Chapter 4: Britain Reacts

The day after Headmistress Harkness left for America with Harry, Professor Minerva McGonagall was having an argument with one of the school owls. It had left the previous evening with its letter but had returned without delivery. She blanched when she read it.

Mister H Potter

The cupboard under the stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging, Surrey

That couldn't be. She had known they were the worst sort of Muggles imaginable, but to have the child sleep in a cupboard? Unthinkable. She had half a mind to deliver it herself to fix that issue.

Then the fact it was undeliverable hit her, and she began to hyperventilate. What if Harry Potter had died? She gathered herself and made for the headmaster's office, letter in hand, and a somewhat frightened owl flying out her window.

-o-o-

In his office, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore shivered to his core. If being a hundred and eleven years old had taught him anything, it was that this sensation was tied to a great deal of stress in his future. He didn't put to much stock in divination but knew the truth of this. The fact his phoenix, Fawkes, vanished in a pillar of fire a moment later was confirmation that it would begin soon.

Sure enough, not thirty seconds later Minerva came through the door, not a knock to be heard. He was well aware she only did this when she was in a temper or terrified and hoped it was a temper, though the look on her face hinted more toward terrified.

She through a letter on the desk in front of him, saying only one word through thin lips and a terrified expression, "Undeliverable."

When Albus read the recipient, his mind went into overdrive. Harry Potter was undeliverable? That didn't make sense. The cupboard under the stairs? How could they do such a thing? Then his mind made the same jump Minerva's had. If this letter was addressed yesterday, and was undeliverable this morning, to a boy apparently sleeping in a cupboard, there was every chance he had died.

Albus felt plans and machinations falling away from him at an unprecedented speed. He hadn't felt so vulnerable in more than forty years and hated the feeling with a passion.

First and foremost would be the immediate backlash from Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, dying at the hands of Muggles. Every law to protect and encourage interaction between their cultures would be cut off, repealed, or directly reversed within months. The Daily Prophet would have articles on it for months, and he, Minerva, and Hagrid would probably be lucky to escape Azkaban. Hiding it was out of the question, as it would be worse if people only realized Harry Potter was gone due to their children saying he wasn't at Hogwarts.

His plans for luring Voldemort out might still work, but he would no longer need to test Harry's skills and bravery, so could set up a much more effective trap. That redesign at least could be fun if he managed to pull enough strings to remain headmaster. Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock were out of the question though, and he would need to carefully engineer replacements before the news got out. Amelia Bones for Chief Witch? Perhaps the Latvarian Representative for Supreme Mugwump?

Through all of his plans and machinations, a single thought began to form in his mind, something he hadn't thought about in years. True sorrow at this boy's death. After another moment, he realized he had been playing the game too hard for too long, looking at the big picture and not all the small ones. He had stopped looking at the little pictures the night he heard the prophecy, just trying to make it work in his favor, and forgetting the actual people involved. The Longbottoms were insane, and Potters were dead, and Severus was basically his personal slave.

He looked to the school, and realized something else, he had been a headmaster in name only, leaving all the duties of such to Minerva, but she did not actually have the authority to make any real changes that could help the school. He had seen the pamphlets, watched as first Appalachian and later Castlebruxo passed his school. Unthinkable under any other headmaster, but had been to busy to actually run the school.

Wait! Another school. Could that be the answer? Had someone poached Potter to their school, just after the letter had been addressed? That would explain the undeliverable status if he was anywhere but Beaubatons. Few owls would make long flights like that unless they personally knew the recipient.

He would send Hagrid to the Dursleys to get information. But first, he had to calm the lion that was now openly weeping in his office. He had indeed put far too much on Minerva for these years. Even if Harry Potter was alive, he would have to step down from his other roles and just be the headmaster. Maybe he could get the curriculum back up to where it had been when he was a student, or better when his teachers had been.

-o-o-

Vernon and Petunia Dursley were having a perfectly normal day, in fact, it was one of the most normal days they had had in a decade since they no longer had the freak in the house. Sure the old freak lady had been terrifying and had left them in a near-catatonic state for a couple of days, but they now just had themselves and Dudley to deal with. A perfectly normal family.

A knocking at the door had Petunia up and about in a moment, still hoping the photographer from the local magazine would pick her house before the gardens got out of her control. Really the Freak had been useful in that regard. But upon opening the door, her greeting was frozen mid-word, as she looked upon a man who could not possibly be normal.

He had to have been eleven feet tall, weighed half again more than Vernon, though the man only looked overweight rather than obese, and had a black, wiry beard that had to have been three feet long, without really being excessive on such a man.

"G' day Missus Dursley, meh name's Hagrid. Mind if I come in?" He pushed past her rather gently, and only managed to stand inside due to the stairwell being right inside the door. As soon as she had closed the door, he began.

"I'm here 'bout Harry. I saw the letter, making a boy sleep in a cupboard under the stairs? You'd better tell me where he is. Now." His voice was low but carried easily to Vernon in the living room. His blustered indignation and self-righteous tirade that would normally have begun at this point stuttered out seeing the gigantic man, whose kind face radiated malice.

"Now see here, sir, the boy left of his own accord with that professor woman, seemed happy to go too. She seemed the soft sort," Vernon quite thought the opposite mind, but it seemed a good line, "so the boy should be fine. Now, please leave. He isn't here, and we have nothing to do with any of your lot anymore."

Hagrid left, though not before putting the fear of pink umbrellas into the Dursleys, and returned to Dumbledore with the news. Dumbledore was relieved to hear that he had been taken by a professor but was also sad to see him attend another school.

"Do you think you can get an owl to Mister Potter Hagrid? I know none of the school ones will deliver internationally, and I do want to be sure he is ok." Hagrid assured him it that if it could be done, he would do it. Hagrid, being the kind soul he was understood the need for not using normal means to send him a letter but didn't quite make the leap to keeping it quiet from the owner of Eyelop's Owl Emporium. It would be in the Daily Prophet within three days that Hagrid had needed a special bird to send Harry Potter a letter. Rumors would abound.

-o-o-

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, looking sadly at his letter of resignation from the office of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. He'd had the office for nearly thirty-five years, and would miss it in many ways. Albus was a politician, no doubt, but was a teacher and a headmaster first. He hoped his plan to have Madam Bones take the position would work, but he had a bad feeling that others might have similar ideas.

Albus also had his ICW resignation in hand, this one he had similar feelings for, but he had come to terms with everything. The world for others to worry about, he just needed to worry about the school. Voldemort was an issue of course, but he would be consulting with a couple of really seers, those who understood what was going on, tomorrow. He knew he had done too much by himself and lost his way in it. Perhaps he could fix some of it.

The return letter from Mister Potter had exhilarated him. If there was any school that taught absolute tolerance, it was Appalachian. It had been a long-term goal he had had once, long ago, for Hogwarts. Though he had made minimal progress in that regard, it still had hope, and if Harry was going to another school, at least it was that one. Hagrid had been intrigued by the idea of the school for some reason Albus didn't understand. Hagrid had been accepted, of course, being half-giant, but Dumbledore had convinced Headmaster Dippet to try him out.

While Hagrid's expulsion had made it almost impossible for half-giants to get schooling here, it had made Hagrids life still much better than he would have faced without schooling. Dumbledore had to wonder if he would have been better off at Appalachian though.

In any case, Albus had a long day explaining mutants to Hagrid and Minerva. Minerva had heard of course, but always believed it magic rather than something muggle, and Hagrid had been so isolated in the magical world it hadn't come up. Due to Hagrid's accent and simple way of talking, people usually assumed he was fairly slow, and so such a complex topic had not come up. Hagrid understood it just fine, however, as some centaurs had extra abilities, though only one in the local herd.

-o-o-

Boy-Who-Lived Attending Foreign School!

You read that's right dear readers, the famous Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, will be attending Appalapachia Academy of Magic in the colonies! Reliable sources within the Department of Magical Education told us that Harry Potter, whose name has been down for Hogwarts since his birth, was removed by magic. When confronted about why his name was removed, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stated that 'Mister Potter has decided to attend Appalapachia Academy of Magic' and that this decision sparked what Dumbledore assured me would be fascinating developments in Britain.

For the Boy-Who-Lived not to be attending Hogwarts in indeed a fascinating development, but not in the good way. What has made our boy hero believe Britain isn't the place to go? Hogwarts is certainly still the best school of magic in the world, and as a matter of fact, this foreign school doesn't even rank on the ICW school list! What, dear readers, is going on?

-o-o-

Minister Cornelius Fudge was reading the following article, which basically attacked the ministry for allowing such a travesty, with white-knuckled hands. What was going on indeed? He'd never even heard of this Appalapapachia place or whatever it was, and couldn't understand what would make anyone want to attend this foreign school?

"Delores, what do you know of this Appapchia school?" He asked his Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge, and close personal advisor. She was a very knowledgeable woman after all even if she had some extreme views on certain subjects.

Delores sneered, which Fudge knew was a bad sign for her extremism. Oh, joy, "It's possibly the worst school in the entire world, Minister. They especially cater to half-breeds, abominations, and even half-breed abominations. There isn't a single respectable student at the place, and the headmistress is Agatha Harkness. She was the ritual magic professor at Hogwarts until the ministry wisely banned the practice of such things.

"It's in the colonies, or as they now call themselves, America. Very small, taking students from every corner of the world. Centaurs, half-goblins, even half-giants are welcome at that disgusting school. One of the teachers is a wood nymph who had the audacity to learn our branch of magic. The place should be burned to the ground, but the ICW is afraid of Harkness. Apparently when they tried to have the school shut down she took on a whole battalion of ICW forces by herself. She gave a goblin a wand! Those filthy creatures are forbade from ever practicing our magic again, by international law, and she just did it anyway!"

Fudge knew how Delores though about half-breeds, an opinion he did not really care about. Purebloods were best, but half-blood, muggle-born, halfling, it didn't matter after that. He'd even dated a very beautiful Banshee when he was young, something he had ruthlessly suppressed. But the idea of training goblins got to him.

He had been one of the only students in Hogwarts history who found Professor Binns lessons interesting, and knew that if it hadn't been for constant fighting with the goblins, the statute of secrecy would likely not have come into being, and the wizards would naturally be the leaders, with muggles as their paper pushers and second class. The ideas that bothered Delores would be void, as it would only matter that they had magic, and others didn't.

Now they were taking the Boy-Who-Lived? He was a half-blood, sure, but half muggle-born not half mermaid or something.

"You said they also accepted abominations, what did you mean by that one Delores?"

"There are beings of any species with abilities beyond the norm. My mother was one of the weird ones who liked to talk to the muggles in the nearby town you know, and she knew a woman whose daughter developed the ability to turn into a gas, something like perfected fumation. Mother thought she might be a magical who had been missed, or perhaps a squid with only the ability to do that one trick, but her scans said the girl was completely muggle.

"I've heard of all kinds of beings with these abominations. Do you know who Captain Britain is? The muggle who somehow wields Merlin's magic, that we are not allowed to interfere with?"

Fudge nodded, it was a sore spot in the international community, as the laws of Britain, which had been greatly written and/or rewritten by Merlin, said that whosoever wielded his magic was to be protected by anyone with magic in Britain. That included from the ICW, and Dumbledore was the only reason the ICW didn't storm Britain to start wiping memories and probably turn over such laws.

"Indeed, while he wields the magic of Merlin himself, somehow the muggle is worthy, his sister is supposedly one such abomination. She can use legilimancy, both active and passive, without eye contact. Indeed, she can supposedly do it for more than a mile, and can even identify people's minds before she can even see them." Delores' sneer was impressive in its scope and hatred.

"I suppose Potter must be one such? How can we find out, for that matter, how did they find out? We need him to attend Hogwarts Delores, the ministries position internationally isn't that good to my understanding. We don't need the bad press. Get Barty, maybe he has some ideas."

-o-o-

Arrival day for the students arrived clear as could be, a beautiful mountain sky open above them, and a gentle breeze helping the temperature become something warm but pleasant. Harry, Hae, and Ororo were milling around with most of the students who were already there, awaiting the others arrivals. Harry, for one, wanted to see Hermione again, and his two friends thoroughly agreed. Ororo was particularly interested in meeting a mutant magical nomaj-born like herself, and Hae just wanted to meet someone that Harry felt was smart. Hae and Ororo knew Harry was smart, even if he usually tried to downplay it.

The fact that he had picked up enough of Ororo's and Hae's native languages for basic conversation in only a month was a good sign for this, though no one could match Ororo, whose English was better than Harry's and her Korean was close to Hae's. Harry's seemingly natural inclination to seem like the slowest member of any group bothered both girls, and they were hoping a third one on their crusade against his acting like that would work.

At eleven o'clock on the dot, the first few students appeared in a swirl of color, looking a bit queasy but not that bad overall. One caught Harry's eye immediately, as the girl, who was probably in her final year at Appalachian, had clear skin. While she wore a hood, presumably to protect her from the sun, or just staring, she was still quite visible. Muscles were not meant to be seen moving like that, but she still managed a rather composed air about her.

Every three minutes a new group of students would come in. There were ninety-nine returning students, and an expected class of thirty for the first years, though Harry had heard at least a couple of European students had been accepted into Beaubatons, half-breed status or not, as the new headmistress was a half-giant, and graduate of AAM herself. Twenty-seven students had been waiting in the grass for others, and one student was in the hospital wing, as the almost fifth year had managed to turn her arms into cactuses. The schools medi-wizard was having a fun time of fixing the issue and making the girl understand every step of how to fix it herself.

Each group had interesting students. Most looked like halflings of various forms, though a few were obviously fully non-human. At last, after waiting for more than an hour the portkey that brought Hermione appeared. Hermione appeared with two goblins and a half-goblin, all older students, and a very sickly looking boy who appeared about their age. They were the only British students, but it was still an impressive number considering how small the isles were.

"Hermione!" Harry's voice managed to carry to the still queasy girl, and she rushed over to him. Her hair was as big and bushy as he remembered, but her hug of greeting was something to make a python jealous.

"Oh my gosh! Harry, I'm so glad to see you! What have you been up to? What's it like here? Who are your friends?" Hermione finally sucked in a breath, and Harry interjected.

"It's good to see you too Hermione. This is Ororo," the beautiful black girl nodded regally to Hermione, who looked like she had just added twenty questions to her mental queue, "and this is Hae," who smiled, her English not yet good enough to keep up with the fast-talking girl.

"They are both going to be first years with us. Hae has only been speaking English for about a month now though, so asking questions as fast as you were won't work. She is very smart, and so is Ororo, so the three of you should get along well."

Hermione smiled at the two girls, and Harry could see when she realized that Hae had tentacles rather than legs, but being that she was attending a magical school with mutants to boot, it was interest, not any one of the emotions that might have crossed her face had she attended another school.

"It is nice to meet you, Hermione." Ororo's voice had a power that few adults could manage, even though she still sounded eleven, she sounded like the eleven-year-old weather goddess she was. "Harry has been most eager to see you again, plus to see another brit seems to please him. The American English amuses him to no end."

"Hello, I am Hae," Hae then said something in Korean to Ororo, who responded in kind.

"I think we should get a carriage, as I believe you were of the last portkey and everyone is heading back. There will be a translation charm on the dining hall tonight so everyone can get back in the habit of using English.

They clambered into a carriage, with Hermione asking questions of them, the school, and the bicorn that pulled them along. Hae had convinced the others to not answer questions about the school just yet, wanting to surprise the other girl, something Hermione seemed both irritated and excited about.

Her first view of the school as they came out of the trees stopped Hermione's questions. It was indeed a beautiful school, though much smaller than any other magical school in the world, it still housed its hundred-plus students and twenty or so staff quite easily. Everyone agreed, life was about to become truly interesting.

-o-o-

The dining hall sat everyone comfortable, though Harry was certain the table had been enlarged to fit everyone. Also how a half-giant and a half gnome could sit side by side comfortably pushed the bounds of his expanding imagination. Magic just did some amazing things. The headmistress rose from her place at the head of the table, and silence flowed down the table.

"Welcome to Appalachian Academy of Magic! I am Headmistress Agatha Harkness, and I hope each of you has had a truly wonderful summer. We have a very full school this year, with a hundred twenty-seven students, all of whom I believe will be a credit to our school. Please be aware that no student under fifth-year may go into the forest unaccompanied by an older student or teacher, and that no student may wander into the nearby nomaj town of Asheville. The muggles have no idea that we are here, and we will be keeping it that way.

"We must also have a most serious talk, one each of you will have had with your recruiter in some form or fashion, and all our old students must remember as well. Discrimination will not be tolerated in any form or fashion. Every student here, every single one, is unique. We will celebrate our differences, not bully each other for them. We are a school where the only common factors are that we all have magical cores and are sapient, everything else is up in the air. Mutants, halflings, and nonhumans, all of us will strive to be the best we can, and celebrate everyone else.

"Please also be aware that many religions are represented here. Many races you haven't interacted with will have their own faiths you are unfamiliar with, we even have a first-year student who is worshiped as a goddess in the Serengeti. No one will bully or neigh say another's faith. Learning is fine, hate is not.

"Schedules will be found on your bedside table tomorrow, and every new student is expected to be in the hall for breakfast by seven for an orientation to the school. That includes those of you who were here for part of the summer. Please follow Mister Potter and Miss Munroe," here they stood up, "who will show the rest of you to your rooms. Off to bed everyone, enjoy your dreams."

Harry began to gather the boys of the year, which consisted of thirteen members, while Ororo gathered the fifteen girls. Once Harry had everyone, which embarrassed him immensely to have everyone staring at him, he headed up the top floor, where the first years would be housed this time around.

"There are three rooms for the boys, which are down the hall to the right, and three for the girls. We can't get into each other's side, so don't bother trying. We've got thirteen, so a group of five and two groups of four would work best. If anyone already has anyone they need to be with, please partner up now." A couple of the kids scooted together, one set who looked like siblings, and three who just seemed to hit it off well.

"Excuse me," one boy, a centaur Harry thought, though he had never seen one who wore a robe that covered the horse section as well, piped up. "I'm Hector, um, don't know about sleeping in a room. I've always slept under the sky. Centaur you know, a bed seems rather odd."

Harry smiled at his way of speaking, and figured there was something to do for that, "Carol," she appeared with a pop, startling some but not others. "Hector here is not used to sleeping indoors, and wants to know if there is anything we can do for him?"

Carol nodded happily, "Carol can be making one room look likes it is being outside. Please be making sure you choose roommates who like outdoorsiness too."

Carol popped away to begin her work, and the three students who had bunched together came forward to offer to sleep with Hector. Harry ended up with the brothers, fraternal twins they called it, who said their parents had been students here, a half-gnome and a half-goblin, as well as the only new male student who had a very obvious physical mutation. His body was covered in eyes, each a bright blue, and all looking about curiously. The last room was the one that held five, whom all seemed unsure about each other but willing to be friends. Harry was just glad that there didn't seem to be too much tension, aside from regular nerves.