I do not own Harry Potter.
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Christmas and his birthday had been two unforgettable days for Harry.
On Christmas day, he and his father just stayed in the house, sat next to a fire and his father told him stories about the man and women he would have called Grandpa.
Even though he would never meet them, it was nice to hear the funny stories his father had as a child, when they were alive.
It gave him a feeling of belonging, making his last name mean something more than a mare word to him.
Even with the Potter's, he didn't think he had ever heard a story from his relative side that was any good.
He faintly recalled Lily Potter telling him and Jamus Potter to stay away from her sister's family because they hated all things magical.
He didn't recall James Potter ever talking about any relative from his side of the family.
Harry could faintly remember Sirus black being a man who wouldn't shut the hell up and would encourage Jamus Potter to prank around the house.
While Harry could faintly remember Remus Lipid as a man who always looked terrible, every day of the week and could faintly recall he was supposed to be his godfather.
Beyond that, Harry couldn't remember a single thing about them or what they looked like, which was perfectly fine with him.
After all, why would he want to remember complete strangers who he could barely remember?
On his birthday, he and his father went snowboarding, aboard.
It was a hilarious morning for him, because neither he or his father know how to snowboard, the end result was Harry getting see his usually dignified father, become not so dignified and slip and slid down a small hill of snow, resulting in him laughing while his father halfheartedly glared at him.
The cold weather was nothing in the face of the warming charms placed on each item of their clothing.
It was also the day, he found out how incredible his genes actually were.
Despite being complete beginners, he and his father had pretty much got snowboarding down within an hour.
The instructor they hired, looked understandably shocked that their bodies learned so quickly and honestly, he was surprised too until his father explained to him that the house of Felix who not only had a very powerful connection to magic but their bodies were highly adaptable.
His father admitted to him that within two Saturdays that he started training him, he was forced to increase his firing speed because Harry's body had gotten used to it and would have easily dodged, if he didn't speed up.
The rest of the day, was spent riding their boards and drinking hot chocolate, when night came they want home, where Harry met his surprise birthday party.
Surrounded by his friends, his father, the servants who would always pitch in for his birthday and even the House elves, who usually stayed hidden had come out to congratulate him on him turning 12.
Everyone joined in, in singing 'Happy Birthday' to him and he was presented with a cake that was toppled with ice cream, instead of wiped cream, there was 12 candles on the cake and photos were taken as he blow out his candles with a smile.
He thought he had died and gone to heaven, when he took a bite out the specially prepared cake.
Each year, the kitchen staff seemed to top themselves.
Harry suddenly thought of vising the kitchen staff so that he could write down some notes, who knows how much his cooking would improve.
He opened his presents excitedly, thanking those who want out there way to give him a presence.
From his father, he received the latest game console along with the available games on it.
From the House elves, he received a year supply of super strong hair jell, because they know how difficult it was for his hair to stay down and clearly saw he was running out.
From his friend's, he received a pranking Kit, several boxes of chocolate and cards wishing him happy birhtday.
He had no idea, that there would have been one present belonging to Albus Dumbledore among the stack but it was never delivered to him.
After a quick scan with a wand, the present soon found itself transported to a dump half way across the world.
His father, Xander, couldn't stop Albus from presenting presents every time Harry birthday came around, but that didn't mean, he couldn't stop the presents from reaching the hands of his son.
Ever present from that man never reached Harry or was delivered to the real Manor.
Now Harry was officially 12 years old and about to start for his second year of school.
He couldn't wait to see what changes a competent Ministry of Magic would make.
Ch 23: A breath of Fresh air.
Harry was informed that those who were in second year and above, arrived at the dinner feast, because they didn't want to scare the first years.
Which meant, Harry could sleep in.
He could have breakfast with his father and even have his cooking lesson as usual, but when night came, he was left in the mild winds of Norway.
He was actually surprised by how warm it actually was and the surprises didn't stop there.
The old boat that looked like it should belong in every pirate movie ever, had apparently got a new paint job making it look, less menacing and more welcoming, instead of being powered by the wind or magic, it was updated to be powered by Muggle machinery.
After saying goodbye to his father, he was sure he wasn't the only one shocked by how fast the boat apparently was going, compared to last year.
What would have taken four hours, had magically become two and what was more miraculous was that nobody was sea sick.
Ping, Pong and Carla joined him half way through the Journey, apparently, they were looking for him because they wanted to sit together.
Speaking of Ping and Pong.
"Did you guys get taller?" Carla said, speaking the question Harry had in his mind.
It was true, both of them used to be smaller than Carla but now sitting down, you could clearly see they were several centimeter's taller than her now.
At the question, Ping and Pong both looked proud that somebody had finally noticed.
"Yes, we did. We finally got our grown sprout, our little Carla." Ping said, his voice was weirdly lower than how it was previously.
"So from now, we going to be growing until we reach the sky" Pong said, his voice was also weirdly lower, making Carla roll her eyes but it wasn't in annoyance.
Than Ping turned to Harry and said. "Don't worry Harry. One day, you'll get your growth spurt to and finally become a man." Getting a weird look from Harry.
Carla felt like laughing at the sight of Harry look.
It would be later when they were on land that Harry realized he had become the shortest out of all his friends especially when he came face to face with Eva, who was a year younger than him.
She clearly had done some growing in the fast few weeks, she was towering over him.
In fact, all the boy's who were the same age as Harry, barely grow at all while the girls towered over the boy's.
If books were to believed he should start growing towards his third year or beyond that.
You could just see the boy's depressed by how small they were compared to the girls, who were happy.
Unlike Hogwarts, those who were from different 'houses' freely sat next to one another.
It was also through this method that he saw some of the students that should be in his year weren't seated, this was because, they were still undergoing long term treatment at the Ministry because they cases were more serious than everybody else's.
Harry turned around and looked at the head table, half expecting the former Headmaster to make contact with him, with those creepy eyes of his.
Instead he was pleasantly surprised to see a fresh batch of people and how diverse they were, it was clear the Ministry hadn't just looked to Norway for replacements but all over the world.
Each one of the new teachers had that 'I'm qualified to teach you' aura about them and in the Headmasters seat was a man who had ginger hair.
With such a diverse group of people, it was clear that this year would be very interesting and he couldn't help but be amazed that his pendent had gone off, when he want to reach for his first bit of food.
Hell, even the scared House elves that showed up from time to time, looked happier.
The food was delicious and there was even options for those who were vegetarian.
Suddenly half way through him enjoying his proper school meal for the first time, the ginger haired man spoke.
He didn't shout, cast a 'Silencing charm' or even make their ears bleed by running a fork into a plate like Igor would have done, instead he cast a simple spell that Harry had never heard of before and a sparkling large cat appeared in mid-air, it began running around the room, getting everybody attention before finally going back in the man's wand.
It was harmless yet extremely effective.
Harry was impressed by the new Headmaster already.
"Now, that I've got all of your attention." the man began, he seemed to have cast a translation charm on his voice but that didn't stop the Scottish accent from coming out. "I would like to let you all know, how different this year will be, compared to previously."
And there was a heavy silence in the room.
The previous staff did get arrested after all.
"My name is Angus McGillivray and I am the new Headmaster" The man said, "At the end of each month, somebody from the Ministry will come and check on how things are doing." Of course, the ministry didn't tell them when they were coming for obvious reasons. "Now, me and the new staff have reviewed the previous schools caracul and have found it somewhat lacking. So, with the help of the Ministry, new subjects have been added to it and since this is the first year, these changes will been implemented, you will each be given a free textbook for each of these subjects and any equipment you may need."
Those who were tight on money couldn't help but be shocked, even though Durmstrang was a lot cheaper than going to Hogwarts, it still cost a small fortune to get all their school stuff ready.
"This week, there will be no classes" The man further said, giving those who hated class something to cheer about. "Instead, tomorrow, you will all be presented with a list of classes you can enroll in, base on your own personal interest however Maths, English and Science is a must"
Now it was time for those who were Muggle raised, to look shocked.
Many had done their homework before applying and saw the old subjects given to former students, which made them all worried that they wouldn't be able to return to the Muggle world because they lack the big three.
Just by doing this, Norway had secured the future of each student in Durmstrang Institue.
If those who left Hogwarts for the Muggle world know about this, they would surely have come running, hoping to get their needed qualification's to be something else, other than a cleaner.
"While you decide, you can come and ask the teacher in charge of the class and they will explain it in more details, to help you decide. You are only allowed to pick a maximum of three classes other than what is compulsory because of scheduling." The man said. "Also, this year, please do not hesitate to contact the nearest teacher if anything happens. We want you to receive the best education while feeling completely safe inside the castle. That is all." the man sat down.
Carla who had been through the horrors of Hogwarts was tempted to clap.
Finally, a Headmaster who seemed to know what he was doing and placed the safety of the students first.
Everybody couldn't help but feel positive about this year.
Harry was pleasantly surprised to see his old room, had been redecorated to make it more welcoming, those dully gray walls that seemed to crush anybody spirit, had been painted a navy blue and the room had been expended by at least twice.
No longer was the space between him and his roommate uncomfortably small, but it was like the room had become two separate room's, what stood between him and his roommate was a solid door, they all had their own bathrooms!
The feeling was welcoming, since Harry didn't have to endure the gaze of his roommate as he pulled his stuff out.
Even the bed was softer than he remembered it and there was finally some air conditioning for the hot nights.
The school was finally living up to what they were all expected to have paid for.
He slept wonderfully and when morning came, he had to stop himself from creating another Harry, out of habit.
It was nice to walk to the dinning hall without feeling a huge amount of fear, each seat had a sheet of paper hovering over it, just high enough for them all to read while they ate.
Each subject was listed on them with pictures of the names of the teacher's in charge of each subject along with the room they would be staying in to explain in more depth.
This was an amazing way for the First year to interact with the older years because they had to ask them for directions and it allowed the Teacher's to see who was truly interested in doing their chosen subject instead of everybody being forced to sit in a class, they didn't care for.
It was no surprise that a bunch of students rushed to find the Quidditch teacher's after they had eaten.
However, they were in a for a shock.
There was a newly placed ban on first and second years participating in Quidditch, of course this was met with protest but once it was explained, how dangerous it actually was for hormonal crazed pre-teens to get on broom especially since their magic had just begun to change.
It finally made sense why there was so many first and second years in the hospital wing ever year.
This number only increased in Quidditch season.
The staff were even contempt on if they should allow third years on a broom.
So it was decided that anything flying related would a third year and up subject.
And the teachers despite the protests from those young Quidditch crazed fans, wouldn't change their minds.
Harry had a good look around while he visited each teacher, even going into the library.
The result was that, he was left stunned.
Instead of seeing a Library that had clearly seen better days along with a librarian who couldn't care less about her job, he was stunned to see modern computers at the sides, the library seemed to have expended by several times and there was no ominous feeling coming from each shelf.
Harry feasted his eyes on thousands of book's, he had never seen before, he took one out of the shelves and couldn't help but be read.
'The History and Many uses of Parseltongue'.
Looking through it, the book was a complete eye opener for those who believed being able to speak to snakes was a sign of going dark and clearly needed to find its way into Hogwarts.
Harry had no idea that his own father had recommend this book he was holding and several others placed in the new Durmstrang library.
Seeing such a promising and none dark book, it relite his desire for books.
Harry found out, if he wanted to take a book out than he would have to register on the computer and was given a library card, the Liberian was like a breath of fresh air for him, because not only was she super helpful but you could see her passion for her job.
It also didn't hurt that she was attractive but not like Professor Foss who would always show skin, her professional nature would attract students who loved books as well and seeing how many students were in the Library, it was clear this place could become a very popular hangout.
Harry excitedly took out the book and found out he had to return it within two months, if he missed the deadline, the book was charmed to return back to the library and a mark would left on his account.
Three strikes and the student wouldn't be allowed to take out a book for the rest of the year.
He and his friends than spent an amazing week getting to know the new staff members, the new facilities in the castle and enjoying the crossover of Muggle technology with Magic.
As it stood right now, Durmstrang was running rings around Hogwarts right now, in terms for education and price.
When Saturday came, each of them had never looked better and could honestly say they were looking forward to the rest of the year.
Ping and Pong wanted to proudly showing Eva, their favorite candy store in Øystein Allay while dragging Harry and Carla along with them.
Of course, Eva was more than a little surprised to be introduced to what clearly was a candy store but seeing Harry and Carla faces, it told her to just go along with it and enjoy it.
After all, they had the whole day to explore the allay.
At long last, all of them were going to the same school and would see each other every day from now instead of the occasional day.
It was amazing going to school with friends instead going to school with complete stranger's.
Eva couldn't have been more grateful to have friends in the school, who know where everything was and could help her out to get settle in.
The sound of a small bell going off echoed in the shop as they walked through the front door, alerting everybody in it, that new arrivals had come.
Harry's smile lasted mere seconds as his eyes want to the front of the shop, where a tall man in a hideous moon themed robe stood, his gray hair flowed out of his hat as if it came from a lion.
It had been 7 years since he had seen the man in person and yet, the man's image was still fresh in his mind.
After all, who could forget seeing Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore?
And what was worse.
The man had turned around the moment the bell sounded.
He had spotted him.
Albus Dumbledore eyes went from surprised to twinkling madly.
Harry know he was in trouble.
And scene!
Next chapter, Dumbledore tries to make contact with Harry, only for Harry to not even allowed the man to touch him, as he grabs his friends to leave. Review/fav and follow!