A/N: Weeey heeey I am offically back! I hope I haven't lost all of you aha. After having a bit of a longer writing break than expected, due to new job and new dog, I wanted this to be a nice little surprise.
This chapter is a bit shorter than my usual chapters. Whilst the gang is in America, I thought that I'll make the chapters a bit shorter so that it doesn't feel like they're only there for a few chapters and going home again. Plus, I do want to take my time and research some things in between to make sure I get them right - like the native stuff for example. And I feel like if I wrote this particular chapter my usual 10-11 page google doc length, it would have taken me a bit longer to write. As well as that, I do want them back at Hogwarts as soon as possible, so in future chapters when they're back home the summer holidays might feature some time jumps.
Enjoy!
Aquinnah's father, Metacom, was friendly, and his face seemed to lit up when he saw his daughter. He really seemed quite pleased that Aquinnah had met them. "Always making friends," he had said affectionately in reference to her when they had been introduced to them.
"How did the talks go, father?" Aquinnah asked.
It was there that Metacom's smile fell a bit. "Oh, promises were made to look into issues further, but you know yourself, no actual plans were made on their side."
Aquinnah gave them a look that said 'see what I mean?`. "Now you see what us natives are up against."
They all gave Aquinnah and her father sympathetic looks. Amelia knew that if Hermione were here, she'd be volunteering her services to help them out, and probably would be wanting to speak to the Headmaster herself.
They said a brief farewell to Aquinnah and her father, for the two of them had to get back to their home and complete other tasks. Harry offered Aquinnah to meet with them during their free time in the afternoon, as Sirius and the other delegates would be having their important meetings then. The girl agreed, and with that, Amelia followed her twin and her godsister back into the school's boundaries.
"I really like Aquinnah, and I feel really bad for her and her people." Dorea said, with firm agreement from Amelia and Harry.
"On the surface, she seems really lucky - living here in all its bliss, with all these creatures on her doorstep - it seems a superb livelihood, but then you dig deeper and see the challenges she and the other natives face just because they're indigenous to this land." Harry voiced, looking deep in thought.
Amelia had a realisation then. "I think I know the purpose of why we're here."
Dorea and Harry eyed her, and looked expectant. "Go on?"
She exhaled. "Okay, so you know how we're here because Minister Bones recommended us to go? I think she herself knew about this; about how the natives are struggling in their pursuit of change. She knows that us three are welcoming and understanding. This is our task; help Aquinnah and the natives, and bring some change to Ilvermorny."
Dorea and Harry took that on board, and looked proud that she had figured it out. "Certainly seems like it," Harry agreed. "Only thing is; I don't think any of us three are well-versed in the Wampanoag people."
"Well, we could talk to Aquinnah more about that," Dorea said, "after all, we don't want to be talking over the natives, who know their ways best."
"My only concern is… how do we know the Headmaster, and Ilvermorny's board of governors, will listen to us? After all, we are just teenagers. Guests of theirs, and they certainly seem admirable of us - but still guests. They may even take our suggestions as a slight." Amelia added.
"Persuasion." Harry said. "It can work wonders. If I was able to get Gryffindor's, Slytherin's, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws to see eye-to-eye and work in unity with one another, then surely we can get through to Ilvermorny's top brass."
They had a few hours to kill before lunch - where they were meeting with Headmaster Fontaine and his Deputy. They crossed paths with Hunter Martinez on the staircase, and he took them on a tour of his own - he took them to the duelling chambers, and then to the library - which amazed them.
The library at Ilvermorny was vastly different to Hogwarts; it spanned three floors. There was a wide spiral staircase going through the floor in the middle of the room, connecting each level. On the highest floor was a large open space dedicated almost entirely to tables and chairs for students to sit at. The first and second levels were purely dedicated to books, and with the way it was set out reminded Amelia of Waterstones - a British muggle bookshop chain that she'd been in a few times. The aesthetic felt cosy and academic. "When it comes to final exams, it gets hectic." Hunter explained, "it's really difficult to get a seat in the study area on the top floor - some students get there really early and rush in to bag themselves a place, and it fills up in no time at all."
Dorea whispered to Amelia, as Harry was over at a Xylomancy section, and was getting Hunter to explain the subject to him. "We should ask Hunter what he knows about the natives."
Amelia eyed the boy. "I suppose any additional knowledge would help. But remember what he said - his father and uncle are quite friendly with Headmaster Fontaine, which may mean they're also not very sympathetic towards the natives."
When the boys wandered back over, they breached the question to him. "We met the daughter of the gamekeeper earlier - Aquinnah. She's from a tribe native to this area. Do you know her?" Amelia asked.
Hunter smiled. "Yes, I've seen her about. Her dads a nice guy. She's a lucky girl, getting to live on campus practically and deal with all the creatures."
"She said that she and her friends are trying to bring change to Ilvermorny, but they struggle a bit because the faculty supposedly don't take them that seriously because they're native." Dorea said.
"Oh, I've heard. They actually run a club here at school - something to do with solidarity for natives. Students from all backgrounds join it, to both learn about different native cultures and fight for change. There are some people who are pretty horrible to them, and they've been trying to meet with the board to put their ideas to them, but the board refuses to meet with them." Hunter explained, and Amelia was surprised but pleased that he didn't seem to speak nastily about them.
"I'm assuming those that are horrible to them are the more conservative types," Dorea said.
"Yeah, pretty much," Hunter chuckled, "There was one incident last year - Aquinnah and people in her club put up an information poster in the hallways, inviting people to an organised Pow Wow - which is, like, a celebration of native cultures through dancing and singing - that they were doing on campus, and literally the next day some people had ripped the posters up. Someone even wrote horrible words on one of them - saying derogatory and probably racist things on them."
They widened their eyes at that. "That's awful!" Harry uttered. Amelia felt her blood boil; a celebration of culture tainted. She hoped the actual event did go ahead without any more aggression.
"Yeah, they don't deserve to be treated like that. Worst of all, they caught who did it, but they gave them only a day's punishment." Hunter explained further.
After their library visit, Hunter got summoned by Gareth Jones; the Head of the International Relations Department (who Hunter worked as an aide for), as he needed him to arrange documents for the first diplomatic meeting between the American's, Canadians and Brits that afternoon.
"That sounds tough, what you do." Amelia said before he parted.
Hunter chuckled. "Sorting the documents isn't as hard as it sounds - he'll tell me what ones are needed, and I just sort through his briefcase for them. I get to sit in on these meetings too; though the aides sit more to the side and don't speak unless spoken to."
"Ah, so you'll be able to tell us what was talked about then." Harry grinned. It did sound really interesting to Amelia.
"Yeah, though some things might be confidential. Anyway, I better go, there could be loads he wants. Bye!" Hunter said quickly before turning and jogging away back to the wing where the diplomats were staying.
They headed back to the wing where their quarters were and decided to check in with Sirius. He opened the door for them. "Had a productive morning?" He smiled at them knowingly.
"We met the gamekeeper's daughter, Aquinnah, and she took us to the creature reserve!" Amelia said excitedly.
"That's a fancy name." Sirius said.
"Yeah, she's Native American. You won't believe this - she took us to meet a thunderbird." Harry said in wonder.
Sirius's eyebrows furrowed briefly. At his slight confusion, Dorea stepped in. "They're legendary in some Native cultures. They're so rare that not even renowned Magizoologists haven't had a chance to see them."
Sirius looked surprised. "That sounds spectacular. I've been doing less fun things, I'm afraid - with negotiations starting after lunch, we adults have to prepare to do work."
"Come to think of it, we didn't see the Canadians arriving…" Amelia realised.
"They probably are here by now. They'll take less time to settle in - they don't have a time difference to get used to." Sirius said.
They stayed with Sirius a little while longer, before he shooed them back to their rooms, as he had to not only prepare for meeting the Deputy Headmaster at lunch, but also the Ministry's first meeting with the Americans and Canadians after.
The three of them collectively decided they could probably do with preparing for the lunch too, so went back to their individual rooms. Amelia sorted through her trunk and laid her clothes out on the bed, and decided on a smart shirt and some smart trousers. Ophelia had ironed them before they had left, and she had done a remarkable job; even after being folded in the trunk, they had barely creased.
She remembered the mirror, and found it within the trunk's inner pocket. She added five hours on to the time in the USA and deduced it was 4pm back in the UK. Amelia didn't hesitate to speak the name 'Theodore Nott' into the mirror shard.
It took almost two minutes, and she was on the verge of giving up when the call was finally answered. Her heart fluttered at the sight of Theo - sure, she had last seen him just this morning, but now she was an ocean apart from him.
"Hello gorgeous," he said, and she couldn't help but giggle.
"Hello you," she said, relieved. She took in his appearance - his hair was a tad windswept. She wondered if he had been outside at all. "We've had a blast of a few hours here already, and it's only our first day here!"
He grinned. "I'm sure you will be full of tales when you come back. Speaking of which, I miss you loads already."
She pouted sympathetically at him. "I miss you too. This mirror is a blessing though."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose it is. Did you say your dad made this with Sirius?"
Amelia nodded. "Yeah, he did, back when they were in school. Helped with many things, probably mostly pranks and detention."
"And now his daughter is using it to be soppy to her boyfriend. I bet he's pleased." Theo said, causing her to laugh properly.
Once she stopped laughing, she spoke. "The hard work begins today. Sirius and the other adults have their first meeting this afternoon, and we have work to do as well."
Theo raised his eyebrows. "Really? What are you, Harry and Dorea doing?"
She explained the situation to Theo regarding Aquinnah and the other natives as best as she could. When she was done talking, he whistled. "You'll have to work quickly, as you're only there for three days."
"I know," Amelia replied, "but I am almost 100% sure this is why Minister Bones wanted us here. She knows we are empathetic and capable."
"She has your support, and so do I," Theo grinned, "And I'm sure you'll show them Americans who's boss."
She laughed. They spoke a little while longer, before Theo got called away by his mother. Apparently he wanted to learn how to make lasagne, so Ophelia was going to teach him. Amelia's stomach grumbled in craving at the thought of Ophelia's delicious cooking; she would be surprised if the food here was as nice.
Checking the time, she realised it was only half an hour until their lunch with the Headmaster and his Deputy. With that, they ended their conversation. She quickly got up and got her clothes sorted, and then got to work on making her hair look a bit nicer. She decided a neat, slick ponytail would be suitable. Once she was ready, she left her room and went across the hall to knock on Dorea's door.
Her godsister answered, and she looked nearly ready. She had a deep red blouse on, with smart dress trousers. She was in the middle of pinning bits of her wavy hair back out of her face when she answered the door. "You look lovely," Dorea said, smiling.
"So do you," Amelia said, "I hope Harry isn't going to be wearing those awful robes from the Yule Ball."
Dorea laughed at the memory. "I'm hoping he doesn't wear them either. But hopefully he knows to wear them for dinners rather than lunches." Dorea paused for a moment, "Do you want me to quickly put a little braid in your ponytail? I think it would look nicer."
Amelia nodded enthusiastically, and Dorea instantly got to work. Within minutes, there was a braid that ran through parts of her ponytail, which made it look a bit prettier.
They collected Harry from his room, thankfully he wore something smart-casual rather than his dress robes from fourth year. Sirius emerged from his room not long after, grinning. "You all look lovely. Now, let's go and eat. I'm starving."
They met the rest of their travelling entourage on the stairs, and they were met halfways by Professor Fontaine, who was in a jollier mood.
They entered a large room with a large table in the middle of it, with loads of space. It turned out they each had places set out for them, with name tags to designate where they were sitting.
Amelia quickly glanced, and saw she was sitting beside Harry (thankfully), and one of the other aides.
There were some people who had not yet arrived, for their seats were empty. "I bet they're for the Canadians," Harry whispered to her, "I'm not seeing anyone from our party who's not here yet."
Amelia nodded. "There doesn't seem to be that many Canadians - there's only seven empty chairs."
It was as if Professor Fontaine read their minds. "You have probably realised that we have some vacancies," he gestured to the empty seats, "our Canadian friends will be along in just a moment."
Professor Fontaine sat at the head of the table on one end, whilst his Deputy, Professor Adams, was at the head of the table on the other end. Amelia quickly realised she was only sitting three seats away from Professor Adams. The woman looked nice enough - not overly tall, and a bit older than Fontaine, yet she looked wise and confident.
The Canadians arrived not long after some drinks started to be requested. As they sat down, Professor Fontaine started speaking. "I hope your first few hours here have been spent in the greatest comfort. In a few moments, once our drinks arrive, the menu will appear, and shortly after there will be appetisers. For now though, relax and enjoy!"
The room started chatting lively. Amelia glanced further up the table, where Dorea was sitting next to her dad. Sirius was chatting away to a Canadian next to him, though Dorea was trying to make herself look occupied and studied the menu. She caught eyes with her, and they smiled knowingly - surprisingly, nobody was really talking to the younger ones.
Professor Adams eventually spoke to Harry and Amelia. "We've heard lots about you two over here. I hope our hospitality is to your liking."
Amelia almost smirked - it was as though they were royals. "We're loving our stay so far," Harry answered, "We got to explore a bit earlier."
The two of them kept answering any questions Professor Adams had, and soon the other people sitting near them got involved in the conversations too. Their starter - or appetiser - was soon on the table; there was a choice between some small canope burgers, bruschetta, or stuffed peppers. Amelia had one of each, with the stuffed peppers easily becoming her favourite.
After that, came the main lunch course: Professor Fontaine proudly announced it was to be something called gumbo; a hearty stew popular across the country. Amelia hoped it wasn't too hearty - she wanted to be able to actually eat dinner later. Thankfully, portion sizes weren't too large, and she was able to eat it all without feeling that full.
Once lunch was cleared away, there was about half an hour more of talking. Drinks were refilled, and some more laughter was had. It was after this luncheon that the serious business started - for the adults, it was doing what they came here to do: form alliances between Britain, Canada and the USA, to ensure neither would ever side with Voldemort. For Harry, Amelia and Dorea, it was meeting up with Aquinnah again, this time with her friends, to sort out the problem the natives had with the school faculty.
Amelia knew it would be hard work to get something ready to convince the faculty, but she knew they would do it; the question just being - how?