Harry and the Magic Factory

Chapter 15

X-c-X-c-X-c-X

December 25, 1997

Sirius Black walked into the dining hall at the Potter School and immediately heard groans.

"Why are we taking tests on Christmas Day?" That was Susan Bones, but it seemed she was speaking for everyone.

"Do you believe in Christianity? At the Potter Estate, some witches and wizards do, but not many. We actually have a modified seasonal base to our holidays: New Year, January 1; Fool's Day, April 1; Midyear Day, July 1; Death's Day, October 1. We have public celebrations and festivals on each day. In fact, our most important Dueling Tournament is held on New Year. Perhaps some of you will get to see our finest in action."

That little speech gave the Chosen a few things to consider. If they weren't Christians, why did they celebrate Christmas? Hmm…

"Well, today is the last day of testing. And it should be done with quickly. Then, any of you who wish to remain for the Apprenticeship Program may stay on until New Year or go back to your world to give your temporary farewells. You will know by the time you are able to leave today what your plans for the future will be. The Oral examinations are very good at helping young minds to decide…"

Numerous questions echoes. 'How do they work?' 'What do we have to know to pass them?' 'When will we find out how we did on the first two days' worth of tests?'

That last one was the only one worth answering. Sirius said, "Your Oral examination will cover the previous parts of your testing. You will learn where you stand in every field you attempted…. But now let us turn to the schedule. Colin and Susan will go at eight thirty, three reviewers apiece, scheduled for two hours. Very standard. Luna and Neville, hmm, you are to meet with your reviewers at nine, two for Luna, three for Neville, two and a half hours scheduled. Fenecule, your Oral is at ten." Here, Sirius' eyes flashed a bit. "They will explain the situation then. And, the Weasleys, well… This is odd, you will be sitting in the same Oral, it seems, with five reviewers… oh my… for three hours or so." Sirius mumbled a bit to himself and smiled. "I think you pair will find it fascinating, your reviewers are a very interesting lot, very."

That made Fred and George just a little bit afraid. Everything labeled 'interesting' here seemed to be dangerous in some way.

They were expecting some kind of impossible testing, such as 'Mr. Weasley, please remove your brother's brain and kick it around the room. The other Mr. Weasley, please begin singing the Hogwarts school song to the tune of 'God Save The Queen' and be sure not to stop while your brain is removed.' What they got when they went into the room was something very different.

The strange young Harry Potter was seated in a chair. His ghostly parents were also there, as well as that Sirius fellow and the one called Remus Lupin.

The female ghost began to speak once Fred and George were seated. "Thank you for coming, young men. You did a very nice job with your testing and this should be more of an educational experience than a terror-inducing one."

The others chuckled a bit, but neither Fred nor George relaxed. Sirius Black picked up a small sheet of parchment. "No one passed the whole Basic Competency, of course. No one had enough languages or any understanding of the Muggle-related subjects. However, of all the Chosen, you two did the best." Fred and George sighed in relief. Sirius had started in on something that sounded very ominous. But being the best in a lot of bad folks didn't seem so awful.

"You each passed three of the subtests, the same three, it seems. Potions, Pranks, and Charms. You were both pants in Magical History, Ethics, Astronomy, and a number of other subjects. Fred came somewhat close to passing his Transfiguration and George showed a remarkable, but not yet adequate, aptitude for Warding. You two were the most gifted in Offensive and Defensive Magics, far above your peers from Hogwarts, with scores that would merit an Outstanding on a NEWT exam. However, the level of spell discovery we've had here means your performance is still subpar, but we all feel you'd both pick up the new lessons easily…"

The male ghost just nodded. "Yes, it would have been good enough in my days at old Hoggie, but today… You need to know more spells, cast silently and wandlessly, and move much faster, much, much faster to survive in Potter-style dueling… My Harry here is an utter demon; I don't think anyone has even landed a spell on him in six years now."

Fred was more than a bit confused. They'd done well, but not well enough. What did that mean? Were they good enough to stay? Were they going to be able to take on the Apprenticeship Program?

Sirius was still blathering on, but Lily saw what the boys were feeling. "Hold up," she said. "All of the Chosen were eligible for the Apprenticeship Program, regardless of how they did on the Basic Proficiency. Assuming they haven't been thrown out for committing some kind of idiotic crime…I mean how stupid is it to use a knowledge enhancement potion during a testing session? Did that girl expect no one to notice?" The ghost sighed. "Like I said, you were already accepted. That test just let us find out where you were. And, in your cases, try to reconcile your mediocre Hogwarts scores with your very strong performance on a very challenging examination…"

Fred and George both started breathing again.

Remus took over the next part. He started walking them, subject by subject, through their testing.

"The pranks both of you staged during the practical were very good; a mite too elaborate perhaps, but very good. Both of you were also flagged for very challenging scenarios in your sections of defense practicals. You both got five minute survival requirements; and you were both still standing at the end… One of you had a dragon to battle; one had a basilisk. You didn't handle the magic resistant creatures well, not that they were exactly real. But Harry can transfigure and animate some fiercesome beasties…"

"That dragon wasn't the real thing," George shouted.

Harry started snickering. He shook his head. "Sorry."

"Biggest sodding thing I've ever seen in my life. Didn't know it was possible to transfigure something that huge," George muttered.

"And that basilisk had to be twenty or twenty five meters long. It was an epic beast," Fred said.

Sirius Black joined in. "I'm not sure what kind of impression we gave you, but we're not in the habit of keeping deadly beasts like those chained up in a cave just to haul them out for examinations…"

At that, Fred and George deflated a bit.

"So," Remus said, "could either of you explain your OWLs or NEWTs compared to what we saw here?"

Fred shrugged. George opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. No one had ever actually expected them to perform well. Yes, they were expected to entertain…but they'd never bothered with testing, thinking it more fun to blow up the cauldron when the examiner wasn't watching than to worry about their marks. But, they'd both been terrified about not being able to stay here, so they'd 'applied' themselves.

Now the hard questions came. Remus asked it again.

This time Fred started off the answer. "No one ever believed us capable of doing more than making people laugh, so that's what we did. But we also got pretty damn proficient at our magic. George and I would love nothing more than to start up a joke shop, you know, putting magic to the work of entertaining folks…"

George took over the story. "But, now, we see that there's a lot more than magic can do, you know? All the new things you've been working on here, all the discoveries or rediscoveries you're trying to make. All your emphasis on judging people by merit, not by wealth or bloodline or such rot. Both Fred and I wanted to stay here, wanted it desperately. So we actually tried on the test you have. I don't think I've ever thought as hard in my life, you know, and I learned tons just by trying to work my way through the questions in there. Bloody brilliant idea…"

Both Fred and George sounded completely earnest and passionate. The words just flowed. Discussions of how far along their plans for a joke shop were, the tricks and pranks they'd already developed (most of which, Sirius was happy to note, the Potter Pranks division had already gotten into advanced stages of testing), and how they were willing to look toward a new dream.

"…I always thought magic was magic, the spells were all written down. I never thought there was more to discover," Fred said. "But, we don't really understand much yet, do we? There's more to create and teach than anyone ever thought…"

Then the conversation turned back to the testing. Fred and George were feeling more comfortable now.

"So, how would each of you have handled a challenge in that little testing shack?" George asked.

Remus said he would have used disillusionment and transfigured twigs into moving constructs of himself. He'd have ambushed his would-be attackers with stealth.

Sirius had the opposite tact. "Offense is the only defense, our Harry here aside. He can use a defensive spell in such a way that it is offensive at the same time." Sirius muttered to himself for a moment. "I'd have set up layers of offensive wards in various spots over the entire area. I'd have driven my attackers into them with the force of my attack and left them bleeding on the ground. I'd have conjured an augurey to drive off a dragon or a cockerel to attack the basilisk. Since the constructs were magical, and yes you can tell, then my magical solutions would have worked…"

Lily and James both passed on answering the question. Neither had used magic in sixteen years.

But Harry, the seventeen and a half year old, had the most intriguing answer. "Well, assuming I was gifted with excellent training and only the magical core of a single witch or wizard, I would use the 'Sleeping Beauty' attack. Very simple, very elegant, completely devastating. Step one, erect a low-power, short-lasting ward to prohibit magical travel of any sort over the entire field of battle. Step two, cast the shielding charm against sleep spells on myself. Step three, cast a long lasting, maybe three hour or so, ward to force everyone asleep. It affects all witches and wizards, so long as they're not leagues more powerful than the caster, in addition to beasts, even magically resistant beasts. You're not casting the ward against scales or skin; you're casting it against brains and minds. Step four, while the opposition is asleep and you're not, remove their weapons, wands, portkeys, and the like and bind every one of them..."

Neither Fred nor George had ever heard of such a thing, but it was utterly brilliant. "How do you think up these things," Fred asked.

"Did you never read any Muggle fairytales as a kid?" Harry smiled, imp-like. "I get my ideas from every corner of the world, magical or normal. There's no good idea I've ever come across that I haven't appropriated for my own uses in some way."

Even Remus and Sirius seemed shocked at such a simple idea. "Why have I never heard about this 'Sleeping Beauty' attack before, pup," Sirius asked.

"No one's ever had the bollocks before to ask me how I'd solve a challenge like that one. But I've got a half dozen different strategies for everything we stage in that room. Quite a few are even simpler and more elegant than 'Sleeping Beauty'… And, no, I'm not revealing my hand. Most of them are designed for me alone to use."

Sirius looked like he had a new challenge to pursue. Remus looked thoughtful for a few moments. James and Lily smiled and were proud.

Now that Harry had stunned everyone into silence, he took his turn to really talk. "I have two questions to ask you…"

Fred nodded.

"Are you interested in coming back on January 1 and beginning with the Apprenticeship Program?"

George sighed in excitement. Fred wagged his head up and down.

"Good, excellent," Harry said. "I've had high hopes for the both of you since those first little tests filtered out into the wider world. Again, my apologies for taking so long to tell you how well you'd done. We had a little problem with a spirit named Tom Riddle to take care of first… Now, my next question, do you want to know why we're doing all of this?"

George said. "I thought you explained yourself… at the Magic Factory place."

"We did, but it was abbreviated. Do you want the whole sales pitch," Sirius asked.

Both of the twins eagerly nodded.

"We will be revealing the magical world to the Muggles in the future. It requires a lot of work to get there, which is part of the reason we've created this whole thing, all these businesses, this school, all of this research and attention to producing truly outstanding minds. But I want you both to understand that we're not doing this just to benefit the Muggles. No, it is much more important to the witches and wizards of the world that this happen…."

Both twins were thoroughly confused. How could losing their hiding places, their secrecy, improve their own lives?

"If we don't do this, the magical world will die, no question."

Harry let the room hang in silence for a few moments.

"The magical world has fallen so far behind the muggle one that most wizards don't even understand that their world will collapse in a few short decades, maybe less. Witches and wizards insulated themselves to keep us all safe hundreds of years ago, but they also based the society on wealth, privilege, and lineage. It's slowly dying; all these stupid wars killing off our families and our young, all this hidebound tradition to maintain. Purebloods only breeding with purebloods, the number of old families shrinks by a few every generation as there aren't enough mates to go around and no one has large families any more. People are so concerned with protecting what they already have that they can't imagine what a future would look like. The nastiest of the purebloods imagine a future that looks like the past with even more barbarity added in. Even the most 'forward thinking' contemporary witch or wizard imagines a future that looks exactly like the present, everyone forever trapped in the same day repeating itself over and over.

"No innovation, no change, no peering into the wider world to witness what is really happening. Muggles outnumber us by three thousand to one. They've invented truly wonderful advances: computers, refrigeration, electricity, instant forms of communication. And they've created the worst things imaginable. We know that witches and wizards can stop bullets, if they're properly trained, and heal knife wounds and the like…but we're vulnerable to other weapons, to bombs, to radioactivity, to chemical weapons. And we don't even know it. The nonmagical world has progressed beyond our comprehension; but we enjoy our blissful ignorance and pretend to believe we know what they're about.

"Our complacency is killing us off; and when we finally realize our shrinking numbers, we'll begin making mistakes, begin accidentally and thoughtlessly revealing ourselves. And then the nonmagical, unprepared for our existence, will strike us all down out of fear. It'll be a bloody battle, lots of the nonmagical will die, but their numbers will overwhelm all of us eventually…. Or maybe they'll be smart, maybe they will research us first, create a totally ruthless version of dragon pox that has no cure and infects no Muggles. Or rely on our innate selfishness: attack wizards clan by clan assured that none of us would help the others. In any case we lose. Unless, unless we prepare. We could do all of this the right way. Reveal ourselves, have an honest counterbalance to our arrogance and complacency…"

Fred and George had never heard anyone speak like this. It was making their brains hurt. The man who was saying all of this was clearly younger than they were. And he was either a genius or completely insane. And he had managed to convince a thousand other adults to participate in some way. And he had done some incredible things; he wasn't asking for anything, no, he was offering to help further their education in the things they wanted to study.

Could anyone really be this generous?

"The plan will take a long time to execute, but it's really fairly simple. There are six tracks we need to complete before we can begin the final, the seventh part of the plan. We've already begun to intertwine our economies. The Potter Estate has significant holdings in a variety of industries worldwide; we're becoming the number one producer of vegetables throughout the world at this moment. People may ignore politics, or polite rules of society, but even the dumbest bigot among us, or among the nonmagical, responds to economic self-interest. We don't need to change laws to do this; we need to have enough economic control over their world that, if push comes to shove, we can calm everyone down again.

"We have also begun working on technological convergence of our many ways of living. Potter Technologica is devoted to this, bringing televisions and instant communication systems into our world. And we have nonmagical businesses working on bringing some of the ideas we depend upon into their world. Tied closely into all of this is the need to neutralize the most deadly of the Muggle weapons. We've got plans to transmute all the radioactive elements in the world into precious metals…"

Here Fred and George were gasping.

"…just like the Philosopher's Stone was supposed to turn lead into gold. We'll have to handle their chemical and biological weapons. And then their firearms. But we can't just destroy them; no it would make them feel unprotected. So we'll have to create new items for defense. We're thinking energy-based weaponry, somewhat similar to our spells, maybe like a stunner contained inside a weapon. We'd be better able to defend ourselves against them…"

Harry spoke for the next hour about how the magical world would have to improve its own set of skills and its ethical centers. "…wouldn't do to disarm all the nonmagical folks just to have unscrupulous witches and wizards start attacking them, would it?"

Then the muggles would need to begin to 'rediscover' the magical world. Sightings of magical beasts in controlled environments; discovery of ancient and magical plants to be used for healing; discovery of old books that described the specific reasons and methods used to hide the magical world. The Potter Estate wouldn't begin any of the actual seeding for years, but they were deciding upon what, when, and how even at this early stage.

"Then comes our selective outreach to muggle governments, to tell them of our plans, and to businesses and medical institutions and research universities. Then we begin the outreach to their media outlets. Then, in the last step, we have the interconnection we need. It won't be easy or fast and I've left out a couple ten thousand intermediate steps. But it is necessary…"

Harry looked torn.

"I am a very private person, so I wish none of this were necessary, you know. But it is. So I'll set aside my preferences and work on this plan. I'll work to save the magical world from its own excesses and complacency even though they will hate me for it. But, in the end, it will work. The truth will always out. Muggles are surprisingly close, through their sciences, to uncovering how the magical force actually works. They call it other things, give it preposterous names. Quarks! I tell you. But we have to do this in such a way that it's predictable for the muggles and safe for us. And we will… Now, I ask you again, Misters Weasley, do you wish to join the Apprenticeship Program."

Before Harry stopped speaking, both Fred and George said, "Yes."

Remus smiled and took over the conversation. "Well, then, let's start thinking about what you'll both be doing, then. I noted you were both interested in training up on several muggle subjects…"

X-c-X-c-X-c-X

Neville Longbottom appeared to be in as much of a daze as Fred and George Weasley looked. The twins greeted their fellow Gryffindor pal.

"I'm glad to be going home for a while. Lots to think about. Mum and Dad will be excited and angry and happy and mad at me. Gran will stare at me and make me want to wet myself, but I'll stand firm. And then I'll come back and start my mastery in Magical Botany… During my test, you know, they had me attempt to disarm a Ceylonese Fireball Vine. Never even set eyes on one before; had no idea it was even possible to grow here…"

Fred and George smiled. They both knew this vine had also been conjured or transfigured. Of course, it was a great joke, so they kept it to themselves.

Eventually all the other Chosen rejoined them, save Fenecule Moody. Instead an imposing looking Alastor Moody came out and started to speak with them. "You lot, listen up. You'll be returning to your homes in a few minutes so you can celebrate your Christmas, you know." Both Alastor's real eye and his fake one rolled up at that comment. "I'm issuing each of you with a portkey that will activate between eight and nine o'clock on January 1. Speak your full name at it and you will be transported here. Say nothing during that hour and you'll have your memories, fond or not, of us. The memory charms we're all under will prevent you from saying too much, although you'll retain the information. You may speak with reporters and journalists if they contact you. Because of the charm, you may not speak of anything classified, which especially includes what you all say at the War Memorial. Soon enough that particular truth will be out in the world…"

Luna asked, "What happened to Fenecule?"

Alastor smirked. "I 'encouraged' my young relation to return to his parents' home and to actually get some common sense. I did tell him I'd support him in a couple years if he wanted to try for a mastery here, but he's obviously not ready now…" 'Nor probably ever will be,' he continued muttering, not quite under his breath.

The Chosen chatter with each other for a few more moments before Alastor handed them their portkeys. "Today it takes you out; on the first, it can bring you back. Good luck!"

With that, all the Chosen disappeared from the dining hall.

Harry walked through a few moments later, headed toward his office inside the school. Alastor waved his boss down.

"They get out safely?"

Alastor nodded. "And my family won't be dishonored by failure. Still don't know how he made the cut…"

Harry shrugged. "My testing was correct about who should have been invited. But I'm sort of glad we had the others come. Colin hadn't been identified by my other tests, obviously I didn't seed the Muggle world with them, not yet. Boy certainly seemed upset he couldn't bring his camera along. He'll be something interesting: maybe we'll have a new reporter or perhaps someone to start up a Potter Erotica division in the not too distant future. Boy certainly seems to like to be out of his own clothing."

Harry and Alastor both laughed at the joke. "But, I am glad at the confrontation Bracus Snape provoked. Riddle is gone; Severus Snape is captured before he could do something even more foul. Now, we do have to figure out what to do with the young Snape…"

Alastor mumbled something about dumping the "young'in outside a homeless shelter in Muggle London" and he didn't sound particularly like he was joking.

"Cruel, Moody, too cruel. He's another kind of war orphan. Not quite like Cedric or Oliver Wood, but still now effectively an orphan."

Alastor turned the topic back to something Harry had wanted investigated. "I dug into that Council member you asked about, err… Bilirubin Anders. Turns out he hasn't done anything to support his Mastery vow toward further education in at least five years."

At that news, Harry turned positively livid. The man had been elected to the Council but hadn't done even the barest amount of work to further his knowledge – or share his achievements – in Charms? What good was he.

"Do you think he's the only one? The only shirker?"

Moody shrugged.

"Find out. Maybe we'll have to have the Mastery Board look at this annually. I will not have people make solemn promises and then conveniently forget them."

Harry stormed out then, looking like he wanted to duel something evil. Fortunately he calmed down a bit by the time he arrived at his office. Remus and Sirius were already inside. They kept quiet for a further moment as Harry calmed himself. Eventually Harry was able to breath like a normal person. He even smiled.

"Do you think this group will work out, Harry?" Remus was intensely curious about this, one of their most important experiments. It wouldn't be worth anything, all this education, all this schooling, unless it could be trained to other people, people who'd grown up not on the Potter Estate.

"I have some grand hopes for them… I think we've got some great ones just waiting for the right circumstances."

Sirius smiled. All would be well. Those kind of grudging words Harry offered about one of his own plans were about as kind as he got. The young man was always hardest on himself. Always.