DISLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…
A/N: I got a review saying I don't follow "Canon". Aside from the fact that this is AU…
For me what is "Canon" is what is in the books. I don't care what JKR said otherwise. If it was that important to her, it would be in her books and not on the interviewer's couch.
The specific shot was that Hogwarts is the only school of magic in Britain. No where is that said in the books. It is implied, but not said and when one considers that everything in the books is Harry's POV in that if he does not know it, we don't, then other schools are possible without violating "canon."
JKR said (outside of her books) that the magical population of the British Isles was about 3000 and that Hogwarts as a student population of between 300 and 400. They live longer, have smaller families and still… Demographically, there were more students in Hogwarts than would have been in seven years of school for a normal population of the same size.
Her Ministry is far too large for a population of that size and given Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and other things? Well, there's certainly full employment and probably not enough people to fill all the needs and yet the set the Muggle Borns homeless beggars in DH? (Scenes in Diagon Alley)
I put the total population at between 60 and 90 thousand and even then, the proportion of those between 11 and 18 years of age is low. I put the Secondary School population at about 3,000 born to at least on magical parent or so which is still low but would take into account longevity. So, add in another 1,500 for the Muggle Borns and that means about 4,500. So, where did the other 4000 or so go? Somewhere else hence other schools.
So why didn't Harry know of the other schools in the books? Why should he? There is not interaction between the schools and Harry was from a long line of Hogwarts students. Arguably, his unique circumstances may also have meant that some one was preventing him from finding out…
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE STRANGE NEW WORLD
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1988 - ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, LONDON, U.K.
The week passed quickly it seemed. The Grangers agreed to check with Harry's school both about his assignments and about whether he could advance a year and what he might need to do to do so. Harry had his school books. They were in a book bag he was carrying when the Grangers found him on the street.
His teacher had a meeting with Mrs. Granger. Harry's teacher was unaware of his abusive home life. True, Harry seemed to miss a lot of classes, but he always seemed fine, if ill dressed when he returned and his school work was exceptional. In her experience, abused children underperformed at school so she never suspected anything. Mrs. Granger noted that the young woman was furious to learn of Harry's situation. She sent on Harry's assignments so he could finish out the year and told Mrs. Granger that if Harry took an intensive math class over the summer, he should be able to skip a year.
Hermione was impressed with his school work when she saw it. By the end of the week, Harry had caught up on all the classes he missed and was actually over a week ahead in all his classes. He was thorough and meticulous, determined to set high goals for himself and eager to finish early so he could get back to his book. It was going to be fun having Harry as a friend, she thought. Finally, someone I can relate to!
They hadn't seen Sensei all week. Then again, he had said they needed to focus on their school work. The two were working on his assignment as well, although they did not know what it was for. Harry did admit later in the week that his nightmares seemed to be less intense than before. Hermione admitted she was sleeping better too.
Saturday, Hermione arrived at nine as she did the week before. Her parents stopped by and visited for a time but then left the two alone to do more shopping. To be honest, Harry liked it when the Grangers were around. They seemed to try to make him feel comfortable, liked, maybe even loved and encouraged him in his school work. After lunch Hermione was reading while Harry was pushing forward on his assignments. He told Hermione he hoped to finish the year before he left hospital so when he left he could get the math course out of the way as soon as possible. The Grangers had told him they were going on holiday in August to America and Harry would be coming with them. Harry did not want to be having to study during the trip.
Sensei finally appeared about a half an hour after lunch.
"Good afternoon," he said.
"Good afternoon, Sensei," the two children replied.
"Dumped a lot on both of you last weekend, didn't I?" Sensei said.
They both nodded.
"I apologize. There was no easy way to do it. Still. You've had a week to think about it."
"Magic is real?" Harry said.
"Indeed."
"That's pretty cool, you know."
"Yeah," Hermione agreed, "especially that we might be able to do it."
"Might?" Sensei asked. "Hermione, both you and Harry will be brilliant at it. But something is bothering you."
They nodded. They both did not like the idea of evil wizards or that they might have to face one. Sensei seemed to understand.
"And how do you think I felt - or my Hermione? We weren't thrilled either. And we knew nothing about magic or Voldemort before we arrived at school. We certainly had no prior training and the training we did get was - lacking. You need to learn magic that is not taught at that school. And that was the reason for your homework. Did you do it?"
They both nodded.
"Let's see then. Close your eyes and clear your minds."
Several minutes passed before Sensei spoke again. "Good! Very good! Both of you!"
The two smiled but then Hermione asked: "Why are we doing this?"
"Mental discipline. Ninety percent or more of all magic succeeds or fails because of one's degree of mental discipline. Why they don't teach that I have no idea. If you can control your mind, you can control your magic with far greater ease. Makes learning magic much easier and quicker. I guess they figure young people can't do that." Sensei shrugged. "Obviously, they are mistaken.
"Now, starting tonight after you have cleared your minds I want you to imagine a safe place. Imagine a place where nothing can harm you. It can be real or imaginary. But focus on it, see it and believe in it before you go to sleep. Okay?"
They nodded.
"I will remind you of your assignment before I leave. Now, today's lesson:
"To understand our present and the future I suffered, we must look to the past. I don't claim to be an expert in history. Didn't do well in school in that subject at all. Then again, my history professor was as boring as you can ever imagine. Seems only my Hermione could avoid falling asleep in his classes. His text was horrible and woefully inaccurate in places. Still, had I tried to pay attention, maybe I would have seen that and done my own research. Came to learn it later in life.
"Magic has been around forever so far as we are concerned. For thousands of years, people like us were an important part of human society. The magical peoples can be divided into two broad categories: wand users and non-wand users. A wand is a tool that allows a magical to focus their magical energy with greater ease and precision. It makes learning magic easier, but it is also a crutch. Most wand users never learn wandless magic.
"Wand use is a Roman invention. The Britons and Celts were not wand users. It was only when they and their peoples were conquered by the Roman legions that they took up the wand as well."
"What is a wand?" Hermione asked.
"Ah! Good question. A wand is a very important tool. It is a milled piece of wood - wood with magical properties and each has a core with a magical substance. Here, our wandmakers tend to use magical woods from trees representing the Celtic calendar: Birch, Rowan, Ash, Alder, Willow, Hawthorn, Oak - usually White Oak, Holly, Hazel, Vine, Ivy, Reed and Elder. Each wood is associated with a Celtic month and usually your wand will be made from that wood associated with your birth month, but not always. In your cases that would be Holly for Harry and Vine for you Hermione.
"Most magical cores are taken from a magical creature. The most common are: Dragon parts, Unicorn Hair, Hippogriff feathers and fire salamander scale. Rarer are such items as Phoenix feathers and Griffin hair. There are others as well and each wand maker has their own preference for core materials."
"They're real?" Hermione asked. "Dragons and such?"
"Rare but yes, quite real.
"A wand allows you to focus your magic with greater ease. As I said, for the vast majority it is a crutch. All magicals are capable of wandless magic. Both of you have done it. Wands are easier so most never learn to control their magic without one. The mental exercises I have assigned you will help you learn wandless magic. True, for some magic wands are essential and you will learn that magic at school. But for our purposes, wandless is more convenient."
"Why?" they asked.
"First off, you cannot have a wand until the July before you start Hogwarts. It's illegal to sell a wand to you and technically illegal for you to have one. Secondly, the government has a law that prohibits underage magicals from doing magic outside of a magical school. They say they can detect any underage magic use but that's a load of rubbish. They can, however, detect wand use. Each wand has a unique signature that can be detected and each wand is registered with the government. Use a wand outside of school before your turn seventeen and you'll get a nasty note inviting you to a hearing.
"They can only detect wandless magic if the location is under specific surveillance by the government. Privet Drive was at one point after I started school. Most places are not. From what I understand, it's bloody expensive to set up the necessary detectors. Hermione's place is not under surveillance and the laws regarding underage magic do not cover wandless magicals underage at all. Accidental magic, as they call it, is expected."
"Sounds silly to me," Hermione said. "Honestly! They don't care when we can't control magic, but they do when we're learning how?"
""If you are expecting your average magical government type to be logical, Hermione, you're in for a rude shock. Parliament makes more sense logically and that's not saying much.
"Anyway," Sensei continued, "for thousands of years the way you learned magic was to be apprenticed to a witch or wizard. Problem was, many never took on more than a handful of apprentices at any time. Even then, you were restricted in your learning by what your mentor knew. There were no standards and few books on the subject and some of the greatest witches and wizards had no use for apprentices. Merlin, perhaps the greatest of all time, never took on an apprentice.
"Prior to the tenth century magical education was haphazard at best. Many magical children - particularly those born to non-magical parents of little or no means - received no real training. Those who did receive training only learned what their patron decided to teach them. Some patrons were exceptional good teachers, most were not.
"In the early tenth century, there were four exceptionally accomplished magicals who had trained exceptional apprentices.
"One was Godric Griffindor. He was the direct descendant of Sir Galahad of Camelot fame although not an heir as he was descended from the youngest son. Like his ancestor Gryffindor was both a Knight of the Realm and a wizard. He had learned both feat of arms and magic while serving as a Squire to his uncle.
"Salazar Slytherin was another. He had apprenticed as a potions maker in his youth and had an exceptional patron. The patron, however, was a Dark Wizard fascinated with Dark Magic. The real Slytherin learned that as well, but hated the evil it represented. He is, for all intents and purposes, the first true Auror and spent much of his life defeating Dark witches and wizards. He believed that it was necessary to understand dark magic in order to defeat it.
"Then there was the witch Rowena Ravenclaw. She was noble by birth and had received an education in a convent that, conveniently, had more than a fair few witches as nuns - something that was not uncommon at the time. She loved learning and books. In that regard, she was exceptional in that age. Most people were illiterate back then and women were almost universally so - outside a religious order.
"Finally, there was Helga Hufflepuff, a Muggle Born witch. She was entirely self taught as she came from a poor family who could not afford to set her up as an apprentice. Somewhere along the line, she too learned to read and write.
"These four were appalled at the state of magical education and set out to do something about it. They began by writing manuscripts on all of the magic they had learned with the help of their apprentices. Each looked for certain traits in their apprentices.
"Gryffindor, being a warrior and a knight sought apprentices who were brave and would uphold the codes of chivalry. Honor and courage were key in his mind. Slytherin preferred cunning students who were also pure of heart and thus unlikely to become evil. I want you to remember that point for it is a point that has been generally forgotten in our world and it is immensely important. Ravenclaw preferred the smart and studious types. Finally, Hufflepuff favored hard working students who proved they were loyal to their friends.
"The four wanted to open a formal school to provide a standard education to all magical children in the British Isles regardless of wealth, social status or birth rights. They hoped for a location that was somewhat centralized, but at that time, England was not unified and nor was it truly safe for magicals. The Anglo-Saxons ruled much of England and the Danes - the Vikings - the rest. Ireland was divided into several warring kingdoms so it was not considered at all.
"Sometime between 950 and 980 A.D., the date is not certain, the four acquired a castle from a Scottish Laird who had a magical son. The names of those are lost to history as well. They opened Hogwarts during that time period and began admitting students from age eleven from all over. Most children did not attend at first. The student body was mostly Muggle Born as they seldom had an opportunity to apprentice with any witch or wizard. Each of the founders was in charge of a group of students. When a student first arrived, they were assigned to a founder based upon the traits each founder sought in their young charges. That school is the oldest school in all Britain excluding monasteries, convents and seminaries. That is the Hogwarts you will attend.
"Now, remember what I said about what Slytherin wanted in a student?"
"Cunning and pure of heart," Hermione answered before Harry could even take a breath to reply.
"Precisely. The original journals of the founders were written in runes that represented the Gaelic language. The magical texts were in Latin. The key points of their journals were translated long after they died, first into Latin, then French and finally English. Whether on purpose or by accident, 'pure of heart' became what most in our world now believe was 'pure of blood.' In other words, most people think Slytherin was both Dark and felt that magic should only be taught to children from magical families. Both of which are false.
"The Purebloods support this lie with the legend that Slytherin left Hogwarts because he got into an argument with the other founders about teaching Muggle Borns. That's not what happened. Slytherin's young wife Cassiopia died giving birth to his youngest child. His heart was broken as the school was his wife's passion as well. He could not bear to walk the halls that held memories of him with his wife in every corner."
"But why hasn't anyone bothered to correct that?" Harry asked. "I mean if it's wrong…"
"Ah!," Sensei laughed, "that is indeed the question for today! You see, in the Wizarding World most people believe what they read, particularly if it is old enough. While that's fine when dealing with books about magic and its use, Wizarding history is another matter altogether. Most of what you read about our history is either exaggerated, incomplete, inaccurate or just plain false. It is a fatal flaw in our society.
"What you must understand is that most of the histories you can find in Britain were written in the last three or four centuries. The authors never truly researched their materials. All they did was copy or change what another had written. Few bother to seek out original materials from the time periods they are writing about. Thus their histories are plagued by their own personal beliefs, bias and prejudice.
"The first 'History' of our world was written in the mid-Fourteenth Century, perhaps four hundred years after the last of the founders passed away. The author never sought out the original journals that may have existed. He worked from a flawed translation that supported his view of his world - that magical heritage is everything. Virtually every history since has pressed this flawed agenda. Many Purebloods believe that they are the only magicals who should have any say in this world by virtue of their bloodlines."
"That's horrible!" Hermione said.
"At the time, it was in line with how non-magicals thought as well," Sensei continued. "The King was at the top of the non-magical social pyramid. Beneath him was a hereditary nobility whose titles and powers passed from father to son. Only the King could make a non-noble noble and this did not happen often. Even when a commoner was so elevated, they were looked down upon by the hereditary nobles as still being commoners. Commoners were beneath them all. Serfs, commoners bound to their Lord's land, were the lowest and had the least rights.
"While it never truly reached such a level of a class society in our world, it was and is close. Many Purebloods believe that they are and should be the sole group with authority to govern. To preserve their 'purity,' most of their children are bound to arranged marriages - in other words they marry who their parents tell them to marry regardless of how they actually feel. It was a practice in Muggle society that has died out.
"Those Purebloods who do not follow this agenda or believe in their superiority are known as Blood Traitors to the bigoted elitists. Despite that, The elitists are not above offering their daughters in marriage to a Blood Traitor provided that the Blood Traitor is either rich or influential. Blood Traitors is a term used to describe a Pureblood witch or wizard who does not follow Pureblood ways. They'll even stoop to trying to arrange marriages with Half-Bloods who they see as inferior to even the most ardent Blood Traitor."
"Hypocricy," Hermione said.
"Exactly. The Pureblood elitists will spout their elitist agenda at every opportunity, unless there's a profit to be made or wealth or political power to be acquired.
"Now, at the bottom of this flawed social order are Muggle Borns. The Elitists despise them. There have been times when being Muggle Born practically shut you out of many professions aside from shopkeepers and merchants. It's not so bad today, but the animosity remains and a change in the composition of the government to a less accepting majority will result in laws depriving Muggle Borns of many opportunities. For the Pureblood elitists, non-magicals are not even viewed as human."
"That's stupid!" Hermione said.
Sensei nodded. "Not to mention flawed in ways the elitists chose to ignore. You see, it has been proven that the purer the blood lines of a husband and wife, the more likely their children will be born with little or no magical ability. Muggle Borns and their near descendants are generally more gifted magically than Purebloods. There are exceptions in every case, but in general it is better to be Muggle Born or have muggle grandparents than it is to be born to a true Pureblood line."
"Then why don't people know that?"
"The studies were done in America, for one. They were also done by magical scholars of 'suspect' lineage. The Purebloods claim it's nothing more than lies and propaganda. Truth is, it's anything but that. But as most key businesses - such as printing - and positions in our magical government are held by either Pureblood elitists or their sympathizers, the truth does not get published to the general population."
Hermione had tears in her eyes. "Why would I want to be a part of that? Why? It's terrible!"
"To change it," Harry said. "You're a witch, Hermione. It's what you are. We can avoid what we are - maybe. It is bad. But someone needs to try and change it."
"How?"
"Donno. Besides, that's years from now. But we can at least try, can't we? Somebody has to!"
Hermione nodded. "Long term plan?"
Harry nodded. "Something worth doing."
"Okay," she sniffed. "You'll help?"
"Of course. I am your friend."
"Thanks, Harry."
Another change, Sensei mused. In his timeline, years from now it was his Hermione who began to push for change and he had initially been reluctant to sign on. That was mainly because he did not believe it was possible. These two, on the other hand… They might well achieve what he and his Hermione could not.
"Right now," Sensei said, "while the elitists can be very vocal, they are a minority. They were discredited in the last two wars in our world. They cannot push their agenda through at all. They are, however, unbowed and remain potentially dangerous.
"But, you are right, Hermione. While now is a good time to be a Muggle Born in our world, the conditions that could lead to a reversal still exist. It is this Pureblood nonsense that leads to the future I have come back to try and help you two prevent."
"Why us?" Harry asked.
"There are reasons, Harry," Sensei said. "There are some today who believe it is your destiny. I don't believe in destiny. But I do believe in mathematics.
"About forty years from now, my Hermione develops a very powerful computer program that was designed to simulate history as we knew it and to predict how it could be changed for the better. We and later, after she died, I ran countless simulations over decades. She was far better at that sort of thing than I was, but I understood the math. The results showed conclusively that she and I - and therefore you two - are keystones. The future that I knew can only be changed if she and I do certain things differently than we did before. In this case, the two of you. Every conceivable outcome somehow involves the two of you. For example, if you do nothing, the world ends sooner rather than later, probably within the next fifteen to twenty-five years. I don't know why, but it is true that you two are the people who, for whatever reason, will be at the right place and at the right time to alter the timeline. That is why I am here and why it's you and why I am trying to make sure when the time comes, you will be ready and understand what to do.
"I admit it's a bad deal. No one should have to carry that weight around. If there were any other way, we would have taken it. But, it seems, there isn't."
"Maybe you made a mistake," Hermione suggested.
Sensei shrugged. "I admit neither of us or you is perfect. It is possible. But it would take us thirty years or more just to develop the software to a point where we could check - even then, the hardware necessary won't exist yet. By then it will be too late. Sorry. I really am. But remember, nothing needs to happen for years. You will have time to learn and, unlike last time, you both will be able to have some semblance of a normal childhood - or at least a happier one than before."
Sensei laughed.
"What?" Harry asked.
"There was one flaw in my Hermione's program."
"What?"
"It assumed that you two would meet when we did - September 1st, 1991. It did not take into account the possibility that your lives would be any different than ours were up to that point. I wonder…"
"What?" the two asked.
"I believe you two are still pivotal to a better future," Sensei said, "but I also now believe less will need to be done and fewer may have to suffer to change it for the better of all.
"Now, where was I? Ah yes. Purebloods and history.
"The Pureblood fallacy is not confined to the British Isles, but it has historically been the most prevalent here."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"The belief that Salazar Sytherin deigned that Purebloods should dominate magical society," Sensei replied, "a belief which has no basis in fact."
"But why do they despise Muggle Borns and non-magical people?" Hermione asked.
"Muggle Borns are despised because their parents were non-magical. They despise non-magicals because they do not understand them and refuse to understand them. We all tend to fear what we do not understand. If we lack the intellectual curiosity to overcome such fear and look for answers and understanding, fear becomes hate and hate breeds contempt and an unwillingness to learn. The Pureblood elitists are the worst of the lot, but all Purebloods or those who never met a non-magical ancestor of theirs are susceptible."
"How so?" Hermione asked.
"Those raised entirely within the magical world have no understanding of the non-magical whatsoever," Sensei replied. "They cannot or will not even try to comprehend. You and Harry, raised in that world are far more capable of understanding magic than any of them are capable of understanding science."
"Examples?" Harry asked.
Sensei thought for a long time before releasing a sigh. "You must understand this, you two. Most all of the magical people I met and you will meet are good people. They hate the Pureblood elitists even though many were Purebloods themselves. They also mean well. But, that does not mean they understand the larger world or appreciate it.
"There was a man I knew. He was the closest thing I ever had to a father who lived more than a couple of years after meeting me. Never mind that bit for now, please. He was a loving husband and father to his seven children."
"Seven?" Hermione asked.
"Would have been eight, but they lost their third child - a daughter - to a rare illness when she was a baby. The girl died long before I was born. I knew the family most of my life before the wars claimed them all. I was almost thirty before I learned of her, the pain of her loss was so great on the parents." Sensei paused with a faraway look clouding his face. He blinked and returned to the present.
"Anyway, this man was a decent sort. He worked for the Ministry of Magic, which is much like a version of the non-magical government; specifically, the Office of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. More on that later."
The two children had learned that "Later" meant not today.
"Anyway, he worked in one of several offices that dealt with non-magical people. He claimed to be fascinated by them. When I met him for the first time, he had been working in that office or similar ones for twenty years or so.
"What had he truly learned about the non-magical world in twenty years? Next to nothing. The man had a car, 'tis true. His wife - another Pureblood - thought he was a bit off. He rarely used it at all, so far as I knew. His hobby was collecting plugs. He'd go to a dump and cut the plugs off of electrical cords. As far as I knew, he had no idea what they were for aside from the fact they had something to do with what he called 'ekeltricity'. This was an expert in the government on the rest of humanity.
"He could not figure out how to pay for a ticket for the Underground to save his life - not that he died that way, for he did not. He knew nothing of history. Ask him who was the Monarch or Prime Minister and he would not know what they were much less who they were. His one desire in life was to figure out why airplanes fly, a concept you two could figure out from any book store or library in hours or less.
"And he was the expert on Muggles - er - non-magical society! There are dog owners who know more about dogs than he did about the human race! This is the ignorance you two will be faced with."
"Why should we want to?" Hermione asked.
"To fix it, remember," Harry said. "Yeah. They're stupid. But they know no better, right?"
"I suppose, still."
"Somehow I think their stupidity is the problem. Fix that and Sensei's mission is fulfilled."
"Exactly," Sensei agreed.
"But how?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged. He then smiled at her and said: "Donno. But it's not like we have to have this mess cleaned up by tomorrow."
"No, I suppose not," Hermione laughed. "Oh my! Harry! We should be taking notes!"
Sensei laughed again. "Hermione, that won't be necessary."
"Why not? I mean this is important isn't it?"
Sensei nodded. "Indeed it is. But these first lessons if you want to call them that are just the course introduction. We will be exploring all of these topics in much greater detail later. I just want you to take two things away from this now: First, I want you to understand how much you will need to learn and second, I want you to continue doing as you're doing - ask questions. True, I might not provide an answer right away, but you should always be questioning. Just as the world you know is not always as it seems, so true with the magical world you will come to know."
"It sounds horrible," Hermione pouted.
"And your world is not?" Sensei replied. "While things are improving between the Americans and Soviets, they could go pear shaped quite quickly. You know what that means."
"End of everything," Harry said. "Is that what happened in your future? The Russians and Americans…"
"No Harry. Even the non-magical future will be very different very soon. I won't say how, just as I will refrain from telling you what to do. I might give you suggestions, I will tell you what choices I made - assuming you are faced with the same choices which is in no way certain - but you will have to decide for yourself, Harry. You are not my pawn. You must be free to live your own life.
"For a long time, I was a pawn of others. I was because I knew nothing about the magical world and was overwhelmed with wonder, just as my Hermione was. I lacked the critical reasoning skills to question what I saw around me if only in my own mind. I trusted people who were not as trustworthy as I had thought. The result is why you see me today. I want to spare you that. You are a keystone in the timelines. As such, you two must be free to act rather than act as others wish you to act.
"Freedom of action, the ability to defy authority and act because it is the best thing to do, even if those wiser than you fail to see it, that is what the ultimate goal of all the lessons I offer is.
"I know some of this makes no sense. I promise you that it will in time, okay?"
The two nodded.
"I think that will be all for today," Sensei said. "Time to be children again. Remember your homework and I'll see you two tomorrow."