Raised by a Scoundrel
In the Schoolyard
Chapter 3: In the Schoolyard
Somewhere in America, on the way to Massachusetts, September, 1991
As he sat back in the South Canada/Northern Union Magical Rail Ilvermorny car, Harry reflected on his summer where he had travelled all across the southern continent with Padfoot while his mother and Moony went to England to consult with her former Potions teacher. He and Padfoot had explored ruins and fought with swords in many challenging locations.
He smiled at his ability to perfectly recall the events thanks to Padfoot’s House of Black Occlumency training.
Slughorn Cottage, Scotland, Britain, Early-July, 1991
With a crack two disguised individuals, resembling an elderly woman and her grandson appeared in the street outside the cottage Horace Slughorn had retired from the post of Hogwarts Potions Master position to some 10 years prior.
When Slughorn heard a knock at his door, he hastily drew his wand and opened his door a crack.
“I once gave you a bowl with some water, and a petal that I transformed into a fish, which you named Francis.” Said the elderly lady.
“Lily?” croaked Slughorn with a tear in his eye, as he swung open the door. “Please come in my dear.”
As they entered the home Lily asked if anyone else was home, when Slughorn said no, she removed her and Lupin’s disguises.
“I thought you were dead” Slughorn said sobbing while Lily held him.
After extracting an unbreakable vow from Slughorn to not tell anyone they were still alive, Lily began to tell him how they escaped that night, and what they had been doing since.
When she told him of his new job, he summoned a bottle of oak-matured mead from a cabinet, and 3 glasses.
“A toast to the lovely Lady Lily Potter, the newest Ilvermorny Potions master.” He toasted.
Then Lupin told him of his new job and they toasted again.
“You know Lupin, you’re looking much better now, than I ever remember you looking.” Said Slughorn.
“It’s all thanks to that potions whizz over there.” Replied Lupin. “She improved on Damocles’ Wolfsbane Potion, she hasn’t quite cured the lycanthropy, but I’m no longer fighting the wolf during the full moon.”
Eventually after promising to keep them informed about what was going on in Britain as well as at Hogwarts they departed to return to America.
Hogwarts Express, somewhere in England, September, 1991
“Hi my names Ron Weasley, do you want to join me?” A dirty looking boy of eleven with red hair asks, as a bushy haired girl
“No, I’m looking for a toad, a boy named Neville’s lost one.” The bushy brown haired girl replied.
“I’m Hermione Granger by the way.” She spots his wand out. “Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see it, then.”
She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.
“Err — all right.”
He cleared his throat.
“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.”
He waved his wand and nothing happened. His rat, stayed brown and asleep.
“That doesn’t seem to work at all, I’ve read all the text books already and practiced a few of the spells and they all worked for me.” She says.
She then tells him how excited she was to learn that magic was real, and how it explained all the weird stuff that happened around her. She goes on for a couple hours, and eventually gets up as it begins to darken.
“You should change, I expect we’ll be arriving soon.” She said as she got up to leave.
As she left Ron grinned stupidly at himself.
“She’s so out of my league.”
The two of them crossed the lake in the boats with Hagrid and were sorted in to Gryffindor House together.
Somewhere in Massachusetts, USA, September, 1991
As the meeting on the train occurred in England, a dark-haired boy with glasses was sorted into the Wampus House of Ilvermorny, where the name Harry Potter was an unknown.
His year progressed uneventfully unlike our heroes across the pond such as they are.
Notes:
- Thanks for the continued support.
- I’ve got most of the story planned out, and most of the ships figured out.
- Since most of the first years (of schooling) will be largely unimportant to the plot, I will be summarizing the canon trio's lives while at school and then focusing on Harry's summer holidays.
- Next chapter will introduce an OMC, who will be named and styled after the man who introduced me to the world of Harry Potter, one cold winter 7 years ago in Korea. I’ve dedicated this story to his memory, he fell to the Taliban’s fire in Afghanistan 4 years ago.
- Ron's rat is just a common rat, Peter is dead.