The Magical World Exposed
by Healer Pomfrey
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking.
"Perhaps it would be wise," Annette threw in, "if we adopted Harry, about which we intended to speak with him soon anyway, and changed his surname to ours."
"Yes, do that," David answered to the unasked question, giving his brother an eager look. "You want that too, Harry, don't you?"
"I'd love that," Harry admitted in a small voice, smiling from his brother to his parents.
"Are you sure, dear?" Annette asked, gently, knowing that Harry always called her Mum when he was sick, which happened quite often ever since his tragic accident ten months ago.
"Yes please, if you don't mind," Harry replied, smiling at the woman, who had been like a mother to him since he had first met her.
"Very well," Cillian said, seemingly contented. "If you're our son by law, no one will be able to take you away from us, even if they somehow found out about your real identity."
The adults decided to speak with Buckbean about the matter on the following day in order to get Harry's name changed in the magical world as well.
'The Dursleys were wrong, when they told me that no one would want me if they hadn't taken me in. The O'Briens even want to adopt me and officially become my parents,' Harry thought, drifting off to sleep with a huge smile playing on his face that made his soon-to-be mother smile as well, when she came to tuck the children in for the night.
HP
As usual, Buckbean patiently listened to Annette's explanation, before he replied, "I believe that for the boy's safety it would be for the best if you adopted Harry. However, if he doesn't mind, you should also change his birthday, as every wizard or witch in this country knows the birthday of Harry Potter."
"We could use my birthday for Harry, so that we'd be twins," David spoke up, excitedly.
Seeing Harry nod with enthusiasm, Annette agreed, and Buckbean offered to make all chances from his side, so that the O'Briens would not even have to deal with the Muggle authorities. "The registrations in the magical world automatically overwrite those in the Muggle world," he explained, pleasantly.
"We greatly appreciate your kind offer," Annette replied, smiling, knowing by now that they could fully rely on the kind goblin.
Buckbean frowned, however, as he tried to place a charm on Harry's registration data in order to change his name.
"I'm sorry," he spoke up, shaking his head in annoyance. "It won't let me get rid of the Potter name. I can only offer to add Potter to his given names, so that he'd be Harry James Potter O'Brien."
Glancing at Harry, Annette suggested, "I don't know Harry's opinion, but perhaps we could then change his second name to Cillian in order to interrupt the sequence of Harry James Potter."
"I believe that this is a good idea," Buckbean acknowledged, giving Harry a questioning look.
"Yes please, sir," Harry hurried to assure Buckbean, smiling at the kind goblin.
By the time, the O'Briens left Gringotts late in the afternoon, Harry O'Brien's new birthday was the 16th of June together with his adoptive brother.
"Now we're twins," David chuckled, grinning at Harry, who rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance in spite of feeling happier than he had ever felt before.
HP
"There's something else that I'd like to do here at Diagon Alley," Annette spoke up, pointing out that all the wizards and witches were dressed in robes. "I believe that we should go and buy robes for the three of you as well."
Fortunately, she had remembered to ask Buckbean where to buy robes, and led the children straight to Madam Malkins' shop. The friendly witch thoroughly measured their sizes, to the children's silent amusement, before she told them to come back after an hour to collect the items.
"Can we go to the bookshop, please?" Hermione asked, as soon as they left the robes shop, causing the boys to nod eagerly.
"Yes, I'd like to buy the next book of 'The Five Magical Friends'," Harry agreed, eagerly.
"Great idea," David concurred, grinning.
Finally, they spent the whole hour at Flourish & Blotts, looking up in surprise when Annette told them that an hour had passed already and they could go to collect their robes.
HP
On Thursday right after their primary school, the twins took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron together with their mother and Hermione. It was a thirty-minute walk to the university, and the more time passed, the more excited the children became. The fact that they were wearing their new robes for the first time ever only helped to fuel their anticipation.
Harry and David had already visited Cillian in his rooms at the university a few times; however, this time, much more students were present than at the other times, which usually had been after classes in the evening, and not only the BBC but also other TV stations and newspaper reporters seemed to be there to observe the show and let the British Muggle world know about the first official display of magic at a renowned university.
"It's all right. We can do it," Hermione whispered to Harry and pulled both boys with her into the room.
'Yes, we can, but it's still strange, and I don't like so much attention,' Harry thought, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
HP
Neither the children nor the adults were able to imagine that their display of magic was going to cause a huge uproar not only in the Muggle but also and especially in the British magical world.
Cillian greeted his students as well as the reporters, before he introduced his sons David and Harry O'Brien as well as their best friend Hermione Granger as wizards and a witch.
"The three children will show you something that they can do with magic in order to give you a practical example of what we've been speaking about during the last few months," he announced, before he motioned the friends to commence.
HP
Harry could not help feeling extremely excited, although he was unable to explain to himself why exactly he felt that way. 'Nothing depends on it anyway,' he reassured himself. However, while during the previous afternoon, when they had practised together for the last time, everything had gone wrong that could go wrong, the three friends' display of their juggling charm went well. They received huge applause that made them agree to show the spectators a few more funny spells and charms, which they had practised, however, not decided if they wanted to show them at this occasion.
When they finally let their wands sink, once again, the applause was immense. Only when it had almost quietened down, a young man, who had to be one of the reporters, spoke up.
"Excuse me, may we ask some questions?" he queried with apparent interest.
"Of course," Hermione was the first to reply, smiling at the crowd.
"How old are you?" the reporter asked.
"I'm ten, and the boys are nine," Hermione replied, eagerly.
"How did you know that you were able to do magic?" another reporter asked, causing Harry to inwardly roll his eyes in annoyance.
'Thank Merlin Hermione willingly answers all questions,' he thought in relief.
"Magical children do accidental magic from an early time onwards," Hermione explained. "It was the same with us. We knew that we could do strange things, but we didn't know that it was magic. We only realised it when Professor O'Brien told us that I'm a witch and the boys are wizards."
"My brother was even called a freak by his relatives and our classmates at school," David threw in, glancing at Harry.
"Yes, we were very relieved when we were told about magic and that we weren't freaks," Hermione added.
"Can you also change things into other objects?" someone asked.
"There are spells and charms for everything, but the school of magic, which we're going to attend, only begins from the age of eleven onwards, so we can't do much yet. My friend is very powerful though," Hermione explained, giving Harry an enquiring look.
"Sometimes, I can do things without a spell, but it doesn't always work," Harry replied, feeling slightly uncertain as he accepted a pen from his father, slid his wand away and summoned his magic like he used to do for actions that required wish magic instead of wand waving.
Placing the pen on a nearby table for everyone to see, he wished it to become a plush cat, only realising that the transformation was already complete, when the group of spectators let out a collective gasp.
Before Harry even realised what had happened, the cat, which was not a plush cat, but rather a very much alive, marmalade cat with emerald green eyes, jumped down from the table and ran all over the room - to everyone's excitement.
While the students were still laughing and the journalists were eagerly scribbling on papers, a female student stepped over to Harry and laid the cat into his arms, grinning. "That was great," she said, admiringly.
"Thank you," Harry replied, feeling himself blush at the unexpected praise.
"That was an amazing display," a man said, as he stepped over to Hermione, Harry and David, introducing himself as the Prime Minister, before he profusely thanked the children for allowing him some insight into the magical world.
"Please let me just have a word," he then said to Cillian, who immediately voiced his agreement.
To Harry's surprise, the Prime Minister explained to the reporters what he had already promised Cillian about the rights of magical people in Britain and announced that if it came to his ears that any wizard or witch would be harassed by any non-magical person because of being magical, the person would be punished severely.
Cillian profusely thanked the Prime Minister for his encouraging support, before he dismissed the students and wished everyone happy Christmas holidays.
HP
"That was great fun," Hermione blurted out, when they were on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo home.
"That's true," Harry and David agreed, immediately, although Harry had to admit to himself that he was very relieved that the show was over.
Only when Annette handed him the floo powder did Harry realise that he was still carrying the cat in his arms, which had nestled deep into his robes and was sleeping, contentedly.
"It's still a kitten," Cillian said upon Harry's questioning look. "Take her with you, and we'll see if she'll be able to get along with Trouble."
"If not, I can ask my parents if I may take her home," Hermione offered, however, the boys decided to try it out first.
HP
Fortunately, Trouble, who was very good-minded, sensed that the cat was only a baby and, after sniffing at her a few times, gently began to lick her fur - with apparent devotion.
"He's so cute," Harry said to David, as the boys observed how Trouble stretched out right next to the kitty for a nap.
"Absolutely," David replied, grinning. "We still have to think of a name for the kitty, by the way. Any idea?"
"Purry," Harry joked, chuckling, when the kitten began to purr in a for a kitten surprisingly loud voice, contentedly snuggling against Trouble.
HP
"I wonder if Buckbean would be willing to speak in front of your class for a change," Annette spoke up, when they were gathered around the kitchen table for dinner a few minutes later.
"I don't think so," Cillian replied, thoughtfully. "He wouldn't want to anger the other goblins, and he can't risk his position."
"And our children?" Annette queried. "Can't they get into trouble with the magical world?"
"No," Cillican reassured her in a firm voice. The children don't owe anyone in the magical world, and they have nothing to lose. If not for Buckbean, we'd still know nothing about the magical world at all. We owe him a lot, but not any wizard or witch, except maybe for the barkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron, because he introduced us to Buckbean, but that's it."
tbc...