"Wow! This place is huge!" Holly exclaimed as she, Harry, Aunt Miranda, Uncle Isaac and Uncle Jasper arrived via the international portkey the Americans had used to travel from the MACUSA into Gringotts, into the entry hall of Potter Manor, or the American Potter Manor.
Privately Harry hoped they never used portkeys again, it made him feel utterly sick. He'd been knocked around, like he'd been dropped out of a plane in nothing but a barrel, tumbling down into Niagara Falls. He had tumbled around and then fell to the ground, in an undignified manner.
Holly had been fine, although she had looked a little queasy. Harry guessed that he was just not suited to magical travel, but he hoped it would not cause a problem in the long term.
Miranda smiled lovingly at Holly, effortlessly charmed by her polite cheer. "Yes, it is, although it seems a little smaller compared to other families' homes."
"Where exactly are we in America?"
"Alaska. When the Potters came to America, we quickly established a few homes, all across the country. We have ranches, villas, manors like this one and homes from the eastern seaboard to the western. Some of them are empty and are maintained by the House Elves we employ. We travel to them whenever we don't want to go abroad. Think of them as summer and winter homes," Jasper explained.
"What are House Elves?" Holly asked curiously.
"House Elves are creatures who form a symbiotic bond with wizards, Holly. They cook and clean for us."
"So they're slaves, like we were to the Dursleys?" Harry's voice was mild, but the sudden slow rise and fall of his chest, and his expression made it clear he was displeased. He and Holly had left Britain for dozens of reasons, being seen and regarded as property to a family as cruel as the Dursleys was one of them. Finding themselves with another family who had servants brought back memories of the years of countless humiliations to Harry's mind.
Sensing danger Holly quickly grabbed onto his hand to calm him down. Also sensing danger, Isaac quickly held up his hand.
"No, Harry, nothing like with those No-Majs. We don't mistreat, nor abuse our House Elves. We treat them as servants, asking them to do tasks, but we don't beat them for not being quick, or anything stupid like that. We form a bond with them, to replenish their magic. There have always been mysteries concerning House Elves, but they genuinely want to serve. They'd die without it," Isaac explained.
Harry glowered at him for a moment. "I don't like that at all, I'm sorry," he said. "I-When Vernon told Holly and me he saw us as property, he had agreed with his sister, who told him he should have sold Holly as a prostitute. I snapped when he called us property, after years of cooking and cleaning."
The young boy's anger and what he said had a strong effect on the three adults. For Miranda, she instantly wrapped her arms around Harry, who went as stiff as a board as he wasn't used to being touched like this. Isaac was furious with Lily and James for their choices. What in the name of Merlin were they thinking when they came up with this idea? Keeping a pair of kids safe from a Dark Lord's followers was one thing, abandoning them to a life of slavery was something else! What would have happened if Holly had met them at Hogwarts? Would Lily and James see their failures, or would they ignore them?
Jasper was a strong supporter that magicals and No-Majs should never mix. Now he had even more proof of it.
"It won't be like that, Harry, not anymore," Jasper tried to be reassuring even if he wished he could go back to Britain, and show those arrogant No Maj's their place. "You are not slaves. Not anymore. And neither are the House Elves. They want to work for us and they're happy."
"Happy?" Harry's voice was sceptical.
"Yes, they are," Miranda pulled back so she could look at him closely, and she had to hide the shudder at the intensity of his magic. She could feel it and it was both frightening and surprising. She had never met anyone radiating so much magic before. "They need the work to keep themselves strong, and we treat them as if they're a part of our family, and they are. We make sure they have benefits, like good food and drink, and plenty of work to keep them busy."
Holly, tired of this debate, took his hand. "Harry, calm down," she said, making him turn to her. "We can find out more later. Please don't spoil it," she pleaded with him.
Harry looked down sadly and wrapped Holly in his arms. "I'm sorry, Holly. I didn't mean to ruin it for you…"
"You didn't," the little girl placed her hand gently on his cheek, "I know how you felt when Vernon said that to you. I was horrified, too. But I like Auntie Miranda," the woman squeaked, "Uncle Jasper and Uncle Isaac. They're nice. I don't think they're gonna hurt us."
Harry ground his teeth, resisting the urge to say if they did, they would not know what hit them. But he didn't to spoil the mood, and also because a zen master had written never to announce your intentions. Besides he doubted any of these people would be happy if he suddenly threatened them.
"No, I don't think so either, Holly," Harry murmured before he turned to their new adoptive family. "I'm sorry about that, but-."
Miranda hugged the two children again. "Sshh," she whispered gently. "Neither of you have anything to apologise for. We know it's hard to adjust. Let's just take it all one step at a time, okay?"
Harry nodded, already seeing the woman's charm and friendly nature had won Holly over. He was having a hard enough time fighting back himself. "Why do you have so many homes in America?"
Jasper chuckled, already charmed by what he had just witnessed, just as his brother was. "The Potters came from Britain," he explained as they walked ahead. "When we arrived, we used our money to buy several homes, but we had a few more built. The Potters have always been entrepreneurs in potions, and runes, and we're not strangers to real estate. You have to keep in mind, that the MACUSA was still developing. It was only after its foundation our family came here."
Harry nodded, remembering the history of the country from the books they'd brought. "We read about that," he gestured between himself and his sister. "So the Potters only came after the MACUSA was formed because it wasn't safe?"
"You have done your research," Jasper commented.
"It was the only way for us to understand the history, but did you know, the Potter family emigrated sometime before others emigrated?" Isaac smiled.
Harry and Holly turned to each other and then back. "No," Holly shook her head.
"We largely skimmed the book," Harry confessed.
"It's okay. Anyway, Abraham Potter was one of the founding twelve, a group of Aurors trained to bring order to the MACUSA," Isaac smiled.
"Wow, we didn't know that. We just thought the Potters came afterwards," Holly whispered in awe.
"We did and we didn't. A group of our family left Britain and emigrated to America, hoping to take advantage of the treasures offered to them by America and to give them a new life. Abraham's family had already been in America for a good few decades before others came over the Atlantic," Miranda said.
"What happens now?" Harry asked as his new uncles and aunt led him and Holly on a tour. The manor was large, but it soon became clear the Potters didn't like corridors that were so wide and long you would feel you were walking around the planet and back. The rooms were the same.
Miranda stopped them by a large panoramic window. Holly squeaked at the amazing view, with a vast forest nearby with snowcapped mountains in the background. In a corner of the window, Harry could see a placid lake.
"We've been talking about that," Isaac tore the sibling's eyes away from the window. "We've decided to send you to a magical school before you go to Ilvermorny."
"They exist?" Holly said in surprise. "We never went to one. We always went to a No-Maj primary school."
Miranda snorted in disdain. "The British never did have any sense," she said. "They do here. In America, this country's sheer size is the reason why we have small schools where young kids go, to learn the basics of magical history, and to learn some basic magic. The real work will begin when you go either to Salems or to Ilvermorny."
"America takes the children from No-Maj's who have magic, obliviating the memory of their existence from their families, and those children are blood adopted into the magical families, and because there are so many of them there are more benefits to sending them to a school, rather than have them home taught. There are simply too many children for the old methods to work with," Jasper said.
Harry and Holly hadn't formed much of an opinion behind the MACUSA's policy of taking kids from their families. They found it a bit creepy but after they had experienced the pain from living with the Dursleys, they preferred the magical world to the No-Maj world. They knew if their parents hadn't abandoned them, they would likely have lived with a different magical family unless their parents were really cruel and stupid to drop them off in the No-Maj world.
"Old methods?" Holly repeated suddenly.
"Sorry?"
"You said old methods where kids were concerned. What did you mean?" Holly asked, making Isaac blink since he hadn't expected such a question from a young girl. He caught Harry's proud smile and realised the two likely talked about subjects no child should have to talk about.
"In countries like Britain, where Newbloods are only inducted into the magical world when they're 11, magical children born to magical families are simply home-schooled," Isaac explained.
"What kind of magic will we be learning in this school?" Harry asked.
"Only the basics. MACUSA history. Potion basics. Some Ancient Runes, magical theory. But that's about it. You won't be allowed wands until your first days at Ilvermorny," Isaac said.
"When are we going to start?" Holly asked softly.
"Next month. We want you both to settle in first, and meet your new family," Jasper said.
"Now, come along. We have the rest of the Manor to show you," Miranda smiled.
Harry and Holly nodded, and they walked along the corridors. Their time in America had come.
