Non-Compliant or Just How Angry Was He

by Lil Nezumi

Just how angry was he that his life was not his own, that his future had been irrevocably mapped out and that he was being forced into an unloved machination of a marriage. Well he was angry enough to do the ritual, cast the spell and let his body die... See chapter one for more.

11. Chapter 11

CH 11

Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter

Harry had awoken from a surprisingly good night's sleep. He'd been placed in the North Wing of the school along with the Scalvini twins and a few others that came technically from 'outside' Durmstrang's educational jurisdiction. He didn't have any problems handing out the address to the Northern Canadian and US Alaskan Outfitters that had provided him with his warmer footwear and untailored furs that he planned to eventually use as bedding as the temperature got colder.

Some of the students were just unprepared for the cold that seemed to seep in throughout the school even though it was still technically summer. Many teenagers from warmer climates did not recognize or experience true autumn weather until the month of October. Although he couldn't understand how they were that unprepared since the letters were quite clear on the supplies that every student needed.

The trip to school had been more interesting than his first trip to Hogwarts in his previous life. Things had been livelier plus he hadn't been isolated from the other first year students. It had him wondering why the train compartments hadn't been sectioned so that first years were placed together to get to know each other rather than wandering up and down the train to try and find a place to sit, perhaps getting stuck with older years that likely tended to ignore them.

This time once they'd been released from the security belts on the ship, the three of them had wandered among the other first years to get a feel for who they were and what they'd be like. Some came from strictly dark lineages while others came from a neutral stand point and wished only to be able to complete all of their school years in relative peace. Others from around their general location who hadn't been invited to any other institution had opted to attend this one much like the English twins when invited to do so.

Harry didn't get a feel of any that were predominantly versed in light magic, but then again this was a school that focussed more on the use of magic and the power behind it. They wanted to encourage the child's abilities to wield their magic properly rather than fight some kind of pre-dated system by declaring that they preferred Light Magic versus Dark Magic.

Apparently all types of magical learning were encouraged at this school and this was one of the stronger reasons for his attendance for his first year of structured magical learning. He would definitely have a better understanding of true Dark Arts versus ordinary magic used heinously.

When they arrived at the school they'd all gone into a main hall and were tabled by year rather than being separated into a House system. This was something that Harry had been pleased about since that meant he could still hang out with the twins that he'd met, including a few others that had been interested in getting to know the three Englanders or "de Engliskis" as they were being collectively and semi-mockingly called in a teasing and not quite so teasing manner.

The evening announcements were generalized welcomes. Explanations were given that first year students were going to be placed in all offered classes for the first three months. The Professors could then gauge the children's magic into particular strengths and weaknesses per magical subject before producing a proper syllabus and schedule.

It had been explained to them that after a series of intensive exams in all subjects, that beginning in December the first years would then be separated into smaller groupings to specialize in their chosen forms of magical expressions with concentration on the primary Ministry Approved courses that had the international system of O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s administered by the International Wizarding Education Authority or iWEA for short. Most of those courses were standard in all magical jurisdictions with additional courses in the student's preferred learning path or magical inclination.

Most of the older students knew their paths at this point in time and had an idea of what their schedules would be like for the year. However the second and third years were given the option and opportunity to modify their studies to take away courses or add different ones to round out their studies.

"Harry," Tsaran called out in Russian. There were few words that he knew without being spelled with a translation charm. "Are you up yet?"

"Up, but not dressed yet," Harry replied as he hopped out of his bed and started to get dressed quickly in the chill morning air. 'Fires are only lit for magical purposes,' he thought back to something he'd heard in the past that had been said by one Viktor Krum. 'One purpose should be to keep the students alive, but if they're going to emphasize survival magic then I guess that fires or how to use warming charms will be a part of our training here. I'm going to have to see if they have something similar to muggle hot water bottles, stupid not to have looked into that a bit further. At least the furs are working quite well, but come winter and the fact we're in the North Wing, I'm wondering just how warm we're going to be?'

"Maggie is waiting for us," Tsaran said. He brushed his spiky dark blond hair. It was as though his hair was the blond version of Harry's while his sister had chosen to wear hers quite long with a single tail braid and the bright pink length in a secondary braid twisted around her main braid. "Can you do that spell for us or show our elf how to cast it?"

"Coming," Harry replied. He quickly dressed in the uniform that his house-elf had laid out for him. It had a few layers that he could add or remove based on outside locations for classes or changes in temperature throughout the day. "I'm here, I'll do it for today," he said. "Have your elf visit mine to learn the spell."

He pulled out his unique, personalized wand to cast the spell on his new friend. His wand had been an interesting challenge for Reicher the Wandmaker. That old man had never made a wand with eight chosen woods and three distinct cores before. The plans he'd used were on record and he had stored them in the store's archives as having been used for a very special client without naming the actual client. He'd of course gotten Harry's true name from him, but had promised through a secrecy charm to never reveal the fact that he'd been there or that his wand was made there.

Reicher had heard about those kinds of multiple-wood and core wands before. There were records of them because in the past they used to be needed more frequently for aging witches and wizards that lived past their hundredth year of living. It was at that time when the elderly required something that could handle the amount of magic they could harness. Usually that resulted in large knurled staves that supported an elderly person when walking long distances as well as their large magical core.

It wasn't like this day and age when the average lifespan of a witch or wizard had diminished due to the wars that they've been having amongst themselves. Even if a witch or wizard passed their hundredth year nowadays there was no guarantee that they'd have access to the powers that their predecessors had and not many required a secondary, more powerful wand, staff or even quarter-staff.

Harry's wand was mainly Alder with a couple twists of Applewood and Nutmeg winding around the base of the wand. The other woods; Cypress, Dogwood, Ancient Gingko, Sequoia and Walnut, were formed into inlays of colour in the form of the rune words he'd supplied to the wand maker on request. (…i…)

The nature of the wood and the technique used to make the wand had a different purpose.

The woods were there to balance and calm the ingredients of the core. They were then matched to the magic of the person they'd chosen. The coloured inlays had taken individual forms, three were sigils in ancient goblin runes that he'd never managed to decipher. They had always stumped him, but he always liked the mystery of them, even if the words eventually turned out to be nothing but generic greetings or the name of an object like spoon or pot. He still liked them.

Two inlays had formed into vague outlining shapes; one of a phoenix in flight and one of a coiled basilisk. He totally understood their meaning and refused to explain them. It was a part of his future past and there was still the question of whether he'd be affected by those two creatures in this new lifetime. He shrugged and figured that if his second year nearly matched that of his past with the Basilisk, the diary and the secret Chamber then he'd deal with it when the time came.

The wand magic used in the making of the wand meant that any splotches of wooden inlays would fully form into rune or sigils as soon as the boy had taken proper hold of his wand. Those splotches had been the result of wand maker magic blending the boy's list of runes or sigils that he'd left behind, but it didn't necessarily mean that those were the marks that would appear on boy's wand after he'd taken a hold of it.

Magic was magic after all and it was the wand that decided what it wanted to reveal in the form of runes, sigils or what-have-you whenever it bonded with their chosen witch or wizard.

His unique core consisted of a whole snidget feather curled gently around the three inch long sliver of a Chinese Fireball horn and around them was wrapped the braided hair of a Demiguise. The feather added an element of speed to his casting of spells while the hair helped him cast strong tricky spells. The horn was a different choice for him, but he couldn't doubt his affinity for it because it was the first core that he'd chosen or was that had chosen him, from the catacomb drawers. It was one that liked to bond with someone strong in academics which could not be disputed anymore because of his accredited Potioneer status and his obvious ability to pursue a Master Level in that subject along with a several others due to his extended potions studies in 'olde' languages.

After Harry cast the translation spell the two boys raced to the common room that they'd been lead to the night before. Each year group had designated 'common' space with a several side rooms that were available for privacy and quiet study. Those rooms had to be booked ahead of time though and there were booking charts next to the doors.

Harry had quickly looked into each of them the night before and then immediately booked a smallish one that allowed about four to five students to meet in there comfortably and to spread out their books. He marked his times as being one hour every Monday evening after his last class, two hours every Wednesday and Friday evenings only after supper, plus he added four hours for early Sunday mornings until the beginning of the December Holidays.

"Why," Magdalla had asked him at the time.

"I don't want to be rushed or left trying to find a quiet place to study when it comes time to begin reviewing for tests or exams or even just do my research privately," Harry had said. "This way I know my name is down for the room and it is one of the smaller rooms where you two can join me whenever you like." He received a nod and then shrugged as he explained. "I know I like quiet when I'm studying, so claiming a table or a desk in the common room is not the answer for me at this point in time. I'm not a social butterfly and excessive noise can be disturbing when you're not used to it."

The twins had looked at one another, grinned at his sour expression and shrugged, knowing that they'd be able to join him from time to time. They liked the fact that he'd been thinking ahead when booking the side room. The twins were near images of each other, but with the bright pink in the girl's long hair and the shortness of the boy's, it was quite easy to know which twin was which at this school.

The boys met Magdalla in the common room accompanied by two other girls who they'd became acquainted with during their journey on the ship. One was a black haired beauty that looked pretty much like the Grimm's tale version of Snow White. Her hair was blacker than the night, skin as white as snow and her lips were as red as blood without any additional beautification enhancement charms or muggle make-up. Her name was Briar Eihnzenauer of German decent and her parents' history was deeply rooted in neutral magic.

The second girl was of a mixed Japanese-Russian heritage whose name was Anbi Bormann. Her family practiced borderline dark magic which was what she'd told her new friends so that they wouldn't be surprised whenever she did something that they were not comfortable with. Her hair was black too and so were her eyes. She had the exotic Asian look with the thick, heavy-set bone structure of a person that had lived north all their lives. It was a unique look to the girl, but she'd been accepted as part of their little clique for now.

Harry didn't mind someone being borderline dark. It helped to have a friend that understood a different underlying method of casting magic. 'There were just some things that I know you can't learn in school,' he thought. 'I remember times when Hermione had had to explain some things to us poor, uneducated yobs because we chose not to study or didn't have an idea of where to begin looking for our answers. I hope Anbi'll help explain the transition from grey to dark magic without spouting pureblood nonsense.'

The group of five made their way to the Great Hall of their school where the rest of the students were having breakfast, discussing classes and receiving their class schedules. Several professors were handing them out and making corrections to a master list as the students made their course selections or made changes of times to be able to join their friends in the same class whenever they could.

The school had received about seventeen new students which seemed to be a nice change since the current Headmaster of Durmstrang was not that popular a man to begin with. There had been quite a decline in attendance for the previous three years where the number of new students floated around ten to fourteen. Nearly twenty new students was quite the coup for the un-liked ex-Death Eater Headmaster.

It was actually the Deputy Headmaster, Professor E.F. Gorsky that had handled the recruitment of the new students this year. He had no compunction against using the fact that the famed British school Hogwarts would not be receiving the celebrity student that they'd been expecting. He hadn't named any names, but with the current year and the timeframe it was quite obvious to the influential parents of whom the man had been talking about.

One of the professors approached them and handed out the schedules to which the five had immediately compared to see who would be taking lessons with whom. "Official classes always begin on a Monday if the students arrive on a Thursday or a Friday," the Professor told them. "Feel free to visit your classrooms ahead of time to get an idea of where they are located. I recommend that you all read ahead by at least a chapter or two ahead for each class in order to be better prepared."

"Thank you Professor…," Harry let the sentence drag.

"Pardon me," the man replied with a slight bow. "I'm Professor Ivan Wolenska. I'm in charge of Magical and Social History." He paused and then said, "If you're interested my class is room 412 and the doors will be open in the afternoons before start of lessons, between one and four for any questions you may have." He nodded politely to them and left them to continue comparing classes.

"Harrison Black," a sixth year student approached them. He was carrying a small scroll in his hand and he looked like one of the meaner students, but he also had a coloured armband on his left arm. They already knew that you should never judge a book by its cover nor judge the face of someone with obvious magical creature features like protruding tusks or funky eye colour before you get to know them.

"Here," Harry said as he stood up and lifted his arm in the air. He was handed the scroll along with the advice to go to the second floor. He looked at the note, which read:

Mr. Harrison Black,

Please meet me immediately after breakfast tomorrow morning, August 30th.

Headmaster Karkaroff

"What's it say," Magdalla asked.

"I need to visit the Headmaster tomorrow morning after breakfast. That is all," Harry replied. He folded his note and placed it on his automating magical planner. The note sank into the planner and was placed on the section for the right month, day and time.

He did the same with his course schedule which was on a two week rotating schedule so that they could go to all their new courses. The information was recorded by either by slipping the paper into a special section that basically took the data and copied to the appropriate fields or by placing it on the top of the planner and saying the spell words. If he needed to repeat them by week or by month he could do it by altering the parameters of his calendar by use of key words, wand gestures or any combination of both to program the planner as well as secure it.

So far he'd automated it until the end of November. The others watched him and then asked him where he got his magical planner. They'd never seen anything like it, but it would definitely be something they needed in a practical sense to keep track of their schedules especially after the month of December. He gave them the name of a small specialty parchment shop that he'd found during his travels and said, "I have extra owl order forms for most of the places I visited including some of their product catalogs. Figured if I needed anything refilled that it's best to get what I need from the same source. I can show them to you later and lend you a few if you want to put in your own orders as long as you remember to check off the section requesting more order forms to be added to the shipment too."

They agreed and then mapped out where they wanted to go exploring for the rest of the day. They planned to follow their history Professor's advice in finding their classes since it would also let them know where they were and how long it would take to get from one room to another or from out-of-door classes to indoor classes and vice versa.

Harry - James - Potter

The following day Harry had left his friends behind exploring the rest of the building while he visited a Death Eater. His friends didn't know about their Headmaster's shady past, but Harry had been very much aware of the man and of the guarded looks he'd been sending in his direction. He smirked at the thought that he may make the man nervous, but then again Igor Karkaroff had always been one that wanted to exert control over others. That much he remembered from his previous life which probably makes him an excellent Headmaster.

It wasn't as though he fully knew the man or how he'd react to certain things. One thing had been certain though, the man had died long before he'd ever earned a Voldemort free existence. In fact he'd been made into a very bloody example of what happens when someone dares to run away from the Dark Lord's service. He technically disappeared at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, but his remains had been on display for quite some time until the Aurors had figured out which spells had kept the body stuck to the walls of the UK Minister of Magic's office door.

Harry knocked and waited patiently by reading one of his course books that he'd brought along to pass the time. It hadn't been hard to find the man's office since he'd been able to ask some of the serpent carvings that he'd seen around the castle for directions.

"Enter Mr. Black," the Headmaster called out to him. The man looked elegant sitting in a chair that looked to have once belonged in the throne room of a Tsar's palace. He gazed at the boy that entered and pointed to the low chair in front of his desk. He ordered the child to, "Sit down."

Harry looked at the position of the chair, looked at the chair that the man was sitting in and immediately felt the man's challenge. He looked at the chair and the serpent looking decorations on it. He poked them gently with his finger and put his book away before he sat down, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap.

Harry looked at the older man and said, "You asked to see me sir?"

"Yes," Igor Karkaroff said. He looked at the Boy-Who-Lived and folded his own hands before him on the desk and said, "I don't know how you could presume to attend our fine institute, but you will not make a mockery of the history we have."

"What do you mean sir," Harry replied politely, knowing that his confusion would derail the man.

"No muggleborn has ever entered these hallowed halls, until you," Karkaroff informed him with a pointed finger.

"But I'm not a muggleborn sir," Harry replied politely, knowing that it was best to remain that way as it would keep the man off guard for his other requests. "My mother was a full blooded witch and my father was a full blooded wizard. My mother was the muggleborn, not I. I'm a full blooded wizard sir, first generation pure-blood if you want to be completely accurate about these things."

Karkaroff blinked and then briefly looked away. "Interesting," he said. "In any case, you will swear on your magic that you will never reveal the actual location of this school to anyone."

"As you wish sir," Harry replied and immediately took out his ornate and unique wand. "What oath do you require of me?"

"Swear on your magic that you'll never reveal the location of this school," the man said.

"I swear on my magic that I will never willingly reveal the location of this school," Harry replied with the standard wand over his heart. The magic took effect. The Headmaster nodded his acceptance of the boy's wording.

"Now explain to me, in your own words," Igor paused dramatically. "Why you chose to attend this glorious institute?"

"Honestly sir," Harry questioned and received a grave nod with the wave of a hand as though to say 'Get on with it'.

"Your school offered me more courses. Also your school invited me first and I thought why not? I want the best magical education that I can get. I've already taken my Potions O.W.L. to which your invitation acknowledged and I've since successfully obtained my N.E.W.T. on the subject too. I had to consider my next scholastic years very carefully in order to remain appropriately and intellectually challenged."

Igor just looked at the smallish first year student in his school. Then he asked, "Do you plan to ever go to your parents' old school in the future?"

"Well that would entirely depend on the courses they plan to offer," Harry replied. "I was hoping to do one year here and one year there up to fifth year of my magical education before I chose a permanent place to finish my education."

"Why should I allow you to do such a thing," Karkaroff demanded calmly.

"I'd give permission for you advertise that the Boy-Who-Lived has attended Durmstrang Institute in order to bring in more students for the next few years," Harry replied. "You gain prestige by having the youngest person on record to have accomplished the highest score for a Ministry tested Potions N.E.W.T. too. All of which has been recorded legally with the International Wizarding Examination Authority."

He handed over a copy of his scores for the man to add it to his school records including the official generalized Potions Brewer License for home remedies and infirmary grade potions that came with a successful high O.W.L. score. He also had the next level of potions license that came with the title of Potioneer based on the N.E.W.T. level with double O grades which entitled him to produce any legal potion strictly for the purpose of producing and selling them if he chose to do so. He could experiment on any potions he wanted, but could not sell those unless reviewed and approved by an accredited Potions Master or Mistress.

This worked around the basic need to apprentice with a Master or Mistress in the field. It was a good choice for anyone who did not wish to become a Master or Mistress in Potions because that way they did not have to go through a full apprenticeship process.

The man looked at the scores pretending to be unimpressed, but he wasn't fooling anyone. "Impressive for a child," he said. "Potions Room D341 in the lower dungeons has been assigned to you alone for any potions you wish to produce. You are not to share that laboratory space with any your fellow students and you or your bonded elves are the only ones permitted to maintain it, am I clear? The other students are here to receive their primary education on the subject." He received a nod. "Have you become apprenticed to someone in that field?"

"No sir," Harry said. It was true. He'd discussed the situation with his current teacher, the gobliness Potions Mistress Gemara Draegar and he agreed to take the current year to experiment and research in depth before choosing to learn more about potions the following summer under an apprenticeship contract with her. He was going to relinquish his job at the winery since it was doing well on its own and he'd rather make the money than continue doing the work there. He figured that when he got older he'd join it again as a hobby type of job.

He preferred to primarily work at the Owl Reserve. He only needed to travel three days a week to his potions teacher and together they'd work on improving his skills. She'd be present for the first time while he made a series of potions as a test before she could plan his training schedule. She needed to know how much more he had to learn before taking a Journeyman or Mastery exam. She was also the one that would be responsible for getting him added to the British and International Potions Guild roster.

However he did not mention this to his current Headmaster instead he clarified his answer by saying, "I'd rather concentrate on my current studies and courses here. I know that I have a lot to learn and I know that I'm going to need to learn everything that I can."

"Why," Igor asked.

"I have the feeling that the one that murdered my parents," he noticed the man barely twitched an eye at that. "Is not as gone a many would like to believe. I plan to work on and research emergency potions for the purpose of getting people prepared for the unfortunate event of his return. Something along the line of security potions, healing potions and other types."

"Are you sure that you're not just having childish nightmares about a boogeyman under your bed," Igor sneered, but secretly was concerned for his own life. He didn't want any of his ex-compatriots seeking him out for any reason. He never wanted to return to that dangerous lifestyle nor return to that Ministry's jurisdiction.

That's one of the reasons why he was quite harsh as the Head of this school. He didn't want the students turning to the darker side of magic just from the simple fact that they may have no choice in the matter. He had to be stern or else the hormones and lack of understanding would affect the students and their part in the magical society under the Bulgarian Ministry.

"I'm quite sure that he's still floating around somewhere just as the Marks that he left behind are still around too," Harry looked pointedly at the man's left arm.

"You dare accuse me of associating with a Dark Lord," Igor stood up and pointed his wand between Harry's eyes.

Harry calmly pulled out another book that he carried around with him and said without looking at the book or even opening it. "May fourteenth, Merlin's year nineteen eighty two, courtroom nineteen, the United Kingdom trial of Death Easter Igor Karkaroff versus the United Kingdom Ministry of Magic, charges being as follows…" He paused and continued to look at his Headmaster. "Shall I continue? I have here the amalgamated transcripts of every Death Eater trial that occurred before and after the death of my parents until no more Death Eaters were deemed found."

He placed the book on the man's desk and watched the man's wand-hand shake from concealed emotions that did not show on the man's face. "You can have this copy if you like," the boy offered. "I can get another copy at any time. All Death Eater transcripts are open to the public and have been published in this form."

"Who else knows of this," Karkaroff sat back down and put his wand away. His emotions were visible in the shaking of his hands that he clasped firmly together. He'd been hoping that he had moved far enough away to not have that part of his past following him.

"You mean here or back in England," Harry asked.

"I don't care about your British soil," Igor yelled and shoved the book back in the boy's direction. "I meant here, in your year group? Who have you told about me?"

"No one," Harry replied seriously. He put the book away when it was clear that the man wanted nothing to do with it. "Why would they care? Everything happened a long time ago to them and they believe, like everyone back there that it's over. That there is peace in the world and all that rot. Besides how could they be affected by what happened in England? Many were not even born yet."

"See that you keep it that way," Karkaroff said. He looked at the boy and then asked, "Now tell me why you truly chose to come to Durmstrang."

"I'm planning to do in-depth potions study and research into neutralizing the effects of Dark Marks in general. I came here to specifically study yours," he said with a pointed look to the man's left forearm. "Well that and to use your library references because of its extensive Dark Arts resources," Harry replied blandly. He kept his expression neutral and non-accusatory. "You're the only other possible person in this world that I could have approached to make such a request. Probably the only one that will truly consider letting me do it too. I have to do the lengthy research first, but I will also need time to study the magic in your dark mark in order to successfully carry out my plans."

"Audacious upstart," Karkaroff growled and then huffed, "You've got the balls of an Ironbelly child." The boy only gave him a brief nod. "You don't think you can find someone else with such a mark to study?"

"I do prefer to keep things legal and kidnapping is an offense no matter what Ministry you live under or wherever you happen to go to school. There's also the matter that if I succeed, why would I want to help someone that's been in hiding all this time? Certainly not with the possibility of a person who plans to return to the Dark Lord's service once that megalomaniac moron comes back," Harry replied. "I need to learn about real magic before I go mucking about with it, wouldn't you agree sir?"

"Hmph," Karkaroff noised. "You really don't believe that the Dark Lord of your land is completely gone?"

"Nope," Harry replied with brutal honesty. "You were right though. I do have nightmares and they are quite vivid." He paused. "He will be returning, but I plan to be ready for it. If I can relieve him of any potential followers, then that's more power that he does not have access to anymore."

"You'll be on your own here," Igor told him. "Don't involve any of the students unless they wish to be. Keep your true name to yourself, Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived. If they guess who you are then that is fine, but every student here is sworn to keep the privacy of every other student that attends Durmstrang. All students take similar oaths during their first day of class." He paused and then added, "If you're attacked for any reason, you're permitted to defend yourself within the means your abilities as any other student will do the same should you attack them."

"I guess school rules will be pointed out as we go along," Harry stated.

The Headmaster nodded and then said, "You come back earlier for the New Year and you can study my mark then and only then. I'll give you three days to do it and no more. Is that understood?"

"I'll have questions about it and the ritual of the marking too," Harry said as he made a note in his planner and nodded his agreement at the man's terms. "Will that be three consecutive days or one day per week in the New Year? Perhaps a choice of days after a period of initial study."

"Your choice, but you'll have to bring me one of your godfather's best brandy bottles and I'll answer whatever it is you wish to know," Igor said. "Don't think to cheat me, I know all about the Ancient and Noble Black Family of England and I know that they have an excellent spirit stock."

"Swear on your magic," Harry demanded with a nod. "I'll choose the days to inspect the mark and you'll get your chosen form of payment. Answers to my questions first when I return in the New Year."

"I swear on my magic that I'll answer whatever you wish to know about the Dark Mark I've received from You-Know-Who the Dark Lord Voldemort," the Headmaster confirmed and controlled his nerves to prevent the fact that he wanted to stutter. "…and I'll keep quiet about the results of your research whenever I can do so safely." The magical oath cleared and the two were left looking at one another. The Headmaster of Durmstrang had thought that he'd gotten the better of Harry Potter.

"Return to your friends," Karkaroff said. "Make no mention of the contents of this meeting to anyone at this school. I'll consider your request to alternate schools closer to the end of your first school year pending the results of your personal study. We'll meet sometime in the middle of May to discuss it. I'll notify your Professors that you've already given an oath to protect this school."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied and made a note of it too in his planner before he left the Headmaster's office.

Harry - James - Potter

Later that night he wrote an extended letter to Sirius and Remus to let them know about the school and some of his plans for researching better emergency battle potions. He told them about the Scalvini siblings that had been hoping they were on the list for Hogwarts, but had never received invitations to attend that school. He speculated in the letter to them that the Scalvini Family may have been shunned or somehow taken off the list or something. The twins were obviously fully magical children and did live within the jurisdiction to go to Hogwarts.

Hedwig had been pleased to make the long journey. The weather around the school suited her genetic heritage. She loved the cooler weather and had said so before caressing her human friend and flying away to make her deliveries.

Harry watched her fly away when he was joined by his new friends who'd shown him where most of their classrooms were. He couldn't wait to begin formal schooling and he hoped that he could keep it up. He recalled the time when Hermione had been using a time-turner to take all the classes she wanted and who knows what else in order to learn everything that she could.

'I don't want that to happen to me,' he thought. He grinned when his friends had started a chess tournament in Durmstrang's Primary Meeting Hall where they studied and heard general announcements. The chess competition was fierce between Tsaran and Briar. The other boy was losing to the pretty girl and didn't know it yet.

Harry - James - Potter

Elsewhere another Headmaster was reading the missive he received from a man he'd hoped he could have been trusted with the welfare of the Boy-Who-Lived. "I don't understand it Fawkes," Albus spoke to his phoenix familiar. "Sirius should know about the dangers of young Harry going to another school." He looked again at the reason and nearly swore. "More courses indeed! They can't have more than the basics for first years, the children just aren't equipped to learn more at that age. I will have to persuade the boy to attend Hogwarts after the Yule Holidays somehow."

Fawkes only trilled to calm the old man down. The bird had a feeling that the Boy-Who-Lived was going to provide the Headmaster with quite a few challenges and he didn't believe that the old man would win. Secretly the firebird was looking forward to it.

Harry - James - Potter

September first for the students of Hogwarts happened quite differently than expected. The planned meeting with a family firmly linked to the light side of magic did not happen at the King's Cross Station.

Also the children had heard from their parents that Harry Potter was supposed to be on the Hogwarts Express. However a few had been up and down the train and had not found him.

Later in the Great Hall during the sorting, the boy's name had not been called. Most students had sent owls to their parents that same night informing them that the Boy-Who-Lived had not come to Hogwarts.

The Headmaster allowed the correspondence to leave the school as he knew how their society would gossip and speculate on Harry Potter's whereabouts. He hoped that the negative publicity would drive the boy to come to his school, never thinking that it may drive him to stay away or that he might already have counter measures in place to force Hogwarts to make curriculum changes first.

Harry had received two letters from his uncles, days apart and each with their own version of what was happening in the Wizengamot and with the Hogwarts' Board of Governors. He grinned and then laughed.

After which he followed up by sending brief instructions to his companies including one that had been set up to track the International Magical School Passing Grades and the minimum scores required to pass. More importantly the company had been set up to track the requirements for secondary and post-secondary magical educations, whether in actual schools or through apprenticeships. The statistics for the past fifty years had been gathered and prepared in such a way that those in charge of managing Hogwarts' funds and even the teachers were going to be shocked to know that they were teaching the children well below any International Average.

He needed their society to wake up and teach the muggleborns about their abilities and merge them into Wizarding World that much earlier. He wanted primary schools to be sanctioned within his neutral villages. Actually he wanted all purely magical communities to open elementary schools including a day school in Diagon Alley and one in Hogsmeade. The magical children needed to be better educated and educated equally.

Home schooling was not going to be enough anymore because everyone taught things differently. Parents may just be the cause of the children's lack and that needed to be corrected.

The Weasleys had been a perfect example for him to use as a strike against home-schooled children at an elementary level. His ex-best friend from his first life could barely channel his magic in a useful way and had never really learned much at home. His older brothers had done more magic with stolen family wands than Ron had ever done. His old friend should have been able to change the colour of his rat without believing the trumped up spells words that his twin brothers told him about and been able to do it with just his magic alone, no wand required either.

'Things need to change,' Harry thought harshly. 'Our society needs to change and we need more security to protect the magic. We need more follow through when enforcing the Statute of Secrecy too.'

Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter

TBC...