The Nice School of Magic
by Healer Pomfrey

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

This story is COMPLETELY AU. If you don't likt it, don't read it!

A few days later, when Harry and Susan visited Hagrid, the half-giant told them that there was a Kneazle cat family breeding behind some bushes near his hut.

"They must feel very safe if they breed here," Susan spoke up in clear surprise, while Harry merely stared in disbelief.

"Yes, they do. It's quiet enough here," Hagrid agreed. "Do you want to see the kittens?"

"Yes," Harry was the first to reply in excitement.

The children observed how the mother cat was lying in the grass, while a bunch of about five or six kittens tried to get as close to her stomach as they could.

"Oh no, they're so cute," Susan blurted out, causing Harry to fully agree.

"Hagrid," he spoke up, thoughtfully. "What's going to happen to them when they're bigger? Will they remain here at the school?"

"Maybe they will, maybe they'll leave. We don't know that," Hagrid replied, thoughtfully. "I've seen the mother cat around for quite a while though."

"Would it perhaps be possible to give one of them to Hermione as familiar for her birthday?" Harry blurted out. "You know each of us has a cat or a dog, just Hermione doesn't..." He slowly trailed off.

"That's a wonderful idea," Susan came to his help. "Would that be possible, Hagrid?"

"Maybe yes, however, we still have to wait a few weeks before they'll be big enough to be able to live without their mother. I'll see to it that you get the kitten on time."

HP

When the students came back just a month later, Harry and Susan spent the whole afternoon with the new first years, showing them the school, the beach and the grounds - with the exception of their tree house of course. They also patiently replied to all questions, and when they finally led the group to the Hall Magnifique for dinner, Harry had the impression as if they had gained a whole group of new friends.

'They're really all very nice,' he thought. 'I wonder how the students are next year. They'll be all our age, and usually we'd have to attend classes with them.'

"Thank Merlin that we did all well enough in our end of year tests, so that no one can demand that we begin school from the first year again next week," Hermione replied, when Harry voiced his thought in front of his three best friends later on.

HP

For the night before Hermione's birthday, Harry and Susan organised a midnight party that was going to take place in the tree house. They had asked Cicero, Severus' personal house-elf for a nightly snack in the tree house. The twins had consulted their older brother Charlie, after having him swear his secrecy, for an alarm spell that would wake them up at midnight.

Since the entrances to the girls' dormitories were charmed, so that boys were unable to enter them, Harry sent Barkymort to wake up Susan, who then hurried through both girls' dormitories to wake up her classmates.

The second years spent an enjoyable night in the park, during which the second years gave Hermione the Kneazle cat. Hermione was over the moon with joy.

"I think I'm going to name her Crookshanks," she said, thoughtfully. "I've read something..." She trailed off to gently cuddle the kitten close.

The second years only returned to their beds at three o'clock in the morning. In the morning, however, most of them regretted their nightly adventure and were unable to stomach any food.

"Let's just miss breakfast all together," Cedric suggested.

"Yes..." the twins agreed.

"... that's better than if only half of us miss it."

However, by the time Amelia strode into the second years common room together with the healer to enquire about the second years' whereabouts, the clever students were already assembled in front of the Potions classroom.

To their relief, Amelia, who had become their head of the year, was very understanding and, knowing that it was Hermione's birthday and her students had obviously had a party during the night, she did not take points from the second years, knowing that they would be punished enough by having to attend classes after the nightly event.

HP

The second year passed as peacefully and quietly as the first. The only difference was that the teachers had finally made a plan in order to pull through with a Quidditch tournament between the classes.

Cedric became the captain of the second years' team and took the position of the Keeper, while Harry became Seeker, Angelina, Alicia and Adrian Chasers, and the twins played as Beaters.

Although Madam Hooch as well as Amelia instructed them to not expect to win the Quidditch cup, since 90 percent of the students were much older and powerful than themselves, Harry managed to catch the Snitch in every match. At the end of the year, the second years did not only win the Quidditch cup, however, but also the class competition again.

"We're just the best," the twins spoke up in a simultaneous sing-sang, causing everyone to laugh.

Just like in the previous year, the teachers decided to award the winning class a visit to Marseille along with fifty Gaullions to spend for something that they wanted for the common room.

HP

When all students but Susan and Harry had left in the morning, Amelia and Severus ushered their children into the Snapes' living room for a small conversation.

Susan and Harry exchanged a confused look, unable to remember what they might have done that was against the rules. However, the conversation turned out to revolve about something completely different.

"As you might have noticed by now," Severus began to speak in his soft voice that made both children realise that they were not going to be scolded for anything, "Amelia and I don't overly dislike being together."

'What?' Harry thought, only to roll his eyes in annoyance at his father's complicated way of speaking, when his father continued, "Therefore, we have decided to magically connect our living rooms and try out how it would be to live together.

"I like that," Susan spoke up, smiling at Harry, who returned an uncomfortable look.

"Are you sure that we won't be in your way?" he asked in a barely audible voice, turning his gaze to his father.

"Of course not," Severus replied, sounding upset. "You're both our children and belong to us. You should know by now that we're not like the Dursleys."

"That's true," Harry said in relief, feeling very much reassured.

During the rest of the day, both children helped the adults rearrange the two living rooms to one big one, which in their opinion was a very funny affair.

"This really has advantages," Susan said to Harry, when they sat in Harry's room later on playing with Barkymort. "It's much easier to play with each other, as we don't even have to leave our quarters."

"Yes, that's great," Harry agreed. "And somehow we're like a real family. I'm really happy now."

"Me too," Susan agreed, as she observed, giggling, how Barkymort tried to catch his stuffed dog back from Harry.

HP

A few days later, Amelia and Severus told the children that the headmistress had arranged for possible new first years and their families to visit the school on the first of July.

"Since the new first years are of the same age as you, we hope that you'll show your best behaviour and tell them everything that they want to know about our school," Severus said in a stern voice. "These parents come with their children in order to get to know our school and decide if they want to send their children here or rather wait three more years and send them to Hogwarts."

"So far, thirty students are supposed to come with their parents, some also with older or younger siblings," Amelia added.

"I have an idea," Harry spoke up and, seeing six eyes directed at him, continued, "You know our tree house. Maybe we could ask Hagrid to make another one on a different tree, but not a secret but one that's visible to the whole school and much smaller, only for about five students. All students from all classes could use it just together with their best friends..." He unsurely looked from one to the other.

"That's a brilliant idea," Susan was the first to comment. "Maybe Hagrid could even make two on two different trees. We can ask if there's anything that we can do to help."

"Excuse me," Amelia spoke up, seemingly confused. "Tree house?"

Harry and Susan stared at each other in shock. "Oh no," Harry said, sighing. "I'm sorry Amelia. It was supposed a secret. Only Dad got to know about it by chance. Two years ago, Hagrid built a tree house for us. It's charmed to be invisible, and our whole class fits in. Please keep this information to yourself though. It's our class' secret."

Amelia began to laugh. "So that's where you're always hiding. Of course I will keep your secret, however, I believe that it would be all right to let the teachers in onto the secret. They wouldn't give you out to anyone but would probably want to admire your secret place."

"It's a fantastic place," Severus threw in. "The children have done well making it to what it is now. We could cast a charm at our colleagues that makes it impossible for them to speak about it. Would that be all right with you?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow at the children.

"All right," Susan and Harry agreed, simultaneously.

"How about making a short detour to the headmistress' office to receive her agreement for two tree houses and then paying Hagrid a visit?" Amelia suggested. "Maybe on the way back you could show me your tree house if you don't mind?"

HP

During the following two days, Harry and Susan eagerly helped Hagrid build five more tree houses in adequate trees. While they could not assist much with the building of the outside walls, they instructed the elves what they wanted inside and busied themselves decorating the small rooms to make them as cosy and comfortable as possible.

When everything was finished, Minerva, Amelia and Severus came to view the project.

"This is amazing," the headmistress spoke up, looking at the inside of one of the tree houses in awe.

Severus chuckled. "Let our children show you theirs. It's even more brilliant," he suggested.

Susan and Harry proudly allowed the headmistress into their tree house, in which their whole class had worked together over two years to make it as comfortable and cosy as it was.

"This is amazing," the headmistress said to her colleagues, back on the ground. "Why don't we expand the other five tree houses, or at least four of them, so that the five lower classes can all have their own tree house? They must not be secret of course, and the head of year must be able to access the house."

HP

By the time the eight-year-olds came to visit the Nice School with their families, the school possessed six tree houses, one small one for everyone's use and five that were big inside for the five lower classes to use. One of them was invisible to everyone else, and all five class tree houses were charmed so that people from other classes were only able to access them on explicit invitations.

"Too bad that I can't award points during the holidays," the headmistress told Harry and Susan, regrettably. "Otherwise, your class would receive points for this brilliant idea."

"That was the twins," the children replied, simultaneously.

"And Harry saw to it that Hagrid built it for us," Susan added, proudly.

"Are any of our classmates going to come with their younger siblings?" Harry asked, curiously.

However, Minerva contented herself to merely smile at the excited boy and replied, "I'm sure that you're going to have much fun tomorrow."

tbc...

Thanks to the kind readers who reviewed the last chapter. To the other 1000+ readers: Are you still interested in this story?