I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
For now, the story will update every second Saturday, until I say otherwise.
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Chapter 10: New Friends
The unnatural coldness made Harry and Dudley shiver, while at the same time they were afraid and felt like the world had become a horrible place with nothing good in it. Both boys had no idea what was going on, and their instincts screamed at them to run away, but they couldn't manage to move a single inch, being frozen in fear.
Then Harry looked forward and saw...
"W-what is that? No... God no!" Harry stammered, trying to process what he was seeing.
It was some... thing that appeared from between the trees and slowly moved towards them. It was humanoid in shape but Harry was unable to see any details due to heavy, tattered and dark cloak that thing was wearing. There was only blackness under its hood, though Harry could hear an unnerving sound coming from under the hood. It was the first time harry realized that mere breathing could sound very menacing and with each breath the thing seemed to suck more warmth out of the air.
Its movement was unnerving, as Harry realized that it didn't walk. It hovered a bit above the ground and was slowly gliding towards them. That thing was some kind of monster and both of them were now completely at its mercy.
Dudley for his part felt an intense pressure inside his head. It felt like there was something he should see, something horrible, but at the same time he couldn't, which only made it even more scary for him. Dudley felt like icy fingers were slamming claws into his head, digging, looking for something. He felt a burning pain in his head, feeling like a dam that finally, finally wanted to burst.
And then... the world shifted around him.
Dudley couldn't help but to look in the same direction as Harry. At first he just saw a sort of hazy fog, but then it felt like his eyes came into focus. Dudley wished they hadn't, because instead of it only being a diffuse feeling, before his very eyes the source of his fear took shape. The sight was frightening Dudley more than anything he had ever seen before.
"The... the dark man!" Dudley cried in terror.
This 'dark man' came even closer, and both boys felt something new arise in them.
Harry could only watch in horror when Dudley fell to the ground and started to wail and sob, becoming oblivious to the world. It was as if Dudley was experiencing something horrible that only he could see and hear, and whatever it was, it was breaking him. The dark man however at the moment didn't seem to hold any interest in Dudley and instead homed in on Harry.
Harry started to hear voices in his head.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off -" Directly after the man's voice he heard a nasty noise and shrill diabolical laughter that sent shivers down his spine. He knew that moment the man had died.
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry! Please - I'll do anything -" The woman's voice was full of desperation, but the cold answer to these pleads came right away. "Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now..." That was the voice the laughter belonged to, and it was frightening Harry to no end.
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-" The woman's pleadings were cut off and the diabolical laughter filled Harry's head.
This finally proved to be too much and pulled Harry into the darkness of his mind when the dark man was very close to him.
The dementor's rotting hand caught Harry by his shirt before he could fall, but that was not out of consideration for Harry, but for easier access to its meal.
While many thought dementors were just mindless monsters, these wraiths actually were very capable of planned and methodical action. After all, without such capabilities it would have been impossible for them to make the deal with the Ministry concerning Azkaban. This dementor had quickly singled out Harry as the main snack, his soul being quite bright. The other boy would follow once it was done with this one.
Holding Harry with one hand, it pulled back its hood with the other to reveal its horrendous head. The empty, overgrown eye sockets looked greedily at what what the dementor felt would be the main course of the day. It was fortunate Harry was unconscious, otherwise the sight probably would have traumatized him utterly.
It moved forward in anticipation of sucking out this tasty soul. Just a few moments and...
"There it is! Quick!"
-whhzammm-
Several things happened really fast. The dementor was hit from behind with something very bright, which caused it to stumble forward. At the same time the sudden movement caused Harry's head to fall forward. These two factors caused the soul-eating mouth of the dementor to collide with Harry's forehead instead of his mouth - directly onto Harry's scar.
Inside Harry's mind meanwhile, Harry was confronted with a frightening sight.
Looming in the sky was the massive head of someone straight out of nightmares. The face of that horrible man had some distinctively snake-like qualities, as it was completely hairless and sported nostrils instead of a nose. His hate-filled red eyes stared down onto Harry as if seeing an especially irritating insect.
"What... what...?!" Harry was too scared to formulate a coherent question. "This has to be a dream... a nightmare!"
"Oh no... not a nightmare. My downfall. Right before me." Even though the voice was booming, Harry did recognize it as the same voice that had done the sadistic laughter. "With you gone, it will be a perfect vessel."
The hate-filled eyes started to glow green and Harry somehow knew that any moment green lightning would shoot out of them in order to obliterate him completely. Harry wanted to run, but realized it was utterly pointless to do so. After all, where should he run to, since all around him was just endless plains.
However, it never came to that.
A massive, greedily vortex appeared in the sky above the head. The thing stopped whatever it was doing and looked up, startled. "What?! What is this?!" The vortex seemed to hold intense gravity, tearing at the head. "No! Not so close to the goal! You can't do this to me! You can't!"
Harry watched in sick fascination as the vortex did its nasty work tearing apart the head bit by bit, the pieces being sucked into it to be lost forever. "You can't! I'm Lord Voldemort! I'm immort..." Finally, the head was fully torn apart and greedily eaten by the vortex.
Harry had no idea what exactly had happened. As sudden as the vortex had appeared, it now disappeared. Around Harry, everything started to fall into darkness. However, Harry, to his own surprise, was not afraid of it, feeling that the darkness would finally give him refuge from whatever was going on.
It felt like a huge relief when the darkness claimed him and he fell asleep.
o
I have to incorporate that into my lesson plan I'd had no idea that particular spell would open such useful applications, Minerva McGonagall thought while she was hard at work writing down her lesson plan for the next school year.
Recently she had by accident discovered several useful applications for a spell that up to now only got minor attention in her fifth year lessons. She was using the opportunity to also revise all of her lesson plans, having discovered that they partially were out of date and at times held little useful application. While turning a rat into a snuffbox certainly tested the skill of the students, she'd heard enough students say that while impressive the lesson held not much practical value.
-flapflapflapflap-
A sound of hectically turning pages pulled her out of her work.
Looking to the Book of Attendance, she was greeted with a concerning sight. The book seemed to experience severe stress, hastily flipping back pages. Walking closer, McGonagall saw that the book had flipped back to 1980 and now was re-arranging the entries with magic on the page for June to make room for another entry.
McGonagall was confused, since the book had never in the long history of Hogwarts ever done that. However, she froze when she saw the name that the quill wrote into the place that the book had freed up.
Dudley Dursley
born: June 26th 1980
"What is the meaning of this?" She was confused, and also had a sudden bad feeling.
She had no time to ponder on this strange development when green flames flared up in her fireplace. "Minerva!" She heard Dumbledore's voice, but he was not seen in the flames. "Step through into my office quick! An emergency has come up!"
McGonagall knew it took something especially bad to make the Headmaster freak out like that, so she didn't hesitate to step into the flames and appear into the headmaster office, only to be greeted with a cacophony of sounds.
She then saw Dumbledore hectically checking his silver instruments, which were checking Harry's well-being. All of them sounding their alarms at the same time, meaning that Harry was in mortal peril. Having heard her come through, Dumbledore turned around, not caring that he knocked over some of the instruments.
"Minerva, there is no time to lose! Young Harry is in grave danger!" He sounded genuinely panicked. "We need a faster mode of transportation... Fawkes!"
The phoenix flew off his perch and hovered in front of the Headmaster, offering his legs. Dumbledore took hold of one of them, then looked to McGonagall. "Quick, take hold of his other leg!"
McGonagall knew of travel by phoenix fire. She also knew it was perfectly safe as long as the phoenix in question agreed to it, which Fawkes clearly did. Still, even for someone doing all kind of magical stuff for years, this was a first. However, the urgency of the matter won out and she took hold of the other leg.
Fawkes didn't waste anymore time and all three of them vanished in a fireball.
o
Don't let me be too late! Sirius repeated constantly while running through the woods to where the feeling was directing him to.
He'd been out, walking the streets of Little Whinging on patrol, when all of a sudden, the connection to Harry he had gained when becoming his godfather and after Harry's parents had perished, had screamed at him that Harry was in mortal peril. Since he'd never before heard of a godparent's bond becoming this explicit, there had to be more behind it, but Sirius had no mind for it at the moment.
He'd even ignored his wish to keep magic out of his normal life and quickly ducked into a space between two houses before apparating as close as he could to where Harry was, which turned out to be right to a discarded bicycle at the edge of a small forest. At the back of his mind, Sirius had recognized the bicycle at the one the brat next door used while running into the forest.
There was lots of noise, light and shouting and when Sirius, wand drawn, finally entered the clearing it came from, he for a short moment stopped in terror. He spotted two boys lying in the grass, but was unable to get to them due to battle still raging. Four Aurors were struggling with something that made Sirius almost freak out - a dementor.
It was a misconception that dementors couldn't be destroyed - after all, if that were the case, the world by that point would be full of dementors. No, there were a few things that could destroy these monsters utterly, and one of those was crushing them with patronus attacks from multiple sides. The monster was screeching, its cloak smoking, but it looked like these Aurors had great trouble finishing it off.
That also was little wonder, as wild dementors had become a rare sight on the British Isles ever since that dark wizard had created Azkaban centuries ago and the dementors had flocked to it. Britain, thanks to the Ministry using them, by now held the biggest dementor population in the world. That in turn was a big point of friction with other magical governments, as they had done their best to eradicate these monsters.
Damn, I was never good with the patronus spell! That's Moony's area of specialty. Of course, not training it for almost a decade also didn't help.
Thankfully, a small miracle happened when a fireball flared up.
Sirius wanted to cry in relief when seeing Dumbledore, who was really good at the spell, send his own patronus against the dementor. That finally was too much for the monster and it erupted into hot-white flames, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ashes.
With the danger finally over, Sirius wasted no time to check on Harry, not noticing McGonagall checking the other boy or Dumbledore having a serious word with the Aurors. His relief was unbelievable when finding none of the signs that the dementor had kissed Harry. The only unusual thing he found was the bruise on Harry's forehead and the scar bleeding.
Carrying Harry, Sirius finally put attention to his surroundings and saw McGonagall levitate the other boy, whom he finally identified as Dudley. "The boy got lucky, nothing happened. What about yours?" she asked him.
"All where it belongs to..." She wanted to say more about something she also confirmed about the boy, but stayed silent about it. After all, Sirius already looked stressed enough, no need to add to it right now.
Only now did Sirius let out his terror. "I could have lost him today... Just gone..."
"But you didn't! Hold on that!" She had no trouble to see that Sirius was taking this attack very badly. "Harry is alive and well."
"Y-yes... he kept his soul... kept it..."Only slowly did the panic in him die down and he could finally find it in himself to listen to what Dumbledore was telling the Aurors involved.
"...this is a matter of utmost secrecy, thus you hopefully understand that I have to remove all your memory of us having been here. You will only remember hunting down and destroying this monster." Clearly, Dumbledore already was in damage-control mode.
It spoke volumes that Dumbledore, who very much disliked memory-altering spells, was willing to use them to keep the secret of Harry's residence safe. It looked like the Aurors understood that as well - they clearly had recognized Harry - and also looked highly uncomfortable with the fact that them messing up in the hunt for this rogue dementor had almost caused a disaster.
It took only little time and then they left quickly. In a few minutes the Aurors would snap out of it and simply assume that they did destroy the dementor and also report that. By that time they already would be a safe distance away.
"This was way, way too close..." Sirius was still reeling from what had happened. "Also... no way we can any longer keep it secret from Harry. He'll want answers from us. We wanted to tell him soon... but not like this."
"Ah, yes, this will be very awkward to explain to young Harry." While Dumbledore looked thoughtful about it, Fawkes, who was perching on his shoulder, looked at Harry was undisguised interest. Something clearly was intriguing the phoenix.
"Albus, that's not the only issue. Just before you called me, I watched the Book of Attendance," McGonagall said, knowing the others had no idea about that nugget.
"Minerva, my I ask what happened with the book?" Dumbledore asked.
"It flipped back to 1980, made more room on the page and then wrote down his name," she explained, pointing at Dudley, who was being levitated behind her.
If not for his arms being full, Sirius now would have facepalmed. He settled for groaning instead. "Please don't tell me this means we have to deal with his parents. They are already difficult to deal with just as neighbors."
Dumbledore only sighed. "Oh dear, this sounds like it will be a difficult and unique situation."
...a bit later...
"The day started like so many others, and now this..." Veronica sighed. "Any idea how we can salvage this complete disaster?"
She would never admit that she had fainted when being told that Harry had been attacked by a magical monster that had almost eaten his soul. Her nerves thankfully were spared more testing due to the fact that Harry had come out of it in good health, only being severely exhausted. Of course the whole incident opened a completely new can of worms, since they now pretty much were forced to reveal the truth about magic to Harry.
"As much as you'll hate to hear it, the truth is the only way. We wanted to tell Harry soon anyway, but not like this..." Now that the adrenaline had left, Sirius was tormented by the hard truth that he'd almost lost Harry.
"Remember this is not the only situation at hand," Remus reminded them.
They all knew he was talking about the boy resting in the guest room two doors away under the careful watch of Dumbledore and McGonagall. Dudley's case was, if anything, even more bizarre. As far as the Headmaster was able to explain, Dudley always had the potential for magic, but for some reason there never had been the 'spark' to ignite it. Somehow the dementor attack had given him said spark and his magic was developing well now.
"I won't ask how it's possible to suddenly develop magic. What concerns me is him of all people getting it. He already was bad enough before," Thomas added, fearing what the power of magic in the wrong hands - like Dudley's - could cause.
"Wait and see..." Remus knew Dumbledore and McGonagall would have the situation under control.
"We thought we knew what to expect when we took Harry in. However, after almost losing him..." Veronica looked haunted. "Harry is our son in all but name. Him almost losing his soul to such a monster..."
Thomas held his wife close, seeing how the close call had shaken her. "Shhhh, Harry is unharmed, Veronica."
"I know, but it still hurts." It was difficult for her to hold back the tears.
"Mmmnnghhh..." Their discussion was silenced when they heard Harry wake up.
Waking up, the first thing Harry saw were those he cared for being gathered around his bed. At first his memory of what happened was foggy, but then it cleared up and he remembered the monster - though he wished he didn't. He only didn't react worse because he was in the safety of his room.
"Easy, you went through a lot," Veronica told him when he was about to get up.
Her words registered in his mind. "You mean... it... it was real?" Seeing her nod, Harry shivered. Something that horrible should not exist. He then saw that Remus had put some chocolate into his hand. "Eh...?"
"I know the policy about treats, but in this case it will help you get back onto your feet," Remus explained and Harry, desperate for something good, made short work of the chocolate.
"I... What was that thing?" That was the question which burned under Harry's nails. After that horror he was desperate for answers.
"Harry, would you believe that this was a dark magical creature?" Thomas asked him.
"Huh...?" That suddenly took a turn for the strange.
So they did tell him in more general terms that magic indeed existed, and that of course meant also people who could use it. Sirius and Remus looked rather guilty when they explained that they were wizards, did show their wands and then a small levitation trick to ease all of Harry's doubts. Harry looked baffled, especially when they explained that he was a wizard as well.
"In a way I felt there was something different about me..." Harry then felt one burning question. "Why wasn't I told before? Clearly, all of you knew."
They all felt a bit guilty at the accusation in Harry's voice. Veronica decided to explain. "Harry, you know how you came to live with us, don't you?"
"Yes, I... there is more to it, isn't it?" Harry didn't exactly feel like having more life-shattering revelations.
"Yes. We did not lie, your parents were murdered by a terrorist. It however was a magical terrorist, the leader of a group of magical supremacists. He wanted to kill you as well, but his spell got reflected back on him and did him in. We were told it hit where your scar now is," Thomas tried to explain.
Harry touched his scar, horrified that it was sign of someone having tried to murder him when he was barely a year old. "Why? ... How?"
"For one he was a psycho, who would have thought nothing of killing the son of the people who resisted him so much. There are other reasons, but we'll tell you about those when you are older." Sirius saw that Harry accepted that reasoning for the time being. "As for how... As far as we know your mother invoked old magic when she protected you at the cost of her own life, and thus she gifted you with a protection against him specifically."
"This is so much to take in..." Harry felt he would need time to be able to process this. "Still, why not telling me?"
"Harry, while technically it was your mother who defeated the terrorist leader, in the magical world it's attributed to you. To them you are a hero; a celebrity. To them you are the 'Boy-Who-Lived'," Veronica explained what she had been told.
"This is stupid!" Harry spat. "I don't want to be famous for surviving while my parents died!"
"You are not the only one who feels like that, Harry. However, you have to show them that you are nothing like they think you are. Only then will they let go of it," Remus told Harry, knowing that would be most difficult for Harry.
"It's still stupid. If possible, I would give it away instantly." Harry really felt uncomfortable that these people essentially looked up to him for becoming an orphan. It was so wrong.
"You are preaching to the choir, Harry," Thomas reminded Harry. "We all decided to protect you from that circus until you could take it. We wanted you to have a normal, happy childhood, and not you being put on a throne for what you rightfully see as a stupid reason."
Harry fell back onto his bed, looking exhausted. "This is all so confusing."
"We all know this is a lot to take in." Sirius knew they could not leave Harry with such meager explanation. "We'll explain all of it to you once you feel better."
Two rooms away meanwhile, a different conversation took place.
Dudley had just woken up and right away got greeted with the sight of two strangers who dressed like they were going to some sort of costume party. For some reason their behavior screamed 'teacher' to him. They then didn't bother with too many details after introducing themselves, getting right to the point of what happened. It made Dudley wish he would fall unconscious again.
Not that that would have helped him much, since the things going through his mind at the moment were quite harsh and somehow he knew would give him many difficult nights. What he had seen had stripped away all and any excuse and brutally shown him how much of an awful person he really was. For someone his age this was a shocking revelation.
"I... I don't understand. This is way too much," he groaned, fear spreading through him considering the implications. "I also don't want to believe it."
"It is a fact. I even tested it before you woke up. This incident did free up your magical powers," Dumbledore explained.
Dudley looked ready to have a crying fit. "How am I supposed to explain to Mum and Dad!?"
Dudley by now was old enough to understand that his parents had a lot against anything they saw as a deviation from the norm. It dawned on Dudley that he now was such a deviation, in the same way as Harry. All of a sudden, the love of his parents didn't seem such a sure thing anymore.
Dumbledore and McGonagall knew what kind of people his parents were. If they didn't want to destroy this boy's future, they would have to take special measures to prevent a disaster. Thankfully, they knew exactly what to do.
...August 5th, 4 Privet Drive...
On late afternoon, a man no one had ever seen before in Little Whinging was walking down Privet Drive. His dark suit, bowler hat and attache case made him look like a businessman or banker more at home in the City of London than in this sleepy suburb. No one also had noticed that the man had appeared in an out-of-sight side alley out of thin air.
The stranger had his goal in sight: Privet Drive No. 4 - the home of the Dursleys.
In the house at the same time Dudley felt like his nerves got fried in boiling grease.
Had it been a mere week? Ever since his life got turned upside-down, Dudley had learned a new feeling: complete terror that his parents could learn that he now was what they considered a freak before whoever would ease them into it could arrive. That was a new experience for him and made him wonder if that was how Harry felt when dreading he could be ambushed after school.
Now I'm the freak. Dudley thought.
He had never wasted a thought on it. To him it simply was fact that he could bully others, especially Harry, simply because he could. His parents certainly had encouraged his dislike of Harry, and now he finally knew why they disliked him so much. Too bad that he now fell under the same category.
He had made himself scarce around his parents and his appetite had taken a nosedive - something they noticed since it was so unlike him. Beside the constant fear of discovery, he was plagued with the cold truths that monster had shown him. There was no way he could ever forget these, as he now knew for sure that he was an awful person and his life would go nowhere should he continue like that. It was a harsh truth for someone his age, something he had hidden away from himself.
Drat, getting this worked up only makes it worse! I was lucky I could explain away my alarm clock exploding. The flares of accidental magic, especially potent after having been bottled up his whole life, didn't help, either.
-riiiing- That was the doorbell. Dudley didn't dare to leave his room. Should it be about him, he would learn soon enough.
He didn't try to listen, and he was unable to understand the voices from downstairs anyway. Whoever it was, they talked to his parents for quite some time and at times he could hear his father raising his voice in anger or outrage. He just laid on his bed and waited what would come next, since he still hadn't been called.
Finally, someone walked up the stairs and knocked on his door. "Diddy Darling, could you please come? Something... important has come up." That was has mother on the other side of the door, sounding stressed.
Knowing that this was it, Dudley opened the door and like a good boy was escorted downstairs by his mother.
Downstairs, he saw an interesting scene. His father clearly was trying his best to control himself, the redness of his face being witness of how difficult that was for him. Dudley knew his father had a temper about things he didn't like, and the man in the suit that was sitting there clearly was pushing all of his buttons. To be honest, his mother also looked stressed, but showed it differently.
However, the man looked ordinary, a lot like the business associates his father at times had in the house, making Dudley wonder if that guy really was here about his sudden magic.
"Ah, young Mr. Dursley. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Mr. Randolph Mortimer and I am here due to the recent discovery that you are gifted," the man greeted him.
Dudley needed a moment before he realized the man meant magic. "Uh, thanks?" Dudley was a bit confused.
"Certainly. As I already laid it out to your parents, this recent discovery makes you eligable for attending a very exclusive private school for special schooling - an offer only very few in the United Kingdom receive," Mr. Mortimer continued.
Dudley continued to be confused. The way the man was wording everything seemed to have the one goal to make it sound as normal as possible, without any mention of magic and things connected to it. It almost was like he did that on purpose. Perhaps he did, since suddenly Dudley realized that any actual talk about magic would have gotten the man thrown out.
He didn't know how close he was to the truth.
Vernon and Petunia had at first not suspected anything, especially once the man had shown that he did have the backing of the Ministry of Education. At first they also had been ignorant what the man actually was talking about, until they realized what the reason for the visit was. Things could have turned ugly from that point on, but they didn't.
For one, Mr. Mortimer was really good at avoiding all and any mention of magic and the things connected to it, always talking in a way like it was a normal educational matter - without the context, they never would have gotten it. Also, Mr. Mortimer was nothing like the wizards they had met before. He was very worldly and showed none of the ignorance the Dursleys associated with wizards.
They had even brought up the subject of money, explaining in no uncertain terms that they were not willing to pay for it, hoping it would get the man to see reason. That got blown out of the water when he told them that they wouldn't have to pay a single Penny, as there were special fonds that would cover the cost for preschooling and school.
Still, despite the financial lure, Vernon's patience was at its end.
Petunia clearly saw so as well. "Could you please excuse my husband and me? We need to discuss this in private."
"Certainly, Ma'am. It will allow me to show you son the chances this offer opens for him," Mr. Mortimer answered, showing no sign of nervousness.
Petunia almost had to pull Vernon to the garden and they retreated into the greenhouse so no one could overhear them. "Petunia... this is... How dare they to imply our own son...?" Vernon clearly was trying to find words for his anger.
"I know, Vernon, I know." She took a deep breath. "I am as shocked as you are. This comes out of nowhere... but if it IS true..."
Vernon grimaced at the idea. It was easy to be bigoted against people you saw as freaks. however, it did become much harder once your own son suddenly turned out to be one of those freaks. It was the classic case of one's prejudices suddenly turning against them.
"Pet, what should we do? I'm very tempted to just toss him out of the house." Clearly, Vernon hoped for her approval.
"No!" Petunia gasped, before she caught herself. "I... Vernon, as much as I despise my sister, we have to face it. If Dudders doesn't learn how to use it properly, something bad could happen to him if it goes wild."
If anything, this made Vernon look even more conflicted. "Unbelievable that this happens to us. I feel trapped."
Petunia felt like her world was collapsing, but then suddenly. "Ohhhh, this is it. Sweet revenge."
"Petunia?" Vernon was confused by this sudden mood shift of his wife.
"I remember how proud my good-for-nothing sister was of her gift, and how she looked down on me. I'm still very unhappy this happened, but there is a consolation prize in this. This is revenge for all the times she showed me up. Only her brat got it? Well, not anymore."
Sure, it was quite petty to try and get even with someone who had been dead for eight long years, but Petunia didn't care. To her this finally was the chance to make up for what she imagined Lily looking down at her - something that never actually happened, but Petunia didn't care.
While Vernon might be the man of the house, he knew that once his wife got determined, he would do well to support her, or face the consequences. Both of them still were incredibly unhappy with the turn of events, but at least there was some consolation in this otherwise unsalvageable situation.
Over half an hour later, Mr. Mortimer left the house.
It had went better than anticipated. At first he had been a little surprised that Dumbledore had cashed in an old favor, but in retrospect it had been the right decision. The boy's parents had been highly suspicious of him, but his clam and factual manner, as well as never mentioning anything that would have triggered them had done the trick.
How often does everyone forget that people like me also work at the Ministry? Not all of us are clueless and walk around dressed like idiots. It does help that I have a non-magical background.
Yes, the sheer satisfaction from a job so well done was reward enough.
...at the same time in Hampstead Garden ...
Things certainly are going well. This girl, Hermione Granger, is the next on the list, Remus thought while walking down a street in Hampstead Garden towards a modest family house in a nice neighborhood.
For the past few days he had been busy with approaching the prospective students and their parents. While that mainly were families of muggleborn wizards and witches, he also had approached a number of impoverished half-blood families. He would visit the few pure-bloods that were too lawful for their own good last, as he expected the most resistance there - pride and all that.
Of course the whole thing was slow-going, since for each visit he had to explain a lot and demonstrate magic to prove that he wasn't insane. Thankfully, after the first few visits he got a feeling how to approach the matter, giving him lots of respect for McGonagall, who was doing these visits to the families of muggleborn students for years - and who was relieved that she no longer would have to go through long explanations from now on.
Arriving at the front door of the Granger home, he pressed the doorbell and then waited.
When Jean Granger opened the front door, her mind tried in mere seconds to analyze the stranger that stood there.
The man looked not especially remarkable at first, but the visible start of some gray hairs didn't fit with his age. She also saw the scars in his face and wondered if he had been a member of some kind of fencing lodge. The dark suit he was wearing and the document bag in his hand screamed 'official' to her. She concluded the man was here on governmental or administrative business.
"Mrs. Jean Granger?" the man asked.
"Yes, that's me," she confirmed.
"My name is Remus Lupin and I'm visiting you on official business in a matter of education." He then opened his bag and pulled out a document.
Jean read it and her eyebrows rose. "This is an official document, confirming you are teaching at a private education institution."
Remus was relieved that Dumbledore had thought about using his connections to the non-magical government to get him the needed documentation. It certainly made things a lot easier. "Indeed, Ma'am, although it will only open its gates at the beginning of the school year. I am visiting, because your daughter is meeting the criteria for a very special program additionally to her normal school attendance."
Jean realized this was serious. "Please come in, I will get my husband and daughter."
A bit later, all four of them were gathered.
"From what my wife told me, you are representing some sort of special educational program and somehow our Hermione is on your list of children that have qualified for it." Ian Granger sounded quite careful with his words. "Pardon me if I say that I wonder how that was determined, not to speak what kind of special education we are talking about?"
Hermione clearly wondered that as well, thinking her hardest how that institution could have become aware of her. Despite her grades and subconscious feelings of superiority, she still thought of herself as just another student.
"The explanation will be a bit more complicated, so please don't wonder about my next questions." Remus by now knew from experience how to approach the matter. "Now, I have to ask all three of you, and you especially, Hermione, if strange things happened in Hermione's presence. Things that did defy logic."
Hermione barely held back a gasp. Could this man have the answer to the strange things she was causing? The elder Grangers at first found the question strange. But now that they thought about it...
"There was something really weird going on a few weeks ago. Ian, you remember the incident with Hermione's dental braces?" Jean asked her husband.
Ian did remember all too well. "Yes, it was weird. She had not put them in properly and they fell out of her mouth and shattered on the kitchen floor. They were in pieces and Hermione was beside herself. We looked away for a moment and when Jean wanted to pick up the pieces, they actually were whole again, despite all of us seeing them get shattered. Very strange..."
"Actually... that was me." Seeing that suddenly all the attention was on her, Hermione gulped.
There was no going back, however, and in mere minutes her parents got the whole story of how she had noticed these strange incidents that defied logic happening around her for several years and how she realized that it was her who caused them. She spoke of her observations and how she was unable to reliably replicate the usage of that strange power, otherwise she would have already told her parents. but without proof...
"Impressive for someone your age to puzzle together all the hints. You must have a bright mind," Remus said,. While there had been cases like that before, it certainly was not at that age.
"So all these incidents truly did happen." Jean then looked to her daughter. "While I'm not exactly thrilled about the incident with the inkwell, it's been over two years ago." She then looked to Remus. "So you do have answers what is going on?"
"Yes. If you allow me..." Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it at an ornament on the table. "Wingardium Leviosa." The Grangers watched in awe when the ornament started to float up and stayed afloat for some moments before gently descending back onto the table. "What you just saw is magic. Yes, it is real."
The Grangers were astounded for a moment, but then Hermione groaned in annoyance. "Magic?! I caused myself countless headaches trying to find out what it is, and the answer is magic?! I can't believe that!"
"Hermione!" Ian gasped, unused to their daughter having such an explosive temper.
Remus could already see that beneath the calm exterior there was a volcano. "Oh, I understand why she feels annoyed. Please allow me to explain everything."
Granted, it was not exactly the most detailed explanation about magical society and magic itself, but Remus did make sure to speak about all the important points to make sure the Grangers understood. He knew patience was needed, but they did need the information to make an informed decision. It was only at the end that he spoke of what the magical preschool was about and why it came to be.
"I know this is a lot and puts your world upside-down, but I don't need a decision right away," Remus said at the end when seeing that the parents clearly needed some time to process all they had been told.
"I know you gave us the abridged version, since you clearly have more visits to do," Jean said, having noticed that Remus had tried to keep it short. "This is really a lot to take in and we need more information before we can make a decision."
"Oh, please, Mum, Dad, tell me I can go! I know I'll need magical instruction and attend Hogwarts in the future. Oh, please, I'm normally not asking for anything big, but this one time!" If anything, Hermione was very much acting her age that moment.
"Now, Hermione, your mother didn't say we wouldn't. We actually think this is a good idea after hearing how disadvantaged you otherwise would be. We however first really need to know more before we can make a final decision in good faith," Ian explained to Hermione.
"We actually expected this need and believe me, you are not the first who want to know more." Remus did remember how previous visits went. "We do have planned an information day for the parents of all our prospective students. It will last a whole day on next weekend and hopefully will answer all questions."
Remus knew he had done it when the Grangers showed great interest.
...August 6th, the Burrow...
Being done with his visits to the families of future muggleborn students - and the whole thing in his mind had been a massive success, as there hadn't been a single parent saying no even if many first wanted more information - Remus was now concentrating on the more unusual cases. That was why he was visiting the Burrow, the home of the Weasley family, this Sunday.
The Weasleys were nice people, but a bit too proud for their own good, and got two children who could profit from the preschool - one this year and one starting next. He however found it a little odd that while the son was being present for the discussion, he hadn't seen the daughter. He had no idea what they were playing at with that strange decision.
He knew the Weasleys were very proud of their values, and thus needed a lot of convincing. Thankfully, he did have the correct means to gather their trust in him and his project.
"A letter of recommendation from Headmaster Dumbledore himself! You were not kidding when you said you have official backing," Molly Weasley said in awe while looking at the document in question.
Her husband Arthur also was impressed. "I know he doesn't give out these easily and it does give your magical preschool a lot more weight."
Remus knew without that letter the Weasleys most likely wouldn't have wanted to consider his offer, which had been more than clear when looking at their expressions after his explanations. After all, in the magical world he was a complete nobody with no reputation to speak off. Thus, why should a magical family even consider sending their children to said project? Good thing that Dumbledore had anticipated the problem and took care of everything.
"Thank you. So, what do you think of my offer?" Remus asked, hoping they would agree.
"Oh, it certainly sounds highly useful. Ron and Ginny could find much use in these classes, but I'm concerned about the cost..." Molly blushed when saying this, especially in front of her youngest son, who reacted sensitive to the financial status of the family.
"Oh yes, I forgot to mention: it won't cost you a single Knut. The foundation is paying all of the costs." Remus knew he had said the magic words when seeing Arthur and Molly brighten up.
Ron, who up to that moment had stayed silent, finally couldn't hold back anymore. "Mum, Dad, can I go? Please, this would be so great."
Ron for his part was driven by several reasons why he wanted to be in. While a big part really was driven by the fear he otherwise could disappoint his parents after entering Hogwarts, eagerness to do a limited amount of magic early on was also driving him. Last but not least, it also was the knowledge he could get something that none of his brothers had gotten, which made it unique.
Oh, please say yes...he thought.
In his mind, getting a headstart would be invaluable to help him find out earlier what he could be good at - something he hoped was unique to him. He even was ready to beg his parents on his knees to get them to agree.
"Well, Ron, if you are so eager to join it..." Arthur was pleased with how Ron wanted to get a headstart.
"Oh no! Not without me!"
"Ginevra, you did eavesdrop on our conversation?!" Molly accused her daughter when seeing her and Luna appear on the stairs. They had tried to keep Ginny, who had Luna over that day, ignorant of what was going on. Clearly, both girls had become too curious for their own good.
Ginny however was not intimidated. "Yes, both of us did listen to everything. Mum, I'm in the same grade as Ron, why can't I enter as well?!"
"Ginny, we do plan to enter you next year..." Arthur tried to reason with his daughter.
That answers the question, Remus thought, now knowing it had been a case of over-protectiveness.
"Haven't I already proven I'm good enough to be on the same grade as Ron? Why should it be different now?!" Ginny then gave Ron a pleading look. "Ron, please help me out here. I'm not taking it away from you, I just really want..."
Ron was torn. While that would mean he no longer would be the first Weasley entering magical preschool, he also could feel for Ginny. Although their mother had mostly given up on making Ginny traditionally feminine, she was still giving Ginny some special attention. The reason why Ron no longer minded, was, because Ginny hated that special attention, as it always reminded her that she had not turned out as Molly had expected.
"You know, Ginny, it would be nice to have you there..." Ron finally said. Since had got along well enough with his sister at school, it shouldn't be too different.
"Yes!" Ginny then turned to her parents. "Mum, Dad..."
Remus watched in amusement how the eight-year old girl was starting to work on her parents to get their OK for her to attend as well and Remus certainly would allow her to do so. However, he then noticed the other girl - he honestly didn't know her name - walk over to the fireplace and put her hand into the pot with the floo powder.
"Young lady, what do you think you are doing?" Remus asked her, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look to them.
Luna pushed her glasses up her nose. "I have to call my parents to come over. After all, they need to agree for me to come along with Ginny."
That was said so matter-of-fact that Remus wondered if the girl either incredibly naive, had a fantastic amount of chutzpah or simply was so sure about it. No one made a move to stop her when she used the fireplace to call her parents.
A bit later that day, Remus was leaving the Burrow, astounded.
The Lovegoods, as he had learned their names and he noticed he had them marked for next year, were somewhat weird people, but what really baffled him, was, how quickly they had agreed with their daughter Luna and wanted her to attend as well. After Ginny had managed to get her parents to allow her attend already this year, it meant that Ron, Ginny and Luna would be in his classes.
Ron, who was escorting him out - as ordered by his mother - couldn't help but find the humor in it. "I should have warned you. If Ginny wants something, she gets it."
"You seem to be at peace with your sister attending as well. I would have thought you to be angry she's stealing your spotlight. Most boys your age would be," Remus observed.
"A part of me is. But I've known Ginny all my life and know she dislikes being given attention just because she's a girl. Oh, I know another reason she wants this. She thinks Harry Potter will be there as well."
Remus needed a moment before understanding. "Ah, she grew up on stories about him, didn't she?" Seeing Ron nod, he sighed. "She'll be a bit disappointed he's a normal kid. Eh... don't reveal I told you."
"I'm nine years old, not stupid. No way I get involved in that." It was clear Ron would stay silent. "So he'll be there?"
"Yes, but please don't treat him any different from other children. Should you meet him, please keep that in mind." Remus felt it was better to say so now.
"Hearing Ginny gushing over him so often made it difficult for me to believe all of that."
"Well, then, I hope to see you soon." Leaving, Remus thought, I just came for one student and in turn gained three. This had to be the most bizarre visit up to now.
Well, there was one final visit on his card, and that one probably would be even more difficult.
o
Remus couldn't decide who was more intimidating: Frank and Alice Longbottom giving him calculating looks, or Augusta Longbottom watching him like a hawk. He truly felt out of his depth here. Good thing that young Neville was in busy in the garden and thus not present.
His visit to Longbottom Manor really was the most unusual case of all of them. The Longbottoms were a mildly liberal pure-blood family and well-off, so normally they wouldn't fall into the categories for students that needed his preschool. However, it was little secret, even though the Longbottoms had tried to keep it down, that young Neville Longbottom was troubled. He had difficulties to interact with others and not shown any signs of accidental magic since a serious incident some years ago.
Honestly, had it not been for the documents with Dumbledore's signature, he would not have managed to set one foot into the manor, and even then he had been told to leave his wand in a special box at the entrance. He knew the Longbottoms were just careful after what had happened with the Lestranges years ago.
It was Frank Longbottom who finally broke the silence. "I'll be frank with you, Mr. Lupin, while that preschool of yours certainly sounds like a wonderful idea, I fail to see how that applies to our son. After all, a lot of the knowledge he's getting already."
"With all respect, Mr. Longbottom, for young Neville, this will be more about the social aspect than the actual knowledge." Seeing the questioning looks, he continued "It is an open secret that your son hasn't done any accidental magic since the... accident and has become socially withdrawn."
Remus spelling it out like that did it.
Alice Longbottom sighed, looking troubled. "We have tried to gently coax the magic back out, but to no avail. He also is so awkward with other children we invite over. At times it feels like he is more comfortable with the plants in the garden."
"No offense, but I think young Neville does feel insecure and it causes him to retreat into himself. These children coming from the same circles you move in makes him feel like he is in a competition. He feels pressured," Remus observed.
Augusta Longbottom, who looked older than she was due to the grief over the death of her husband Jonathan from sickness some months ago, frowned. "And you feel that him mingling with middle-class children will help?"
While the woman didn't at all share the positions of the more conservative parts of pure-blood society, her upbringing made it difficult for her to truly understand the 'common folk'. An invisible barrier separated her from the people below her own class. It was a sign of how much things had changed already in the 20th century, that her son Frank was much more open and approachable.
"Indeed. Unlike the children from his usual circles, he has nothing to prove to them. To most of them he'll be just another boy, as they have no idea of his status, nor will they care if they do as it's meaningless to them. It will take some time of course, but a place where no one has these expectations can only be good for him," Remus explained.
For some moments there was silence, then Frank Longbottom took hold of his cane and looked at it. "It feels like over the years our family is slowly falling apart. First the Lestranges crippling Alice and me, then Agernon's stupidity turning Neville into a disturbed child, then my father's death... No, I promised our son a good life and I won't be proven a liar."
"Frank, you feel this is a good idea?" Alice Longbottom asked her husband.
"Alice, you yourself said it; we tried everything. We need to try something new and I don't see any harm coming from it," Frank reasoned with his wife.
Alice closed her eyes and sighed. "I want Neville to be happy, and right now he isn't. He's got no friends and doubts his own worth since he has shown no accidental magic in years. If it takes this..."
A bit later, Remus was leaving the manor.
I hope this truly helps the poor kid. He tried to hide it, but I could see that he wasn't as energetic as a nine year-old normally should be, he thought while walking to the edge of the property.
The sad thing was, Agernon's stupidity, which had caused the boy to become so traumatized, didn't come from nowhere. It was a sad fact that the older families at time took extreme measures to get the desired magical heir, and those who turned out to be squibs would face a terrible future, if any at all. Sure, by now it was very much forbidden to do the more drastic things, but those who got the power...
Still, considering that a century ago squib children from those families were outright murdered - and Sirius had shown him how his own family had been great in that - the current situation already was a massive improvement.
...magical preschool, September 2nd...
Harry didn't know what to expect while entering the building of the preschool. This would be the start of a new part of his life - a life that recently had been changed dramatically. Part of him was really curious what his Uncle Remus had cooked up to introduce them to magic, and the idea that later on they would make some baby steps with real magic felt kind of exciting.
However, it did come with the price of him now knowing the truth. Things had changes forever; there was no going back.
He did understand why the adults had kept it from him and didn't hold it against them. They had done so to protect him, after all. After the dementor - something that STILL gave him the occasional nightmare - he understood too well. However, knowing the truth also had given Harry a strange sense of peace, like something had been lifted off his shoulders.
Touching the scar on his forehead, Harry again noticed how less pronounced it had become. Sure, it would always be there, but knowing this was where the evil spell had hit him, the scar finally healing could only be a good sign. The adults after all had made a big deal of it.
All of that for now however wasn't what was foremost on Harry's mind.
I can do this... Today we are just being introduced to each other, Harry reassured himself
Entering the big hall, the main assembly room, Harry saw that a good number of children were already present. There was a visible divide between those who would attend the full two years, and those who only would do so for one year before going to Hogwarts. It however still would be a while so Harry mingled a bit with everyone present.
He was just glad he lived so close by. Just by listening to Remus and Sirius he knew it had been a logistical nightmare to connect all the houses to the floo network, and they certainly wouldn't have managed the feat without Mr. Dumbledore. Even Harry understood how difficult it would be to have students from all over the British Isles. His own house got connected as well, even though he could walk, and it normally was locked up.
He remembered Remus lamenting that modern houses often no longer had a fireplace that could be connected to the network, thus the need to find alternatives that would work. Harry for his part found it weird why wizards would use fireplaces of all things, if a tiled corner in a room, as Remus had found out after some experimentation, would work just as well.
Walking through the crowd, Harry did his best to keep his distance when spotting Dudley - not a difficult task, considering his bulk. He still couldn't believe that Dudley also would attend, but at least the boy in recent weeks had kept his distance. Harry hoped it stayed that way.
He didn't see anything that aroused his interest, until he spotted a redhead boy who looked quite awkward. Harry, while not exactly a social butterfly himself, right away could see someone who wondered how to break the ice. So taking advice from his Uncle Sirius' story how he had met his father and Remus on the train all these years ago, he approached the redhead.
"Hello, it's all a little overwhelming, isn't it?" Harry asked the boy.
The boy looked a bit startled, but then looked glad he hadn't been forced to make the first move. "Yes... I mean, I've known about magic all my life, but this... Really overwhelming."
"Oh, you come from a magical family? I've only known for a few weeks." Harry actually was fascinated. This was the first person his age he met, who came from a magical family.
"Yes, I... Crud, I haven't introduced myself. Man, Mum would've tanned my hide for that." He looked relieved that his mother was not present. "I'm Ron Weasley."
"I'm Harry Potter." Harry then waited for the reaction he expected.
Ron's eyes widened a bit and he gave Harry a closer look. "You are? I was told you would be here, but..." Ron then noticed he was babbling and stopped himself. "Sorry. I didn't recognize you at all, but maybe that's because the only thing everyone knows for sure is about that scar of yours..."
"Oh, it's still there, but recently it started healing a lot better so it's not nearly as noticeable," Harry said, hoping that Ron apologizing was a good sign.
Honestly, before the explanation how exactly he'd gotten the scar, Harry had thought it to be kind of cool. Now that he knew, however, he had started to resent it and was not sad at all that after his brush with death, it finally had begun to heal properly, so that it would be far less noticeable. He honestly was glad for that, since otherwise it would have felt to him like walking around with a neon sign pointing at him.
"Ron finally saw the faint scar and then laughed. "That's so faint that many won't believe it's you at first. You wouldn't believe the stories that circulate about you and how much they overdo the scar."
"Stories? Oh, that sounds interesting!" Ron and Harry looked up to see a girl approach. Her appearance was quite memorable, considering her very bushy brown hair and the developing overbite with the large front teeth she was sporting. Her non-permanent dental braces only added to the picture. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. I'm sorry, but what is that about stories about you?"
Harry was a bit baffled that this girl, who clearly came from a non-magical family, was more curious about him than Ron was. "It's a long story, but to make it short, everyone thinks I defeated an evil wizard when I was just a year old. Of course that's stupid and it actually was my mother who did so at the cost of her own life, but no one wants to hear that."
"It's a bit depressing now that I think about it. They call Harry the 'Boy Who Lived'. Not really a badge of honor..." Now that Ron thought about it, he felt a bit stupid he at one point had actually envied Harry Potter.
"Oh..." Hermione, even though she was socially awkward, knew that this was a sensitive topic. "Did I step into it?"
Seeing how the girl clearly thought she'd done something wrong, Harry waved it off. "I've known for years that my parents are murder victims, just not until recently that it was due to a magical terrorist. It still hurts... but I can talk about it."
Hermione knew that perhaps a change in topic still was needed. "I'm still sorry I brought it up. But hearing you didn't know about all of it until recently... I'm so excited! Real magic!"
"You sound... enthusiastic." To be honest, Ron felt a little intimidated by the girl.
"Oh, it's not every day you can learn about a completely new world! Has any of you done any magic yet apart from the accidental one?" Hermione asked, clearly hoping for a positive answer.
Harry shook his head. "Sorry, remember I learned about magic only a few weeks ago."
"And I couldn't. There are laws against it and until we are adults, we're only allowed to do magic here and at Hogwarts," Ron added, clearly feeling it was kind of unfair.
Hermione looked a bit disappointed. "Mhh, that's too bad. Oh, can I talk with you later? There is so much I just have to ask... Oh, thanks"
Hermione clearly took a 'yes' for granted, even though they had said nothing, and then left without even waiting for a reply, looking for her assigned seat.
Ron whistled in astonishment. "Man... talk about forceful! Eh, you think she'll be back?"
"I don't think she'll accept 'no' as an answer." Harry was more amused than anything, as that girl looked to be more of an egghead. "Eh, Ron, you got a sister?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" Ron then noticed Ginny approach them. "Eh, never mind. Yes, that's her. ... Hey, Ginny, you got separated from Luna?""
"She's brought along the latest Quibbler and is showing it around; everyone is getting a good laugh from it." Ginny then eyed Harry. "Hello, I'm Ginny Weasley."
Harry hoped her reaction would be like Ron's. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter."
Ginny was silent for a moment, then looked like she want to bolt away in a bout of shyness "Eeep! Eh... you are?" She eyed his forehead and finally found the fading scar. "I can't believe... oh dear..." Suddenly Ginny seemed to have difficulties to formulate whole sentences.
"Easy, Ginny! Remember, he's nothing like in these adventure books of yours. I sincerely doubt he visited Australia or the Amazonas, nor did he ride on a dragon." Ron gave Harry a look, hoping for him to break it to Ginny.
"Eh, no. The furthest we ever went for holidays was Wales and I'm generally busy with school. Not exactly the best circumstances for adventure."
"Oh..." Ginny seemed to deflate, but also seemed to regain her ability to talk. "Nothing special...?"
Harry felt a little guilty at the disappointed look Ginny gave him, but felt this was for the best. "No, I'm a kid like both of you. The only thing different about me is this here." Harry pointed at the scar while saying that.
"Ginny, Harry is a really nice bloke. Sure, he has not gone on any adventures..." Ron tried to gently break it to his sister.
"Well, if you count me almost getting killed by a dementor a few weeks ago as an adventure..." Harry stopped when seeing the looks Ron and Ginny gave him. "Look, I'm clearly all right, aren't I?"
"You have to tell me that story later on," Ron said, still trying to process it.
"I... I want to hear that as well. Dad always says those things are horrible..." -brrrrrriiiing- A bell warned everyone to go to their seats. "Oh, I'll be back later." Ginny tried to not make it look like she was running away.
"Eh, what books were you talking about?" Harry asked Ron while they made their way to their designated seats.
"Oh, a whole series of adventure books featuring you. Of course the stories in them are kind of whacky, but Ginny grew up with them, got the whole series. That's partially why she became so shy all of a sudden," Ron explained.
Eh, maybe I should tell Uncle Remus about this? Harry didn't feel well with the idea that a whole book series was written about him, especially since he'd had no say in the matter.
The whole orientation took place. Everything got explained to them and they were shown around the facility.
Two hours later, after all was done, all the children were relaxing in the outside area of the walled-off property, talking excitedly about everything they were told while slowly forming interest groups.
Harry and Ron sat under a tree, enjoying some cold soda.
"And your brother Bill is really learning how to raid tombs? Man, he sounds like Indiana Jones," Harry said in awe after listening to Ron talk about his family.
"Who is that?" Ron wondered.
"Oh, it's character in a film series, the newest one came out a bit over a month ago. A bit difficult to explain the plot however." Harry had no idea how to give a short explanation of the plot.
"I've never been in a cinema. It sounds great..." Ron had a wishful look. Ottery St. Catchpole didn't have a cinema, but Ron was not completely ignorant, having seen TV sets in town.
Truth to be told, the two of them had hit it off right away. Ron at first had been a bit reluctant, but after seeing how Harry was nothing like it was speculated in the magical world and instead was very much just a boy looking for a friend, he had opened up. Truth to be told, Ron found it surprisingly easy, realizing that he himself hadn't had a close friend outside of the family.
Harry for his part had a great time. In school he hadn't made any close friends - thanks to Dudley - thus this was a frist to him. He was eagerly listening to everything Ron told him about living in a magical family - as much as he loved Sirius and Remus, there was a lot of stuff they took for granted and didn't tell him - regardless how mundane or pointless it was. Ron in turn listened attentively to his experiences in the non-magical world.
"I wonder why your sister hasn't ambushed us yet?" Harry wondered.
"Oh, take a look." Ron pointed to where Hermione was trying to hold a conversation with Luna, looking baffled at the replies the girl was giving her, while Ginny giggled the entire time. "Looks like they are busy for the time being. Ginny's friend is a bit weird and I guess Granger can't take it."
Seeing how Hermione looked more confused by the moment, Harry believed it. "You know, all of you are really interesting to me."
"Oh, I believe it." Ron then remembered something. "Oh, Harry, a little advice. Whatever you do, never call Ginny by her full name. She hates being called Ginevra and only few are allowed to do so. She's small, but is really nasty when she feels wronged."
"Yikes." Harry vowed right away to always call her Ginny.
"Looks like the two of you are getting along well."
"Oh, Uncle Remus!" Harry hadn't even noticed him approach. "Ron is awesome and he's telling all kind of interesting things!"
Remus was pleased with Harry's enthusiasm, then looked to Ron. "See? I told you Harry is a normal kid, and nothing like he is made up to be."
That reminded Harry of something. "Uhm, Ron? Perhaps you could tell Uncle Remus about these adventure books?"
"What books?" Remus asked.
Ron wondered a bit about Harry's request. "Well, there's a whole series of books about Harry and..."
Remus listened to Ron's explanations and the more he heard, the more he knew that that was more serious than it looked on first sight. I have to tell Padfoot as fast as possible. This is a serious problem, and I also doubt it stopped at these books. What other kind of stuff was made using Harry's name and without him seeing a single Penny from it?
"Interesting. Excuse me, I have to make a call to Harry's godfather." Seeing Remus leave, both boys wondered what this was about.
However, they got little time to ponder on that when Ginny and Hermione approached them. Clearly, Luna was busy with something else and would not join them. "I was told you faced a horrible monster?" Hermione asked, lacking any tact in the question.
Ginny looked embarrassed that she had spilled the beans like that.
...Brookman Publishing, September 5th...
Agedius Brookman leaned back in his seat, trying to ignore the paperwork littering his desk. For a moment he just wanted to enjoy the knowledge that thanks to his own hard work - and at times opportunistic behavior - what had started as a small one-business right after he had finished Hogwarts had over almost 40 years become one of the ten biggest book publishers in magical Britain.
He had to admit that without the sponsorship of his old Potions professor he probably would have never come this far. Professor Slughorn had seen future success in him. Thanks to that connection he'd gotten a loan with very generous conditions. He forever was in the man's debt and Slughorn did get luxury editions of their bestselling works each year.
-toc toc toc-
The knocking from the door pulled him out of his thoughts. The door opened and Mr. Phil, his right-hand man in the company who oversaw everyday operations, walked in. "An urgent letter, Mr. Brookman. It was delivered by a vulture."
Delivered by a vulture? That usually meant legal entanglements, something he had lots of experience with as well due to not everyone agreeing with his business tactics. "Let's see what this is about."
Ripping open the envelope, Mr. Brookman skipped the header and went right to the meat of the letter. After a minute he snorted. "Hah, the nerve of that man!"
"Sir, what is going on?" Mr. Phil asked.
"It's from that meddlesome Sirius Black. For some reason he only now took offense at our Harry Potter Adventure Books and is proceeding with legal action. His solicitor decided to tell us post-factum."
These children books had been a stroke of genius. They were rather cheaply made - since the target audience was not exactly known for being book critics - but sold like hot cakes, as many things themed after Harry Potter did. After all, it was not his fault the boy was in hiding and thus people believed almost any crap written about him, nor was it his fault that Potter's godfather had left as well and thus neglected to take care of his godson's legal matters.
And now he's suddenly caring? No way I will give in to that buffoon. A deep-seated envy of the new-rich Brookman against old money, of which Sirius was a representative of, also played into this confrontational attitude.
"You don't seem to be intimidated, despite Mr. Black being very wealthy," Mr. Phil observed.
"Of course I'm not. He might have money, but I have lots of connections he doesn't, which is his own fault since he removed himself from civiized society year ago. Just let him try." Mr. Brookman then went through the letter again... and froze when looking at the letterhead of the law firm. "Oh crap..."
"What is wrong?" Mr. Phil didn't like how his employer suddenly paled.
"Look..." Brookman gave him the letter and Phil knew right away what was wrong when reading the name of the law firm that was representing Mr. Black.
"Shark Solicitors & Barristers?! This is not good!" Now he was getting worried as well. "And Mr. Shark is heading the case personally?! I had no idea he still does that."
"He normally doesn't, but if he feels Black is that important a client, we are in for a bloody and dangerous legal battle." Brookman had paled significantly. "Phil, get the best lawyers you can find with money, price is not an issue. We would pay very dearly should we lose this case."
Watching Mr. Phil leave in a hurry, Brookman noticed he'd started sweating. All of a sudden his supposed genius idea with the Harry Potter Adventure Books looked like it perhaps hadn't been that smart after all.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"The Wind of Change"
Notes:
Here the notes.
You of course already knew that Harry as the protagonist was going to survive. However, I really wanted to give something fresh, so how many of you thought this would happen? I really love to put things on their head, don't I?
Also, how many of you even guessed that I would do this with Dudley? I guess not too many.
Yup, Harry now knows a whopping two years earlier than canon, which should be more than enough time for him to acclimate to everything and not be such a deer in the headlights like he was in canon, which at times was painful to read.
Yay, you finally get to see the magical preschool thing take off. I'm especially proud of the scene where Hermione finally learns about her magic and her reaction. Though Ginny not taking "no" as an answer is also quite great to read in my opinion.
I hope I wrote it naturally enough how Harry and Ron meet, which in turn gavitates others to them. Neville will only join them next chapter, though that is kind of understandable. Just be surprised how they will develop without the pressures of Hogwarts on them.