Chapter 5 – A Whirlwind of Activity
As Harry finished breakfast, Ms. Sadler asked him to join her for a few minutes to discuss his exam results. His heart began racing and he struggled to control his breathing as he followed her to the Residence Supervisor's office. He thought he had done fairly well on the spell-casting practical portions of his exams, but was worried about the written portions, especially in History and Potions. "Please let me have passed, please let me have passed," he chanted mentally.
The Healing instructor gave him a warm smile that lit her amber eyes as she waved him into the office. "Come in and have a seat, Harry. I'm sure you're nervous about your exam results, but I want to reassure you that you shouldn't be." She smiled again as tension eased out of the boy's shoulders and he sat on the edge of the chair in front of her desk, looking at her eagerly.
"Firstly, you passed both written and practical exams in Battle Magics, Charms and Transfiguration, although you might find some additional review on the theory helpful before starting the new term. You also did well on the non-scientific portion of the Botany exam, but haven't had any training on the more detailed scientific aspects of plants. You followed directions well in Potions, although your theory again needs to be improved. Your worst results were in History, but that seems to be because you only studied magical history and I believe a ghost taught that?"
Harry nodded apologetically, "Yes ma'am, Professor Binns. It was really hard to stay awake in his class."
"Perhaps your Headmaster was unaware that the spirit would be led to review only the topic he was teaching at the time of his death." She shuffled the pages in front of her and then looked at him over them with another smile.
"You are provisionally approved for the Fall term, if you are willing to work over the next five weeks with your instructors to fill in some of the missing knowledge." She smiled indulgently as he heaved a huge sigh of relief and an enormous grin lit his features. "The focus will be on History, Botany and basic Potions theory and techniques. Each of those instructors is willing to work with you three times a week for ninety minutes and then you would probably have a written assignment due the next session. Those sessions will be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In addition, the Charms, Transfiguration and Battle Magics teachers will meet with you once a week for 90 minutes on either Tuesday or Thursday with a weekly assignment."
She met his emerald eyes with her warm amber ones. "Is that acceptable to you, Harry?"
The broad grin stayed on his face as he responded enthusiastically, "Yes ma'am! I'll work very hard to be ready for the start of the Fall term!" He tried not to squirm in his chair with excitement. He was staying!
"Very good, I'll let your teachers know and we'll have a schedule to you by the end of the day, plus you'll want to go to the campus book store for supplies and determine what else you need to purchase in either Stillwater or St. Paul."
The grin still hadn't left the boy's face. "Thank you, ma'am. I have some galleons with me, but Mr. Talbot said there is a Gringotts branch nearby that I'll want to visit."
"There is. Until you're in tenth grade, you'll need to be accompanied by an adult. As your Residence Supervisor, it will likely be me." She grinned mischievously at him, "I should mention or perhaps warn you that I really like shopping, Harry."
As he digested that and hesitantly smiled back at her, she continued, "I also want to make sure that you understand my role as the Residence Supervisor for Blair House. I'm here to answer any questions any student might have. I will help handle any residential, academic or personal issues that arise. If an emergency comes up, I will help secure any assistance you might need." She smiled again as she met his eyes. "I will offer a sympathetic ear when needed and will be happy to act as a sounding board if you want to bounce ideas off me. I also enforce the school's standards and rules. I think I mentioned that I start with one thousand word essays and add one thousand words for each subsequent infraction?"
He nodded emphatically. While writing was better than scrubbing cauldrons, a two thousand word essay would not be fun! Plus he didn't want to give them any cause to regret accepting him.
"One of the ways I also try to help is as a counselor for choosing your classes. We usually start Arithmancy in the seventh grade. I would like to suggest that you sign up for a tutor this fall to prepare yourself before joining a class. With one-on-one attention, you might be able to catch up over the course of the year, and then join your year group next year."
"Yes ma'am," he agreed. "How do I sign up for a tutor?"
"That's one of the tasks I can help with, Harry. If you don't want to involve me, there are bulletin boards in the first floor common room that show services available. However, I know that Ashwini Ranganathan will be available. She's in the tenth grade this year and is at the top of her class for Arithmancy. Because she wants to be a teacher, she likes to sign up as a tutor to get practical experience. I think you'll like her."
"I hope she likes me," he said with a shy smile. He also hoped that Ashwini was a bit better than Hermione at explaining difficult concepts. She always seemed to take it as a personal failure if Harry didn't catch on to something immediately, adding more stress to their study sessions.
"Now let's talk about your classes for the year. The mandatory Core classes are the ones in the entrance exam, plus physical education and a basic mathematics class. Most students take two or three electives, but because you'll be having tutoring in Arithmancy, you might want to limit it to one or two.
They spent nearly an hour discussing the many options available. In the end, he asked to include Latin as one elective to help him understand spells as well as their pronunciation more thoroughly. Ms. Sadler approved the choice, pointing out that it also gave him a strong grounding in many other languages that were based on Latin. He was concerned about the number of classes he was taking so decided not to take both Art and Music, but finally selected a Music Appreciation class that was listed as providing "an introduction to all forms of music, from classical to jazz to bluegrass to hiphop to rock."
"There are so many options, it's really hard to choose," Harry complained. "I really want to take Healing, but can't fit it in. Plus the Warding classes look really interesting."
Ms. Sadler nodded. "I would recommend that you take Healing and Biology together, or take Biology first and then follow with Healing. And yes, Mr. Madison makes Warding a very interesting course. Perhaps next year you'll have time in one of the accelerated summer courses for one or two of them."
Once his schedule was completed, she produced a form for him to sign as an International student that would be filed with the magical government, who would subsequently handle the appropriate non-magical forms and provide him something called a Student Visa.
He left very excited and returned to his room to pick up the campus map. Once outside, he followed a cobblestone path to the Campus Bookstore with his list of classes. He needed to find out how much money he would have to withdraw from Gringotts to purchase his year's supplies. He also authorized automatic tuition payment to St. Croix Academy and stopped any payments to Hogwarts.
The Campus Bookstore was very different than Flourish and Blott's. The tiled floors and metal shelves were less warm and welcoming than the wooden floors and shelves found in the Diagon Alley store. Three quarters of the store was dedicated to text books. He looked over his classes and found the books arranged by topic and then each class requirement was listed on a shelf tag. He added the cost of the books in his head to determine how much he would need. Next he turned to notebooks, journals, pens and other supplies and added those into his running total. Yes, he definitely needed to visit Gringotts.
Next, he looked for seventh and eighth grade History, Botany and Potions books. He was surprised to see a detailed encyclopedia of ingredients and their interactions as part of the beginning Potions material. The pictures in the book were similar to what he had seen on the class room wall, clearly showing the difference in how correctly prepared ingredients should appear. Even more, it detailed what would happen when the ingredients were prepared too finely or roughly. His eyes widened as he realized potency could dramatically increase or too much heat could make something toxic. He never knew that and he bet Neville Longbottom didn't either.
He decided to spend his existing galleons on these beginning texts and buy the Fall term books out of money he would pick up at Gringotts. Looking around the store, he found shirts, sweatshirts and pants, shorts, as well as basic toiletry necessities. In one corner were a number of posters, similar to the one above his roommate's bed. He looked through them, but none caught his eye enough to purchase. He headed to the checkout, and noticed that there were not only packaged sweets, but nuts, raisins and other snacks. He picked up a package of something called "Trail Mix" to snack on later.
OoOoOoOo
The next five weeks went by in a blur of activity. Ms. Sadler took him to Eastern Avenue in St. Paul, where he confirmed his funds were available and could be magically transferred from Diagon Alley. Under Ms. Sadler's prompting, he asked about a debit card, and discovered they were available for a small annual fee.
"Not carrying a coin bag is much better," he said happily as they exited Gringott's. Thank you for suggesting it Ms. Sadler.
"Not at all, Harry. I know I prefer to use a debit card myself and thought you might as well." With the older woman's help, he purchased his text books, Potions and writing supplies in record time.
As they exited the book store, Ms. Sadler said hesitantly, "I noticed that you wear white shirts and grey trousers most of the time, Harry. Is that your Hogwart's uniform?"
Harry felt his cheeks warm. Was he doing something wrong? "Yes ma'am," he replied. "Is that a problem?"
"Not at all," she hastened to assure him. "I just know that many of the boys prefer jeans, t-shirts and sneakers outside of class. Because I don't know what Hogwarts permitted, I didn't know if you wanted to obtain some other clothing."
He hadn't thought too much about it, because he could always hide his worn hand-me-downs under a school robe, but since he rarely saw anyone wearing one, he probably did need something else. It would certainly be nice to have something that fit him besides a uniform, and since he wouldn't be returning to the Dursley's, they couldn't take it away from him.
"Yes ma'am," he said with a smile. "If you don't object, I would like to pick up a few casual outfits."
She grinned and reminded him, "Have you forgotten how I said I loved shopping?" A whirlwind tour of Eastern Avenue and a non-magical department store saw him with a full wardrobe of Fall and Winter clothing, although he had blushed bright red when she had the clerk in the department store include undershirts, briefs, and socks.
Over the next several weeks, he met several other students that were staying for the summer, besides Hugh and Rich. Two were twin boys that were entering the eighth grade and he also met a ninth grade girl that would be in his classes.
The Templeton twins weren't at all like the Weasley twins, he was surprised to discover. They had muddy brown hair, brown eyes and a splash of freckles across their nose and cheeks. However, Aaron was a loud and gregarious sports enthusiast, who played Quidditch (Chaser and sometimes Keeper), soccer and baseball. Once he found out that Harry played Seeker, he sought him out to discuss the games Harry had played in, the strategies used, and to commiserate with him about demented Quidditch captains. "We had Brian Everest for the last two years," he said with an exaggerated shudder. "I think he might be your Oliver Wood's long lost twin!"
Adrian Templeton played soccer with his brother, but was more interested in music than anything else, which his brother grinned and shrugged at indulgently. He was rarely seen without his magical keyboard that folded into the size of a book, but when unfolded provided a full keyboard that was charmed to sound like a piano, organ, or even a synthesizer. While friendly, he wasn't the extrovert his brother was. "Take care, Harry" he said with a grin, "always have an escape plan in your back pocket if you follow any of my brother's plans." He ducked the swat that followed from his brother.
He met ninth grader Audrey Dunham in the gazebo behind Blair House. The pudgy girl blushed heavily when she encountered him, apologized and began to retreat. She had a sketch pad with her and an art book, so he pushed his books aside to make room for her and invited her to join him. She sat down with him hesitantly. Over the course of the morning, he discovered that she was painfully shy, so simply smiled and didn't force conversation.
Harry made sure to sit with each of those he had met at different meals, especially Audrey, since she was so shy. She would smile hesitantly and listen to the conversations without contributing unless Harry deliberately drew her in.
His weeks working closely with Mr. Metcalfe were as different as time spent in Snape's Potion Lab as could be imagined. The Potions Master expressed his warm approval for Harry searching out and buying the beginning Potions book. With each ninety minute session, the portly man explained the benefits of the potion under discussion, the role of each ingredient, the impact of heat, stirring and sequence of adding it to the brew, as well as how each ingredient interacted with the others. Many times, he had Harry wear goggles to avoid fumes in his eyes, and the boy had to wonder why they never used them at Hogwarts. Over their time together, Harry realized Mr. Metcalfe would never scream at him or humiliate him and began to relax when the man was standing behind him. If he did something wrong, the teacher explained why it was wrong and how to correct it or why it couldn't be fixed. All in all, the former Gryffindor was amazed at how interesting Potions could be.
Harry's most exhausting sessions were with Mrs. Moore and World History. In his first session, he came prepared to take comprehensive notes, promising himself to make even Hermione proud. However, Mrs. Moore had another idea.
"Harry, since you've primarily studied British magical history, we're going to approach this from another angle. We're going to look at some of the most important events in History from around the world, what made the event important and what opportunities they provided for the future. If we are discussing wars or military advances, we'll take a little time to discuss the culture of the societies involved and how it contributed to each defeat or victory that occurred."
"For example, what do you think was one of the major events that happened thousands of years ago? People lived in small tribes, and were primarily hunter-gatherers, meaning they hunted for meat and gathered roots, berries, and other edibles. They wore the skins of animals for clothing. For that type of tribe, what do you think would be a significant advancement?"
Harry frowned in thought. "Well, if they already had fire, maybe they learned how to smoke meat to preserve it longer?"
The dark-skinned woman nodded and gave him an encouraging smile. "Good thinking! That would be one advancement. It would allow them to spend more time between hunts on other activities and would help them preserve their food through the winter. Now, what would cause them to go from a wandering tribe to a more stationary community?"
"Um…," Harry thought desperately, not wanting to disappoint the woman. "They could…learn to farm?"
He was rewarded with another warm smile. "Very good! In Mesopotamia around 3500 BC, they invented both the wheel and plough. The wheel made movement and carrying of goods and supplies much easier, while the plough helped them grow their food rather than having to keep moving to find it. Mesopotamia is also famous because only 300 years later, the written word was created there. The modern alphabet was invented around 1600 BC, which corresponded with the first documented evidence of shamans and magic users."
Over the course of the next five weeks, Harry learned about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, which provided a foundation in justice, law, engineering and of course, warfare. He also learned about Alexander the Great and Hannibal, and wrote essays on why each succeeded and then was subsequently defeated.
He worked his way through Charlemagne's rule and then the Magna Carta (which he remembered studying in primary school), which became the origin of modern constitutional rule. He learned how Gutenberg's press in 1455 made mass-market reading possible, and also became the point where magic schools, including Hogwarts, began developing school texts. Over the remainder of the time, he learned how Cortes began to conquer South America in 1519; that the foundation of modern physics was introduced when Isaac Newton published Principia Mathematic in 1687 and the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, which led to the rise of American power.
They spent three full sessions on the last 200 years and the amazing amount of technological advancements in the non-magical world, from the steam locomotive that provided fast and cheap land transportation, to telephones, mass implementation of electricity, the automobile, airplanes, radio, television and the computer. All in all, he was learning to love History and was looking forward to the coming term.
His time with Mrs. Langley was spent talking more about the scientific aspects of Botany. While he already knew that most plants had leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds, stems and roots, he hadn't learned much more. With Mrs. Langley, he learned about primary and secondary roots, root caps and even root hairs. He discovered there were many types of buds, nodes, and growth rings on stems. He even learned there were seven different parts to a leaf and how photosynthesis occurred.
While Professor Sprout hadn't gone into pollination much, although admittedly he didn't know what she covered after Second Year, Mrs. Langley spent time on the male and female reproductive organs in plants and generously ignored his blushes. Fortunately, the book had excellent and well documented illustrations that helped him memorize the various pieces.
He also learned there were four parts of the typical fruit and eight parts to a seed. Once he was able to correctly label all parts of a flower, stem, root, seed and fruit, she announced he was ready for the ninth grade class.
At the end of the intensive five-week session, Harry was fascinated with all he learned, a bit mentally exhausted, but eager for the Fall term.
OoOoOoOo
One week before the new term started, two major events occurred for Harry. The first was the reappearance of Elias Guerrera. Harry returned from his weekly Charms review with the elderly Adam Middleton. The man was a no-nonsense type of teacher, more like Professor McGonagall than Professor Flitwick, but he did smile at Harry at the start and completion of each theory review. Harry returned to Blair House to find his quiet room in major disorder.
The first thing that caught his eye was the chaos across the room. Two suitcases were open and half-emptied of clothes. The wardrobe doors were open and half the drawers pulled out. A large glass cage was situated at the foot of the bed, filled with a rock, a leaning branch that led to several levels of rock shelves, plants and vines. A movement caught his eye, and he realized a two-foot long lizard was watching him. A noise from the bathroom drew his attention just as a medium-sized boy with caramel colored skin came out.
"Hey," the boy said. "You must be my new roommate." He saw Harry looking at the cage and frowned. "Xolotl isn't going to be a problem, is he?"
"No, I think he's wicked," smiled Harry. He held out a hand, "Harry Potter, just starting ninth grade here."
The other boy hesitated, examining him with suspicious black eyes and then slowly clasped his hand. "Elias Guerrera, I started here in seventh grade and am obviously entering ninth as well, else we wouldn't be rooming together."
He turned and began unpacking more clothes from the suitcase to the wardrobe, leaving Harry only a glimpse of his dark brown hair, royal blue t-shirt and black jeans. "Where are you from then?"
"I transferred from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this summer. I've spent the last few weeks revising to be sure I'm ready for the Fall term. What did you say your lizard's name was?"
"Xolotl," the other boy said briefly. "He's a cross between an iguana and an Egyptian fire lizard."
Harry sat on his bed and watched his new roommate unpack, wondering about the boy's suspicious attitude.
"Do you play a lot of music," Elias asked abruptly, turning to pin Harry with his dark eyes.
Harry blinked. "No, I don't have anything to play music with. At Hogwarts where I used to go, there was too much magic for non-magical things to work. From what Mr. Talbot said, there are more shields here."
"There are," Elias said grudgingly. He turned pack to his unpacking and then asked over his shoulder, "You know that you're responsible for keeping your side of the room clean, right? No dirty dishes piling up that stink up the room."
Harry wondered about the odd questions. "I wasn't planning on having anything in the rooms." He thought about the "trail mix" he had bought and amended, "except for snacks. I bought trail mix, but Hedwig stole most of it."
Elias glanced at him over his shoulder for a moment. "Hedwig?"
"My owl," he replied as he nodded towards her cage. "I've been leaving the window open at night so she could go hunt, but she'll let me know whether she wants to stay in the Owlery or here as the weather gets colder." He looked at the other boy. "You're OK with owls? She won't do anything to Xolotl, once we introduce them."
A small crash sounded in the glass cage and Harry saw the iguana had tipped a water bowl over onto the large rock on the bottom of the cage. Its skin turned red for a moment and then the water turned to steam. "Much better" it hissed with evident pleasure.
"You can talk," Harry exclaimed.
The lizard's head swung towards Harry and the tongue lashed out. "You sspeak? Even my Boy doess not sspeak."
"I'm used to speaking to sssnakes," Harry hissed. "I didn't know I could sspeak to iquanass or lizardss."
"I am a cousin to the sssnake," the lizard replied. It regarded Harry as its tongue tasted the air. "You will tell my Boy that the trip did not bother me, but I am pleasssed to be back in his room".
Harry looked at his roommate, not surprised to see the other boy's dark eyes were widened in amazement as they moved between him and his pet.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. Was he about to be ostracized for being a parselmouth again? "Xolotl said to tell you that the trip did not bother him, but that he's happy to be back in this room."
"You…you can understand him?"
Harry nodded as he added, "I usually only speak to snakes. But Xolotl says he's a cousin to the snake."
Elias looked at the iguana for a long moment and then back at Harry as he began to fire rapid questions at him. "Ask him if he's OK with his name or if he has another. No, ask him if he likes being with me or if he wants to be elsewhere. Does he want to be free?" The boy's voice cracked a bit as he asked the last question.
"Eliass calls you Xolotl, but wantss to know if you have another name he sshould call you. He alssso wantss to know if you like being with him or would you prefer being elsssewhere, even free?"
The iguana's head swung to look unblinkingly at Elias. After a long moment, he replied "He isss my Boy. I have no where elsse I choosse to be. I have no name other than Xolotl."
Harry grinned and looked at his roommate. "Apparently Xolotl has no other name and is quite possessive of you as you are HIS Boy…I could almost hear the capital B. He doesn't want to be anyplace else."
Another hiss from the cage made Harry burst out laughing. At Elias' curious look he said "He instructed me to tell you that he wants sugar peas more often and that he also likes the cooked noodles you give him sometimes."
Elias gave him a broad grin exposing straight white teeth against his caramel colored skin. "Harry, mi amigo, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
OoOoOoOo
Two weeks after his original appointment with Healer Masuto, Harry received a brief note saying that the curse specialists would be there in another week, deliberately coming on a Tuesday afternoon to avoid his review sessions. Although offered, he declined having Mr. Talbot or Ms. Sadler accompany him. He was thirteen after all!
The day of the appointment, he was too nervous to eat lunch after his Transfiguration review, so wandered around out in the sunshine until it was time to go to the Clinic. Healer Masuto introduced a tall tanned man as Shaman Takoda Black Elk of the Sioux Nation and a petite curly-haired woman as Curse Specialist Stephanie Margrave.
Healer Masuto led him to one of the examining rooms, commenting as they walked that both Shaman Black Elk and Curse Specialist Margrave had seen his diagnostic results, but wanted to run some tests themselves. Shaman Black Elk's magic was soft and warm; it surrounded, cushioned and comforted him. Curse Specialist Margrave's spells tickled and tingled under his skin, but were not uncomfortable.
They asked him to read or work on his homework while they discussed the results. An hour later, his Transfiguration homework was mostly complete when Healer Masuto led him back into his office. Once all of them were seated, the middle-aged Healer smiled briefly at the young teen.
"Harry, what we believe you have is more than a curse scar created by Dark magic. Instead, it is more of a parasitic leech of some kind." Harry's face twisted in disgusted, but he clamped his lips shut to hear the rest. "Something is drawing upon your life energy and your magic to power or feed something else. Now you told me that it was created when the Avada Kadevra curse rebounded?"
Harry nodded, "Yes sir. I'm told it rebounded to Voldemort and destroyed him, but not his spirit. In fact, the spirit possessed one of my teachers in my first year at Hogwarts."
Black Elk's dark eyes lit up with interest at that and his deep voice asked, "Did you feel anything in the scar when that particular teacher was nearby?"
"Yes sir, it hurt. Near the end of the year, he tried to kill me, but whatever protection my mother gave me at her death wouldn't let him touch me. He burned up and the spirit fled."
"That's it then," said Ms. Margrave quietly. "The dark magic sustained in the scar created a link between this spirit and Harry, and the spirit has been draining Harry to sustain itself."
Harry grimaced in revulsion again. "Can you get rid of it? Or can you stop it from getting anything from me?"
Shaman Black Elk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There is a method among my people." He waved his hand and a silencing spell separated the three adults from Harry for a few minutes. He watched their lips moving but couldn't figure out what they were saying. He fidgeted waiting for them to finish the conversation.
With nods of agreement, the silencing spell dropped. "Harry, we believe the least harmful and least painful option will be to transfer the parasitic leech to another living object; something with a complex enough intelligence and magic to support the transfer until it is completed. Give us a few days and we'll schedule the procedure."
The next day, Curse Breaker Margrave let Healer Masuto know they had a candidate for the transfer, so the three adults met to discuss it. "I think I mentioned that my Great Aunt Sophie lives in Stillwater? Well, it was a pleasure to come here, not only because of the odd nature of the boy's curse scar but also because I could stay with her and catch up. She lives alone except for her three kneazels. Last night, as I explained to her what we had found, her oldest kneazel Ceres sat up in my Aunt's lap when I mentioned that we needed to transfer the leech to help the boy. She turned and looked at Aunt Sophie, batted her paw at my Aunt and then gave the most demanding yowl. She continued until Aunt Sophie asked if she was volunteering to accept the parasite. Ceres then rumbled and lay back down again. Aunt Sophie said that Ceres is one of the oldest kneazels she's ever seen, her joints ache with arthritis and she has little appetite any more. She's quite certain that Ceres has decided that this will give her death meaning."
"A kneazel has the intelligence and the magic needed to ground the leech" said Black Elk thoughtfully. "It is a noble act."
Harry received word to return to the Clinic on Thursday afternoon after his review sessions. Once there, Healer Masuto brought him into a treatment room that was larger than the examining room. Harry lay down on one wheeled stretcher and was surprised to see an elderly kneazel on a second gurney.
"This is Ceres," the petite curse breaker said stroking the kneazel. "She volunteered to accept the transfer."
"She did," asked Harry in amazement. Ceres purred in a rumbling sound next to him. "Thank you, Ceres", he said quietly. "I can never repay you." The kneazel purred louder.
"Harry, I want you to drink this sleeping draught," Healer Masuto said, handing him a vial. Harry drank it quickly, grimacing at the taste. Once the boy fell asleep, the Healer also cast a Stupefy on him. All three specialists agreed it would be better for the young teen.
Over the course of the next hour, they successfully transferred the parasite to the kneazel, although the leech fought against them. Its magical roots were buried deep within the boy's psyche and wrapped around his magical core, but they slowly and carefully unwound its tendrils until they could complete the transfer with one great effort.
Harry drifted up through the darkness as a voice quietly but authoritatively said "Harry, wake up now. Come on, Harry. Wake up. Open your eyes."
It seemed like a herculean effort, but he finally forced his eyes open to see the Asian Healer beside him casting diagnostic spells. Shaman Black Elk and Ms. Margrave were at the foot of his bed. "Did it work" he whispered, half afraid that it hadn't.
Masuto smiled at him. "Yes Harry, the transfer was complete. How do you feel?"
Harry thought about it and then smiled. "I feel…lighter. Like there was something weighing me down that's gone." He realized he was in a different room that where the transfer had occurred. "How's Ceres?"
Ms. Margrave said softly, "Ceres accepted the transfer and then went to sleep. She died peacefully several minutes later." At Harry's look of horror, she said quickly, "She was very old, Harry. She was ready to die. We think that was why she volunteered for the transfer."
"A very generous and noble act" agreed the Shaman. He fixed black eyes on the young teen. "You will live a life that reflects her sacrifice, yes?"
"Yes sir," Harry said quietly, humbled by the act of the elderly kneazel. "I will try."
"Good, that is the most one can attempt."
Harry stayed in the Clinic overnight to ensure there were no side effects from the procedure. Ms. Sadler came to visit him, and promised to tell Hedwig that he was all right. After she left him, she stopped in the Healer's office.
"Taguchi, I have a question", she said to her close friend. "Why do you suppose that no Healer ever investigated or treated Harry before?"
Her friend poured them both tea and then sipped his reflectively. "From what I understand with my few conversations with Harry, he never saw a Healer before he went to Hogwarts. At the school, they are staffed with a mediwitch, not a full healer. Perhaps her scans were only for specific injuries? I know he wasn't given nutrient potions for the two years he was there, and a standard exam would have shown the effects of malnutrition." They both shook their heads, not certain how this one boy could have slipped through the cracks.
Harry awoke full of energy the following morning and was released after another full scan by Healer Masuto. Over the next week, he found it easier to focus, had a better memory and could sustain spell casting for longer periods without tiring. Even his scar began to fade from the angry red mark to a think white line.
OoOoOoOo
At the first staff meeting before the new term, Albus Dumbledore smiled benevolently at the teachers. Minerva had been a bit standoffish since his return, but he understood the stress his Deputy Headmistress went through as a new year began. He still hadn't found the top of his desk under the piles of mail, reports newspapers and journals that he still had to work through. After allowing the teachers a few minutes to discuss their holidays, he called the meeting to order. They discussed the coming year, what prefects would patrol when, as well as what new equipment needed to be purchased.
"I'm going to need new several new cauldrons as well as reinforced tables, Albus. Between Longbottom's penchant for blowing up his cauldrons, and Potter's pathetic attempts, it's amazing I still have a classroom at all."
Minerva smiled thinly at the taciturn Potions Master and said, "Then you will be pleased to learn that half of your problem is gone this year, Severus."
Albus frowned slightly at his Deputy Headmistress. "What do you mean Minerva?"
"Mr. Potter will not be returning to Hogwarts this Term. He transferred to another school." She waited for the exclamations to die down from the other staff members before adding, "I left his letter on your desk, Albus."
An hour later, Privet Drive had an unusual visitor who bore a long silver beard and wore a suit that was in style fifty years earlier. He tapped at Number 4 and smiled kindly at Petunia Dursley when she opened the door. Before he could speak, she whispered furiously "He's not here! He went to another school and won't be returning!" She attempted to close the door, but it wouldn't move.
"May I come in please, Petunia," the old man said firmly making it a demand instead of a request. At her automatic refusal he added, "Very well, if you don't mind your neighbors hearing our discussion…" He was promptly pulled into the house and the door closed firmly behind him.
"The boy is gone!" she stated again.
"Yes, so you said. I simply wanted to make sure that he was all right at his new location. To what school did he transfer?"
"I have no idea," she stated grudgingly. "One freak school is like another, I'm sure. However, he said if the school didn't offer year-round classes, he would find alternative accommodations."
The warmth went out of the elderly blue eyes. "I see. When did your nephew leave?"
"I don't know," the thin lips spat at him. "Last month sometime. It's not as if we weren't glad to see the last of him. We never asked for him, but were forced to take him in, feed him, clothe him, and deal with his freakishness. We were glad to see the last of him."
"He was your nephew, your sister's son. You were his only family," Dumbledore uttered faintly, plainly shocked at Petunia's callous attitude. He extended his senses, ignoring the venom the woman was spewing. He closed his eyes as if in pain when he realized the blood wards had fully fallen. "Never mind, Petunia. What is done is done" he cut off the woman's invective.
Back at Hogwarts, the elderly wizard sat at his desk and wrote a letter to Harry Potter. He attached a tracking charm to it, to help him find the young boy.
OoOoOoOo
Harry and Elias were getting along much better. The former Gryffindor discovered that Elias had considered his last roommate an obnoxious jerk who played his music loudly, left his filthy clothes around and kept dirty dishes under the bed. He also attempted to hex Xolotl one day. Apparently, his parents either withdrew him from school or he was expelled, which was Elias' fervent hope.
Harry explained how his two-way mail box allowed mail to be rerouted to his mail service, which then filtered it and sent it to him instantly. Elias had seen how Harry got strange letters and solicitations several times a week, so when the British boy came into the room after his Potions session, he only said "Your mail box has been glowing all afternoon."
Harry opened the incoming mail side and was surprised to see not only three letters, but a small package as well. He withdrew them and looked at the first letter. A note was tied to it from Mr. Stillwater that said he had removed a tracking charm. He also mentioned that for an additional five galleons a year, he would also filter portkeys if Harry wanted, as they had forgotten to discuss those. Removing his note, Harry wasn't surprised to see the Hogwarts seal on the letter. He broke the seal, wondering if it was from Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore.
Dear Harry,
I was surprised and disappointed to learn that you withdrew from Hogwarts without speaking to me or your Head of House. Your friends at Hogwarts as well as the Weasleys and Miss Granger are very worried about you and miss you. Poor Oliver Wood will be devastated at having lost his prize seeker.
I'm certain that whatever concerns caused you to decide to take such a drastic step as to remove yourself from your friends and school can be resolved. Please let Professor McGonagall or I know your location, so that we can come and discuss it with you. As a consequence of the shade of Voldemort still on the loose, you must realize that you need to be in a place of safety.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Order of Merlin, First Class; Chief Warlock, Wizengamot; Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards
Emerald green eyes narrowed as he read the Headmaster's letter and his hands clenched, wrinkling the parchment. Disappointed was he? Was that supposed to make Harry tuck his tail between his legs and come slinking back? And just how stupid did he think Harry was with those manipulative comments about Quidditch?
"Oh yes, Headmaster, you're certain whatever concerns can be resolved…as if I don't have legitimate reasons and my decision was just some kid's prank." He growled and pulled paper and pen towards him, making sure his thesaurus was close to help him select his words.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,
My decision to leave Hogwarts is final. I enrolled in a new school with my legal guardian's approval, and my relatives were delighted to see the last of me.
Perhaps you do not recall, but I barely survived five murder attempts over the past two years. My concern about my safety is not limited to those attacks, but also to a basic lack of faith in Hogwarts to keep its students safe in addition to unease over your unwarranted interest in my life.
Ten years ago, I learned that I was left like a newspaper on my relative's doorstep by you immediately after my parent's deaths. For the next decade, I was left ignorant of the wizarding world and unaware of my heritage, and I have since learned that it was on your instructions. And while I can appreciate the mail ward prior to Hogwarts, it should have been removed or at least revealed once I entered the wizarding world.
After I arrived at Hogwarts, it was to discover that you had hired a possessed teacher. When I was subsequently involved in his death, I received no counseling, but was returned to the same abusive relatives you abandoned me to ten years earlier.
In my second year, not a single staff member recognized that a student was possessed and only a twelve year old girl identified that a basilisk was loose in the school. Even after Colin Creevey was petrified, you kept the school open, endangering the rest of the students. In the end, I faced the basilisk and Riddle's ghost by myself and nearly died. Again, no counseling was offered; instead I was forced back to my abusive relatives yet once more.
I spent the summer researching new schools and found that there are many more options that I was led to believe. I am happy in my new school. To my surprise, not a single staff member has insulted or ridiculed me, nor did they go to an opposite extreme because I'm the "boy-who-lived". None of them put tracking charms on me or my mail. I'm just Harry-the-new-student here.
I wrote my Hogwarts friends, so they know of my decision and aren't quite as worried about me as you implied. Fortunately, my true friends care more about my safety than Quidditch.
My decision to withdraw from Hogwarts is final.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter
Cc: Deputy Headmaster Minerva McGonagall
Once he wrote the letter and duplicated the letter for his former Head of House, he felt much better. Now the old man would understand that his move was irrevocable. There was no reason to try to chase down one student out of hundreds whose guardians had given him permission to change schools and who had legitimate concerns for his safety.
With a nod of satisfaction, he turned to the letter from Ron. He opened the envelope and read the messy scrawl quickly.
Harry,
I can't believe that you just up and left Hogwarts without saying anything! I thought we were best friends. How could you just leave like that? Well, I guess you decided our friendship wasn't that important, huh?
Sure, I'll tell my folks and brothers what you said. You should probably write my Mum or else she'll go spare with worry.
Best of luck, I guess.
Ron
Harry sighed after finishing his best friend's letter. He had asked for his support, but only received hurt feelings. Oh well, he supposed he should write a letter to Mrs. Weasley; she had been very kind in letting him stay last summer and had sent him two hand-made sweaters.
He wrote a quick note to Mrs. Weasley, sharing some of the reasons that he left. He almost added the part about finding a year-round program, but decided to leave that out just in case someone tried to track him down. He made sure to thank her enthusiastically for the Christmas presents and allowing him to stay at the Burrow after the twins and Ron rescued him.
He turned to Hermione's letter and hoped it was more understanding.
Dear Harry,
I was amazed to receive your letter and learn that you left Hogwarts without talking to anyone, although I'm impressed that you made a list to help you with the decision. My original intent in this letter was to convince you to return, but then I thought about what you said – about five murder attempts in two years – and have to admit that I wouldn't want to return either. Even so, I want to believe that Professor Dumbledore has your best interests at heart. Have you spoken to him about this decision? He's one of the greatest wizards who ever lived after all.
What can you tell me all about your new school? How did you find it? What is the difference in tuition? What courses do they offer that Hogwarts doesn't? Did you have to interview with them? Did Hogwarts send your records or did you get accepted by standing entrance exams?
I look forward to hearing about your classes, teachers and class mates soon. In the meantime, I'm enclosing a homework planner I bought for your birthday. I got one for Ron and myself as well and was going to coordinate our homework, but hope it works for you at your new school. Happy Birthday!
Love,
Hermione
A wry grin lit his face as he read his friend's letter. Of course, Dumbledore didn't interfere in her life, so she didn't understand why he hadn't talked to the great wizard before making his decision. Even so, she supported him. He chuckled warmly as the questions spilled across the page. He wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't researching alternate schools right now to make sure she was attending the best choice. He had to suppress a chuckle at the birthday gift, but figured he would give it a try.
He pulled out his notes from his search of schools and wrote a detailed letter back, giving her information about the many options beyond Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. He knew she would be impressed with the schools that had both muggle and magical classes, and pointed out how those schools could help the student find a career in either world.
He chewed on his pen for a moment before adding another comment.
Please don't share this information with any of the Hogwarts professors, Hermione. I mentioned in my first letter that I found some odd things going on in my life; more than I knew about before. Well, I found out that the Headmaster is the one that left me with the Dursleys. He also instructed a Squib that babysat me not to tell me anything about the wizarding world. I was left totally unprepared at his orders. In addition, there was a mail ward that prevented mail from reaching me from anyone other than the Ministry, Hogwarts or friends. That's how he kept me ignorant of being a celebrity to the wizarding world. Even worse, there were two tracking charms on me without my knowledge or permission.
I'll let you know more about my classes in a week or two. I spent the last few weeks working with my new teachers on remedial lessons or revision sessions to be ready for the fall term. I guess I'm not bad at the practical side of classes, but light on the theory. Imagine that.
He knew she would get a grin out of that. She always told him he needed to understand why he was doing what he was doing, whether it was the wand motions or the pronunciation or reasons why they studied what they studied.
I have to say that my new Potions Master is brilliant. I've learned more about Potions in the last few weeks than I did in the last two years with Snape. He teaches about the role of each ingredient, the impact of heat, stirring and the interaction between ingredients. I'm actually starting to like Potions now. Can you believe that?
I'll write again soon,
Harry
He put the four letters in the outgoing side of the mail box and watched the flash that indicated they had been sent.
"Let's go to dinner, Harry" Elias said once his friend had completed his mail. "I'm starving!"
"OK, just a moment." Harry quickly made a note to write back to Mr. Stillwater about port keys and then joined Elias at the door. "I hope they have pizza on the menu tonight."
Elias snickered and teased Harry about his latest obsession as the two boys hurried down to the dining room.