Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings, or worlds within this work, outside of a few OC's. Any recognizable characters are not mine; I'm just playing with them. Harry Potter and its associated works belongs to J.K. Rowling. X-men and Marvel belongs to... er... Disney, I suppose? I am not making any money off of this fan work, nor do I wish to.

Author's Note: Putting the author's note in the beginning this time because the information it contains is more relevant prior to reading the chapter.

This chapter may seem like it has the same name as the previous one, but I consider the meaning to be a bit different. It may be self-explanatory, but I'll go ahead and explain it anyway to prevent confusion. The previous chapter was titled "Mutants?" with a question mark, indicating curiosity, or a query. This chapter, on the other hand, is titled "Mutants" with no punctuation, indicating a resolution to the previous question. Hope that makes sense. :)

I wanted to show each House being given the spiel, but I also wanted it all to fit into one chapter. My solution was to create a meeting montage. I am hoping the chapter still managed to retain its readability in the process.

Chapter 8

Mutants

Early the next morning, there was an nervous undercurrent running through the students as they settled into the Common Room waiting for their Head of House to arrive. Even those who were usually the school layabouts were up and ready, the anticipation of something as important as an all-school House Meeting curbing their natural tendencies. The children murmured amongst themselves in quiet agitation, curious what this was all about.

At six-thirty on-the-dot, the portrait swung open, and Professor McGonagall stepped through. As if someone had flipped a switch, all whispering stopped and the Gryffindors turned to face her as one. She moved to the front of the room, surveyed the collection of students, nodded to herself, and began.

"Good morning, everyone. I see you've all managed to be on time. Let's get started, shall we? We have a lot to cover today.

I'm sure most of you are aware of what occurred during Mr. Malfoy's encounter with a Hippogriff yesterday afternoon. Before I get into anything else, I would like to state that both Malfoy and the Hippogriff are completely fine, no one was injured, and the situation has been duly handled by the staff.

However, this incident has brought to light some things the wizarding world has been ignorant of, which we ought to have been aware of a long time ago.

It seems that-"

Professor Sprout: "-there's a Muggle condition which makes some people a bit different from the rest of the population. People with this condition are called 'mutants,' and they have something in their bloodline which grants them various abilities that people do not normally have- not even wizards. These abilities show up during a person's teen years, and they-"

Professor Flitwick: "-can be anything, really. A mutant may be able to do something like fly, breathe underwater, or produce electricity- all without a wand, or even being a magical person in the first place. Now-"

Professor Snape: "-I'm certain by this point you have already begun to put the pieces together, but I'll state it outright for the sake of clarity. Your housemate, Draco Malfoy, emerged as a mutant yesterday afternoon."

There was a rustle throughout the room as students shifted in surprise. Draco grimaced- he liked attention, but he wasn't sure he liked this sort of attention.

Snape continued. "I should hope this goes without saying, but-"

Professor McGonagall: "-Bullying any of your fellow classmates who turn out to be mutants will absolutely not be tolerated. While I recognize that many of you come from Muggle families who may hold negative views on the subject of mutants, and I know there's likely little I can do to change that fact, I would prefer that you keep any such views to yourselves while you are attending this school. I am your Head of House, and-"

Professor Sprout: "-I absolutely reserve the right to take points and assign detentions to anybody who is found harassing one of the mutant students. There, I've gotten the main explanation out of the way. Now-"

Professor Snape asked, "Does anyone have any questions at this time?"

A few students raised their hands. Snape nodded to one. "Miss Parkinson."

Pansy dropped her hand. "Does this mean Muggles are all going to develop magic?"

"No, Miss Parkinson. Mutations and magic are very different. To compare wizards with mutants is like trying to say that roasted ribs are similar to chicken soup. Both dishes are made with meat, but the variances in preparation and, indeed, the meats themselves, are too different for such a claim to be accurate. Unlike ribs and soup, however, it is possible for a person to be both a wizard and a mutant, as is the case with Mr. Malfoy."

One of the fourth-year Slytherins piped up, "Yeah, that's right! Hey, Malfoy, what's your power? That thing you did- we all heard about it yesterday- let's see it!"

Draco stiffened. "I would rather not."

"Aw, c'mon, don't be a-"

"I said I don't want to!" he snapped.

Snape cleared his throat. Everyone quickly shut up. "As Mr. Malfoy has only recently awakened his mutant abilities, we are not quite certain about exactly what he can do, and he has not had the opportunity to gain any level of proper control over it. Even if he wished to do so, I would not permit him to give a demonstration at this time. You will not pester him about this. Understood?"

"Yes Professor," the Slytherins chimed.

"Are there any other questions?" asked McGonagall.

Hermione raised her hand. "How do the teachers know about all this, Professor? I already knew about mutants because I went to Muggle primary, but I searched the library yesterday and found no mention of mutants whatsoever."

McGonagall's lips twitched. "Professor Snape, of all people, recognized the situation for what it was. He's the one who first brought it to the faculty's attention yesterday, and-" she pulled a neatly rolled-up sheet of parchment from her pocket- "he took the time last night to write out as much as he could recall about mutants and their development, to give to the Heads of House this morning. You really ought to thank him- without his assistance, I doubt we would have had enough knowledge of the subject to properly handle these meetings."

A murmur of surprise rippled through the room.

"Now, this brings me to the other reason why we called this meeting today. It is our belief that Mr. Malfoy may not be the only student at Hogwarts who has exhibited signs of a mutant ability. However, we also recognize that such students may not feel comfortable with the entire school knowing their status."

"We will not force anyone into anything," continued Professor Flitwick. "However, we believe it would be beneficial if the relevant staff- that is, the four Heads of House and the Headmaster- were made aware should any of you suspect that you may be a mutant. We cannot help you if we do not know who you are, after all. If any student believes they are a mutant and wishes to come forward, you may come to one of the Heads of House at our usual office hours, or send one of us a private letter with the school owls. We will then share the relevant information with the other Heads and the Headmaster, and Madame Pomfrey if it is deemed necessary, but other than that your privacy will be respected."

All was silent for a moment within the Hufflepuff Common Room. Then, one of the fifth-year girls slapped her forehead, exclaiming, "So that's why everyone's stuff has been moving around all the time!"

Cedric blushed and hoped his reaction wasn't too visible.

Mutants, huh?

The Ravenclaws sectioned off into little clusters of students, excitedly talking over this new revelation.

One of the second-years smirked. "I bet Loony Lovegood's a mutant. Her 'ability' has to be how she manages to survive with her head up in the clouds all the time."

Professor Flitwick gave them a stern look. "Five points from Ravenclaw. I believe I already covered the consequences involved for mutant-related insults during our discussion."

"Actually Professor," said Luna, "I think she might be right."

Flitwick blinked at her, startled. "Truly?" Then, a bit intrigued now, "What sort of mutation do you think you have?"

It was one thing to believe in the possibility of more mutant students being found at Hogwarts. It was another thing entirely for such a student to appear right in front of his nose.

Severus studied his Slytherins for any visible reactions. He did not believe that anyone in the Slytherin dorms was hiding a mutation from him, but then, he hadn't particularly anticipated Draco emerging a mutation either. Still, he had decided to respect the students' privacy for the time being, and he was sure they would come to him if they truly needed to.

He turned his attention to Draco. He'd been rather flabbergasted the previous day when Severus had explained everything to him, but he'd been unable to deny it considering what had happened. Since then, Draco had remained rather pensive, for which Severus could hardly blame him- Severus had been feeling rather pensive himself, and he wasn't the one whose body was shifting into silver diamond at odd points in the day.

He only hoped the rest of the school was as willing to accept the situation for what it was as Slytherin house seemed to be.

Once the meeting had concluded, about half the Gryffindors went off to breakfast. The other half had come straight downstairs after waking up, and had yet to get ready for the day. Harry and Ron were two of the latter. They followed Neville up to the third-year boys' dorm room.

Ron grabbed his clothes and started changing out of his pajamas.

Neville made as if to move toward his bed, but stopped, and stood staring into space. Harry glanced over at him. "You alright, Neville?"

No response. Harry walked over and nudged his shoulder. "Neville?"

Neville startled a bit. "Oh, hey Harry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were alright."

"Oh."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Neville took a deep breath. "I..." He cleared his throat. "Is it- is it true, what McGonagall was saying, about Muggles being afraid of- of mutants?"

Harry shrugged. "It depends on the Muggles I guess. My relatives hate anything that's not normal- and they hate magic- so they would probably hate mutants, too. But Hermione, well... She doesn't hate them, and I don't suppose her parents do, either- though you'd have to ask her about it. I don't know that I can say for sure."

Neville shifted nervously. "Oh. Well, what about you guys, what do you think about this whole thing?"

Ron spoke from where he was looking for his socks. "I think it doesn't matter if someone's a mutant or not, long as they're a good person. Say, Neville, where's all this coming from, anyway?"

Neville opened his mouth, and closed it. He swallowed, swallowed again, and then he let out a quiet sob.

Harry stared, alarmed, as Neville slid to the floor and covered his mouth as if it would help him conceal the fact that he was crying. Harry knelt down beside him, concerned. He hesitantly reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "Neville? What's wrong?"

Neville shook his head. He couldn't talk just yet. He just sat there and cried for a moment or two, until he managed to pull himself together enough to calm down. Finally, in-between deep breaths, he began to speak. "I-I didn't... I didn't know. I always knew it was weird, but I- I had no idea wh-why. And then it got- it got worse over the- the summer, and I- I just..." He breathed deeply a few more times, and the words seemed to burst out of him. "I thought there was something wrong with my magic, or something, but I didn't realize it was something like this. And I'm so relieved to finally know what's going on, but- but I don't know if I want everybody to know about it- but I really do think I need help, so maybe I should at least tell McGonagall-"

Halfway through this spiel, Harry began to understand what Neville was getting at, and his eyes grew wide. "Neville... Are you saying you're a mutant?"

Ron froze in the middle of adjusting his robes. "Wait, what?!"

Harry realized something then, and his eyes went wide. "The grass! That's why you got stuck in the grass after Malfoy went to the hospital wing, and the plants all seem to like you in Herbology-"

"And potions," Neville added.

Harry blinked. "Potions?"

Neville nodded. "Potions. Have you ever noticed- my biggest disasters are always on days when the potion has a lot of plants in it. I do a lot better when there's no plants at all- I even got a halfway-decent grade a few times when we were working with brews that were mostly just animal parts."

Ron frowned. "That's some tough luck."

"Yeah. But there's not much I can really do. My mutant power just... makes plants grow sometimes, even if the plant has been withered for weeks."

"Huh. Maybe you could talk to Professor Snape about it or somethi- what am I saying?! Ignore me, clearly I'm having stupid ideas from lack of sleep."

Harry snickered at Ron, then turned back to Neville. Growing serious again, he said, "If it's really that much of a problem, then I think you were right before. You should go see McGonagall. I don't know if the teachers will be able to help, but... at least that way they'll know something's wrong."

"Yeah. You're right, Harry. Thanks."

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then, as the boys were just about ready to head down for breakfast, something else occurred to Neville.

"But... Wait. Harry, what if I lose control sometime, bad enough that everybody finds out? I- I mean... I wasn't kidding when I said it got worse this summer. You saw me yesterday- I was having accidents like that all the time. My Gran's begonias have practically covered the whole house. It looks like a giant flower bush! I wouldn't be able to deny it if something like that happened here. But I don't want everybody to know just yet. You know?"

Harry studied the wall. "I know." He paused a moment, considering, then turned to face Neville. "If that does happen, don't worry. You won't be alone."

Neville shook his head. "But we don't know who the other mutants are besides Malfoy, and we all know how well that would go if I tried to go to him for support. You can't really say for sure that I won't be alone. For all we know there might not be any other mutants in Gryffindor, or at all!"

Harry cleared his throat. "Sure we do."

Neville was getting worked up again. "No we don't."

Harry sighed. "Yes we do."

"No we don't!"

Ron groaned. "Hold up you two. Let's actually do some talking. Harry, why are you so sure there's another mutant in Gryffindor?"

Harry shifted in place, looking a bit uncertain for the first time since this conversation began. He glanced out of the door to the boys' dorm, making sure there weren't any stragglers hanging around. Then, he turned back to his friends. "Because..." He hesitated, then- feeling a bit reckless in the moment- lifted his hand. "Because of this."

Focusing on that switch in the back of his mind where he knew his power rested, he began swirling a vortex of wind over his hand. Careful now, Harry, he told himself. Got to make sure you don't tear the dorm apart doing this.

It started out soft, but as he concentrated on making it just slightly bigger, it gradually grew stronger and faster until the wind was cycling around his hand enough to blow all three boys' hair out of place. Ron had looked confused when he first started, but as the wind became noticeable, his eyes went wide with comprehension, and he stood there gaping at Harry in complete shock. Neville honestly wasn't much better.

"You won't be the only mutant in the Gryffindor dorms, Neville. Because... I'm a mutant, too."

The three of them were silent for a long moment. Then, Ron shook his head and pushed past Harry, "Alright, that's it. No more talking until after breakfast. I don't know how many more surprises I can take on an empty stomach."

Harry and Neville stood blinking after him. For a moment, Harry wondered if his being a mutant was going to be something that bothered Ron after all-

Ron's head popped back around the corner. "Well? You two coming or what?"

Harry snorted, Neville gave a slight smile, and the three of them began walking towards the Great Hall.

True to his word, Ron was uncharacteristically silent. For about five minutes.

He turned to Harry. "You realize you're going to have to tell Hermione, right?"

Harry froze. Oh crap... he's right.