A/N: Hope you guys like this chapter.
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Disclaimer:-This is a work of fanfiction based on the Harry Potter Universe. All recognizable characters, plots, and settings are the exclusive property of Joanne Kathleen Rowling.
I make no claims to ownership nor am I making any profit.
A huge thanks to my Betas- Madness Immortality & Magic, Calamity and Ares Alexander Peverell.
Chapter 6:- The Journey Begins
Previously on Harry Potter and the Remains of Yesterday…
The night sky was aglow with twinkling stars and the pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the sky. The sky was black tranquility married to a poetry of stars.
It seemed like the epitome of serenity and hope. But the last person one would expect in such a place was the person who had made thousands of people feel hopeless and lose the will to live.
The said person had an almost impalpable and incorporeal texture. He was tethered to the plane of the living by a thin string.
However, unlike the tranquil night sky, the forest in which the spirit was residing hardly gave the impression of sanctuary, and it would take someone to be insane or desperate to seek refuge there.
However, the person to whom the disfigured soul belonged to could hardly be called 'sane'. The intense eyes of the person were open, showing them to be as red as blood, and he was reminiscing about his glory days when he was unstoppable and feared all around the globe.
Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort was only a shade of what he used to be. The most dangerous dark lord in the history of wizardkind had trouble recognizing himself. He vowed to end the damned Potter brat who was responsible for his current condition."I'm going to make you wish that you weren't born, Potter." He hissed to no one in particular amidst the various noises of the innumerable animals in the forest.
The next few days got over pretty expeditiously for Harry and it was time for him to leave for Ilvermorny. In the last four years, Nicholas and Perenelle had grown quite close to Harry, which was not much of a surprise. Naturally, they had both grown to love Harry like their own son. And knowing the dangers lurking around in the world, Perenelle wanted nothing more than to protect and hide Harry away from them.
But they were not foolish. They understood that they couldn't hide him away from the harsh reality of the world. If they attempted to do so, it would cause more harm than good. That was one of the reasons Perenelle had not protested to Nicholas training Harry vigorously for the last four years.
31st March 1987
Flamel Mansion
9:00 PM
The final day of March had arrived and Harry was once again repacking his trunk. A quick knock on the door frame was the only warning Harry received before Perenelle entered.
"Packing again, Harry?" She said, amusement shining in her eyes as she observed her son's antics. "You do realize that we can send anything you forget through an owl, right?" Harry nodded as he double-checked the books he had packed.
"I don't know how to explain it, Mum," Harry explained with a shrug. "I feel like I'm forgetting something."
Perenelle glanced into Harry's trunk thoughtfully for a long moment. "Clothes…check, course books…check, potions supplies…check, quills…check, parchment…check, ink…check, spending money…check, wand holster…check, school bag…check"
"Where are your occlumency and dueling books, Harry?" She asked as her eyes met Harry's. "You're going to need them."
Harry gasped as he hurried over to his desk and began looking through his drawers. He quickly found them in the middle drawer and immediately packed them in his trunk. "See?" Harry said with a grin. "I knew I was forgetting something."
Perenelle returned the grin and ruffled Harry's hair. "Since you are now packed…again, how about spending some time with your dear ol' Mum and Dad until you leave?" she offered.
"Everything's going to be okay, Mum," Harry said with a reassuring smile.
Perenelle sighed before replying, "Let's hope so. Besides, make sure to have fun instead of worrying about our safety."
"Mum," warned Harry. "We discussed this-"
"—no," Perenelle interrupted, "We told you to always be careful, but that doesn't mean that you will have to think about our safety and not have any fun." A few minutes of awkward silence followed and Perenelle got up to serve dinner.
Nicholas, Perenelle, and Harry were sitting in their dining room peacefully eating their food. It was evident that all the three Flamels had their own fears about how life would change after tomorrow. Harry was thinking how he would defend against people wishing to steal the philosopher's stone from his parents and the two Flamels wanted more time with their adopted son. For four years the Flamel household had fallen into a routine that would now be shattered. It was actually quite frightening if you thought about it.
"Are you sure you want to go, Harry?" Perenelle asked protectively. "You know there's nothing wrong with homeschooling, right?"
Harry stared at his mother as if she had grown another head. "Mum, I will be making new friends there," he said pleadingly. "Plus, I will not be allowed a wand permit. How can I not go?"
Perenelle let out a sigh before her son into her arms. "I know you want to go, son," she said softly. "I just can't believe it's time for you to go already. It seems like only yesterday we moved into the old place and became a family. You were so little—"
"—Mum!" Harry protested as he freed himself from her. "If you start talking about how cute I was…"
Nicholas grinned. "Well, you were cute," he said, ruffling Harry's hair from beside them.
1st April 1987
Flamel Manor
7:00 PM
"Now, I think it's time that we travel to Ilvermorny." Nicholas spoke and swiftly stood up. Rummaging through his cupboard, he took out Harry's MACUSA licence. The three of them wore standard robes and prepared to go out.
"We will be walking to where you will receive the portkey," Nicholas informed both Harry and Perenelle.
"Why aren't we just apparating there?" Harry asked while carrying his trunk.
"Because the place has been warded with an anti-apparition ward."
"Why?"
"The MACUSA doesn't want to take any risks. Since the students of Ilvermorny are the next generation and the backbone of society, MACUSA treats this with utmost priority. Every new student there has to provide official proof of their identity and only after submitting to a search, are they allowed to go. That is why I am taking your MACUSA license with me."
They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, it's dark and grayish-blue blackness of the evening lacing to the deepest blue. They were climbing a hill and every breath taken by Harry felt like a sharp sensation in his chest to him.
They were traveling when suddenly one voice came to them. Standing 5' 6" tall, the fair-skinned man had an aimless feel about him. He had a round face, a big nose, narrow lips, and his dark brown eyes were big. His mousey brown hair, dyed sky blue, was closely shaved. He had broad shoulders, long arms, and a broad torso with lightly defined muscles, narrow hips, and toned legs.
"Over here, Lord Flamel." The person called them.
"Mr. Kennedy, it's a pleasure to meet you. It seems like forever."
"The pleasure is all mine."came the eloquent reply."This is Michael Kennedy, everyone. He is the Head of the Department of Magical Transport and an old acquaintance of mine." He introduced the man named Michael Kennedy.
"This way." Kennedy led the way "Please submit to a search." He then went to talk with one of the employees walking near the place.
A dark-skinned woman came to where they were standing and had a responsible feel about her. She had a lean face, a narrow nose, and her blue eyes were small.
'Ostendo Revelare' she muttered the incantation, casting the standard Polyjuice and glamour revealing charms on the three of them. She then cast a searching charm in search of prohibited items and found none.
"Thank you for your cooperation, sir. You are free to go."
"I will take my leave now. Good day to you all." Kennedy curtsisedafter finishing his conversation with the Ministry employee.
"Of course. I can't express in words how grateful I am for your assistance." Nicholas replied and Kennedy apparated away saying it was no problem.
Another wizard arrived. He had round slate-gray eyes, luxurious, straight, short black hair worn in an uncomplicated, precise style. He had a prominent moustache. He was very short and had an elegant build. His skin was ruddy and he had a weak chin and stubby-fingered hands. He was carrying a piece of parchment in his hands.
"What is the name of the student?" He asked gruffly.
"Hadrian Nicholas Flamel," Harry answered at once. The person looked at a list written on parchment, which was presumably the list of all new first years.
"Please submit official evidence of the identity of the student." At this, Nicholas handed him Harry's MACUSA license and the wizard said that they were allowed to go. The wizard pointed in a direction and said that they would find the portkeys if they proceeded there.
"This is where we leave you, Harry. Stay safe and if you are in danger, don't hesitate to use the emergency portkey we've given you." After hugging him one last time, both the Flamels apparated away.
Enquiring from one of the MACUSA employees stationed there on that day. Harry reached the proper destination where his portkey was supposed to be. There was a ragged, old umbrella placed in the lush green grass and a piece of parchment was gliding in the air in front of him.
It had clear instructions written about how to use the portkey. Firstly, the student has to make sure that he is in contact with all of his belongings and then he has to utter the name of Ilvermorny's founder, "Isolt Sayre" while touching the provided portkey. Harry did so and immediately found himself being sucked into a whirlpool.
Harry felt a force pulling him out of nowhere and the experience partially blinded him for a few minutes. He felt the uncomfortable sensation suddenly disappear and blinked as his eyesight returned.
He saw a few students lining up at one place after being instructed by an unknown witch. Standing 5' 1" tall, the lilac-skinned witch had an unstable feel about her and she had an angular face, a small nose, narrow lips, and had narrow vivid pink eyes. She looked like a woman not to be crossed.
"I am Professor Erika Weizz, the deputy headmistress of Ilvermorny. Please form a queue and after making sure that everybody has reached safely, we will proceed to the school for your sorting ceremony and wand-selection." She said in a cool and stern tone.
After everyone arrived, they formed a queue and slowly walked down the rugged and scorched path. Harry waved his wand and performed a simple feather-light charm so that he wouldn't be exhausted by the immense weight of his things.
They trudged down the path and finally arrived at their destination. They came in front of a lake-like passageway leading to a grand castle whose majestic splendour took Harry's breath away.
The queue of all the members entered through the fortified gatehouse. The interior of the castle was breathtaking and panoramic. As they neared, the gate was opened by two animated statues of knights which were enchanted to open the entrance whenever someone came near the entrance.
The entrance to the main hall was decorated with two aesthetic and exquisitely compelling life-like statues of Isolt Sayre and James Steward, the two founders of Ilvermorny.
"Please wait here." Professor Weizz said and took out a piece of parchment. "Now I will call your name one by one so that you will have your wand selection ceremony. After that, you will be sorted into your houses. Leave your belongings here as the house elves will have them sent to your respective dormitories."
Never, at any point, did he envision such a particularly peculiar and astonishing place. It had many torches that were placed on a raised area of the walls to serve the purpose of lighting up the place during the evening and nights. There were four tables which were filled with various students who were dressed in their school uniform. They were having their dinner and the hall was filled with house-elves who were delivering food in the sparkling plates and other utensils.
At the highest point of the corridor, there were numerous small chairs and tables present which were occupied by whom, Harry deduced, were the professors of the school. At their center on an elevated position sat Professor Fontaine.
There were many portraits hung on the walls which were looking intently at the new students. There were hundreds of faces gazing at them as if they were a new magical race of creatures.
Harry was snapped out of his reverie when he heard Professor Weizz call out his name, "Hadrian Nicholas Flamel."
When his name was called, Harry noticed Professor Fontaine having a strange look on his face. Fontaine forced a smile on his face and the fact that the smile was forced didn't go unnoticed by Harry.
He slowly proceeded to walk to another dome-shaped room which was made of transparent glass so that the sorting of the students was visible to the teachers and other students.
There was a golden coloured knot engraved on the marble floor of the room where he was instructed to stand. Behind the knot were the enchanted statues of a thunderbird, a wampus, a horned serpent, and a pukwudgie.
Relax, he told himself, how hard can this be?
He stood on the knot waiting for what seemed like an eternity. Nervousness started to creep into Harry who had no track of time. He had no idea why it was taking so long and wondered what could be a problem. However, the teachers didn't fret, which meant that what was happening with Harry was nothing out of the ordinary.
Finally, the thunderbird flapped its wings signaling its approval of Harry's placement in its house. And after stepping away from the knot, Harry heaved a sigh of relief.
He then walked to another room for his wand selection ceremony. He was greeted by an eccentric man who appeared to be in his mid-40s. Standing short and slender with pink skin, this man had dark black eyes and his shoulder-length, greasy, blonde hair was neat.
"Ah! Come here, young man. I am Arturo Cephalopos, the most renowned wandmaker in all of Wizarding America." He said in a boastful manner.
He picked up a wand and gave it to Harry, "Give it a try." Harry tried it but it felt odd like the thing was subconsciously trying to escape his possession. He voiced his thoughts out to the wandmaker who realized that the wand was not for him.
The process continued for ten minutes when, finally on holding a wand in his hand, he felt a spark of unexpected heat in his body. A few sparks of red light burst out of his wand and Mr. Cephalopos cheered.
"Bravo! 11½ inches, cedar wood, and a dragon heartstring core." Harry took it and felt somewhat disappointed. He always wanted his wand to be special however from how the wandmaker described his wand, it felt somewhat ordinary to him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Mr. Cephalopos said kindly, "Don't worry child. It is not the wand that defines a wizard's legacy but the wizard himself. Even with what seems like an ordinary wand, you can be a great wizard. And even while wielding the fabled Elder Wand, a wizard maybe, ah what can I say, ordinary." Harry smiled and thanked the wandmaker profusely.
Harry went out of the room and joined the others in the Thunderbird Table. He got a loud cheer and watched the others' sorting and wand selection ceremony intently while devouring the delicacies served by the house-elves.
After the sorting ceremony was over and everyone finished eating their food, the members of all the houses were instructed to line up.
"Please sing the school's anthem in any tune you wish."
We stand as one united,
Against the Puritan.
We draw our inspiration
From good witch Mórrígan.
For she was persecuted
By common wandless men.
So she fled from distant Ireland,
And so our school began.
Oh! Ilvermorny-Massachusetts!
We choo-choose it!
We choo-choose it!
The wizard school supreme.
Your castle walls, they kept us safe.
The days with you, a dream
You taught us all our magic
And now one thing's quite clear
Where'er we roam
Where'er we roam
Our one true home
Our one and own
Is Ilvermorny dear!
It was horrible in Harry's opinion as the tunes of the various students didn't match being . However their sentiments were praise-worthy.
"Respective Heads of Houses, please lead the new students to their dormitories. Classes for all new students will begin from tomorrow. You will find a map of the school on the notice board belonging to each of your respective houses." Professor Fontaine announced and got up to leave.
A dark-skinned wizard wearing old-fashioned robes introduced himself as Professor Malcolm Delacotress, the Charms Professor and their Head of House. They were led to their dormitories where Harry found the house-elves placing his things with a snap of their fingers along with the materials of others.
He was greeted by another person who he recognized as Stephen Cornfoot from the sorting. "Hello. I'm Cornfoot, Stephen Cornfoot." Stephen said with a smile and stretched his hand out.
Harry smiled and replied, "Nice to meet you, Stephen. The name's Flamel, Hadrian Flamel. But you can call me Harry." He shook his hands with the person who would go on to become one of his best friends in the future.
Wizengamot Chamber,
British Ministry of Magic,
6:00 PM
The Wizengamot chamber was huge and hundreds of ministry heads, order of merlin winners, and other members sat in the assembly area. Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore sat in an elevated area in the center. Bartemius Crouch, Millicent Bagnold, Dirk Creswell, and other Ministry Department Heads sat in the congressional box for Ministry Representatives.
"Chief Warlock Dumbledore," said the court scribe. "370 members are present in this session of the Wizengamot. The quorum of 350 votes has been met."
"Noted," said Dumbledore. "I hereby call the seven hundred and sixty-fifth session of the Wizengamot to order."
After opening the session, he called upon Minister Bagnold. She delivered a good speech about 'not bowing down to crisis and staying strong in tough times', referring to the escape of three high-level prisoners from Azkaban a few days prior. She had come under a lot of scrutiny which was not surprising considering all the escapees were Death Eaters and members of Voldemort's so-called 'Inner Circle'.
"Is there anything else anyone here wants to add before we proceed further?" Dumbledore asked. No one said anything and Dumbledore continued.
"In that case, the Wizengamot calls Bartemius Crouch to speak." Crouch got up from his seat and cleared his throat as an indication that he was about to speak.
"Honourable members of the Wizengamot, distinguished Order of Merlin holders and your honour Chief Warlock, I speak to you under the gravest of circumstances. The Ministry of Magic is not what it once was. A part of it is full of greedy, squabbling members who are only looking out for themselves and their own interests. It is disgusting that there is no interest in the common good. A direct consequence of which is the recent Death-Eater escape from Azkaban." Crouch said and looked at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore said nothing and just stared at him analytically, not understanding what agenda he could possibly have. Crouch had always been an enigma to him. The man was a political juggernaut. After the revelation that his own son was a Death Eater, the political ramifications for Crouch were huge and he honestly hadn't expected the man to keep his job. Snapping out of his reverie, he gestured for the Head of the DMLE to continue.
"To state our allegations in full, I present Amelia Bones, newly elected Head Auror to speak on our behalf." He stepped aside and Bones rose to a light scattering of applause.
"Honourable members of the Wizengamot, as we all know, High-Level Prisoners is a term used to refer to those criminals in Azkaban that are considered to be magically prodigies and have committed murder or other serious crimes. They are guarded throughout the day by dementors and two aurors for which an escape from Azkaban has been practically unheard of prior to this incident. And it must be noted that the three prisoners escaped Azkaban in broad daylight. As my superior Mr. Crouch has already pointed out, not all members of the Ministry do not have the best interests of the Ministry at heart. We believe that without the support of someone high up in the Ministry, this escape from Azkaban couldn't have been orchestrated." She spoke confidently.
Dumbledore frowned. So that was their ploy. They wanted to overthrow Millicent Bagnold. In all honesty, he liked the Minister but she was not good enough to deal with threats like that. However, she was a better choice than a blood-supremacist like Lucius Malfoy. Barty Crouch Senior earlier used to be a supporter of Minister Bagnold but after the entire fiasco of his son being revealed to be a death eater, he had stopped supporting her.
"What are you trying to insinuate, Madame Bones?" sneered Francis Macmillan, the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The man was one of Minister Bagnold's most ardent supporters and it was hardly surprising that he had jumped to her defense.
"Do you mean to accuse the Minister of assisting in the escape of Bellatrix Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew from Azkaban?" He asked in an angry,harsh tone. "The same people who killed her own parents. Are you accusing the Minister of being in league with Death Eaters?" Bones tried to reply but couldn't find anything to speak so she stared helplessly at Crouch. Her action didn't go unnoticed by Macmillan who had a triumphant look on his face.
"Of course not Mr. Macmillan. It would be inconsiderate of us to even think that. We are not accusing Madam Minister of aiding or assisting in the escape from Azkaban. However, we are accusing her of negligence. If the auror forces were properly trained, I think this escape from Azkaban could have been avoided." Barty Crouch said in a smooth and silky voice and was about to continue when he was interrupted.
"I object." Francis Macmillan was on his feet again, voice raised angrily. "This is nonsense. Where is the evidence? I recommend a commission be formed to ascertain the truth of these allegations." It was an attempt to delay the proceedings to buy Minister Bagnold some time.
Dumbledore shook his head. If what Crouch had said was correct and the Minister had played a role in hindering the proper tutelage of aurors, the issue needed to be resolved as soon as possible. "Overruled". Millicent Bagnold sighed heavily and threw up her hands as if her life had become hopeless with that single word.
"Britain owes Minister Bagnold a great debt for her assistance in the War against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. However, tough times call for tough decisions." Amelia Bones stated, regaining her words. "If Madam Minister is incapable of dealing with threats such as these, I suggest new leadership is needed. I call for a vote of no confidence in the Minister of Magic."
Voices rose immediately in response, many in support, and some in protest. They came to their feet, loud mutterings quickly building to shouts that echoed through the cavernous chamber. Bagnold stood speechless at the podium, stunned and disbelieving.
"Order." Dumbledore bellowed after casting a non-verbal Sonorus on himself with the Elder wand and banged the gavel. "We shall have order."
"All those in favour of the motion, please raise your hands," Dumbledore said and counted the number with a spell.
"All those against?" He asked and counted them again.
Dumbledore took a deep breath and said, "The motion of No-Confidence against Millicent Bagnold is passed with a majority vote of 223 to 147. Madam Bagnold, I am sad to announce that you have been ousted from your post of Minister of Magic. The Wizengamot owes you a great deal of gratitude for everything you have done for the Ministry and Wizarding Britain. I sincerely hope that you have a great future ahead." With that, Millicent Bagnold left the Wizengamot with as much dignity as she could muster.
"We will have a thirty-minute recess and after that, we will discuss how we can resolve the issue of the Azkaban escape." With that, each of the three factions got up and went to their respective conversation rooms to discuss how they would attempt to turn the proceedings in their favour.
After thirty minutes, the seats of the Wizengamot again started gradually filling up as the members started taking the seats.
"The question before the body today is how to deal with three High-Level Azkaban escapees who have been known to be ruthless Death Eaters. They could be out there among the common people slaughtering our men, women, and children."
They discussed different methods through which they could find and capture them again.
"It is known that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named made his name a taboo during the First War. The Cruciatus Curse in particular is known to be one of Bellatrix Lestrange's favourites. I suggest we fund the Department of Mysteries under Unspeakable Croaker to research on how to make the incantation Crucio a taboo?", Norvel Twonk, one of the winners of the Order of Merlin suggested.
His response was met with agreement from most of the members and it was followed by light applause.
"I suppose that no one will object to all the three unforgivable curses being made a taboo if the efforts of the Unspeakables yield success," Dumbledore asked rhetorically. A few members, suspiciously those who had succumbed to the Imperius of the Dark Lord in the war, looked like they wanted to argue but held their tongue.
"Secondly, we can inform the Muggle Government to keep an eye on them. I believe the Muggle Liaison Office can be entrusted with this." Dumbledore himself suggested.
"I suggest that it should be compulsory for every high ranking member to vow a magical oath be checked for the Imperius curse and other mind-altering potions." Amelia Bones suggested and many disagreed saying that magical oaths were dangerous and life-threatening if not spelled properly. Finally, the idea was scratched off, much to the disappointment of Dumbledore. However, a wizard who would check if all high ranking officials were safe from mind-altering magic was assigned in the Ministry building.
"Since the issue has been resolved, I suggest we move on to the next matter at hand." Dumbledore said. "Owing to the vote of No Confidence on Minister Bagnold that was called by Amelia Bones from the Ministry Faction and passed by a majority vote from the Wizengamot, we are compelled to elect a new Minister of Magic during this session of the Wizengamot."
"The announcement will be made and every person who wishes to nominate himself or herself must have a minimum of seven NEWTs with nothing short of Outstanding and should submit their names to the Wizengamot before 20th April. The Wizengamot will vote on which members should be allowed and at the end, the public will vote for one among three candidates."
"Is there anything anyone else wants to add before we end this session?" Dumbledore asked and nobody said anything in response.
"Thus, by the power vested in me by the Ministry as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I hereby close this session of the Wizengamot." Dumbledore said and banged the gavel. Well, that was quite an interesting and productive session, Dumbledore thought. Let's see if I can convince Tiberius to nominate himself.
Replies to Reviews:
Zerofullbuster and wanderingwitchelaine: Thank you.
HeckNo:
I'm enjoying it so far, except that you're lollygagging on too many little details. You time-skipped over Harry's childhood to get him to school, then wasted the whole chapter on background info that we didn't need. Nicolas himself made the man swear an oath to not interfere either directly or indirectly, so the whole situation meant nothing at all to the story.
If you're going to skip the details you think we don't want to read and focus on unnecessary ones that go nowhere, you may need to think about what you want to do with the story.
I encourage you to write what you know and not what you 'believe' we want to read. Most times, they are two different things. Write the story for yourself and then share it with us. It almost always works out for the best.
So, will you accept the challenge and show us what you got? :D
Thank you for your review. I understand what you are trying to say. However, this part about Professor Fontaine and similarly the Wizengamot part in this chapter will play a role later in the story. Daniel's Hogwarts years will diverge a lot from canon. And I hope this chapter is an improvement from the last one.
Please read and review. Favorite and follow the story if you like it. Flame me if you want but lack of reviews is a major story killer.)