Chapter 11 A Bit of A Bump

At lunch, the next day, Justin had a question. He'd been thinking about it all day, and now he wanted an answer. "Hey, Dad, I know why you have a gun, what with you being in the army and all, but I thought the cops couldn't carry?" he asked, fidgeting with his fork.

"Oh, well, you see they are the new magical police, and since wizard always carry deadly weapons at all times, wands, they were given permission to do the same. Not all the cops are wizards, some are what they call squibs. Meaning, they can't do magic," Patrick explained as best he could. "So, it was decided by the PM and the Queen that they be ready for action. They do have orders to shoot to maim, and they have a magical on all teams for shields."

"And it's a good thing too," Patrice, added, still upset about the night before. "I heard that those… men were throwing around deadly spells." She had been on the phone all morning, trying to make sure that everyone was alright.

"Why did they attack? I know Harry had a feeling they would, but since we are leaving them, like they want, I might add, why attack?" Justin asked, looking between his parents.

"From what I've gathered, they are more upset that we are taking money from Hogwarts. You see, it was a tuition school. And most of that tuition came from 'muggleborns'. We didn't find out, until we decided to secede, that we were paying higher than the purebloods. It was quite a slap in the face," Justin said, trying to control his temper so he didn't snap at his family.

"That sucks," Harry said, thinking hard on what he learned. "First, they hide our money, then they rip us off, then they throw us out. All nice and legal like, to them. Bastards." He folded his arms and slumped back.

"Language, Harry, but I agree," Patrice said, putting her napkin down and standing from the table. "You boys go flying, I'm going to talk to your father."

"Yay," Harry said, leaping from his seat and all but flying up the stairs. Justin followed at a more sedate pace.

"Make sure Mike is with you!" she called after them, wanting the only wizard on the payroll to supervise.

"Okay, Mum!" Justin yelled back.

The Finch-Fletchley adults went to the sun lounge and sat on the sofa together. They cuddled a bit and soon Patrice asked, "Feel better?"

"No, not really. I'm still quite miffed," he answered with a heavy sigh.

"It'll work out," she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I truly hope so," Patrick said, kissing the top of her head.

Three days before Dags started, someone rang the doorbell. One of the servants answered, and asked, "Yes, may I help you?" to the old man with the ridiculous beard and clothes. She had been warned that someone like this might come calling. She had orders to direct them to Mr. Finch-Fletchley. In no way were the boys to be left alone with any wizard that came calling.

"Yes, I am here to speak to young Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, twinkle in his eyes.

"Mr. Potter is out right now," she lied smoothly. "I can ask if Mr. Finch-Fletchley can see you."

The old man chuckled. "Come now, it is not nice to lie. I know Harry is here, I need to speak to him," Albus said, shouldering his way into the hall.

The woman growled and went the intercom. "Mr. Finch-Fletchley, there a man here asking to see Mr. Potter."

"Tell him I will be right down," came the staticky answer a few moments later.

"Follow me," she said, primly, very vexed that the man seemed to have read her mind and bullied his way in, like he was important or something.

"Of course," Dumbledore said, letting her lead him to a receiving parlor.

She sniffed and left the room. Dumbledore looked around and was rather impressed with the grandeur of the room. He sat in a chair and politely waited to be received.

About five minutes later, Patrick entered the room. "What do you want, Dumbledore?" he snapped, sitting on a chair near the door.

"I have come to tell you that Mr. Potter must attend Hogwarts. If he is not there, then many parents will withdraw their children. It could see the closing of the school," Albus said, running his hand down is beard in a knowledgeable way.

"That school has been running for a thousand years without Harry there. Try pulling the other one, it's got bells on it," Patrick refuted.

"You truly don't seem to understand, many students have withdrawn from Hogwarts. If Harry is not there to bring them back, the school will close," Dumbledore said more firmly.

"Then you should have done something about that cesspool you call a school. Bullying by teachers and students alike. Prejudice runs rampant in the halls. Bias teachers, and faculty. A troll running around, the mysterious loss of a teacher. I even heard there was a three-headed dog locked in a room that most first-years could get into," Mr. Finch-Fletchley stated, listing things on his fingers.

"I do admit that there are some issues," the old man said, narrowing his eyes a bit. "However, no one was hurt, and children will be children."

"That attitude, right there, is why my boys will be going elsewhere. I don't…" Patrick started only to be interrupted by Harry and Justin running into the room.

"Dad, can we…?" Justin stopped when he saw his old headmaster. "What do you want?" he demanded, fist on hips.

"Harry, my boy," the old man said, ignoring Justin. "I've come to talk to you about returning to Hogwarts."

"Umm, no," the confused boy stated, looking to Mr. Finch-Fletchley who nodded to him. He waved the boys to stand behind him, they complied.

"Why ever not? Your parents would want you there," Albus tried to coax, peering around the adult, trying to look Harry in the eye. His face was the visage of disappointed grandfather.

"Umm, I'm pretty sure that was because there was no alternative," Harry disagreed, keeping his eyes firmly on the man's beard.

"Come now, you must have enjoyed your time there?"

"Ah, no, not really. I mean, I made friends and such, but most of them will be going to D... the new school," he said, not sure if he should mention the school's name.

"You have your answer, Dumbledore. Quit harassing my son," Patrick said, putting his hand in his jacket.

Harry and Justin backed to the doorway.

Dumbledore scowled. He reached for his wand, and Patrick pulled his gun.

"Get out," the younger man snarled. "Get out, and don't come back. You are no longer have any authority over the boys. Leave." He aimed at the man's hands; finger ready to fire if the arsehole even twitched in the boys' direction.

Albus, while knowing what a gun was, didn't really know how they worked. He lifted his wand, to do who knows what, when Harry shouted, "No!" and the wand went flying to his hand.

Patrick fired the gun but missed because Harry's accidental magic knocked the man backwards, causing him to stumble a bit. The bullet lodged in the wall, making it splinter a bit. Everyone in the household came running into the room to see what was going on. The boys were hustled behind the adults, and much shouting was happening.

"Do I need to call the cops?" Patrice asked, moving towards the phone.

"No, Dumbledore was just leaving," Patrick assured her, keeping his gun aimed.

Dumbledore was in complete shock. His wand was gone. He needed that wand for when Voldemort return. He stared at Harry, who was looking at the Elder Wand with fascination. The last place the wand should be was in the hands of Harry Potter.

"Harry, my boy, could you return my wand?" he asked as gently as his fraught nerves would allow.

"Umm, sure," Harry said, not wanting to be labeled a thief, he edged to where he could see the man, and tried to throw the wand to him, since he didn't want to get close. The wand, however, simply dropped back into his hand. "Looks like I can't," the boy said, holding the wand in front of him.

"Dammit," Albus muttered under his breath, he looked at all the people glaring at him and came to the decision that it would be best to leave. "Fawkes!" he yelled. A ball of fire appeared, and quickly formed into a bird, that bird landed on the headmaster's shoulder, and the two disappeared in a column of flame.

"That must be how he got passed the wards," Patrick grumbled, stowing his gun. "Okay, everyone, party's over. Let's go about our business," he said with his jaw clinched. "Thank you for trying to help," he added politely.

The servants and Patrice left, Patrice to call the police and file a complaint. Not that she thought it would do any good, but it might.

"Dad, will he be back?" Justin asked, fearfully. If the old headmaster could 'flame' in anywhere, would Harry be safe?

"I'll call the goblins. See if they can block him," Patrick tried to reassure the boys. "Harry, go put that wand away. Hide it good," he suggested.

"Yeah," was all the boy said, before running up the stairs.

"It'll be okay, Justin. I'll figure it out. Until then you boys be careful if you see that fire, run," he told his son.

"Okay, Dad, we will," Justin said, looking around the room like Dumbledore would be there any second, causing his dad to swear again. The boy nodded to his dad and went to find Harry.

"Fuck," Mr. Finch-Fletchley said, running a hand down his face. If he had known about that bloody bird, he'd have done something sooner. Oh well, time to fix it. He went and called the goblins.

The next day, Dumbledore hadn't returned, but it was a tense night. They all shared a room, just to be safe. The goblins had showed up the night before, and put phoenix wards up. Of course, they had them, they had told Patrick, it was a security leak they figured out ages ago. It cost the Finch-Fletchley's a bit, but to keep the boys safe, it was money well spent.

These wards were added to the town as well.

Today was orientation, all the students and parents were gathered in a large room, that had been expanded for the day. They were all milling around, talking, waiting for the Headmistress to start. Madam Julia Fitzpatrick was an older woman, around seventy-five, she was stout, and had a calm disposition, though she could be firm if riled. Her brown-grey hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she worn a grey woman's business suit, with comfortable loafers. Reading glasses hung around her neck, and her wand was on her left arm in a holster.

Seeing that everyone was there, and hadn't it been a logistical nightmare to portkey everyone in, she stood and went to the stage.

"Attention," she called to the mic. "May I have everyone's attention please?"

The noise quieted, and people turned to her.

"Welcome to The Dagworth-Granger Fine Institute of Learning and Magic," she said, smiling at all the happy faces. "As you have noticed there are many children, from ages five to seventeen," she continued. "This school will host both primary and secondary classes. The primary students will learn normal curriculum, as well as one weekly class on magical theory. Secondary students will learn normal studies the first half of the year and magic the second. All classes for secondary students will be time dilated. Not by much, only twice the time. That way you can finish your schooling in the time allotted. Classes for both schools will be slightly accelerated. You will be learning at a faster rate, even remedial classes. This is so that you can take your place in Higher Education, should you choose, or start making yourself a productive member of society when you leave these hallowed halls."

There was a lot of murmuring, those like Augusta Longbottom, and Molly and Arthur Weasley, weren't sure what she was talking about. The only reason they decided to let their children/grandchild attend was because it was free.

The Longbottoms had been well to do before Neville's parent wound up in long term care, now after so many years of hospital bills, they were not quite as well off. Tuition for Hogwarts had been a burden on Augusta, she was relieved that Neville would now be here, though she was somewhat doubtful that it was better than Hogwarts. That was okay with her, she still felt her grandchild was weak, so a subpar education wouldn't matter.

The Weasleys had never been rolling in money. So, they were more than happy to let their two youngest come here. Dumbledore had tried to change their minds, but Arthur put his foot down. He wanted his children to know more about the muggle world, and this was the best way they could. Molly, secretly, found that it was a way to get her little girl closer to the boy she was crushing on.

"The town below us is, Gobhan Caraidean, roughly translates to Goblin Friends. The Mayor felt that since this all started with Gringotts, we would honor them by naming our town after them," she added with pride. "There were many names offered, and they were all well thought out. However, this is a combination over quite a few suggestions, and we're proud to have it. So, congratulations to those who won the lottery. It was split between three people. Their names will be published in our new town's paper, Potter's Herald. Named after Harry Potter, for his contribution to the forming of this new municipal," she smiled at the boy.

Harry ducked his head. He knew that it was his suggestion about the paper, but it was Hermione who started all this. Little did he know, that the goblins had told the Mayor, PM and Queen that it had been Harry's kindness that day that had made them a bit more amendable to the other children.

"The town and the school are under what is known as a folded space, in theory. It is more like an illusion. What it does is take the edges of the town, bring them together above us, so that satellites will only see the valley we reside is. Since this is an illusion, we still see the sky as normal," the Headmistress explained.

That cause a murmur among the guests. It was something no one had ever heard of. It made those that grew up in the wizarding world wonder just how far the muggleborn had come without them.

"The only way in or out of Gobhan Caraidean is by portkey," continued Madam Fitzgerald, when the noise died down, "at this time. We are working on setting up different forms of secure transportation, but they are not ready yet. The school will always be portkey only, bar walking through the front door, which is warded six ways to Sunday," she explained, looking at some of the adults. "All parents will be given a portkey. These are only to be used in cases of an emergency.

"Students will be ported in every day at 6 a.m. for secondary, and 7 a.m. for primary. The portkey will take them to their bedrooms at their homes. Children are allowed to use basic magic in their homes, but not outside them. If you get a notice from the other Ministry, which you should not as those alerts have been taken down, come to us and we will handle it.

"Phones and electricity do work here. It is a lie that they didn't. That will be discussed in Social Science class. For those parents that want to know more, a pamphlet has been drawn up to explain it to you.

"Now, I would like all primary students to go to the left side of the room, and secondary to the right. We will be discussing the coming year and what will be expected of you. The rules will be gone over and handed to you in writing. Everyone, child and parent alike, will sign a statement that they will do their best to follow them," Fitzgerald said primly. Her hawk like gaze roaming over all the fidgeting children.

That got everyone moving as they split up and stood on the correct side. The noise level was accelerating to great heights. There were teachers sitting at tables that had numbers above them. You stood in line for you grade and then talked with the teacher about the rules, which basically boiled down to, no bullying, no stealing, no cheating, and respect the faculty.

A school supply list and schedules were also handed out.

Harry and Justin got to reconnect with all their friends. After the orientation they headed to Gobhan Caraidean and looked around. It looked like a cross between Diagon Alley and downtown London. They went to each store, bought their school supplies, and other interesting items.

"Wow," Neville said, looking around, mostly glad to be away from his gran. "This is great. It's a pity Gran won't move here. Our house really is too big for the two of us," he said with a sigh.

"You know, I think, I'm going to nickname this town GobyCara, it should be shorter like that. I mean, why do adults always have to name things so people get tired when their done speaking them?" Dean complained, getting elbowed by Hermione.

"Did you see Hannah Abbot, and Daphne Greengrass? I didn't think they'd leave Hogwarts. It seems like a lot of people are here," Harry said, looking to Hermione, like she had the answer.

She did. "I heard that Susan Bones, and a bunch of others, couldn't come because their parents work at the other Ministry. I know Mr. Weasley quit his job, and was offered work here in town," she explained, nodding to the bemused Weasleys.

They were looking around fascinated. It was like nothing they had ever seen. Ron and Ginny stayed with their parents. None of the other Weasleys were there.

"They were offered a place to live, but they wanted to keep their home," she finished.

"I wonder when the non-magical Ministry is going to take them over?" Justin said thoughtfully, looking to Dean, who shrugged.

"I don't know, I think your dad will know, but I'm not sure if he'll tell us," Harry answered instead, looking that said man, who was talking to the Mayor.

All in all, it was a good day. Everyone went home with a lot on their minds. Soon they would be starting a whole new school in a whole new world.

Harry couldn't wait.