Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry McGonagall - Chapter 22 - American Summer
"I just realized," said Harry sadly as he stepped out of the main gate of Hogwarts, "that this is the last time that this castle will be my shelter from Brianna." He had his school trunk in one hand and Hedwig's cage in another. The snowy owl did not look happy to be caged up like that, but Harry had to keep her with him so she'd get to America. All the other students were similarly loaded down with luggage.
Hermione, who was walking next to him holding her trunk that had Rowena and Crookshanks' empty cages shrunk inside it (Rowena was flying home while Crookshanks was walking beside his master), laughed with Padma while the Headmistress, who was also walking with them, said, "Harry, you shouldn't say such things. You know you miss your sister."
"Maybe," he said with a smirk, "but I did enjoy not having to worry about her waking me up with an Aguamenti spell."
Hermione said, "I'll make sure to let her know you miss that," with a laugh. Harry shot his best friend a quick glare before boarding a carriage.
"I'll see you at the Platform," said Aunt Minnie before turning around. "I have some duties to attend to inside the castle, but they'll be completed by the time the Hogwarts Express arrives in London. Enjoy the ride, and please, don't get into too much trouble on the train."
**
Half an hour later, Harry, Hermione, Padma, Susan, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Anthony were sitting together on the Express, waiting for the snack trolley to come by. However, the snack trolley was not what approached their carriage.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" came the nasal voice that was far too familiar to Harry.
He looked carefully at his watch as the three most annoying Slytherins came into view. "Is it already time for your daily beating, Draco?" he asked, sounding bored. "Can we make it easier this time so I don't have to get up? I'll make a fist and you run into it. Alright?"
Harry's companions laughed while Malfoy sneered, "You think you're funny, but my fath…"
Something snapped in Harry at the mention of that murderer. He jumped up and grabbed Draco by the collar, pushing him against the wall before he could react. "Your vile father didn't stop me from kicking your…"
"Harry!" admonished Hermione as she (along with their other companions) pointed her wand at Crabbe and Goyle, who looked frightened. "Language!"
"I'll call this maggot anything I feel like!" retorted Harry as he pulled back his right fist, getting ready to punch him. Draco closed his eyes with a terrified expression and didn't notice the spell Padma performed on the front of his tan pants, causing a wet spot. "I am SICK of this IDIOT!" He glared at Draco. "Why are you so stupid?! What is wrong with you? If you would just stay away, you'd have nothing to fear from me, but you won't!" Harry rammed his fist straight into Malfoy's nose, which immediately started bleeding.
"Hermione," said Harry in a mocking tone. "Look at that wonderful, pure blood! Isn't it amazing? Aren't you envious of it? Maybe we should collect some." He then pulled the crying Malfoy away from the wall and pushed him into Crabbe, who was standing in the doorway, still looking at the wands pointed at him. They both fell to the other side of the doorway, and Goyle followed them. "Now, stay away from us!" Harry slammed the door shut so hard that the glass broke, and sat down.
"Repairo!" said Hermione, sounding upset as the door fixed itself. She then rounded on her best friend. "Harry, you should not have done that! You'll get in trouble!"
He turned to her while still breathing hard. "You don't understand. That imbecile only understands one thing - pain. If he gets hurt every time he messes with us, eventually he'll stop."
"You're only letting him win by getting mad," she countered as the others remained quiet.
"No," Harry replied firmly, shaking his head. "He wins if he can say and do whatever he wants with no consequences. When we ignore him, he wins. That crying, bleeding loser did not win today."
"But he'll tell on you," said Hermione.
"He'd have made up lies about me anyway, so it doesn't matter." He took a deep breath as he calmed down. "I just want him to leave me alone."
At that moment, the door opened, revealing Percy Weasley, his prefect badge looking newly polished on his robes. He was looking very upset. "McGonagall," he said. "Mr. Malfoy said you attacked him."
"I've been here the whole trip," responded Harry. "I didn't go anywhere near his compartment."
Looking impatient, Percy responded, "He said it happened in here, so quit denying it."
"Why do you suppose the person who everyone knows to be my enemy would come to my compartment?"
"That doesn't matter, McGonagall. I've had enough of your insubordination. Do you deny hitting him like a muggle?"
"I think it does matter, Percy!" shouted Ginny, who was looking very angry at her brother, who'd completely ignored her. "That prat came in here to insult us, and got what he deserved! I only wish I'd had the chance to hex him!"
"Stay out of this, Genevra. It's none of your concern. Mr. McGonagall threw the first punch."
"And the only one," Harry bragged. "That wimp couldn't defend himself against a toddler. One punch had him crying like a baby."
"I will be informing the Headmistress of your behavior," he huffed importantly before turning around and leaving.
**
The rest of the trip was uneventful, aside from a few people stepping into the compartment and congratulating Harry for beating up Draco. He was amazed at how much the rumors grew as the trip progressed. The last person they saw was a Gryffindor named Colin Creevey who'd heard that Draco, Crabbe and Goyle would be spending the summer at St. Mungo's recovering from injuries sustained during the big fight, wherein Harry used muggle karate to incapacitate all three of them with one kick. The group had just finished explaining what really happened when the train came to a halt. They set about the task of getting their luggage and dismounted the train.
"Hello, Harry," said Adam Granger as he and Hermione approached her parents. "I've missed you, Hermione!" he added while enveloping his daughter in a hug.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," replied Harry, happily. "Aunt Minnie said you'll be joining us at that Quidditch game this August."
"Yes," Adam replied while his wife hugged their daughter. "We're looking forward to it."
"I'd better find my aunt," said Harry. "It's good seeing you." He shook Mr. Granger's hand before Marissa gave him a quick hug. "Bye."
Harry then looked around the platform to see his aunt speaking to Percy Weasley. He rolled his eyes and approached in time to see Minerva looking at the prefect incredulously for a few seconds before speaking. "Why are you so anxious to get the boy who saved your sister's life in trouble? I realize that you're not a Hufflepuff, but you should still have some loyalty to your family. We can't prove it, especially with all the money he's spent purchasing half the Wizengamot, but we know that Draco's father was responsible for the peril young Genevra was in earlier this year. Draco Malfoy is a bigot and a troublemaker, as well as an enemy of your family, and I've already told him that I will expel him the moment I have enough cause. He's being raised to be a Death Eater. While I agree that I need to talk to Harry about his temper, your siding with Malfoy yet again proves how poor your judgment is. I regret ever making you a prefect."
"Now, see here, Headmistress," said Percy, still being just barely civil. "Just because the boy is your nephew…"
"That has nothing to do with it, Mr. Weasley. By your own admission, Draco Malfoy went to Harry's compartment. He was obviously looking for trouble, and he found some. If Harry had gone to Draco's compartment, then it would be his fault. You get good grades, Percy. Why can't you use your brain?"
Harry let out a small snort that gained the attention of both Minerva and Percy. The arrogant prefect marched off without a word while Harry's aunt's eyes narrowed as her lips thinned. "Harry, what did I tell you about losing your temper?"
"That I should pull pranks and not fight."
"Exactly," she said. "You're going to have to learn to stay calm or you'll end up in trouble."
"But this was different, Aunt Minnie. Draco had no business in our compartment, and needed to be kicked out. That's our private space! If Draco ever gets in my house or Ravenclaw tower, I'll give him more of the same. He needs to learn to leave me alone! I have never gone looking for him!"
"I know," Minnie replied calmly, "but I still have to inform your parents."
"Come on, Aunt Minnie. There's no reason to tell them. What I can't figure out is what the point was in Percy telling on me. The year is over, so house points don't count and I can't get detention."
"For some reason, that arrogant boy hates you," replied Minerva. "He's almost as biased against you as Snape was. He definitely won't be Head Boy."
Harry laughed, "I'll bet he won't be happy." He then looked sad for a moment. "Too bad. The Weasley twins were planning on changing his Head Boy badge to say Big-Head Boy."
His aunt smiled for a moment. "That would be appropriate. I believe we should be going now." She then put her arm around Harry, and they both disappeared, along with his luggage, and appeared in the magical section of the airport. They then got in line for the international floo.
**
After being lovingly and cheerfully greeted at the airport in Chicago, the McGonagall family rode their car home, stopping at a McDonalds drive-through along the way. While Harry was levitating his luggage into his room, Minerva informed his parents of the altercation he had with Malfoy on the train.
"Harry Mark McGonagall!" Harry heard his mother's voice while he was still in his room. He knew immediately what that meant. "Come down here."
"Yes, mother," he said neutrally as he approached the staircase.
"Your aunt told me what happened on the train."
"Oh," he said.
"That you got in a fight."
"That's not true," he replied, earning a glare from both women that made him decide to clarify his statement. "I punched that bigot once and pushed him out of my compartment while he cried. I don't define that as a fight."
"Good job," said Brianna with a grin.
"The point is that you are supposed to be controlling your temper," said Cindy. Harry noticed that his father was staying silent and wondered if he actually was in favor of Harry's actions and didn't want to earn the wrath of the women.
Harry looked at his mother. "How would you respond if you were on a train with Mrs. Fleming and some bigot walked into your compartment proudly spouting off the `N' word at her, basically saying she doesn't have the right to exist?"
Cindy paled before stuttering, "I-I…"
"Because that's exactly what was going on!" continued Harry, increasing his volume as he paced around the room. "Draco's father was in Voldemort's inner circle and is teaching his son to be a Death Eater. They are exactly the muggle equivalent of the KKK, except that they're against muggle-borns instead of Africans, and I refuse to put up with them! My birth parents died fighting that kind of prejudice, and I thought you raised me not to put up with it!" He took a deep, calming breath. "I don't go looking for fights with him, but if Malfoy comes after me, I will do the same or worse to him every time no matter how many detentions I get."
Mark finally spoke. "The funny thing is, most of them don't realize that they're imitating the very muggles they hate." He looked at his wife and aunt. "Whether or not Harry took the right action, the point is that he took action. Someone has to take action because that prejudice can't be tolerated anymore. How many lives has it already cost the British Wizarding World because it was allowed to flourish at Hogwarts while Dumbledore was headmaster before Voldemort's first rise? He may not be prejudiced, but he created an atmosphere at Hogwarts where prejudice thrived and spread, especially in Slytherin house under Snape.
"How many more people have to die before the bigots aren't tolerated? I put up with them in magical society as a squib. Those people are too stupid to listen to reason and won't look at test scores to plainly see that they aren't superior in any way to muggle-borns, so they have to at least be taught to keep their mouths shut if they want to spew that garbage. I know that anyone stupid enough to use the `N' word at Brianna's school would get a well-deserved beating, so why shouldn't the same be true about using the `M' word at Hogwarts?"
"Mark," said Cindy, "You can't be condoning…"
"I hope Aunt Minnie, as headmistress, comes up with a better way to discourage prejudice, like forcing kids who use the `M' word to take counseling, but something has to be done before another war starts. If Voldemort or any other Dark Lord shows up spouting that bigoted nonsense, the people who believe that will rally to his cause just like last time. Every kid allowed to act like Draco Malfoy is one more person who will join that army. Maybe if he keeps on being proven inferior while he's still a boy, he might eventually realize that his father has fed him nothing a pack of lies and he's superior to no one. He might even begin to use his head for something besides a target."
Harry grinned and looked at his aunt. "I doubt they'd accept counseling, but what if they had to write a report on O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores between purebloods, half-bloods and muggle-borns if they're caught using that word?"
Minnie smiled at Harry. "I think that's an excellent suggestion."
They continued the discussion, and neither Harry nor (thankfully) Brianna reminded the adults that they forgot all about punishing him.
**
A few days later, the adults were gone, so Brianna and Harry were playing a game of Super Mario World on their Super Nintendo. Harry was fighting the final battle with Bowser when the door opened.
"Hi, kids," said Cindy while she, Mark and Minerva returned from some boring seminar. Harry could smell Burger King Hamburgers as the door closed.
"Hi, mom, dad, Aunt Minnie," he said as he kept playing. The Headmistress took out her wand and banished her hat to the guest room, causing the TV screen to flicker for a moment. When the picture returned, Harry saw that Mario had been killed. Brianna laughed while he complained, "Aunt Minnie, you just messed up the game! I was gonna win."
"I doubt it," said Brianna as she began her turn in Bowser's Castle.
"Sorry," muttered Minerva.
At that moment, the phone rang. "I'll get it," said Cindy, who picked it up. "Hello." After she'd been silent for about thirty seconds, she said, "I suppose your game is much too important to interrupt to inform you that Luke Wisniewski on the phone. He said a bunch of your old friends are going Frank's Flying Funhouse after lunch and you and Brianna are invited."
"Tell him we'll be there," said Harry happily as he relieved his dad of one of his fast-food bags and began looking through it. "This game'll be over soon, anyway. Brianna will be killed in a minute and I'll have another turn where I beat the end boss and win."
"Hey!" his sister protested.
"Maybe I should summon my broom," said Harry.
"Don't you dare!" yelled Brianna.
"New sparks," he retorted.
"Too late! I won," she replied with a grin. "Now, someone pass me my fries."
**
When they arrived at Frank's Flying Funhouse, Harry immediately spotted Paul Grabowski, Melissa Hearne, and Luke Wisniewski standing together. He further observed that Melissa was holding Paul's hand and realized what that meant.
"Hi, guys!" he said to announce his presence.
Their dad signed Harry and Brianna in while they were chatting with the group. Harry was introduced to a few kids he didn't know. One of them, a brown-haired boy who'd moved there from Ohio named Craig, asked, "Have you ever played Quadpot?"
"No," Harry answered. "I've never heard of it."
"I have," said Brianna. "But I've never seen a game."
"Quadpot is a lot more popular than Quidditch where I come from. You play with eleven players to a side with a modified Quaffle called a Quad that explodes…"
"What?" asked Harry. "That's nuts."
"It's kind of like hot potato with an actual hot potato," said Melissa. "We played a game about a month ago. You keep passing the Quad to your teammates, trying to get it into the `pot' at the other end of the pitch. The `pot' is actually a cauldron containing a solution that stops the Quad from exploding."
"Hm," said Harry, not convinced that he was interested in that sport.
"It's not any worse of an explosion than you get with exploding snap," said Craig. "You wanna play?"
He looked at his sister and then at his friends before shrugging his shoulders. "I'll try one game, but I'm not convinced I'll like it."
"Fair enough."
Harry and Brianna got their brooms and followed the group to a room at FFF that they'd never been in before. It looked like any other Quidditch Pitch, except that it had floating cauldrons instead of goal. Harry mounted his Lightning Bolt and flew into the position he was told. They were all on one team and played another group that was there.
The Quad, which looked like any other Quaffle except that it was colored a different shade of red, was thrown in the middle, and Craig caught it. He tossed it to Melissa, who tossed it toward Brianna, who tossed it to Harry.
BANG!!! The Quad exploded in his face, and he had to fly back down. He decided at that moment that he didn't like Quadpot as he settled down in a corner watching the game. He soon realized that even if he hadn't been the first one out he still actually would've found it boring after a few minutes, because the players weren't actually flying around much like he preferred. They were just playing catch. He did cheer when his team got points, but he wasn't very impressed by the game. The other team members went to the other side when they lost. He laughed when Craig became the next person from his team out.
"What do you think of the game?" the teenage boy asked.
"It's alright, I suppose, but to be honest, I prefer Quidditch."
"I heard you were on a team at your school," commented Craig, nodding his head. "It's actually a bit rare for someone to enjoy both games. Most usually like one or the other."
"It's just that I really enjoy flying around a lot," he said.
"No problem. It looks like your sister will be joining us," he said when another Quad exploded.
The other team eventually won by just a few points, and the referee performed a spell to clean off all the Quadpot victims so they didn't look like they'd been blown up before they left the room. Then they played a game of Quidditch, wherein Harry's team completely shut out the other team - a bunch of kids from a private magical school who thought they were the best team around. His catching the Snitch was actually ending the humiliation that the other team endured.
**
Harry quickly got into a routine where he'd spend a few hours every day doing summer homework before playing video games or hanging out with his American friends, both muggle and magical. They weren't as close to him as before he started Hogwarts, but he still enjoyed their company. Melissa had gotten him to blush when she asked if he was dating Hermione yet. While he was denying it, she laughed and claimed he was in denial, and his red face was proof that he liked her. He did not mention that in his nightly mirror calls with the girl in question.
Three weeks after he arrived home, Harry had completed his homework and was looking forward to his unofficial birthday the next week. Legally, Harry McGonagall's birthday was August twelfth, and that's when he got his presents, but his parents had decided they'd spend Harry Potter's birthday at Six Flags Great America. He woke up, content that he didn't have any responsibilities for the day, and took a shower.
When Harry went down the stairs for breakfast, he found his aunt sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet. She'd made special arrangements for it to be sent to her in America so she could keep up with the news during her vacation.
"Anything interesting happen across the pond?" he asked.
"Actually," she said cheerfully, "yes." She then showed him the front page, which displayed a picture of the Weasley family, even Ron's rat, and said they'd won the Grand Prize Galleon Draw and were going to spend a month-long vacation in Egypt.
He grinned at this news. "That's great! It should be good for Ginny to spend time with her older brother, Bill, after what happened last year. She once said he was her favorite brother."
"Yes, it is good," his aunt agreed.
"What is?" asked Cindy as she walked into the room. After Harry explained about the Weasleys, she commented, "It's nice that they won some money, but isn't that rather foolish of them to spend it all on a vacation? As I understand it, the Weasleys don't have that much money and usually have to settle for second-hand books and uniforms for their children. Wouldn't it have been more prudent for them to get new supplies for their kids, or else to save the money for an emergency?"
Harry's eyebrows came closer together as he considered this. "I suppose you are right. When the summer's over, they won't have anything to show for all the money they won."
"Arthur is even taking a month off work," added Minerva.
"I'm certainly not against vacations - even month-long ones - but if you can't afford them…"
"…you shouldn't take them," completed Harry. His mom had always tried to teach him and Brianna to be frugal, especially after he got access to his vault, and the idea of taking an expensive trip before buying used clothes and books for your kids did seem rather foolish now that he thought it through. He wondered if that frivolity in spending was why the Weasleys were poor, and then shrugged it off, deciding it was none of his business anyway. "Oh well; I hope they have a good time."
**
On July 31st, when Harry came down for breakfast, instead of getting the expected, "Happy Birthday," greeting, or even having the day ignored in favor of his official birthday, he found his parents and aunt all sitting in the living room with solemn expressions on their faces.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Without a word, Minnie put a copy of the latest Daily Prophet in his hands. He sat down as he unrolled the newspaper. It had a picture of a deranged-looking man underneath a large headline that announced a Death Eater called Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban Prison. He looked up at the three adults, barely noticing the sounds behind him that indicated Brianna was now in the room. "Isn't that prison supposed to be escape-proof?"
"Yes," said Aunt Minnie. "No one's ever escaped before. However, there's something else about Sirius Black which isn't common knowledge that I believe you should be aware of."
His eyebrows shot up at that news. "Oh. What's that?"
After taking a deep breath, Minerva said, "He's your godfather."
Harry's eyes bulged out. "What?" said both he and his sister.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Sirius and James Potter were inseparable at school - more like brothers than friends. Black was even Best Man at your birth-parents' wedding, Harry. Naturally, when you came along, he was asked to be your godfather." She then lowered her head and started blinking her eyes, obviously fighting back tears.
Harry didn't like where this story was going, but he agreed that he needed to know. "What happened? Why was he in Azkaban?"
Minerva shook her head, indicating that she wasn't ready to continue speaking. Harry's dad took over the story. "He betrayed them. He told Voldemort where you three were hiding." He took a deep breath. "He's the reason they're dead."
Harry found himself panting as though he'd just run a mile as he took this in. Before he could comment, Minnie added, "They trusted him. With their very lives." She took a deep breath and looked into her great-nephew's eyes. "In your extra studies, have you ever read about the Fidelius Charm?"
He nodded, remembering an advanced book he and Hermione had read a few months before. A light-bulb went on inside his head. "He was their Secret-Keeper, wasn't he?" he demanded. She nodded. He stood up and clenched his fists. "That son of a…"
"Harry!" interrupted his mom. "We know what he is, but you also know how I feel about swearing!"
"Would someone please explain what that charm is?" asked Brianna, "so I'll know how much I should hate him."
That comment actually caused Harry to calm down a bit, and he sat back down and explained the Fidelius Charm to his little sister.
"How could anyone betray their best friends like that?" she asked, now shedding a few tears of her own at the thought that this man had actually betrayed her brother - his own godson - to be murdered, and only a miracle saved Harry.
"That's not all that he did," said Minerva, now prepared to continue the tale. "Another friend of theirs named Peter Pettigrew confronted Black the next day, so he murdered - no, destroyed - him, too, along with twelve muggles that had the bad luck of being there. All they found of Peter was…a finger."
Minnie started to lose her composure again, so Cindy finished the story. "The aurors found him at the scene of the crime, laughing, and he's been in Azkaban ever since."
"He's as bad, no worse than Voldemort," growled Harry after a few moments. "At least Voldemort didn't pretend to be their friend and betray them." No one commented on this analysis.
Finally, Aunt Minnie spoke again. "Mr. Dumbledore contacted me a few minutes before you came down here. With his position in the Wizengamot, he's privy to certain information, and he thought we should know that for the last couple days, the guards of Azkaban had been hearing Black repeat the words He's at Hogwarts over and over in his sleep. The Ministry believes that he's going after Harry Potter, and isn't aware that his godson is missing."
After about ten seconds of silence, Brianna asked, "There's no way he could know who Harry really is, is there?"
"No," insisted the boy in question. "Aside from you guys, only Hermione, Fred, George, Padma and Dumbledore know. None of them would've gone to Azkaban and visited a Death Eater to tell him where to find me."
"I would tend to agree," said Minerva. "So you should be safe to go to Hogwarts as well as Hogsmeade." She turned toward Mark and Cindy. "By the way, I have his permission form to visit the village in my room." They nodded and she looked back at her nephew. "By the way, although it might not be the best time to say it, happy birthday."
He grinned a bit while everyone repeated the phrase to him. His father finally said, "If we're going to get to Six Flags early, we'd better leave. I'll bet anything Black wouldn't think to look for you there." This seemed to lighten the mood, and soon they were on their way to a fun-filled day.
**
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