DISCLAIMER- I don't own the creations of JK Rowling
Cassandra- in the canon Harry is curious about the ministry but not how Hagrid is carrying the key to his vault, has no concern about it.
A confession, it is difficult to totally avoid the other writers. This one is mostly a side dish, will return to the main plot in the next chapter.
Chapter 7- It's magic
Albus Dumbledore was surprised. How can his plans go wrong? Harry was supposed to go with Hagrid, the Dursleys should not have posed a problem. Harry would be amazed to know of his own nature, the Dursleys would have suffered from a guilty conscience, he had told Hagrid how to behave there.
When Hagrid returned that morning at the hall too soon with the port-key, he knew something went wrong, it only got worse when he heard it all. How did Petunia muster the courage to lash out like that? Worse, she had spoken the truth and the boy was not keen to come to Hogwarts.
His plans cannot fail. Harry had to be a broken boy, cling to a savior from his relatives, otherwise how can the boy be moulded into what Albus wanted him to be? He gestured Hagrid to leave, himself deep in thought. However, he soon came up with a second name, that person would not need much instruction and may be able to win Harry's trust; though he is not in Albus's control.
In the summer holidays, the castle went too empty, with even some of the staff gone. Albus was busy with his thoughts and did not see the face of his potions master curled in an amused smile. He had to wait for this person, talk a little and put a compulsion charm on the man inside his own office.
The compulsion charm would make the man not tell Harry just one thing. Maybe it was unethical, but would put Albus's plan back on track, thus had to be done for the greater good.
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Professors McGonagall and Burbage had the schedule of visiting each muggle-born student and their parents every day, explain the strange letters and the reason behind the odd abilities of their children. They have to explain and impress the children and their parents with magic.
It was a regular schedule, being followed every year. Then McGonagall would leave after the paperwork, Burbage and a person from the muggle liaison department would show the children and their parents around the platform, Gringotts and Diagon alley on a pre-scheduled date.
Yesterday, they had visited the Finch-Fletchey family, whose son's name was put for a high-ranked muggle institute. They had even been proud that their son was able to control the strange things with the help of muggle healers. They were doubtful, but display of some magic and the fact that there was a magical government in Britain greatly increased their faith in two teachers.
Today was again different. The Grangers were muggle healers focused on teeth and the adjoining regions, their bushy-haired daughter was the magic child. She was very excited, her parents were polite but skeptical. The two teachers readied themselves for the conversation.
Hermione's parents were surprised to see the two teachers. They were dressed in rather odd flowing cloaks, but nothing else was special about them. The middle-aged woman sounded formal with a Scottish accent, the other woman was younger and very plain in appearance.
"So" began her father "where is this special boarding school of yours located?" he was in a queer mood after learning that he and his wife were "muggles". They were polite to serve their guests tea and biscuits, but did not know how the conversation would proceed.
"It is located beside a lake in northern Scotland. It cannot be located by ordinary means, the entire place is on un-plottable land. Your daughter will see it when she visits the place." said McGonagall.
"Professors, I did a little research about the schools in Britain when I saw that letter. Scotland does have about 21 boarding schools and over 300 secondary schools, I am sorry to say that your school was not on that list. Will you explain that please?"
Burbage spoke "Of course you wouldn't find it. We wizards and witches keep our affairs separate and secret from the muggle world. You know of the witch hunts, right? Our community then decided to mind our own businesses and still keep secret to avoid conflict. I may inform you that the Prime minister of this country is notified of our presence, there is a small secret directorate in the muggle government too for liaison with us. In fact, there is a confidential branch in all world governments."
The girl's mother now spoke "Is what we read about your people true? You worship the devil, drink the blood of babies and boil them in cauldrons. Our daughter will do all that?"
Burbage explained "We don't teach dark magic at Hogwarts. You yourself can see the booklist and get idea about what is taught there. We have our own government and law enforcement agency. When the witch hunts began, we were often maligned and the dark practices magnified."
"What is the future of our daughter after studying in this school?" asked Mr. Granger.
"You please understand this- your daughter will learn to control and use her magic at Hogwarts. As she spends more time, she will be aware of careers in our world. Else, she can continue her mundane studies during the vacations and leave the school after getting her basic degree at the end of the fifth year. We have an arrangement with the muggle government to provide secondary school degrees from a particular recognized school. You will find that it exists on paper only."
"Will no other magic school in Britain or elsewhere send their letters?"
"There is no other magic school in the world that teaches in British English. Hogwarts is currently the only magic school on Britain. About 10 years ago, we just came out of a civil war that had resulted in rather heavy casualties on our community. Those were rather dark times that till haunt us."
Both parents looked relaxed after that. Burbage now spoke "You were not surprised when your daughter could do those odd things? Some parents think their children are possessed."
"We didn't have any reason to. She was not possessed because those things happened only when she experienced strong emotions due to external reasons, she could recall everything. That's not possession. But why did that happen to our daughter? None of us could do those things, we are normal humans."
"Your daughter is not the only muggle-born child, a few are admitted every year at Hogwarts. As per the rules of our community, the children are contacted just after their eleventh birthday. That's the rule going on for a long time. Sorry that we cannot bend the rules ourselves." Burbage said, then gestured for McGonagall to take on the conversation.
"So, will you give your consent to your daughter attending the school? We will then tell about the school schedule, the fees, where to shop for supplies and deposit the money and how to get into the train from the hidden platform at Kings Cross station, as you live in Greater London area. You will meet all the other muggle-born admissions of this year; we do it on the same date annually."
"Will we be able to see the school for ourselves or visit her there?"
"Unfortunately, no, but you will see her. The summer holidays are on July and August, plus she can leave during the winter and Easter holidays. She can write to you, the school can allow one owl post per month, she can write as much as she can if she buys her own owl from our shopping street. If there is any emergency like sickness, she can be sent back to your home by our means."
Soon, McGonagall took out the parchments necessary to complete the paperwork, along with an ink bottle and quill. Demonstration of some magic would be done to impress the parents and the daughter.
Burbage spoke first in a light tone "You cannot mistake the train once you see it. The name Hogwarts Express is there at the front, plus no other train in the station is a steam engine in these days. Now, will Mr. and Mrs. Granger take the quill and sign your names on the proper places please?"
As usual, the parents had the very expected look on their faces. It was an exercise done with every first or the eldest muggle-born child, every year. Burbage smiled "You think of us as backward, right?"
Mrs. Granger said "Of course, it may sound rude but we do not use things like steam engines or quills anymore." The father nodded in agreement, their daughter looked at all four present in confusion.
"Actually, we do know that. Now, what is a steam engine? Simply put, where steam is made by burning coal, wood or oil to move the train, right? That's how muggle steam engines worked."
The three Grangers frowned, but nodded. Burbage now told the difference "For our case, the steam is produced by heating water with specific magic spells. We realized back in those times that we do not need any fuel to burn to produce the steam that runs the train."
Looking at the open mouths of the three, Burbage dipped the quill into the bottle of ink and said "Now, you two take the quill and sign your names on the right places. See what is different with it." She reached across and handed over the quill to Mr. Granger.
Few seconds later, Mr. Granger almost shouted with surprise "Hey, that's impossible. Both of us have written our full names and still it is writing! A quill cannot hold so much ink on its tip, it's…..magic?"
"You are absolutely right, Mr. Granger. The tip is getting the ink from the bottle by magic. If you touch the tip again on the ink surface, the flow will stop. Now, look at this." Burbage took out a thicker, deep gray quill. "It's a dicta-quill. Once you adjust the quill to your pronunciation and handwriting, it will write by your voice command only. There are also dark magic quills that use the blood of the writer."
"Interesting. Now, let's talk about the tuition fees and other charges of the school. We have absolutely no idea of the expenses and whether we can afford it." said Mr. Granger in wonder.
"You should be able to. A British middle or working class muggle family can afford the fees, plus there are provisions for special cases. Now you want the exact amount?"
The Grangers nodded in reply.
"That's a bit difficult. You would think in British pounds, we think in terms of our own currency, coins of gold and silver. The gold galleon is about five pounds to one coin, though the rate fluctuates a little every day. You can exchange your money at Gringotts for the wizard currency. We do it on a fixed date for the first years. Then you can do it yourselves every year. "
"What's Gringotts?" asked a curious Hermione.
"It's our bank, Miss Granger. Goblins run the bank." replied McGonagall.
"Goblins are real then?" asked the little girl in wonder. The conversation mentioned goblins because that was a mean to show some more magic and impress the muggles. Burbage pulled out a two-inch thick book from her bag and showed the cover to Hermione and her parents.
Hermione read the gold-lettered cover "Children's book of life- British edition? What's in it?"
"It shows the magical races of Britain of course. There is a broad classification of magical life-forms by the Ministry of magic- beings and beasts. I am showing a few of them to you now."
McGonagall rose from her chair. "Mr., Mrs. and Miss Granger, I should be leaving now, I have some paperwork to do. Mrs. Burbage may show you the picture book and come later. Now if you please excuse me, I will take my leave. Your daughter will see me at the school. Good day."
Hermione spoke in a curious voice "How will you travel Professor? On your own broomstick?"
Burbage replied in return "Miss Granger, there are multiple types of magical travel, a broomstick is just one of them. As you spend time in our world, you will know them all. Right now, Professor McGonagall will travel by a method called apparition. Your parents and some other adults may know of this method too, they call it teleportation or more recently, wormhole travel. It is shown in fantasy TV shows."
The open mouths of the Grangers were what she is seeing for quite some years, the muggles do react thus. To complete the effect, the Scottish professor vanished into thin air with a faint cracking sound.
Burbage flipped open the book in the table. The book was thick not because of the number of pages, but rather for the thickness of each page. She replied "The book is to teach children about the magical life-forms that exist in the British Isles. Muggle children may think of them as fantasy, but wizard children know that they are real, you just have to know where to look. Now, I am showing you some of the life-forms, your daughter may later learn how to flip the pages like me. Now look at this."
She touched her right hand at a particular spot of the open page. The Grangers had seen some sort of picture in the page, but now two moving people, about six inches long and made of light, appeared floating above the page. They were a man and a woman, wearing cloaks and pointed hats. "That's images of a wizard and a witch. We are actually humans, just with that extra called magic."
She flipped the page, now six more figures appeared surrounding the wizard and witch. She pointed at a couple that reached up to the waist of the humans. They did not look human, the fingers on the hand and feet were absurdly long, the ears were long and pointed plus the man had a pointed chin and long nose, the woman's were less prominent. "That's a male and female goblin. They have their own society and school, they keep to themselves. They run Gringotts, but are a race of warriors actually."
The other couple was of the same height of goblins, but differently built. The man had a thick brown beard, a barrel chest and broad shoulders. The ears were less pointed than goblins, and the digits on the limbs were three on hand, two on feet and much thicker than humans. The woman was not as strongly built, but not fickle either. "These are dwarves. You can see them in our pubs, though they live under the surface, in tunnels. They also keep mostly to themselves."
The third couple was much shorter than goblins and dwarves, hardly reaching past the knees of the wizard. They had rubbery pale pink skin, large round eyes and long flapping ears, were without any hair. Unlike the dress of the other two races which were proper clothes, they were dressed in shabby rags. "They are house elves, not very strong as beings. They live by binding themselves to the magic of big wizard dwellings like castles and manor houses and serve the resident families in return."
Burbage then flipped the pages again. "The page that you saw is called allied races, the next one is called conditionals. See it and you will understand why they are called thus." The shorter figures vanished around the two humans but four figures of about the same height as them appeared around the centre, though all were different. The fifth one was rather grotesque and large.
She pointed at the pale silvery figures of a man and a woman, wearing rather archaic dresses of the same colour. "They are ghosts, you know of them. They are simply human souls who are unable to accept death and are afraid to cross over. They attach themselves to certain places and live within its perimeters. They are tolerated as long as they do not possess living things and cause trouble. They can be exorcised and can disappear once they muster the courage to move on."
The finger then moved to the figure of a pale man wearing a black overcoat. As she pointed her finger, the man's lips changed to a rotten black form, fangs were visible and the coat changed to wide bat-like wings. "They are vampires, you have heard of them. A new vampire is created when another vampire bites him in a specific way. They are much stronger, faster and damage-resistant than humans, have a few magical abilities but have certain weaknesses, are sterile and immortal unless destroyed in a specific way. They are tolerated if they hunt in specific areas and do not target humans, wizards and other magical beings."
The next one was a man clad in a loincloth, who changed into a rather well-known being. "Yes, that's a werewolf, created only when bitten by another. They can live up to 150 years and are tolerated if they keep away from humans and hunt in specific areas during the full moon, so as to not alert the muggles. Else, they are humans for the remaining times and may have babies with partners. A magical draft has been developed to keep them from losing their minds during full moon."
She then pointed at the hideous humanoid figure with wings and a beastly face. "That's a gargoyle, they come in many shapes. They are statues made by wizards to live in a specified area and behave in a specific way. A creator must keep his ones in permitted areas. They have animation spells in them to move and act, though some dark wizards imprison souls in those for it- but it is illegal in modern laws."
Another flip of the pages, the old figures vanished and six new figures appeared surrounding the humans. Mr. Granger spoke "I understand why those were called conditionals. What are these ones called- part-humans or wild ones? Hell, even centaurs and mermaids are real then?"
The male centaur was bare bodied, but carrying a quiver and bow. The female centaur was smaller, with no facial hair and with longer hair, a garment made of bark covering its torso. The four "mermaids" had appearances in between humans and fish, without any clothes but it could be guessed that the males were the larger ones, each holding a spear and a trident in their hands respectively.
"Well, they are called both and you do know of them as mythical beings. Centaurs are found in Britain, small colonies reside at the edges of the enchanted forests; a herd of about 150 centaurs live on the outer edges of the forest besides our school. They can speak, but do not like other beings venturing into their territory and keep mostly to themselves unless threatened or trespassed repeatedly . The merrows and selkies live in underwater villages; they have great control over the element of water and are harmless unless messed with. They can domesticate other lower aquatic creatures and even let the humans visit their dwellings for short periods if you maintain proper relations with them."
Hermione asked "Which one is which? How are they different, professor?"
"These are merrows. They live in fresh water habitats and are of a single form, with the red spots on their head. Those are selkies, they live in salty waters and are bi-morphic in nature. They assume the forms of seals on their wish. Muggles of olden times got confused between the two."
Another flip of the pages and the picture changed again. The wizard and witch shrunk to a quarter of their original height, to be flanked by six huge, ugly figures. Three of them were surely men, larger than the women and carrying clubs. They were clad in what appeared to be hides of animals. Men wore loincloths around the waist, but the women had one-shoulder drapes.
"The grey ones are rock trolls, the green ones are forest trolls. They inhabit particular regions and though with limited intelligence, have sharp senses, along with great strength, stamina and resistance to magical and physical damage. They can self-heal damages done to their bodies with time and are smart enough to use clubs and even throw rocks. They may eat humans if they catch one, but you can easily avoid their habitat. Some of them vary in size and are domesticated sometimes by us, to train."
The trolls have legs rather like rhinoceros, with large hands, heavy jaws and narrow tapering heads, with round yellow eyes. They did not appear to have any hair anywhere on their bodies. Burbage now pointed at the other couple who were larger and more human in appearance.
"Those are giants, though the largest of them grow up to 25 feet tall. Even old muggle writers mentioned their colonies in places like Wales and Cornwall. Strong and brutal creatures, they are. No need to worry about them, they do not exist anymore in Britain. They joined on the other side during the last civil war and now all of them are either killed or banished into the mainland."
The giants looked human, but with very broad frames, wearing animal hides, a necklace of bones and with rather coarse and short hair. The female had longer hair, but rather woolly. The man carried a spiked club and they both had a rather savage look on their rough faces.
Burbage now shut the book with the images vanishing and then said "You have seen the first pages. If you want to see more, you can buy the book at our shopping street. Now, let me tell the next date and place of meeting to familiarize the group."
Hermione asked "Miss Burbage, will you please tell what are in the next pages, please?"
"Okay, I am telling the short version. There are images of pets like the phoenix, winged horses and more common ones though we call them familiars, pests like gnomes and doxys, large animals like griffins and unicorns, smaller ones like nifflers and murtlaps, dangerous ones like redcaps and grindylows, the two species of dragons native to the British isles and the local variant of the sea dragon seen in many regions of the world. Magical plants and fungi are not in this book because we study or grow them from an adult's perspective, in more details."
Some of the names sounded familiar to the Grangers, the father spoke "All those can be found in the British isles and we cannot see them? That's fantastic."
Burbage looked at the faces, though she saw similar reactions every year. She spoke in a calm voice "They are all found in Britain, I am not talking about the rest of the world. You can see all of them only when you know where to look. Sentient races do mostly avoid muggle places as per law, the rogue ones if any, are dealt with. Some stray animals are seen by muggles now and then, but our government erases their memories to keep it secret."
(In the next chapter, Dursleys will agree. The son of the brightest and nicest mages will go to the best school of magic in earth, run by the greatest headmaster, the safest place in Britain where a brilliant defence professor has the brightest ever student turned greatest dark lord with him- I am quoting the canon only)
P.S- Is it really too much to request a review ?