Chapter 8 - A Talk

"Harry, can I ask a question?" Jakob asked.

"Sure." Harry looked over to him from where they were sitting in the reading area.

"How did you learn about the care system?"

"I was told halfway through my first year. It was our head of house that explained it and then the older years filled in some of the gaps and questions."

"So any sensitives in your year spent their first year not knowing or being checked1" Tabitha looked horrified.

"Yeh." Harry nodded remembering the day he was told by professor McGonagall in what amounted to Hogwarts sexual education.

Flashback

"Come in students?" Harry filed into the Transfiguration classroom with the rest of the first year Gryffindors. An area of the room had been cleared with a circle of chairs replacing it. "Have a drink and biscuit. This discussion will be hard enough already." Harry took a steadying breath as he sat down in between Ron and Hermione. "Now some of you will already know this but today we are going to talk about the care system.

"For those of you who don't know in the magical world, we have what is essentially 3 hospitals. These look after the needs of 3 very different groups of witches and wizards from the age of about 12. Which group you fall into depends on three things whether you are male or female, from an old family or not and what gifts you possess. Now I hope I don't have to explain to any of you what makes a boy a boy and a girl a girl." Harry went red at their head of houses words. He did know, there had been a talk about it at primary school. Looking around Harry saw all of them were red and nodding.

"Good. Now the AMS or Aristocracy Monitoring Service caters to mostly males from the old families. They also look after those with dark rare gifts such as being able to talk to animals and shadow walk. "They use all magical methods. Most are looked after at Saint Mungo's. However, the elite are looked after at a privet secure clinic. Any orphans are looked after here and the AMS watches them when they are placed into foster care. They make sure they know what they need to take up their station in the government.

"BCS or Bureau Counselling Service will be who the majority of you are under. They look after those that can change their appearance and Animagi. They use mostly magical methods but do have some non-magical methods. Most are cared for at Saint Mungo's and they mostly run the mental health unit trying to keep as many as possible out of the long-term ward there. Such the name.

"Now the OSS or Oxford Support Service since it was started in Oxford is the more involved of the branches. They take the females from old families and look after those that struggle when high concentrations of magic are used. Such as sensitives, seers and Empaths. Despite the old family's disdain for it the OSS uses primarily non-magical methods though they do use potions. This is due to their belief that lots of magic during childhood and pregnancy is the cause of squibs. There are some healers in the OSS that use magical methods and it is a taboo subject to ask who you see. The OSS runs a secure clinic and all are seen there. There is also space for those who need to live on site from the age of 5. This is dependent on the family situation instead of going into foster care to keep numbers down.

"Now I have mentioned pregnancy there. I do hope by now you all know where children come from. However, I have come across some over the years that don't. As such..." the woman started on another talk not pausing for questions. She seemed to want to get this out the way as quickly as they did. Harry hadn't known where children came from. He had been sent outside when his aunt had explained that to Dudley, with the word of freaks don't need to know this. Who would love you? He flushed the more his professor talked and looked around at his classmates. All of them were red in the face and focusing more on their drinks. Watching each other out of the corner of their eyes. This was embarrassing.

"Now I am sure you are all wondering where in this system you fall. Not to mention how it is determined which system you come under. In all the systems there are different departments. There are the family department and the gift department. There is one other. Although it is never spoken of and you will know if you ever get moved there. Never tell anyone as it is as good as getting shunned in our society. For AMS and OSS the departments are the family department for old families and gift department for everyone else. For BCS you have the gift department and general department.

"There is one more program that you only ever hear about in bad situations. The Oxford Guardianship program is for those whose gifts are out of control. It is also sometimes used by old families with certain medical conditions or who need extream counselling. This is to avoid going into the long-term ward at Saint Mungo's. This may be because they have been mistreated or just can't cope for one reason or another. Most of the time people enter this program voluntarily but sometimes people do need to be forced. It is almost always only used by those from the OSS. Although sometimes those from the BCS will use it temporarily. You never hear of those from the AMS as they prefer other methods.

"As for how you discover which system there is a spell that is cast when you are two years old. For muggle-borns, it is done when you are asleep after the first instance of accidental magic. Are there any questions?" Professor McGonagall finally stopped talking.

Harry shook his head mutely. There was too much information running around his head now to ask a question. All he wanted to know was where in the system he fell. Hopefully, he would be under the BCS and just a normal person like everyone else. He didn't want to be a bigger freak then the Dursleys already made him out to be.

"Very well. I shall let you know where you fall and then you can go. Feel free to ask me or any of the older students questions as you think of them. AMS is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. OSS is Fay Dunbar. While the rest of you Dean Thomas, Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Neville Longbottom, Parvati Patil and Seamus Finnigan are under the BCS."

End Flashback

"We all went back to the common room in a daze. Even those raised in the magical world hadn't known some of that. Fay was a muggle-born and quickly taken to the side by some of the others. They calmed her down a bit since she was overwhelmed."

"To have all that thrown at you like that." Demelza groaned.

"How did you all find out?" Harry asked.

"Mum and dad knew about me but Euro-Glyth only steps in when there are problems. I can't talk about that right now. Still, I've always known and always been looked after by the OSS." Tabitha shook her head.

"I thought you had to be 12 to start being looked after by AMS and OSS."

"Harry only the European schools do that. Those that the OSS knows about before, would have already been looked after by them." Demelza put a hand on his knee.

"I was 4 when I was tested after me and Robert were removed. Robert found out when he was 7. They do an introduction club thing for muggle-borns that's mandatory and one day a week. He learned all about this then. I didn't have to go through it growing up here." Jakob shrugged.

"Mum told us when we were 5 and started going to the OSS," Eveline added.

"After that, all are supposed to do a major health check to make sure you have your vaccinations and stuff. But also to check for those that are registered in the wrong system. Seems some of the British ones have been struggling." Demelza expanded.

"What about finding out which department you are in?"

"We received a letter in the post about three weeks before the end of the year, they came with the rest of the mail during lunch. Everyone opened them there with the older students around telling you what that department means for you. Then later that day the different programs come and get those they think might be at risk for one reason or another. That happens every week for the last three weeks of school. Everyone else is supposed to be checked during the summer. They're supposed to owl you an appointment or visit you but they never did me or my friend Ron."

"That sounds fishy. Like someone is cutting back resources or something." Demelza's eyes narrowed.

"So you were all told what department and such before you started senior school."

"Yes," Tabitha nodded. "And then the result and what it would mean were told to us all in person with our parent or guardian. Erlendur for me its one of the main times he comes."

"Same with me."

"Mum for us." the twins spoke together.

"Dr Vang told me on my own and then called Erlendur to explain. Though he did come and get me and then we talked some more before coming back here." Harry sighed. "I think they do it that way not to overload the Muggle-borns. I only found out about magic a month before going to school. Hermione had longer and it shows. Letters go out on your 11th birthday, only mine came out a little early since my birthday was the deadline. My friends sister her birthday is in August so hers came out early too." "Still that's not a lot of time. Yet not to tell you and then overload you all like that..." Eveline shock her head "And then not to check you like they were supposed to. Now they are left with the mess they are. No doubt it's all being investigated."

"Just remains to be seen if we will hear the results of that investigation." Jakob snorted and they all nodded. It did remain to be seen.