Amelia sighs as her Floo lets out a sound to indicate that someone is trying to connect. Setting aside her fire whisky, she stands up and moves to the entrance hall to unlock the Floo. When she does, Madam Longbottom's face appears in the flames.
"Madam Bones, would you mind if I came through?"
Amelia counts to 10 before responding, "Certainly, let me just raise the grate."
Pulling a lever to the side of her fireplace, the iron bars inside the flames rise into the flue allowing Madam Longbottom to step through. No sooner has Amelia lowered the grate, reset the Floo, and started exchanging pleasantries with Madam Longbottom, that the Floo signals again. This time the guests are the McMillian's. After going through the same song and dance, Amelia offers all three of them tea in the reception room.
Once tea has been served, Amelia looks at her three guests, "I'm guessing that this isn't a social call?"
Madam Longbottom nods, "I received a request from Neville to attend 10 pin bowling with his dorm mates. Of course I declined, however I received a note saying that you would be accompanying them. Then asking for permission again."
Mr McMillian nods, "That's pretty much the same thing that happened to us."
Amelia nods, "This tells me why you're here, but it doesn't say anything about what you want."
"We were wondering if you knew anything about this 10 pin bowling."
"Beyond the fact that, according to his chocolate frog card, Albus Dumbledore is a fan. Absolutely nothing. I am going for the opportunity to vet my nieces friends."
Madam Longbottom nods slowly, "I see. If I was to allow Neville to attend, would you be willing to share your thoughts on the matter, say next Thursday over tea?"
Amelia looks searchingly at the ancient Matriarch of the Longbottom family, "Madam Longbottom, what exactly were your reasons for denying Neville permission in the first place?"
"I don't want his schoolwork to suffer."
"Would you have denied your son the same chance?"
"Of course. Saying that, it's unlikely I'd have known about it until well after the event in any case."
"So you really want Neville to make his own decisions rather than seeking permission from you?"
"I wouldn't put it quite like that."
"Does Neville know that? Do the people organising this trip know that?"
"I'm not sure why that matters."
Amelia sits back tapping her chin, "I believe you were a Slytherin when you attended Hogwarts?" Madam Longbottom nods, "And Neville's father was a Gryffindor?" Again she nods, "In both cases, those houses encourage people to do what they want, with only the methods about achieving it differing between the two. Hufflepuff is not like that. Did you know that historically Hufflepuff have had the least points taken every year? Loyalty and Hard Work, those are the defining characteristics of my old house. Less known is trust and friendship. By putting your son in the position where he has to choose between you and his new friends, you are putting him in an impossible position. What's more important, his loyalty to his house, your trust in him, or his new friendships?", she waves her hands at the other two guests, "The McMillians here are nodding along to everything that I've just said. They also come from a history of Hufflepuffs. However, they have done exactly the same thing you did.
"You want to know why I'm going along tomorrow? It's because I trust my niece, however because of my job I can't blindly trust those she calls friends. In the past people have tried to use her to get to me, do you understand? Now, I think I have said my piece and it's time for all three of you to return to your homes and think about your children's requests, and the fact that they sent it to you again after you denied them the first time."
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A frazzled and weeping Daphne, being comforted by Mrs Davis and Tracy, greets Harry when he finishes opening his doorway to the Davis living room. Mr Davis, however, is nowhere to be found.
"How did you get on Daphne?"
"It's…"
Doris looks up over Daphne's shoulder, "It's hard on her, that much I can tell you. I'm no mind healer, but I think it will take her a few months to be able to function without her Occlumency up on a day to day basis. Tracy was hit hard because the first thing Daphne did when she saw her is flinch and turn her eyes away."
Harry nods, not really understanding, but trusting that Doris knows what she's talking about, "How can I help?"
"Unless you know of anywhere that she can feel safe and stable, just keep doing what you're doing and pay attention if she seems reluctant to practice at any point."
Harry shuffles uncomfortably, as he's aware that his domain would probably be ideal for Daphne's needs, as well as giving her an opportunity to practice when she's ready. However, until his mother found it anyway, it has been his and Marianne's secret garden for a long time. Daphne notices his hesitation and correctly jumps to a conclusion, "You know of somewhere don't you."
Harry nods, "Yes, but until Marianne got her magic, the only people that knew of it were Marianne and myself. It was our secret garden."
Daphne looks vulnerable as she looks down and says, "I understand."
"It's not that, it's where I made that." He looks at her neck as he speaks.
"As I said, I understand."
"No, but, gah! What's the time?"
Doris picks up her wand and taps it in the air, "A Quarter to 8, why?"
"Right, let's get Tracy back to the dorm and then I'll show you."
"Harry, you really don't have to."
Harry shakes his head, "You're wrong, I really do. One day you may understand, but at the moment believe that I'm showing you for the same reason I chose to train you."
Doris looks at him carefully before saying, "Go you two, and Daphne, treat this as a Hufflepuff secret. If you're not sure what that is, as Professor Sprout."
Daphne sniffs and nods as both of them hold out their hands.
A few minutes later, Daphne is staring at the brook in front of her, "What?"
Harry gazes over at the forge area, "You know the Brigid thing?"
Daphne wipes her eyes and nods, "I saw it mentioned on the train."
"Well, this is the Brigid thing. This was once her domain, and now it's mine. Sometimes there's bleed over from the domain to my life, as she was a goddess of Wisdom, Poetry, Healing, Protection, Blacksmithing, and Domesticated Animals. I was 8 when I found it, and the first thing I did is brought Mari here. That was shortly before mum pulled me out of school."
"Why did she do that?"
"Brigid's domain was bleeding over and making me unnaturally good at certain subjects, but still average at others. It's been easier since I promised mum that I'd always do my best to be true to myself. However, I could no more not help you than Malfoy can get a clue."
Daphne gives an uncharacteristic giggle, "I think you're selling yourself short there."
"You have a nice giggle, and I hope we can hear it in the mortal world."
"Why do you call it the mortal world?"
"Look around you, what do you see?"
"I see a beautiful meadow with a forest over there, and a rocky hill over there."
Harry sweeps his hand around, "All the mist that you see on the Horizon. That's the Other. If I brought someone here that didn't know how to navigate the Other, they would be stuck here or they would die. It's almost impossible for young magical children to get lost here, as their desire for their family, or food, or whatever, is so pure that they can't help but navigate to wherever that thing is. The main danger for them is following the wisps of sight and sound and ending up somewhere that's not hospitable to humans. Such as one of the courts."
"When did you start learning?"
"I don't remember, but mum says I knew how to travel the mist by the time I was 4. I guess that I kept running off when we spent time at her roundhouse.
"What do you think of this place? Can I leave you here after dinner and you find your own way back to the Davis when you're ready?"
"It feels safe and calming."
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The next morning, the Hufflepuff table receive two owls at breakfast. As a result Neville and Ernest are both smiling broadly while they hand the letters to Harry. Who quickly makes his way to Morgana and hands her the letters when she's in a private location.
It does, however, take Justin, Harry, and Hermione the rest of the day to persuade the magic born that robes will not be appropriate for going out tonight. Just before they're due to leave, Professor Sprout approaches the group.
"1st years."
"Hello Professor."
"I have to say that I'm both proud and disappointed in all of you. Susan, Tracy, your guardians have informed me of what's going on. This is why I'm proud of you. You've arranged a social activity together, and you've got permission from your guardians. You've also found a way to do it without breaking any of the school rules, another thing that makes me proud. I'm disappointed that you didn't feel you could inform me of your plans. I hope that in the future you feel that you can trust me with knowledge of your plans together. Now I'd like you all to have a good time, and don't forget about curfew."
As she leaves, everyone looks at each other with a confused and slightly guilty expression. Neville is the first one to voice their collective thoughts, "Why do I feel like my Gran caught me with the cookie jar, and then told me to only have 1?"
Tracy breaths out, "It's not just me then?"
In the silence a doorway opens up just behind Harry. Morgana and Amelia can both be seen standing on the other side.
Morgana ignores the gaping Amelia and smiles at the gaping students, "Well, come on then."
One by one they all walk through the portal out into an alleyway leading onto a large, tarmacked area with a few cars parked on it. As the doorway closes, Amelia blinks rapidly, "Morgana."
Morgana smiles sweetly, "Yes?"
Amelia shakes her head sharply, "Sorry, I was just swearing. That was… Is that Celtic magic?"
Morgana nods, "It's one of the skills you can learn with Celtic magic, yes. Harry is learning to make these doorways to and from a gate at the moment."
"How far can they take you?"
"It's less how far, and have you been there before, and how much time do you want to spend opening the gate. But we should get going, as I've booked 3 lanes for an extra hour before everyone else arrives. That should give you all time to get over your gawking and learn the basics of the game.
Morgana proves to be absolutely correct, the only person not awed with the place is Amelia. The only reason for that, is it is so different that she feels uncomfortable around so much stuff that might as well be magic. The cacophony of blinking lights and music from the arcade part of the alley makes her head spin, and her head is on a swivel for danger.
One particular game pulls all of their attention, as it advertises itself as battle chess, and Megan is the first one to voice it in an excited voice, "They have wizard chess here!"
While the children all crowd around the game, Morgana walks up in front of Amelia holding a glass of amber liquid, "Whisky on the rocks. You look like you need one."
Amelia takes it gratefully, "I've been an auror for 10 years, and I've spent my fair time in the mundane world. Why haven't we ever seen stuff like this?"
"My guess?" Amelia nods, "I would say that it's because this is a place for entertaining. The whole point of it is to be flashy and draw attention. Most mundane technology seems positively boring in comparison. Necessarily so, because flashy stuff is distracting. We have a Super Nintendo at home that can play some of these games, and it looks like a mostly grey rectangle. I doubt that you get much accidental magic in places like this, or in shopping centres where they sell the home entertainment systems. If you want to know what mundane technology can do, check the magazine sections in many news agents."
"Why aren't the children freaking out about this?"
Morgana places a hand on Amelia's shoulder, "It's because they're children that they're not freaking out. If they were here without Harry, Justin, and Hermione it would probably be a very different story. Come on, let's pull them away from the shiny games and get them bowling."
They end up only having 30 minutes before the first of the regulars turns up and attacks Harry with a hug, "Harry I've missed you!"
Harry swings Marianne around, "Marianne, how are you doing?"
"Better now I've seen you." Leaning in, she continues softly, "School finishes at 3:40 for me, meet me in the secret garden sometime and I'll tell you about it."
Harry nods, "Let me introduce you to my friends and classmates. You've already met Hermione, Daphne, Tracy, Susan, and Hannah. These are Justin, Neville, Megan, Wayne, and Ernest. Just don't ask us too much about school, as it's like the secret garden."
Marianne nods, "So, who's team am I on? As Harry always gets his own lane once we start."
Wayne frowns, "How is that fair?"
"It's not, but we can't split him in half, so it's the best we can do. What you need to understand about my bestie is that he doesn't know the meaning of the word moderation when it comes to practicing stuff."
"Hey! I do. I even practice it occasionally."
