DISCLAIMER: 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 $$$

A/N: This Chapter could also be titled "Don't Trust Old Men Baring Lemon Drops..."

CHAPTER FIFTY: SOME SECRETS REVEALED

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15th, 1990 – POTTER HOUSE, LONDON, U.K.

"I don't see why we just don't go in and do it," Neville protested. He looked around at the people gathered in the room. In addition to his Gran who was nodding in agreement, there was: Sirius Black, Lord Black, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, the Grangers, Luna Lovegood and Harry, Hermione and Clarice. "I mean," he continued, "we learned some ways how to help them this summer! We can't not try!"

"Neville," Hermione said, "Harry's not suggesting that. He's worried about after if we succeed."

"What's to worry about?" Neville said. "The Death Eaters that did that to my parents are in prison! They come home if they're better."

"Did you ever wonder why they attacked your parents in the first place, Neville?" Harry asked.

"Everyone knows why. 'Cause my parents were Aurors and those bastards were trying to find out about what happened to You-Know-Who!"

"Mrs. Longbottom?" Harry asked. "Were your son and daughter-in-law working as Aurors when they were attacked?"

"Er, well not really," Augusta said somewhat surprised at the question.

"What?" Neville asked.

"Well, they had been hiding under a Fideleus Charm of well over a year. They were attacked less than a week after the charm was dropped. I guess technically they were in refresher training, so …"

"So, despite their past reputation, they would have known as much about the whereabouts of Voldemort as anyone who read the Daily Prophet and probably not much more," Harry said.

Augusta nodded. "I hadn't really thought about that…"

"Okay, let's build a timeline of who knew what when," Harry said. "First off, who knows when my parents were placed under the Charm?"

Remus and Sirius raised their hands. "Late June 1980," Sirius said. "About a month before you were born."

"You were the original secret keeper, right?"

Sirius nodded. "Then we changed…"

"We'll get there. One step at a time. Okay, you were Secret Keeper. Aside from my parents, who else knew?"

"Remus, that rat Pettigrew and Dumbledore."

"Not the Longbottoms?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Why was that Charm cast?"

"Dumbledore had reason to believe your parents were targets for a Death Eater attack."

Harry nodded. "Okay, Augusta. When were Frank and Alice placed under the Fidelius Charm?"

"About the same time. I was Secret Keeper. Frank's Uncle Algie was in the know as was Dumbledore."

"And why the Charm?"

"Same reason as Sirius said. Dumbledore they would be attacked," Augusta said.

"I take it Dumbledore cast the charm in both cases?" Harry asked.

August and Sirius both nodded.

"Okay, Neville was born July 30th and I was born the next day. Aside from the people we've already discussed, who knew?"

"No one," Sirius said. "Not right away at any rate."

Augusta nodded. "Dumbledore asked me to withhold a birth announcement until after the threat to Frank and Alice passed."

"Okay, now then in August 1980, we have two families under a Fideleus Charm each with a newborn son. In both instances, there was no immediate birth announcement as would be customary. I'd assume that the pregnancies were not exactly State Secrets, correct?"

The adults nodded in agreement.

"When did our births become public?" Harry asked.

"Someone leaked it to the press about six months after you were born," Sirius said. "At least that's what I think. I know James and Lily did not make a formal announcement."

"Neither did we," Augusta said. "The story was front page and had their dates of birth and everything, but we never released it."

"In July 1981 my sister was born," Harry continued. "Sirius, who knew about that?"

"Aside from your parents, only I did at the time," Sirius replied.

"Not Remus?"

"Dumbledore thought there was a traitor in the Order," Sirius said. "He suspected Remus and sent him off to the continent on some mission."

"I was gone for over a year," Remus said. "Auror's gave me an overseas posting. I didn't return until middle of '82."

"And Pettigrew?" Harry asked.

"He was told to keep away," Sirius said. "Far as I know he never went to the house after the charm was cast."

"Dumbledore?"

"Never was there. From the time that the Charm was cast until the night it happened, he never was there."

"At some point, Pettigrew became the Secret Keeper," Harry said. "When?"

"About two weeks before it all happened," Sirius replied. "Dumbledore believed the Death Eaters were on to me and recommended a change."

"Whose idea was it to use Pettigrew?"

"Dumbledore's," Sirius said. "James, Lily and I agreed that James should be the Keeper, but Dumbledore said to do that would bar access to anyone not living in the house and he needed to be able to respond in an emergency. Dumbledore insisted on Pettigrew."

"I see," Harry said. "Okay, while the Charm was up, did either of my parents leave that house?"

"Not that I know of," Sirius said. "I won't say it never happened, but the protections only work while you are under them and they both knew that. Leave the protection and you are open to attack."

"How did we eat?"

"I kept them supplied with provisions," Sirius said.

Harry looked at Augusta.

"I did the same for Frank, Alice and Neville," she said. "Oh my! I just remembered something."

"What?" Neville asked.

"Dumbledore! A couple of weeks before that night he came to me and suggested changing Secret Keepers! It didn't go anywhere. It seemed he had someone in mind, but I was having none of it and he didn't push the issues."

"Interesting," Harry said glancing at Hermione and Clarice who nodded. "And why was that?" he asked Augusta.

She shrugged. "He said the Death Eaters would catch me sooner or later. I had already stocked the place with more food than we would need in a couple of years, so I just moved in with Frank and Alice. Problem solved."

"Wish I had thought of that," Sirius said.

"Sirius? How many times did my parents face Voldemort himself before the night they were murdered?"

"Three times," Sirius said. "Although they were not alone. Frank, Alice, Remus and I were with them all three times."

"Yet neither you nor Remus were married or expecting a child."

Sirius nodded.

"Okay, let's sum up," Harry said. "In June 1980, two couples, all of whom are Auror's and have been a pain in Voldemort's neck are expecting a child. Dumbledore tells them separately that they are in danger and suggests the use of the Fideleus Charm. He performs the Charm and knew who both Secret Keepers were. He is the only one who knows that. Within hours of each other at the end of that July the two women give birth to sons. About fifteen months later, Dumbledore tries to convince both families to change Secret Keepers. My parents do. The Longbottoms do not. Two weeks later Pettigrew betrays my parents and Voldemort comes a knocking. With me so far Neville?"

"Dumbledore set us up?" Neville asked.

"So it would seem," Harry replied.

"Why?"

Harry spent the next several minutes telling the Longbottoms, Luna and Lord Black about the Prophecy. This included a summary of what he, Hermione and Clarice thought about it – that it could mean anything or nothing at all, but that two wizards, neither of whom had ever studied that branch of magic, believed it meant that either he or Neville was the only person who could defeat Voldemort.

"So Dumbledore set us up?" Neville said. "He wanted to see who Voldemort would go after!"

"Actually, Voldemort would come after me anyway, but for another reason that's not important right now. No, Dumbledore wanted to see which of us would survive to be marked. Then and only then could the next phase of his plan begin."

"And that was?" Lord Black asked.

"We believe that Dumbledore believes that the child of the Prophecy will die defeating Voldemort. Thus, he wanted that child groomed for what any sane man would see as a suicide mission."

"What makes you think that?" Augusta asked.

"Everything that's happened since," Harry replied. "My home was attacked. The only survivors were myself and my sister and neither of us was old enough to remember anything. There were no other witnesses to what happened and within hours it's all over the press that I defeated Voldemort! I wonder how that happened? I have no recollection and I know I never gave and interview. The only evidence that I was involved at all was a scar, and that could have been from anything. Yet the whole wizarding world believed within hours that a fifteen month old boy no one had ever seen had saved the day.

"What happens next? Dumbledore places me with my mother's sister against the provisions of my parents Will and the protests of Minerva here. He admitted in that investigation regarding my treatment that he had done so. Now here's the rub. That Will identified several people to whom I should have been sent. Three of them knew it. One was Sirius and the other two were Alice and Frank Longbottom. Within a couple of days, Sirius is locked away in Azkaban without a trial and left to rot. Every Death Eater had a trial, even the ones who confessed! Sirius did not and who was head of the Courts? Did you know Sirius was the only person in at least the last three hundred years to be sent there without a trial?

"A couple of weeks later, Frank and Alice are attacked within a few days of being told – by Dumbledore no doubt – that they could leave the safe house and return home. The three people would could challenge my placement were eliminated. Coincidence?"

"Wait," Augusta said. "How did the LeStanges learn about Frank and Alice?"

"Dumbledore had a spy in the Death Eaters," Harry replied. "It's now public record following the man's trial a couple of weeks after the LeStanges were convicted. Spies can also pass information the other way."

"Snape!" Sirius growled. "I'll kill the bastard!"

Harry shook his head. "First off, that's only my educated guess. Secondly, assuming I'm right he's merely a pawn. It's the Chess Master I'm worried about. Throughout my life he has maintained that everything he did was for my safety! Yet, when one looks at what he did if we take him at his word then he is either the biggest moron on the face of this planet who could be outwitted by a stunned troll or a lunatic.

"Within hours of my parents death, the entire Wizarding World believes I beat Voldemort at fifteen months of age. Only two people were there after the fact and before I was secreted away: Sirius and Dumbledore – and neither of them witnessed what happened. Someone leaked a story to the press. Now, if he really wanted me totally safe, why not tell the press my Mum killed Voldemort? There's no evidence to refute that, is there? It's a more plausible explanation of what happened, isn't it? And, no one would care about little ol' me, would they?

"And yet a whole industry of "Boy Who Lived" children's books and comics sprang up almost overnight and continue to this day. Until about two years ago, the illustrated Harry Potter bore an uncanny resemblance to me! How was that possible if I was being hidden from the magical world? Perhaps someone was inspiring the artists?

"There were at least a couple of times before I went to live where I do now when I was out and an older person I'd never met before – never the same one – recognized me. They dressed off and I now know they were magical. I was five or six. How did they recognize me?"

"You do look a lot like your father," Augusta said.

"Do you honestly believe that connection could be made out of context and in the Muggle world? Was my Dad that famous? Was his face plastered on every street corner and on the front page of every paper like the Princess of Wales? I know it was not. Somehow magical people knew what I looked like even though I had never set foot in their world or associated with their kind.

"When Dumbledore placed my where he did, it was with my mother's sister who hated my Mum and magic. She and her husband made it clear for as long as I could remember that they would beat the 'freakishness' out of me and very nearly succeeded about two years ago when they damn near killed me. Safe?

"No! I became safe 'cause Dumbledore made a mistake. He cast a Blood Ward over me when he left me. The ward protected me from magicals, but not from my relatives. Then, I wound up in hospital, my relatives died, and I met my sister Clarice – all conveniently while Dumbledore believed I was dead. When Clarice and I became the family we were meant to me, the Wards hit full strength. Dumbledore and the entire wizarding world forgot about this Harry Potter. The next issue of 'The Adventures of Harry Potter' no longer had a skinny, black haired, green eyed boy with broken glasses and baggy old clothes who looked like a lap dog could take him out but a blonde haired, blue eyes boy with overdeveloped muscles and all that.

"I'm sorry for my rant, Neville. I do want to help your parents. But my concern is when we succeed what will happen next. Dumbledore no longer remembers me as his pawn. But he probably remembers your parents and that he did what he did for some reason and maybe that in his opinion your parents recovery is not for his Greater Good, whatever rubbish that is. He might not yet seek me out, but were they to recover, he would seek them out. That would lead to you and he might through that begin to remember. You would lead to the Club, and we don't want that and then to me.

"No, when your parents recover, we need for them to disappear, at least until we can get Dumbledore out of the picture. I don't want him after me until next summer. By then the Club cannot be stopped by him or the Ministry – although I'd like to keep them off of that scent for even longer. More important, neither of us will be pawns anymore. When we return from Japan, we will be legally adults in every sense of the word having attained more than seventeen years of life and having passed our eleventh birthday and he cannot touch us then. Throw in you'll be at least the Heir Apparent of and Ancient and Noble House and I will be the Head of and Ancient and Noble House and if he were to try, it could be the end of him politically."

"And how do we make them disappear?" Neville asked.

"That's the easy part," Clarice said. "They come here. Only those people who are trustworthy can ever know of this place due to Dumbledore's Blood Wards, and he most certainly is not."

"You know they are more powerful than the Fideleus Charm," Harry added.

Neville nodded. "Gran and I would have to live here too, most likely."

"We know," Clarice said. "We all live on the first floor. Sirius and Sophie have half the Second Floor and Remus the other half. The whole Third Floor is unused."

"Gran?" Neville asked.

"How will they get here?" Augusta asked.

"Still working on that," Clarice said, "although we think it best to bring them here as is and cure them after."

Neville nodded. "When?"

"We could use it as a distraction to keep Dumbledore away from Hogwarts when our friends begin classes. Say the day before their classes start?"

"That would be Sunday, September Second," Minerva said. "Between missing Longbottoms and his obsession with the Baby Scandal, we might see little of him at Hogwarts this coming term."

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25th, 1990 – CAMP W, U.K.

To say that Ron Weasley had been a little intimidated when he first stepped into the large assembly room at Camp W would be an understatement. Never before in his life had he ever seen so many people and the fact that almost every one of them was technically a "child" stunned him. He had no idea that there were so many young witches and wizards in the world. He had heared that this Club had more kids than Hogwarts had students, but he had no real concept what that had meant. It seemed for a moment as if all the insecurities he had once felt came rushing back.

He knew why he had once had those feelings, along with intense feelings of frustration, anger and jealousy. He wanted to be as good as his older brothers and they had learned to read. He tried. Beginning at age five he tried. But it seemed no matter how hard he tried, he could not do it. He didn't want to be dumb, but feared he was and the fact that he seemed to understand some things better than anyone he knew did not erase these feelings. No one had ever beaten him at chess, but he could not learn to read even a simple "kiddie" book. Two years ago, his frustration got the better of him one day and his Mum took his precious broom away and told him he would never see it again unless he learned to read. His older brothers and younger sister joined the Club, but he was not allowed to because he was being stubborn in his mother's opinion. How could he tell his Mum it was not that he was lazy or didn't want to, he just couldn't.

Two winters ago, his Mum took him to London one day. His younger sister was with them, but he was the reason they were going. They travelled magically by the Floo network to The Leaky Cauldron. At first, Ron thought they were going to Diagon Alley for some shopping, except they left the tavern and headed into Muggle London. He wondered if they were going to the Ministry where his Dad worked, except he knew you could Floo there and besides, they were walking in the wrong direction. Perhaps St. Mungos, except they walked right by the building and on for another few blocks before they turned into a very tall building. It was obvious even to a seven year old wizard that this was a Muggle building.

He found himself in an office with his Mother and sister and another woman who was a Muggle healer of some sort and who knew about magic, having married a wizard herself. She gave Ron a series of tests and asked him a lot of questions, none of which made any sense to him. Then she started talking to his Mum. First off, Ron was actually a very bright boy, she said. Ron was capable of hard work and figuring out very complex problems for a kid his age. Almost all of his "issues" could be attributed to his reading problem and it was not that the boy was not trying or did not want to learn. He had a learning disability. And no, this was not a sickness nor was there any potion, spell or Muggle medicine that would make it better. Ron could learn to read, just not in the same manner or by the same method that most children did. He would have to learn differently. Words like "compensation techniques" and "coping strategies" were used. And "No, Mrs. Weasley, it's not your fault."

He was given exercises and stuff. It was hard work and Ron knew reading would never be as easy for him as others, but there were very smart and famous people who had the exact same problem and did quite well. So, with his exercises and a schedule of weekly visits to London, they left for their home in Devon.

What surprised him was the Muggle lady was right. He could learn to read and did. It was still hard, but if the reading was about something that interested him, he would do it now. But what really surprised him was his sister. When he was frustrated, he usually took it out on her because she was the youngest, a girl, and at that time not likely to prank him into next week to retaliate. But now it was his sister more than anyone who helped and encouraged him. She also began teaching him what she was learning at the Club. It turned out that practical magic came easily, he thought. Reading about it was still hard.

He had entered the Assembly Room along with well over seven hundred others. Apparently, there were seven hundred and eighteen who had been in the Club last year and all were back. But there were also sixty "Newbies" and Ron was one of them. At age ten, Ron was one of the oldest. The youngest were six. They stood in six lines to have their names crossed off a list by another kid and were then given some papers and told to go to a room in an adjoining building where they would change into their "Club Suits."

Ron was now dressed in a khaki shirt with the number '91 on one collar. There was a blue woolen jumper in "his" locker (it had his name on it), but the weather was warm. His shirt had his name over a pocket and some black straps on the shoulders that had a thin red stripe and a silver "H". On the left sleeve near the shoulder was what he knew was a small flag of some sort. He was told it was the English flag meaning that he lived in England and everyone had a flag that showed where they lived.

He soon found himself seated in the Assembly Room with the other "Newbies." Three children stood before them. Two Ron recognized and the third he did not. They were all about his age. The two he recognized where Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood. Luna, after all, was a neighbor and he had met Harry before. The other kid, who was actually a year older than Harry, was about to start his first year at St. George's. All three, they were told, had spent at least two summers in Japan and all had already earned their O.W.L.s, N.E.W.T.s and at least one Mastery.

Harry introduced himself and Ron could tell from the reaction of many in the room that they made the connection between Harry Potter and that "Boy-Who-Lived." Apparently, Harry did too. He admitted his parents were murdered by Voldemort (the crowd gasped at the name) and he was probably there. But anything else they had heard about "The Boy Who Lived" was a lie. Anyone who honestly believed a fifteen month old baby could defeat and kill a full grown wizard was a gullible fool (thereby accusing most of wizarding Britain, Ron thought) and Harry had some land in the English Channel he wanted to sell them. Harry admitted he lived as a Muggle and knew nothing about magic at all until he was almost eight years old. This seemed to stun at least some in the room.

"And no, I've never fought a dragon," Harry said referring to the common Harry Potter Adventure plot. "Seen one in a zoo once in Japan, but that's about it. My only 'super power' is I can talk to snakes, assuming they're in a chatty mood and most of the time they are not."

"So you're a dark wizard?" a kid asked as several gasped.

"Nothing 'dark' about it," Harry said. "In Australia, I could make a fortune with that ability given they have loads of deadly snakes and loads of people, Muggle and Magical, who'll pay a lot of money to get rid of them. Only Britain considers that ability Dark. And no, I can't teach that. You're either born with that ability or not."

Harry then gave a brief lecture on "Dark Magic." It was not the magic that was dark in almost all cases, but the intent of the magician. Most "Dark Magic" in Britain was really "Foreign Magic" or magic that could not be controlled or regulated by the Ministry. Here, they would be learning wandless magics, which could not be regulated the way wand magic could. These magics were not taught in the British schools and many magical Britons assumed they were either too hard to learn or must be Dark, otherwise it would be taught.

He then said he would demonstrate just how easy wandless magic really was. To Ron's horror, Harry called him up to the platform. Harry gave Ron a feather and told Ron to make it do something. Ron knew this drill. It was the first thing Ginny had showed him. The feather was soon tap dancing across the stage and doing an occasional flip. He then waved a hand and made it fly around the room as his confidence grew before Harry asked him to stop. Ron was then asked to turn it into something else. Feeling a little mischievous, there was soon a small, shocking pink, rubber chicken where the feather had been, although it did turn back to normal in a few seconds.

"Very good," Harry said to Ron. "Nice touch with the chicken."

"Thanks," Ron said.

Harry turned to the others. "Okay, I will admit, Ron is not an absolute novice. I've been told his sister, who's been with us for two years, has taught him at least the basics. But! I can assure you that all of you will be able to do something similar before you finish here today!"

Harry then asked Ron to assist the other two instructors in helping the other kids do their first controlled magic. Ron remembered what his sister had told him and how easy it was if you believed you could do it. With several kids, he basically said to them what she had said to him and, sure enough, within a couple of hours at the most, they all could make their feathers do something with their magic and turn it into something else. He told them it did not yet matter what they made it do or what it turned into as long as it responded in some way to their magical intent. Control would take longer, but it was not as hard as it might seem.

Like most of the kids, Ron was staying at Camp W for the night. They usually continued teaching something, but the first day was more about getting to know your way around and meeting others. After their first "lesson" Ron found he had four kids who he had been working with hanging around with him. Two were boys and two were girls. Three appeared to be about his age. One of the girls was obviously either a midget or a lot younger, Ron thought.

"That was SO cool," the midget said. "I was SO hoping it would be! I'm Renee Greengrass. My two older sisters have been in this for two years. We all get to go to Japan together. Can't wait!"

"How old are you?" the other girl asked.

"Be seven in October. You can start there at seven."

"Wish I knew earlier."

"Actually, not unless you were rich or something," Ron said without a hint of bitterness. "Harry and his sisters have only gone for three summers and they were the first from this country to go in ages. The summer after there were a few more. This past summer they sent something like four hundred, but all of them were already in school. Next summer is the earliest we could go."

"Really?"

Ron nodded. "Three of my older brothers went this summer. My sister and I went there when they finished, but that was just to visit."

"You've been there?" Renee asked. "What's it like?"

"It's pretty cool," Ron said. "But my brothers say it's also hard work. They say it's harder than Hogwarts was. Still, they learned loads and already have their O.W.L.s. Percy, who's the older one, also got his N.E.W.T.s. They don't have Quidditch, though."

"That's okay," Renee said, "we've got the W.I.S.E. League here."

"Wise League," another red haired boy asked. He had a funny accent, Ron thought. "What's that?"

"Welsh, Irish, Scots, English," Renee said. "All six British magical schools have kids in the Club and each school fields two teams. One's got older kids that are in school and the other is for those of us not yet eleven. I went to all the Hogwarts Dragons games last year. It was wicked, 'though we didn't win." The girl pouted.

"What's Quidditch," a dark skinned boy asked. "I – er – I didn't know magic was real until recently. Dean Thomas. I'm from London."

"I'm from London too," Renee said.

"Ron Weasley," Ron said. "Ottery St. Catchpole. It's in Devonshire."

"Seamus Finnegan," the other red haired boy said. "Belfast, Northern Ireland."

"Lavender Brown," the other girl said. "Coventry."

"Lavender?" Ron asked.

"My Mum says I was named for the flower. Daddy likes to say it was the color I was when I was born." Lavender shrugged. "I think he's teasing."

"So you didn't know about magic?" Renee asked Dean.

He shrugged. "Some strange things would happen, but no. Then 'bout a fortnight ago a couple of strange men showed up at my home. One called himself Lord Black and told my parents I was a wizard and said I should join this club. Thought he was right barmy 'til today. Said my Dad was a wizard too. My Dad ain't, but that Lord guy said my Dad wasn't my real Dad. Mum said that was true. My real Dad left before I was born and all. But that Lord guy said that wasn't what really happened. Said my real Dad was murdered in a wizard war. Oddly made Mum happy. She said it was 'cause it didn't mean he run out on her."

"Me Dad's a Muggle too," Seamus said. "Mum's the witch. She didn't tell Dad 'til after I first did magic as a wee lad. Bit of a shock fer him I was told. But he's right with it now. Mum heard 'bout this from her sister last year and here I am."

"Muggle?" Dean asked.

"Means they ain't a witch or wizard. Normal folk, you know," Seamus said.

"We like to think we're normal in our own way," Ron said.

"Didn't mean it like that. Meant they can't do magic. Most people can't."

Lavender nodded. "My Dad's parents can't."

"Well," Renee said, "my sisters say that here whether your parents can do magic or not isn't important. It's what you can do that is."

"Don't know 'bout you lot, but I'm hungry," Ron said and the new group began to look for where they were going to eat.

As they entered what had been the Assembly Room, they saw it had been rearranged and furnished as a large dining hall that could seat hundreds. None of them noticed the small gatherings of adults at some of the tables as they saw the line for the food and headed in that direction.

"What do you think?" Minerva asked the witch and diminutive wizard who were dining with her that evening tucked away in the large dining hall at Camp W.

"Wandless magic?" the wizard said in awe, "non-verbal spell casting? At such young ages?"

"The magic taught in most of the world derives from the ancient and aboriginal magics," Minerva said. "Wands are but a tool, not a necessity and those ancient magics are best learned before one picks up a wand and preferably while still a child. It is the way magic is taught in many parts of the world."

"Except Europe," the witch said. "It certainly is not that way here. How can they learn control without wands and incantations."

"Those are useful aides, 'tis true," Minerva answered. "But they become crutches robbing the witch or wizard of true control over their magic. Once the student realizes that they can control their magic without such a tool, as all the new ones learned today, they will then focus on mind magics. This will allow them to cast spells without wands and certainly without incantations. Every spell in our Syllabus can be done that way at least through O.W.L. level. Some N.E.W.T. levels are wand specific and must be cast with a wand and maybe even a muttered incantation. From what I have seen, the foreign method is far more effective than what we are allowed to do."

"I'm particularly curious into how they learned about it," the wizard said.

"And how they intend to get away with it," the witch added. "It seems like an inspired idea, Minerva. Just the sort of idea dear old Albus, the Ministry and Wizengamot would consider subversive in the least."

"Why not ask?" Minerva said seeming to waive at someone she recognized.

Five children came over. Two were boys and three were girls. They all wore their "Club Suits", each almost identical. All five had three broad silver stripes on each of their shoulders with a silver "H", although three also had a silver star between the "H" and the stripes. Those three had the number '88 on their right collar while the other two had the number '89. "May we join you?" the boy with raven hair and glasses asked.

"Please," Minerva said. She then indicated to the two already seated. "These are some colleagues of mine from Hogwarts interested in a more enlightened education," she said. "This is Professor Filius Flitwick. He teaches charms and his Head of Ravenclaw House. And this is Professor Pamona Sprout. She teaches Herbology and is Head of Hufflepuff House. Pamona, this lad," Minerva said indicating a sandy haired boy, "is Neville Longbottom. He scored Honors in Herbology on both his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s."

"Really?" Pamona asked. "That is quite impressive, young man. Although, to be honest, you don't even look old enough for Hogwarts."

"I was born ten years ago," Neville began with a blush. "But technically I'm eighteen and have ten years of combined magical and non-magical education."

"Or," the blonde haired girl with them said, "as we say ten-eighteen and ten. Ten years old by your calendar, eighteen by ours and ten years of school. I'm Luna Lovegood, I'm almost ten. Or, I'm nine-eighteen and ten. Neville and I also have our I.C.W. Defense Certs."

The two guests of Minerva's sat dumbfounded.

"Harry Potter," the raven haired boy said, "I'm ten-twenty-three and fifteen. Masters in Defense and Potions."

"Hermione Granger," said the brown, bushy haired girl. "I'm almost eleven. Ten-twenty-four and fifteen. Masters in Defense and Transfiguration."

"Clarice Jameson," said the raven haired girl who looked almost like the female twin of Harry, "nine-twenty-three and fifteen. Masters in Defense and Basic Healer."

"Time Compression?" Filius asked.

Minerva nodded. "A more beneficial use of that magic than here, don't you think?"

"Surely this place," Pamona started.

"We attend school in Japan during the summer," Harry said.

"The Watanabe School?" Filius asked.

The kids nodded. They were surprised that the short man knew about the school.

"I didn't know any went there from here," he continued. "I didn't know it was allowed."

"Well, it's not illegal," Hermione replied. "It is expensive, but there are ways around that. However, we are concerned that should the wrong people find out they might keep our younger members from attending. They've taken the oath, Aunt Minne?"

Minerva nodded. "Hermione's somewhat in charge of security arrangements regarding our candidates to that school and this Club."

"Arrangements?" Pamona asked.

Hermione shrugged. "More of a clearing house than a boss. This facility's security is handled by its owners and I look them over and suggest improvements, if any. Each school handles its own security, which I review and pass on to the others. Some ideas work for them as well, but as each school has its own unique challenges and I cannot very well go to them, we let them do what works best for them."

"Why do you need security? Is this illegal or something?"

"No, not really. Well, maybe the wand bit, but even that falls within a loophole in the law. The law does not forbid parents from sending children overseas for education, nor does it forbid young children from travelling abroad to learn. The law does not expressly forbid teaching wandless magic or mind magic. All it does regulate is what is taught in our schools here. Not what we can learn outside of the Ministry sponsored schools."

"And wands? How do you get around the law regarding underage magic use? I mean, are there wards or have you found some other way to mask the magic?"

"First," Hermione said, "that law does not apply to wandless magic as, after all, all accidental magic is wandless. Second, there is no law about what age a child may have a wand. It only prohibits selling a wand to a child under age eleven. The law requires all wands sold in Britain to be registered with the Ministry of Magic. There is no corresponding law regarding wands purchased overseas. Everyone of us who has been to school in Japan has a Japanese wand. Moreover, none of us pass through magical customs so that, even in the unlikely event they found such a wand, it would be registered. Our first summer, we all travel by airplane. After that, we all know how to Shift and can travel from our bedroom to Japan instantaneously if we desire. Shifting is an aboriginal magic, thus it is neither taught here nor regulated nor really recognized as needing regulation. Thus, we all have legal if unregistered wands, even if it is by a loophole in the law and since underage magic can only be traced to registered wands … well, we get around that annoying law as well."

"Why are you doing this?" Pamona asked. "I mean it seems a bit much."

"Indeed," Filius said. "I know that school has an exceptional international reputation. I might have been the best competition duelist in Europe in my day, but the Watanabe School graduates are top rate. I know that school is also far more expensive than any other I am aware of."

"Well," Hermione said, "our parents could afford to send us and they wanted us to have the best possible education period. In addition to magic, they also teach non-magical courses through doctorate level. Harry, Clarice and I also have university degrees and are working towards post-graduate degrees. As for the others, we have a very generous benefactor who believes no limits should be placed upon a child's education except such limitations as the child places upon themselves. Regrettably, that is not the position of our magical government."

"They'd seem to prefer a marginally educated population," Harry said. "I can only guess that they'd prefer even less than that if they thought they could get away with it. Their educational policy over the last several generations, if not longer, is a direct reason why the Death Eaters nearly won the last war. Easy to win a war like that when the average witch or wizard knows barely enough magic to live comfortably without technology. What if the population was better educated?

"Look around you, Professors. In two years, every kid in this room will have a Defense Mastery. Most will have at least one other on top of that. Do you think the Death Eaters could terrorize a population that could take them out without trying? I will admit, because we are still magically children, your run of the mill Death Eater is more powerful. But our N.E.W.T. levels require far more combat skills to pass than most of those nutters ever knew. We must be able to attack, defend and move all at the same time. Defense is wandless. Attack can be or can be with a wand. No incantations. And we must be able to sustain a rate of offensive spell fire of three spells every two seconds or higher for five minutes continuous. Even at kiddie power levels, we can out-shoot the clumsy shield then shoot style taught here."

"Which is part of our real problem," Hermione said. "That more than any other consideration is why this Program remains secret from the general public and more critically the geriatric nostalgia society known as the Wizengamot. They hold this country back and keep it that way 'cause no one knows any better. Do you think they would be happy about hundreds of kids with multiple masteries, which is what they will have by this time in 1992? Dumbledore is a supposed educator, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and practically the head of the government. For years, his word quite literally was law. Yet, despite having a fairly affluent society and strong magical economy, he has maintained or allowed this country to maintain one of the lowest educational standards in Europe, which itself is not generally capable of competing to I.C.W. standards. And, it's not like he cannot possibly be aware of what the maximum standards are for he is also, last I checked, Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W. You would figure that has supposed head of the international community he would express some concern about the poor educational standards in this country, but he has been silent on the subject."

"Publically," Harry added, "he tells the people we have the best standards in the world and Hogwarts is the best school. Nothing could be further from the truth."

"Either he is ignorant," Hermione said, "or he has some agenda. The more I read about him and his Greater Good, the more I am convinced he has some agenda and that agenda is not in the best interests of anyone not named Albus Dumbledore."

"Our need for security is not a permanent situation," Harry said. "We actually started this to help our friends learn magic. We had no grander vision. Yet now? Yes, I suppose we do have one. For now, it is to educate this generation to the highest possible standards. Long term, it is to ensure such education can continue for our children without the need to send them to the far corners of the Earth to get it. But, we have to survive, so to speak, to reach that day. That means only long enough that for our government to try to interfere would be both futile for them and folly. A year, two at the most, and they will be unable to resist the tide."

"For us," Hermione said, "each member, each member's family, each school presents a security risk. However, while we have kids here from every school in Britain, the one that concerns me the most is Hogwarts. This fall, about four hundred and fifty kids will return to our schools after getting O.W.L.s, N.E.W.T.s and even Masters long before they were due to get them here. The other five schools, the kids live at home which significantly reduces the risks.

"Hogwarts has two major problems. First, it is a boarding school where the kids are there from September to June practically without any break. That increases the chance for a slip. Second, Dumbledore is Headmaster. Those kids are living right under the nose of the one person we can least afford have knowing about this for now. Consequently, our primary focus on security this year is that school. Minerva is our faculty rep and ran interference at that level last year. Dora Tonks is the senior student, although last year she was the only Watanabe attendee. We expect all to help in that regard."

"Which is why they are here," Minerva said. "Filius and Pamona are as disappointed with the state of things as I am. They've taken the magical oaths not to reveal to anyone what they saw and heard here today, otherwise they would not be here."

"Wouldn't have passed through security," Hermione smirked.

"So, they're going to help?"

"We'd like to," Pamona said. "I think we need to learn more, though."

"Well, there are loads of Hogwarts students here who would be more than happy to assist you in that way," Harry said with a smile.

A silver patronus appeared in the form of a large dog. A panicked voice seemed to arise from nowhere: "Time … Sophie … St. Mungo's … where's her bag? … STOP LAUGHTING MOONEY!"

"Oh Dear," Hermione said shaking her head.

"Looks like I've got to go," Clarice said standing up. Before the stunned two professors, the girl disappeared without a sound.

"What was that about?" Pamona asked.

"Clarice shifted," Harry shrugged. "She's probably at St. Mungo's."

"What? Why?"

"My sister is a Healer. She does have patients and one of them, I'd guess, is about to have a baby," Harry replied.

"We should go too," Hermione said. "And one of us should probably get Lord Black."

"I'll do it," Harry said. He stood and disappeared.

"I'll let my parents know," Hermione said to Minerva, "although they probably already do. Neville?"

"What?"

"Want to check on your folks?"

"Oh! Yeah. Sure."

"I'll just wait here then," Luna shrugged.

"You're more than welcome to come along, Luna," Hermione replied. "And get Dora Tonks as well."

"Right!" Luna said brightly and stood and began searching for Dora. Neville and Hermione also stood and they too soon vanished away.

"Impressive," Filius said. "Can they do that dueling?"

"They can," Minerva replied.

"Very impressive!"

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25th, 1990 – ST. MUNGO'S, LONDON, U.K.

Lord Black sat calmly in the waiting room talking with the others present. Neville had gone up with Luna to "check" on his parents. In truth, it was a scouting mission to test the vigilance of the night staff in that ward, which Neville would describe as non-existent. Harry, Hermione and Dora Tonks were there as well and were soon joined by Dora's parents as well. The Grangers decided not to come as they would see the mother and child soon. Besides, they told Hermione, they had five quid down on the baby pool and another five that Sirius would faint and did not want to be there when they won.

Emily Lily Black was born at 21:47 hours in the evening to Sophia and Sirius Black. Sirius, who had fought in many life and death duels in his youth as an Auror and survived years of hell in Azkaban, passed out. It was all the more embarrassing, Hermione noted for the rest, given that he was in the waiting room at the time. Muggles tended to allow the father into the delivery room. Remus vowed his friend would never live that down. Sophie, on the other hand, was in the words of her Healer, "the perfect patient." The Grangers were five pounds the wealthier, or at least they would be once Sirius came back to Potter House.