I don't own HP!
Note: I know I didn't update last week. I would have updated yesterday, but people were running me ragged. Last week was a blur, and then we had a so-called "day off" that turned into a busy house-work day. I'm getting to the point that I'll update when I can, even though I really want it to be once a week, at least! Also, please bear with me as I understand nothing of Britain's Real Estate or Legal system.
The Poll is up on my profile, so that you can help me pick a school name! It'll be up for a week or two longer, as the name isn't necessary for the chapter quite yet.
Right now, we've got 3 tied for the lead:
*Pendragon Primary
*Corking Primary
*Black Star Primary
Now, on with story!
Board Member Openings
Back at the Tonks' residence, that night after supper...
"I still don't understand why we can't start construction immediately. Especially now that we bought the land!" Sirius griped to Andromeda.
"Sirius, we technically don't own the land just yet, as the realtor has to run it by the courts of the County of Devon," Andromeda sighed tired of having to explain the legal proceedings, yet again to her cousin.
Narcissa looked at her sister and smiled understandingly, "Siri, I think what Andy is trying to say is that a farmer couldn't pay the taxes on the land. So, they sold it to the County to make some money to pay off the taxes. We have to wait to see if the County of Devonshire will allow us to purchase the land. Once that gets approved, we have to sign a few more documents, and then we own it stock, lock, and barrel. Does that sum it up, sister?"
"It may take a few weeks. We could speed it along a bit, but our time is best spent gathering sponsors for the school," Andromeda agreed.
"So we don't own the land yet?! But I signed my life away!" Sirius pouted.
"Sirius, that was just the beginning. It will be finished up soon enough. Now, you two'd best get the boys up to bed. It looks like they've fallen asleep on the settee," Andy smiled as her husband picked up little Dora and carried her up the stairs to her room.
"We'll discuss what comes next after we put Harry and Draco to bed," Narcissa nodded to her sister as she picked up her son, leaving Sirius to pick up Harry. They marched up the stairs and tucked the two boys into bed before coming back down the stairs to see Andromeda had tea prepared.
"We need to prepare for Dowager Longbottom and Lord Greengrass' arrival tomorrow and Lady Zabini the following day," Andy sighed tiredly. "Augusta can be grating and tiresome, but she's honest. Conner is a crotchety skinflint, but he'd do anything for his family. I've not heard much about Fiorella, besides she's a possible Black Widow. Amelia may show up at any time, as I received a letter from her less than a few moments ago. Her schedule is fairly full, but she can squeeze meeting us in tomorrow while Augusta is here. I've yet to hear anything from Xenophilius or Amos. Xeno is eccentric at best and obstinately obtuse at his worst. Amos is Quidditch mad, and he's overly proud."
"We should take them as they come. We've yet to hear back from Arthur or Molly. Though it might just be Molly's stubbornness," Narcissa sighed thoughtfully. "We'll deal with it in the morning. Andy, you and I will convince Augusta."
"I'll take Amy, we dated for a bit, but not sure that will help us or hurt," Sirius winced.
"That leaves me with Conner, joy," Ted sighed tiredly.
"No, but it leaves you watching the kids unless we need a level head," Narcissa smiled at her brother-in-law.
"Babysitter it is," Ted chuckled with a twinkle in his eye. "Now, we'd best pop off to bed ourselves, big day tomorrow!"
"Night Andy, Ted, Siri," Narcissa nodded to her family, as she walked up to the room she was sharing with Dora.
The others tottered off to bed and they all slept well, minus Sirius, who woke up from a nightmare of his time at Azkaban, he wasn't able to return to sleep in his bed. So, he slipped into the boys room, and fell asleep in a chair, as he watched over them.
The next morning, as they all ate at the enlarged table, the bell rang...
"That can't be Augusta, while she likes to be prompt, she'd never be two hours early..." Andromeda frowned as she stood, and cautiously walked to the door.
Sirius was surprised when Narcissa handed him her wand again, and motioned him to follow her, "What?"
"Be her back-up. Ted's with me and the kids, we can make a run out the back if we need to," Narcissa motioned for him to hurry as Andy was almost at the door.
Sirius nodded in understanding and raced after his cousin Andy, only for the door to burst open and two people come waltzing through!
"Hello! Hello! And have any of you seen the Bumbling Humperdink that sent me this notice?" the man was dressed oddly. There were bottle-caps shirt in the shape of a flower, and it looked like he was in full seventies hippy garments, along with an odd necklace that looked like a silver triangle.
"Xenophilius," Andromeda gritted her teeth as she opened the door wider to see a mini-hippy version in all yellow, with bottle-caps for earrings. "Would you and your daughter like to join us for breakfast?"
"That sounds splendid!" Xenophilius waltzed right past Andromeda and towards the kitchen.
His daughter followed him, but paused and looked up at Sirius, "I am glad your cousin decided to switch minds, even if it wasn't the one she would have been, originally. It was a blessing for Harry that you are no longer falsely imprisoned."
Sirius just nodded dumbly as the little girl walked past him and after her father with a dreamy look on her face, then he looked to Andromeda, "This is who Narcissa wants to help sponsor the school?"
"One of them," Andromeda grumbled as she shut the door behind the odd duo.
"Hello! Call me Xeno, and this is my little moonbeam, Luna!" Xeno introduced himself very flamboyantly.
"Is it just me, or is he wearing bottle caps as a flower?" Dora whispered curiously to her dad.
"Well met Xeno, you can call me Cissa or Narcissa Black. It's a pleasure to meet you and your wonderful daughter," Narcissa recovered a bit from the surprise of the man and girl skipping into the kitchen.
Sirius and Andromeda followed slowly behind, and Sirius handed Narcissa back her wand, "I really need to visit Ollivander's."
Harry, Dora, and Draco were all a bit hesitant with the new duo, but seeing how Narcissa warmed up to the duo, it might have helped a bit.
"Hello, my name is Dora Tonks, what's yours?" Dora asked curiously.
"Luna Lovegood. I'm pleased to meet you, Tonks," Luna smiled dreamily at the girl.
"I'm Draco Mal-er-Black," Draco stuttered out his introduction.
"Harry Potter," Harry blushed as he managed to get out a word or two.
"Have any of you managed to see a Crumple Horned-Snorkack? Daddy and I have been to a few different places, but we've missed them each time," Luna asked hopefully.
"What is a Crumple Horned-Snorkack?" Harry asked, forgetting his shyness and that he was allowed to ask questions. "If we know what it looks like, maybe we could help you find it?"
"Daddy and I are still trying to find out," Luna smiled at him happily, "But we know that they have a horn."
"Mother, could we help Luna find a Snorkack?" Draco asked his mother curiously.
"I believe the best person to help Luna and her father would be the Magizoologist, Newt Scamander. I've heard his son is a few years above what you will be at Hogwarts," Narcissa winked at Luna knowingly.
"Then I won't be able to meet him to ask until then?" Luna sighed sadly, "If only there was a school that I could meet him at before then..."
"That was what we wished to discuss with you, Xenophilius," Andromeda sighed tiredly. "We're looking for sponsors or rather Board Members to help us start a private primary school."
"We've almost got the land bought, and now we're crossing the eyes and dotting the tees!" Sirius grinned happily.
"What do you think, moonbeam?" Xeno turned to his daughter.
"We may get to meet the Magizoologist sooner, and his son," Luna nodded. "Plus, they've agreed to help us look for Crumple Horned-Snorkacks."
"Then consider it done!" Xeno beamed, "What do I need to do?"
"Nothing quite yet. We're still gathering sponsors, so once we get four, then we'll get down to the details," Andromeda stated.
"Spiffing! Marvelous breakfast, by the by!" Xeno crowed as he was apparently eating Andromeda's plate.
Noting that Andy's eye was twitching, Narcissa called for, "Dobby, could you please get Andy and Luna a plate for breakfast?"
"Right away Miss Cissy!" Dobby popped in with two more breakfasts, which Luna and Andy quickly devoured, and Andy was in a better mood once Ted passed her the coffee. Yes, it appeared to Narcissa that it wasn't just the American's and the Italian's that were hooked on the brew, her sister was too. And woe would befall anyone who got between Andy and her coffee.
At ten on the nose, the fireplace opened up and four people flooed in. Two children and two older women, of course, they did end up tripping over each other. The woman with the vulture on her hat bumbled into the younger woman who had a no-nonsense attitude, and the children falling into a puppy pile in order to avoid the adults.
"Augusta, Amelia, a pleasure to see you again," Andromeda sighed tiredly.
"That must mean that you two would be little Neville and Susan," Sirius smiled as he helped the kids up.
"Are you both all right?" Narcissa began helping Augusta to her feet, only to be rebuffed by the woman, once she recognized her.
"You! What is a Malfoy doing here?!" the woman hissed at her. "And why is the owner of that rag here?"
"Xeno is one of our honored guests, as is his daughter. You must not have gotten the memo that I'm not a Malfoy anymore." Narcissa helped Amelia to her feet, before giving a mock curtsy to Augusta, "Narcissa Black, pleased to meet you."
"Really?" Augusta raised an imperious eyebrow and turned to Sirius, "And how did that come about?"
"Quite simply, cousin Sirius dissolved my marriage to the Death Eater, and my son and I are under his protection," Narcissa smiled happily. "After all, Malfoy never supported the family motto of "toujours pur de coeur." Which, if our parents had bothered to look up, means "forever pure of heart" or loosely translated "always follow your heart." Not sure who cut off part of the family motto, but I'm sure they did it for their own gain... Or they wanted to be a Knight of Walpurgis."
"How... lovely," Augusta twitched. "Now, Black's, Tonks', what's this about a school?" Augusta frowned.
"Well... It's actually Cissy's idea," Sirius smiled. "We're going to try to beat back the blood purity bull-shit that they serve up in Hogwarts and start a school for younger kids. They don't need to practice magic, so it's no big deal, but they would get a head start on certain courses, and the muggle-born... er... First Generations would get less of a culture shock, as would their families."
"What courses are we talking about?" Augusta frowned, trying and failing to hide her interest at the kids getting ahead in school.
"Customs, Language, Arithmetic, The Arts, Basic Potions, and Physical Education," Andromeda replied.
"Customs would be a combination of showing the First Gen's about the Magical World and our customs, and in turn, we'd also teach the Magicals about the No-Maj and their customs. Language refers to reading and writing properly and clearly, which will help them in their essays at Hogwarts. Arithmetic to start pre-Arithmancy and help with potions and herbology. The arts refer to: music and drawing. Basic Potions will cover everything Snape forgets to tell the other Houses. How to cut, chop, and be safe. Physical Education will help to increase the potential for them to have stronger magical cores, and if they choose, to join a sport or Quidditch school team when they go to Hogwarts," Narcissa outlined the basics.
Augusta blinked in surprise, "I'm unsure that this is something that should have the Longbottom name attached to-"
"We would actually have you on the Board, helping us decide things. We've come up with a few things that we could use your expertise, and Madam Bones'," Andromeda inserted.
"My expertise?" Augusta blinked in confusion.
"We would like to do background checks on the parents of any magical child. There have been a few that slip through the cracks and could need a new home due to abuse or neglect. Unfortunately, I was one of those that would have needed this system. If they'd caught it early enough, my brother might still be alive," Sirius stated flatly, not noting that Narcissa had motioned Ted to take the kids to another room.
"It can be much worse on the No-Maj side of things, betimes," Narcissa stated softly, once Ted and the children were out of the room. "Your Grandson's God-brother is a case for that."
Augusta's eyes hardened, "What happened to Harry? Albus assured me that Harry was in a safe, loving home."
"He lied," Sirius growled out angrily. "The sanctimonious old coot never checked on Harry a day in his life!"
Narcissa laid a calming hand on Sirius' shoulder, "What my cousin means to tell you is that we found Harry locked inside a cupboard under the stairs, bruised and battered in clothing far too large and worn to have been his originally. There was a proper bedroom available, but it housed broken toys. We had the Goblins and Ted Tonks heal him and document everything as they went..."
"Here," Andromeda handed the folder to Augusta. "Harry was given to his maternal Aunt, Petunia. She was known to hate anything to do with magic, well before Dumbledore left him there. Snape even warned Dumbledore against it, or so Narcissa has said."
Augusta paled as she read the file, and when she got to the magical things that had been done to the boy... "Count me in!"
"Amelia?" Sirius turned to her.
"I've already read the copy Narcissa had the Goblins send me. I'm building a case against Dumbledore, slowly, with the Goblin's aid. I will help you screen the parents of any magical children, but we will need to train someone to spot the abuse. As of now, I believe Andromeda's husband, Healer Tonks, would be best," Amelia stated calmly.
"You'll join the Board, then?" Andromeda asked hopefully.
"It wouldn't be prudent. However, I would like to be a silent sponsor, at this time," Amelia stated. "I have to think of the Ministry, after Susan."
"We understand," Narcissa nodded. "Thank you for helping us come up with a way to prevent another potential Dark Lord sprouting from an abusive home."
"You're claiming that this has happened before?" Xeno asked curiously, speaking for the first time since Augusta and Amelia arrived.
"It has. Have you ever heard of one Tom Marvolo Riddle? What about Gellert Grindelwald? Morgana Le Fey?" Narcissa asked matter of factly.
"Riddle? Who?" Augusta blinked in confusion, as she'd recognized the other two.
"Tom Riddle is the man everyone calls Lord Voldemort. It was in a note I saw from Lucius' father to the man. His name is a silly anagram for goodness sake... Andy, would you?" Narcissa asked her sister.
Andromeda raised an eyebrow, "What should I write?"
"Tom Marvolo Riddle, then move the letters around," Narcissa sighed in annoyance.
Once Andromeda did what she had been asked, Augusta went pale as parchment, "Tommy Riddle did all this?"
"You knew him?"
"He went to school a few years behind me, he was a sweet boy. Even made Head Boy, if I remember. Top of his class, despite being a half-blood in Slytherin. I-" Augusta turned to Amelia, "Did you know?!"
"I found out a few days ago," Amelia nodded.
"Now what do we do?" Augusta asked curiously.
"Why don't we check on the children," Narcissa smiled sadly. "See if they made friends?"
"Spiffing idea!" Xeno nodded as he hid his necklace inside his shirt, noting that Narcissa gave him a knowing look.
In the living room...
"You can change into anything?! You're brilliant! Can I do it too?" Susan Bones asked Dora hopefully, and that was when the other adults, besides Ted walked in.
"No, it's a metamorph thing. I think it runs in the Black Family. Each family has certain set of gifts, but not everyone is the same. It also skips some generations..." Dora began, before looking at her dad, "Right Dad?"
"It does, but I'm not sure why..." Ted began, only to see Narcissa smile.
"All people have something special about them, but when people as close as cousins marry... it can cause those special things to disappear or cause bad things to happen to their children. Take the Black Madness, that comes from marrying too closely into ones own family. Sirius' mum is a prime example of that, as is Andy's and my sister, Bellatrix. They both have the Black Madness, while Dora here has a special gift, as Ted's family never married into the Black line before."
"... That was rather simple and informative," Sirius winced. "Did you have to use our family, though?"
"Best to use people and examples you understand and know about," Narcissa shrugged, then she turned to Neville, Luna, Draco, and Harry, who had managed to get into Dora's jack game. It was clear that Harry was worried about winning, but Neville was doing well, a fact that Draco was praising him, along with Luna was promising.
"At least the kids are getting along," Sirius shrugged. "So, what are we gonna do when Greengrass comes?"
