Technically Speaking - Part 1 of 2

Technically Speaking

1.

Harry walked with Ron and Hermione around the campsite. The Quidditch World Cup had brought people from all over the world. He always knew that there were more magical communities than just England but seeing it laid out like this was enough to make his head spin. Even locally he had no idea that there were in fact other magical schools than just Hogwarts in the UK. They hadn't been around nearly as long, nor did they have as wide of a reputation. He made a note to try to get back to talk to them at some point. A small part of him wondered if he could transfer schools.

Hermione was a beacon of energy. It took a concentrated effort from both of them to keep her on task. Not that fetching a bucket of water was all that important. Ron had just successfully distracted her from another camp of international magical folk when she hurried over to another.

Harry had just enough time to see the sign 'Salem Witches Academy' before she disappeared into a tent. While most of the others appeared to be private for families and groups, this one was for an entire school. A couple of older witches in traditional black robes and pointed hats smiled at him as he hurried over.

"Have you seen my friend?" Harry asked. "I think she came this way. Bushy hair. Brown eyes."

"Inside." One of the witches said.

"Thank you." Harry flashed them a smile before he entered the tent.

By now, he had expected the tents to be bigger on the inside. However, he was not prepared for the sight in front of him. He hadn't stepped into a room or even a hallway. Currently, he stood in nothing less than a lobby with a grand staircase. It felt like he had stepped into a luxury hotel. His arrival caught the attention of a nearby group of witches. Unlike the women outside, they were younger, probably about his age, and dressed in casual clothes. If not for the location, he would have thought they were muggles with how well their clothing worked. Hermione stood in the midst of a nearby group. He couldn't make out the words, he could see she was clearly excited.

"Harry." Hermione waved him over. "Can you believe this? An American Magical Academy for witches."

"It makes sense." Harry nodded as he moved to join them.

"No." She chuckled. "It's only for witches and accepts girls from all over their country."

A petite blonde girl stood beside Hermione. She had short-cut hair and wore a red dress that looked like she stepped out of a black and white TV show.

"Hi." Harry smiled awkwardly at the group. "I'm Harry."

"Sabrina." The blonde replied. "Hermione is your friend?"

"One of my best." Harry replied proudly. "Smartest witch at Hogwarts."

Hermione blushed. The group giggled and fell back into conversation. Harry sighed in relief; it was nice that the attention wasn't focused on him for once.

"Is Quidditch a big thing over there?" Harry asked.

"Not as much." Sabrina gave him a teasing smile. "It's not as bad as how the American mundane treat soccer. Dueling, racing, and challenges are more popular. I still love it. What's more witchy than riding on a broom?"

"Challenges?" Harry asked.

"Are you familiar with… muggles, think that's what you guys call mundane people." She asked.

Harry nodded.

"They're kind of like an obstacle course with puzzles." Sabrina explained.

"I'd like to check that out." Harry gave an appreciative nod.

"It's pretty cool." She smiled brightly at him. "There are the challengers, they run the courses, and the architects who design them."

"Have you tried any?" Harry asked.

"Guys!" Ron called from the doorway. "The water!"

"Oh, right." Hermione blushed. "We have to get water for the camp."

"Bye." Harry waved to Sabrina as they left.

~§~

The Death Eaters tore a swath of chaos through the camp. Harry cursed himself for losing his wand. He also was rather annoyed at the wizard who had blindsided him. There was very little chance that he’d ever get his wand back.

He ducked behind a tent to catch his breath. There were hundreds of witches and wizards around. He hadn’t had time to count how many Death Eaters there were, but it really shouldn’t have been a problem. Even a small portion of people fighting back would have stopped this before it got so out of hand. No wonder Voldemort practically won last time. It wasn’t like they were unarmed muggles against gunmen. His first year had shown him that a creative use of a simple spell could take down a troll.

Harry calmed down at that thought.

His moment of clarity was shattered by a girl screaming. It was closer than the others and he could have sworn he recognized it. Thankfully, it wasn’t Ginny or Hermione. He didn’t give a second thought before he sprinted toward the sound.

The blonde girl from before the game, Sabrina, was hunched over another girl that he vaguely recognized from the Salem Witches Academy. Both looked a little worse for wear. The girl on the ground clutched her leg while Sabrina tried to block the approaching trio of Death Eaters from her friend.

Neither of them had wands. One of the Death Eaters stepped closer. He wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but it certainly wasn’t good. Sabrina hopped to her feet. Her hand moved in a blur. The sound of her palm connecting with the mask echoed with a sharp crack. Another Death Eater cast a sickly purple spell that connected just below her ribs. Sabrina crumpled to the ground beside her friend.

Harry rushed forward. One of the things he had learned over the years was that the more time a person lived with magic the less they thought about mundane methods of doing things. Why wash dishes by hand when you can do it with magic? Why punch someone when you can use a spell to break their bones? It made sense, but that didn’t make the mundane methods any less effective. As such, a punch in the face, or a tackle, took most wizards by surprise.

Years of Harry Hunting as well as forced football practices and rugby games had taught him a few things. He knew how to work through pain, he could take a lot of punishment, and he knew how to tackle.

Harry sprinted toward the closest Death Eater. All three of them were focused on the girl as she writhed on the ground. Harry lowered his shoulder, aimed it just below their waist, and powered through. The Death Eater screamed as Harry slammed them to the ground. Something under him crunched and the Death Eater screamed louder.

The other two turned their attention to their fallen friend. For the first time that night the darkness worked in his favor. Long black robes in the scattered firelight made it hard to see exactly what had happened. The Death Eaters scanned the area around the them searching for whoever had dared cast a spell against them.

Harry wrenched the wand from the Death Eater under him. He pointed it at the one that was now facing away from him.

"Depulso." Harry shouted.

The Banishing Charm connected with the Death Eater right between the shoulder-blades. They were launched forward and landed face-first into the ground. Their mask broke with a loud crack. Unfortunately, his spell also had caught the attention of the remaining Death Eater.

"Who dares?" The Death Eater shouted.

As tempting as it was to answer, he resisted. Instead, he used an overpowered Body-Binding Spell. The Death Eater when rigid and fell backwards. Harry hurried to gather their wands. He hit both of the other Death Eaters with Body Bind Spells as well.

"I really need to learn better spells." Harry muttered to himself.

"Harry?" Sabrina squinted up at him.

"Sabrina, right?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Are you and your friend alright?" He asked.

"Not really." Sabrina groaned. "Pretty sure her leg is broken."

"What about you?" He asked.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck, but I'm ok." Sabrina gave him a weak smile.

"Where are your wands?" He hurried over to the girl on the ground.

She vaguely looked familiar. One of the girls that Hermione had talked to earlier. She was unconscious but her breathing was strong and steady. Probably passed out from the trauma. The leg of her jeans was torn and bloody. He made sure to be gentle when he took a closer look. The wound had stopped bleeding, and he didn't see any bones.

"We don’t use wands." Sabrina said.

Harry arced an eyebrow.

"How do you do magic?" Harry asked.

"Rituals and incantations." She moved to his side.

"Do you know anything that would heal a broken bone?" He asked.

"Not without a birch branch and some ground monk-root." Sabrina shook her head. "You?"

"I know one." Harry looked at the three wands he now had. "It's good for small breaks. I don't know how it would work on a leg, or if there is something I can't see."

"We'll wait to be safe." Sabrina gave a certain nod. "Where is your friend?"

"We got separated." Harry sighed. "Someone knocked me to the ground. I lost my wand and them at the same time."

"You guys rely a lot on your wands." Sabrina mumbled.

A swirling green skull appeared in the air above the campground. The screams in the distance got worse. A series of loud pops erupted around them. Half a dozen wands were pointed at them before the sound had faded.

"Drop your wand." One of the wizards yelled.

Harry followed their instructions. The next couple of hours were a whirlwind of chaos, interviews, and eventually, a reunion. He got his wand back against all odds. Of course, it was only after they discovered that whoever cast The Dark Mark had used his wand. Whose else could it have been?

He really hoped that this would be the worst of the year.

~§~

"The Champion Representing the Salem Witches Academy." Dumbledore read off the torn piece of paper. "Harry Potter."

The crowd dropped into stunned silence. A sharp, self-important laugh cut through it.

"A witches only school, Potter?" Draco yelled. "I always knew you weren't a real wizard."

"Harry." Dumbledore repeated his name. "Please join the other champions."

A wave of jeers and insults followed him as he crossed the Great Hall to the other room.

~§~

Harry stood before the gathered Wizengamot. Nothing made sense. Voldemort had returned, someone had sent Dementors after him, and now he was on trial for using magic in front of muggles.

"Apologies for my tardiness." Dumbledore called as he strode through the doors. "I was not informed that the hearing had been moved."

"Dumbledore!" Fudge yelled. "You are not supposed to be here."

"I am here as not just the Headmaster of Hogwarts but as Harry's magical guardian." Dumbledore countered.

Harry stared at Dumbledore in wonder.

"I also need to inform the Wizengamot that you do not have the authority over Harry." Dumbledore continued.

That put the gathered magical folk into an uproar. Even the people who seemed to be on his side a moment before weren't happy.

"Explain yourself, Dumbledore, or you'll find yourself in a cell." Fudge bellowed above the crowd.

"Last year, as you know, Harry Potter represented the Salem Witches Academy in the Tri-Wizard Tournament." Dumbledore had a serene smile on his face. "The Goblet of Fire is an ancient and powerful artifact that has recognized this fact. As such, Harry isn't a student at Hogwarts. Neither is he a current resident of the British Magical Community. Records will show that as of last August, Harry Potter is part of a student exchange program."

"That is preposterous." Fudge glared at Dumbledore.

"Unlikely, yes, but true." A witch spoke up.

The crowd went silent as she stepped forward from the shadows. Her entry had been overlooked by Dumbledore. It helped that she wore classic black robes that blended in with the others. It wasn't her words that had caused the gathered magical folk to listen. It was her voice.

She was American.

"And who are you?" Fudge shifted his glare to the new witch.

"Headmistress of Salem Witches Academy." She inclined her head ever so slightly. "Glinda North."

"What is your business here?" Fudge seemed to have calmed down just a little.

"As Professor Dumbledore has said, Harry Potter is a registered student at my academy." She flashed a pretty smile at Harry. Her voice had a musical lilt to it. "After the events of the last year we have decided that his exchange program has finished, and he will be returning to further his education."

A squat, ugly woman jumped up beside Fudge. She whispered something in his ear. The Minister scowled at first, then his eyes went wide. A smile that Fudge probably thought was clever stretched across his face.

"Well." Fudge clasped his hands before him. "The Wizengamot wishes you the best, Mister Potter."

"We should go." Headmistress North offered him a hand.

Harry moved in a daze as he took it. The air shimmered as a bubble formed around them.

"I find other forms of magical travel uncomfortable." She offered in explanation.

The room began to expand. He shifted his gaze to Dumbledore to see the wizard was now a giant. Panic began to press in as Harry realized that he was shrinking.

"Keep hold of my hand." Headmistress North spoke calmly. "We'll be there shortly."

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"To speak to your godfather, silly." She giggled.

"You know my godfather?" Harry tried to sound calm.

"We spoke this morning." Headmistress North replied. "Your Floo network is neat, but the ash gets everywhere."

Harry nodded absently. He didn't know what to say. His mind was going in twelve different directions so fast that he couldn't concentrate. It wasn't until the world around them started to shift that he was able to focus again. The sitting room of Grimmauld Place was a hive of activity. In the middle of it all stood Sirius with a broad grin on his face.

The wizard looked much healthier than he had been the previous night. He rushed forward and wrapped Harry in a hug the moment the bubble popped. Headmistress North smiled patiently as she stood beside them.

"Sirius." Harry managed to say through the tight hug. "What's going on?"

"We're going across the pond." Sirius replied.

On a closer look Sirius didn't just look healthier, his clothes had been replaced by a freshly tailored set. His scraggly beard had been trimmed to a stylish length. The man in front of him practically glowed with energy even though he still was too skinny.

"Is that safe?" Harry lowered his voice and shot a look at the witch next to them. "You know, with the escape stuff."

"America doesn't care." Sirius hopped from foot to foot. "No trial, no conviction, no problem."

Harry smiled brightly. A load of dread vanished from his shoulders. At least until he saw his friends. Hermione had her focused mask in place that she used when she didn't want to acknowledge the world. Ron looked like he wanted to scream. Fred and George kept giving him supportive smiles with the occasional envious glance to Headmistress North. Their expression lacked the fire that the jealousy Ron was known for. It helped that they had their own things to focus on. The money he had given them at the end of term had kicked their business to another level. Of all of them, it was Ginny that seemed the most distraught.

"What's going on?" Harry motioned to the others.

"I am gathering your books." Hermione replied in a terse tone. "You are going to need proper OWL level texts. These are the fifth-year books for your classes as well as supplementary tomes from the Black Library that I believe will assist in your education.  I looked at the Salem Academy curriculum. It does not match with Hogwarts, or the British testing standards so you'll need to take the courses through tutors."

Harry winced. She had dropped contractions and was overexplaining. That didn't happen unless she was incredibly stressed.

"This." She pointed to another trunk. "These are my personal effects along with my school supplies. Headmaster Dumbledore has suggested that we follow your example and spend some time away. My parents have wanted to go to Australia for a few years now with only my schooling keeping us here. With that no longer an issue, there is no need to hold back. They use the same educational system and metrics so my studies should not be hampered."

Harry shifted his attention to Ron.

"We're going to Romania." Ron said with barely contained anger. "Mum knew some people when they got Charlie settled. They're going to help us too."

Harry nodded.

"We're still in the mail-order phase." George chimed in.
"Distance isn't an issue." Fred added.

Ginny rushed over to him. She wrapped him in a tight hug that was on par with Hermione. Her words came out in a flood and were tinged with emotion. He couldn't make out what she was saying with her face pressed against his chest. She took a step away, wiped her eyes, and then kissed him. Harry rocked back on his feet in shock. She rushed from the room.

Sirius barked out a laugh. Fred slipped George a coin. Harry didn't get any time to process what had happened. At some point Ron closed the distance. He pulled Harry into another tight hug. The height difference meant that it was Harry that was pressed face first into a chest. Ron was surprisingly solid. Thankfully, this one didn't end in a kiss.

"You're my brother, Harry." Ron wiped tears from his eyes. "Stay safe. Hermione and I won't be there to save you."

"Save me!" Harry squawked. He paused. "Yeah, that's fair."

Harry wasn't sold on physical contact as a whole. He had gotten more hugs in the last few minutes than he had in the last few years. However, this seemed to be a situation where he needed to put that discomfort to the side.

"You're my brother too." He gave Ron a hug. "Don't fight any dragons without me."

Ron nodded. He took a step to the side. It didn't take long for Hermione to take her turn. Somehow, she always managed to hug him tighter each time. She took a step back, straightened his clothes, and adjusted his hair.

"Ronald is right. We will not be there to save you." Her voice had a slight shiver in it. "Keep your cloak close, do not let anyone use your wand, and write us the moment something happens."

"Careful, Mione." Harry smiled at her. "You're sounding a lot like Moody. Constant Vigilance."

"I am serious, Harry James Potter." She glared at him.

A quick, hard look stopped Sirius from making the obvious joke. The older wizard studied the ceiling to avoid her glare.

"I doubt Hedwig would play well with international letter carrying." Hermione continued. "We will have to find alternative means of communication."

"Why wouldn't she?" Harry asked.

"They have to hand off the letter." Sirius explained.

Harry winced at the thought of the poor owl that tried to take a letter from Hedwig.

"I love you, Hermione." Harry pulled her into a hug that was just as tight as one of her own. "You're the older sister I wish I always had."

"I love you too, Harry." Her hard mask crumbled. "I expect a letter the moment you even think you are in trouble."

"Who says I'm going to get into trouble?" Harry asked.

She leaned back and stared at him.

"I promise." Harry smiled at her.

Fred and George hurried over. They wrapped both of them in a group hug.

"Harrykins." George said through exaggerated sobs. "You're our family too."
"We'll break you out of prison again." Fred matched the tone.

"That is not funny." Hermione glared at the twins.

"You're not crying anymore." Fred winked at her.

"Come along, pup." Sirius cleared his throat. "We've got a few things to do before we leave."