19 Chapter 19: Birthday Celebration
(July 6, 1992)
(General POV)
With the summer holidays in full swing, Savrin was taking the time to find replacement teachers for the coming school year. Already he had found a number of candidates to fill the position of Potions Professor, and Amelia had agreed to let Mordecai Berrycloth remain on for another year, with a few stipulations that Savrin had agreed to.
Arcturus was already making headway on the Board of Governors to implement the new course books Savrin had written for the following year, and he had even gotten the new uniform designs submitted and approved. Savrin was annoyed at the fact that the Board had chosen the design he liked the least, but it was still leagues better than the previous uniforms had been, and hopefully would set the normal wizarding and witch wear to the current era instead of somewhere in the sixteenth century.
(Image of Uniforms)
Making his way into the Treehouse, Savrin found Godric and the others all gathered around the table looking over documents, but when he went to look at what they were going over, he was confused when he saw that it had nothing to do with the assignments he had given them.
"What are you doing?" He asked after a moment of looking at the magazine they were looking through. "Hello Savrin. We're just looking at places to go to tomorrow." Helga said cheerfully as she continued flipping through the magazine. "Did I miss something? Where are you going, and why are you not looking over the files on the potential teachers?" Savrin asked, finding it odd that they were planning something without running it by him first.
"Oh, well you see, tomorrow marks one year since you brought us back into the world, and we thought it might be fun to take a break from going over background information on all of these people and take a day off." Helga answered, sounding a little nervous as she stared hopefully up at Savrin.
"It has been a year, hasn't it?" Savrin said, not to anyone in particular. "Yeah, and we came up with a few cool ideas to celebrate the occasion." Godric said as he gestured to a number of different magazines spread out on one end of the table.
"There's an indoor pool with a waterslide. The zoo. An amusement park. Exploring some old ship wrecks. Going to watch one of those Football games, but not the ones from America where they hardly even kick the ball with their feet. Going to watch a Quidditch game is also an option, but Salazar isn't really a fan of it, so it's not really high on the list." Godric explained as he pointed to each magazine.
"We could also go and watch one of those modern theater features. They're called 'movies' and a few of the older girls in my House talk about them all the time. Here's one playing tomorrow evening." Helga suggested as she held up a copy of the London paper while pointing to one of the films listed.
"The Butcher's Wife looks like it could be fun." She added while looking at the cover picture posted on the paper. "Is she a witch?" Godric couldn't help but ask as he stared at the same picture that depicted a beautiful blonde woman sitting on some clouds while magic dust fell from her fingers.
"Of course not, fool. Muggles don't know about witches and wizards. It just looks that way because of special effects created by the muggles." Salazar stated, finding Godric's idiocy to be headache inducing, especially because he knew Godric was actually very smart when he wanted to be. However, put a pretty blonde woman in front of him and he loses all common sense.
"Unless you only plan to spend a short time doing each of those things, I don't think you're going to get to do all of them in one day." Savrin said, earning nods of agreement from all four of them. "We know." Helga said. "We're just listing the ideas now, then we each get to choose one thing, that way we all get to have some fun."
It wasn't a bad idea, though there was a hole in their plan. "The thing is, most of the things we want to do require an adult to come with us." Rowena said while looking pointedly at Savrin. Frowning at them, Savrin spoke, "No. Regardless of how special of a day you all think this is, I will not force myself to suffer through these mindlessly numbing activities just so you can have fun."
He paused as he watched their expressions fall, then continued, "However, I think I can get Arcturus to arrange something for you. I'll broach the subject with him later this evening. But before that, I expect you all to have gone over the list of candidates, then give me the top five choices."
Savrin expected some grumbling from the four before they inevitably gave in and did his bidding, however the four of them seemed to all smile happily before sliding five folders in front of him.
"For the Potions Professor, this one is the best option. The other four are selections that we each picked in case the first one doesn't work out, though we haven't really agreed on which of our options are the second best." Helga said, earning a raised brow from Savrin.
"You all are in agreement that this one is the best option?" Savrin asked while grabbing the first folder they handed over. "Oh, yes. Her name is Elise Winslow, and she's absolutely brilliant." Helga stated assuredly.
"Despite my beliefs that the position should be filled by someone who is more familiar with our world, I must admit that she is the best candidate." Salazar added, fully supporting the idea that this muggle-born woman would be the best option.
"With her qualifications, I daresay she'll even be able to teach us a thing or two. I'm rather excited!" Rowena said happily, which was a rare thing, and Savrin had to wonder just how good the woman in question was.
Flipping through the folder and reading over everything the witch in question had accomplished, Savrin had to agree that she was indeed much more qualified to be the Potion's professor than anyone else he could have found for the school. Honestly, she was overqualified in his opinion, which only made him want to hire the woman even more.
"It says here she left the wizarding world not long after graduating from Hogwarts. How is it you all were able to gather information on her?" Savrin asked curiously. He himself had done some digging on a select few witches and wizards who had abandoned the magical world altogether, but he didn't remember looking into this woman.
"That was actually Salazar's doing. After we looked through the Ministry records about all the students who passed with an (O) in our desired subjects, we tracked the ones we could through the Ministry records you brought us. Most of the muggle-born who fled back when Voldemort was trying to take over were killed or moved to a different country completely. However, Miss Winslow is actually right here in London, and somehow managed to avoid the war entirely. Anyway, Salazar went and looked through the minds of a few people until we got on the right track to find her, and soon enough we found her place of work. It wasn't very hard after that to get all of this information on her.`` Helga explained, somewhat surprising Savrin.
He didn't think they were going to such lengths when it came to looking into the teachers, but he wasn't going to complain about it. "How many witches and wizards were there in the last thirty to forty years who passed with an (O) in Potions?" Savrin asked, wondering how many people they had to do this for.
"The percentage of witches and wizards who attended Hogwarts and managed to get an (O) in Potions in the last few decades is rather small, less than ten percent. Of those of that number that weren't killed or didn't move across the seas, less than one percent of them are still here in Britain, and most of those people are ones with either shady backgrounds or some with thriving careers. Miss Winslow was one of only six candidates that we searched, and she by far was the most qualified out of the bunch." Rowena explained with a touch of sadness in her voice.
She, like the others, were disappointed with how far the world had fallen, and it seemed as though their task of bettering the world in only nine more years was an impossible task. Still, they weren't about to give up.
Shaking her head to clear out the depressing thoughts, Rowena grabbed another folder and slid it towards Savrin before saying, "For the new History of Magic teacher, we were only able to find the one candidate, but the guy is smart. He used to work for the Ministry of Magic in the Hall of Records, but he was fired a few months ago for… divulging public information."
Savrin frowned at her words as he reached for the file. "He was fired for divulging PUBLIC information?" He clarified, not seeing the reason anyone would be fired for that.
"Yes, well, that might actually be your fault. He was the one who gave Arcturus all of the files on Sirius Black and the other Death Eaters. The trial records are open to the public, but the Minister for Magic felt as though the man had done something illegal and fired him. We figure Arcturus would be more than willing to accommodate the man, and he would make a good teacher." Rowena finished with a smile.
"What about the new Muggle Studies teacher? And remember, I want a muggle-born witch or wizard who has spent most of their life living among the muggles." Savrin said, causing the four children to frown.
"We haven't got that far. The Ministry's records aren't that extensive on witches or wizards who have left the magical world, especially if they are muggle-born." Godric stated, and Savrin could only agree after seeing how much they had to do just to get information on Elise Winslow.
"About that." Salazar interjected. "Why is there a Muggle Studies class, but not a Wizard Studies class? Would it not be beneficial to have the muggle-born students attend a class where they can learn more about our society, culture, laws, and traditions?" Salazar asked, bringing up a good point.
"That wouldn't be a bad idea, if the wizarding world wasn't so stupid." Savrin stated, finding the idea of anyone learning from this fucked up culture to be the exact opposite of what he wanted.
"However, once we get the world back on the right track and get the witches and wizards thinking about the proper things, I think that might be an excellent idea. For now though, let's put that on hold for a few years." Savrin finished, dropping the subject for the time being.
Honestly it wasn't a bad idea, and he could see merit in instilling some ideas into the younger generation, but there wasn't anyone in the world who could teach the information that he wanted because everyone in this world was dumber than a block of stone, at least in his opinion.
"Very well. I will speak with Arcturus and he will arrange for someone to act as your adult supervisor tomorrow." Savrin said after reading over the last file. "Now, about the current teachers. I have reviewed their work over the last year, and there are some changes I will be making. Nothing you all need concern yourselves over, but I just want to warn you in advance to expect more changes in the coming year." Savrin told them, then in a blink he seemed to vanish into thin air.
"I hate it when he does that. He always has to get the last word in." Godric said, though he seemed to forget about it not long after when a magazine caught his eye. "This is where I want to go!" He stated as he held up the advertisement for the others to see.
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(Arcturus POV)
"You want me to do what?" Arcturus asked, sounding a little gobsmacked as he tried to process just what Savrin had asked him. "Don't lose your head now, Arcturus. Especially over something so trivial." Savrin said, snapping the man out of his stupor.
"Just to clarify, you want me to entertain your kids tomorrow?" Arcturus asked, unsure if he believed what he had just said. "Don't be ridiculous. They're not my kids. I just got stuck with them after some drunken mishap. Anyway, I just need you to arrange for an adult to take them around tomorrow for their birthdays." Savrin clarified, once more causing Arcturus' mind to short circuit.
He so badly wanted to ask about the drunken mishap where Savrin of all people got stuck with children, but he decided it was in his best interest to drop the subject. "This seems like a simple enough request. Leave it to me." Arcturus said, agreeing to the request.
"Excellent. Now to business. Here are the top candidates for the Potions Professor and History of Magic Professor." Savrin said, then handed over two files. Opening the file belonging to the Potions Professor, Arcturus looked over her information. "*Whistle!* Impressive. She's a little overqualified, don't you think?" Arcturus asked curiously.
The only reason he asked was because he wasn't sure she would even accept the job, seeing as how he himself would pay the woman top dollar to be in his employ, so surely others had also thought to do the same.
"She is indeed. However, with the right funding and agreements, I believe it is entirely possible to get her to work for Hogwarts. I expect you to pay whatever price may be required." Savrin said, to which Arcturus only nodded. Donating a few thousand Galleons to the school was nothing to him at this point, especially after he had called in the debts from the pureblood families.
Thinking of them, Arcturus couldn't help but smile as he remembered how he had bankrupted six pureblood families, and left a dozen more in a near desolate state. The sway the purebloods had over the Ministry due to their wealth was much lower after he had gotten through them, but he didn't care.
"One thing of note, though it is of little importance to me. The candidate for the History of Magic professor, he was one of your contacts in the Ministry. Fudge fired him for giving you the public records. I think we could more than accommodate the man." Savrin said, bringing Arcturus out of his dark musings.
"Cornelius fired him, did he? Should have guessed that. He's a sore loser." Arcturus said as he opened the file of the man he remembered quite well. "Thomas Callahan has a family, so I don't think he'd move into the school, but if we arrange for a house for him and his family in Hogsmeade, I think he would very much agree to come here." Arcturus said, deciding right then and there to help the man as best he could. He had after all been fired for helping him.
"Though I am all for hiring Callahan to be a teacher at the school, are you sure you want to get rid of Binns?" Arcturus asked, earning a scoff from Savrin. "From what I've observed, the students sleep through his class. On top of that, he is a ghost. He can't flip through books or reports that the students hand in. He doesn't teach anything that's happened in the last three hundred years. I assure you, he is a problem that needs to go, and I'll personally see to it that he does." Savrin explained, getting a nod of understanding from Arcturus.
'When put like that, I guess it is important that a ghost doesn't teach.' Arcturus thought, deciding to not worry about it, though while they were on the matter, he thought it was a good time to bring up a topic that the Board of Governors had discussed at their last meeting.
"While we're on the subject of removing teachers and the like, some of the Board members brought up the gamekeeper, Hagrid. Apparently the Board only let him stay on school grounds because of Dumbledore, but with him now gone, the Board wants him removed from the school." Arcturus said, earning a frown from Savrin.
"No. Though I don't plan on making him a teacher, I do intend to make him a teaching assistant to Silvanis Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor. With his giant heritage, he is well suited to handling creatures without being ripped apart, the same of which cannot be said for Kettleburn. The man is missing more limbs than he has left." Savrin spoke, making Arcturus frown as he digested just what he said.
"You mean to tell me, Hagrid is half-giant?" Arcturus asked, focusing more on that bit of information than any other. "No, Arcturus. He has a birth defect that made him twice as big as a normal man, and he killed his mother when she gave birth to him." Savrin said sarcastically, before stating, "Of course he's a half-giant you fool! Why else do you think he's so fucking big! Honestly, witches and wizards are so fucking stupid!"
Arcturus was annoyed at Savrin's response to his question, but in hindsight, it was pretty obvious now that he thought about it. "You're not worried about it then? Him being part giant? They are known to be quite violent." Arcturus said, earning a roar of laughter from Savrin in response.
"I assure you, Arcturus, I am more violent than him, you, or anyone or anything else in this world. I have killed more beings for looking at me the wrong way than you could possibly imagine. I fought the giants of old, slaughtered dragons because I could, I've plagued cities for sport, and yet you're worried about the kindest man in this country being violent simply because he is part giant? You need to get out of the mindset that all species are the same. By that logic, you and the rest of the witches and wizards of Britain should all be put to death because Death Eaters should all be killed. Wouldn't you agree?" Savrin spoke, causing Arcturus to audibly gulp as cold sweat poured down his back.
"I see your point. I will make sure he stays on." Arcturus said, wanting to drop the matter altogether. He knew Savrin was a complete monster, but if what he just heard was true, Savrin was not a monster, but a demon.
"Good. I believe that is everything I wished to discuss for now. As for the children, I'll bring them here first thing in the morning, around 7:00am." Savrin said, then disappeared right before Arcturus' eyes, which again only confused and worried him.
Since the last time Savrin had been here, he had added a number of charms that should have kept anyone from apparating or using a portkey to teleport away. The fact that Savrin could so effortlessly get in and out of Grimmauld Place whenever he wanted to, and how he found it while it was under the Fidelius Charm was more than unnerving, and Arcturus knew that if he stepped out of line with Savrin, he wouldn't even know how he died, at least he hoped he wouldn't.
He imagined that Savrin could very well keep him alive for days on end as he tortured him to death, something which was unnerving all by itself.
Deciding not to dwell on the dark thoughts any longer, Arcturus made his way through the house before he arrived at the kitchen where Harry and Sirius were sitting at the table eating some snacks.
"Elbows off the table." Arcturus said to Harry, who immediately did as instructed. Sitting down at the head of the table, Arcturus let out a sigh before grabbing the golden goblet filled with wine and took a large gulp.
"What's the matter, gramps? You look sick." Sirius asked, though he didn't sound like he cared all that much. "I'm fine. Just coming to terms with my own mortality." Arcturus answered, not wanting to explain anything on the matter.
"So, how would the two of you like to spend the day tomorrow exploring London and visiting some amusement parks and doing other fun things?" Arcturus asked, changing the subject to something he knew the two of them would want to do.
"I would love to!" Harry stated excitedly. He had never been to an amusement park, so to be offered the chance to go had him on the edge of his seat. "Not so fast, Harry. He hasn't told us what the catch is." Sirius said, derailing Harry's train of thought.
"Catch? What catch?" Harry asked, not understanding what Sirius was getting at. "Gramps would never offer up something like this without wanting something in return. So spill it old man. What do you want from us?" Sirius questioned, knowing Arcturus better than he thought.
"It's nothing too big. I'll pay for everything you do tomorrow, and all you have to do is follow around four children. Why, I believe they all attend Hogwarts, so it's not like you'll be watching over toddlers or anything." Arcturus admitted. "Four children? How'd you get suckered into arranging something like this?" Sirius asked, finding the matter to be funnier than he first thought.
"It all started with you, believe it or not. And yes, four children. They all share a birthday apparently, and it's tomorrow. Now, will you watch over them or not?" Arcturus said, earning a sigh from Sirius as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Sure, why not. Harry and I will get to go out and have some fun, and you'll pay for everything, so it shouldn't be too bad. What do you say, Harry?" Sirius said as he turned to look at his godson. "Who are the four we'll be going with?" Harry asked, wondering if he knew the four in question. "I didn't get their names, but they will be here first thing in the morning." Arcturus admitted.
Harry was quiet for almost a minute as he wondered if it would be worth going out with four Slytherin students or four purebloods who were full of themselves, but after thinking it over and realizing that Sirius would be there with him, he decided that it wouldn't be all bad.
"I'm up for it." He finally said. "Good. I'll make sure you two have everything you'll need, so be sure to be ready by 7:00am." Arcturus told both of them, then left to go set things up for them.
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(General POV)
The following morning, Godric and the others all arrived at Grimmauld Place at exactly 7:00am, much to their confusion. "I wish he'd just transport us like normal." Rowena said after looking around and seeing that they were no longer at the Treehouse.
"I wish Savrin at least gave me a few seconds' warning." Godric grumbled as he finished pulling on his socks, and it was only then that he realized something terrible.
"Damn it! Where are my shoes?!" He cursed in annoyance as he looked around. It was at the moment when he straightened up to his full height that the shoes he was looking for struck him atop his head, almost giving him a concussion.
"OW! OOH! CUNT! That hurts!" Godric cried as he held his head in pain. "Calm down, Godric. They're only shoes." Salazar said, smiling slightly as he moved past Godric to ring the doorbell. Godric narrowed his eyes and was about to wack Salazar over the head from behind, but Helga grabbed his raised arm and pulled him away while gesturing for him to knock it off.
Godric was just slipping his second shoe on when the door opened and a little wrinkled house-elf peered out to stare at them. It took only a second for the elf to open the door fully and step to the side to allow them entry, most likely he had already been warned of their arrival.
"Right this way, please. The master will meet you in a moment in the parlour." The old elf said, then began leading them down the hallway. "My name is Helga. What's yours?" Helga asked the old elf, who didn't break stride as he answered, "Kreacher."
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Kreacher." Helga said cheerfully to the elf, who in turn actually looked at her out of the corner of its eye, though it didn't say anything else in return.
It didn't take them long to arrive in a fancy sitting room where they all came face to face with Arcturus Black. They had seen the man from the vision crystal Savrin had used to record the trial of Sirius Black, but this was the first time they were meeting him in person.
None of them were surprised to see Sirius Black, though his appearance did shock them somewhat. They had only ever seen him gaunt, weak, and frail, but the man before them was the exact opposite of those things. In fact, he looked like the epitome of health.
"Godric? What are you four doing here?" Harry asked from a chair near the fireplace, looking quite surprised to see the four of them. "Hello, Harry. It's good to see you. We came to get our chaperone so we can go have some fun on our birthday." Godric said to Harry, whose eyes went wide at the mention of it being their birthdays.
"All of you were born on the same day?" Harry couldn't help but ask. "Sort of, yeah. It's a long story." Godric answered, then looked to Arcturus who had remained quiet thus far and was observing them.
Salazar stepped forward before Godric could open his big mouth, then bowed at the waist with one hand behind his back while the other crossed his body in front of him. "It is an honor to meet you, Lord Black. I am Salazar Slytherin." Salazar greeted. "I am Rowena Ravenclaw." Rowena chimed in as she gave a small curtsy. "Helga Hufflepuff." Helga added beside her as she did her best to copy Rowena, though it was clear this was probably the first time Helga had ever curtsied in her life.
"The name is Godric Gryffindor. You're charmed, I'm sure." Godric said, though unlike the others he made no move to bow or try to act like a noble, mostly because he wasn't one and he didn't feel the need to pretend like he was. Though, in Salazar's case, he wasn't really pretending.
"I- I see. It is an honor to meet you all." Arcturus said, looking not quite like he believed what he had just heard. "Do you know them, Harry?" Sirius asked curiously. "Oh yeah. They're all in the same year as me, and Godric and I are both in the same house. Plus they all saved my life on Halloween." Harry said without much thought, immediately getting Sirius' and Arcturus' attention.
"What do you mean they saved your life? How?" Arcturus questioned seriously, and it was only then that Harry realized that he probably should have kept his mouth shut about the Quirrell incident.
"Well…" Harry said sheepishly as he looked between his four schoolmates and his godfather and his grandfather. "I was sort of poisoned by someone who worked for Voldemort on Halloween. These four came to my rescue and even gave me the cure to the poison." Harry finally admitted, earning wide eyes from Sirius while Arcturus simply narrowed his own.
"That damned Dumbledore." Arcturus growled under his breath, quite furious at the man for not informing him of this attack.
"Tell me everything." Sirius said, looking more Sirius than he ever did before. Harry did his best to recount what he could, at least up to the point where he woke up in the hospital wing where Dumbledore was waiting for him, and then explained how Dumbledore told him about Godric and the others stepping in to save him, even going so far as to kill Quirrell.
When Salazar confirmed everything Harry said to be true, Arcturus rose from his chair and bowed his head deeply before saying, "You have my thanks for doing what you did. House Black is indebted to you all."
Both Rowena and Helga tried to brush it off, but surprisingly, Salazar agreed to hold on to the favor from Arcturus, and said he might call it in in the coming years, to which Arcturus agreed.
When they all finally got sorted and were ready to depart, Arcturus explained, "Sirius will act as your chaperone, though you all have free reign to do as you like. Here is some money to spend as you like." Pausing, Arcturus handed both Harry and Sirius each twenty £50 banknotes, which added up to a thousand pounds each. To their surprise, Arcturus handed Salazar, Godric, Rowena, and Helga each the same amount of money.
"Consider it as a birthday present and a thankyou." Was all Arcturus said, to which the four could only nod their heads in response. "Right then, where are we off to first?" Sirius questioned once they left the house and entered a fancy limousine that was waiting for them. It even had a driver.
"We all agreed we each got to pick one thing, even the order in which we would get to do them. Rowena came in first, so whatever she wants." Helga said happily, not the least bit dejected that she had to go last, but in her defense, the thing she wanted to do didn't start until later on in the evening.
"To the Natural History Museum!" Rowena said excitedly. It didn't matter that it was a muggle museum, she was excited to see all of the things it had stored inside of it.
"Sorry to put a pin in your plans, but the museum doesn't open until 10:00am. You'd be waiting another two and a half hours." The driver said, completely derailing their plans. "What?! Are you serious?!" Rowena cried out in disbelief.
"He's not Sirius, I am." Sirius said jokingly, hoping to brighten up the mood. "That was stupid, and you should be ashamed for even saying it." Salazar reprimanded, though Godric seemed to disagree. "Oh come off it Sally. That was word-play at its finest." Godric laughed, getting a wide grin from Sirius.
"Well then, I guess we'll do Salazar's thing first instead." Rowena grumbled, more than a little annoyed that they would have to wait to go to the museum. "Alright. Let's go to the zoo." Salazar said, smiling now as he imagined all the animals they would see. He loved animals, and after reading about some of the strange creatures in the zoo, he thought it would be quite fascinating, even if they weren't magical creatures.
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(Harry POV)
It didn't take them more than a few minutes to arrive at the zoo, a very familiar one to Harry, as he had been to this exact place almost a year previously on Dudley's birthday. Unlike that time however, Harry was getting special treatment, and he wasn't worrying about Dudley or Piers picking on him.
On the contrary, Godric or Salazar would ask him about certain creatures, like the penguins or the gorillas, and Harry was all too happy to answer their questions. When they finally got to the reptile house, Harry couldn't stop smiling as he remembered how he had accidentally set the snake free previously and terrified Dudley.
All of them were staring at this really large python when Salazar suddenly said, {Forgive our staring, especially the idiot with the red hair. It's been so long since we've seen creatures as majestic as you.}
Harry wondered if Godric was going to get mad, but before he could even turn to look at his fellow housemate, the snake hissed, {No worriesss, friend. Thisss happensss a lot. Besssidesss, I like to sssee funny looking people like the red-haired one.} Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing, to which the four of them and Sirius all looked at him in confusion.
"What? It was funny." Harry said after a moment of their confused staring. "You understood what I just said?" Salazar asked in disbelief. "What do you mean? Its not like you spoke in a different language or anything." Harry said, earning more looks of confusion.
"Harry, he was speaking a different language. He was speaking Parseltongue. The language of snakes and serpents." Sirius explained, this time causing Harry to have the look of confusion.
"But, it didn't sound like you were speaking differently." Harry said, thinking they might be playing a trick on him. "Harry, can you speak to snakes and understand what they're saying?" Rowena asked, to which Harry nodded truthfully.
"Most witches and wizards can't. It is a rare ability, one that is mostly passed down through a bloodline, but it can develop in some witches and wizards. Even in its country of origin in India, it's quite rare." Salazar explained, actually quite pleased that someone else he knew had the same ability as him.
In his whole life, only his father and those on his father's side of the family had had the gift, but after he had made his way to Britain back in the day, he had never met anyone else with the talent.
"How does it work?" Harry asked, thinking that there had to be some trick to using this ability that he didn't even know he had. "Now isn't exactly the best place to start learning a new language, but if you want, I can teach you all about it later?" Salazar said, earning a nod of agreement from Harry.
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(General POV)
They were at the zoo until a little after 10:30am, at which point they all loaded up and made their way to the Natural History Museum, but first they stopped somewhere for brunch. When they finally got to the museum and began to run around to see all of the interesting sights, Sirius had his hands full trying to keep up with all of them.
Though they learned and saw some really interesting things, there wasn't much to write home about, and after two hours, they all loaded back up into the limousine and made their way to Godric's choice of play.
"Here we are, Ladies and Gents!" Godric shouted as they stared at the place before them. "Adventure Island! One of the biggest and best amusement parks in all of Britain!" Godric stated happily. "Where'd you hear that?" Rowena asked, not having read that little detail in the magazine. "Don't dig too deep into the small things, Rowena. Just sit back and enjoy the rides." Godric told her, then without waiting for the others, he took off at a sprint towards the entrance.
They ate candies and ice-cream from every stand they passed, and Godric made it a point to try almost every ride or game that was available, and it was only after they had went on quite a few rides that Harry asked, "Why is everyone okay with us simply cutting in front of the lines?"
He had thought after they had cut in front of the first line that someone was going to reprimand them, but when no one did he thought it was okay. But after hearing one kid complaining that the lines were too long and then cutting in front of him, Harry expected some form of rebuttal, but was surprised when none came.
"Harry, you need to stop thinking like a muggle. We're wizards, and as much as I want to be fair to everyone, it's my birthday and I'm not about to wait in line for an hour just to go on a roller coaster." Godric answered, then without answering further, he left to go throw some pies at some guy's face.
"It's a simple charm, Harry. Don't think too much about it." Sirius explained after the others had all moved on to bigger and better things.
It was getting later into the evening before they finally left the amusement park, and though Helga was anxious to do her thing, she had to admit that she had very much enjoyed some of the rides.
"Where to?" Their driver asked once they got back into the limousine. "We're going to the movies." Helga told the man. "Are you sure you want to watch 'The Butcher's Wife'? It looks like a romance film." Godric asked, not sounding all that interested in Helga's choice of movie.
"Shut it, Godric. I did all of your things, so now you can suck it up and do mine!" Helga argued, causing Godric to raise his hands in a placating manner. "Alright. You win. We'll watch that show." Godric agreed quickly.
They arrived at the theater with only minutes to spare before the start of the movie, but they did make it. They even had just enough time to get some popcorn and drinks before finding a seat. When the movie finished, Godric actually stood up and applauded, much to Helga's amusement.
With the hour so late, everyone returned to Grimmauld Place, but scarcely had Godric and the others stepped through the door before they seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving a perplexed Harry and Sirius, though Arcturus simply waved it off as a common occurrence and told them not to worry about it.
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(Savrin POV)
It wasn't until Saturday a few days after the founder's 'birthdays' that Savrin went to go and try and hire his new Potion's Professor. It hadn't taken much digging to find her address after Salazar and the others had already found her place of work, and deciding that the sooner he met the woman, the better, Savrin soon found himself standing outside her door.
Less than a minute after knocking, the door opened, and Savrin came face to face with a witch who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties, but Savrin knew she was actually 35 years old. She was average height with a slender figure, though she looked a little tired, if the bags under her eyes were anything to go off of.
"Can I help you?" She asked plainly, not showing a hint of anger or happiness. "You are Elise Winslow, correct?" Savrin asked, though he already knew exactly who she was. "I am. What do you want?" She asked after confirming her identity.
"My name is Savrin Kincade. The new Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am here on behalf of the Board of Governors and the school to make a request. Might I come in so we can discuss this further?" Savrin said, and this time the woman had surprise written all over her face.
Based on her surface thoughts, she knew who he was, or had at least heard his name. Most likely she had read his name in the Daily Prophet, something Savrin bet a witch of her intellect would have. 'She wants to know what is going on in the magical world even though she isn't a part of it.' Savrin concluded. "Of course. Please, right this way." She said as she opened the door all of the way and ushered him inside.
She lived in a tiny little apartment, one bedroom, one bathroom, and a small kitchen/dining area. Savrin noted that there weren't a whole lot of furnishings around the apartment, in fact there were no pictures or decorations, simply a sign that looked as though it had been there for the last fifty years.
One thing that did jump out at him was the stack of newspapers, though they were definitely from the Daily Prophet, which only confirmed Savrin's suspicions about the woman. It also made sense why she let him in so easily, when by all accounts she should have at least been more wary about strangers entering her home without confirming they were who they said they were.
"Please, have a seat." The woman said as she gestured towards a small table with a single chair sitting beside it. Waving his hand, Savrin made another, much nicer chair appear beside the table, but rather than sit in it, he moved to the much more uncomfortable looking chair before sitting down, then gestured for her to sit in the chair he had made appear. Before she could say or do anything, he made a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits appear on the table in front of him.
Slowly, Elise moved and sat in the chair Savrin had conjured for her. "Let me get right to the point. I wish to hire you to be the next Potions Professor at Hogwarts. Before you say anything, at least let me explain everything in detail." Savrin said. He had spoken the last part because he had read her surface thoughts, and just the mention of being a professor at Hogwarts had irritated her to no end.
Seeing her bite her tongue, Savrin continued, "Dumbledore's incompetence has left the school in a sorry state. Some of the staff were highly unqualified to teach, and the castle itself is almost unfit to live in during the winter. All of that will be fixed before the new school year. Already I am moving to enchant the castle to be much warmer during the cold months, and most of the unqualified staff has been let go. On top of that, I have worked out a new itinerary for each course." It was here Savrin paused as he made the Potions book he had written appear on the table in front of him before sliding it over to her.
Elise saw Savrin's name on the cover of the book, and after looking briefly up to meet his eyes, she opened the book before looking it over. Savrin remained quiet as he let her flip through the pages for a few minutes, but when it looked as though she would read the book from front to back before paying him any more attention, he reached over and plucked the book from her fingers.
"You will have access to every ingredient you'll need to teach, and more. You will not be a head of house, you will not have responsibilities outside of teaching potions. On top of that, the school will pay you to make potions in your spare time, and you are free to help yourself to some of the resources, to a limited degree of course." Savrin said, hoping that would be enough to entice the woman.
"What makes you think I'm even qualified to teach Potions?" Elise asked, though her tone made it sound as though she didn't believe for even a second that she couldn't teach. She just wanted to know why someone was finally taking an interest in her now after all these years.
Pulling out her file from his storage space, Savrin flipped it open to the first page before reading, "You finished the top of your year every year you attended Hogwarts. You got an (O) in every class. You passed your O.W.L.'s with flying colors, and your N.E.W.T. score in Potions was in the top one-hundred since the school's founding. After finishing school at Hogwarts, you tried out a position in the Ministry of Magic but quit after only a few months and moved back to London. Since then you have completed your muggle schooling in less than two years and earned a high school diploma, also finishing with top marks, then went on to study Chemistry at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. You took the BSc examination after two years, and finished with top grades. You have two doctorates, one from Imperial and one from the Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry where you currently work for much less than you're worth. Does that sound about right?"
"How do you know so much about me?" She asked warily, looking somewhat afraid as her eyes stared blankly off into space. "You have been away from the magical world for too long, Miss Winslow. It is a trivial matter to look into the minds of muggles to find out information on key figures who could help change our world as we know it." Savrin answered simply.
Standing abruptly from her chair, Elise turned and walked a few feet away from the table before asking, "Does that file say why I left the Ministry? Does it say how those conceited arseholes mocked and ridiculed me? Does it describe how the Death Eaters found my family and slaughtered them? What they did to them?" She paused as a tear fell from her cheek, then turned to look at Savrin.
"Does your file say how they put me under the imperius curse? I could never prove it, but I did things I never would have willingly done in my life." Elise finally said, and for a moment Savrin simply remained quiet. "If I went back to the magical world, what guarantee do I have that I won't lose everything again? What's to say I won't have to bow down to the 'purebloods'?" She asked in almost a whisper.
In answer to her question, Savrin unleashed a force of magic so powerful, Elise's eyes went wide as she suddenly collapsed and fell to her knees. The room was bathed in light as a giant white orb appeared in front of her eyes, and Elise couldn't help but notice how it looked like a miniature version of the Earth.
She was about to ask what the holographic Earth had to do with her question when pieces of the planet were suddenly engulfed in fire, and Elise could swear she heard screaming coming from the little planet.
"The so-called 'purebloods' are a thing of the past. They don't belong in my future. Should you come to work for me, you will have all I promised and more. As for your wellbeing, I promise you this. So long as you work faithfully to me, you will never have anything to fear from anyone else ever again. Understood?" Savrin asked, then suddenly the light show in the room disappeared and Elise found herself kneeling before Savrin as he held his hand out to her.
With wide eyes full of fear and hope, she reached out and took his hand.
