Shadows and Orbs

Chapter 22

Draco stood between Fred and George who were holding his still weak form up. His naturally pale skin was ghostly white, though Wyatt noticed with satisfaction that he did look better than when he arrived. It had been a few days since the arrival of their guests and over that time they had all managed to recover somewhat and Wyatt deemed them well enough to move.

"We will be orbing to Camelot," Wyatt said, the previous day he had explained to the trio who he and Harry were but left out the Prophecy. They seemed to be taking it well and Wyatt hoped they would come to deal with all that it implied.

"The thing you did when we were brought here?" Fred asked, looking at Wyatt. Wyatt simply nodded and turned to Harry who was standing at the doorway, watching silently.

He strode over to his soul-mate and leaned down, placing a kiss on those red lips. Harry smiled slightly though Wyatt noticed a sad glint in his green eyes.

"I'll be back in a few hours," Wyatt whispered, "you can do some research while I'm gone."

Harry smiled maliciously at those words. Ever since the vision Harry had kept quiet about the darkness sensed in it, but at random times, when it was mentioned, his love would burst into laughter and a look of glee would flood his face. Wyatt knew it was something big but Harry wouldn't say a word. Wyatt only hoped that Harry would say something when he found what he needed. This darkness was near his brother and he needed to know.

Harry stalked from the room and Wyatt turned to their guests and stretched out his hands.

"Hold on," Wyatt commanded and all three reached out a hand and grabbed onto Wyatt. In a swirl of blue orbs they left Azkaban and reappeared in Camelot.

Wyatt smiled when he took in his surroundings- the castle was looking brilliant. His builders had done a good job. They had simply repaired the castle- while modernising what they could and making sure everything was safe and in working order. They had done brilliantly and outside the windows he could see the now expansive garden which housed greenhouses for growing fruit and areas outside which would be used for vegetables. He wanted to be self-sufficient and not rely on other farms throughout Camelot. He would also hire gardeners and workers to maintain the gardens, providing jobs for those who needed them.

The room they had orbed into held an ancient book, not the one you would expect. This was the Book of Kings- all those who were powerful enough to wield Excalibur had access to this book. The emblem on the front would change with each new King- something that represented them. Wyatt knew that the symbol of his family represented him well- though they no longer considered him family.

It now represented his past- which shaped him into what he was- his heritage and power. He knew all these things would help him shape the future.

"So this is Camelot?" Fred asked while they held onto Draco.

"Yes, this is where you will be residing," Wyatt told them, "I'll show you to your rooms."

Wyatt led them down the corridors until they reached the residential area of the castle. This area usually would house guests and any workers that needed to be on the castle grounds full-time.

The walls were a light pale green with white leaves painted on it. The area overlooked the orchard and a small lake. Wyatt felt the area had a calming feeling that he hoped would help Draco heal.

Wyatt led them into a medium sized apartment. It was a simple living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen apartment with a few fancier bits. The bathtub, for example, had a built in Jacuzzi.

"These will be your rooms," Wyatt stated with a wave of his hand.

"We do not have house-elves here, so any food you require will be brought by a cook, ready for you to prepare," Wyatt told them as the twins lowered Draco down onto the sofa.

"There are plenty of things to do in Camelot and I do advise you take the time to travel the city and get to know people," Wyatt said as he sat down in a chair, "however, I will not allow you to contact the outside world without my knowledge- any notes must be given to me so I can send them. I understand that you will want to let your family know and also set something up for your shop."

"I need to speak with one of you privately," Wyatt commanded and after a glance George got up and followed Wyatt from the rooms.

"I wanted to inform you of Narcissa Malfoy's death- I felt it would be better coming from you than from me when Draco finds out," Wyatt explained.

George looked torn for a moment- not wanting to tell this news to his Mate but understanding that Draco would want someone who cares to tell him.

"I will leave you to get settled now," Wyatt bid the twin goodbye before heading to his office. Might as well get some work done before returning to Harry.

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With a sigh, Harry pulled Atum's journal to him and opened it to a bookmarked page. His green eyes skimmed the lines he had read many times before. It was troubling.

The schooling system within England is poor and biased. Other magical schools around the world have a more varied and in-depth curriculum. They promote both muggle and wizarding subjects and during the first year it is mandatory to take a Culture Class to learn about Muggles or Wizards to help break down any hostility that may arise between students on account of heritage.

Hogwarts does no such thing, even their introductory pack given to Muggleborns is difficult to understand and does not explain what they will be encountering in the Wizarding world. The curriculum is biased and only the core subjects are available to students. The only reason Hogwarts is held in such high regard is because of the staff who work there. However, these staff members are underpaid for their positions, qualifications and duties- in another schools they would receive substantially more.

The Salem Academy of Magic (USA) and the Prestige Academy for Magic (Australia) both offer a wide range of courses and produce some of the most capable wizards and witches in the world. The both offer:

Muggle Classes

Music

Art

Drama

English

Science

Mathematics

History

Geography

Religious Education

Physical Education (Gym)

Wizarding Classes

Potions

Transfiguration

Divination

Charms

Herbology

Care of Magical Creatures

DADA

Dark Arts

Runes

Spell Crafting

Additional Classes

Culture Studies

They are to take 5 subjects per category from Wizarding and Muggle classes and all are required to take the Culture Studies class until their fourth year. Each subject has two hours a week, this makes a total of 22 hours per week of class time, roughly 5-6 hours a day 5 days a week.

Hogwarts will not survive for much longer as long as it provides this lower level of education. In the last year the school only receive 15 new students while other schools around the world received, on average, 30-50 new students. Parents within the United Kingdom have started sending their children abroad to school or teaching them privately.

The other schools have also managed to become mainly self-sufficient and promote taking care of the environment. Hogwarts does no such thing and still buys its supplies from neighbouring towns and farms. While this is good for the businesses, the school would find that growing what they can would decrease the budget spent on food.

Hogwarts needs a serious overhaul.

Harry sighed as he reached the end of the entry. He had always gathered that Hogwarts was not up to the same standard as other schools. During his fourth year he noticed that foreign students were always looking in the more advanced books. Harry had not realised that Hogwarts was in such a state though. Surely someone would have realised the decline in students attending and the growing reputation of schools on other countries.

Harry grabbed a pad and pen and began to jot down ideas. He would need to start figuring out how to change the curriculum and provide a more positive future for those attending the school. Eventually, he hoped that views about demons and dark creatures would become more neutral and maybe children of that heritage could learn magic in Hogwarts.

For the next hour or so Harry simply jotted notes down trying to form an idea. It wasn't until he felt two warm hands fall gently onto his shoulders and a kiss pressed to his cheek that he came from his thoughts. He threw the pad down on the desk and looked at Wyatt.

"Everything go okay?" Harry asked while placing his hands over Wyatt's.

"Yes, though I took George aside and explained about Narcissa," Wyatt whispered with sadness, "I felt Draco would take it better coming from someone who cares."

"You are probably right, though I admit; I would have liked to see his reaction," Harry whispered, the old hatred of Draco showing.

"Now love, we need to be civil to them," Wyatt warned, "Luna thinks they are important and you trust her don't you?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"Now, what are you doing?" Wyatt questioned peering at the paper.

"I'm looking through the journals," Harry stated.

"Find anything useful?" Wyatt asked,

"A few things," Harry said mysteriously.

"Mind explaining?" Wyatt laughed as Harry narrowed his eyes and looked from side to side almost comically.

"For a kiss," Harry whispered looking at Wyatt. Wyatt smiled and leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Harry's pink lips.

"There," Wyatt stated.

"I wanted a proper one," Harry moaned with a smile.

"I'll give you a proper one when you tell me," Wyatt whispered.

"Fine," Harry huffed, "I was reading Atum's observations of Hogwarts and it seems they are in trouble and losing their footing in the magical world."

"I'm guessing this makes you happy," Wyatt murmured. Harry nodded and looked down at his notes.

"It gives us a way in, Wyatt," Harry whispered gleefully.

"Explain," Wyatt ordered softly, looking confused.

"What if the King of All Light decided to do an exchange program with the students within Camelot schools to other schools around the world?" Harry asked, his face taking on a picture of mock-innocence.

"Then what?" Wyatt asked fighting back a grin.

"Someone would inspect Hogwarts on your behalf and find it is not suitable for the program. Hogwarts would be shamed- especially Professor Dumbledore," Harry grinned happily.

"I don't think he would let people into the school from Camelot if we insulted him," Wyatt stated with a smile.

"If the school gets an offer from the King of All Light to 'help' them compete with the other schools, since it is a shame that Camelot students wouldn't get to experience the English culture for a time," Harry finished with a grin.

"And then I would send in a spy to not only re-create Hogwarts but also tell us information," Wyatt said with a nod.

"One way to change the world is to change the view points of the future," Harry said seriously.

"That's a nice saying, where did you hear that?" Wyatt asked.

"Dobby, I think," Harry answered seriously while putting down his pad.

Wyatt gave a laugh which made Harry smile.

"Now, find anything about this darkness?" Wyatt wondered.

Harry smiled and handed him a book.

"Read this," Harry whispered gleefully.

TBC…

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