New Resolutions

By Jon08

Chapter 2 Lessons and Laws.

We followed Principal Abbot off to the right to a normal looking door such as you might find in any house; he opened the door, whispering something as he did so.

We immediately seemed to be in what looked like a school gymnasium, the floor appeared to be some kind of protective matting and there were several students involved in what looked to be some sort of kata in one or other of the martial arts. The only thing different to a normal martial arts class was the other end of the hall, were students that I assumed were firing spells at their classmates, some with wands and indeed some with their bare hands. There were flashes of light, puffs of smoke, all flying towards us and the students at the back of the gym. As the students doing kata moved, it was possible to see something unexpected, as the spells hit them, they were either deflected, absorbed or even reflected back at their attackers, they seemed to be doing nothing other than a set of muggle exercises but they were defending themselves against magic. Occasionally there was a flicker about one or other of the students like a heat haze which would quickly vanish again.

The instructor at the front of the hall raised his hand and clicked his fingers, there was a noise like a gunshot when he did and all the students stopped what they were doing and turned to face him. "Very good, now the best form of defence is offence, so try defending yourselves more aggressively; begin!" he clicked his fingers again and the class restarted.

This time there were spells flying in both directions as each lot of students defended themselves and sent their own spells at their opponents. It was fascinating to watch and I was quite engrossed in the class as one student was thrown backwards with quite a bit of force. The principal tapped Gabby and I on the shoulder at this point and gestured us out of the room. I glanced back as we left and the instructor was helping the student who had been thrown up onto his feet again, obviously none the worse for wear.

"Hmm! Second year defence class, no one ever comes to any harm despite what you just saw, there are special wards placed around the gym to prevent any injuries. Students study several forms of muggle martial arts in their first year and in the second incorporate magic into their defence. Quite effective as you can see!"

We were back in the hallway and the Principal was looking at his watch, "you may find this interesting!" he walked back towards the main doors that had let us into this strange building in the first place. He placed his hands on the doors and muttered something under his breath, opening the doors outwards instead of inwards as was to be expected from our entry. We were outside in a meadow with a hedgerow barrier all around it. We could see a five bar gate off to the left and it was through this that we were led.

Instead of the expected adjacent field that was visible over the fence, we were on the edge of a small wood, children's voices coming from within. As we followed the principal in we could see children of about eleven or twelve in groups with a basket and a leaflet between them, occasionally they would stop to look at some plant or other and cut some plant or other and place it in their basket and continue looking at the plants around them.

"First year potions class gathering ingredients for their next project, it's beneficial for them to realise what the ingredients to their potions look like in the natural state."

I was impressed at this, from what I could remember of my first year potions class that I had had in the daydream, there was none of this. I could have been cutting up Belladonna leaves instead of the potato leaves the particular potion had called for. It seemed a better way to me, than just being handed the appropriate leaves.

"Of course, everything is checked before they mix the potion, extra credit is earned if they get everything right and don't have to use school supplies. It helps after graduation if they wish to progress further and take a degree as an apothecary."

The principal led us back through the meadow and into the school again, the doors opening inwards as they had the first time we had one through. A traditional sounding school bell rang, "oh dear is it that time already, I hadn't realised?" There were suddenly loads of children and teenagers descending into the hallway we were in, all talking animatedly amongst themselves. They went to the doorway that previously had led to the gymnasium, only instead of opening the doors outwards as the principal had do to show us the gymnasium, they slid the doors to the left or right depending on which side they were entering. Through the doors, we could see what looked like a normal school canteen, dining room a long counter with several choices on offer and several small tables that would allow about six students to sit at each one.

Principal Abbot preceded us in, "welcome to the Dining room, would you care to join me in a spot of lunch?" Several of the students began to move aside to allow us to go to the front of the queue, but the Principal waved them to carry on as normal. I watched as the students ahead of us make their choices indicating to the ordinary looking school dinner-ladies what they wanted and taking their meals, some paying at a till, others just taking a seat.

"Why are some students paying and others just going to the tables to eat their meals; is there a difference in the type of students here?"

"Err! No! The difference is in the type of meal they're having. Students who take the options offered on the main menu; get their meals as part of their package at the school, all meals are included; but if a student orders something different, then they have to pay, all students are given a weekly allowance to spend as they wish."

We finally arrived at the front of the queue and I looked at the options available, there was what appeared to be roast chicken with several choices of accompanying vegetables or what was described as a beef curry; it looked quite appetising, then there were burgers, pizza, and the ubiquitous chips, or fries I should say being in the states. Attached to the plates with burgers, pizza and fries there was a small sign with a dollar sign on it, I assumed this meant these meals were on the paying menu. I decided to try the curry and indicated so, Gabby did the same, I made my way to the till to pay for my meal as obviously I was not a student, but the cashier nodded at some sign from the principal and waved us through.

We occupied a table off to the side with the Principal and for the next few minutes the only sound was the sound of cutlery and three adults enjoying a meal, I have to admit it certainly seemed a lot better than the food I used to get at Smeltings; I think there was actually real beef in this curry as opposed to the soya or dog food that my school meals had always struck me as being made of. When we had all finished, the principal inquired if we would like anything to drink, Gabby and I both decided on coffee; he nodded and spoke quietly into the air and snapped his fingers. A large pot of coffee and three cups appeared on the table and we served ourselves.

"Now, I imagine you have some questions to ask me, at this point, I know I would have!"

I thought for a few moments, wondering how to phrase my question. "I'm confused about the doors and intrigued as well, each door seems to open several different ways and depending on how you open it, affects where you end up. How is that achieved?"

"Each door is basically set up like a portkey, only instead of acting on you personally so you get the unpleasant yanking in your gut, it acts on the doorway; you literally step forward into your new location. It's a bit more complicated than that but that gives you a general idea behind it. As the number of classes offered expanded over the years, it was found that larger and larger premises were needed, but the original link to the school set by Slytherin was wanted, so this was devised. There's several spells involved including space warping, teleportation or portkeying and a variation on the Fidelius charm. All classrooms and study areas are accessible through one or other of the doors in the school, and there are several hundred classrooms etc accessed by about 70 doors. I could show you them all, there's a map in the Principals Office, if you want to see it!"

"I don't think we really need to, it was just a point of curiosity, is it all controlled by how you open the doors or there something else behind how it works, I noticed the doors to this canteen are the same ones to the gym, but you opened them differently, are all the doors that simple to work!"

"Indeed not! Most of the common rooms, canteen, gym, assembly hall, some classrooms etc are that simple to operate, but others need a password or charm to enter depending on where they lead to. Each student is given or taught the appropriate 'password' when they begin taking classes in a particular classroom, it all works out quite well.

"Fascinating," I muttered as I took a sip of my coffee.

"I noticed you have human staff in your canteen, is it all human run and managed or do you have house elves running things, behind the scenes," asked Gabrielle. I know this was something that was much on her mind and she heartily approved of the changes to the lives of house elves that I had been able to make in Britain.

"No, we have a variety of peoples working throughout the school, magic, muggle and crossbreeds; it's to our lasting shame that we have no house elves in the US!"

"What! You should be proud that your society does not perpetuate their enslavement by wizard kind!"

"You misunderstand me, and their enslavement is why there are no house elves in the whole of the States. At the end of the civil war, when slavery was abolished, the house elves were freed as well, and they were told that they could take employment where the liked, but, to our shame, they took being set free as shameful and within 6 months there was not a house elf alive in the States, it's as if they all willed themselves to die, no encouragement could keep them alive. Our shame comes from the fact that in our ignorance we caused the extermination of a species in our country. If someone from abroad comes on vacation to the US and brings a house elf with them, we ignore the fact that they essentially have an enslaved being with them."

"I believe I perceive what you are saying and understand it, my first encounter with house elves made me see their life as slavery, but now I believe I have got most of the UK wizarding world to see them as a paid servant, or even lodger who pays their rent in kind, rather than cash. Indeed most house elves in Britain these days have their own clothing and indeed I know of one that took to freedom very well, but Dobby was supposed to have been slightly eccentric by most of the other ones I've encountered."

"How on earth do you manage to get a house elf to accept clothing and not set it free, from what I understand that was one of the ways to dismiss them from service, of course I only know this from our history you understand?"

"Very easy, don't give them clothes, give them the materials to make their own, after all if a house elf is dressed in a pillowcase, it's still wearing some kind of clothing, we just allowed them to dress better. We haven't got very far with the idea of payment yet though. They just don't seem to understand the concept of money, if you give them a Galleon, they won't spend it, 'it was a gift, and they won't use a gift', seems to be the general attitude there. We had several house elves at the ministry involved in the making of a computer that would work in the wizarding world and they were paid a nominal fee for every one they built, they've never touched the money, it just sits in the bank. The only payment they seem to accept is the praise from their master for a job well done."

"Quite extra-ordinary Mr. Dursley, you seem to have achieved something in the British Wizarding world, I assume from your attitude to the treatment of house elves you must have been muggleborn and raised, so are you a half-blood wizard or complete muggle born; not that those things mean as much here in the states. We are aware of the British prejudices in that regard. I will admit that I was quite intrigued when I received your letter asking to see the school, most British wizards don't even like to admit that magic exists in the New World."

"Not exactly, I was born and raised a complete muggle, my aunt, my mother's sister was muggleborn and went to Hogwarts, but I only became aware of magic when my cousin who lived with us after the death of his parents received his letter. I'm ashamed to say he was not well treated by myself and my parents. It was only after he saved my life before his fifth year that I actually began to see him as a person in his own right, not my personal punch bag. When the wizard world arrange for my family and I to be moved to safety during the final end of Voldemort, I came to learn something about magic and the history of the magical world. I made it my personal quest to find my cousin afterwards and apologise for the way I'd treated him."

"Interesting! So how did you come to be working for your ministry, and as head of social services, which to be quite honest surprised me, I didn't even know they had such a department?"

"They didn't! After the abuse that myself and my parents had made Harry suffer whilst he was with our family, I decided to go into social work as a career and prevent it happening to others. Whilst my family had been in hiding, we'd been issued with a special type of wand that enabled me to access certain magical areas of the town we were being hidden in; I applied for this to be continued after we were allowed to go home, in order that I could get back in touch with Harry after the war, I like to think we've come to be friends and indeed proper cousins to each other since then. It came as a surprise to me when I received a letter asking me to an interview as social worker for the ministry. I got the job and through some interesting circumstances realised that I could perform real magic with the wand they'd given me. Through my learning to do magic with the help of Hogwarts itself, apparently I'm now the head of my own family and a wizard lord! Whatever that really means!"

"Really! How did you come to be appointed a wizard lord, the last person I heard of it happening to, was Nicholas Flamel in the 1480's I believe? I thought your Wizengamot had stopped awarding such an outdated distinction on wizards soon after?"

"According to what I was told, our Wizengamot only has the power to create a head of family; the right to create a wizard lord was not given that body. Only the court of Charlemagne has the ability to create a wizard lord, or that's what I was told, it all sounds a bit farfetched, or pardon the pun, magical to me!"

"Now that is very interesting, from what I know of the British system of wizarding law, your being a wizard lord gives you a special status amongst the community, the distinction of actually being able to make and change the way your society operates. A head of family is only allowed to vote in your Wizengamot to agree or disagree to laws being changed. A wizard lord is actually able to suggest and make the changes in law. I wonder what we can expect to be made by you in the future."

"I didn't know that, of course I haven't formerly taken my seat in the Wizengamot yet, not being 25, is being delayed until my cousin Harry takes his seat as well at the end of July."

"This cousin of yours, with a Birthday at the end of July wouldn't happen to be the same person who defeated that nutcase Voldemort a few years ago was it, the only wizard in Europe we've heard of that's managed to find the shield to the killing curse?"

"That's my cousin, Harry Potter; he defeated Voldemort, but by disarming him so that his own killing curse killed him. But from what I've heard he's only outlived the curse by luck on another occasion. I've never heard of a shield for the Avada, and he's never mentioned it to me if he has. That's why it's an unforgivable curse in the UK and Europe."

"That makes his survival even more impressive, the Avada as you call it is quite legal in the states, it's even in the constitution under the right to bear arms. There's no use being able to bear arms, if you can't use it in lethal defence, of course, there's usually legal proceeding if it is used, but defence is always taken as mitigating circumstances."

We spent the afternoon touring the other parts of the school, the dormitories for the students who boarded, which were arranged by year, much like mine had been at Smeltings. There was apparently no division by houses here. Indeed it came a surprise to me that not all the students were boarders like at Hogwarts, some students used a portkey to come to school and go home every evening. The medical facilities made the hospital wing at Hogwarts look quite outdated; the whole place looked like the most modern hospital I'd ever seen.

Gabrielle and I had both been exceeding impressed with the Academy and indeed we had talked light-heartedly about the possibility of sending a child of our own there instead of Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, as Hogwarts tended not to have too many veela students. All in all, this had been a most productive day...

A/N Sorry for the long delay with this chapter, problems with work and a death in the family delayed my writing and posting. I am having some trouble putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard here; it was quite a challenge to try and show how the lessons differed from Hogwarts as well; but I do hope the next chapter will be up quicker.

According to Wikipedia, Nicholas Flamel lived from 1330 to 1418, but of course we all know the truth that he was still alive in 1991 as mentioned in Philosopher's Stone. If your computer has the correct magical encryption codings check out Wizapedia, I did, Ha Ha...