Chapter Text
The battle had been brutal, so much life lost and so much damage to the castle.
The castle and grounds that were soaked in magic from nearly a millennia of students being ensconced there for most of the year, the grounds and Forrest supporting magical plants and creatures. But all that had been broken, scared and infected by the genius magic used during the battle and the loss of so much life.
Hogwarts felt tainted now. The forest felt malevolent. They tried to cleanse and repair it but the castle fought against it. Stone would not allow itself to be reformed or placed into walls, floors, statues, walkways. Glass would reshatter when you repaired a window. Portraits began to look old as if they were loosing the life from them. Enchantments were destroyed all over the place and new ones refused to take. As if Hogwarts herself had died.
Harry hated to see it but he understood, what once felt like home was now tainted in his heart. Even those early years were tainted in hindsight with what he learned before his death. He himself wanted a fresh start. He felt the school wanted one as well.
It could take years before the forest was purged of the invasive Acromantulas, the rouge giants and other species Voldemort had brought, so many plants and greenhouses had been destroyed the herbology program was gutted. Even with magic it would be far too expensive to fix Hogwarts, to cleanse and replace what was tainted.
They had tried to hold classes in the fall. They roped off the damage areas and tried to rearrange so they could use what was still standing. It was too much though, the students and staff alike had nightmares and flashbacks, it was difficult to teach let alone learn in that environment. By the winter Holidays students were begging not to be sent back the Wizarding world they had to accept that Hogwarts had been lost.
Homes were opened to allow for students to continue learning. The professors working with tutors that normally focused on a few students at a time for home lessons so that they could make sure all years were covered for each subject. Several familuse like the Longbottom’s and Greengrasses opened their homes and greenhouses to use for Herbology lessons, another opened their personal potions lab for newt students and another opened theirs for the lower years. It was difficult as students and professors alike had to move around to accommodate everything. many schedules had to be adjusted and some subjects were regulated to self study with a professor only able to assist by correspondence. it was a poor solution but all they had for now.
Meanwhile Harry had chosen to forgo returning to school. He had sought out Andromeda Tonks and offered to assist her in raising his godson. She refused to allow him to shirk his education but was thankful for the offer. they came to an agreement to live as family in 12 Grimauld. She would tutor him to ensure he could pass his Newts and he would help her with Teddy.
The ministry under Kingsley Shackelbolt had offered OWL and NEWT testing at the Wizarding Examination Authority office for any student during the month of December after the battle. In hopes that fewer students would need to repeat the previous year.
Neville had joined him for study sessions when he wasn’t helping Madam Sprout to salvage the Hogwarts greenhouses. He too didn’t feel like he could return to being a student. After hearing about how the students struggled those first few months of the term both young men were glad they chose a different option.
Many expected Harry to take the offer to join Auror training and had been surprised and disappointed when he turned it down. He couldn’t do it though. Could not go work for the ministry after all that had been done to him by them. Not even under Kingsley. The same people who trudged along and helped put innocent muggle borns into Azkaban, helped the puppets running the ministry for Voldemort. No Harry couldn’t do it.
He had promised Andromeda he was done putting himself in harms way internationally as well. She refused to allow him to have anything to do with Teddy if he was going to let the boy get attached just for some danger he sought out to rip him away. Harry had no intention of doing that to Teddy. Teddy had already lost his parents and Andromeda had lost her cousin, sister, husband, son in law and daughter to the war. Harry would do what he could not to take risks with himself, to not leave his godson behind.
Neville and Andromeda had been the ones to clue him in that he had adult responsibilities towards the Potter and Black Estates now that he was of age. He hadn’t even known the cottage wasn’t the only house his family owned or that Grimauld wasn’t the only home the Blacks owned. One of those properties gave him an idea.
It was old and a little dilapidated but wouldn’t be too hard to renovate. It wasn’t as big as Hogwarts had been but it had plenty of rooms that could be used for classes, large grounds that could be converted for Herbology, Creatures, a forest he could invite the centaurs and unicorns to reside in. Even a lake not quite as big as the black lake but nearly as deep that he hoped the merfolk and giant squid would be willing to relocate to. The quidditch pitch was the only thing he was unsure of but even that he had an idea about. there was a lot of work to be done if he wanted this to work out before someone else found a solution.
The rest of winter after his newts was spent working to repair the old manor. He hadn’t even known reached out to his professors to discuss things with them. They helped in the design of the new place. Choosing which rooms would work for which classes, where would be good to build greenhouses and creature pens. they too agreed with his idea for a new school. Everyone would miss Hogwarts but a fresh start was needed.
Harry even wrote to experts explaining what he wanted their advice on. Newt Scammander had surprised him by coming to supervise the installation of the area for the care of magical creatures classes. Now there would be designated areas for different types of creatures to coexist in their natural habitats for the students to observe and interact with. the more dangerous creatures got the own habitats. Mr. Scammander agreed to assist Hagrid in supplying the creatures once the place would be staffed so they would be cared for. He even sat Hagrid down and assisted him with creating appropriate lesson plans for future classes.
The company that Harry’s own grandfather Fleamont had started helped to build a state of the art new potions lab for different levels of students. They also donated a supply of cauldrons. Harry had been surprised to learn where the majority of the Potter wealth had come from, he had written the current owner of the company figuring that if they were a company that supplied commercial potions they would best know how to create a new lab that was updated and safe.
The property had a little extra room, he decided to forgo the Quiddich Pitch in favor of building dormitories. They would all be the same and rather than split students by houses students would be separated by year and gender. He planned for there to be someone who would act as a sort of house parents for each building, one male and one female. Rather than having the professors have two jobs.
He also asked his old professors to give another look at their curriculum as compared to the books he found that are used as texts at other schools or in home tutoring. He had actually done better on his newts by reviewing those materials than the assigned Hogwarts texts. While they were wary, they had also been working with tutors who had new ideas and different approaches to their subjects so that this school year could finish. It gave them new insights and with his urging they agreed to attempt it.
Harry had a lot of support for the project once people learned what he was doing. As the current Headmistress of Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall asked the elves if they would be willing to relocate and help with a new school. They were very sad to leave but they too knew it was beyond saving. Madam Ponce the librarian had demanded to oversee the new library and the transfer of the tomes from Hogwarts.
Harry had also suggested to the elves that they have their own proper dormitory and uniforms rather than the tea towels and pillow cases they now wore. He wanted to make sure they were well cared for and after they way they defended Hogwarts even when many witches and wizards didn’t come to fight, he dared anyone to argue against it.
When it became something he could no longer keep from public knowledge Andromeda helped him find the best way to present it to the public. He didn’t want it to fall under the ministry purview so Andromeda had worked with several others to find the laws that would allow the school to be autonomous but also supported like Hogwarts had been.
Once Spring came to stay and the building was finished Harry invited the press from several publications to come to the site. He had set it up for during the brief Spring Holiday to ensure the current method of classes were not disrupted. the teachers had already been spending much of their free time assisting him once he had contacted them. He also had the support of much of the current Wizengamot members and the WEA on his side. Though he had nothing to do with that, word of mouth had spread and people were eager to support the Man who Conquered as well as see the children able to have a proper education again.
A small committee had formed to draft a new bill allowing Harry to operate the school under his terms. Thus far he had footed the bill for all he had done that wasn’t donated. Granted he thought his Godfather would appreciate that his family‘s wealth was being used to educate all the children of the magical world and those with magic from the muggle world.
His plan had not stopped at just opening a replacement for Hogwarts. He had gotten Molly, Augusta Longbottom and several others to ban together and help him find those capable of teaching primary lessons in a school setting. One of the Original buildings on the property had been converted to allow for educating those too young to attend Hogwarts.
Honestly he knew the public was at least aware already if only by the rumors going around. Kingsley had confronted him about it and after being given a very through dressing down of what had happened with Umbridge and Harry’s absolute refusal to allow the Ministry any say whatsoever over his school, Kingsley supported him as well and gave him hints as to what needed to be done to make it legal and official.
This press conference was just to announce it officially, to inform the public of the new legislation being proposed to educate the children of magical society, and to introduce those who have signed on to be educators and staff. A tour where they could take pictures was also planned.
Harry even had a surprise he had managed to keep secret thus far. Well except for those who had been involved in making it happen. A sports complex, indoors using the same enchantments that had been used by Scammander to enlarge the space and keep it comfortable. This had a Quidditch Pitch, a Track and Field for other games, a swimming pool, a gym for the students to train in, a room for swordplay practice (an old subject once taught at Hogwarts). He hadn’t wanted physical activities limited to just 28 students out of hundreds again. Each professional Quidditch team had donated gear for students use. He planned for 6 Senior teams and 6 Junior ones to allow for more players and matches along with intramural style games for the ones too young to play on a team. He had personally purchased the equipment for several muggle sports, Football, Rugby, Netball, Swimming and Gymnastics. part of his new classes were that a physical activity was a requirement, they could choose a sport or take a general class. He had gotten hefty discounts on large orders for school brooms as well from several companies.
Plaque’s to honor all those who donated or assisted in his project were throughout the school grounds and buildings. He also had a List for the press of them and got someone to begin compiling a future book to tell the story of the school from the start. He wanted to ensure that a thous years from now people should know the truth.
He had hired McGonagal as the Headmistress and Flitwick as her deputy. But he had also hired at least 3 people who were well qualified not only in their subjects but had teaching experience as well for each subject. Many of these were those that had assisted with the project to begin with. Charms experts that had worked to enchant the building, Herbology experts that had assisted with the greenhouses, Transfiguration ones that also assisted in the building. Potion masters who helped devise a new curriculum and donated many supplies. Even Newt decided to spend a year or two assisting Hagrid with his lessons along with a couple apprentices to ensure the creatures were settled in and cared for as well as the students lessons.
Portraits at Hogwarts had been offered back to the remaining family of the subjects, those that had not been claimed had been given the option to be moved to the new school. They would be the eyes and ears and report any emergency or infractions they witness to the staff. Notably Harry Refused to have the Portrait of Albus Dumbledore Hung in the new school. Kingsley decided it was best to turn it over to Aberforth.
Teddy had been a constant presence at the new school, Harry often took the boy with him wherever he went though there was no shortage of those willing to look after him for a few moments if Harry needed his attention elsewhere. Andromeda was as much involved as Harry and had also been working to set the rest of the Black Estate and Potter Estate holdings to rights. Years of neglect had not done them any favors not in physical assets or in the monetary ones.
Harry had asked her to reach out to the Weasley cousin he had heard was an accountant and see if he could assist in making the fortunes grow since he had been blowing through quite a chunk of it. Turns out that cousin was a squib who was more than happy to help Harry invest in the muggle world. Harry laughed at the irony of growing the Black fortune in muggle investments. it wasn’t all muggle investing though, many businesses suffered because of the war and Harry signed a lot of contracts to invest capital into those businesses to get them running good again in exchange for a stake in the business. He had gotten the idea from his deal with WWW. George had explained it all better to him when he decided to get the shop up and running again, Harry had been happy to help out but had refused a larger stake. 1/3 of it was more than enough already considering all he had done was give them gold he didn’t want or need from the triwizard tournament.
Harry liked his new life, he felt like he was finally making his own choices while still helping others. The old Sorting Hat wouldn’t be used to sort children any longer and the castle he had once called home was no longer but things were beginning to look better and new opportunities were opening up everyday.
Maybe he would accept that seat on the Wizengamot he was offered with his Order of Merlin 1st Class, this group seemed much more reasonable once the old ones were rooted out that colluded with Voldemort. His bill for the school had passed nearly unanimously and he had much more in mind.
It was a day for the history books when children as young as 5 and as old as 18, even those who lived amongst muggles, shared heritage with creatures or suffered from a condition like Lycanthropy all sat down to their first day of classes at the Pottery. it would take a while to change the bigotry in their society but this would go a long way towards that.
The younger years were day students brought and taken home daily by the magic school bus. A labor of love between Arthur Weasley and those who worked on the Knight Bus.
A new station had been created to bring the older children to school, they too had the option to be day student, go home on weekends or board full time. the new Station utilized the enchantments that were for vanishing cabinets. Small areas that fit up to a dozen people at a time had been created to transport students from one station to another. Harry had even been working to get it turned into something larger that could be used rather than muggle loos for the ministry or public floos. private ones would still be used but this would help with public transportation and create more jobs. the current station was set up to house 2 of the Vaninshing Portals Rooms, had a wall of public floos and designated portkey and apparition points. mainly to get students there before sending them off to school, but also in anticipation of future such stations being in every Wizarding area. he planed to have them set up so that there were incoming and outgoing ports for each major area where magicals lived. and a pass would be cheaper than frequent use of the Knight Bus or constant purchase of floo powder.
No one had realized that Harry’s bill had specified any child living within the magical world and child with magic living within the muggle world were to attend his school. He did not exclude any children regardless of birth or affliction. Even Squibs could attend the primary school and would be able to transfer to a muggle school much easier, at least until he can find a way to add proper secondary curriculum and teachers as well as future plans for a vocational program. Robert Weasley, the accountan, along with Mrs. Figg and shockingly Marius Black had been a huge help with his plans for non magical children.
McGonagall had been the one to smooth the way for the Hogwarts library being transferred to Harry’s school as well as a few of the artifacts like the book and quill that identified magical students. It was tweaked to find them the moment that they registered so that the muggle raised children could be brought in earlier than 11.
Much of what was left of Hogwarts vast collection was now in storage, Harry had been talking with Kingsley about the possibility of opening a museum. He also was looking into opening a public library since there was not one in Britain.
Harry had inherited quite a lot of assets he had no realized the extent of previously, many of the properties contained libraries of their own. and a lot of those had duplicate copies of books. These duplicates would be what he would start the library out with. Along with the deal he had made with the publishers who had put out the Harry Potter Adventure books to not sure them if they provide copies of every book they print to the library and cease publishing anything about him without his permission. Deals were made with other publishers as well to get books at cost. But that was a project he had turned over into the hands of a few Ravenclaw and Slytherin alumni that had been ridiculously excited when they heard. He had hired some of them to catalog his libraries and compile the duplicates so the rest could be consolidated.
One project only he, Andromeda, Teddy and the Contractors were aware of was that the home Potters had lived in for centuries in Stinchcombe was being rebuilt. Grimauld would remain their home in London but he wanted a place where he could really raise a family someday. a place to build a new legacy for the Potters. Grimauld was a Black Family home and it would remain one.
Harry and Andromeda had decided that Teddy could choose when he grew up if he wanted to continue his Father Remus’s name, his mother’s maiden name or take the Black name. She and Harry were both in agreement to see the Black name continue though, only this time it would be a family Sirius would have been proud to be a part of. Even if that meant Harry names one of his own Future children Black rather than Potter. He would not allow either family to end.
Hermione and Ron had chosen to try to finish Hogwarts properly, they had muddled though with the other students for the second half of the school year. Since Hermione had no luck in locating her parents the summer before she and Ron had decided to return there and continue the search once they finished their own Newt exams. Hermione had been angry at first that Harry hadn’t included them on his project, but understood that it wasn’t something they could have been much help with while they finished their studies and it had snowballed into something much larger than his original intent. He loved them and he would always consider them family but they had different paths in live now that they were adults.
Harry had forgone dating in favor of finishing his own studies and taking care of Teddy even before he had immersed himself in his projects. Which the school now open for its first term he still hadn’t found time for it. Ginny and he much like Ron and Hermione, were on different paths for their lives. She wasn’t interested in settling down so soon and he refused to entertain anything less. he didn’t want Teddy getting attached to a woman only for it not to work out, and Ginny may love the little guy but she didnt want to be a mother so young. He understood and wasn’t half as upset by the idea of not picking their relationship back up as he had thought he would be.
He walked through the halls of the Pottery in amazement at how much had been accomplished in just a year. There was plenty that he was sure would have to be adjusted as everyone got used to something new but as he watched the little ones being guided to lunch by Friar the ghost and saw a little girl who was obviously not fully human chatting alongside someone he knew to be Muggle-Born and the daughter of a pureblood he felt that it was worth it Just for that sight alone. Teddy giggled and flashed his hair from purple to teal while he bounced in Harry’s arms waving at the children They passed by.
Hogwarts may be have ended but the Pottery had just begun.