Two days later Hedwig returned with the training materials Sirius had ordered. Harry had been up the day before, even if he had to rest regularly. He was quite curious what the international teachers, who had given their input for the lessons, were like and how they taught their subjects. He had, when he had first read his history book, thought magical history being a fascinating subject, but with Binns teaching it, it was unbearable. Sirius opened the parcel Hedwig had brought while Harry was stroking his owl and giving her some owl treats.
Sirius read the instructions and the material that would be covered.
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"All right, they have set up a systematic study plan. Each lesson is between 45 to 60 minutes long, depending on the subject. They are recordings of lessons given in magical classes outside Britain, especially in the USA. It makes sense, since it is the biggest English speaking community outside Britain. You start with the first lesson, by taking place as a student in the class. You get to see the other students interacting with the professors but are unable to ask questions on your own as it is a relived memory. Hm, I think a big reason why this learning program would have problems here in Britain is the rarity of pensieves. The old pureblood families have normally one but they are really expensive for those not earning a lot of money. But from the brochure they had, they are a lot cheaper outside of Britain. I wonder why." Sirius said.
Discover moreMobile app developmentFan fiction communityFiction writing resourcesAnime fanfiction storiesMobile app marketing"How do you build a pensieve? I mean, somebody must be able to make them if they are better available outside of Britain." Harry asked.
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"Well, they mostly are carved from magical receptive materials, mostly stone or crystal gathered near magical ley lines. But that isn't the problem normally. I think the problem is that you have to combine Runes, Arithmancy, Potions and Charms, if I remember it correctly, to create a working pensieve. Not many witches and wizards have that combination of abilities here. I think that would be the reason for them becoming rare. Enchanting, the branch of magic that mainly deals with permanent spells is a profession rarely taken, but good enchanters can earn a fortune."
Harry nodded.
"What can I do if I have questions after the class is finished?" He asked.
Discover moreComicsCrossover fiction guidesCartoons fanfiction storiesFanfiction writing toolsAnimeSirius read through the manual.
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"There is the possibility to write your questions down on a piece of parchment that is delivered with the materials. It is enchanted to answer every question to the topic covered in the classes. If you have questions that are above the material you would have to write a letter to the professor in question or look it up on your own in the suggested literature to go with the course."
"Wouldn't it be easier to find a way to be able to directly communicate with the professors?" Harry asked.
"It would and they are obviously working to solve this problem, but as the idea is relatively new they haven't found a solution yet. The parchment alone is quite advanced. My parents have thought about having Regulus and me being taught privately but the education at Hogwarts was far better as there are many teachers to ask about the things covered in the lessons. Not to forget the connections the pureblood families expected their children to make there. Often the contacts you make at Hogwarts will help you in your later life." Sirius informed Harry.
"That makes sense I guess." Harry admitted.
"Well, ready to try a lesson? I'm quite curious myself how the lessons will be." Sirius asked.
"Yes, let's try it. It can't be worse than Binns' history lessons." Harry stated.
Sirius nodded and poured the silver memory substance into the pensieve. He let Harry go first, and then he plunged his own head into the substance.
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Discover moreScience Fiction & Fantasy BooksScience Fiction & Fantasy FilmsBooksScience Fiction & FantasyChildren's BooksThey found themselves in a big classroom with nearly forty students.
"Welcome to today's lesson on history." The professor greeted.
"We will cover the goblin wars and similarities to the wars against recent dark Lords today. As you all know, goblins are powerful magical creatures. They are really intelligent and today they are mostly known for running most of the wizarding banks there are. The most wide-spread one would be the British Gringotts, followed by the American Binnings. But not always have the relations between wizards and goblins been that peaceful."
He pointed his wand at the board and an animated war scene was played for a few minutes.
"Wizards and goblins have fought hard in the past to come to the status quo. Unlike other magical races like the house elves, which many people still treat as nothing more than slaves, especially in Britain where you will find this a common trait in some old pureblood families, not in all, but in many of them, the goblins are a race of warriors and they take pride in this aspect of their culture. This has been proven the hard way to wizards all over the world. They massively underestimated their opponents and their determination to fight for their freedom and their rights.
Discover morePlays fanfiction storiesCartoonsFan merchandiseDownload FanFiction appCookies"It would be wrong to say that all the problems between wizards and goblins have been solved, they aren't, but the two races get along with each other. People tend to forget that being different doesn't mean the other one is evil or out to harm you. This is a character trait you will find in all human societies, be they magical or muggle. The human nature leads to fear of the unknown. Many dark Lords and Ladies have used this fact for their own gain.
"The two dark Lords that have appeared in Europe during this century are good examples. Gellert Grindelwald was the first. His rise to power was mostly based on the fear of the wizarding populace that if the muggles found out about them, they would return to their practice of witch hunts and burnings. The political situation in central Europe made it even easier for him to succeed in his ambitions. The fascists were singling out people they thought beneath them and in 1939 the German Nazis started World War II. Grindelwald used the fear the war inflicted upon the wizarding population, getting them to believe he had the solution to free them from the muggle terror.
Discover moreFan fiction mobileMovies fanfiction storiesMoviesWriter collaboration platformFan fiction books"Nobody knew it at the time but Grindelwald used the ignorance of the abilities of the muggles to get rid of political opponents. Many wizarding families who protested against his methods suddenly disappeared, many of them to the so called concentration camps or they were killed on sight. Only after his defeat many found out that their leader had given away the locations of his enemies to the Nazis. But the thought that muggles and muggleborns were the downfall of the wizarding world had been rooted in the minds of wizards and witches.
"The second dark Lord Voldemort built his reign on the teachings of Grindelwald. He used an existing scapegoat, muggles and muggleborns and gathered his own group of loyal followers, the so called death eaters. Those followers hid their identity by wearing black cloaks and frightening white masks."
Here the professor waved his wand to the wall and the beginning of a death eater raid was shown. Many of the students' faces were pale seeing it.
"Nobody knew who they really were; except for those closest to Voldemort. Witches and wizards were afraid who they could trust anymore. What if their neighbor was with Voldemort? The strategy the death eaters used is a classical guerilla tactic. Hit in places that'll hurt the community, create chaos and fear and disappear before the law enforcers come for you. It was a hit and run strategy in the beginning. It got so bad that the people feared even speaking the chosen nom de guerre of the dark Lord and they began calling him 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.
"This behavior only helped Voldemort to strengthen his hold over Britain. The Ministry was busy enough trying to keep the things happening from the muggles to really do anything useful against the terrorists. A stroke of luck, it can't be described otherwise, was the downfall of Voldemort.
"While Grindelwald met the end of his power when Albus Dumbledore defeated him in a duel in 1945, Voldemort was defeated by an infant, Harry Potter, who was after this named 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. Nobody really knows how he was able to do it or if it was something his parents managed to do before they died. Probably we will never find out as the only one who could tell us what happened was only fifteen months old at the time. But before Voldemort was defeated, he was winning his war. It would have been a matter of time until he would have taken over Britain.
"You may ask why. Well, imagine the following scenario: There is a really powerful wizard and has a group of followers that he controls through greed, fanaticism and fear. This group isn't even that big, from what has been found out after Voldemort's fall he only had about twenty members of his inner circle his most devoted followers, and about two hundred in the outer circle. They were up against a population of about fifty thousand. Now normally no dark Lord would be able to win against such odds. But he nearly did. His followers as well as he were ruthless. They used the three unforgivable curses, the Imperius, Cruciatus and Avada Kedavra every chance they got.
"By the time the war reached its climax the normal wizards and witches were so frightened that they ran instead of standing up against the attackers. It didn't help that important members of society agreed with Voldemort's point of view. They supported him in the ambition to make purebloods rule their society and acknowledge their superiority over muggleborns, halfbloods and of course muggles. Fear leads to stupidity. While you may be able to explain things to a single person if you have time and are in a secure environment the person will be able to see reason.
"But under pressure the true personality of a person shows. Either they rise through the problem and come out stronger for it or they break. And if a group is put under pressure it is only a question of time until the weakest of them will break and the others follow.
"A big problem was that the government did nothing to organize the resistance against Voldemort properly. In the beginning they didn't even realize that there was a problem, as many of the purebloods were a vital part of the government and thought Voldemort was the solution to the supposed problem of muggleborns in their society. They got a bad wake up call. When they finally realized that Voldemort was the main problem he had sown the seed of doubt and fear in the hearts of the population.
"He operated from the shadows. He blackmailed who he could and killed who wouldn't be blackmailed. Many of his opponents were members of the pureblood high society. This was when most people finally saw the true colors of their supposed savior. But the breaking into hysteria of the masses was what he was aiming at.
"This is not only the case in wizarding societies, it is the same with muggles. I tell you this as I believe that wizards and muggles aren't that different. Only we have magic and muggles don't. And because most muggles don't understand magic they tend to fear it. Like the wizards fear those magical beings they can't understand, which leads us back to the goblin wars.
"The biggest battles, where open hostility between wizards and goblins led to massive losses on both sides, were only partly covered up to the muggles. They suspected something and they reacted with overall tension. It was one of the reasons the open warfare eventually ended. Both sides had too much to lose if the muggles found out about everything."
The professor covered important facts, discussed the reasons behind the battles with his students, gave the most important historical dates and names and opened a discussion what could have been done differently and what lessons the modern wizarding community could learn from the past.
Sirius saw that Harry was entranced by the lesson. He followed the discussion with rapt attention and seemed to want being part of the discussion held about the topic. The lesson flew by and the students were given their homework. Sirius signaled Harry that it was time to leave.
They emerged from the pensieve and Harry was thrilled.
"That was a brilliant lesson, Sirius. I never learned so much about the goblin wars or the wars against Grindelwald and Voldemort before. And they didn't use the ridiculous names people use here for Voldemort. It was fascinating when he used the animations to point out important facts. It was so interesting. I never knew both sides of the goblin war reasons, well I only knew those parts that Hermione insisted to literally punch in Ron's and my heads for the exams, but now I can way better understand why there are still tensions between wizards and goblins." Harry raved.
"I'm glad you liked the lesson. I was impressed myself by it. It is a very good way to learn. I think I really will invest into the company producing this. It will be very profitable in the future." Sirius said.
"You're right. Uhm, Sirius I thought of something while listening to the lesson. How many wizards do you think are able to speak Gobbledygook?" Harry asked.
"A good question, Harry, I'm afraid I can't answer it. But I think very few compared to the numbers of wizards in Britain." Sirius answered.
"Do you speak it?" Harry wanted to know.
"Yes I do, one of the things I had to learn as the heir to a pureblooded family. It was common back in my childhood as most Lords were concerned about being cheated by the goblins if they weren't able to understand them. Most never bothered with really speaking Gobbledygook with the goblins as they regarded them beneath themselves. I did and I can tell you they appreciated my efforts. It's one of many reasons they regard me as a friend." Sirius informed Harry.
"Do you think you could teach me?" Harry asked.
"I'm pleased you want to learn it but what are your reasons?" Sirius wanted to know.
"Well, most of the conflicts between wizards and goblins are big misunderstandings and could be prevented if they were moderated properly by those who are able to look beyond traditions and old grudges. I figured that I wanted to do something for the goblins as it were them who gave me back the freedom of controlling how I live my life. They managed to transfer the soul piece from my body and freed me of Voldemort's shadow. And they undid the blocks Dumbledore placed upon me. The least I can do is trying to understand them and their culture better. And I will only properly be able to do so if I speak their language." Harry stated.
"Your parents would be very proud of you, Harry. I can tell you I am." Harry beamed at the praise. "I will gladly teach you Gobbledygook. But it will take some time to learn it. We have to focus our first few lessons before you have to return to school to get you fit in pureblood customs, etiquette, proper mannerisms and attitude. The earlier you can make allies the better." Sirius promised.
"Yes, the more people get to know me properly, the less are going to believe nasty rumors about me the next time they are going to come up." Harry said.
"Exactly. Now the first thing for you to learn is, don't be afraid of who you are. You are Harry James Potter, heir to an old pure blood family. You can't change this, you might as well just accept the fact. Unfortunately you are also the so called Boy-Who-Lived. So you have double the public attention focused on you. They expect a certain behavior from you. They want to see you as the savior of the wizarding world. Give them what they want to see. But more important, control what you let them see. It is impossible to avoid public attention but you can choose which one you want to have if you are cunning. An example. When you were visiting Diagon Alley with Hagrid the first time, what happened?" Sirius asked.
"Well, as soon as Hagrid had told them that he was helping me getting school supplies, the attention of all the people in the Leaky cauldron was directed at me and I felt completely overwhelmed. I didn't know how I should react or why they reacted that way, why they were happy to see me." Harry answered.
"What do you think they saw in you that day?" Sirius asked. He had to get Harry's analytical mind to work. An ability was only as good as it was trained to be used.
Harry thought thoroughly about this.
"They might have seen a little boy who was feeling out of place. And yet they saw their savior. A bit shy, but polite." Harry replied.
"That seems like an accurate description. As you told me, the reasons for that were your complete ignorance of the wizarding world as you were never told before that very day that magic existed and you were a wizard. Something they didn't know. Nothing was leaked out to the public where you were living the last ten years. For all they knew you would have been placed with trusted allies of Dumbledore and raised to live up to your parentage and fame. There is a conflict in perception. They might have accepted your behavior as being unused to crowds if you were raised isolated to protect you. But this will change." Sirius warned Harry.
"You mean the older I get, the more they will expect me to know anything I should have learned like all the other wizard raised children?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry. It is not fair but this is public expectation we are dealing with. There will be people out to catch you off guard just to get a good story. The prime example for a ruthless reporter is Rita Skeeter. She doesn't know any restrictions and isn't shy to write complete lies to get a flashy story." Sirius said, having read the articles of the blond witch thoroughly.
"So I should avoid her?" Harry suggested.
"No, there is a saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer and also the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Get as much information on people who could get dangerous for you and gather as much information about them as you can. Then use it as blackmail material but subtly. Let them feel that you have their fate in their hands but show them that you don't abuse your power. As hard as it sounds. You have to treat even those you dislike fairly to be respected and be different than Dumbledore and Voldemort." Sirius explained.
"But how can I get information about them?" Harry asked.
"It will come with time. And I think there might be Aunt Cassiopeia's infamous black book somewhere here. She had dirt on so many people. It was her meaning in life to get blackmail on all the important people. You have to know the Blacks never had to really attack openly. With the fortune of many centuries and their ruthlessness they managed it without casting flashy spells. Not that they couldn't do those. There will be plenty of opportunity to observe others and get impressions of them when you make your trip to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies. By the way, which additional subjects did you choose to take this year?" Sirius wanted to know.
"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination." Harry answered.
"We will have to change that. You will drop Divination. The subject is useless. There are only two possibilities, either you are a seer or you are not. And we know for certain that you are not. Add to this that it is the most unreliable branch of magic there is and you get the picture. Even if someone is gifted as a seer, there is nothing they can teach you about it at school."
"Hm, I guess this makes sense. I mostly chose my new subjects to be together with Ron. So if the subject was crap I wouldn't be alone there." Harry said.
"A nice thought, but it would be a waste of your time to try to learn something you simply can't learn. If you were raised in the wizarding world it would have been important to take Muggle Studies, but you know more about muggles than about wizards so this would be pointless. Especially with their outdated teaching materials. Believe me if I say they are more than thirty years behind the time. I think you would do quite well in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. They have lots of practical uses and open you more ways in your career perspectives."
"Which electives did you choose, Sirius?" Harry asked.
"Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. You have to know that we marauders had a brilliant plan to cover all our bases. We didn't want to miss upon possibly useful knowledge for our pranks, I have to admit that was main part of our interests. While we took our education serious, we always thought how we could use what we learned to think up new fantastic pranks. So we decided to split up to have at least one of us in each subject. James took Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, Remus Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy and Peter took Divination and Muggle Studies. We shared what we learned and came up with some wicked pranks." Sirius told Harry fondly.
The next hour Sirius spent explaining to Harry what the different subjects included and what uses they had in everyday life.
Minerva McGonagall sat in her office at Hogwarts. She was really worried about Harry. So worried she had interrupted her holidays to help in the search parties that were send all over Britain to find a clue where he could be. Now of all times Albus had to go to the ICW meeting. She regretted to not have been more persistent to not leave Harry with his relatives. It had only been a question of time until he cracked. The constant mistreatment by them would let the most controlled wizard loose his cool and Harry was just thirteen years old. Lily and James must roll in their graves knowing how they had let their son down.
If only she could find a clue where Harry could be. As if her wishes had been heard, a very familiar snowy owl descended from the sky to her window. She quickly opened the window. If this was Harry's owl, he could be in trouble and in need of help. The owl soared in and landed at her desk.
Minerva was sure this was Hedwig. She held out her leg for Minerva to untie the letter attached to it. She opened the letter with trembling hands. She was relieved that the situation seemingly wasn't a problem to Harry as Hedwig seemed relaxed. If Harry was in danger she would behave differently. She began reading.
Dear Professor McGonagall,
I hope you are well and I am sorry to interrupt your holidays. During my own holidays, which until the day I left my so called relatives were completely unpleasant, I have had the opportunity to do more research on my newly elected subjects. As I found out, Divination is a subject you simply can't learn without having the gift of being a seer. I know I am not gifted.
Therefore I wanted to change my electives for the upcoming term. I wish to drop Divination and take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy instead. As a reliable source told me, there are a lot more career perspectives with those two subjects then there are with Divination. As I don't want to waste my time with a subject I can't learn, I hope you can understand me.
I also read all the articles published in the Daily Prophet until today and I have to tell you I am disappointed. They all talk about how worried they are about me being in danger while Sirius Black is running free. Really, he can't be worse than Voldemort himself and I had to fight him twice during the last two years. I'm almost afraid to think what horror I will have to face this year at the supposedly safest place in Britain, according to Hagrid's words when he took me to Diagon Alley on my birthday two years ago.
Minerva stopped reading for a moment. Hagrid had taken Harry there? She always thought Albus had shown Harry everything and told him about the wizarding world. That was the reason why she had agreed to not be the one to tell Harry about his place at Hogwarts.
As it is, I am rather confused about their behavior. Why do they speak now? They haven't bothered to check on me for all of the ten years I was kept in the dark about my heritage. There is obviously an organization that looks after magical children and if they grow up properly. Well, I can definitely tell you they would have been outraged how my aunt, uncle and cousin treated me; but nothing ever happened.
I read in the Prophet that Minister Fudge doesn't want to punish me for the accidental outburst of magic, but I don't know if I can trust the Ministry. They have never done anything to help me before and I even got an official warning because a house elf, who tried to stop me from returning to Hogwarts last year, used a hovering charm and I was blamed for it. I haven't experienced fairness in this world yet.
All of the wizarding community celebrates me as their savior from Voldemort but they never thought about my well-being while growing up? Has anybody ever thought of checking if there was lasting damage from the killing curse I survived? I know nobody has checked my scar while I was aware of it. Well don't bother with it, I found help and the results were not pleasant. By the way, this letter is enchanted so you can't tell others the things I wrote about besides my changes of subjects. Don't take it personal Professor but I can't trust anybody at the moment.
I will visit Diagon Alley on August 29th to get my supplies. You are free to come too. But be sure, I won't even consider going back to the Dursleys next summer. The Ministry and Dumbledore can whine as much as they want, I don't care. I have had enough of being treated like a slave, being imprisoned in my so called home and having to listen to my abusive relatives.
That place had never been home to me and will never be. So everybody can just keep their opinions for themselves if they think they have anything to say in my life from now on. Sorry for the rant but I had to get this out. I have a safe place to stay at where I am wanted for the first time since my parents died. You can't imagine what this means to me and I won't allow anybody to take this happiness from me.
Minerva could. She had to smile at the thought of Harry being in a loving environment.
As I found out with the help of the goblins they aren't even my blood relatives. My mother was adopted by my grandparents. She was a pureblooded witch from the house of Boldon.
This was a shock to Minerva. The Boldon family? Lily was the lost heiress of the most influential family in European wizarding economy? And now it was Harry? It was clear he had been at Gringotts to find this out. It was extremely clever making sure the recipient of the letter was unable to speak about this, but why did he tell her at all? Did he need her support?
Please give the booklist for my new subjects, if it is possible to change them, to Hedwig she knows where to find me. Don't bother putting a tracking charm on her, it would be lifted the moment she passed the wards keeping the place I am staying at safe. Ah, I almost forgot, could you add one of the pamphlets muggleborn students get before they enter Hogwarts to the letter, please? I never got one and I am sick of being kept in the dark about the magical world. Everyone knows more about my life than I do and I intend to change this.
Yours sincerely
Harry James Potter
Heir of the noble and most ancient houses of Potter, Boldon, Peverell, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw
"Oh my god!" Minerva gasped. "Harry is the heir of two of the founders of Hogwarts? How could we not have been informed of this? How could he not have been informed of this? And why did Albus place him with the muggles if there wasn't any blood relation?"
She paled rapidly. The argument Albus had used to make her stop arguing over Harry's living arrangements had been that his mother left him a powerful protection in her blood and that Harry only was safe where his mother's blood lived, in other words her sister. Without the blood protection Harry was completely defenseless there except for whatever additional precautions Albus might have put in place.
She would stand at Harry's side in this. There was no reason torturing him anymore with living there if there was no benefit in it. She should really send the Wizarding Children Service on the case. Those muggles deserved it. She took her quill and wrote an answer for Harry. It was time for her to help the boy.
She needed to get him to trust her. Oh yes she could understand that he had trust issues. It was just the consequent conclusion of everything that had been happening. His horrible childhood was due to Albus Dumbledore, a wizard of high standing placing him in the worst possible environment growing up. Then he had been denied crucial information to find into the world he had been born into and being punished for things he hadn't done was certainly not helping. It was so wrong that the sensors alarming the Ministry of underage magic weren't able to distinguish between the users.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I was pleased to hear from you. I was worried you would have gotten yourself in a dangerous situation again. I know you don't do it intentionally, but allow me to say you seem to attract trouble.
The change of subjects from Divination to Arithmancy and Ancient Runes will be arranged for you and I have included the requested booklist. I was shocked to learn, that you were never properly instructed to the particularities of the wizarding world. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask me. Until now I was under the impression that you had been given all the information muggleborn children are given and had been informed about your position as an heir to a noble house by the headmaster.
Due to your position in the wizarding world as heir of one of the oldest houses it would have been his duty to tell you everything you needed to know. Not only as headmaster of Hogwarts but also as head of the Wizengamot.
I will support you in your decision to never return to those terrible muggles you had to grow up with. I was against this decision, but I trusted Professor Dumbledore to know what he was doing. I was told that by dying for you, your mother left you with a powerful blood protection that warded the place where her blood lived on, in other words her sister Petunia. But with her being adopted this place won't be safe for you any longer and I am glad that nothing ever happened to you there.
I look forward to seeing you for the new term. Please be vigilant and don't try hunting down Sirius Black. I am sure you have read the newspaper articles that said he betrayed your parents, but he is a fully grown wizard. You don't stand a chance against him yet. Please don't endanger your life needlessly.
I won't tell anybody about your letter, not even the wish to change your subjects. I think you have your reasons for staying hidden and I believe you deserve the happiness you seemingly found. If you are ready to talk about it, I would be pleased to listen to your story.
Yours sincerely
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Head of Gryffindor House
She was satisfied with her letter. It would take time for Harry to trust her again, but it would be possible. The only thing left was training more in occlumency. With Albus being as accomplished as a legilimens as he was, she had to guard her secrets well. She wasn't at Severus' level, but she was quite capable.
She turned to Hedwig to tie her reply to her leg.
"Have a safe flight, Hedwig. If you could speak I would tell you to tell Harry I will support him and do everything to gain his trust, but I think you probably can only show him, that I haven't done anything to expose his secrets." She told the owl.
Hedwig hooted and then she took flight. Soon Minerva was unable to see her anymore.