Disclaimer: We all know how these work, I acknowledge that J., Warner Bros. and Scholastic own Harry Potter and all other characters and settings from cannon, and I get to write whatever I please and even add in characters of my own as long as I don't get any money. The no money sucks but there you go, at least I don't get lawyers knocking on my door. Addendum: If you recognize a name of a character from elsewhere it isn't mine.
A/N: I just finished online corrections of last chapter, to those of you who read it before corrections I apologize I can only say I wrote while I was sick and I can tell. Hopefully I caught them all if not point them out and I'll fix them meanwhile on to the new chapter. I think I'm going to add I like reviews but flames and similar reviews irk me, I write for my pleasure first. You don't like, don't read. That said, I do appreciate my readers especially those that send me encouraging and or constructive reviews . This story is about Sirius, Harry gets a story of his own after this one. Yes folks I am talking about a sequel for Harry's Hogwarts years.
Sirius' Savior
Chapter 29 A new school
Saturday morning Sirius begged off the first half the day's shopping because he needed to do some paperwork and planning for his estate. Beth decided to call her mother and Lia who had agreed to serve as maid of honor for dress shopping. The first shop they went to didn't have any dresses that caught Beth's fancy. The next store they went to had a much larger selection.
Harry found it interesting how Maryanne, Lia, and the shop assistants at both stores ignored him but if he was nearby when Beth came out with a dress on she would look at him. If he shook his head no she would find fault with the dress. So far every dress she had tried on had a basque or v waistline that hit her a little below her natural waist and it just didn't seem right. Harry slid on a pair of gloves that the store offered to protect the dresses from dirt and oil on the customers hands and started looking. He was looking through the closeout dresses when he found it.
Meanwhile Beth was getting discouraged every dress she tried on was gorgeous but none of them seemed right. They were all too... too. She looked for Harry. Her mother had asked her what was she thinking bringing a young boy with her when she was dress shopping but Beth said "Harry's excellent company while shopping Mother. He helped me find that green dress I got on my vacation that I wore to the White House." Maryanne had subsided. But where was Harry?
Her question was answered a second later when he appeared carrying a dress. "I found a dress!"
Lia found the resentment on the faces of the shop assistant and Maryanne amusing as Beth took the dress from the boy, and took it to the dressing room to try it on.
Four minutes later when everyone saw Beth step out of the dressing room there was no longer a question why she insisted Harry come along. It was the only dress he had asked her to try on but it was clearly the dress for Beth. When Beth saw herself in the mirror she suddenly seemed to light up. It was a diamond white, A-line with an empire waist accentuated by a satin sash that angled from just below her breasts back to her natural waist in the back. The back was corseted not buttoned. The dress itself was lace that had small seed pearls and crystals to highlight the lace's elaborate fleur de lis medallions over a silk underdress. The simple v neck had a small lace insert for modesty and had simple cap sleeves, it was completed by a small train. It was a simple classic design and it looked exquisite on Beth.
Beth reached out and pulled Harry into a hug. "Thank you Harry!"
"Sirius is going to get that dopey look again you know."
"I hope so."
"We found your dress can we go get lunch now? I'm hungry, and we still have to get clothes for me and Sirius."
"How about we look at veils for just a bit then we'll go."
"Okay."
Twenty minutes later Beth had found a simple veil Harry approved of and paid for everything. Because her dress was on closeout, she was essentially buying it off the rack. The shop was going to clean and press it and she would pick it up Thursday.
Beth, Lia, and Maryanne continued to dress shop for the rest of the wedding party after lunch while Sirius and Harry left to see about their wardrobes.
On Monday morning Harry and Sirius pulled up to the gates of the Stuart-Cavanaugh Academy.
Harry grinned as he read the school's motto "teaching the leaders of tomorrow today". Sirius had read the brochure and thought the school sounded absurdly advanced but Harry seemed to have fallen in love with the challenge it offered already. After they parked the car, they walked into the school, they were met by two people a woman and a man.
The woman stepped forward first. "Mr. Black? I'm Rebecca Fortourney the assistant principal. This is Carson Beckett he's one of the school's counselors and he be administering Harry's entrance tests while I get you to fill out paperwork and show you around the school and explain how we operate."
Harry cheerfully went with the man.
Sirius followed the assistant principal to her office and spent the next hour filling in paperwork when he was almost finished she stepped out for a few minutes when she came back she had a couple of papers with her.
"You'll be pleased to hear Harry meets our basic eligibility requirement. His recall actually tests out at ninety-five percent."
"That will make him happy."
"I get the feeling you're not sure about our academy."
"I read your brochure, it sounds like your school is focused on cramming as much education...knowledge into kids as possible not leaving them time to be kids or develop social skills or outside interests."
Rebecca smiled, it was refreshing to find a parent like this. To often parents who approached the school were solely focus on the academic side of things. It was not terribly surprising because their children tended to be the academic cream of the crop. From the looks of the initial tests Harry wasn't an exception, however a guardian like this might mean he was more balanced than many new students they got."Let me show you around and explain how we do things here." They left her office and she started showing him the campus. "We believe that life doesn't happen in a vacuum. So history,literature, philosophy, art and music history are taught as a single course called humanities. We tend to have two of those classes to choose from a trimester one more ancient covering say five hundred years or so and one more modern usually covering a fifty to a hundred years. All students register for one of the humanities classes. We teach a social sciences class that teaches geography, political science, sociology, economics, civics and some psychology with an emphasis on current events. This is also a required course. From there all students take some form of physical education either by taking an actual class or by participating in a sport. Students take at least one foreign language and one composition course a trimester. They take a mathematics course, a science course, an arts course of some kind either art or performing arts. New students fifth grade and up are required to take a critical thinking course, it teaches inductive and deductive reasoning, logic and analysis of patterns, reasoning, looking for fallacies that kind of thing. Then most but not all students take what we call cotillion. It's a class that focuses on the social development etiquette both domestic and foreign, dancing, giving back to the community so on. We have an active student council, a students tutoring students program, and numerous clubs and sports teams. We also have organized groups like Boy and Girls Scout troops, and 4H on campus. We are an elite school but we don't have an elitist attitude; a tenth of the school are students here on scholarships and being this close to the capitol about a quarter of our student body is from other countries, mostly diplomats children. Once they enter fifth grade, in a given trimester each of our students is required to "give back" to the community four hours. Many of them do three to four times that.
"Policies, our trimester is thirteen weeks long then we take four or five weeks off. Trimester begins next week. Tuition and fees are due a week before term starts and include everything except books and uniforms. We require uniforms gray or khaki pants for boys, navy jacket, white or light blue oxford, school tie, and optional navy sweater or sweater vest. We don't allow weapons. This policy includes pocket knives if such a knife is needed say for boy scouts or girl scouts the knives can be checked into the office and removed for the specific use during the meeting. Problems are addressed by a conflict resolution model that can be instigated by students or staff or even parents. Everyone on staff has had extensive training and as such we are experienced at teaching it to the children most of them after a year here know the steps after two they tend to be able to do it with little help from adults. Hazing by students is grounds for expulsion and prosecution. Fighting is met with mandatory parental involvement and counseling on first offense, suspension on second offense, and expulsion on the third. We have an on campus nurse/paramedic. We have a zero tolerance policy on drugs with two exceptions epi-pens and inhalers for asthma which are taken on a case by case basis, we changed that policy after a student that carried an epi-pen for a peanut allergy saved the life of her friend when she got stung by a bee the first time. We do random drug testing, we don't try to lie and say it can't happen here. We have five counselors on staff. One for the forth grade and under Carson who works mostly with the fifth through seventh grades, and three others that work with the eighth grade and up. We tend to see a fair amount of stress related problems in the upper grades and try to be proactive about it. The policies are to keep the school as safe as possible for all students. Questions so far?"
Sirius thought about everything he'd been told and what he'd read in the brochure. "Day students versus boarding?"
"Stuart-Cavanaugh is a combined school. Seventy-five percent of our students fifth grade and up are boarding students. It makes it easier for them to meet the demands of the schedule by cutting out commute time. Fourth and below tend to be day students mostly because their parents want to keep tabs on them. About two thirds of our boarders go home weekends or at least part of them."
"I noticed the stables and riding arena during the tour is that only for some students?"
"The school has six horses the remaining twenty or so belong privately to students and are boarded here. One of our juniors is eligible for the Junior Olympics in Equitation. He boards his horse as do many other students. All sports are open to all students. The school has accommodations for students that don't otherwise have the means to participate. What sports does Harry like?"
"Harry likes lots of sports, he studies Martial arts, he won't like giving up his sais or his sticks. He's very good as a forward in football but not bad as a halfback. He swims like a fish, surfs, can kayak circles around me."
"He sounds like an athlete. What else does he do?"
"He takes pictures, he plays guitar and cello. Plays pranks."
"Your fiance mentioned to Heather he was multilingual what languages?"
Sirius smirked. "Balinese, Indonesian, English, French, and he's working on Latin and Japanese."
"He's fluent in four and learning two more? And he's eight?"
Sirius nodded. "As fluent or more than most eight and a half year olds."
"Whoa." Rebecca checked her watch. "Carson should be about done. Shall we head back in?"
"Sure."
When they walked into her office a few minutes later, Rebecca and Sirius were surprised to be greeted by a glare from the counselor. Carson Beckett's look changed to one of confusion when Harry bounced excitedly over and greeted Sirius with an exuberant hug that was easily returned. "Do I fais le connaisance sekolah?"
"English Harry. While they may know French I doubt Mrs. Fortourney or Mr. Beckett speak Indonesian."
"Sorry," Harry sheepishly apologized to the adults. "I wanted...I asked to get to know the school."
Rebecca was puzzled by Carson's attitude. After shooting Carson a puzzled look she said, "You're in luck. Because now while Carson talks to Sirius about the results, and you and I take a tour."
As Harry and the assistant principal left the room Sirius struggled with his hackles rising and an urge to growl as the counselor looked at him. "You obviously have some questions, or issues that came up in the last two and a half hours so instead of glaring at me, speak up."
"Harry is a very bright boy. However part of the entrance tests is a psychological evaluation, it is not an in depth one. But for an eight year old to have the results I saw on his, it makes me wonder if he's being abused. He's giving strong indicators of depression but he acts like nothing is wrong; that degree of acting usually goes hand in hand with abuse."
"Harry isn't abused, however he is going through a lot. I used to do security work; back at the end of July I almost died when my principal was attacked, which is why I no longer do security work. Add to that in November Harry learned that the treatment for a condition he's had almost his whole life involves stopping his heart. Most recently back on Dec. 17th, he and I lost the all people we considered our closest friends and family on Bali and then a week later he and I left the only home he remembers. Any one of those is hard for a kid to handle but Harry gets to deal with them all at once. Fate likes to dump on him, she started when he was fifteen months old and his mum was murdered in front of him. The bastard that did it, tried to kill him like he did Harry's parents; but Harry is above all things a survivor and to stubborn to quit. On the plus side, he mediates everyday and he and I talk about crap as he's ready to cope with it. I was only twenty two when his folks died and maybe I haven't been the best parent in the world but I did my best and Harry knows he's loved both by me and my fiance. He's actually looking forward to being a big brother. He does have good things in his life and I'll find him a counselor if we decide he needs it. We've been here eleven days and some things have taken precedent; like a place to live, a school. I'm still trying to get many things together so pardon me, I'm doing my best. Harry isn't one to share everything with someone he just met. So of course, he's going to act like nothing is wrong with his life around you; anything else would be displaying weakness, something that as a warrior spirit, he's unwilling to do. Any other questions?"
Carson Beckett sat there for several moments mentally processing everything he had just been told. He somehow he knew he was sitting there with a shocked look on his face. It wasn't everyday a counselor heard a recitation like that. It explained loads about the boy though. It implied a complexity to Harry that matched the maturity his tests showed. "No, no questions. Let's go over the rest of his results. I suspect Rebecca told you his recall index is ninety-five percent. His English scores are slightly low but given it isn't his dominant language that's not surprising. What is his dominant language by the way?"
"I don't think he has one. He lived in Great Britain his first fifteen months. Then after his folks died we traveled for six months Then we settled in Indonesia on Bali. He spoke Indonesian, Balinese and English inter-changeably and at three I started teaching him French as well. Since then he uses all four languages, sometimes in the same sentence."
Carson's eyebrows climbed into his hair in his surprise. He gulped then continued. "We analyze learning modalities visual, auditory, kinetic most kids Harry's age are dominant in one or two, most people grow more balanced between the three as they reach adulthood. Harry learns like someone seven or eight years older he's balanced in modality. We also test for intelligences." At Sirius' blank look he explained, "Multiple intelligence theory tells us that we all have differing levels of intelligence in different areas. The intelligences we test for are: spatial, kinesthetic, mathematic/logical, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, artistic, natural. Harry scored high in all but the artistic which is very unusual. Most people only score high in two or three areas."
Sirius smirked. "Harry's artistic talent is only found when he's behind a camera, I'm not surprised by what you've told me. Both of his parents were exceptionally smart, especially his mum. But I want to know what this means for him here at the school."
"He'll be placed in the fifth grade like he was in Indonesia. Which brings up the question of boarding or day student. I would plan that he'll be receiving tutoring for his English Composition class. He's going to be in the more advanced math class for the fifth graders. The rest of his classes he's probably going to fall right in the middle, unless you account for the fact he's a two years ahead of his peer group." Carson stumbled over what to say, he had basically accused the man in front of him of child abuse. He had questions but didn't know what to say. "Why if your lives were already so unsettled would you..."
"Pull up roots and come here? Harry was drowning in memories and grief back on Bali. We had met Beth, my fiance, while on a month long vacation in November. She is the one person we both wanted to see after...We literally lost almost everyone that had meaning for us in one night. What compounded the trauma, was that we were the people who could identify the bodies of everyone that died that night. I knew the adults and Harry knew the kids so we identified the bodies. I figured it was healthier to move than have him lost in grief. He still has it, but at least here he doesn't get reminded of it a million times a day."
"I'm sorry. I was wrong to accuse you. I'd like to help if I could."
"Keep the offer open, and we may eventually take you up on it. Mean while I'll have to talk to Harry on the boarding versus day student question. One factor may be the weapon policy. Harry practices Martial arts, weapons are part of it. There's also the factor that the terrorist bastard that killed his parents is out there somewhere and will probably come after Harry again someday. Indonesia isn't always the safest place to live, Harry has carried a weapon for his own protection most of the last two years. I don't like the idea of Harry being anywhere weaponless, but I realize compromises are required.
"What can you tell me about life of a boarding student?" Sirius asked.
"Our dorms are organized so two students of the same year share a room and every two rooms share a basic bathroom. Breakfast is served from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Lunch is 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Dinner is 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. There is a floor supervisor /parent on each floor that looks after about forty students. Each floor has a kitchen and a common room surrounded by bedroom suites. The kids have weekly room inspection, we have help that comes in does a cleaning but they don't do pickup and the kids laundry gets done but only if it's in the hampers. It encourages responsibility. Healthy snacks are available in the floor kitchen pretty much all the time and if we have students that want to cook they're encouraged to use the kitchen and clean up after themselves. There's a curfew to be in the dorm by nine, lights out is 10:00 p.m. Of course lights out is usually negotiable by a half an hour but kids need rest so we try to get the kids to keep regular hours.
"We have an infirmary for boarding students that get sick but since many of our boarders actually have family in the area many parents pull their children home when they're sick. Many of them also go home for the weekends. Unlike many boarding schools we try to allow our parents lots of access, we believe it makes for healthier and happier kids to encourage parental involvement. We only have a couple of kids whose parents prefer to not be involved , those are the kids I see the most of usually.
"Our boarding students are encouraged to have personal computers, but TV's and game systems are discouraged. Cell phones are allowed but must be turned off during class. Most boarders have their uniforms, one or two more formal ensembles, and then usually a week's worth of casual wear. Many of them bring a small personal library, twenty-five to fifty books and maybe a dozen personal items. The dorm rooms aren't huge but they are comfortable. The common rooms on each floor are stocked with board games and cards, but most of the kids here, once they hit fifth grade tend to be focused enough that unstructured play is no longer a big part of their lives.
"I'm not sure whether I would recommend Harry be a day or a boarding student. He is younger than the other fifth graders, but in many ways he's as or more mature than most of them. I suppose I would ask you how much unstructured time does Harry usually spend in freeplay?"
"Per day or per week? The answer to either would be very little maybe a couple hours total a week. He'll lose himself on a walk looking for the perfect picture or he'll play with his legos, when we went on vacation in November he surfed for hours but he didn't do much sand castle building unless Beth roped him into it. He prefers to structure his activities photography, martial arts practice, guitar or cello, a swim in the pool. Socially he played football. He used to allow Hadi to choose unstructured play activities. He is very self disciplined. If I arranged for a private sensei to come here so Harry could continue his martial arts instruction would it be permissible for him to continue his arms instruction under the auspices of a private teacher?"
"Probably since that is what the fencing team and the archery teams effectively do."
"Good enough, as his guardian am I free to come and see him whenever as long as I don't disrupt his classes? Rebecca said tuition would be due pretty much immediately but she didn't say what books usually run. She also neglected to mention where we could get uniforms."
Carson gave Sirius a smile and said, "Books run between six and seven hundred dollars, Hunting's Uniforms carries the school uniforms. I expect except during class time as long as you checked in at the office you could probably have access to Harry but if you were going to be here a lot we'd probably require you to get a background check."
"Harry and I will talk it over tonight. If this is the place for him I'll let you know whether or not he wants to board tomorrow."
"Mr. Black I apologize again for the conclusions I jumped to and extend my heartfelt condolences on your losses."
"Thanks but no apology is really necessary because you were acting from concern. It's easy to forgive concern besides you had no way of knowing, for all you knew Harry was abused, some kids are. I hope you understand or at least begin to understand, that contrary to your initial reactions Harry's best interests lay with me."
"Yes I believe I do."
A few minutes later, a very excited Harry and the assistant principal re-entered the office and further discussion was put off as Harry's stomach gurgled loudly and he asked for lunch. After polite goodbyes Sirius and Harry left the school.
