Of Schools & Harmony

“And that’s the situation Albus, what do you think we should do”? Lily asked Dumbledore, going over what transpired the previous day and how Harry had  been feeling isolated. They were in his office at Hogwarts with tea in front of both of them though Lily hadn't touched hers.

"Hmmm, I see. That is quite the predicament you are in, Lily. You could always keep going the way you have been with the boys. I'm sure Harry is a very understanding brother who would never grow bitter of being in Julius's shadow all the time, after all I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding". Dumbledore said with a very grandfatherly tone, but on the inside he was dancing with joy. His plan was working.

Dumbledore had never anticipated that both Potter elders and both their brats would survive Tom's attack that night. Since then he had to adjust his plans for the boy who lived. James and Lily would raise Julius into the perfect sacrificial pawn.Lily didn't always listen to his word but that was nothing a compulsion potion or two in her drink wouldn't fix. She also listened to James and Molly who followed his word without question. Julius was being groomed to be the ideal Gryffindor as the boy who lived.

The only wild card was Harry Potter.  Dumbledore had never imagined James and Lily would have twins so having Harry survive that Halloween left him at a loss. He couldn't predict how Harry would turn out so driving a wedge between the twins was the first step in his plan. It was a good thing he authorized the publishing of those books about Julius to make that wedge between the two even larger. Over the years Albus has formed 4 plans for Harry, all depending on which house he got sorted to when he got to Hogwarts.

Gryffindor- If sorted here Harry would become a pawn to mold into a second boy who lived in case Julius perishes before the time comes to face the dark lord, or if Julius's starts to rebel from the light in any way.

Hufflepuff - This house is loyal to a fault, having Harry here would mean his desire to be loyal to his brother will push him to do anything Albus says in order to help his brother.

Ravenclaw - Ravenclaw's are tricky; they're far too neutral for Albus's liking and far too smart for their own good. If Harry somehow manages to get sorted here, well is nothing else he can always use another spy like Severus. Harry would just need a nudge in the right direction and with Julius and Ron destined to become the next generation of Marauders that shouldn't be too hard to do.

Slytherin - This was the house Dumbledore was hoping Harry would get sorted into most. If sorted here he'll do everything in his power to mold Harry into the next Dark lord after Tom's destruction. Being responsible for vanquishing three dark Lords is sure to cement Dumbledore's place in history and with that kind of influence he can mold the wizarding world to his liking beyond Britain.

While Albus was plotting in his head, unbeknownst to him Lily, noticing Albus in his own little world, wordlessly vanished the tea in her cup. While James trusted Albus unconditionally she'd rather be safe than sorry.

"But Albus, it's not Harry being jealous of his brother that I'm not worried about, it's his mental health from being in his brother's shadow all the time that concerns me. He's becoming withdrawn and other kids are bullying him since they think he's lying about being Julius's twin." Lily corrected,  not liking where this was going.  He was around children all the time, surely he must have some idea of what to do.

"I see, then why don't you separate the twins, send Harry somewhere else for a while to grow into his own. Then, when the two go to Hogwarts later down the line Harry won't just be seen as the boy who lived brother but someone different". Albus suggested. This could work for him, Dumbledore thought, he just needed to convince Lily to send Harry to the one place that would allow him to grow bitter of his sibling and gain the traits necessary to be sorted into Slytherin.

"But that feels like I'm abandoning Harry in favor of his brother. When Julius became famous James and I swore we wouldn't give either child any special treatment". Lily countered. She didn't want to hurt her children physically, mentally, or emotionally.

"Then I know, why not send Harry to live with your sister for a couple of years. I'm sure she would look after Harry like she would get own child". Dumbledore suggested with a grandfatherly smile on his face, one that people  had fallen for time and time again, even when he talked students into returning to abusive homes.

"Pe-Petunina"? Lily stuttered in shock.  She had told Dumbledore before that her sister is the last place any magical child should live with. Back before Julius vanquished the dark lord she & James made their wills that Dumbledore was a witness to. The first thing they addressed was where their kids should go if they die and her sister was nowhere on that list.How could one of the smartest wizards alive think sending her little boy there was a good idea in the least?

"Now now Lily, I know in the past you and your sister have had your differences but I'm sure everything is just one big misunderstanding. After all she's your sister and must love you very much. Why wouldn't she do this favor for you"? 

"Because my sister despises magic, not to mention she's hated me and my family for years. Albus you can't be serious". Lily countered, unable to believe what the elder wizard in front of her was saying.

“Well then Lily, if you're so uncertain why not run my advice by Molly. She has quite a few kids, I'm sure she'll agree with me". Albus suggested. Molly was one of his most loyal pawns. As long as she heard that sending Harry to Petunia came from him she would agree with whatever he says.

Over the years Albus had noticed certain trends about the 4 Hogwarts houses, but one of the most important things he'd learned was that a majority of abused children end up in Slytherin. By sending Harry to a muggle house that hates magic he's sure to end up abused. That, combined with being in his brother's shadow for years, would l make him ripe for the house of snakes and perfect for his plans.

"Ask Molly? I'm not sure, Albus. Are you sure that sending Harry away is the only way"? Lily asked,  getting up from her seat, not sure if this was the best idea.

Albus, sensing her worry, got up as well and started pushing her in the direction of the floo.

"That's exactly why you should ask Molly, my dear girl.  She has raised seven children of her own after all. She would know better than anyone how to deal with the situation you're in". He said cheerfully while sending Lily off.

Indeed everything is going according to his plan.

An hour later within the Wealey household Molly was wondering what in the name of Merlin she did to deserve this. For the past 43 minutes she had had to listen to a very angry Lily Potter nee Evans rant about why Dumbledore was an idiot for even suggesting sending Harry to her sister. She did understand where Albus was coming from, sometimes time apart is the best thing for children, but if Petina is as bad as Lily said then maybe there was another option…

“EVEN IF PETUNIA WAS WILLING TO GIVE HARRY THE PROPER LOVE AND CARE A CHILD DESERVES, SHE WOULD MOST LIKELY JUST TURN HARRY INTO A WALKING BALL OF BLUBBER JUST LIKE HER OWN SON AND HUSBAND”-

Oh she’s still going, Molly realized.  She probably should put a stop to this soon or Lily was going to run her voice ragged.

“Lily”, she said, getting the enraged mother’s attention.

“Yes”?

“I think Albus is partly right”. She said as Lily seemed to freeze in shock, before asking.

“YOU WHAT! Molly have you heard nothing I’ve said this past hour”? 

“No, I’ve heard everything you said Lily, that’s why I said I partially agreed with Dumbledore. Sending Harry away could be good for him, as a way to get out of Julius’s shadow and develop as his own person. Trust me I have seven kids. I know being constantly compared to your siblings can’t be good for a growing child's mind; I believe it’s why Percy is so obsessed with rules. But if your sister is as untrustworthy to raise a magical child as you say she is, then you can’t send Harry there”. She explained, surprising Lily.

“So if I can’t send Harry to Petunia and I can’t keep the boys together without risking the mental health of my kids, where could I possibly send Harry that won't be detrimental for his health or make anyone think he’s been abandoned in favor of his brother”? Lily asked confusedly, while Molly put a hand on her chin remembering something that might help.

“Hmm. I might have an idea, just give me a minute to find something”. She said, getting up to get something from another room. A few minutes later Molly came back with a booklet in hand, giving it to Lily. On the front of the pamphlet was a breathtaking magical castle, on top are the words Chéile Academy: Where the Past & Future of magic come together in Harmony.

“A magic school? But all magic schools start at age 11. This won’t help me in the present, besides Harry and Julius are excited to go to Hogwarts. How do you even know about this school in the first place”? Lily asked, confused.  Hogwarts was her kid's dream. How could she possibly think of ruining her child's dream by sending him to another school.

“I know about this school because Fred and George go there.  Honestly I had never heard about this place either until a couple of years ago when we revived an owl from the school offering the twins a gemini scholarship which the school offers for magical twins. Chéile starts kids schooling two years earlier, at the age of nine. For some reason though students don't really attend any traditional magic classes until age 11 like other magic schools, according to the teacher who came here to explain the process to me. The first two years at Chéile are spent to teach students reading, writing, Latin, and the basics kids would need to learn before actually casting a spell”. Molly explained with a shrug as Lily looked over the pamphlet.

Indeed it did say that in the first 2 years of school, students would learn reading, writing, Latin, a secondary language of their choosing, introductory classes to the muggle and Wizard worlds, and plenty more to their choosing. In student's second year there seemed to be an intro to potions class which was something she definitely would have loved to have when she first entered Hogwarts.  If it weren’t for Severus she would have been behind her classes a good chunk of her first year while she tried to catch up to the Half bloods, and purebloods in her class who grew up being tutored about things she could never even imagine. But as she pondered over the pamphlet another question sprung to mind.

“Wait Molly, why would you send Fred and George to this school when you were determined to send all your kids to Hogwarts. And if the boys are here then why haven’t they sent any letters to Harry about it”? She questioned. This sounded way too good to be true. 

“Well, money is tight, you know? But the scholarship the boys were offered completely paid for all their schooling, supplies, and meals while there. We just needed to give the boys some spending money for the school store. Hogwarts is the best, everybody knows of course, but this way we have more money available for other things. I’m not sure why Harry hasn’t gotten any letters from the boys though. I get some very thick letters from them at least once a month but don’t always have time to read them, since Ronnie and Ginny need so much of my time. Plus between Bill, Charlie,Percy, and the twins sending me letters from school I hardly have time to read and reply to all of them”. Molly explained making Lily seath internally over Molly choosing to focus more of her time on some of her kids  than others. As a mother, shouldn’t she know this sort of thing will only lead to more problems in the future.  She doesn’t comment though, since she knows Molly won’t listen to her.

“I guess I understand what you mean Molly”. Lily lies while looking at the pamphlet only for something to catch her eye. “What’s this in the pamphlet about a Magical NDA required for parents and guardians to sign before they can visit the school”?

“Oh the school has that in place for the students. The NDA is magical to keep people from telling others about any secrets they may learn while visiting Chéile, when I asked about it the teacher I talked to said it was mostly for Muggle families to keep them from revealing magic to other muggles by accident. Since it’s a magical NDA it will keep them from speaking about Chéile in detail to others who haven’t signed it, the school just makes all families who have enrolled students sign it to keep things fair. Arthur couldn’t sign it because of his job at the Ministry and I didn’t sign it because Dumbledore told not to since the boys would be fine with or without me visiting them in person”. Molly explains with a smile, and those reasons did make sense to Lily. While the contract did prevent people from talking about what they’ve seen in the school, which was a bit worrying, having a way to keep Muggles from revealing the magical world's existence like that was smart.

“All this sounds amazing”, Lily said,  looking over the pamphlet again. This school did seem like a dream for most, it even allowed kids the option to stay during the summer. One thing was still bothering her though. “But what about Hogwarts? It’s the twins dream to go there together”?

Molly smiled before taking a sip of her tea, & answered, “Don’t worry about it Lily. Chéile allows students to transfer to other schools if so desired. Just send Harry there for 2 years then transfer him to Hogwarts when he’s 11. Since they don’t actually start teaching any magic at Chéile until kids are the same age as they would be at Hogwarts, Julius won’t get jealous or angry at Harry for learning magic before him”.

“I guess that makes sense Molly, but I think I need to talk this over with James first before we make any decisions “. Lily says getting up 

“I understand dear, just be sure to take the pamphlet with you. It includes an address to owl if you want an enrollment form for the school”. Molly said, pointing to the pamphlet in Lily’s hand.

“Thanks for the advice Molly”. Lily said with a smile as she exited the Burrow.

Later that night, after putting the boys to bed, Lily sat James down in their living room to talk over the two pieces of advice she received that day. At first James perked up to hear what Albus had to say, but upon hearing his advice he had to agree with Lily that sending any magical child to his sister in law would be disastrous. Then Lily pulled out the pamphlet for Chéile Academy and proceeded to explain everything she learned about the school from Molly: from the variety of classes, how the Weasley twins go there, the Magic NDA, how students don’t cast magic until age 11 but start age 9 and, most importantly, how Harry would be able to transfer from Chéile to go to Hogwarts with Julius when he turns 11. When she finished Lily paused to hear what James had to say about this idea.

“I think this school could be good for Harry as a way to spend some time apart from Julius. Albus is right in that respect; we can't risk Harry’s mental health just because Julius is famous. This school could be good for him and even if I can’t sign the NDA because of my job as an Auror you could sign it and be able to visit Harry during the parents weekends mentioned in the pamphlet”. James said with a smile as he looked over this school. According to the pamphlet this was a pretty new school, not even being a decade old yet, but he had a optimistic feeling about this place.

“Alright then, I’ll send an Owl in the morning to get an application for Harry’s admittance”. Lily said,  getting up but before she can stand James stops her by putting his hand on hers.

“Wait! (James exclaimed, causing Lily to pause. "Before we send this application in, I have two conditions for sending Harry to this school. First,  we ask Harry if he even wants to go to another school and second, after two years of going to Chéile we give Harry the choice to continue going there or transfer to Hogwarts. It would be cruel to force Harry away from any friends he makes while at this school, we could easily withdraw Harry’s environment from Hogwarts”. James said shocking Lily,

She hadn’t thought about it that way; she was only thinking in the short term of keeping Harry safe from any effects growing up in his brother's shadow, that she didn’t even think of what pulling Harry out abruptly could do either. Taking a deep breath Lily nodded.

“I agree. We should ask the boys what they think as well since this impacts them. We’ll ask them in the morning since they’re asleep right now”. Lily agreed as James began to smirk.

“Oh I wouldn’t be so sure of that”, he laughed before turning to the door & calling out. “Harry!  Julius! Stop hiding! I know you’re there”.

After a brief pause the twins emerged from the doorway in matching Gryffindor pajamas, looking nervous at being caught. 

“How did you notice they were there James”? Lily asked in shock. She thought they went to bed over an hour ago.

James just shrugged. “Auror instincts. But more importantly how much of that did you boys hear”?

“Everything”. Harry mumbled. He didn’t want to go live with his aunt, the last Christmas they had at her house his uncle kept trying to treat harry like he was some sort of servant just because he’s magical, he has a feeling that if he went to live there his beached whale of a uncle would follow through on those efforts. But he’s not sure how much he would like another magic school, but at least the twins would be there..

“So what do you think Harry, would you want to go to Chéile”? Lily asked, since she might as well just rip the bandage off this one.

“I… I”. Harry stuttered. , He didn't know what to do. On one hand this school has Fred and Geroge there to be by his side, but on the other hand he didn't want to leave Julius’s side, even if it was only for two years. But while Harry was contemplating this, Julius spoke first.

 “Harry you should go”. He said, suddenly surprising everyone in the room.

“Julius, what did you just say”? Lily asked in shock. She didn’t think Julius would be willing to send his own brother away. Julius straightener his back before turning to his mother.

“Harry should go Mom.  You saw what happened with those bullies the other day. If going to this school will keep something like that from happening for at least a couple of years then he should go. And besides”, Julius paused, turning to Harry looking his brother in the eye, “it’s only until we’re 11, then we can go to Hogwarts together like planned”.

“I guess you’re right”. Harry mumbled.  What if he makes friends at this school, though, and doesn’t want to go to Hogwarts in a couple of years. Could he really betray his brother like that?

“Well it’s all on you Harry do you want to go to Chéile, your Aunt Petunia or you can just stay here Harry and we could put this whole thing behind us”. Lily sa, kneeling down and putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder in comfort.

“I guess Chéile could be interesting, at least Fred and George are there plus I’ll be able to write. But Julius are you really okay with me learning stuff about magic before you do”? Harry asks his brother he doesn’t want this school to put a rift between them. 

“It’s fine like Mom said you wouldn’t actually cast spells or learn magic until you were 11 like at Hogwarts anyways, so there’s nothing to be jealous of. Just promise me we’ll go to Hogwarts together when we’re 11”. Julius says, grabbing hold of his brother's hands, making Harry squirm uncomfortably. This is one promise he’s not sure he’ll be able to make.

“Ya I guess”. He mumbles nervously before turning back to his parents. “Okay I guess I’ll go to this Chéile school then”.

Lily and James look at one another before smiling, and turning back to their sons. Lily chose to be the first to speak. “Alright then honey then we’ll send the application into Chéile in the morning to get you enrolled”.

“Now then I’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtimes, so go up to your rooms and go to sleep this time”. James says with a smile as he points upstairs.

“Night Dad”. Julius says hugging his Dad and races upstairs to go to bed.

“Ya goodnight Dad”. Harry says shyly as he walks upstairs and thinks about the future, worried he might not be able to keep his promise to his brother. After all, if Fred and Geroge like this school then it can’t be all bad. Harry’s not sure what the future may have in store for him.

To Be Continued