Chapter 4 – Please Let Me Pass

Harry awoke the next morning and smiled at the warm and comfortable bed. Hogwarts beds were always so much more comfortable than the Dur… He sat up abruptly and squinted his eyes at the room. "It wasn't a dream," he whispered to himself. "I really left the Dursleys. I'm really in the U.S. at a different school!"

He reached for his glasses and the room came into focus again. His attention was drawn to the glowing box on his desk. His heart skipped a beat and then began beating rapidly. "Oh no," he muttered. "Why didn't I wait to write any letters? I should have waited until my entrance exams were over. Stupid, Harry! Stupid!"

He reached a shaking hand out to the box and opened the incoming mail side. To his surprise, it wasn't from Hogwarts or either of his friends, but had an impressive seal on it. He knew it should be free of hexes, but still opened it hesitantly. To his surprise, it was from the legal firm of Townsend, Lee and Pemberton who were representing a client that wanted him to be a spokesperson for their line of young men's clothing. If interested, he was asked to have his agent or solicitor contact Argos Pemberton. "The mail ward," he thought, "this is what it was preventing."

He considered the offer while he showered and dressed, then sat down to pen a polite refusal, but said he would contact them should that decision change. He placed it in the outgoing side of his mail box and smiled as it was flashed away.

His stomach growled, and with a quick Tempus spell, he realized it was a few minutes after 7:00 AM and that breakfast was being served. He heard a few sounds in some of the rooms he passed, but it was mostly quiet as he headed down dining room. He stepped inside and was looking about hesitantly when Ms. Sadler waved him over to the table where she sat alone.

"You're up early, Harry" she said with a warm smile. "Most of the students don't come down until closer to eight o'clock."

"Yes ma'am," he replied politely. "My relatives had me up early to make breakfast, so I'm used to it." He noticed that she had a plate with waffles covered in purplish syrup on her plate and he quickly reviewed the card in front of him. He tapped the waffles himself, but selected maple syrup. He also selected a bowl of cut fruit to accompany it as well as milk. Almost immediately, a plate, bowl, and glass appeared at his place. He was surprised to see a potion appear as well, until he remembered that Healer Masuto wanted him to take one three times a day for a month. "How clever of the kitchen staff to recognize it was for him," he thought.

He drank the potion down, grimacing at the taste and then quickly replaced it with a bite of fresh melon, followed by a swallow of milk. "That's not so bad," he decided.

"What are your plans for the day, Harry," asked his Residence supervisor. She gave him a friendly look over her coffee cup.

Harry sat a bit straighter under her watchful eye. "Mr. Talbot said my entrance exams would begin after today, so I thought I should revise," he answered respectfully.

She looked puzzled at his comment. "Revise?"

He was confused by her question and stopped the fork before it reached his mouth. "Yes ma'am. Err..study for the entrance exams."

She smiled again in understanding. "I see. It must be more of a British term. I'm sure we'll find a number of expressions that will need to be explained over the course of the next year."

"Yes ma'am." He swallowed and then asked, "Are there copies of the first and second year textbooks in the library? I only have my Hogwarts books, but shouldn't I review the St. Croix books?"

The friendly amber eyes lost their focus slightly as she considered the question. "To be honest, Harry, I think that might add more stress than it would relieve. We know you were educated under a different curriculum and won't expect you to know what we taught. Instead, you'll be tested on what you know and how it would place you with other ninth grade students."

He grinned at her suddenly. "I'm not used to being called a ninth grade student. We were always First Year, Second Year, Third Year up to Seventh Year. It's funny to think I'm being called a ninth grade student when seventh years are the graduating class at Hogwarts."

The Healing instructor chuckled with him. "Different cultures, different terms. I hope you'll be comfortable with ours, Harry."

After breakfast, Harry headed back to his room, smiling shyly at the students he passed. Most smiled back, although some turned to look after him curiously. Once in his rooms, he filled his backpack with his first and second year books, and went to find the warded spell room that Mr. Talbot had mentioned.

He started with Charms and worked through the spells, levitating his text books first, and then locking and unlocking the spell room door. By the end of three hours, he had practiced all of his first and second year Charms and had started on his Transfiguration spells. When his stomach growled, he replaced the books in his backpack and carried it down to the dining room.

He found the two boys he had met the previous day at a table and moved to that table. Before he could say anything, the round faced boy with the light brown skin and hair saw him and smiled. "Hi Harry, have a seat. I'm Hugh, if you don't remember, and this joker is Rich," he jerked a thumb at the taller boy.

His friend rolled his eyes, but said pompously, "I hope you found your first night acceptable, Harry."

Hugh leaned forward and whispered loudly, "His dad is in the diplomatic corps and Rich has to attend a lot of stuffy events. Don't mind him."

Rich rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich, ignoring what was obviously a worn joke between them.

"I had a good night, thanks," answered Harry after grinning at Hugh. His stomach growled again and Harry quickly selected a sandwich and chips, and then added a soup to it and chocolate milk. Again, his nutrient potion appeared, so he drank it down quickly. Looking at his plate, he blinked in surprise as he picked up a crisp.

"Something wrong, Harry" asked Hugh taking in his surprised expression.

"I thought I was getting chips, but I got crisps. I must have read it wrong." He shrugged and ate the chip.

Hugh looked at him in confusion. "But those are chips. Potato chips."

Rich smirked at the two other boys. "In the U.S., what you call chips, we call French fries or just fries. What you call crisps, we call potato chips. I learned that when my Father was assigned to London for a year."

"Cool" Hugh said around a bite of his sandwich. "We'll probably learn a lot of different terms this year then, eh Harry?"

Harry nodded as he swallowed a spoonful of a delicious chicken noodle soup. "I surprised Ms. Sadler this morning by saying I had to 'revise' for my exams tomorrow."

Rich buttered a roll on his plate. "Revise must mean review or study? Interesting, since it usually means to make changes."

Hugh finished his meal and wiped his mouth on the thick paper napkin, then crumpled it and tossed it on his empty plate. "Where did you go and what was your favorite class, Harry? I remember last night that you said your last school was in a castle. That's very cool."

Harry talked in between bites of his soup, hoping to make friends of these two boys. "I went to Hogwarts, and yes it's a castle in Scotland. I didn't know I was a wizard until I received my letter to there. I liked Charms, because Professor Flitwick was fun. Professor McGonagall taught Transfiguration and was my Head of House and she was pretty stern. I didn't like Potions at all, but that was only because the Professor went to school with my Dad and seemed to hate him, so he went out of his way to make fun of me or pick on me. Astronomy was OK and so was Herbology. I loved flying the best though. I was a Seeker on the Quidditch team."

That started a discussion on sports that continued until the end of lunch. Harry wandered outside Blair House after that, hoping to study in the fresh air. He was delighted to find a white gazebo with a table and chairs a little bit away from the house. He spent the afternoon revising his Astronomy and Herbology, reading carefully through both his first and second year books, and answering any quiz questions at the end of a chapter. When his shoulder muscles began to ache, he stretched and walked around the gazebo a few times. He cast Tempus and found that dinner had started thirty minutes earlier. He again stowed his books in his backpack and headed to the dining hall.

Hugh and Rich were seated with Ms. Sadler again, and he quickly took a seat next to the brown haired woman. He selected a chicken and broccoli stir fry with just water to drink. He drank down his nutrient potion and tried not to make a face, but Hugh snickered at him and he scrunched his nose back, acknowledging the bad taste.

"Looks nasty, Harry. Do you need to take those long," asked the friendly boy sympathetically.

"Healer Masuto said three times a day for a month, then twice a day for a month and then once a day. It's just a nutrient potion. He says my bones aren't as strong as they should be." Harry shrugged and turned to his dinner, enjoying the flavor. He liked how Hogwarts served family style, but there was something to be said for tailoring a meal. He could get used to it.

"Have you been studying all day? What do you still have to...'revise'," asked their Residence supervisor with a smile at the word.

"Yes ma'am," Harry acknowledged, "I re-read all but my Potions and History. Those will probably be my worst scores." He frowned at his plate and fervently hoped he would pass the entrance exams. He really wanted to stay here.

The Healing instructor noticed the suddenly dejected face and patted his hand comfortingly. "You'll be fine, Harry. We don't expect perfection; just that you try hard." She patted his hand again and he nodded. He would try his best.

He returned to his room after dinner to find an envelope on his bed. Opening it, he found an exam schedule from Mr. Talbot. He breathed a sigh of relief to find out that it would be spread over two and a half days. Tomorrow from 9:00-11:00 he would be tested on Charms, then from 1:00-3:00 would be Potions, followed by History from 3:30 to 5:30. The following day he would have Herbology / Botany from 9:00-11:00, Transfiguration from 1:00 – 3:00, then Astronomy from 3:30-5:00. The following morning, he would have Battle Magic from 9:00-11:00. He was pleased and relieved to realize that they limited the amount of spell casting he would have to do per day; he had been tired after casting every spell from his first two years in Charms and Transfiguration this morning.

He spent the evening reading through first History and then Potions; although he had to admit that he spent more time on Potions than History. He always heard Binns monotone voice droning in his head when he read his History book.

Finally, he got ready for bed, but sat stroking Hedwig for a while. "I hope I do all right, Hedwig. I can't go back to the Dursleys. And I'm not sure I'll live through another year at Hogwarts. I've got to pass everything. I've got to!" Hedwig rubbed her head on his cheek and then nibbled his fingers affectionately.

"Well, at least I'll get two of my three worst classes out of the way tomorrow. And it's not like Snape will be hovering over me and yelling during the Potions test. That's got to improve my grade." With that happy thought, he let Hedwig out to hunt for the night and turned off the lights. "I've got to pass", he mumbled. "I've just got to."

Earlier that day in Diagon Alley, one owl took off immediately with a letter tied to her leg, while another two that Grover Stillman tried to send out refused to leave the Owlery. The only reason they would refuse was if the recipients were warded against mail, out of the country or dead. "Will you take them tomorrow" he asked the owls. They stared at him unblinkingly. "Hmph, what about next week?" Again two pairs of eyes met his. "Next month," he tried. Both birds relaxed, nodded their heads and clicked their beaks at him. "OK then, they must be out of the country." He moved the letters to a folder dated August.

The third owl flew around the school in Scotland until she found her target. She landed on a wide stone ledge and tapped imperiously on the window until a woman with dark hair pulled into a severe bun came over and opened the window. She received an owl treat and the offer of water from the woman, but a scent of cat made her think of predators, so she hopped back out the window after devouring her reward.

Minerva McGonagall read the letter through, then read it again more slowly. "Harry Potter withdrawing from Hogwarts," she said quietly. "Unbelievable. What would his parents think?" She paused and considered the boy's first two years. Perhaps James and Lily would have found another option themselves, considering everything that happened to the poor child. Another thought struck her and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What will Albus do when he returns from the ICW?"

She sat thoughtfully for several minutes, thinking about Harry Potter. He was the image of James, but without the callous disregard for those not part of his clique. In fact, he was a quiet, shy and well-mannered boy when not flying. When he flew, he seemed much more animated.

Her eyes widened. Flying! She then closed her eyes as if in pain. "There goes the Quidditch Cup," she whispered in a pained voice.

After several more minutes, she nodded to herself and folded the letter. Albus was spending the month of July attending to his duties as the Supreme Mugwump at the International Confederation of Wizards. As much as she didn't want to lose him, Harry deserved some peace and quiet after the two tumultuous years at Hogwarts. Perhaps Albus would convince him to return, but she wouldn't bring up his withdrawal until the Headmaster returned in August.

Michael Talbot slipped into the conference room and sat in the empty chair to the right of the Principal. She gave him a brief welcoming smile that warmed her onyx eyes. He returned the smile and gave a nod to the other men and women around the table, and then sat back giving all of his attention to the ebony-skinned woman leading the meeting. Once again he admired her long black hair accented by a few silver streaks that were swept back and held with elaborate combs.

After Michael was settled, Victoria opened a folder in front of her. "I would first like to thank you all for taking the time to give an evaluation to our newest applicant. I know it was unscheduled, so appreciate your time." Her rich voice was both soothing and authoritative. "Harry Potter wrote and asked to attend the Academy after his first two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From his letter, it appeared one reason he wanted to leave was his notoriety after the Ministry proclaimed he had vanquished the dark wizard who called himself Lord Voldemort, who had been terrorizing the population a dozen years ago."

She looked around the table and met each of the teacher's eyes briefly. "Obviously, our classes are slightly different than our European counterparts, so we need to be assured that he can succeed in this school. Adam, you had him first. What is your evaluation?"

Adam Middleton had just celebrated his centennial birthday earlier in the year which coincided with his 70th year teaching at the Academy. Although he had age lines in his face, he easily could be mistaken for being twenty years younger with his shoulder-length white-blonde hair, fair skin and sharp hazel eyes. His voice was steady as he opened his folder and reviewed his notes.

"We began with a written exam of course, and then I asked the boy to demonstrate the spells he could remember from his first two years in Charms. He successfully demonstrated Lumos and Nox followed by Wingardium Leviosa to levitate sequentially heavier objects, starting with a feather and continuing through to a desk. I should note that he showed no difference between levitating a feather or a desk. He also demonstrated Diffindo on both a cloth and wooden object, then used Reparo to fix what he cut. We discussed Aparecium to reveal invisible ink, but I didn't have any in the room for him to reveal. His written exam was acceptable, although not outstanding. I would say he has a firm grasp of practical charms, but could benefit with additional work with the theory behind it. Even so, I would have no problem accepting him into a ninth grade class."

Victoria nodded at her old friend and turned to the portly Potions Masters. "Alan, you had him that afternoon. How did that go?"

Potions Master Alan Metcalfe was a sixty year old round-faced man with short steel grey hair and astute blue eyes. Victoria valued him for his no-nonsense approach that enabled him to control his classroom through the sheer force of his personality. He took a deep breath and frowned before speaking.

"The boy was a bit of a disappointment, but it also reinforced the rumors I've heard at several Potions conferences. Potions Master Severus Snape is a highly acclaimed and valuable member of the Potions community. He is responsible for major improvements to Wolfsbane potion and significant advancements to other formulas. If he is a featured speaker at a conference, I make sure never to miss it. However, his style is probably better suited to adults than children."

He frowned again at the pages in front of him. "Harry appeared to have almost no training whatsoever with the interaction of ingredients; something every seventh grader should be taught. It was as if all they did was work from a list of ingredients before they began brewing. He was amazed at the posters on the wall detailing the differences between ground and powdered ingredients or sliced versus slivered. However, I reviewed the boy's text books and there was little reference to what I consider mandatory supplemental reading. He did successfully brew potions from the seventh and eighth grade curriculums with a recipe in front of him, but I would accept him into my ninth grade class only if he was willing to spend the next five weeks working on basic potions theory."

The portly man frowned yet again, raising the curiosity of those seated at the table. While not a cheerful person, he was too even-tempered to frown so frequently. He raised troubled blue eyes to the Principal. "The boy raised some red flags with me. He seemed unnaturally grateful when I explained some of the theory to him. He seemed to tense whenever I was within a few feet of him, frequently hunching his shoulders. When I mentioned how well he chopped and diced, he was surprised at being complimented. He mentioned he helped out at his relatives in the kitchen." He looked at Victoria and added, "He particularly said 'his relatives', not 'at home' or 'with my family'."

Victoria made another notation on her papers. "Thank you, Alan. I appreciate your honesty and concerns. Philippa, you had him for History at the end of the day. What was your evaluation?"

Philippa Moore was one of the younger staff members as she was just entering her fourth decade. She was a big-boned woman with dark skin and a heart-shaped face. Her dark brown shoulder length hair was kept in a French knot. She taught not only World History, but Magical Culture and Customs as well as Magical Government and Law. Her normally warm brown eyes met the Principal's with concern. "I was going to go last, but Alan brought up some of what I saw. Firstly, he almost failed his History exam, but I learned that his class is taught by the ghost of the former professor!" She shook her head in amazement. "He appears to be stuck teaching the topic under discussion at the time of his death, which happened to be goblin rebellions in Britain. Nothing was taught of history outside of Britain and most of the students viewed the course as independent study. Harry admitted that the ghost droned on in a monotone voice that literally put the class to sleep. He will need to be tutored in History to get up to speed. Like Alan, I would be willing to work with him over the next five weeks, perhaps set him a couple of essays per week to get him up to the rest of the students his age."

She tapped the pen in her hand against her notepad several times as she carefully considered her next words. "I took the opportunity to ask him some questions about Magical Culture and Customs and learned that he was raised by non-magical guardians. He knew nothing about the magical world until he received a letter announcing his acceptance to Hogwarts. He didn't know that he was considered famous for defeating a dark wizard until he was mobbed on a trip to buy his school supplies. Out of my own curiosity, I asked what books were recommended for non-magical born or raised students, and was surprised to learn that he hadn't been provided anything. Also, Hogwarts had no introductory class for those raised outside of magical society. I loaned him two books that explained magical societies and cultures throughout the world, and he was both excited to read them and very grateful that I suggested them."

She looked at Alan across the table from her. "I found him to be uncomfortable with any questions about his life before Hogwarts or his time at home between terms. I have to say though, that he is an extremely polite and respectful boy, much more so than most teenagers these days."

Victoria spent a minute writing as Philippa finished speaking. "Thank you, Philippa." She shook her head, and then turned to Grace Langley. "Grace, you had him first on the second day. What was your evaluation?"

The middle-aged woman had deeply tanned dark olive skin from her hours in the sun, and her dark brown hair seemed coarse from too much wind and not enough conditioner. Victoria valued the woman for her sensible yet sharp-eyed nature and her sarcastic sense of humor.

"Harry and I walked through several of the greenhouses yesterday morning. He easily recognized Devil's Snare and knew that either light or flames would disable it. He recognized young mandrake plants and spoke well and how to re-pot them and the possible dangers they cause. He was also quite familiar with Abyssian Shrivelfigs and we discussed how they were used in potions."

She paused and took a sip of the dark rich coffee she preferred. "However, his classes never looked at plants through microscopes and he didn't understand them from a botanist's perspective, only from a grower's perspective. Nevertheless, I think his knowledge was at an acceptable level to enter a ninth grade class."

She looked at Alan and Philippa for a moment before continuing, "We didn't speak about anything other than plants, the greenhouses and how the classes here are run. I found him a polite little thing and very eager to please."

"Thank you, Grace. What about Transfiguration, Roger?"

All eyes turned to the middle-aged affable man. Roger Latham had light brown hair that was just beginning to grey at the temples. His craggy face was relaxed and mild. "The boy passed his written exam with acceptable marks, but was even better in the practical application. He turned a button into a beetle, a piece of glass into stone, a book into a mouse and then the mouse back to a book. He also changed a porcupine into a pin cushion and back again. I can easily accept him into my ninth grade class." He considered briefly before adding, "He came into the class hesitant and nervous, but calmed down quickly. At one point, I had him transfigure a water tumbler into a goblet and told him to use his imagination with it. He made it frosted with etched patterns. When I congratulated him and said it was very well done, he first seemed surprised and then an enormous smile lit his face. I think perhaps he doesn't get told 'well done' very often."

A few frowns appeared on the other faces, but Victoria nodded and made a few more notations. "John, how was he at Astronomy?"

John Halle appeared to be in his early 40's with pale skin on a sharp-featured face. His dark hair was in a short severe cut that matched his austere expression. He was stubborn by nature, but meticulously fair with his students. He was also one of the two vampires on staff, a fact that by law was published in his staff biography in all publications. His wife provided his blood nourishment, and he had proven himself over the years to be no threat to the students.

"I was amazed to learn that Hogwarts only holds its Astronomy classes at night, rather than using star maps, ceiling projections or other options. While I certainly approve of monthly late night classes, I was somewhat shocked that eleven year old students were regularly awake and expected to excel past 11:00 PM." He shook his head in amazement.

"The boy was polite and while he looked at me curiously, he didn't seem particularly afraid of my condition, but more nervous about passing the exam. He knew the current solar system, and the most common constellations and stars. He was able to correctly complete a partially filled in star map. However, he didn't seem to understand how Astronomy was used with Arithmancy, although I then discovered that Arithmancy wasn't offered until the ninth grade or what he called Third Year."

"Really!" "Why?" and several other exclamations met this announcement. John nodded, "Considering that the primary use of Astronomy is in Arithmancy calculations and Divination, I was surprised as well. I assumed they first wanted to give their students a good grounded education in other mathematics, but when I asked what mathematic classes they offered prior to Arithmancy, he said there were none."

The vampire sat back pleased that the shocked exclamations matched his own surprise of what the boy had told him. He didn't pay that much attention to magical schools outside of the U.S. and promised himself to run some comparisons between scores of all secondary schools. Perhaps Victoria already had those available. He would ask at the next staff meeting.

Victoria finally turned to Elizabeth Archer, their Battle Magic instructor for grades seven through ten. Liz was closest to her in age and their temperaments complimented one another. The woman's graying red hair, slender form and hollow cheeked appearance caused many new students to underestimate her. "Liz, how was our applicant in your exam?"

"He was on track with other students his age. He correctly demonstrated Confundus, Expelliarmus, Incendio, Locomotor Mortis, Rictusempra, Serpensortia and Tarantellegra. With only a bare minimum of instruction, he also successfully cast a Petrificus Totalis. I then walked him through a few of the ninth grade spells, and he learned them very quickly." She looked at the other entrance exam teachers. "I'm not surprised to hear that his practical knowledge outstrips his theoretical, as he learned new spells with relative ease. I would be pleased to include him with my other ninth graders."

"Christina, you sat with him at meals; what is your opinion of the boy," asked Victoria.

The Healing instructor and Blair House supervisor considered her words carefully. "He is shy, somewhat reserved and exceptionally polite. He got along well with two of his peers, Hugh Porter and Rich Lovell. I would be very surprised if he turned out to be a trouble-maker as he's exceptionally eager to please."

Victoria nodded and turned to the Vice-Principal. "Michael, do you have anything to add?"

"Only that I found him intelligent, polite and anxious to please as well. If he meets the majority of our standards and is willing to work hard before the start of the next term, I think he would make a constructive addition to the school." He grinned slightly as he added, "If only to show the other teens how a politely raised young man can behave."

Later that evening, Victoria Graham looked over the entrance exam results again before returning to the medical report from Taguchi Masuto. Although medical information was confidential, all suspected cases of abuse had to be reported and he suspected long-term neglect as evidenced by malnutrition and weaker bone density. The boy's tenseness around the more intimidating instructors, and his anxiousness to please also seemed to indicate a harsh home life.

She tipped back in her chair and rubbed a hand across her brow. How was she going to handle a British celebrity who fled his country and whom they suspected was at best neglected? She shook her head and sat forward again, and then began to pen a note to the Academy's attorney.

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