Welcome to Chapter two of From British to American! This chapter introduces the two people who are going to adopt Harry! Although, with the introduction of these people there will be spoilers for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The update schedule of this may or may not be changed to once a month because of one, I'm actually getting a new game (it's actually very old release wise cause it's Minecraft and well.. mods) so I'll be distracted a lot. The other reason is because I already have so many that are updated twice a month so I need to ease my schedule. Hope you enjoy!
Don't own Harry Potter!
From British to American
When the two of them exited the Department Store, Vivianne walked up to the side of the road and gestured for Harry to get by her. She then pulled out her wand, shocking Harry.
"Won't people notice?" Harry asked.
She shook her head firmly before replying.
"Not at all, all wands in America have a No-Maj Notice-Me Not Charm. No No-Maj will see them unless they've been let in on the secret by a Magical. To everyone else it looks like I'm simply hailing a cab, which I am." She said.
Sure enough, the tip of her wand glowed a bit and out of nowhere a yellow taxi cab arrived. The difference between this one and the others is that it had a seal on it with a blue eagle-like creature, as Harry was sure it wasn't an eagle. The creature had its wings raised with gold flames coming from the bottom part of the circular border that surrounded the eagle. In words on the border were Magical Congress of the United States of America. Vivianne opened the door and got in, gesturing for Harry to get in as well. What shocked Harry was the person driving the taxi. It was a rather beautiful man with long curly brown hair and pointed ears. Vivianne must have seen Harry staring at the man because she chuckled.
"He's a High Elf, Harry. Sorry, he's No-Maj raised." She said, aiming the last bit at the man.
The man seemed not to mind as he just chuckled. But the chuckle was so melodious that Harry couldn't help but be enraptured.
"It's not a problem. Now where do you need to be going?" He asked softly.
"Ah, we need to get to the Woolworth Building. Harry here has an appointment with MACOA." She said.
The man nodded and began to drive. As they were driving, Harry had a few questions for Vivianne.
"Ah, I have two questions. One, I thought High Elves would be a forest and plants type race? Two, if you can go anywhere you want why do you need taxis?" He asked.
The man seemed to perk up at that and briefly looked at Vivianne.
"I can explain that one if you want Professor." The man said.
Vivianne simply nodded at that, knowing that the man would be able to better explain than her. After all, History wasn't her focus at all, that was her colleague, Jennifer Fleming's.
"You see, long ago about two thousand five hundred BCE, High Elves lived in Europe. However, with civilization expanding we had to look elsewhere so we turned to the Americas where we were welcomed with open arms by the Native Americans. We do live in forests, in fact, there's a magically hidden forest in Central Park and I live there. You can only access it through one of the trees." The man said.
Harry of course ooh'ed and aah'ed at the explanation. Since the man had finished his explanation, Vivianne picked up from there.
"We use taxis because it is very hard to apparate in crowded cities like this. Sure, we have warded off hidden alleys set aside to apparate from but the taxis are there for when you're nowhere near an alley or drunk." She said.
"Drunk?" Harry inquired.
Vivianne nodded before a stern look forming on her face.
"You are to never apparate drunk. It is the dumbest thing possible to do because you are likely to splinch yourself, which basically means leaving behind a piece of your body." She said.
Harry winced at that before rapidly agreeing not to drink and apparate. As he could see that they were nearing their location by the fact that the taxi approaching a large building he asked one more question.
"Professor, how come everyone seems to instantly recognize you?" He asked.
That garnered a laugh out of the woman before she ruffled his hair, causing him to pout.
"It's because I've either taught them at Ilvermorny or they know of me because of my mother." She said.
Harry tilted his head at that, non-verbally asking her to explain.
"My mother is Seraphina Picquery. She was the President of MACUSA about sixty-something years ago from nineteen twenty to nineteen twenty-eight. So, everyone knows me because of her." She said.
Harry nodded at that and right after they arrived at their stop the man turned around.
"Alright that'll be fifty seven sprinks." He said.
Vivianne nodded and fished a silver round coin the size of a quarter that said dragot and had a half symbol on it as well as small round copper coins that looked like pennies that said sprink. While they were shopping, Vivianne had explained the currency further. One dragot was worth five dollars thus making every twenty sprinks worth one dollar. The dragot was divided into three coins, a silver octagonal coin that was an entire dragot, a slightly smaller silver round coin that was half a dragot, a similar sized copper coin that was worth a quarter of a dragot. One hundred sprinks made one dragot and sprinks were the size of pennies and made of copper. Anyways, they quickly got out of the taxi and Vivianne led him up the stairs to a door on the far left. There was an engraving of an owl that Vivianne waved her wand over. The owl flashed a tiny bit and she pushed at the door. At an insanely fast speed, they were spun with the door as it spun around. When it stopped spinning, Harry was presented with a magnificent lobby trimmed with shiny bronze. Surrounding the center of the lobby were hundreds of bright lights, probably signifying different offices. At the various desks there were tubes that seemed to allow them to send off various letters and stuff. Vivianne simply smiled at Harry's awed expression and led him up the stairs to the center area. The center area was interesting because he saw different magical beings of all types from goblins to what Vivianne had explained as House Elves to even a centaur! Once there she directed him over to an elevator that promptly opened. Inside the elevator was an old looking goblin who was manning the buttons.
"Good morning Red, me and Mr. Potter need to get up to MACOA." She said, nodding at the goblin.
"Morning Professor Picquery. Should be no problem at all." The goblin said, nodding.
When they fully entered the elevator, Red pressed a button before the doors closed. The elevator car then lurched and they were moving rather fast. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination as the doors promptly opened to a simple looking office area filled with different desks. Vivianne led him to the closest one which was manned by a woman with long flowing gray hair and despite that the woman looked no older than twenty.
"Ah! Professor! What brings you here?" The woman asked.
Vivianne smiled and sat down at one of the four chairs, gesturing for Harry sit down as well.
"Hello Ms. Jackson, I see you've gotten the job you wanted ever since you were little. We're here to determine Mr. Potter's custody as well as determine the damage done to him from his relatives." She said.
The woman nodded before she turned to Harry with a smile.
"Alright then Harry, why don't you tell me about your life with your relatives. Don't worry about everyone else hearing. This office has an Unspeakable Vow Ward that prevents anyone from speaking of anything that a child talks about without express consent from said child." She said.
Well, Harry guessed that was good? He wasn't exactly embarrassed about his situation at the Dursleys because he knew what they did was wrong. The only thing that bothered him was that nobody had attempted to help him. He was pretty sure no ten year old was supposed to look like he was six. But he was glad that people were helping now and that he had a chance to be happy with a new family. But would that family like him? Would they think of him as a burden? He quickly shook his head of those thoughts before speaking.
"Ah, well what should I start with?" Harry asked nervously.
The woman tapped her lip with her pen before ah'ing.
"How about your accommodations?" Ms. Jackson asked.
Ouch, straight for the jugular. Like Harry said, he wasn't embarrassed exactly but he was sure the response he'd get for this would have them angry at the Dursleys.
"Well, for as long as I know, I've lived in the boot cupboard under the stairs." He said.
Sure, enough the woman's face seemed to crease into a frown, as did Vivianne's. But with Vivianne, Harry could feel that the woman was angry. It was an ability that Harry had known of for a long time. He could tell what a person was feeling but with these magical people some of the people he couldn't feel. It was like there was a wall there. Professor Picquery had a wall but it seemed what he had said made the wall vanish for a second.
"Very well, how much did they feed you?" Ms. Jackson asked calmly.
"Well, it'd depend. Sometimes I'd go a few days without food or maybe a week but even when they did feed me it wasn't much." Harry said.
There it was again, the spike of anger coming out from behind the Professor's wall. Though this time it seemed that Ms. Jackson's wall vanished for a second too. This was all fascinating to Harry because he had never experienced this with his abilities and it was making him think there was a magical reason for this.
"Well, now for the tough question. Did your relatives hit you and or touch you inappropriately?" She asked.
Harry blanched at that last part. But nevertheless, he answered the question.
"Ah, uh occasionally Aunt Petunia would hit me with a frying pan and I'd get punched by Uncle Vernon. Then there's the Harry Huntings that Dudley did which ended up with me getting beaten up. But, no they never touched me inappropriately." Harry said.
Once more, the flash of anger but this time it seemed to come from more than just Ms. Jackson and Professor Picquery. He was glad that people were worried for him, he truly was, but it was getting overwhelming with these simultaneous emotions.
"Now, Harry, do you know why your relatives hurt you?" She asked.
Ms. Jackson wasn't expecting young Harry to know why but there was always a chance that the child would know why. But what she wasn't expecting was the answer from the boy.
"I think I overheard Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon saying something about beating the magic out of me? I didn't think much of it when I heard it." Harry said.
Suddenly there was an oppressive force of angry emotions slamming into Harry as everyone in the room gasped and the pen Ms. Jackson had snapped in half. Harry slightly collapsed in his chair as he grabbed his head in pain. That prompted the Professor to pull him close to him.
"Harry, what's wrong?" She asked softly.
"Too much anger. It hurts." Harry moaned in pain.
That caused the Professor to realize what was happening to the boy. She quickly fished into her bag and pulled out a small bottle and held it to Harry's lips.
"This is a headache reliever. It should get rid of the pain for now but be warned it's one of the few potions that can't be flavored." She said.
Harry downed the potion, gagging at the taste but then sighing in relief when the pain instantly vanished but the anger was still there, slowly fading away.
"W-why was everyone so angry?" Harry asked.
Vivianne allowed Harry to readjust himself in the seat before she sighed.
"You remember how Rex mentioned Obscurials?" Vivianne asked.
Harry nodded a bit, following that up by speaking.
"Yeah, he said it was something that happened in the nineteen twenties." He said.
Vivianne thought for a few seconds on how she could explain what an Obscurial was. It was a rather sensitive topic and a dangerous one at all. If anyone was ever in danger of becoming one, they'd instantly be removed from whatever situation they're in and then attempt to solve the problem.
"An Obscurial is a magical witch or wizard who has, in fear, suppressed their magic because of psychological or physical abuse. This is very dangerous because magic is, in a way, sentient and doesn't like being suppressed. It slowly builds up until it creates a dark parasite, called an Obscurus, that leeches onto the magical core." She started.
She readjusted herself in the seat before she continued.
"Through this, the parasite grows stronger and stronger, occasionally lashing out, until the body cannot handle it anymore and they die. Though, we should be considered lucky that you are indifferent to the Dursleys and that they never forced you to be ashamed of your magic." Vivianne said.
That confused Harry, why would that matter? Ms. Jackson must have seen the confusion on Harry's face because she answered his question.
"An Obscurus is only developed under specific circumstances. One must forcibly suppress their magic and have an internalized hatred of it." She said.
Well, Harry guessed the Dursleys were good for something then. Harry didn't think he would like to turn into a ticking time bomb, that didn't sound fun at all. Vivianne however seemed to now have a smile on her face as she whipped out her wand and sent out an ethereal light blue tiger.
"What was that?" Harry asked, awe in his voice.
"That was a Patronus, it drives away certain Dark Creatures and can also send messages. I did that because I believe I have the perfect suggestion for Harry's new guardians." She said with a chuckle.
Harry tilted his head, wondering who she was talking about.
"Who is it Professor?" Ms. Jackson asked.
"Well, Harry here seems to have quite the gift. He's a Natural Leglimens which gives me the perfect idea as to who to raise him." She said.
"Natural Legilimens?" Harry asked.
Professor Picquery nodded before explaining.
"Yes, a Natural Legilimens is someone who has great aptitude at Legilimency even to the point that they can read people pretty well and even use it without a wand and nonverbally. Legilimency, is the art of diving into a person's mind to see their memories, thoughts, and emotions." She said.
After that explanation there seemed to be a ding behind them as the elevator door opened. When the doors did open, they revealed a woman with blonde curly hair wearing a pink sweater with jeans and a decently built man with black hair and a small mustache. The man was wearing a black shirt and a pair of jeans as well. When Vivianne saw the woman she walked up to her and hugged her.
"Queenie! It's wonderful to see you! You look wonderful for ninety years old. Most witches and wizards your age would have some gray." Vivianne said.
Queenie let out a melodious chuckle, before hugging back Vivianne. The man seemed to have a smile on his face as well.
"Well, it pays to have Nick and Penny as friends. They supplied us with enough to comfortably live to a hundred and fifty." She said.
Instantly the woman's attention turned to Harry. When it did, Harry felt a warm like feeling in his mind, so to say. The woman then walked up to him and picked him up, ignoring Harry's protest.
"Well aren't you a cute little thing, Harry is it? None of those sad thoughts." She said with a warm smile that seemed to make said sad thoughts go away.
The man walked over and smiled at the woman, Harry could feel pure adoration coming off in waves from the man.
"Queenie, who's this little guy?" The man asked, his voice rather nice sounding and not at all grating as Uncle Vernon's had been.
Somehow, as if she had read his thoughts, Queening started giggling.
"I'm just like you little one. I'm a Natural Legilimens. And Jacob, this is Harry Potter." She said.
Jacob then smiled at Harry and held out his hand. Harry, despite still being held by Queenie, managed to shake it.
"Nice to meet you Harry, I'm Jacob Kowalski-Goldstein. And the wonderful woman holding you is my wife, Queenie Goldstein-Kowalski." Jacob said.
These two didn't seem to be mean at all, as far as Harry knows. Though he was a bit wary of the woman since she seemed to be able to read his thoughts. Which meant she was probably reading them right now. Yep she was, Queenie started giggling at him again.
"I'm sorry about that little one. You'll find out it's difficult not to read a person's mind, especially when they broadcast their thoughts." She said, smiling again.
Shortly after that they all were positioned in seats. Ms. Jackson had taken out paperwork and Queenie and begun to go through it page by page. While Queenie was going through it, Harry and Jacob were having a conversation about what baked treats and goods Harry liked. Jacob was appalled to find out Harry hadn't had any baked goods and vowed to bake a lot of treats for him. By then Queenie had finished and she had a raised brow aimed at her husband.
"Dear, I know you love your baked goods but don't go overboard. We don't want Harry getting sick." She said, her voice filled with mirth.
Jacob seemed to pout at that, causing Queenie to chuckle at him before she pulled out a pen. She then went through each page, signed, and then handed the pen to her husband who did the same. After that was done she turned to the last page and held out the pen to Harry.
"Signing this will make us your adoptive parents by magic. Only sign it if it's what you want Harry." She said softly.
Harry thought for a few seconds before firmly taking the pen and signing his name. The papers flashed before they were instantly covered by a giant envelope. Ms. Jackson took the envelope and stamped it before putting it in the tube where it was sent off.
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein. As well to you Harry." She said with a smile.
Queenie and Jacob stood up and shook the woman's hand. Queenie then gestured for Harry to follow them. They were soon by the elevators, Harry, Queenie, and Jacob standing across from Professor Picquery.
"Alright Harry, I'll see you September 1st, don't forget to read up on your textbooks before getting to school. It'll give you a head start." She said before saying her goodbyes and getting on a different elevator.
They then got on the elevator and when they reached the entrance floor Queenie led them to a sectioned off area. She then grabbed both her husband's arm and Harry's arm before telling them to hold on. She then turned on her foot, Harry feeling that familiar feel of apparating. Seconds later they appeared in what seemed to be a simple apartment flat. However, from the many doors it seemed it was far from that.
"Welcome to your new home Harry." Jacob said with a smile as he steadied himself at the nearby table.
It turned out that it was much larger than a simple flat because Queenie had shown him a large library that held thousands of books. When Harry asked where they were, she told him that they were at the Magical Street in Boston, Massachusetts and above Jacob's bakery. He then asked how the flat was so large and Queenie just smiled and said expansion charms. He was then shown his room which was way, way, way larger than his cupboard and it even had a bed! Queenie frowned at his thoughts before she smiled and said they could decorate tomorrow.
And decorate they did. It turned out that Queenie was something of an artist, a talent she had picked up from her brother-in-law. She gave him a couple of pictures and asked him what he wanted painted on his room. He ended up picking the one that was a forest and had various magical creatures. That caused her to smile and say something about how Newt would love him. The result was amazing because she had managed to enchant it so that the creatures moved around. On top of the paint, Jacob helped him pick out what style of furniture he wanted. Harry went for a simple cherry wood, not wanting too much. Though that desire was wiped out when Jacob practically bought him a stack of comic books and toys. It was safe to say that Harry felt a bit overwhelmed because he had never really had anyone to care for him. So, Harry's room was rather perfect. It was also designated as a safe area for Harry if he ever needed to close himself off.
After they finished decorating, Queenie laid down a few rules. He didn't have chores per say because most of them were done with magic. However, he was expected to keep his room clean, try to eat most of the food on his plate and take his Nutrition Potion, as well as come next summer do all his homework. Of course soon after though she tacked on one more rule, he was to meditate every night. Why? Because Queenie had started training him in Legilimency and Occlumency. In order for that to work, he had to meditate and sort his thoughts every night. At first Harry didn't like it but then Queenie explained how it'd help him. Occlumency worked by sorting your thoughts away into a kind of filing system and then hiding it with illusions in your mind. By sorting your thoughts it helped you calm down and not get angry so easily. When you didn't get angry easily, it helped prevent accidental magic. She also slyly added that it's hilarious to perturb people by having a blank look on your face. When Queenie was teaching Harry about Occlumency she explained that Natural Legilimens cannot learn it the normal way which consisted of clearing their mind. They instead, must focus on one specific thought over and over again until the magic takes effect. She said he'd know when it takes effect by his thoughts suddenly becoming clearer and it being easier to focus. Sure enough though in less than a week, Harry found it easier to think and he wasn't as angry as he usual was. Though, Harry getting it down fast may have been the fact that Jacob had bribed him with a triple chocolate cake if he managed to get it down in a week. Harry completely blamed Jacob for his new chocolate addiction. The man didn't even seem repentant about it!
When it was nearing time for him to go to Ilvermorny, Queenie started to explain some of the Wizarding Traditions. Though she only really focused on Samhain, as the others would be explained at the school and figured that since Samhain was the first that it'd best be explained. She explained that Samhain was a holiday where witches, wizards, really any magical being completed a ritual to be able to speak briefly with a lost loved one. This was possible because Samhain was when the veil between life and death was the thinnest, allowing for spirits to pass over. She explained how the ritual would go, explaining that it was very different from paganism in the fact that magical beings gave offerings to magic instead rather than Goddesses or Gods. Harry was really glad to have the explanation because he was sure he'd have been lost otherwise and because it meant come Halloween he could speak to his birth mother maybe.
A week before he was to go to Ilvermorny, Queenie introduced him to his adoptive aunt and uncle, Porpentina Scamander and Newt Scamander. Porpentina, or Tina for short was a woman of average height with long black hair that had gray streaks in it. Newt was a man of above average height with short brown and grey hair. Both of them seemed rather interesting, although Harry had to pout at Tina's thoughts.
"I'm not adorable." Harry muttered, pouting.
That seemed to cause Tina to groan and everyone else to laugh, especially Queenie.
"Oh, wow. Of all the children you had to adopt, it was another Natural Legilimens. Is nothing sacred Queenie? You could have warned me." She said, jokingly.
Queenie simply giggled before pulling Harry into a hug, his back first to her chest.
"But then I wouldn't get this reaction out of you. So, how's my grandnephew?" She asked.
"Rolf? Well, he's just like his grandfather I swear." Tina said, giving Newt a look.
The man chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"It's not my fault he loves magical creatures." He said, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Oh, really? So, I didn't see you give him one of Pickett's grandkids at his recent sixth birthday?" She asked with a raised brow.
Newt quickly hid behind Jacob, causing everyone to laugh. Though, Harry had a curious look on his face. Queenie read his thoughts and explained for him.
"Pickett was a bowtruckle, a magical creature that takes care of trees." Queenie said.
Harry ah'ed and asked about what happened to the bowtruckle. That somehow segued into a storytelling of Newt's first adventure in America when ended up explaining the incident in the nineteen twenties involving an Obscurial.
"So wait, America hasn't always been this nice to magical creatures or No-Majs?" Harry asked, having learned that Jacob was a No-Maj.
Queenie nodded before explaining.
"Yes but it had been for a rather good reason because of Scourers, witches or wizards that hunt other wizards and witches and give them up to No-Majs. But anyways, it was with Newt's help and my work that relations became much better." Queenie said.
Tina rolled her eyes after taking a bite of the lasagna that Queenie had made. She then turned to Harry with a smile.
"Don't listen to her. Queenie here campaigned for decades for better treatment of No-Majs and Magical Creatures in America. In fact, she was the one that got Rappaport's Law repealed and the Magical Equality Act passed." Tina said.
Queenie blushed at the proud looks that Tina, Newt, and Jacob all had on their faces. From those reactions, it showed that whatever she did was rather big which prompted the next question.
"Magical Equality Act?" Harry asked.
This time it was Newt who explained.
"It was a law that granted equal rights to all magical beings, under the belief that we all are children of magic. This gave all magical beings the right to have wands, gave protective rights to werewolves and vampires, established blood banks for vampires, established free lessons for werewolves to control their shift, and better protection laws concerning house elves. Most and important of all, it granted the right for any Magical Being to go to school at Ilvermorny. It was a rather impressive piece of law. It's why Queenie's considered the best Magical Lawyer in the world." Newt said.
By now Queenie's face was beet red from the embarrassment at all the praise and Tina was chuckling at her.
"Come now love, you don't want my sister to faint from all the praise." She said.
Shortly after that Newt and Tina left, promising to visit during the holidays with Rolf, their daughter, and her husband. It was that night though that Harry had finally decided to call Jacob, Papa and Queenie, Mum after learning what great people his adoptive parents were. It was safe to say that the two were over the moon and they promptly celebrated the next day with cake and ice cream. Soon though it was time for Harry to head to Ilvermorny where his magical education would begin.
Hopefully you guys enjoyed it! So yeah, in this story, after the events of FBaWtFT Queenie sought to become a magical lawyer to aim to repeal Rappaport's Law. As you can see she succeeded and has become rather famous in the American Community. Next chapter covers the sorting ceremony for Ilvermorny and the first day I believe! Suggestions are welcome!
