Grams taught them, Herbology, Potions, and Care of Magical creatures, (She owned a Fur Company whose animals were also apart of her own private Sanctuary) the fur was carefully harvested with out harming or killing the animals in question, in fact they were some of the healthiest animals in 'captivity' you could find. They used the portraits and Library and Aurora for the rest. Grams gifted all three of them with school primers from ages three to seventeen and had them fill them out at first using their off hands so the primers really looked like they had been written by small kids. The results left them ambidextrous and with reference material they could take to school with them with out fearing anyone would see them and ask questions about new children's primers. They left the French Chateau mid week after the time ward finished made a quick stop to get Caellum tested first for a new wand then at the banks for his inheritance evaluation and Estate Management was added to his classes by Sirius who would help him learn everything he needed to manage his own finances, then they moved into Black Castle Germany to cast the time ward again, by the time this one was finished they were all sure Caellum and Maggie could pass their IOWL's with EE's at the least. They did do very well.
International standard Ordinary Wizarding Levels
Caellum Rodolphus Lestrange
Languages
Welsh O
Spanish E
Egyptian Arabic E
Greek E
Magical Languages
Gobledegook A
Fea Latin E
Elvish A
D.A.D.A. O
Transfigurations E
Charms O
Potions E
Herbology O
Astronomy O
History E
Muggle Studies A
Runes O
Arithmancy O
Warding E
Healing A
Magical Theory O
Accounting and taxes E
Basic Laws O
Estate Management E
International standard Ordinary Wizarding Levels
Margose Cedrilla Black
Languages
French O
Spanish E
Russian E
Egyptian Arabic E
Greek A
Magical Languages
Gobledegook A
Mermish A
Fea Latin E
D.A.D.A. E
Transfigurations E
Charms O
Potions O
Herbology E
Astronomy O
History E
Muggle Studies O
Runes O
Arithmancy O
Warding A
Healing O
Magical Theory E
Accounting and taxes E
Basic Laws E
Estate Management O
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With the results turned into their new school they received the official acceptance letters letting them know what would be needed. They used the existing trunk templates Aurora herself had invented and used to make their own rooms, with Aurora making a few more for herself as they kept coming up with good ideas and suggestions she hadn't at first thought of. They shopped all over for what they would take with them. Books were bought from publishing companies, but other stuff meant trips to strange bazaars, and estate sales both muggle and magical around the world. The potion ingredient's were only purchased after Grams had carefully inspected it. Warding stones were pulled out of the Black Family vaults and adapted for them to use at school.
More elves were purchased and bonded to Caellum and Maggie at a dingy store in Romania that both swore never to travel to again. Pegasus were gifted from Grams who honestly had too many anyway (She also owned several Pegasus breeding barns and race tracks for horses). They took pictures of themselves both as they were now and de-aged in traditional children's clothes at every place they stayed including Gram's favorite home. In the end they each had a rather extensive photo albums and lots of fun memories. Grams had contacted Rolland Lestrange and finally gotten a reply back so the weekend before they needed to catch the boat to school was spent in a time dilation ward on his island.
Rolland Was ancient by anyone's standard, even the Flamel's. He was also not long for this world and admitted that knowing Caellum was alive had been the only thing keeping him going this summer. He wouldn't make it another couple of months and was grateful he would have this opportunity to get to know his youngest nephew and to teach him what he would need to be Lord of the Ancient and Noble House. He gifted him with the heirs ring upon their first meeting and everyday after breakfast until well past lunch on most days they would sit in Rolland's office or more often by his bed, talking about the family legacies and what Caellum's ancestors had been like and fought for and how and who they had loved. It was cathartic for Caellum who was finally able to see his family as people rather than the monsters he had been told they were. Rolland shared many memories via the family pensive of himself growing up and the Lessons he had learned from his own uncles, father, grandfather, and older cousins. Then the lessons he and his brother had given Caellum's father and uncle Rabastan.
Caellum was given access to the family books, Journals, Grimoire's, and genuine Books of Shadows passed down from thousands of years of history. All the while Maggie and Aurora took to exploring the Lestrange grounds and sunning themselves in the private gardens. The house was an old forte with enough secrete passages to rival Hogwarts. It was also funny shaped inside especially. So spiral stairways led nowhere at all and seemingly shallow alcoves' turned into long hallways.
They studied for their new classes together at night spoke about the things they liked to do occasionally making trips around the home and grounds to try new things, as a way to stem off boredom. The girls had even gotten Cael's opinions' on several scents and begun to make him colon's for school.
At some point during the summer Cassiopeia had taken it upon herself to contact other branches of the Black family to see if any had kids going to Athena school of the Arcane already or as new students this year. When she had confirmations that there were she arranged for them to meet at the boat docks in Spain earlier than normal so the kids could be introduced to each other. They would all share a large already paid for by Grams cabin so they could get to know one another on the way to school, in the hopes they would like and look out for one another. Or rather Grams hoped they would like one another and whether they did or not they would still stick by and defend each other because they were family. Grams said you could poison your cousins and curse your siblings all you wanted but you'd best rain Hell down on anyone else that tried the same.
