Harry Potter The Surprise

This generated a lot of chuckling, and led Harry nicely onto his next point. "There will be no bigotry allowed here, or bullying of any sort. Arguments on who supports the better quidditch team are one thing, calling someone a 'mudblood' because of who their parents are is unacceptable - full stop."

"Entering the magical world is a life-changing experience, it's full of wonder, awe and of course magic. Hagrid showing me around Diagon Alley for the first time is still one of my most treasured memories. The darker side of that world can't be ignored however. We witnessed that darker side in the infirmary a few days ago. Poppy?"

The intensity of the emotions Harry was displaying caused two of the professors to miss Harry calling Poppy by her first name, they were far more interested in what their friend had to say. Poppy didn't disappoint.

"Walden Macnair was a Death Eater, he confessed to it. He also confessed that he couldn't remember how many people he'd killed as a Death Eater, and that it was impossible to take the Dark Mark while under the imperius curse..."

Both Filius and Pomona understood immediately that last piece of information was a game changer for magical Britain. It was Pomona who asked the questions they really needed to know the answer too.

"What happened to Macnair, and why haven't we heard about any of this?"

That Minerva answered those questions wasn't nearly as shocking as what she said. "Macnair fired the killing curse at Mr Potter, who somehow sent it straight back to him. I would surmise that Fudge is keeping everything under wraps, trying to protect his friends. I don't know for certain as I was in St. Mungo's, trying to have all the damage Dumbledore did with his compulsions and obliviate spells on me reversed."

Poppy's hand was now resting on Minerva's shoulder. "Min, don't beat yourself up over this. We three watched Dumbledore obliviate the Minister of Magic, only Harry and Hermione saved me suffering the same fate that night."

Pomona turned directly to Harry. "Lord Potter, I find myself unable to return to Hogwarts. While I'm certain I could find alternative employment, even without a reference from Dumbledore, I'm becoming more and more intrigued by your offer. Nothing you or Miss Granger have said here has changed my opinion, rather reinforced it. My main questions though are can this be done, and do you have the considerable resources needed available?"

"We arrived moments before you, so have yet to have a look around. Remus assures me there is a large tract of land behind and to the side of this building, more than enough room to erect a school. After meeting Ragnok this morning, you have my word that funds are in place for anything you need."

"He has also promised help in any way the Goblin Nation can, including introductions to all the local businesses and..." Harry stopped as Flitwick had just fallen from his chair. The little professor got back on his feet, but needed to hold onto the table for support - his legs were still shaking.

"You met with Ragnok, and he agreed to help? Lord Potter, have you any idea of the enormity of what you just said?"

Answering with a smile, Harry then confirmed that he did. Harry also confirm the offer included design and building aid. Filius immediately accepted any type of employment Harry was offering before turning to Pomona and urging her to do the same.

"With that quite unbelievable backing, this project will happen - Gringotts full support is a cast iron guarantee of that. We have a chance to design and build a school the way we want it, without a thousand years of tradition and downright stuffiness hanging over our heads. This is an opportunity to drag our students into the twenty-first century, rather than the nineteenth that the Ministry and Hogwarts seems determined to keep them in."

While on the cusp of accepting, Pomona wasn't being rushed into anything without getting all the details. "Lord Potter, is there anything else up your sleeve that you think we should know about?"

"Only two things. One, it has been made abundantly clear by the majority of pure-bloods that they don't want muggle-borns tainting their society. I want to contact every muggle-born and make them aware that there is an alternative to Hogwarts. Again, I'm not sure how we do that..."

Harry found himself being interrupted by McGonagall. "Mister Potter, that wonderful elf of yours offered to fetch my belongings from Hogwarts. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but he also brought the book of names - containing details of every magical child in Britain. It will be missed though, so we would need to copy all the information before returning it to Hogwarts."

Harry and Hermione were in no doubt. Dobby knew their plans, and how important this was to them. Both felt the little guy probably made that offer to the professor in the hope of being able to take that book too.

Nodding, and agreeing that book would need to be copied as quickly as possible, Pomona returned her attention to Harry. "Ok, Lord Potter, that's one problem solved. What was the other one you wanted to mention?"

"Only that you stop calling me Lord Potter. Harry, or Potter in class, works for me."

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