Disclaimer – I solemnly swear that JKR owns everything Harry Potter. Whether or not I am up to no good with her characters is for you to decide.
-oOoOo-
United We Stand …
Chapter 10
"Thank you for seeing me today, Slipshard," Harry said as he bowed to the goblin.
"It is what I'm here for, Harry," Slipshard replied, indicating that Harry take a seat in front of his desk. "Besides, managing the Potter accounts has always proved interesting and challenging, something no self-respecting goblin would ever shy away from."
Harry gave a lopsided grin in response to the feral pointed one from his friend.
"What is it that I can do for you today?" Slipshard asked.
"I'd like to make some decisions about the land across from Ynys Crochenydd," Harry stated.
In response, Slipshard pulled a folder sitting to the side of his desk across so that it sat in front of him.
"I anticipated your desire," the wily goblin remarked.
Opening the folder, he removed a single piece of parchment and passed it across.
"The survey of the land as you requested. To summarise: the land encompasses two hundred and fifty acres, including just under three kilometres of coastline. For the most part, it is desolate, undeveloped land, apart from one small section of forty acres that appears to have at one time been farmland. There are no buildings or structures apart from the single pier that you are already aware of. In terms of wards, there is only a single muggle-repelling ward," Slipshard said.
Harry's eyes scanned down the page, his finger tapping on the part that mentioned the old farmland. That could be useful.
"How hard would it be to develop?" he asked.
"Depending on what you had in mind, not hard at all," Slipshard replied. "Magic is, after all, very useful."
Harry nodded absently, before digging into his pocket and pulling out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Flattening it out, he lay it on the desk in front of him. After scribbling a quick note on it, he looked up.
"I've written a few ideas of what I'd like to do with land, if it's possible, of course," he said.
A single clawed hand waved for him to continue.
"As I've said before, primarily, I'd like a hotel of some kind that parents could stay in if they come to visit their kids at the school. It'd need a dedicated FLOO with direct access to the island, of course, and probably a restaurant of some kind as well? And a road system connected to it from the muggle road system, of course."
Slipshard pulled out half a dozen pieces of parchment and lay them side by side across his desk for Harry to see.
"You have mentioned this before," the goblin said. "I took the liberty of having the dwarves draw up some designs, based on similar things they have done in other locations around the world."
"How many people can these hold?" Harry asked.
"The number of occupants can be varied from a couple of dozen up to many hundreds, depending upon what you require," Slipshard replied.
"Definitely not that large, probably no more than forty or fifty. I'll take these with me and get back to you on the one that I like the best," Harry stated.
"What else did you have in mind?" Slipshard asked.
"I'd like some buildings built that we could rent out as stores – maybe half a dozen to a dozen at most. Some land'll need to be set aside for people to live in; though for the people who work in the stores and their families, it'd probably make sense to have some apartments built above the stores. Oh, and that old farmland? Could we get it going again and maybe even expand it? We could sell the produce to the school – guaranteed market there," he said.
"All easy enough to accomplish," Slipshard said, his quill scratching away as he made notes.
"The last thing on my list is to create an entertainment area for the students to relax in when they get to visit," Harry said.
"Entertainment area?" Slipshard asked curiously. "And what would this 'entertainment area' look like?"
"I've got a whole list here," Harry said, pushing his paper across the desk. "I wanted a mix of magical and muggle, but apart from quidditch, I couldn't really find anything that magical teens did for fun, so I've gone all muggle and hopefully we can magically adapt things to make them run smoother and be even more fun."
"Ten pin bowling. A cinema. Ice skating rink. Mini golf course. Roller coaster." Slipshard said, reading through the list.
"I thought the goblins could do a brilliant job with that one," Harry said excitedly. "After riding your carts down to the vaults, it should be really easy."
Slipshard stared hard at him for a moment before turning his attention to the list once more.
"I will need to have my people research some of these concepts before I take it all to the dwarves," Slipshard said. "It may take a couple of months to finalise plans before construction could begin. I believe that these ideas have the potential to generate a great deal of income. It will be interesting to watch and see how right I am."
"Um, would it be possible to ward the whole area like you did for the island?" Harry asked. "Just, I can't imagine Voldemort and his Death Munchers liking these ideas too much and I wouldn't want anyone who lives, works or visits there to be in danger."
"Warding the whole area as we did on the island would be next to impossible, simply because we were able to sink the wardstones into the sea, thus removing them from the possibility of destruction which we wouldn't be able to do on the mainland. I will talk to our warders and see what they recommend and report back to you for your decision," Slipshard replied.
"Thanks, Slipshard, that'd be great," Harry said with a smile.
-oOoOo-
Molly Weasley emerged from the FLOO and stepped to the side, her eyes watching intently as her brood followed. Ginny came first, stumbling slightly, followed by Ron and then the more confident twins.
The room that they'd found themselves in was comfortable, but slightly bare. There were a few small benches against a few of the walls and a large Diricawl Academy logo painted above on of those walls.
"Good morning and welcome to Diricawl Academy," a man that Molly only vaguely recognised smiled at them, diverting her attention from her surroundings. "May I see your invitations, please?"
Instantly, the four teens had their cream-coloured letters in their hands to show the man, after all, the letters did state that they would be asked to show them as soon as they arrived.
"Excellent," the man smiled. "I'm Dan Granger." The man gestured to a badge attached to his shirt that Molly now realised bore his name. "If you'd like to head that way, you'll be directed up the school and to Administration where you'll be directed further."
Molly opened her mouth to question the man, but the sound of the FLOO activating behind her diverted the man, Dan's, attention.
"Come on, Mum," Fred said, waving her along.
"Lots to see and do," George said.
"And we won't do it here," Fred finished.
Her boys had been so very different since they'd been home for the holidays. She didn't know whether it was the letter that she'd sent them after that betrothal fiasco or the fact that she'd told them that they had her blessing to attend Diricawl Academy if they wanted, but they'd really been putting in an effort to talk to her and not to just disappear into their room with their constant explosions and smells.
The letters for the twins had been expected; the ones for Ginny and Ron, less so, although she'd hoped. To be honest, she still wasn't sure about whether or not to allow Ginny and Ron to come here. After all, both she and Arthur, not to mention Bill, Charlie and Percy, and every one of her family as far back as the family had been magical, had all been educated at Hogwarts. There'd been numerous Prefects and Head Boys and Girls throughout the centuries, upholding the great traditions of the Weasleys and Prewetts.
But she'd vowed to change, to look at life from the other end of a broomstick as it were. And part of that change involved listening to her children. And if her youngest two decided that they wanted to go here after today, well …
"Welcome," the goblin who opened the door for them said curtly. "Follow the signs, please."
"Wicked," George whispered to his brother. "They've got security goblins here."
Molly nodded to the creature before leading her children out of the small building.
Outside, they found themselves on a cobblestone path, lined with hedges full of flowers in red, pink and gold. And in the distance stood what could have easily been a manor. It was three stories of marble and slate with great wings jutting forth on either side. While it wasn't a castle, it was definitely impressive, nonetheless.
While her children chattered amongst themselves, Molly was busy taking in the scene. The landscaping of the grounds was pristine and orderly, nothing like the homely feeling that the gardens around the Burrow evoked. However, as a school, it was practical.
A small sign pointed the way towards the main entrance, indicating that Administration could be found inside.
The inside, after they'd ascended the small set of stairs and entered the great doors, was just as impressive as the outside. Another sign pointed out that they were to proceed straight ahead. The fact that there was another family group before them gave Molly a chance to take in the great seal of the school done in a mosaic of tiles on the floor as well as the two grand sweeping staircases.
"Next," a voice called.
"Um, I'm Molly Weasley and these are my children: Fred, George, Ron and Ginny Weasley," she told one of the two ladies behind the counter set between the two staircases.
"Welcome to Diricawl Academy," she smiled. "I'm Beth, one of the part-time teachers and today, also one of the Reception ladies. We'll just get you all set up for the day. This is for you," here she handed a folder of some kind, filled with muggle paper. "And each of you get a name tag, that way we and everyone else, know who you are."
A flourish of her wand labelled five of the name badges appropriately. A second spell affixed the labels to the front of each of their robes.
The sudden pop in front of her had Molly's eyes bulging as a small house elf with enormous green eyes and dressed in a miniature Diricawl uniform, complete with beret, appeared on the desk. It raised one hand, smiled a smile eerily reminiscent of her twin sons, snapped his fingers and promptly disappeared.
The raucous sound of laughter exploding from Fred and George had her spinning to make sure that they were behaving themselves. To her surprise, she found the two pointing at each other and laughing their heads off. Instead of one name tag, they now wore two each. The new ones, though, proclaimed them to be 'Twin RedHead Menace 1' and 'Twin Red-Head Menace 2'.
"I'm so sorry about that," Beth sighed. "Here, let me remove them."
Instantly twin hands slapped over the name tags.
"No way!" a horrified George cried.
"Why would you want to …" Fred began.
"Get rid of something as cool …"
"As awesome …"
"As descriptive as that?" they finished together.
"It's fine, dear," Molly told her. "I suspect that that little elf has just made their day."
"Well, if you're sure, then," she replied, sounding rather unsure herself. She seemed to gather herself, then. "When you're ready, the day will begin in the dining hall."
"Thank you," Molly said, and turned towards the door that she pointed to, the one to the right of where they'd entered.
Once again, Molly was caught by the difference between this place and Hogwarts. Instead of four long House tables, Diricawl's dining hall was filled with approximately twenty circular tables that she thought could each seat eight.
"Right, Mum, we'll see you later," Fred said.
"We'll be with Lee and the girls," George added before the two hurried off across the room.
Somehow, she managed to keep the other two with her as she moved to one side of the room and took a seat. From what she could tell, there were a large number of muggles here, at least, that was the impression that she had from the fact that people dressed in proper wizard's robes were in the minority.
"Excuse us, but is anyone sitting here?" a nervous-looking man asked.
"No, no, feel free," Molly smiled.
The man and his son sat gingerly on their chairs, perching nearly on the very front as though they were ready to jump up and flee if anyone looked at them the wrong way.
"Will this be your first year, dear?" Molly asked the boy.
He looked a bit old to be a first year, but he was wearing very shabby muggle clothes, so she thought that it was a safe guess.
"Er … er … yes?" he replied, his eyes flicking about the room, never staying still for an instant. "I mean, I've never been to … to a magic school before."
"Well, I'm sure that you're going to have a marvellous time," Molly tried to reassure the boy. "This is Ron and Ginny."
"Hi," the boy returned nervously. "Do … do you go here?"
"We're considering it," Ginny told him. "What's your name?"
"Lionel," he replied.
The fledgling conversation was interrupted by a tinkling bell at the front of the room. And Molly turned to find Headmistress McGonagall standing behind a lectern.
"I believe that everyone who was coming is now here," she said. "Welcome to Diricawl Academy of Magical Studies. We are delighted that you could join us for our very first open day.
"Today you will get a chance to see the school, hear about what subjects and teachers we have and to ask any questions that you have of us. Our hope is that at the end of the day, you will decide that Diricawl would be the very best place for you to continue your magical education. If, however, you decide that you would fit better with your current school, then we will respect your choice and wish you well.
"Every member of our staff firmly believes that we are here to help students learn to their best ability and in the best way that they can, regardless of your background, financial status, heritage or past. None of that matters here. No bigotry or prejudice of any kind will be tolerated on this island. That is one of the precepts that Diricawl is founded on and is non-negotiable. To illustrate this point, I would like to point out that currently, our staff consists of pure-bloods, half-bloods, muggle-borns, muggles, a goblin, a part-goblin, a werewolf and house elves.
"The curriculum that we offer is diverse, covering both magical and mundane subjects and even foreign languages, both human and non-human alike. With the number of subjects that we offer, we aim to cater for individual learning pathways for each student as much as possible. Sometimes this may not be possible, after all, we are still a young school and are still finding out feet, but we will do what we can.
"Shortly we will be breaking you up into small groups and will be showing you around the school. But before we do that, seeing as the vast majority of you have been attending Hogwarts, I would like to point out one of the major differences between our two schools. The students of Hogwarts are divided into four Houses, each with a Head of House to oversee them, currently in the vicinity of one hundred or so students.
"Diricawl, as you may have guessed by the seating arrangement here, has no House systems. Instead, the students here will be divided by year level with a Year Level Coordinator to look after them. The most students that each Year Level Coordinator will be responsible for is nineteen, meaning that they will be much more accessible to you and will be able to help you with any problems that you have.
"Yes, Miss Johnson?"
Molly looked across the room at the table where the twins were to see Angelina Johnson putting her hand down.
"What about quidditch and Prefects?" she asked.
Minerva smiled. "Did you honestly think that I would be the Headmistress of a school that didn't offer quidditch?" This caused a ripple of laughter to sweep the room and even Molly found herself smiling. "No, there is still quidditch and the older students will still get the chance to be a Prefect. Both of these will be explained more fully during the tour."
At the Headmistress' gesture, fourteen teens wearing green shirts emblazoned with the school name and logo stepped forward.
"These are the current Diricawl students," she said. "They, along with any of the staff, will be more than happy to answer any question that you may have. As you can see, they are spreading themselves out around the room in five groups. If you could all please stand and move to the students closest to you, hopefully we'll end up with five even groups and we can get the day started.
"I will see you all back here for lunch and then again after the tour for a final session where any questions that you still have can be answered."
Following the instructions, Molly glanced around, only to realise that Ginny was already ahead of her, making a beeline for little Luna Lovegood. Motioning to Ron, Molly bustled after her daughter.
-oOoOo-
Beth waited for the other four groups to make their way from the dining hall before she began speaking.
"For those of you who didn't get to meet me when you arrived, my name is Beth Pemberton. I am a part-time professor as I also run a business in Diagon Alley. I teach Muggle Studies, which basically means that it's my job to teach magical-born and raised children all about the mundane world and how they can navigate about in it. The green-shirted students are Susan, Lil and Fiona. Please feel free to ask us anything at any time. No question is too silly or unimportant to ask."
She waited a moment, checking every face to see the nods before she continued.
"Our part of the tour is to show you the classrooms and other facilities, including the library, inside the building, everywhere except the dormitories. And since we're already here, we'll start in the dining hall.
"As Headmistress McGonagall said, we have no Houses here, which means that there are no set tables for students to sit at. Every seat at every table is up for grabs. Students may sit wherever they want. Meals are served by the house elves in the kitchen one level below ours via a small menu and the house elves know to only provide food that is written on that menu for that meal. The only exception is under medical instructions.
"The floor directly above us is another place that we won't be going today – up there are the staff quarters, a place that no student would ever have any reason to be. This corner of the dining hall, though, is one place that students will want to visit quite often, I suspect."
She led the group across the room and tapped the front wall of a room, about five metres square. Instantly, the wall fell away into the ground, leaving everyone staring in awe at a small store.
"This is Diricawl Store," Beth waved with a flourish, gesturing for everyone to enter and look around. "Basically, we took into account that students often run out of supplies throughout the year and it's not always convenient to owl home or shops to get replacements. Here, they can buy what they need. It'll only be open on Saturdays or if a professor feels kind enough to do so at another time."
She cut off then, allowing everyone the chance to examine what the store held.
Stationery took up the largest amount of space, with pens, pencils, paper and notebooks as well as the more traditional ink, quills and parchment being the most prevalent. There was also one section dedicated to sweets, again, both magical and mundane. A small supply of non-perishable potion supplies were in one corner and some Diricawl accessories – satchel, beanies, scarves and the like – in the other.
"If everyone could follow me," Beth said, "we'll head upstairs to see the classrooms."
-oOoOo-
"Hi, everyone, I'm Mike Evans and I'm going to be Diricawl's Sport and Physical Education Professor, one of the brand new subjects here," Mike said, looking over the group before him.
"As you can see, we've got the traditional British fields for whatever your background – a full quidditch pitch for the magicals and a couple of football fields for the mundanes," he said, indicating each. "But don't think that the students here will be limited to only what they grew up with, because that won't be happening. Everyone will get a chance to at least try all the different sports and play what they enjoy.
"Now, as I'm sure that you're aware, it's never fun to play those outdoor sports in the dead of winter, not to mention that it's next to impossible to see a ball hidden under some snow. So, to complement our outdoor sports, Diricawl has built an awesome all-purpose, multi-function, multi-sport hall."
As he led the group inside, Mike was silently thanking his wife and planning to buy her the biggest bunch of flowers possible – there was no way that he'd be able to extol the virtues of something that he'd really only seen properly for the first time a week ago (the first time didn't count as he'd barely stuck his head in the door that time).
"Space expansion charms have been liberally applied to this hall, meaning that it is massively larger on the inside than what it appears on the outside," he continued. "There are two levels. Here on the top level, we have four multi-purpose courts. Football, netball, basketball, and a whole host of other sports can be played on each one."
After allowing the group to examine each one and pointing out his office, they descended the stairs.
"Along this side down here are ten smaller courts, perfect for volleyball or squash or badminton. Boys and girl's toilets and locker rooms can also be found on the far end down there," Mike pointed out. "And through the doors on our opposite side here, you'll find an Olympic size pool."
The excitement that Mike could see in the eyes of the kids in front of him, not to mention quite a number of the parents, told him that he'd done his part to sell Diricawl as a school to come to.
-oOoOo-
"Now this is a common room!" Fred exclaimed as the troupe filed through the doors.
"I don't know, Twin RedHead Menace 2," his brother replied, "there's an awful lot of tables for studying in."
"You two'll want the other half of the common room," Sirius stated with a mischievous grin.
Twin heads shot around, interest etched on their faces.
"Here we have the common room for the dormitories," Sirius announced, spreading his arms wide. "The dormitories themselves can be found through each of those six doors and the six doors on the floor above us."
To emphasise his point, he made sure to point to the three doors on either side of the room and then up at the mezzanine level above them.
"That'd be a perfect place to lean and watch the goings-on, brother," George stated, pointing to the rail that circled the second level, allowing anyone up there to see straight down into the main part of the common room.
"Why be up there, though, when you could be down here in the middle of the action?" Fred countered.
"Very true," George replied. "It seems that there are options aplenty, here."
"We'll have a quick look in the other half of the common room and then I'll show you the dormitories themselves," Sirius said, leading the group on a zigzag course through the numerous armchairs, lounges, tables and desks.
"This room is designed for people like those two," Sirius said, jerking his thumb at the twins. "A place where the kids can blow off a bit of steam in a safe environment without disturbing the ones who are studying or wanting some quieter time in the other half of the common room."
Sirius pretended that he didn't see the maniacal grins on the red-heads as he allowed the group to explore before leading them back to the main common room and to the door of one of the dormitories.
"This, Miss Johnson, is where the status of Prefect comes into play for the most responsible of the oldest students," Sirius stated.
"That leaves us out," Twin RedHead Menace 1 stated.
In contrast, the three former Gryffindor Chasers and quite a number of the other kids perked up, looking and listening intently.
"Follow me," Sirius waved and led everyone into a small corridor with seven open doors leading off of it for people to look in. "Five of these rooms are designed for two students. They'll each have their own bed, their own cupboard and desk and small bookshelf. The door at the end is the shared bathroom for everyone who lives in this dormitory.
"The last room, is reserved for the Prefect, the student who has the responsibility of looking after the ten younger students that live in here. They'll be like an older brother or sister, there to help out when needed, be an extra set of eyes to keep an eye on them and a person who we hope the younger students would feel comfortable talking to if they'd prefer not to talk to an adult at first. And as a bonus for having these added responsibilities, the Prefect gets to have a little extra room."
-oOoOo-
"Welcome back everyone," Headmistress McGonagall said after the last group had returned and everyone had settled down into seats once again.
"I'm sure that you've all had a very long and possibly tiring day but hopefully also a very enlightening one. In the folders that you were given when you first arrived this morning, you will find a lot of the information about the school that you've been told about today. You will also find a set of papers that will need to be filled in to enrol your child or your children here at Diricawl. If you choose us, which we sincerely hope that you do, we ask that you have them returned to us by the twenty-fifth of August to help with settling our timetable.
"Now, does anyone have any questions that they'd like to ask?"
Lionel, though, had given up listening. He knew what he wanted. The same thing that he'd wanted since he realised that he couldn't go to Hogwarts or any other magic school – a chance to go and learn. He should have gone last year, but now … now he could. Assuming his father agreed.
"Can I, Dad? Please?" he begged.
His father looked down at him, almost seeming to stare into his very soul.
"Are you sure, Li? This is a very big deal," his father replied. "And I won't be here to watch over you. What if something happens?"
"Professor Lupin showed us the safeguards, Dad," Lionel countered. "And he'll be here. He knows what it's like."
Still his father seemed to be wavering, so Lionel pushed the big points home.
"I want to, Dad and you know money's not a factor. Professor Lupin showed us the scholarship papers. We sign it and it's a done deal."
To emphasise his point, Lionel opened the folder to the extra papers that Professor Lupin had explained to them, before adding them to the others in the folder.
Slowly, ever so slowly, his father gave a single nod.
Instantly, Lionel flung himself across the space to hug his father. Realising that he was squeezing a little too hard with his superhuman strength, he lessened his grip.
"Thanks, Dad," he whispered into his father's ear. "I love you."