Advance Arrangement
by Teddylonglong

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.


Lily, Claire and Santa observed on the screen how Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, gently petting his phoenix' crown feathers, when Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace.

"Lord Malfoy." He eyed his visitor in apparent surprise.

"Headmaster." Malfoy accepted the offered seat, before he came straight to the point. "This morning, the school board has made a decision."

"Ah?"

"From September next year onwards, up to five non-human students per year will be allowed to study at Hogwarts."

"Non-human students? Why might that be?"

"We have decided that it would be good for the children to understand from an early age that there are other intelligent species. We believe that possible friendships with goblins, elves, dwarfs or yetis might have a positive influence on the overall climate of the magical world. If you look at the history of the British magical world, it is full with wars against the goblins, which could be prevented in the future due to possible friendships between our children and theirs."

Dumbledore thoughtfully let his hand wander over his long, white beard. "Ah, but Mr. Malfoy, do you believe that it is wise? Especially as the school year, which will commence next year, will be the year that Harry Potter is going to attend. We cannot afford endangering him by bringing creatures into the school."

Malfoy let out a scoff. "The first five non-human children, who are going to attend Hogwarts, are all pupils of the Selective Academy of Magical Science, which Draco has been attending together with several of his future Hogwarts classmates since the age of three. They're used to attending a human school and will not endanger anyone."

"The Selective Academy of Magical Science?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.

"Yes sir. Unspeakable Merlin is the headmaster."

When Dumbledore opened his mouth with the obvious intention to ask further questions, Malfoy turned back to the fireplace. "Well, headmaster, I merely came to inform you about the board's decision. I shall see you…"

Dumbledore merely nodded, seemingly deep in thoughts.

HP

"Should I feel sorry for the old man?" Santa quipped, causing Lily and Claire to chuckle.

Lily shook her head. "I am not sorry in the slightest."

They observed how Dumbledore called the heads of the houses and informed them of the news, and to their amusement and the headmaster's obvious annoyance, all four heads voiced their appreciation of the change.

Filius Flitwick was the first to react. He jumped up and down in clear excitement. "I've heard that Buckbean's children are attending Merlin's Academy and they're good friends with the Potter twins. I am very happy to have goblin children attend Hogwarts in the future."

"I've never heard about that school." Dumbledore sounded grumpy.

"I've met Unspeakable Merlin a couple of times." A rare smile played on Minerva's lips, as she explained, "The Selective Academy of Magical Science is supposed to be an elite school for students who have already taken their NEWTs; however, as long as his own grandsons are pre-Hogwarts pupils, Merlin has decided to run it as a primary school."

"I have met several of the teachers, and not all of them are human either. Apparently, everyone gets along well, not only the children but also the adults."

"Severus?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Why are you acquainted with Unspeakable Merlin and his school?"

Severus smirked. "Ah, Unspeakable Fluffy has introduced me to it. I don't know if you remember that we're occasionally doing some Potions research together."

Dumbledore thoughtfully stroked his beard. "Ah, I didn't know that. Nevertheless, it is strange that you all have connections to the Unspeakables, while it is me as the headmaster who should have the connections."

"Not necessarily." Minerva smirked. "We probably have more time than you due to your many obligations and tasks for the Greater Good."

"That is probably true," Dumbledore replied, nodding his head, before he dismissed his colleagues in apparent disappointment.

HP

The last year of Harry's and Bobby's primary school was exciting to say the least. Nicholas Flamel, who was around six hundred years old and still alive, taught them how to make their own broomsticks. Instead of trying to develop their own models, however, the children decided to work all together to develop one spectacularly brilliant model and then produce one for each of them.

Jane and Kengo, the goblin twins, turned out to be the most proficient in Alchemy, Harry, Bobby and Draco were the best fliers, Ron and Toni had the most practical ideas concerning stability, and Nina, Susan and Blub were responsible for the design including several kinds of concealment charms.

With everyone's advice and Professor Flamel's assistance, they built a prototype on time for Christmas.

"We should ask someone…"

"… who is not a member of our class…"

"… and has not been working on it with us…"

"… to try it out." Jane and Kengo remained thoughtful, giving their classmates a questioning look.

"Why don't we invite Fred and George…"

"… on the first day of the Christmas holidays?" Harry and Bobby grinned in anticipation of seeing the funny twins again in the near future.

Everyone agreed, and on the last day before the beginning of the Christmas holidays, the Weasley twins, who had already returned home from Hogwarts on the previous day, visited them at the primary school with the incentive to try out their prototype of a new broom.

Before the twins left again, after taking turns trying out the broom for hours, they begged the younger students to make two brooms for them, promising to pay them well from the money they earned as student assistants at Hogwarts.

"We won't forget you, twins…"

"… but first of all…"

"… we need to equip our whole class," Jane and Kengo replied in no-nonsense voices.

"So, it might take a while…"

"And my class, too!" Angelica interrupted the goblin twins.

"But you still have time…"

"… Fred and George are playing on the Quidditch team…"

"… of Slytherin house," Harry and Bobby informed their younger sister, who returned an indignant glare.

Not only the Weasley twins, but also Sirius, James, Santa, Merlin, Minerva and Severus decided that the broom developed by the class of the ten-year-olds was a broom, which was not only safer and more streamlined but also faster than any broom on the market.

HP

It was on Christmas Day, while Harry, Bobby and Angelica helped Santa and Claire to deliver presents all over Britain, that Merlin suddenly set the screen to the Dursleys' residence, causing Lily to stare at the scene that was playing on the screen in shock.

tbc...

Thank you for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please continue feeding my muse. Any ideas, suggestions or opinions are welcome.