"Welcome! Welcome to Chateau Noir! Please, make yourselves comfortable, the Duke will be down in a moment to greet you personally. Unfortunately, there was a last minute emergency he had to see to." Narcissa said grandly as a few house elves were already milling about offering to take coats. All in all, it was a rather impressive group of thirty people assembled together in the main foyer. Honestly, I was actually rather surprised that everyone I invited showed up: all four of the Greengrasses, Davises, and Patils - the three Bells, Diggories, and Tonkses - and finally there were the two Longbottoms, Boneses, and Zabinis. Along with Narcissa and Draco, it looked like everyone had shown up as promised - I was the only one missing. Of course, I wasn't so much missing as observing my guests from an upstairs balcony while hiding under the Invisibility Cloak.

So it was little surprise that almost no one even caught a glimpse of me - except Blaise. That boy was a bloodhound when it came to sniffing me out… And apparently so was his mother. I don't know what I was expecting Amunet Zabini to be but I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was a tall, regal woman that was very easy on the eyes. Though her golden eyes that seemed to pierce right through my invisibility cloak were incredibly unsettling… Hell, I thought I was caught and about to be outed. Mercifully, it seemed the woman had other plans. It didn't stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin when the woman actually smiled directly at me. Not in my direction, not at the balcony, she locked eyes with me under the invisibility cloak and freaking smiled! I was about two seconds away from leaving the balcony when she turned to her son and started a conversation in rapid fire French. Honestly, it didn't bother me too much - I knew she was somewhat of an ally at this point - but it was beyond unsettling to know that the cloak wasn't the perfect defense I thought it was. The woman obviously loved her son dearly but I hadn't forgotten Blaise's little slip up at the beginning of the year. You know, the one confirming that she had hired hitmen at some point in her past? So, with that in mind, I wasn't in any hurry to meet her face to face.

Strangely enough, the mother and son duo were the only two who didn't immediately break into the age groups that the kids and adults had instantly broken into when they heard I wasn't going to be here with all haste. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that Amunet wasn't too keen to jump into the rampant small talk that seemed to plague these kinds of events.

Of the ten families present, Tracey and Daphne were the only ones who had brought their siblings (or maybe they were the only ones with siblings at all?). While Tracey's brother was a Hufflepuff I recognized as being an upper year (Roger, I think…), Daphne's little sister was bouncing around the room like a brunette tennis ball. Honestly, trying to follow that little ball of energy was going to leave me with a massive headache but for some strange reason I was already smiling. Thankfully little Astoria Greengrass seemed happy enough to talk both Tracey's and Daphne's ears off while Roger, Cedric, and Tonks broke into a group of their own - Tonks obviously did so under protest but wasn't keen to jump into the boring ass things the old folks were talking about but was also too old to be really comfortable with the firsties. Meanwhile, Padma and Parvarti joined Blaise with Susan and Draco not far behind. Susan looked a bit uncomfortable being so close to Draco she quickly realized that this was a completely different person to the airs he put on for the school.

But the kids were just being kids, chatting about school and other things that were honestly unimportant. The adults were much more interesting to listen in on - as if I wouldn't hear every word they spoke while Sol sorted through the jumbled mess so I could specifically pick and choose a person I wanted to listen in on in particular - kind of like tuning a radio. Right now the current station is Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory's conversation. I thought I was going to get some juicy bits from the Ministry but all I got were things like quarterly reports - I guess I should have expected that one. It appeared no one wanted to talk about anything of real importance but what's a mutant, animagus, super-wizard to do? Oh, introducing myself would probably be a good idea…

With a smirk, I took a few steps back from the balcony and took the Invisibility Cloak off - moving to the grand staircase with confidence I only halfway felt. These people, whatever they were expecting, it wasn't going to be me. Maybe Amelia had suspected something, Lord Greengrass too, but the rest of them were going to be floored by the fact that the Duke Noir wasn't even a teenager yet. That I was a prepubescent kid that was already built like an acrobat and could do things that would blow their tiny little wizard minds… I really wasn't living up to my full potential was I? I shoved those thoughts to the side ruthlessly as I found myself at the top of the stairs in a black tunic underneath my grey surcoat with the Noir cloak billowing behind me. I looked every inch the duke Noir - except I wasn't even 5'4" yet and couldn't have looked older than twelve or thirteen. I stopped at the top of the stairs with my arms crossed over my chest, knowing damn well that the newest sigil for House Noir was directly behind me and I was standing in the mouth of a roaring dragon from their perspective.

"You!? You're the Duke!?" Amos Diggory was the first to recover and get his piece in as I started down the stairs. "But you're James' boy! How?!"

"To answer your question, Mr. Diggory," I said as I came to the bottom of the stairs. "I am the Duke Noir by the authority and grace of Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen. The head of the Royal and Vaunted House of Windsor and Sovereign of the realms that once were Avalon - as the Kings of France and Royal and Vaunted House of Bourbon are no more, her power is absolute for the entire realm of Avalon. Her Majesty saw fit to emancipate and elevate myself to the position of The Noir. As I'm sure you all can understand, I didn't want to be under James Potter's thumb any longer than I had to. What doesn't help matters is that he was going to pass me over for inheritance and for his Wizengamot seat. So? In short? To hell with him and House Potter. I carry the blood of House Noir through my grandmother, Dorea Noir, and, as is my right by blood and by order of her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, and Avalon, I am the Noir."

"Lord Noir," Amunet purred. I almost froze as the sensually terrifying woman stepped closer to me, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, you are proving to be quite a bit more entertaining than I could have ever hoped you to be. But other than my Blaise and your other little friends, I do not see why you asked us here?"

"Yeah, but let me set the record straight lady, we're not exactly friends," Katie said quietly, her eyes hard as she examined me head to toe. "It's not even like we're all that special," she said, indicating her obviously muggle mother who looked very confused and her father who was dressed in an immaculate - if inexpensive - muggle suit.

"That, Miss Bell," I said with a grin on my face, "is where you are utterly wrong. Come," I turned on my heel as Tracey, Daphne, Draco, and Blaise all fell in at my side - all of us knowing exactly what was about to happen. We had discussed this for weeks on end and it was finally coming to a head.

"Am I missing something?" I heard Roger mutter - most likely - to Cedric. He didn't get an answer. Eventually, we finished walking and ended up in what looked like a lavish lecture hall - not too unsimilar to something you would find in a large (not to mention rich) college auditorium. The arena was ringed with four levels of plush, comfortable seating for the knights and men at arms the old Dukes of Noir employed to sit while they were being briefed before any sort of attacks that may have occurred on the castle.

In the history of House Noir, this manor had only been attacked twice - and once was by accident. Some idiot English general (in the days before the need for the Statute of Secrecy, of course) stumbled onto the grounds with his army, took one look at this place, thought it belonged to the French King, and promptly attacked… They were beaten back rather quickly and the English ran even faster once they realized that this place didn't belong to the King but an incredibly powerful mage. But for right now, there was a large, oaken, and (most strikingly) round table in the center of the room with comfortable, eleven crimson armchairs around it with a pair of gaps large enough for another pair of armchairs to fit on opposite ends of the table.

"Welcome," I said as I turned to face the group behind me, "to the first meeting of the Knights of the Cross [1]. I invite Katie Bell, Susan Bones, Tracey Davis, Cedric Diggory, Daphne Greengrass, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy-Noir, Padma Patil, Parvarti Patil, and Blaise Zabini to take seats around the table. As you can see, we are missing a member to our ranks and will until another like us is found. As such, Nymphadora Tonks," I said and I saw her glare down at me from her place beside her parents in the bleachers, "I invite you to join us as the Merlin of our group - do you accept?"

"I do, Lord Noir." Instantly, a black chair appeared in one of the open gaps at the table.

"Please, it's Harry," I said with a bright grin, "though you can call me squirt like you usually do."

"Damn straight," she muttered as she ruffled my hair and took the seat.

"Okay," Katie asked quietly, "what the hell is going on here?"

"I apologize, I forgot I hadn't told you all exactly what has been in motion since the day we boarded the Hogwarts Express back in September. I am sure you all have questions, but allow me to ask you one first. Has anything happened to you that magic can't explain? Strange occurrences that you know in your heart of hearts couldn't be caused by magic?"

"That's what this is about!?" Susan burst out, "I thought I was the only one! I've always been able to feel things in and under ground, like if someone was walking around I could feel them. Though there are times when I can make rocks float if I wanted them to…" She said suddenly self conscious.

"You aren't alone, Susan," I said with a broad grin. "From the sound of it, you could be an elemental!"

"A what!?" she squeaked and I waved her off, mouthing later, to her. She nodded uncertainly as I turned to the rest of the group who were looking at us in awe.

"I… I uh, I can feel people's emotions…" Cedric said quietly. "I can tell if someone's lying and how they're feeling. Sometimes this happens with animals too."

"An empath? Impressive," I said with a gentle smile. He blushed a bit but quickly ducked his head.

"I can heal people," Parvarti blurted into the awkward silence before turning crimson. "I found out when Padma and I were playing one day… She fell and cut herself but when I touched it, it was gone."

"Okay, now I'm jealous," I said with a grin. "I can heal myself but not other people," instantly, the entire group whirled their heads around to look at me. I just shrugged. "Guess I get to start the real discussion," I grinned, standing up and unsheathing my claws for all to see. Everyone at the table - except for the people who knew already - reared back like I'd smacked them with a cod.

"What the bloody hell!?" Neville burst out. "Since when could you do that?!"

"A few years now," I said thoughtfully. Vividly remembering the day when Harry's claws erupted out of his arms - retracting mine back into my arms with barely a thought. I held up my hand to show that the cuts had already healed over perfectly. "I'm what I class as an Alpha level mutant. Some of you are just that, others of your are beta level and some are omega level. Let me make this perfectly clear - alpha, beta, and omega are simply ways to separate whether your mutation is combat or peace oriented but that's my scale. If there are other, better classifications out there, then I simply don't know about them. Omegas are slightly different and impossible to class with the first two of my categories. Though you are no doubt asking yourselves what the bloody hell mutants are?" I said, now addressing our small audience. "Mutants, people who are gifted with the X-gene and are capable of displaying immense powers - such as the eleven people who are sitting around this table today. You are all capable of things magic itself cannot grant you: flight, healing, invisibility… The possibilities are almost endless. I cannot tell you what your mutation is but I can help you refine it once it is discovered. Is everyone interested?" Immediately, all twelve of them nodded and I grinned broadly. "Excellent! Then shall we get onto our first order of business?"

"Aye," Blaise said with a shit-eating grin.

"Excellent! This is the Second Round Table, I propose we take the names first used around a table such as this. Are there any objections?" There was dead silence. "Good. Our numbers are not yet full, we will vote for our Arthur when our ranks are complete, yes?" There was a chorus of ayes from around the table as a golden version of our crimson chairs appeared in the empty spot from out of thin air.

"As it has been stated, Nymphadora Tonks is our Merlin - one of us but not on this council. I propose she heads a new group," Blaise said quietly and I raised an eyebrow at him. He nodded once and went on, "we will not function by ourselves. King Arthur had his table, yes, but he also had his army and his Kingdom. We have no support outside of that our houses can provide, assuming they are willing. I propose a second Order to go alongside this very one, a Mages Templar, if you would. One to be headed by Tonks even if we select another to take the name Merlin. Miss Tonks, this is not a slight against you but you are not a mutant like the rest of us. I mean no offense."

"And none was taken, Knight Zabini," Tonks said with a broad grin. Blaise smirked back and looked at the placard in front of him.

"Tristain, if you please, Merlin."

"Then none was taken, Knight Tristain. I would be happy to lead such a group. Who would be the members?"

"I, Galahad," I said with a smirk, "motion for volunteers to be taken. Is there a second?"

"Aye," Draco - Bedievere, now - said.

"Motion seconded. Shall we put it to a vote, Knight Bedievere?" I asked Draco who nodded. "All in favor?" I asked and all the hands around the table went up. "We are agreed," I said before standing to address the rest of the room. "Are there any here who would join us? To support and aid us, should we call for it?"

"We will," Mr. Patil said instantly, a broad grin on the man's face as he fidgeted in his seat - his wife obviously not too happy he decided for them both.

"And I," Andromeda said regally.

"And I," called Narcissa.

"House Greengrass shall answer the call, Knight Galahad." The Lord Greengrass said in a deep baritone, sinking back to his seat next to his wife and daughter who both looked incredibly excited at a reformation of the round table.

"I will," Ted said from his place next to Andromeda, slightly intimidated by his wife - smart man that… Aunty Andy can be a force of nature.

"House Longbottom shall answer the call," Augusta said imperiously, never leaving her seat.

"We Davises answer the call," Mr. Davis said.

"I won't," Roger snapped, obviously angry that he wasn't at the table too.

"House Bones shall not support this foolishness, either," Amelia said as she rose to her full height. "Susan, be done with this madness. We are leaving."

"No, auntie," Susan said quietly but with iron obvious in her tone. "I am Kay and I will learn to control these abilities. If they can help me, so be it."

"Then I bid you adieu, niece. Be well. You have your portkey to return to the manor." The formidable woman said as she stood up and walked out of the room entirely… Well. That won't end well… Thankfully, she couldn't speak a word of today's proceedings to anyone who wasn't in this room today. I cashed in another little favor with Gringotts (before I had my half my assets transferred to the Dwarves, of course. The Goblin Nation as a whole almost rebelled again because of that little stunt and jacked up my rates) and had anything that occurred in this room to a Lord's secret - one I traded for my thunderbird transformation's secret and one that couldn't be shared no matter what she tried to say or the goblins tried to do. I know those little assholes will try to betray me now so it was best to make sure that anything said or done in this room was kept so far underwraps that not even Jean Grey would be able to ferret it out.

"Are there any others who will not answer the call? If you do not, please leave this arena. Thank you." Mercifully, the only person who stood up was Roger who went snarling all the way out the door. Well, if I was going back to Hogwarts that would make life rather uncomfortable.

"We answer the call," Mr. Bell said with his wife's hand in his, looking for all the world like he had fallen face first into something amazing.

"House Diggory… House Diggory answers the call." Amos said nervously as his wife looked at me speculatively.

"I believe I am last? Yes? House Zabini answers the call, my Lord."

"I thank you all," I said with a grin. "Now, shall we get to the more important matters at hand? Yes? Excellent! Follow me!" I grinned as I stood up and moved to the opposite end of the arena from the entrance, another doorway springing to life before my very eyes. I looked at everyone only to see they were still sitting down. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Instantly, everyone jumped to their feet and were following me through the newest door.

XXX

"Welcome to the Yard," was all I said as the group around me looked around the area curiously. Right now it looked like nothing too special, just a simple training yard. "Before I being, I would ask those of you without mutant abilities to please take a seat," bleachers, simple metal ones this time, sprang from the ground without warning at my mental command, "and I will give you a demonstration as to what an Alpha level mutant can do with their powers."

As soon as the non-mutants had settled themselves in, I looked at the newly formed Knights and addressed them. "If you are interested in what you will be doing when you are with me, watch carefully. For those of you who have no interest in combat training, I would ask you to go sit with your parents for the time being. After this demonstration, I'll offer you a choice - one that I've already given to Draco, Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise. They know what I am talking about and soon you will too. That includes your guardians." Surprisingly, only Draco, Cedric, and Parvarti walked back to the bleachers. "Alright then, here we go," I muttered as a magical shield sprung up between the spectators and myself.

"Yard level seven, Foxtrot Alpha Whiskey - Security bypass Niner, Lambda, Magic, Deca."

"Accepted," a woman's voice rang over the yard, much to the surprise of everyone behind the shield, "Initializing training protocol Sol, Mage Ten, Talon. Mission Objective, Destroy all enemy personnel. Civilian casualties will count against your score. Sequence beginning in 10…" Knights shot up from the dirt, fully armored.

9… Horsemen appeared.

8… Axe men.

7… Modern buildings were raised out of the dirt as the knights, axemen, and cavalry lined up.

6… Modern soldiers appeared on rooftops.

5… Nothing changed. The Snipers had shown up.

4… Eight German tanks from World War Two appeared before my eyes in the few open places not taken over by foot soldiers.

3… Civilians… Oh, now things are interesting.

2… Traps now littered the ground.

1… Everything seemed to go still as I tensed every single muscle in my body.

"Begin."

I exploded into action as a hail of bullets rained down around me, only for me to be airborne already. I thundered as high up as the room would allow me to transport myself and unleashed a Lightning Arrow on the knights in their pretty little formation. Their armor, their best defense, became my greatest ally as the lightning arced from person to person faster than I could watch it happen. In the split second I needed to cast that spell from my claws, I already had other, bigger problems… But at least the knights were dead.

There was a thunderous KABOOM! That rivaled my lightning attack as the first three tanks turned their turrets on me and gave a quick salvo that I was just able to dodge. I thundered in front of the tank and used my claws to slash the barrels off the first two with impunity, rendering them all but useless. But I was already running as fast as I could to disable the next ones. I grunted as I felt a bullet slam into my side, throwing me to the ground with a dull thud. 'Damn snipers!' I thought as the wound healed instantly and I transformed into my Thunderbird form, flying as fast as I could manage. The storm that I managed to pull together not only in a room that was designed to act like a combination of the danger room and Room of Requirement was actually quite impressive and did exactly what I wanted it to do - obscure the hell out of what I was doing. I transformed back into my human form and cast a disillusionment charm on myself as I dove through the storm like a bullet. This would hopefully keep the fake soldiers from seeing me as I tore through the air.

It seemed to work as no one took a shot at me. Now for the fun part.

I grinned again as I Ianded directly in the middle of another group of three tanks, electrifying them with all the pent up energy I gathered during the storm. Needless to say, there was a massive explosion as the three tanks were thrown airborne and into: a building, another tank by a stroke of good luck, and onto the mess of fake corpses. I thundered away again but this time I was fast enough to dodge the bullet that a sniper had sent whizzing into the building I was just in front of. I tracked the bullet backward and ran toward the vantage point I knew he had to be close to under a disillusionment ward. I raised my Thunder-wand and cast Finestra toward the point I thought the guy would be at. The sound curse screamed away from my wand and slammed into a point about five feet below where I was aiming - but it was enough for the sniper hiding there to scream loud enough for me to hear him. Unfortunately, this got the attention of the riflemen in the buildings who decided it was finally time for them to get involved.

Without hesitation, I threw another - slightly underpowered - lightning arrow toward where the sniper fell and watched as the explosion lit up the surrounding area as I cast Fulmoscutum. The lightning shield. I loved this shield, it was strong, powerful, and melted all incoming projectiles while being fairly energy conservative (to me at least) - the problem? The sound. The blasted thing snapped, crackled, and popped like a bowl of atomic rice krispies. I hated holding it for a long period of time but my favorite option wasn't going to work with my Elemental core sealed away. So, I grit my teeth and cast a spell I had only read about: Protego Vasti - the Tornado Shield. As soon as I felt the spell leave my wand, I knew I was in trouble. The spell was even more draining than Scutos but it looked like it was rather effective. Rubble around me leapt to my call, whirling around me in a cyclone to intercept bullets before they could even reach me - but only for the few seconds I held it.

I dropped the shield and dove under cover, sheathing my wand and unleashing my claws. Time to get a bit messy. My lips curled up in a ferocious snarl as I ran into the building in front of me, using my teeth, fist claws, and the two between my feet (good to know they can cut through dragonhide with ease…) to tear into any enemy rifleman I could see.

Heads rolled, limbs fell, and blood spattered everywhere but I was making progress. This was the first time I had used this feature of the yard and had no idea I was going to get this kind of work out - those Goblins do good work. Unlike Narcissa and Draco who were wasting the Noir fortune on jewels and clothes, I had put the money into more… constructive uses. Like right here in this room.

It was the single highest number I had seen as a price tag to build this place and put a noticeable dent in the Noir fortune. It was a room that could take the power of an elemental or train an army all at the same time - or something that could be used as a standard dueling yard. The thought and research the goblins probably had to put into this place was immense, but it was well worth it. I had recreated and improved the Danger Room with the best bits of the Room of Requirement.

It took me about fifteen more minutes to successfully eliminate the rest of the hostiles in the area without blowing myself up on the traps littered through the area but I did it.

"Simulation complete, civilian casualty count: zero. Mission objective: success. Congratulations, Sir Galahad. Yard reversion in three… two… one. Yard reversion complete. Parade Ground mode active."

I grinned broadly as I stood in the middle of the newly grassy field as I faced the stunned stupid groups on the bleachers and standing beside them.

"What you just watched," I said, dropping the shields in front of the observers, "was one of the middle levels of difficulty this room can produce - albeit one that was difficult enough for me to navigate alone. Are there any questions before I give my offer?"

"You're the Thunderbird that showed up at the pitch that day!?" Katie Bell called out, slightly dazed. I chuckled and answered in the affirmative, her jaw clenched as a thoughtful look took over her face.

"I recognized the riders and footmen," Lord Greengrass said quietly, surprising me as the tall, imposing man hadn't said anything outside of voicing his house's support earlier. Though it was obvious where Daphne got her looks from, striking, young, blonde, and with green eyes that cut through you, this man wasn't someone to mess with. "And even the riflemen to a certain extent, though it seems the Hogwarts muggle studies curriculum is… sorely lacking. I had never dreamed muggles could match a wizards rate of fire yet it seems they have surpassed us… Though, what on Earth were those metal monstrosities with the cannons atop them?"

"Those were called tanks, Earl Greengrass. A rather common sight on muggle battlefields since the war against Grindelwald - actually earlier than that."

"Truly? This is the first I had heard of them."

"Interesting… What was the last thing you learned in muggle studies?"

"The invention of the horseless carriage the muggles seem so fond of," Amos Diggory answered with a slight chuckle.

"Ah, the 1890s to early 1900s then? Perhaps as late as the 1920s?" I asked with a slight twitch of my eyebrow.

"I believe 1912 was the latest date madam Tudor would teach to," Missus Davis cut in, much to my surprise.

"And only to disparage the Irish. 'Muggle Rubbish, who on Earth would build a ship that large out of metal? Preposterous! It's no wonder it sank!' was her description of the Titanic," Mr. Davis said with a snort. "Vicious old bat. I don't understand how on earth she kept the job as long as she did. But from what I've heard Quirrell was little better than she and the current professor is a Shafiq though if the rumors hold then Muggle Studies may start to go through professors like DADA."

"Thank you, Mr. Davis," I said with a grin. "That leads me to my offer rather nicely. Surely, you've all noticed that the standards of education at Hogwarts have dropped drastically? Potion NEWTS are at an all time low, the Muggle Studies course not even fit as a muggle history class, the less said about Binns the better, and then there's the disaster that is James Potter's appointment to a professorial role of any kind… Though that may have brought about a bit of good fortune since he can't take his seat on the Wizengamot while retaining his teaching post - but I digress," most of the occupants of the group were nodding along in agreement with what I was saying. There's the bait, now let's see if they take it.

"Now I ask you a question, specifically about Defense Against the Dark Arts. How many professors has the school went through since you were in school? One for every new school year?" Nods and mutters floated up from the group. "And how many have been actually competent teachers? Severus Snape, the most current professor, has a track record for being a god awful Potions instruction but he's been one of the best teachers for Defense that the school's seen in a while according to the upper years."

"True that, squirt!"

"Thanks, Tonks!" I said with a grin aimed at the bubbly metamorph. "But if there was a competent teacher for the most troublesome subject Hogwarts offers under the castle's roof for at least a decade, then why on Earth was he not asked to take up the post sooner? Professor Slughorn seemed all too happy to return after his brief hiatus so I can only assume that this all goes back to Dumbledore. He's incompetent as a headmaster. Really, he's great as a teacher and even better at being a head of Government but, as an administrator, he's a failure. He should have been tossed out on his ear by the School Governors after the first seven times his defense professors either quit or were rendered incapable of teaching…

"So, I'm giving you all a choice. One I had to make for myself as well. I've decided I'm leaving Hogwarts. Permanently." The crowd looked like a collection of fish out of water and Narcissa looked like I smacked her with a trout. "I have already taken the liberty of having an interested third party find some of the best and brightest magical tutors the world has to offer along with accepting an invitation to one of America's most prestigious institutions. An academy that specializes in teaching mutants to control their abilities while remaining one of the best schools the US has to offer - an institution whose founder and headmaster has spoken to me personally and invited all of you to the school. The offer is there on the table, you just have to take it. Are there any questions?"

"You would have us… abandon our lives here?! For a school!? I don't think so!"

"Florence!" Mrs. Bell snapped at her husband, obviously irritated at his outburst. "He never said we would have to go, this invitation is for the children."

"She's right, Mr. Bell. I apologize, I should have clarified a bit better. This is a boarding school, much like Hogwarts. You will be able to see your children on holidays and during the summers. I have arranged a small network of portkeys connecting here, a location in the States, and London. Should you agree to the proposal, you will be provided with a portkey charmed to go between here and your place of residence and, once you are here, you will be able to claim one to travel between here and a predetermined location across the pond. These are all untraceable by any Ministry and will put you onto protected Noir land."

"That's reassuring," Lady Greengrass said warmly with a faint accent that I couldn't quite place. "Will wards placed around our residence create any issue to these portkeys?"

"No, Lady Greengrass, they may actually be quite the opposite. And because of that the Portkeys to ferry you between here and your homes will be outfitted with Bonds of Blood keyed to House Noir while the Portkey itself will be voice activated to a phrase of your choosing."

"This is acceptable," Dowager Longbottom said imperiously. "What would this Institution you speak of teach?"

"All of the basic requirements needed to attain an American High School diploma - a full muggle education with the sciences, mathematics, literature, and history all being well represented - along with every subject Hogwarts offers if not more. Unfortunately, this means that your children would be working quite hard."

"How hard?" Mr. Patil asked quietly.

"They would go to muggle classes and then a magical class or two each day - there are also plans to enroll them in the magical camps I've heard the Americans hold in the summer for their kids."

"Magical camps?"

"Yes, Mr. Tonks, summer camps for magic. Mostly attended by kids who can't afford the almost outlandish fees for Ilvermorny or Salem but want to be able to pass their MSAT/MACTs when they're applying to universities… Another thing that Britain is woefully behind in. Yes, they take the OWLs and NEWTs but they aren't nearly as important there as they are here - in fact I think they take them at the camps while there are MSAT facilities in every region in the states. From what I can tell, American wizards live a practically muggle life but still know enough magic to run circles around pretty much all but the top Hogwarts' graduates."

"So that's it? We just drop our lives here and go with you?" Cedric asked incredulously.

"If you want to stay at Hogwarts, be my guest," I shrugged. "Draco's staying so if you want to, be my guest. Just know this, your education won't be nearly as thorough at Hogwarts as it will be at Xavier's."

"Why does that matter?" Cedric asked, genuinely curious. "Hogwarts is my home, no offense, Mum and Dad, but I've stayed there for nine months out of the year for two and a half years. I'm not just going to drop it because this kid - let's face it, strong as he is, he's just a kid like the rest of us - said to!"

"And I'm not asking you to," I snapped, stopping him cold. "But if you want the highest caliber of education without paying a knut in tuition then this is the opportunity of a lifetime. If you want your parents to pay out their nose for tradition and subpar schooling? That's fine too, you won't see me trying to stop you. If you just want to walk away from all this, too? Be my guest."

"And you would just let us?"

"I let Roger and Madam Bones, did I not?" The room fell silent at that.

"There's no tuition? No fees?" Mr. Patil asked quietly, with Mr. Davis listening intently while trying to look uninterested.

"The Magical tutors are paid for by the House Noir while Doctor Xavier's considerable fortune keeps the cost down to either non-existence or negligible. Those who wish to donate to the school are encouraged to do so. I've already donated somewhere in the ballpark of twenty thousand galleons to the school [2]."

"Twenty thousand galleons!?" Missus Davis screeched. I actually flinched at the sheer volume and couldn't help but wonder if Tracey had actually just inherited her mother's lungs.

"Yes, Missus Davis, House Noir has the capital to do so, thank you very much. We are a Most Ancient and Most Noble House, after all. You are certainly under no obligation to match that figure."

"I apologize, my Lord Noir," the woman was obviously nervous now but I just waved her off.

"No harm, no foul," I grinned broadly, much to her relief. "Any other questions?" I asked the group at large.

"Yeah!" Tracey asked, bouncing on her feet like an overexcited boxer without all the arm slinging. "When can we start!?"

XXX

[1] This is not a reference to the Dresden Files version of the group of the same name. The process went more like this: 'X Knights? No... Knights of X? No... Wait, that looks like a cross if you tilt your head. Knights of the Cross? Why not?' So, that was it, nothing incredibly special about the name.

[2] By my scale in (17.) chapter 16 - roughly 87 pounds (or 164 dollars at the exchange rate of the day) per galleon, this is roughly 1.75 million Pounds Sterling. If I am anything, I am not an economist. I'm not fond of digging through page after page of numbers relating to a currency that's not relevant to my everyday life so, if it's not perfect, I'm sorry but I'm probably not going to change it.

AN: Hey guys, here's the newest chapter of Fire's Tempest but it comes with a bit of bad news. Now that I'm back in class I don't really have much time to devote to just writing. So, for those reasons, Fire's is now on hiatus. I hate to do this but the story lost its way somewhere in the middle and now those mistakes are finally catching up to me in the writing process. Though I do plan to keep writing for Call of the Dragon and Of Forge and Magic whenever I can with The Wayfinder's next chapters slated for late March/early April at the earliest. If I come up with a chapter for this between then and now, I'll post it but more than likely this will be the last chapter for some time. Thank you guys so much for reading this! Please review and check out my poll, it's been altered slightly but it's the same one that's been up for a while. I'm really and truly blown away by your support and never in my wildest dreams would have thought this story would be as popular as it is but, for now, I wish you all the best and hope to see you again soon!