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Harry Potter and the Junior Year Abroad
Malfoy
By Ishtar
Chapter Sixteen
Malfoy
The Director of the Institute, who Aispun introduced as Little Deer, was an aged woman in full robes, with beaded designs all over them. She was not even as tall as Harry, her long braids were silver, and her black eyes twinkled from within a mass of wrinkles on her copper-colored face. When she spoke, her voice was clear but oddly accented; it was obvious that English was a language learned in her adulthood, and her speech, if anything, was even more formal than Headmaster Dumbledore's. "Welcome to our school! It has been a long time since there has been contact with our sister school overseas, and we are honored to be the first stop on your journey." She did not extend her hand, but bowed slightly in greeting to Professor Broomfield-Hill. "Allow me to introduce my companions. They are the heads of subject departments and the heads of our Clans — what you would call Houses. Tomorrow all of you will be assigned into Clans; while you will sleep here in the Guest Lodge, you will eat in the Dining Halls for your Clans and may use either the Guest Lodge common space or your Clan common space for study. Your Clan is your family while you are here. Clan Elders are your parents and advisers, other students are your brothers and sisters, and all Clan members help one another."
This sounded very similar to the House system at Hogwarts, and Harry wondered vaguely what their Sorting system was. Surely they didn't have a Sorting Hat here, too. He tried to pay attention to the introductions, although he knew he was too tired to remember most of it.
"The head of the Loon Clan is Napayshni Greg TwoBears. He is the Head of our Traditional Studies Department and also conducts the Vision Quest program and supervises the Warriors' Society — what is called the Dueling Club at most other schools." Harry looked with interest at the man, since Dumbledore had suggested he participate in both of those programs. Professor TwoBears was a tall and muscular Native man who wore his greying hair short, in contrast to Aispun. His face was craggy and there was a long thin scar running down the line of his jaw on the right side.
"The Great Fish Clan is headed by Curt Rivenbank, head of our Classical Magic Department. This includes the specialties of Charms and Transfiguration, as well as Ethics, Theory and Practicum." Professor Rivenbank was a short, thin man with thinning grey hair and a friendly smile.
"Hanako Oshima is the Head of the Marten Clan and also of the Natural Lore Department. That includes both Herbology and Magical Zoology. She also leads a meditation group and teaches quarterstaff and aikido, if any of you are students of those arts." The Marten Clan Head was short, slim, and surprisingly young to be a Department Head, Harry thought.
"The Head of the Deer Clan is Sofia Cobbley, who is also in charge of our Mundane Studies curriculum — that is History, Language Studies, Mathematics, the Sciences, and all those subjects that do not require magic but are necessary for a young person to know nonetheless." Professor Cobbley was a tall, thin woman with very black skin and the sort of no-nonsense attitude that Harry associated with Agatha Stone, even though she was dressed in a flower print dress instead of a power suit.
"And finally, the Head of the Bear Clan, and of our Potions and Healing Arts Departments, is Ivo Rozendal." Professor Rozendal, who had much the same formal bearing as Professor Snape although he was of stockier build and darker coloring, bowed slightly in acknowledgement.
"And of course you have already met Aispun; he is our Recreational Director and will also be serving as your liaison while you are here, and will travel with you as chaperone for the rest of your journey. If you have any questions or problems, please go to him with them. If he cannot answer or work out whatever situation it is, he will take it to the appropriate department head or bring it to me. He will be staying in the Guest Lodge with you for convenience. I am sure you and your young ones are tired and hungry after your travels. There is food in the Guest Lodge; we will go and eat and then you shall rest. Tomorrow the students from the other schools will be arriving, and then we shall be honored to show you our facilities."
"Thank you for your courtesy. We are tired. Traveling Muggle-style takes so long," sighed the Professor.
"Grandmother, if I may," said Aispun, using a tone more formal than he had previously used in talking to the Hogwarts group. "I'd like to get everyone's things put away. Could everyone identify which bags are theirs before we go in?" The elderly woman nodded, and the students and the Hills pointed out which bags were theirs. Aispun pulled a short wand, tipped with a grey crystal point, out of a belt sheath and tapped each trunk or back in turn, and they quietly vanished. "Thank you. You'll find your names on your rooms and your luggage inside. Now let's go eat! I'm starved!"
"You are always hungry, grandson," said the old woman with a fond tone in her voice. "But you are right, of course. Let us go in."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Harry woke to sunshine in his face. He groaned and put his pillow over his head. Some time later, it occurred to him to wonder why there was sunshine in his face. Both at Privet Drive and at Hogwarts, he tended to sleep on his left side specifically so that he wouldn't get light shining in his eyes first thing in the morning. But there it was. He peered out blearily from under the pillow. Yes, definitely sunshine. Gah. He rolled over to reach for his glasses, and came completely awake when he bashed his knuckles into a wall.
Right. Strange room. Strange furniture. Glasses on the nightstand on the wrong side of the bed. Once he could see clearly, he climbed out of the bed and decided to go in search of the bathroom. There were three doors. The wide double door opened into a closet. Empty. Not the bathroom. The second door, praise be to Merlin, was the bathroom, and his thoughts were much more coherent once he'd attended to morning necessities and washed his face. There was another connecting door to the bathroom, something he only realized when someone started banging on it, with just the sort of urgency Harry had been feeling a few minutes before. "I'll be out in just a second!" he yelled at the unknown pounder, and grabbed a towel to dry his face.
"'Zat you, Harry?" came a voice.
"It's me. Blaise?" he guessed.
"Yeah. Could you hurry, please?"
"I'm leaving now," said Harry as he went back through to his room, slamming the door hard enough that hopefully Blaise would hear it and know the loo was free.
Now he was able to take a better look at the room. It was a pleasant enough sort of room, he guessed, though he'd never really been interested in the fine art of interior decoration. The wall with the window was wood, with the solidity that said it was probably dressed timbers and not just paneling. The other three walls were sort of a dusty light green color. There were two beds, two nightstands, two dressers, and two desks with chairs. The floor was also wood, and there was a dark green braided rug covering the part where bare feet would hit the floor first thing in the morning. Both beds had white bed linens apart from the dark green blanket folded across the foot, and the curtains matched the blankets and rug. Harry's trunk stood at the foot of the bed he'd been sleeping in; his jeans were draped across the top of it, socks and trainers discarded on the floor. Harry was still wearing the underwear and his shirt from yesterday. Apparently he had only managed to get that far in undressing before he'd fallen into the bed.
He fumbled in his jeans pocket for the trunk keys and popped open the wardrobe compartment. Dirty things went in the laundry bin — it occurred to him that he'd have to find out whether they had house elves or what here — and he grabbed a change of clothes and his bathrobe, wrapping it around himself just as Blaise tapped on the door behind him and then opened it. "Harry, I wanted to, whoops! Sorry."
"It's okay, I'm decent. What did you want?"
"I just wanted to return the clothes you loaned me yesterday, and to thank you again."
Harry eyed Blaise, who was also bathrobe-clad, and holding out the bundle of refolded clothing somewhat awkwardly. "What are you going to be wearing today?"
"I figured just my regular robes would do fine."
"As long as we're on the school grounds. But you're going to need something for when you go out shopping for your own stuff. Help yourself." He gestured at the open wardrobe section of his trunk.
"I don't like owing you …"
"Let me get the first shower and we'll call it even."
The look on Blaise's face said he didn't think it would be even, but he accepted a clean set of clothes and went back to his own room. Harry made his shower quick and rapped on Blaise's door when he was done. "I'm finished! It's all yours."
"Come through here a minute and look at this, Harry. Tell me what you think."
Curiously, Harry poked his head through. Blaise's room was the mirror of his, only the walls were pale blue and the blankets, rug and so forth were dark blue. Blaise's trunk stood at the foot of a bed which had clearly been slept in but not made. Blaise, however, was looking at the other bed. It was a double, much wider than either of the beds in Harry's room. "Look at that. Now look at this." Blaise opened the door which led to the hall. On the hall side was a sign that said, "Zabini, B. - Zavala, I./I."
"Two initials?" Harry shrugged. "Twins, maybe?"
"Maybe. But didn't they say they were only sending one male and one female from each other school?"
"It's either that or someone who's half-giant and needs a bigger bed and two names to cover him. We'll find out soon enough. Let me go get changed and you shower and dress and we'll find out about breakfast, okay?"
While he was dressing, Mr. Hill came down the hall knocking on all the doors to make sure people were awake and reminding everybody to wear robes this morning for greeting the students from the other schools, and shortly thereafter he heard the sounds of the other boys in the hall. He stepped out to find Justin and Michael standing in front of his door, Justin holding one hand in the air as if he had been undecided whether to knock. Both boys, rather oddly, were looking at the name sign on his door.
"What's wrong?"
"Harry … did you see that?"
"What?" Harry looked at the sign. It read, "Malfoy, B. — Potter, H."
"MALFOY?! Tell me this is one of you guys pranking me! Please!" The three of them stood in the hallway looking aghast at the offending sign, which stubbornly refused to provide any more information, and then Blaise came out and looked at what they were looking at, and then they all looked at each other and then at the door sign again. They were still looking when Aispun emerged from one of the rooms at the end of the hall.
"You kids interested in breakfast, or do I get to eat it all?" he asked quizzically.
That broke the staredown stalemate between the boys and the door, proving once again that inanimate objects always win that sort of contest, and the boys went to tell the girls about the odd door sign.
The door at the end of the hall near Aispun's room opened onto a large common room, comfortably furnished with scattered groups of chairs, sofas and tables. A breakfast buffet was laid out on a sideboard, with dishes of scrambled eggs, sausages, ham, and something pretending it was bacon. There were also plates of pastries, muffins and a selection of juices. There was no pumpkin juice, so Harry tried something which was red and very tart and refreshing. While they ate, they discussed the first impressions of the Clan heads, speculated as to what Clans they'd be assigned to, and talked over the implications of the nameplates on various doors. Harry and Blaise weren't the only ones puzzled by the signs. Lavender, it turned out, was going to be rooming with someone with the unusual last name of "Ogunfowora", and they speculated as to who or what an Ogunfowora might be. Daphne was highly relieved that her roommate's last name was "Smith". But everyone was concerned about the implications of a Malfoy on this trip. After everyone had finished, the buffet dishes vanished quietly.
Aispun was relaxed in an armchair near the cold fireplace. "Can I ask for everybody's attention for just a minute?" he called out. "The groups from the other schools will be here in a little while, and I wanted to mention a few things before they get here." He seemed to be a little embarrassed. "Mostly it involves slang terms and names for things. I realize there's a lot of difference between British and American English. Most of it is stuff that can be sorted out as we go. Just remember, if somebody says something that you think is odd, ask for clarification before things get too confused. There are some terms in the magical community that I just wanted to make sure you knew about so that there won't be too many surprises. First off, we don't use the words Muggle or Squib for non-magical people. We call them Mundanes. It's a little less hurtful. We also don't use Witch or Wizard much anymore — the Women's Lib movement did those in a few years ago. It also avoids confusion with several Mundane religious groups that have adopted the title of "Witch". All magical people are Mages, both male and female. A Mage with no Mage parentage is a Natural Mage; a Mage with any Mage ancestry is a Heritage Mage. Are you with me so far?"
"Um, does it matter if only one parent was a … a Mage? Or whether they were Natural or Heritage?" Lavender, who was a half-blood, was glancing sideways at the pureblooded Blaise as she asked the question.
"Not a bit. One parent or both, it doesn't matter, or whether they were Natural or have a family history like mine, that goes back a couple thousand years or so. We were shamans back as far as the oral histories go." Blaise's eyes widened as Aispun laid such casual claim to a blood line longer than any of the British pureblood families. "The only reason we even bother to differentiate is because Naturals don't know customs that have developed over time, and that can sometimes lead to interesting situations. Naturals are more likely to use wild magic since they don't get early childhood training to keep it under control. And of course you need to make sure Naturals marry in every few generations to keep Heritage lines stable in a small community. But I'm sure you already know all that."
"Wait, what?" said Susan. "What do you mean, stable?"
Aispun seemed surprised by the question. "Well, if families with long Heritage traditions don't get new blood in every so often, they get weak and die out. First they start having fewer children. If the lines don't get new blood from somewhere, sooner or later everybody is everybody else's cousin and then there are real problems. Not only does the power of the line go, but you actually start getting genetic problems in the last few generations."
"Well, that explains Crabbe and Goyle," Harry said thoughtfully. "And you know, an awful lot of the pureblood families have only one child. Even my own Dad was."
"This used to be more of a problem when the gene pool was smaller and people were likely to stay in one area from generation to generation, but having big families and moving around a lot have solved that for the most part. There are over a million Mages in the United States, and it's easy to move to, say, California and marry into a whole new community."
"A million?" gasped Daphne. "I don't think there's ten thousand in all of England! No wonder you can have four big schools like this!"
"The United States has been taking in magical folk from all over the world, and there's lots of mixing. Four schools doesn't even begin to handle all the kids. There are a lot of smaller schools, not to mention the ones in Canada and Mexico, and many of the others keep their kids in the public school system and train them magically at home, or still follow the old apprenticeship system. The various Indian Nations have problems now because our populations were reduced so badly over the last three centuries and we're trying not to mix too much so we maintain our cultural identity, but the Clan system avoids the worst of it, and we're very careful to identify and cultivate our Naturals to help us rebuild. They're precious to us, and we have a higher Mage-to-Mundane ratio than any other ethnic group now."
"You folks over in England also had internal wars two generations running that took out a lot of your young adults — and most of the ones that did have families didn't have big ones because of uncertain times, right? So your whole Heritage community is going to have to rely on your Naturals to revitalize your lines and keep you from dying out completely. What? What did I say?" he asked, realizing that six out of the eight students were staring at him wide-eyed, while Harry snickered and Justin was laughing out loud. Professor Broomfield-Hill was quietly amused.
"Oooh, wouldn't that just frost Draco, to know that the Muggle-born are going to be the saviors of the Wizarding world?" said Blaise, making a fast recovery. "I wonder if I should tell him?"
"Oh please," said Justin and Harry simultaneously. The pleading tones in their voices set Blaise off into a fit of hysterical laughter, which only became worse when Harry added, "Only make sure we're there when you do it!"
Aispun was realizing he'd gotten in over his head with this discussion and wasn't quite sure where exactly he'd lost control of it, but he was very glad to see Grandmother Little Deer, again accompanied by the Heads of Clans, coming into the Guest Lodge. Three students followed after them.
The older woman was spry and energetic, wearing a long blue skirt and embroidered red tunic instead of the buckskin robes she'd worn the day before. "Good morning, good morning! I am glad to see everyone is rested from your travel. I would like you to meet the students from our school who will be traveling with you. This is Ellen Smith of the Bear Clan. She will be rooming with your Miss Greengrass? Ah, yes, please stand together, and would Miss Greengrass introduce Miss Smith around when you have a chance? Thank you." Ellen Smith was a stocky blonde with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose; she smiled at Daphne in a friendly manner and stuck out her hand, which Daphne shook uncertainly.
"And these are Ixvalchac and Ixvochac Zavala," said Little Deer, waving forward a pair of identical twins, both dressed in jeans and embroidered tunics. They were short but slim and graceful, with dark bronze skin and gleaming black hair. They had wide faces, high cheekbones, prominent noses, and slightly slanted black eyes. As they moved, Harry realized one limped heavily on the right side, and one on the left; it was the only obvious way to tell them apart because they were more identical even than Fred and George. "Val and Vo are two of our most exceptional students, and we are very glad that they will be having this opportunity to be with you. Mr. Zabini, if you would? They will be your roommates for the year. Thank you."
Blaise shook hands with both of them and said hello, vaguely wondering where these two were from and if they even spoke English, and he was relieved and surprised when they answered him in what the British students had already begun to recognize as an American Midwestern accent. "Hi, I'm Val," said the one with the limp on the left side.
"I'm Vo. We're looking forward"
"to showing you around the school. We're Deer Clan"
"by the way, so helping out is kinda"
"what we do. Glad to meet you!" they finished in unison.
Harry had experience in dealing with this sort of whipsaw conversation, since Fred and George did it all the time, but it was obviously Blaise's first experience with it. The twins grinned at his discomfiture, and then said, again in unison, "Don't worry, you'll get used to us!" Harry wondered just how much like Fred and George these two were. When they took positions with Blaise, they stood extremely close together, almost touching on their bad sides, and wrapped their arms around the other's waists casually.
Little Deer was obviously pleased with the way things were progressing. "Come, come! The others will be arriving. It is time to greet them." She gestured at the fireplace, and despite the heat of the day, flames roared to life in the great hearth and then turned green. "Who is ready to come through? Norton? Salem?"
The head of a woman, very black of skin and wearing an elaborate headdress, popped through the flame. "Laveau is ready. May we come?"
"By all means, come and be welcome!" The head withdrew briefly. In rapid succession, three people swirled through the flames and stepped out of the hearth. First was the woman who had spoken, tall and full-figured, wearing a gown to match the turban, in a bright orange, red and yellow pattern. The second person was obviously her daughter, just as tall but slim and graceful, in the same style gown and turban in shades of blue and green. The third was a young man whose skin was also brown but much lighter in tone. He was wearing jeans and a casual shirt. Both the students wore light robes, open in the front, over their clothing. The girl's robe was blue with green trim, matching her dress, while the boy's robe was red with yellow trim. Each of the newcomers was holding a trunk or suitcase, and Aispun quietly commandeered the luggage and sent it to the proper rooms while the introductions went on. The girl was introduced as Sanya Ogunfowara, Lavender's roommate, and the boy, Bathelus Elliman, would be rooming with Michael Corner. Their chaperone was indeed Sanya's mother.
The flames roared green again. "Norton is ready. May we come?"
The Norton pair was as mismatched as the Nokomis team. The male student stepped through first. Vijay Kumar had dark skin, liquid black eyes and a fine bone structure, and strongly reminded Harry of Parvati and Padma Patil. His speech was marked by an accent that said he had come to this country late. He performed a namaste to Justin Finch-Fletchley before also shaking his hand. His female counterpart was … unusual, even by Wizard standards. Margaret Baumann had green hair. And green eyebrows to go with it. It wasn't the sort of chemical green that someone trying to make a "statement" might choose; it was a darker green with many shades of light and dark mingled, the way different shades normally mixed in a person's hair. It was obviously natural. Her eyes were brown and her skin was fair. She was wearing a long black gown, long-sleeved and well fitted to her torso, and the skirts flowed almost to her ankles. The dress would not have seemed at all out of place on the streets of Hogsmeade; here it did not fit at all. She greeted Susan, her roommate, and looked over the rest of the group with open curiosity. Their chaperone was a young woman who had the position of "Guidance Counselor" at Norton.
Harry was beginning to get nervous, now. There was no sign yet of a Malfoy, and only one more school to be introduced. Once more, the flames burned green, and Salem Academy apologized for being late and announced their readiness. The chaperone came first, a tall man with dark brown hair and grey eyes. He was exceedingly well dressed and moved with the sort of air that said he owned the place. Harry gulped. He'd seen eyes like that, and a demeanor like that, before. A girl with flyaway black hair followed him, holding a tank containing a snake under one arm and tugging at her trunk with the other. The chaperone reached down before Aispun could get there, and helped her move it out of the way before the third member of the party came through. Obviously the son of the chaperone, wearing tan pants and a navy jacket with the insignia of the Salem Academy on the pocket, the boy was tall and slim, with wavy chestnut hair. And distinctive Malfoy eyes. Little Deer introduced Anna Gillespie to Mandy, and finally, "This is Bart Malfoy. Mr. Potter, if you would? Thank you."
Awkwardly, Harry stepped forward. He felt terribly underdressed and shabby compared to the other boy's immaculate grooming. He saw the grey eyes flick to his forehead, then take in his messy hair and school robe, and readied himself for a cutting comment. Instead, the boy held out his hand for a casual shake.
"Bart Malfoy. Glad to meet you."
"Harry Potter." Harry shook his hand as quickly as possible.
Before they had a chance to say much more, however, Little Deer was calling for everyone's attention again. She went through the introductions of the Clan Heads again for the benefit of the newcomers, and this time explained a little bit more about the Clan system. "The native people of this area had a complex clan system; originally there were either five or seven clans, depending on who you ask, but they split until now there are more than twenty. For purposes of grouping our students, we have gone back to the original five. They are the Great Fish Clan, the Loon Clan, the Marten Clan, the Deer Clan, and the Bear Clan. Upon arriving at our school for the first time, each student reaches into a gourd that contains tokens for each clan, and withdraws one. That token will be your clan badge, and is worn to give access to the Clan lodge, including the Dining Hall, as well as to all school facilities. The gourd is charmed so that each student will remove the token of the Clan to which he or she is most suited. The Great Fish Clan are teachers, scholars, solvers of disputes. To them is entrusted the future of the people. The Loon Clan are chiefs and warriors. To them is entrusted the protection of the people. The Marten Clan are hunters, food gatherers, planners and strategists. To them is entrusted the strength of the people. The Deer Clan are artists, poets, keepers of hearth and home. To them is entrusted the peace of the people. And the Bear Clan are keepers of the peace among the people, and also the healers. To them is entrusted the health of the people. Are there any questions?"
Harry raised his hand, tentatively. "Are there any rules about associating with people from other Clans? I mean, at Hogwarts we have a House system where it's assumed you're going to be closest with your Housemates, take most of your classes together, and generally don't associate much with other Houses. Is it like that?"
"We don't have rules of that sort," said Aispun. "We try to have as few rules as possible, as a matter of fact. Just what's necessary to keep order. Your classes will all be mixed, since placement is determined by individual ability and knowledge. You've all been placed based on your school records, by the way, but we'll make adjustments if necessary. The school recreation and study facilities are, of course, open to all the Clans, and you can invite people from other Clans into your Clan Lodge as guests. However, there are discussion groups, house meetings, parties, and so forth held by specific Clans to promote Clan unity as well. Your Clan brothers and sisters are likely to have similar interests to yours, so you'll associate naturally in activities suited to your particular Clan, which a member of another Clan may not enjoy as much. Clan members can be as close as brothers and sisters; therefore people often date outside their Clan."
"Each Clan has special gifts, but no clan is any more essential or important than the others. All are necessary to the welfare of the people, and all must work together for the survival of the tribe," said Little Deer, firmly.
Professors TwoBears and Rivenbank had carried a very large gourd, painted and polished, into the Lodge with them. Now they brought it forward, and the students could see that there was a large hole cut in it. "I will call you in alphabetical order," said Little Deer, "and you will reach into the gourd and remove your token. It should be obvious from the token itself what the Clan is, but if you're not sure, just ask one of us. The chaperones will choose Clans, too. There's a staff table in each Lodge where you can join the teachers, or you can sit with the students if you prefer. Are we ready?" One by one, she called their names, and they reached into the gourd and pulled out tokens. They were little round badges with pins on the back, and the students pinned them on as soon as they drew them.
Harry had been trying to guess how the Clans might correspond to Houses. Obviously the Great Fish Clan was pretty close to Ravenclaw, and he wasn't surprised when both Mandy and Michael pulled tokens with stylized fish on them, but it was surprising that Daphne pulled one as well. So did the green-haired girl from Norton. Professor Broomfield-Hill also went into Great Fish, and her husband (who was quite pleased to be Sorted just like the Mages) found himself in Deer Clan. Hufflepuff seemed kind of similar to the Deer Clan, but while Justin pulled a token with a deer's hoofprint on it, Susan drew one with a bear paw mark. Lavender found herself in the Marten Clan. Harry kept an eye on the Malfoys, and was surprised when Bart Malfoy drew a token with a Loon feather on it — the mark of chiefs and warriors — while his father pulled a Bear token. That was interesting. Sanya Ogunfowora drew a Marten token, and then it was Harry's turn.
He reached into the hole with some trepidation. The gourd contained a large number of round tokens, and he groped for one, feeling some of them actively slide away from him, until he came across one that almost seemed to leap into his hand and stick to his fingertips. He pulled it out and turned it over. A feather. Loon Clan. Blaise was the last, and he fumbled around in the gourd for a bit until he, too, drew out a feather-marked token.
Little Deer clapped her hands. "The choosing is completed. May you all be happy in your new Clans. Now, I would like to ask you all to go to your rooms and change into casual clothing. You will go with your heads of Clans to your Clan Lodges for a brief orientation, then return here. Aispun will take over from there and show you the rest of the facilities and inform you of the safety rules and such. You will have him exclusively for the rest of the day, since the Heads of Clans and I will be welcoming the first years and sorting them this afternoon. Tomorrow is a holiday, so there will be a school picnic, and I hope everyone will get to know one another. The last of the students come in Tuesday, and classes start on Wednesday."
The Hogwarts students lead their new roommates off to the boys' and girls' sides of the Lodge, where they found that their rooms were now marked with their clan symbols.
Bart Malfoy followed Harry to their room and looked around curiously. His luggage was at the foot of his bed; he had only one suitcase, surprisingly. Harry perched himself on the edge of his own bed. "I guess you get that dresser and desk. Half the closet. Bathroom's through there; we're sharing with Blaise Zabini and Ixval … Ix … the twins," he said, giving up on pronouncing the unfamiliar syllables.
The American boy looked into the bathroom. "Hm. One bathroom, five of us. Should make mornings interesting." He returned to his bedside, shrugging off his jacket and taking off the Clan badge. "Casual clothes, he said? Is that casual, for your school?"
"Nope. But I've got casuals on underneath," said Harry, unbuttoning his robe to reveal his jeans and t-shirt. "I'll wait outside while you change."
Bart grinned. "Don't bother. After five years dorming, I've got no modesty left." He hoisted his suitcase up onto the bed and drew a short, crystal-tipped wand from a sheath up his sleeve. Opening the suitcase, he removed several small stacks of cloth in various colors, then flicked his wand at them. The stacks obligingly enlarged into piles of folded clothing. Bart selected casual wear from them and started changing. "I'll unpack later, I guess. Have you gotten unpacked yet?"
"Don't really need to," said Harry. He flicked his own wand casually at his trunk; the lid popped up and the wardrobe section rose up and unfolded. He hung his robe back up, since he hadn't really gotten it dirty, and the wardrobe folded away.
Bart whistled. "Now that's a handy piece of luggage. Not very convenient going through airline check-on with that thing, though, was it?"
"No, it wasn't. But trunks are kind of a tradition. It didn't really occur to me to get anything else."
"Hey, tradition's good. Nothing wrong with that," said Bart with a tone of approval.
A moment of silence passed while Bart changed.
"So."
"So."
"Kind of awkward, isn't it?"
"Kind of."
"You play sports?"
"Quidditch. Seeker."
"Never tried Quidditch myself. I'm an aerial lacrosse midfieldman. On the ground, I play skirmish and duel. You?"
"We don't have a formal dueling program, but I've done some informal dueling." And fought for my life a time or two — does that count? "I was thinking about checking out the Dueling Club or whatever it was they call it here."
"It's fun. I was champion on the junior circuit last year. Gave up the team for this year, of course, but there's always next year."
Harry groaned inwardly. Of course Malfoy would be a champion. And he's probably best at everything else, too. He has that air of competence to him.
"I had to give up the Quidditch team for this, too. So did Daphne." Harry decided to omit the messy business of the ban which would have made playing this year doubtful anyway.
"You have girls' Quidditch teams?"
"No, the teams are mixed."
"Mixed locker rooms?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"Pity. That might have made it worthwhile transferring to your school." Bart wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Almost against his will, Harry laughed. "Okay, I think I'm all ready," said Bart, pinning on his Clan badge. "Let's see about this Clan orientation thing. That Two Bears looks like a piece of work."
They weren't the first back in the Common Room, but neither were they the last. Since both Harry and Bart were in the same Clan, they went to meet their Clan Head together, and Blaise joined them a few minutes later. The Laveau chaperone, Fola Ogunfowara, had also chosen Loon Clan, and seemed less than happy to be separated from her daughter. The tall, muscular Indian looked over the boys, making Harry feel extremely self-conscious, and shook hands firmly with Mrs. Ogunfowara. As they were the first group to have all its members together, Professor Two Bears lead them to the entrance of the Common Room. There was a map posted on the wall, and he passed out paper copies to them all. "The first thing you need to realize is that our campus is large. Nokomis is the newest of the major schools, and when the site was selected, they took advantage of the space available. We're about twice the area of Laveau, and three times Hogwarts or Salem. Magic use is to be confined exclusively to the Inner Campus. Most of your classes, and all of the Lodges, are located in this section, as are the library and the stadia for flying sporting events. Your Mundane classes, and Mundane sports and recreational facilities, are located in the Outer Campus. There are areas of the Outer Campus which are open to the general public, so we are very strict about observing the ban on magic there." He gave them all a chance to look over their maps. "Once you get your class schedules, you will realize that there is no way in Hell you're going to get to every class in the time allotted if you go on foot. Depending on your personal preferences, you may use brooms, carpets, or Apparation once you've got the points memorized. Yes?"
Blaise had raised his hand. "Sir, I thought we couldn't Apparate until seventeen?"
"Zabini, isn't it? Good question. That's in England. Different rules here. No age limit. Children who live in places where things are widely spread often learn to Apparate as early as possible. If you don't know how already, there's a training program on campus, and many of our students take advantage of that; you're certainly welcome to if you can fit it in your schedule. Then you can qualify for your British license as soon as you turn seventeen. For those that can't Apparate or prefer not to for whatever reason, we have a campus-wide transportation system, keyed to your Clan badges. The section of the floor on which you are standing is a Flash Platform. You'll observe it's a different color from the rest of the floor. The Flash system is similar to Floo, but doesn't require a fire to start with. In order to activate it, you touch your Clan Badge to the map image of the building where you want to go, and you will be taken there. Once you're there, please step off the Platform immediately, since nobody else can use it in either direction while you're standing on it. I'll take you to the Lodge for the Loon Clan now."
He unhooked his badge from his shirt and touched it to the shape of a building on the north edge of the campus, and a purple flame shot up around all of them; when it died away, they were in an entirely different building. Everybody very carefully stepped away from the Flash Platform before looking around. Professor Two Bears lead them on a brisk tour of the building, showing them the Common Room, the Dining Hall, and meeting rooms. Finally, he took them out the back entrance of the building. The woods, a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees, stood close by. "The woods from here to the west, by the Marten Lodge, are often used for skirmish games since our Clans are the ones most involved in that sport. Vision Quest activities will also be held in this area. There's nothing north of here for about a hundred miles but trees, so magical practice and games are fine here. If you happen to get your directions mixed up and can't find your way back to the campus, your Clan badge will act as a pointer." He held his own badge flat on his palm. "Point me to Nokomis!" he said, and a red arrow floated above the badge for a moment, pointing to the center of the campus. "The arrow points to the Medicine Circle at the center of the Inner Campus. As long as you have your badge, you can always find your way home."
"Lady and gentlemen, you have entered a Clan with a tradition of strength and honor. We are the smallest of the Clans, but our gift of leadership gives us an impact out of proportion to our numbers. Many of us achieve positions of power and authority, but with that often comes the need to make sacrifices for our people. That is our gift, and that is the price we pay for it. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of physical and mental fitness, for we can never be sure when we will be needed. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of trustworthiness, for our people must always be willing to turn to us. We back each other up, and we also clean up after our own messes when necessary. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes, sir," said Harry. Blaise and Bart both nodded vigorously.
"Good." He led them back into the building. "There are sign-up sheets for special activities on the bulletin board in the Common Room. There's also a notice about my office hours if you need to talk about something. I know most of my kids pretty well already. I don't know you three, but I already know you're exceptional or you wouldn't be here, either at this school or in my Clan's Lodge. I'd like to talk to each of you over the next week or so. I'd like to help you maximize the experience, and in order to do that, I need to know what your individual needs are. Once you've had a chance to settle in, find your way around, work out your class and activity schedules, we'll talk one-on-one. For now, we'll go back to the Guest Lodge. I'll be with the sixth-graders — the first years — this afternoon and evening, but I look forward to seeing all of you at the picnic tomorrow. Now I want you to use the Flash to go back to the Guest Lodge, one at a time. I'll follow to make sure you haven't gotten lost or misplaced any parts or anything." The boys gave him horrified looks, and a quick grin flickered across his normally stony face. "Kidding. It takes real effort to lose anything on a Flash Platform. You can't even overshoot like you can with Floo. Now go on."
Mrs. Ogunfowara went first, then Bart, Harry and Blaise. No parts were lost, and shortly they were all back at the Guest Lodge, the first to return as they had been first to leave. Aispun involved the boys in a discussion of various broom sports until all the groups had returned, then took them all on a Flash Platform tour of various buildings in the Inner Campus, finishing with the Deer Clan dining hall, where they all had lunch.
Following lunch was a leisurely hike down the main road toward the Outer Campus. The trip apparently could be made by Flash, but Aispun said he saw no point to wasting such a beautiful day, so they walked. Eventually they came to a wooden fence with a gate across the road. A small building stood next to it. "This is the boundary between the Inner and Outer Campuses. The Outer Campus includes facilities which are open to the general public — that means Mundanes, and that means no magic beyond this point. There's a Flash Platform in that building," he said, pointing at the small log structure, "and also broom and carpet lockers." He went into the building and emerged carrying a broom. "Anybody willing to volunteer to look stupid for a sec?"
Bart Malfoy grinned and raised his hand.
"You're a midfielder, I think you said? So you know how to take a fall?"
"Of course."
"Take this broom and try to cross that fence."
Bart mounted the broom, backed off a bit to get a little speed, and flew toward the fence. As he passed over it, a flash went off, and he and the broom parted company, with the broom ending up on the inside of the fence and Bart face-first in a patch of wildflowers outside it. He spit out a daisy as he climbed to his feet.
"Anybody think you can do better? Harry?" Aispun asked, seeing Harry's smirk at Bart's failure.
Harry gulped and picked up the broom. He circled around the group once to get a feel for it (it was a school broom and therefore off balance by definition), took a good lead and went for the fence at speed. The flash was brighter, and he sailed quite a distance beyond the fence, rolling out of the fall and landing on his back.
"Okay, anybody think they've figured out how to get across? Miss Baumann? Meg, isn't it? Let's see what you've got."
The green-haired girl casually sauntered up to the broom and picked it up gingerly. She put it over her shoulder, walked through the gate in the fence, and then mounted the broom in a graceful sidesaddle seat on the other side.
"Well, that shows why she's a Great Fish and we're just Loons," said Bart, walking over to Harry and giving him a hand up. "Why don't we just ask her to solve the problem next time before we go at it headfirst?"
"I've got a friend just like her at home," said Harry as he brushed leaves out of his hair. "They probably make sure there's one in every school just to keep the rest of us from getting cocky."
With a grin, Meg passed the broom back to Aispun, and the group continued their tour.