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The Yankees Nephew and the Philosophers Stone	By : Wilde_Guess Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 5806 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter Universe I am making no money from this fanfiction

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Chapter 8. School keeps starting.

“David?”

It was 1:17 in the morning of the second of September 1982. Most of the occupants of Number Four Privet Drive were asleep, resting for the continuation of school. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not the only school in the UK, nor were the only one to start student activities for the academic year on the first of September.

Toddlers don’t care about what schools are starting or not starting the same way school children themselves care, though. Little Harry Potter only knew that his family had an early breakfast yesterday, and that his favorite brother David left with some of his friends with a lot of stuff in a weird trunk that held more than it should have. When the rest of his family came back, David wasn’t with them. He was sad for the rest of the day, and the nightmare of remembering his first mother’s death awoke him gasping and sobbing. Without thinking, he went to David’s room, forgetting that David wasn’t there.

But Aaron Russell Rush-Cook Dvorak was as ready as he could be for having been awakened from a deep sleep. He’d even put a waterproof mattress protector like David used on his mattress when he last changed the sheets on his bed. It didn’t happen most nights, but David had typically gotten some bedmates at about this time of night. David wasn’t here, so Aaron had to fill in.

“No, Harry-Berry. David went to boarding school, remember?” Aaron answered his little brother.

“Sniff…”

“Harry, I’m here just like David was, and will be again. I’ve even got the mattress taken care of if your nappy leaks. Just climb in, and I’ll cuddle you ‘til you fall back to sleep. Green light?”

“… green light, Aaron.”

Aaron sat up and pulled the blankets down, allowing the twenty-five-month-old Harry to crawl up on the bed ad lay down between Aaron and the wall. Aaron was actually old enough for a regular twin bed instead of the ones both David and he still had at Number Four, and David was only one growth spurt away from no longer really fitting in his. David’s ‘other’ bedroom, the one he and Saria shared in Number Two, already had a full size bed. And on the one or two nights David had toddlers share his bed there, David had to help boost them up.

After Harry had crawled into Aaron’s bed with him, Aaron remained sitting up. As he expected, he heard another toddler sibling enter the room.

“David? Harry had green light again.”

Harry’s twenty-six-and-a-half-month-old first cousin by blood and “functional fraternal twin” Dudley Dvorak had shown up following his ‘little’ brother, like he usually did when Harry wasn’t following him. And while Dudley and Harry mostly treated each other as equals, Dudley had always been bigger than Harry, though neither kid was excessively ‘fat.’ Dudley had been just under ten pounds at birth, where Harry was just above eight. And, though both boys were healthy and grew normally, Harry would never catch up.

Both boys matched their other developmental milestones equally, and on the early side. They actually did this by working together. If one boy figured something out, he would quickly show the other boy and they would both be doing whatever. Both boys were also Wizard toddlers, and here it was Harry who was in the lead, though Dudley managed to keep up with his littler brother.

Aaron told his latest little guest, “Dudley-Bear, David’s at boarding school. But I’m here. Crawl in with Harry and me and we’ll get back to sleep.”

Dudley crawled up onto the bed, getting between Aaron and Harry. The two toddlers naturally cuddled up to each other. Despite having separate cots for a while when Harry first came to live with them, both boys would always end up in the same cot, so their Mom and Dad just let them be.

About a minute later, Aaron had re-arranged things to share a bed with two toddlers. But while he did lay back down, he didn’t even think about trying to get to sleep. Proving his wisdom out, Aaron heard, “Aaron? I’m scared.”

Five year old Paul Dvorak was supposed to start Kindergarten in London later that morning, while Aaron started an accelerated track in his classes that would see him in high school and taking his O Levels the following spring. Paul, like all the sons of either John or Rick Dvorak except John’s very eldest, was on the tall and muscular size for his age. But he was also only five, and still would crawl into bed with either of his two older full siblings when he was scared, or if Harry and Dudley had left their shared bedroom to join their next two older brothers.

Sighing, Aaron answered, “You can climb in with us, Paul. But it’ll be a tight fit, and you’ll need to take a quick shower in the morning for school.”

While he joined his siblings in bed, Paul replied, “Don’t care right now. Can’t sleep without hearing Dudley and Harry. And I’m still scared ‘bout school later today.”

After getting into bed with his three other siblings, Paul asked, “Can you sing us to sleep, Aaron?”

Aaron replied, “Sure. ‘A bottle of white… A bottle of red… Followed up by a bottle, of brick-to-the-head!”

“Aaron!” replied three not almost nine-year-olds.

“Okay! I’ll sing nice like David would” Aaron quietly replied. As mature as he could be for his age, Aaron was only eight, though he would turn nine on the twentieth of the following month. So, while he never took things too far, he still liked to tease his younger siblings sometimes.

He sang a lullaby his older brother made up to the melody of the Kirkpatrick Cradle Song version of Away In a Manger,

“I love my little brothers
And my sweet sister too
Oh I love them from morning
‘Til nighttime is through

“I pray for them at bedtime
And all the day through
Lord Jesus to guide them
And keep their hearts true

“I love Thee Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by our sides
‘Til morning is nigh

“Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray.”

The not almost nine-year-olds drifted off quickly to Aaron’s singing. This suited Aaron fine, as he was barely awake any longer than they were.

§§§

Just like bedtime had the night before, five o’clock in the morning came early for the young boys, and everyone else in Number Four. While it wasn’t the major production seeing David, Andy, and A.D. off had been the day before, it was a bit of a production just the same, and one that would quickly become routine. The American School in London had actually started their High Schoolers for the year the previous Monday, taking the Tuesday Bank Holliday and giving the enrolled Dvorak kids the day off Wednesday to see their sibling and cousins off to a boarding school for gifted students in Northern Scotland.

But today was Thursday the Second of September, and all Dvorak and Dvorak-housed children older than three were accompanying their dad to the Embassy, to catch the American School in London school bus from the embassy to school. While he didn’t say anything to any of his siblings, Aaron himself was just a bit nervous himself. Starting sixth grade a day late wasn’t a big deal for Aaron. He had plenty of friends at school, even though they weren’t quite close enough of friends for him to see them outside of school. And with them speeding up his progress through the grades again, his schoolwork would actually be easier for him, since he would only have to work through the schoolwork itself and not the boredom David and he usually had to deal with. But this would be the first day since he started going to school that his older brother David wouldn’t be ‘just down the hall’ if Aaron needed him. This was a milestone he hadn’t expected to see for years and was in no hurry to see at all.

Today was even more hectic than normal, since Pet was also going along just for today, to see Paul off for his first day of Kindergarten; or “Reception” as the British called it. And while the five-year-old remembered the short time he spent in daycare before his “new Mom” moved in with Dad, he wasn’t looking forward to going to London every weekday again. This was on top of starting Kindergarten one day later than all of his classmates.

Since Harry and Dudley “leaked” just a little while they’d slept the rest of the night, Aaron and Paul needed a quick shower to get cleaned up for the day, even while their dad used a quick cleaning charm on the bedding and sheets to “keep” them until Pet did laundry later that morning.

David and Aaron had taught Paul how to take a shower even though at five he was quite young, and even though Paul still took baths in the evening. So it was only a slight bother for Aaron as the two boys crossed the hall groggily to re-wash up for the day.

“I’m still scared, Aaron” Paul informed him as they got into the shower.

“I know, Paul. I was just as scared as you when I started Kindergarten.”

“Really, Aaron? You ‘n’ David ain’t scared of nothin’.”

While he started the water and lathered up a flannel for Paul, Aaron reminded him, “It’s ‘David and you aren’t scared of anything,’ Paul. Names before pronouns, ‘ain’t’ isn’t proper English even if it is a real word, and avoid double-negatives whenever you can.

“And yes, I really was scared. While I didn’t have to go to London to go to Kindergarten, I had to start a year early so David would keep going to school. He started a year late ‘cause I wasn’t ready to have him gone all day at school, and as hard as it was for me when he went to Kindergarten, I had to start early. But, on top of being scared that nobody would like me like all kids are, I was also starting really early. But I did it.

“I got along fine with all the other kids, even though I was the youngest one in class. And David checked up on me at recess and stuff. I’ll do the same for you, even though I’m further ahead in classes than David was for me. And, since the High School is in the same building as us, the rest of us will check up on you when we can, too.”

Both boys washed up thoroughly and quickly while they talked, with Aaron double-checking to make sure Paul had actually gotten himself clean instead of just going through the motions.

While they dried themselves off and took turns brushing their teeth, Paul replied, “I guess it’s not like I have any choice. I hope you’re right.”

“You’ll do fine, Paul. I know you will.”

“Will I see Peter at school today, Aaron?”

“No, Paul. Remember? Peter lives in Desford, our school is in London, it’s only a day school, and Peter and you guys are too young for a boarding school, anyway.”

“What about Percy? He’s really smart, an’ he could Floo in to Mrs. Figg’s each morning to meet us?”

“Paul, Percy lives in Devon, and his mom’s home-schooling him. If you want Percy to go to school, first see if Percy wants to go to school in London. After that, talk to Dad.”

“Okay” Paul replied with just a hint of disappointment in his voice.

The two boys split up to their bedrooms and finished getting dressed. Dressed for the day minus their shoes, they went downstairs to the kitchen to eat a quick breakfast. Arabella Figg had already come over to watch the young kids until Pet got back from London. Pet and Delilah were attending to Dudley, Harry, and Lily, while everyone else passed dishes and ate.

“Morning everyone!” the two boys greeted as they sat down at the table. Aaron served himself, while Michael helped serve Paul, who was five and didn’t quite have the reach yet to politely serve himself.

John told the latest two arrivals, “I charmed your bedding clean, Aaron. Why was your comforter on David’s bed?”

“I didn’t want it caught in the crossfire, Dad. I knew that Harry, Dudley, and Paul would be ‘joining’ me in the night, since David’s at Hogwarts.”

“David?” chorused a pair of twenty-six-month-olds.

Michael gently replied, “David’s at boarding school with our cousins, remember? He will come back, but it’ll seem like forever to you little guys ‘cause you’re still little. You can miss them. I do, too. But, they will come back, okay?”

“Okay” answered Dudley and Harry, without much enthusiasm.

Aaron changed subjects by asking, “Dad, would it be possible for Percy to start attending the American School? Paul asked me while we were cleaning up this morning.”

Before Paul could fully get angry at having a shared confidence shared, John replied, “Paul, you know that both Aaron and David will ask a question for you that you’re too nervous to ask me.

“Aaron, I’ll talk to Arthur and Molly in the next day or two, and we’ll also ask Percy. No matter how we worked it, Percy would be doing a lot of traveling to get to and from school going to the American School, and possibly imposing unreasonably on Mrs. Figg. Plus, the American School costs money to attend, and they might not be able to give enough tuition assistance to the Weasleys for them to afford to send Percy.

“Remember, we aren’t rich, and the Weasleys aren’t poor, but they don’t have as much money as we do. So, expecting them to do everything we do is rude.”

“Okay” Paul answered sadly.

John added, “That isn’t a ‘no,’ though. I just don’t want you getting your hopes up. We don’t even know that Percy would be able to keep up, and if I weren’t working at the Embassy, you might not be going to school in London.”

“Okay” Paul replied again with just a little less disappointment.

The Dvoraks and Arabella Figg were eating while they talked. Danny and Michael were also cleaning as they went, allowing Delilah, Debbie, Sally, and Saria to help Pet with the toddlers and baby.

Tim told Paul, “I was scared Monday when we started High School, so it’s no big deal other than living though it. Just smile and make friends. You might have to work at it just a little, Paul, but I know you’ll do your best.”

“Thanks, Tim” the five-year-old replied.

Tim added, “And remember, what do we say about magic?”

Paul confidently replied, “There’s no such thing as magic, other than illusionist tricks like Dad has us learning to improve how well we use our hands, so our music sounds better. And since I’m five, I have an active imagination, and sometimes it leaks out into real life, just like every other five year old.”

“Got it!” Tim smiled and assured him.

§§§

The Dvoraks older than three left the house to drive to the Ashford train station. Since they had two drivers this morning plus a babysitter at home, they were able to make one trip in two cars instead of having kids sitting on the floor of the FX4 or John making two trips. They arrived and parked in plenty of time to catch the 06:28 into London.

Getting a family of twelve onto a suburban commuter train in the UK isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially if the youngest is only five and the next youngest is eight. But John got both cars to the car park in plenty of time. He also paid for two adjoining spaces close to the station, and eventually charmed them so no one else would use them. So, getting his family through the station house, up and over the elevated pedestrian crossing, and onto Platform 1, which was the up line into Vauxhall and ultimately Waterloo was pleasant for all, even with it requiring some care.

Getting his party onto the train was only slightly more complicated. John carried Paul, and the rest of the group followed. They were also helped by the fact that the other regular riders of this train were now well-used to a gathering of polite American ex-pat children and teens boarding every morning at Ashford with their dad. So, a block of empty seats large enough to hold the entire group was open for them.

Once the train got underway, Paul asked, “Aaron, what was the song you started to sing last night?”

“Just a parody of Billy Joel’s Scenes From an Italian Restaurant.”

“Can you sing it now?” Paul asked.

“Okay” the eight year old replied before singing.

“A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Followed up by a bottle, of brick-to-the-head
Ed punched Brenda in the face
She kicked his balls to Space

“A bottle of red, a bottle of white
With broken bottles, they started to fight
They made a scene they didn’t want
In their Italian Restaurant.” ^1.

Pet tersely added, “I think you shouldn’t be singing such an awful parody on a commuter train, Aaron.” While the few adults sitting near them kept quiet, they didn’t quite agree with her. In fact, they were barely holding back roars of amused laughter that would have embarrassed the poor woman and encouraged her son, whom she did not want encouraged then and there.

“Yes, Mom” Aaron answered contritely.

John smiled and nodded at Aaron, telling the boy that he’d given the correct answer.

Michael asked, “How far along are you on that?”

“Not much farther than what I sang just now. Getting funny lyrics that aren’t just glorifying spousal abuse and match up with the melody isn’t easy. And I’m still stuck on Piper too, before you ask.”

“No problem. None of us are Graham Nash yet, so we need to work at it” Michael assured his younger brother.

Pet suggested, “Why don’t all of you sing that Graham Nash song you covered at Chudleigh?”

Aaron retorted, “But my voice isn’t good enough to lead that!”

Michael assured him, “Aaron, your voice isn’t David’s, but no one can sing quite like him. I can’t sing quite like him. Your voice is much better than you realize, so you’ll do great -- in three, two, one.”

Thus cornered, Aaron had no choice but to fill his older brother’s shoes yet again. And in that commuter railway car, Aaron Russell Rush-Cook Dvorak truly found his groove as a vocalist as well as a guitar and keyboard player. His other band-mates harmonized where they were needed while Aaron took the lead on a slightly more introspective and slower acapella performance of Graham Nash’s song Wasted On the Way.

“Look around me
I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way
It used to be
I am older now
I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started
Long before I did

“And there's so much time to make up
Everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving
Underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away…” ^2.

The entire train carriage, minus the Dvoraks themselves, stood and gave a standing ovation to the young musicians. One of the commuters even went as far as to exclaim, “You guys sound just like The Treasures. Have you ever thought about going into the music business?”

Without missing a beat, Danny replied, “Thanks a lot, sir; and we’ve gotten a lot of that lately. But we haven’t got a clue how they did it, so we’re sticking with school and real jobs once we graduate college instead of trying to become famous celebrities.”

Everyone got a good laugh out of that, and they finished the rest of their commute as far as Vauxhall in contented silence.

After they were off of the train and walking towards the main hall of the station, John cast a quick Muffilato around the group and let Danny explain, “Guys, we probably won’t be able to ride the train and stuff without being recognized and mobbed much longer. That’s why I said what I did, and thanks for going along with it. We’ll probably have to find a different way to get to and from London before too long ‘cause of the band. I just didn’t want to start doing that today.”

John told them, “Good thinking, all of you; especially to you Danny. Let’s get going, the buses run frequently enough this time of day, but no use in missing an earlier one.”

As the party walked towards the station exit, they were met by Chief Walking Cloud. He told the group, “Hello, all. I’m a ‘rare treat.’ But the drivers I brought with me are not. John, your children and you will now be picked up here at Vauxhall and taken to the Embassy. The kids will still ride the American School Bus when it stops at Grosvenor Square for now, but that might also change. We’ll talk about it after you take young Paul to his first day of Kindergarten along with his older siblings. You can tell them what they need to know later.”

At the older kids’ looks of unease, Chief Walking Cloud assured them, “It’s nothing bad or needing to be worried about, but your dad will explain it when you come back to the Embassy after school today.”

The group left Vauxhall Station to see and board a group of three FX4s with diplomatic registration plates marked as belong to the United States Embassy. The group of taxi-bodied government cars drove the Dvoraks to the American School in London’s campus directly, rather than driving to Grosvenor Square.

The Dvoraks got out of the cars, and two of the FX4s drove away. One of the teacher’s aides for the Kindergarten class was already seeing the Kindergarteners into the school.

Pet crouched down to Paul’s level. She assured him, “I know you’re scared. I was scared, too, when I started school. But I’m also sure you’ll do your best. I love you, Paul.”

“I love you too, Mommy!” Paul answered as they hugged each other.

Pet took a handkerchief out of her purse and discretely dried Paul’s eyes. She told him, “Now, go inside, and have a good day. I’ll see you when you all get home tonight. ‘Bye, Paul” she assured him with one last kiss on the cheek.

“‘Bye, Mommy!” Paul answered, before running towards the school doors. But he didn’t get very far. Another five-year-old hiccupped from crying alone and caused a nearby evergreen shrub to turn neon orange. Paul looked desperately at John, who canceled the accidental color changing spell and nodded smiling, indicating that they wouldn’t need to call the Obliviators.

The blond-haired brown-eyed kid was almost terrified when he told Paul, “It wasn’t me, I swear it!”

Paul smiled and replied; “Don’t worry bud, it’s happened once or twice to me, too. Do your parents know?”

The boy sighed in relief and answered, “Mom went to a special school in Scotland for it when she turned eleven. Dad went to a school in Massachusetts when he was that old.”

“Really? My older brother started the Scotland School yesterday, and two of our friends from back home went to the Massachusetts School before their dad’s work transferred them out here, now they go to the Scotland School with my brother David. I’m Paul Dvorak, what’s your name?”

“Marty Benson, I’m from Ottawa, Canada, but I’ve only been there to visit…”

With each boy having a new and likely enduring friend made, Paul and Marty Benson went into the school, followed shortly by Paul’s elder siblings and school-age housemates.

John chuckled and remarked, “So that’s ‘Hedge’ Benson’s kid. Looks just like him.” Explaining further to Pet, he added, “Jules ‘Hedge’ Benson is the deputy military attaché for the Canadian Embassy. He ‘went Canadian’ after graduating from Ilvermorny, and became an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, starting out with the Canadian Airborne Regiment. He married a local Wizarding woman here, and he’s managed to keep his posting. He’s close enough to retirement that he might just stay out here afterwards so his kid can go to Hogwarts.”

John and Pet got into the remaining FX4 to find not only Chief Walking Cloud, but also Senior Auror Alastor Moody and Auror Sirius Black waiting on them. And it wasn’t a social visit for the three men, either.

Chief Walking Cloud explained, “The success of the kids’ band is only part of why we’re going to quietly tighten up security on your and your kids’ commutes to work and school. While the Death Eaters have still been run to ground, they aren’t the only bunch of potentially violent criminals running about.”

Moody continued, “The DMLE has uncovered evidence of a criminal organization that we’re currently calling the ‘Cabal.’ They are a group of Dark Wizards and Witches researching arcane Dark Magic, and they’re believed to be responsible for numerous crimes throughout the entire Wizarding World. While we can confirm that they have never worked with The Terrorist’s Death Eaters, we also strongly suspect that a few former Death Eaters might be working with them. And with the Death Eaters at least temporarily shut down, the Cabal is starting to become more active.

“They’re particularly worrisome because the suspected leader of the group now is Peregrine Kowalski. He’s the second son of war hero Jacob Kowalski, one of the few Muggles to fight against Grindelwald and live to tell the tale. Peregrine, like his elder brother Jacob Junior and younger brothers Moses and David, was a top student at Hogwarts and magically brilliant in general. When the rest of the Kowalskis moved back to the United States and MaCUSA in 1966, Peregrine and his wife and children remained behind.

“Peregrine was a tracker by trade, meaning a wizard who tracks down missing magical artifacts. Believe it or not, you can make a decent living at that if you’re good, and Peregrine was one of the best. He somehow became a reserve Battle Mage for the Department of Mysteries in the early part of the Voldemort War, and he was one of their best ones. That was before he disappeared completely in ‘79, having also destroyed his classified DOM talismans. He has been sighted several times for sure since then, so we know that he’s still alive. And since he destroyed his talismans instead of compromising them, we have nothing we can arrest or detain him for. The DOM, after determining the talismans weren’t compromised, simply docked his final pay envelope and deposited the rest into his Gringotts account.”

Sirius supplied, “His eldest son Jacob Peregrine was expelled from Hogwarts in 1980 for tampering with some dangerous yet immobile areas of Hogwarts called the Cursed Vaults, areas which were only confirmed to exist when Jacob Peregrine Kowalski tampered with them.

“Since Jacob had already turned seventeen, Dumbledore couldn’t legally snap his wand when he was expelled. And with no crime to answer for, Jacob Peregrine left Hogwarts with only a twelve-month bar on taking his NEWTs somewhere else to show for it. He vanished several months later, and we confirmed that he was not killed or captured by the Death Eaters.

“Since his disappearance was under suspicious circumstances and did not appear to be entirely voluntary if it was voluntary at all, we’ve been investigating on and off since then. We believe that he might have joined his father in the Cabal, but we have no proof, and only one or two sightings of Jacob Peregrine shortly after his disappearance almost two years ago.

“The kid was three years behind me at Hogwarts, and he was a Gryffindor. He didn’t seem dark to me when I knew him, and he got along well with students in all houses, unless the students were Death Eater material. He even got along well mostly with Severus Snape. The kid was bloody brilliant though, so if he’s part of the Cabal, we have a lot to worry about. Jacob had a kid brother, Judah, who he always talked about. Judah will be starting Hogwarts the year after next, just like Charlie Weasley, and a year before Aaron and Sally.”

Chief Walking Cloud finished up with, “What we want, at least for the next few years, is for all of your children attending the American School in London to Portkey from your home to the Embassy in the morning, and Portkey home in the evening, for their safety from any threats, whether the threats are Death Eaters, the Cabal, no-Maj terrorists or criminals, or even paparazzi or demented fans. ‘The Troubles’ are still going strong, and with Reagan in office openly supporting PM Thatcher, the IRA just might try ‘getting sloppy.’

“While you can Apparate to work if you wish, John, you may also still use mundane means to commute to work. Unlike your children, you can protect yourself; and while you’ve varied your work commuting route enough for no-Maj security, your using mundane means to get to work also hides your Wizarding associations from your neighbors.”

After a moment’s silence, John replied, “That should work. Pet won’t be taking her manual-transmission driving test for at least another week or so, and getting all the school-age kids back and forth to the Ashford Train Station is quite the hassle. We’ll explain things to the kids when we get home.”

Chief Walking Cloud asked, “John, have you talked to your brother since you dropped David off at King’s Cross yesterday?”

Bemused, John replied, “No. I was more concerned with getting everyone else back to where they belonged so Pet and I could celebrate our third wedding anniversary. It sounds like I should have?”

“He talked to both me and Headmaster Harrison at the American School in London about a special set of scholarships he wanted to endow, including magical transportation for a few select Wizarding students of modest means who don’t live in the Greater London Area. Specifically, he wants to enroll and send Percy Weasley and his younger siblings, plus a Peter Stock from Desford whose older brothers went to school with David in Mokena. His ‘scholarship’ includes all tuition and fees, school supplies, and daily two-way Portkeys between home and school. He also wants Ronald Weasley to be allowed a work-study internship in the Wizarding World while attending the American School.”

John huffed, “Frank doesn’t always see fit to tell me when he sees something, let alone explain what he saw. Not that even he understands what he sees all the time. I’ll talk to the Weasleys after work today, unless you want me to speak to them sooner. I’ll talk to Joseph Stock once he gets back home from work today. Caterpillar Tractor doesn’t appreciate their employees taking care of family business on company time when it can be avoided, and I won’t risk getting him fired.”

The Embassy Car had just pulled into the parking garage for Grosvenor Square. Chief Walking Cloud told John, “See to getting your wife back home, then take the rest of the morning to talk to the Weasleys. I know for a fact that Arthur can go to his home for a few minutes without getting in trouble since this is at least in part UK Ministry Business he’s attending to. Let me know what they say when you get back.

“As for the Stocks, they’re both USA no-Maj parents of Wizarding Children, so they’ll know how to handle things with Portkeys and stuff, if they and their kid want the kid to attend one of the most prestigious no-Maj schools in either the UK or the United States at no expense at all to them.”

They got out of the car, and Chief Walking Cloud went up to his office. Moody suggested, “Sirius, I’ll ‘borrow’ Arthur, and Apparate him to the edge of John’s wards. I’ll also have him Adfero Molly to stop by John’s place and bring Percy with her.”

Pet volunteered, “John, just side-along me back home. We can have Sirius get my car home from the station, since I won’t quite be up to it. It’ll make better use of the time than me trying to get an earlier train back to Ashford.”

With immediate travel plans made, the adults split up to go about their errands for the morning.

§§§

Monday, the sixth of September saw a new and generally avoided additional bus shelter just outside of the American School in London. People either didn’t notice the shelter at all, or they avoided it because it just felt wrong. That is, it felt wrong unless you had a particularly rare and usually inherited talent, or were in close proximity to someone who did. John Dvorak and his kids showed up first on their Embassy Portkey. They were followed up by three additional American expatriates Portkeying in; an adult couple with their five year old son. This group was joined by the faint double-crack of Apparation, revealing another adult couple, this one British, with their own five year old son.

Paul exclaimed in joy, “Peter! Percy! I’m glad you guys made it.”

Peter replied, “Desford was boring without Joe ‘n’ Max, so at least now I know someone.”

Percy added, “I still can’t believe that your Uncle Frank has me going to one of the best Muggle schools in the whole UK, only to drop out after Year Six. Will I even be able to keep up?”

Paul assured Percy, “You’ve got this in the bag, Percy! Some of our classmates can’t even read yet. We’ve already learned reading, printing, counting, adding, and subtracting. Heck, hanging out with me, you’re even learning Latin. All we have to do is not let the teachers praise us too much, and make friends. And Marty, get your butt over here before the no-Majes start ignoring the Muggle Repelling Charms.”

Marty Benson shyly approached the group. Paul introduced, “Guys, this is my friend here Marty Benson. He’s from Ottawa in Canada, his Dad was a Thunderbird at Ilvermorny, and his Mom was a Ravenclaw. Marty, the other ginger with the boring eyes is my friend Percy Weasley, his dad Arthur and mum Molly brought him out. Arthur works for the DMLE. The American looking guy with the American parents is Peter Stock. He and I should have gone to school together back home anyway. But things happened, and we’re all going to school together now here. His parents are Joseph Senior and Theresa. His older brothers were in Wampus, and they’re now Gryffindors with my brother David. All the rest of you guys know each other already.”

Marty asked his fellow five-year-olds, “Did your parents talk to you about magic before now? Mine didn’t tell me ‘til right before they sent me here last week. If it wasn’t for Paul and Paul’s dad, they’d have needed to send out the Obliviators.”

Peter replied, “If you’re an only child, I can see that. You didn’t have older brothers to watch have ‘accidents,’ or the time to get used to it. Joe ‘n’ Max were always havin’ accidents, an’ they told me that I was magic, too. So, Mom ‘n’ Dad just told me to tell everybody else that Magic wasn’t really real, and that I was just a kid with a good imagination, whatever that is.”

Paul supplied, “That’s the ‘grown-up’ word for being really good at make-believe. And since we’re all five, it works. We’re imaginin’ and playin’ all the time, even when we’re also doing work like reading, printing, and doing numbers.”

Paul’s new classmates nodded in agreement, before Teri Stock and Molly Weasley started being affectionate and reassuring to their children.

From the sidelines, Paul gently exhorted, “Soak in the love, guys! It’s embarrassing, but it feels good, and at our age, we need it. My Mom had to stay home with my younger siblings today, or else I’d be getting another dose just like you. I’m on ‘mom number two,’ so I won’t break bad on you guys with your original moms.

“And, you can cry in front of family and friends, to assure them that you still have a heart. To Outsiders and Enemies, you only ever show the back of your hand, the scowl of your face, and the point of your blade.”

While he’d sad his last, Paul and his new friend and classmates had walked out of the bus shelter towards the door to the school. A year three boy student with ‘issues’ decided to feel better at Paul’s expense. He told Paul, “I bet you’ll cry for this!” before punching Paul square in the nose, bloodying it.

Paul’s answer was to kick the seven-year-old in the crotch causing the other boy to raise up six inches in the air, grabbing the boy by the hair before he hit the ground, breaking that kid’s nose with one punch, and choking the boy with both hands while holding the boy high enough in the air by the neck that the boy’s feet weren’t supporting his own weight. Paul didn’t cry. But the bully was making as much of a racket as he could, barely being able to breathe at all.

Paul calmly and icily assured the bully, “It hurts when you’re getting it, doesn’t it? If you’re hurting ‘cause of what your home is like, or anything else, I will help you to stop hurting without you hurting others. Do not bully other students here, or anywhere else. Do this, and live. What say you?”

Several teachers had shown up by this time to intervene in this precociously draconian pronouncement. Yet the bullyboy’s response held them back. “I’ll do what you say. Can you help me to turn away from where I’m going? I can’t keep still and pay attention to study, and while Mom and Dad punish me for not doing good in school, they never help me to get better. I’ve hurt so bad in my heart for so long that I can only find comfort in the pain of others, yet I still know that I’m doing wrong, without a clue on what to do right.”

“If you speak in truth, you have gained a champion this morning. What is your name?” Peter asked while letting go of the boy’s throat and setting him gently onto the ground.

“Sniff… Jeff Caldwell… Sniff…” the boy answered, his Australian accent becoming even more pronounced. The boy was tanned but white, had black hair and hazel eyes, and was of average size and weight for a seven-year-old. But that made him only slightly bigger than Paul, who was not of average size and weight for a health five year old.

Paul told him, “You may cry in front of friends and family, Jeff. And if you speak in truth, only friends and family are gathered around you now. And we’re still young children, even if I’ve become used to dealing with much harder sorrows. And it’s cool, Aaron” he finished while looking at his eight-year-old brother, who was being held back by John.

Headmaster Harrison, who knew about the Wizarding World without being magical himself was close by to make sure that his newest two magical Kindergarteners were settling in calmly, and not likely to have a magical accident. Seeing what had just happened, he tersely asked, “What is the meaning of this, Mr. Paul Dvorak?”

Paul replied, “If my new friend Jeff spoke truthfully, it was just a ‘playground accident.’
Boys ‘roughhouse,’ as you well know, and both Jeff and I fell down and hurt our noses. But my Dad can help Jeff and me get cleaned up before we go into school for class. And Jeff might need to see the school nurse about being able to focus in class. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think Jeff’s parents are either; and it sure sounds like a doctor needs to look at Jeff, and maybe prescribe him medicine so he can concentrate like he needs and wants to, but can’t.”

Jeff added, “Yeah, sir; it’s just like Paul said. I was welcoming his friends and him to school, when I tripped and accidentally pulled Paul down with me. If you’re gonna give me detention anyway, it’s just me. Paul got hurt while keeping me from getting hurt even worse.”

Headmaster Harrison swallowed hard, having had a Year Three Student accurately predict part of what he had planned to do. Instead, he asked, “Mr. Benson, can you see your friends Mr. Weasley and Mr. Stock into class? Mr. Paul Dvorak will be helping your new friend Mr. Caldwell see the school nurse, before returning to your class. Mr. Aaron Dvorak should accept his younger brother’s advice and go to class, since the bell is just about to ring. And Mr. John Dvorak, if you are able, I won’t be paying any attention if your son’s and Mr. Caldwell’s injuries and blood stains seem to vanish like they never happened.”

“Yes, Headmaster Harrison” Marty answered.

Jeff added, “If I quit messing up, I’ll be going to either the special school in Scotland or Canberra when I’m eleven” to try alleviating any concerns the adults had about what they could do without trying to Obliviate him.

A few minutes later, both Jeff and Paul were healed courtesy of Molly Weasley, and had joined their siblings and classmates inside the school. Before following all of the children into his school himself, Headmaster Harrison told the remaining adults, “I normally don’t criticize the parents of other students in front of each other or otherwise. But Jeff’s parents aren’t exactly attentive.

“Mr. John Dvorak, if your son has actually reached Jeff, and if it actually took, I see it as a personal boon he and you have granted me. I do not fail my students if I can possibly help them, even when their parents fall them, or even when the students truly fail themselves. I’ll have a healer from the Wizarding side of the Australian Embassy check up on Jeff, and we will get him medicated, or counseled, or whatever he needs. I only ever knew that Jeff was a ‘troublemaker’ who still kept up with his coursework, and I’m truly sorry that it was ever so.”

John assured him, “You’re the Headmaster of a school with roughly 1300 students. Not even Albus Dumbledore knows every student in his school, and he’s been teaching longer than either of us have been alive. Just the same, whether I want them to or not, all of my children will now watch out for Jeff. If he keeps his word, he has never had such devoted champions. If not, I will ensure that he gains no further consequences from my House if at all possible. And, even with Frank assisting you, thank you again for your help with Peter Stock and the younger children in the Weasley Family.”

“Not at all. We’re honored to have them attend our school. This school, and the children who attend it, are my life’s vocation, avocation, and vacation. The success of every one of our students is also mine, as well as the failures.”

“Thank you, Headmaster Harrison. As you live up to your words, I am at your service. We both need to attend to other things, so I bid you a good day.”

“Goodbye, everyone, at least ‘til the next Parent-Teacher Conference.” Headmaster Harrison bid the group of parents before walking into his school.

Joseph Stock opined, “The guy at least talks the talk. I guess we’ll see how well he walks.”

“That we will Joseph. I’ll keep in touch now that we have each other’s numbers. Perhaps I can buy a pint for Terri and you at the American Legion Post One sometime?”

“Only if Terri and I are spending the weekend in London. The Bobbies are unreal about drink-driving enforcement, especially with foreigners without diplomatic plates. And I won’t give Cat an excuse to sack me two thousand miles away from either Terri’s or my home.”

“Fair enough, Joseph. I can put all of you up for the weekend in my guest house in Ashford; so keep that in mind, too.”

“We’ll be sure to John” Terri replied for their husband before they activated their Portkey back to Desford. Their son Peter had his own regular Portkey, and was responsible enough to be trusted with it.

Once the Stocks were gone, Arthur offered, “I’m still surprised that it was you and not Professor Dumbledore approaching me about the Cabal, and the likelihood that Bill might become involved with fighting that even before He Who Must Not Be Named gets back up to speed.”

Molly added, “Arthur and I are still talking about that. But since Bill saw his uncles, I won’t be able to keep him or Charlie out of it, and probably not Percy either. Bill’s too much of both Arthur and me, Charlie follows Bill wherever he can, and Percy thinks your Paul hangs the sun, moon, and stars in the sky. At least with Percy and the younger children getting most of their basic pre-Hogwarts education from someone other than me, I’ll be able to more easily teach them the stuff the Muggles don’t know to teach them.”

John told them, “I haven’t had the time to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore about the Cabal yet. But rest assured that I will. While Dumbledore probably has things well in hand, we will make sure that our kids are properly taken care of. And, if our kids have to solve the problems, they will have the means, education, and training to do so without harming themselves or innocent bystanders. I don’t like sending kids to war. But I really don’t like having kids go to war and losing. My kids won’t lose; and if I can help it neither will yours.”

“Have your kids written yet?” Molly asked.

“They all have, and David has written Pet and me twice. They’re all in Gryffindor, including the Muggleborn kid we met at King’s Cross, and they’re all doing good in their studies so far.”

“They’re sharing David’s and A.D.’s post owls then. While Bill wrote Arthur and me only once, he wrote Charlie three times, with Charlie writing back each time. I’m proud of both of the boys right now.”

John and the Weasleys parted ways for the morning via Apparition. Rather than Apparating directly to the Embassy, John stopped by his house for a few minutes first. He found Petunia in the lounge, relaxing for a moment with a cup of tea.

She told him, “I just got all three of them to take a nap for a while. Did things go okay with Paul?”

“Yes. Paul encountered a bully, but he stood up for his friends and himself, and just managed to not get in trouble with the school. The ‘bully’ might even become one of Paul’s new friends, if he behaves himself.”

“I thought you’d been working with Paul on his temper; I know I have.”

“I’ve worked with Paul on his temper, like I have with all the kids. I’ve also taught him to fight back, like I have with all the other kids. If Paul had been any slower or less successful, Aaron was about to join the fight. I barely caught him as it was.

“Pet, when a seven-year-old comes in out of nowhere and punches you in the nose, and you’re only five, all bets are off. I’m actually proud that Paul defended himself, even while I was embarrassed that he channeled both his birth-father and me while he was at it. And Aaron did exactly as both my brother and I taught all the boys; you don’t let anyone attack your younger brothers, you go to your brother’s aid.”

After John recounted to Pet what happened, she opined, “I’m still not happy that Paul took things into his own hands. But, you’ve raised the kids to take care of themselves, so I wasn’t going to say anything cross to him anyhow. But how is breaking a kid’s nose after kicking them in the crotch and before choking them to near unconsciousness restraint?”

“Pet, at the age of five, neither Rick nor I would have stopped hitting the kid until we were pulled off of him. Paul not only stopped, he made friends with him and got him help for a problem the kid had been having for years. So, especially for that, I’m proud.”

“Does it ever get easier, John?” Pet asked about child rearing.

“It does, and it doesn’t. We get better at raising them, and they find new and different ways to test us, without even trying.”

The two of them laughed quietly together before John left the house to return to the Embassy. As he walked down Privet Drive, he thought to himself, “I’ve got ten of ‘mine,’ plus Frank’s kid and both of Junior’s in school at once. When I started Kindergarten in Coal City, I didn’t have that many classmates. The times, they are a’ changing.”

John crossed into the deep shade of a tree, and with a crack was no longer in Ashford.

^1.   “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” Billy Joel, 1977, Columbia Records.
^2.   “Wasted On The Way” Graham Nash, 1982, Atlantic Records.
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The Yankees Nephew and the Philosophers Stone