The Magical World Exposed
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.
Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking.
"Albus, did I understand it correctly that you just agreed to shun the statute of secrecy?" Severus Snape queried in disbelief, quirking an eyebrow at the headmaster.
"I believe that it's a very good idea," Minerva McGonagall replied, glancing at Albus Dumbledore, "even if your reasoning is beyond my comprehension."
"Let me guess," Snape continued to rant, groaning. "It's all about Potter, isn't it?"
Dumbledore let out a deep sigh. "Well, I'd love to keep an eye on little Harry. As you know, there's that prophecy made about Harry and Voldemort. I believe that Voldemort will return at some stage and Harry has to battle him. He'll need some guidance from magical people, not from Muggles. Oh well," he interrupted his tirade, "I think that these lessons at the university are harmless and won't hurt the magical world."
"They surely are," Minerva agreed, only to add, "I know Mr. O'Brien personally, and I believe that he's most qualified for holding a class about magic for Muggle students." 'Just like he or his wife would probably make an excellent professor for Muggle studies,' she thought to herself.
"Minerva," Dumbledore spoke up, seemingly horrified, "you know Professor O'Brien?"
"Yes, I have met him somewhere," Minerva admitted. "He's a good friend of Arthur Weasley."
"He what?" Dumbledore queried, knitting his brows.
"I think the whole Weasley clan is friends with the O'Briens," the Gryffindor head confirmed, lightly.
"Well, the problem is that the blood wards don't work anymore if Harry is not living together with his aunt," Dumbledore slightly changed the topic, causing Lily, who was secretly following the conversation from Godric Gryffindor's portrait, to groan.
"Professor Dumbledore," she spoke up, causing everyone except for Minerva to turn to her in apparent surprise, "these blood wards only work based on love, something which is nonexistent between my sister and my son. If Death Eaters came and wanted to get to Harry, my sister would gladly hand him over. Now, however, my son has a new family, with a twin brother who shares his blood and would be ready to do anything for him."
"But he needs the blood wards," Dumbledore explained, patiently.
"Mr. Weasley and a few members of his staff saw to it and placed blood wards around our house, in addition to the Fidelius charm," Lily replied, firmly. "My son is surrounded by people who love him and mean the world to him. I'm sure that he's absolutely safe right now. In fact, I'm just wondering if he'll be as safe if he decides to attend Hogwarts in a year's time. With a headmaster who placed him into an abusive home against James' and my clear wishes stated in our will, I'm not sure if I can recommend it to him."
Dumbledore thoughtfully stroked his beard. "I shall see to it that Harry will be safe at Hogwarts," he then promised, causing Minerva and Lily to let out a simultaneous snort.
HP
At the beginning of June, just a few days before the twins' eleventh birthday, the next open display of magic took place at Cillian's class. Cillian had decided to wait a year to let things settle a bit before taking action again. Like the last time, the children were very excited, maybe even more so than the last time, since they had practised their display together with Ginny and the Weasley twins, who had just returned from their second Hogwarts year three days ago.
Instead of just stepping through the fireplace like Cillian used to do to travel to work and back, Annette and Molly decided to take the children to the Leaky Cauldron and walk from there in order to pass some time and maybe calm the excited little wizards and witches before their display of magic.
HP
Unfortunately, by the time their reached the university, Harry noticed that he could barely breathe and felt extremely unwell. Knowing instinctively that it was too bad to hide it, he pulled Annette aside and whispered, "Mum, I don't feel well."
Taking in his feverishly flushed face and shallow breathing, Annette quickly informed Molly, who promised to take care of David and Hermione, before she asked Flora to take Harry and her back home right away.
Back at Potter Manor, Annette made Harry lie down on the sofa in the entrance hall, before she leaned back into the fireplace and called Poppy from Hogwarts.
"I have to take him with me," Pomfrey informed the boy's adoptive mother after a few waves of her wand, promising to come back later or send Professor McGonagall to inform them about Harry's condition.
HP
In the meantime, Albus Dumbledore accessed the Muggle university, dressed in Muggle clothes and with his long beard hidden under a well-placed charm.
Sitting in the last row of the lecture room, he observed with curiosity and growing surprise how the children provided a pleasant show for the Muggle students along with some reporters and journalists of the Muggle world.
'The Weasley twins, the youngest Weasley girl and the two children of Professor O'Brien,' he thought, wondering where one Harry Potter was on this warm early summer afternoon.
'I've completely failed Harry,' he thought upon seeing Mrs. Weasley care for the children after the display together with Professor O'Brien. Even the British Prime Minister walked up to the front and shook hands with the children. 'Harry doesn't need me at all, even if he isn't with the others today. Maybe they feared that I'd come and take him back to Petunia,' he thought, inwardly snorting, before he apparated straight back to the gates of Hogwarts in determination.
By the time he reached the school, determined to inform his deputy about his retirement at a much earlier time than originally intended, he could neither find Minerva nor Severus, and none of them attended dinner either.
'I wonder what happened,' he thought in confusion, realising in surprise that Fawkes had a visitor. It was a very colourful phoenix, and he had to admit to himself that it was the most beautiful bird which he had ever seen.
HP
It was much later the same evening, when everyone at Potter Manor including the best friends of the current inhabitants, the Weasleys, was sitting in the dining room without even touching their dinner, worrying about Harry, when Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall brought Harry back home along with a couple of strange looking devices.
"In fact, I'd prefer to keep him at Hogwarts, however, I don't trust the headmaster to stay away from Harry, and I'll be able to watch each of these devices through a charm, which will alert me if I'm needed," the healer informed the large family, before she instructed Annette in detail what each of the family members could do to help Harry."
"We'll both return in the morning," McGonagall announced. "Not only because of Harry, but I have something important to discuss with you," she added with a small smile playing on her lips.
"My wife and I won't be here, since we have to work," Mr. Granger spoke up, sounding apologetic.
"That's fine," McGonagall replied, gently.
"I already told them that I'd stay at home tomorrow because of Harry," Cillian reassured the professor.
"I wonder what she wants to speak about," Hermione whispered to David, as they ran upstairs to keep Harry company. "I just hope they won't tell us that Harry can't attend Hogwarts because of the headmaster."
"If so, I won't go either," David replied in a firm voice.
"Nor will I," Hermione agreed, smiling.
HP
However, for once, Harry was not the main topic of the conversation. When Professor McGonagall returned to Potter Manor in the morning, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, who strode straight to Harry's room, she asked Annette to call Mrs. Weasley over. Surprised, everyone gathered in the dining room, and under Lily's and James' watchful eyes, McGonagall explained her plan.
"Madam Pomfrey told me yesterday afternoon that Harry's condition is not good enough for him to reside in a dormitory, especially since most of the houses afford climbing a lot of staircases," she began, causing Hermione and David to stare at her in shock.
"Therefore," the professor continued, absentmindedly nodding when Pomfrey entered the room and took a seat, "I've been thinking about what to do. Professor Dumbledore informed me last night that he's going to retire at the end of the school year, so that I'm going to become the new headmistress."
"Congratulations, Professor," Hermione blurted out, smiling.
"Thank you dear," McGonagall replied, returning a rare smile. "I believe that it would be for the best if someone of Harry's enlarged family here became a teacher at Hogwarts and would take him in, so that he at least wouldn't have to live in the hospital wing."
"I believe that would be the best," Molly Weasley spoke up, warmly. "However, since Ginny will only turn eleven next year, I won't be able to help I'm afraid."
McGonagall smirked. "In fact," she continued to reveal her plan, "I've thought of positions for each of you. As to Ginevra," she turned to Mrs. Weasley, "as far as I know, she has been attending lessons here together with everyone else, so that I believe that she'd be well able to follow the first year class right away, provided that she'd be comfortable with it."
"I'd love that," Ginny threw in. "Oh please, Mum, let me attend classes together with David, Harry, Hermione and Ron."
"What I was going to offer," McGonagall spoke again, "is the position of the Muggle studies professor to Annette, the Defence Against the Dark Arts position to Sirius, the Transfiguration professor's position to Remus, and the Charms position to Molly, since Professor Flitwick would like to become the professor for History of Magic instead." She leaned back in her seat and let her eyes wander around the room in clear expectation.
"Minerva," Lily was the first to speak up, "I believe that these are very fitting positions for each of the adults here, and with my son's enlarged family living at Hogwarts, I'm certain that he'll be safe and sound at the school. Thank you very much dear. I really appreciate your consideration."
"You don't have to decide now," McGonagall added. "Just please keep my offer in mind and inform me of your decisions as soon as possible."
"I accept. Thank you, Minnie," Sirius replied, grinning.
"Me too, if my furry problem is not a hindrance," Remus added, readily.
"I have to confer with my husband before promising anything," Molly spoke up, pensively, "however, I'd love to teach Charms at Hogwarts."
Annette looked uncertainly from the professor to the children. "If you deem me adequate to fulfil the position, I gladly accept," she finally said, having seen Hermione and David as well as Cillian nod eagerly.
"Very well then," McGonagall replied, smiling. "Thank you very much for accepting. I will then see to it that Ginny receives her Hogwarts letter together with everyone else," she promised, before she returned to Hogwarts together with Pomfrey.
HP
Everyone seemed happy with Professor McGonagall's offer, apart from Ronald Weasley, who muttered something about "Special treatment for some people."
"Shut up, Ronald," Hermione and Ginny scolded the boy, immediately. "Do you always have to be jealous of everyone and everything?" Ginny added, glaring at her brother.
"There's a reason for everything," David added, rolling his eyes at the other boy.
"I'll go and check on Harry," Hermione added, shaking her head in annoyance, as she climbed upstairs to tell her best friend the good news about Dumbledore's retirement and McGonagall's plans.
When she entered Harry's room, she could not help smiling upon seeing that Harry was cuddling with a stuffed green dragon. Even though Harry possessed a brown teddy bear, the same as his twin brother, she had never seen the boy actually cuddle with it.
"What's this?" she asked in amusement, causing Harry to blush.
"Madam Pomfrey gave it to me," he explained. "It has an inhaler inside, which can help me when I have breathing problems again, but the dragon also has the effect of cooling my skin," he added, handing out his dragon to the girl.
"Oh, that's amazing," Hermione replied, feeling the soft yet cool skin of the toy. "I really love magic," she added, before she explained about all the changes that were going to take place at Hogwarts during the next few months.
"Everyone is going to work at Hogwarts?" Harry asked in apparent delight, "Except for your parents and Cillian? Oh well apart from those who already work elsewhere."
"I don't know if my parents are going to remain here," Hermione said, pensively. "They're probably going to return home and only come back here, when we're all going to be here during the Christmas and summer holidays."
"Well, they can do as they please," Harry replied. "Maybe Cillian can stay with us at Hogwarts, so he won't be alone here," he added, grinning.
"I hope that we're going to be sorted into the same house," Hermione suddenly remembered. "If not, it would be horrible."
"Well, since we have our parents at Hogwarts, we can always meet at home, and if I have to stay at home anyway, maybe you and David will be allowed the same," Harry replied, thoughtfully.
"I don't have my parents there," Hermione objected, looking sadly at the boy.
"Isn't Annette something like your second mother anyway?" Harry asked, seemingly surprised, before he added, "Your mum is definitely like another mother to me."
"Yes, that's true," Hermione had to admit, suddenly not feeling left out at the thought of not having her parents at Hogwarts anymore.
"I can't wait to finally get my Hogwarts letter," Harry said, sighing. "I hope we'll get it at our birthday like you and Ron did."
"Sure," Hermione replied, smiling.
However, before the twins' birthday, something happened that pushed the thought about their Hogwarts letters at the far back of their minds.
tbc...
