"Congratulations, you'll go to Hogwarts" Had been the words Mr. Wayne had spoken to her that day, she was confused, she had been prisoner for a demon warlord and now she was being offered magical education, she hoped that the school was good, it would be a change of air after four years of hell.
Rachel's mother knocked on her door. "Hey dear, how are you?" Every night after she woke she asked her the same question, Rachel was glad that at least one of her parents cared for her.
"I'm fine mom, just thinking, are you sure this school is the best place to be? You don't think Trigon will find me there?" Rachel asked
"Well according to Mr. Wayne's friend, Sirius Black, the school is one of the safest places in the world, still I want you to know that I will try to be there as soon as you need me" Arella, Rachel's mom, reassured her daughter.
"I know mom" Rachel embraced her mom.
"By the way, Dr. Fate left this on the doorstep, it's a gift for you" Arella said pulling a small gift wrapped box from her sleeping robe's pocket.
"What is it?" Rachel asked
"I don't know, open it" Arella said.
As Rachel opened the gift box she saw a beautiful silver Ankh necklace, Nabu's symbol of power, as well as a note that read.
"Miss. Roth, this necklace will protect you from evil, it contains teleportation properties, use it when the moment is right. -Dr Fate"
"Apparently Dr. Fate wants me to be protected on my school year" Rachel said
"That's a good thing dear, one is never too cautious, just promise me you won't try to communicate with your father again, I lost you once, I don't want to suffer for that once again" Arella said
"Don't worry mom, I don't want to see that bastard ever again" Rachel said embracing her mother once again.
--
The following months after Harry's eleventh birthday went fly pretty smoothly, after returning to America, Harry, Damian, Rachel, Helena and their parents went to Little Salem to buy Harry and Rachel's wands, given that in Diagon Alley they didn't found one that matched their magical core.
"We'll stay here in the meantime" Talia said as she sat on a bench outside the store "We don't want to overcrowd the store"
"Yes, you four go do your shopping, we'll buy the kids some ice cream" Selina added taking her daughter's hand while Bruce nodded at them as they entered the store.
The Beauvais Wand Shop was styled in the 1920's fashion, and unlike the Ollivander's in Diagon Alley, this shop was neatly organized and clean, their floors looked polished and the tiles had a uniquely pattern that move when you stepped on it. The store owner, a fifty something woman with grey hair mixed with her natural auburn hair, came to the front desk and greeted her customers.
"Welcome to Beauvais Wand Shop, my name is Pauline Beauvais. What can I do for you today?"
"Hi, I'm Arella Roth, this is my daughter Rachel and we wanted to buy a wand" Arella introduced herself first
"And I'm Bruce Wayne, and my son Harry needs one as well" Bruce added
"Oh very well, I really like when kids test for their first one, you know kids the wand chooses its user, not the other way around, if you're worthy of a certain wand then she will latch onto you, now who wants to go first?" Pauline asked
"I want" Rachel said stepping forward, but then Bruce said
"Just a question before they begin, they already do what it is call "wandless magic" is there going to be a problem or are the wand going to reject them?" Bruce asked concerned
"It's just that the school explicitly says that they needed wands, and for some reason the wands in Ollivander's rejected them" Arella added.
"There's nothing to worry about Mr. Wayne and Mrs. Roth, the wands probably weren't matched for them, but thank you for telling me that the kids are so proficient in magic, that will save us time checking the "beginners" wands and we can go directly to the "big ones" Pauline laughed as she went to the back of the store and brought out a medium size box with a dozen or maybe more of different wand boxes.
"This are the wands that are design for users whose magical core is greater than the regular wands, so far the store has sell only two of these type of wands, one to the wizard Giovanni Zatara and his daughter magician Zatanna Zatara" Pauline explained surprising Bruce who would've never guess that their "show wands" were from this store.
"Now, Miss Roth, if you're so kind" Pauline gently said to the girl who approached the counter "Just pick this one and you should feel a warm feeling surrounding you" Pauline explained the procedure and although it was the same one Ollivander told them she still appreciated the explanation.
"Sorry but I don't feel anything" Rachel said
"It's alright dear, will find out something else then" Pauline said giving Rachel the next box for testing.
"Nope" Rachel said returning the wand to its box
"Next one it is" Pauline said giving her the next one.
"Yes, this one, it feels right somehow" Rachel explained as a gentle aura enveloped the girl.
"Let me see dear… hmm… interesting" The woman said "It's walnut, not the most common type of wood but not the most uncommon, 9 inches, sturdy but flexible" The woman continue the analysis of the wand "Unicorn hair and Raven feather as its core, this means that your power resides from your emotions and that even though you're cast out or even marginalized as the Ravens you're truly unique and the bonds you form highlight the goodness within your soul" Pauline said to the girl who smiled and side glanced at the boy who was seated outside the store eating an ice cream cone.
"Well done Rachel" Harry said to his friend.
"Thanks Harry" She said to him as she went to show her wand to her mother.
"Now it's your turn young man" Pauline said to the short haired boy who approached the counter.
They repeated the process just like Rachel but the wands never connected it wasn't until the thirteenth time that a wand connected to the boy.
"This one chose me" Harry said to Pauline who nodded at the boy and took the wand to check on it.
"Let me see dear… hmm… all of these wands are interesting indeed, yours young man is a Hornbeam wood, 8 ½ inches, Thestral's heartstring and bat fangs on its core." Pauline said
"What does it mean?" Harry asked
"Thestrals are a magical creature that can only be perceived by those who have seen death, you young man have been in contact with it, why is that?" Pauline asked
"My mom died during childbirth" Harry gently replied with the story he had been told since he was a child
"I'm sorry dear, but in the good side the bat core also means that you have a strong sense of community and family, besides according to my studies some wizards believe they represent life, so you have a death and life core in your wand young man, I'm sure you'll do great things" Pauline commented to a happy Harry.
In the end Bruce paid for the wands and Harry and Rachel showed their new tools to Helena, Damian and the others.
--
The rest of time passed by with Harry calling or receiving calls, letters and videocalls from Hermione, after he gave her one of the most modern cellphones Wayne Tech had to offer, he also continued his training with Dr. Fate, the Zatara duo and Etrigan, as well as a training with some experimental magic like the ones in his mom's diary, he felt like he was pretty advance for a first year but he hoped to have fun and make friends in Hogwarts, as well as get to know more of his heritage and about the dark wizard who killed his biological parents.
The week before the school year began and Harry's family and Rachel and her mother went to England to prepare for last minute shopping or things that could be missing from their school supplies. Something that Harry enjoyed on his trips to Diagon Alley was that apparently no one in the magical world had heard about billionaire Bruce Wayne which made it easier for him since many times he had been embarrassed at his father's antics or paparazzi trying to take a picture of the family.
Still Harry loved watching his family interact with the magical world, a world he now knew that he belonged from the start, he saw how Helena was fascinated with the idea of attending Hogwarts with him in a couple of years, he saw how Damian and Rachel walked together to the different shops and bookstores, how his moms Selina and Talia dragged his father to any of the clothes shops or jewelry shops, the only thing Harry was weirded about was of a weird looking blonde vagabond who looked so miserable and, no offense to the man, but he looked rather pathetic Harry thought, life hadn't been kind to the man, so he took a galleon and gave it to the man who simply snatched it away from Harry's hand, not even thanking him for the alms.
"That was rude" Harry thought to himself as he joined the rest of his family.
Days passed and it was finally September 1st, once again all the magical children as well as the no-maj Damian and their parents climbed aboard the enchanted Rolls Royce Van with their final destination being King's cross train station.
Just arriving the stampede of children exited the vehicle beginning to run around, all the adults had trouble stopping the hurricane that was Helena and Sirius and Amelia's twins and triplets. Once the kids calmed down they approached the column that marked the entrance to platform 9 ¾ following the instructions Grandma Minnie and the other adults the children passed through the enchanted column to get to their desired platform. Just as Harry and Helena passed they saw a scarlet engine steamed locomotor with the Hogwarts crest on the front.
"WOW" Every kid from the Black, Bones and Wayne family said as they saw the magnificent train. Even Bruce, Talia and Selina who stepped from the portal thanks to the help of Sirius, Narcissa and Amelia were shocked at the sight.
The younger kids began commenting on how they wanted to attend Hogwarts already so that they could ride that train, the parents began pushing the trolleys as the kids walked alongside the wagons.
"That looksss yummy" Harry heard Copper speak to him from her terrarium, the cotton mouth snake was looking at a brown toad.
"No, that's Trevor, that's a friend's familiar, you can't eat him" Harry responded to the snake.
"Bummer" Copper responded making Harry chuckle from his familiar's antics, but thanks to this Harry was able to safely levitate the toad to his hand, he began looking at the faces of every kid until he found his friend.
"Hey Neville!" Harry yelled at the other boy who waved him back
"Sir Harry" Neville bowed overly dramatically as he approached the boy
"Lord Longbottom" Harry bowed back in the same dramatic way "I believe this is yours" Harry said giving the toad back to his friend.
Draco, Susan and everyone else came to the meeting.
"Lord Black, Lady Bones, nice to see you" Neville said bowing as well
"Lord Longbottom" Both kids bowed at him.
"Ready for a new crusade?" Draco asked
"Of course, can't wait to deal with dragons and rescue damsels in distress" Neville said looking at Susan
"If I remember correctly the only damsel in distress is Draco" Susan replied showing her tongue at her cousin making the others laugh.
"By the way Neville, this is my friend Rachel, you met her on my birthday party, she'll be attending Hogwarts as well" Harry reintroduced the girl to his friend
"Nice to meet you Rachel once again, I'm Neville" The boy said as he shook her hand
"Kids are you ready?" Said Neville's mom, Alice
"Yes mom" Neville quickly said
"I'm just waiting for my friend Hermione to arrive" Harry said, and as if on cue Hermione stepped through the portal to platform 9 ¾, Harry ran as fast to as he could to the other girl leaving his cousins and friends behind to greet his friend.
"HERMIONE!" He yelled at her which put a smile on her face as she embraced the boy running to her. "HARRY!" She exclaimed as well in happiness hugging tightly as they reached each other. They split up when Hermione felt Copper slither around her shoulder letting the girl shriek in surprise.
"Sorry about that" Harry said taking the snake from her shoulder "That wasssn't very nice" Harry hissed at his familiar
"I wasss making an introduction" The snake replied
"She says she's sorry, she was just introducing herself" Harry explained.
"Alright, it's just it took me by surprise, that's all" Hermione said
"Yeah right, but if it were the owl ssshe would be petting it" Copper hissed showing her tongue to the girl and making Harry chuckle.
"So where are your parents?" Harry asked her changing the topic of conversation.
"They were supposed to pass behind me but I don't see them" Hermione said worried
"Don't worry about it, muggles can't pass through" Narcissa said walking behind the kids "Let me help them" She offered stepping through the portal
"How are you feeling? Ready to start classes?" Harry asked her
"Of course I'm ready, it's a school, can't wait for more knowledge" Hermione said making Harry chuckle, as they talked about their hopes about the school they saw Hermione's parents walk through the portal with Narcissa behind them holding their shoulders.
"Oh wow, that's a beautiful train" Emma said impressed of the machinery.
"Mommy, daddy, you made it!" Hermione said excited.
"Yes dear, your friend's aunt was nice enough to let us pass" Emma said
"Nice to see you again Dr. & Dr. Granger" Harry said to Hermione's parents.
"Nice to see you too Harry" Emma said but her husband was still shocked at the train it took a small nudge from his wife to take his attention from the locomotive.
"Sorry… it's just a beautiful piece of machinery, you know I'm a big fan of scale models and this one is simply breathtaking" Dan commented.
"Yes it reminds me of a GWR Olton Hall 5972, don't you think?" Bruce said to the doctor who went wide out at the sight of the billionaire
"Mr. Wayne" He said with a shaky voice
"Doctor Granger, nice to meet you, your daughter is a brilliant girl and I'm happy she has made friends with my son" Bruce shook the other man's hand.
"Thank you sir, we're very proud of you, I mean her" He said embarrassing himself making everyone laugh.
"Well I think the kids should enter their cabin, we don't want them missing their ride right?" Bruce said to the other parents.
The doctors took Hermione to the cabin in which were already Draco, Susan, Rachel and Neville, Bruce took Harry to the side and asked him.
"So do you have everything with you?" Bruce asked his son
"Yes dad, the belt is safely kept within my clothes" Harry pulled a little his sweater showing the bronze painted Kevlar made utility belt with the initials HW on the buckle.
"And do you have everything?" Bruce asked
"Yes" Harry replied
"Grappling gun?"
"Si"
"Smoke pellets?"
"Da"
"Lock pick?"
"Ja"
"Magnifying glass?"
"Oui"
"Night vision googles?"
"Ne"
"Bat-shark repellent?"
"Haan"
"Detective's kit?"
"Hai"
"Batboomerang?"
"Ita"
"Duct tape?"
"Shi de"
"That's my boy" Bruce said hugging his son
"Did you seriously gave your son all of that on his fanny pack?" Sirius asked
"Of course, he is a Wayne, he needs to have everything I would give to Batman, I gave one to all of my children, and it's not a fanny pack Sirius" Bruce replied
"I appreciate it dad, although I'm more of a Superman and Green Lantern fan" Harry replied
"Agh the betrayal, how can my son be so cruel" Bruce mocked being hurt by his son's words.
"I'm proud of you Harry, go and live your adventure" Bruce said
"Thanks dad" Harry replied
"Have fun in school, by the way have this" Sirius said giving him a plain white parchment
"What's this?" Harry asked
"It's a special parchment, I'm sure you'll found out what it does" Sirius said winking at his godson
"Thank you uncle Sirius" Harry hugged him.
"Harry, make sure Draco doesn't get into too much trouble" Narcissa added
"I won't let him have all the fun aunt Narcissa" Harry said smiling
"Please write or call whenever you have the opportunity" Selina said stroking his hair
"And please be good" Talia added patting him on the shoulder
"I will mommies, thank you" Harry said hugging them close to him, he was going to miss being in home.
Harry was ready to board the train when he felt a strong grip on his waist, he looked down and saw his younger sister Helena hugging him tightly
"Please don't go" Helena said whimpering
"I wish I could stay Helena, but I need to go, I'll promise you that I'll come back and I'll call you every night alright?" Harry said trying to comfort his nine year old sister
"It won't be the same" She replied
"How about you can play with my videogames while I'm not in the house, just promise that you'll play with Damian as well" Harry said winking at his brother
"Alright" The girl let him go still whimpering
Damian walked closer to his brother and said "Take care of her" referring to Rachel, while stretching his hand to shake
"I will Damian, protect her and be nice to her" Harry nodded shaking his brother's hand, he let go and climbed aboard the train looking for his friend's compartments who were already chatting, Harry waved goodbye to his family as he saw a numerus family of redheads pass through the portal.
--
The ride on train wasn't that bad, he got to enjoy his time with his cousins and friends, he ate some new snacks he had never tasted and overall a pretty average ride, although the view of the mountains and open fields were breath taking that he found himself taking pictures at everything.
--
After a few hours the train finally managed to arrive to Hogsmeade station where they climb down the train at the instructions of the prefects. Every kid, minus Harry, were taken aback at the sight of Hagrid yelling "First years, over here, leave yer belongin inside" The man said
"Good evening Mr. Hagrid" Harry said to the man
"Harry, nice to see ye, I see ye brought friends" Hagrid said
"Yes, these are my cousins Draco and Susan and my friends Rachel, Hermione and Neville" Harry said
"Well nice to meet ye kids, now climb aboard the boats, only four per boat" Hagrid instructed, at that the group of children split up with Harry, Hermione, Rachel and Neville on one boat and Draco, Susan and a pair of Indian twins on another.
Harry could see that every children was astonished by the marvelous view of the castle and he managed to spot something moving on the lake but he took too long to take his night vision googles to check what that was, he would visit the lake on another occasion.
When they finally docked the children walk through a long set of stairs "Good thing I'm in good shape or else I'll be fainting" Harry thought to himself as he saw many children panting.
Harry saw that in the entrance the biggest doors he had ever seen, in front of them was standing Grandma Minnie, correction Professor McGonagall-Pennyworth wearing an emerald dress robe with a pointy black hat and holding a roll of parchment on her hands.
"Welcome to Hogwarts" said Professor McGonagall. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She finished her long speech.
"I wonder how many times has she repeated that same speech?" Harry mused to himself
After a few moments, the doors opened and the children stepped through to the great hall, every single one of them were speechless and completely stunned at seeing the magnificence of the place. The ceiling looked like something of a fantasy book, every children was amazed at the night sky.
Harry saw the four long tables as well as a fifth one that had what he deducted were his professors, he saw the headmaster on a golden throne, Mr. Hagrid next to him, a guy in a turban, a small statured professor, a man dressed entirely in black and surprisingly Uncle Remus.
"It's a spell made to show it as the night sky, I know it because I read it on the History of Hogwarts" Harry heard Hermione talk on her usual "know-it all accent" he likes that about her but most of all he knows that she speaks on that way when she's nervous on a new situation, so Harry simply grabbed her hand and gently spoke on her ear.
"Everything will be fine Mione, there's nothing to worry about, but I do want to know more of that little trivia of the castle" That seemed to calm her down and she gave him a smile, the pair didn't let go each other for the rest of the walk nor when they reach the end of the Hall.
There in front of the staff table was Professor McGonagall alongside a tall stool and in her hands was a roll of parchment and a very old wizard's hat.
"Now we begin the sorting ceremony, when I say your name please step forward and I'll place the Sorting Hat on your head, when the Hat reaches its verdict you'll go and sit with your housemates" The professor said, then she looked at her parchment and read out loud "Abbot, Hannah" The blonde girl stepped forward and sat on the stool, the professor placed the Sorting Hat and before long the hat yelled "Better be… Hufflepuff!". A cheer came from the Hufflepuff table and the girl went to sit there.
"Black, Draco" She said and the blonde boy sat on the stool, Harry gave his cousin a reassuring nod and the hat was placed on his head.
"Better be… Hufflepuff!" The hat yelled out and Harry, Hermione, Neville Rachel and the rest of the Hufflepuff house cheered. Draco went to his new house and Harry saw how his robes changed of color and the crest of the Badger appeared on his outer robes.
"Bones, Susan" It was the dark redhead's turn to sit on the stool and just like before the hat yelled "Better be… Gryffindor!" The lion's house cheered and once again Harry saw how Susan's robes changed.
The ceremony continued and Harry saw his new classmates go to their respective houses. Including Justin one of the boys on the tour who went to Hufflepuff. Then the professor said.
"Granger, Hermione" The bushy haired girl was almost frozen and Harry tugged her hand for her to react. He whispered in her ear "You can do this" To which she nodded and began walking forward. The professor repeated the action of placing the Sorting Hat and after a brief moment the Hat yelled "Better be… Ravenclaw!" Harry and the rest of their friends applauded as well as the Ravenclaw table.
"Longbottom, Neville" Professor McGonagall said and Neville walked towards the stool but stumbled and has he was falling he managed to save his fall by placing his hands on the floor and making a somersault to the cheer and amusement of everyone. "Thank you Mr. Longbottom for that display of acrobatic abilities" Professor McGonagall said amused placing the hat on his head.
After a few seconds of "ohs" and "ahs" the hat finally yelled "Better be… Gryffindor!" Harry clapped and cheered just as Neville went to sit next to Susan who hugged him. The ceremony continued and after sorting the Patil Twins came a name no one expected to be in.
"Potter, Harry" Professor McGonagall said confused looking at everyone and most importantly making a brief eye contact with Harry who almost stepped forward but held himself in place. The murmurs of the children and professors could be heard but no one knew if the Boy-who-live-and-was-missing-for-years was actually attending Hogwarts.
"Could a Goblin tipped someone that I was Potter? Nah, that's impossible, Frankbolt said it was top secret" Harry thought to himself.
"Well enough, its obvious Mr. Potter is not here, since we never got his confirmation letter, let's continue" Professor McGonagall said trying to remain calm. "Roth, Rachel" It was time for the girl with the purple eyes to be sorted, Harry noticed her nervousness and said to her in a whisper.
"Everything is going to be fine, if you have any doubts then you can ask the Hat to place you on Ravenclaw, you'll be surrounded by books and friends" He reassured his friend.
She nodded and went to sit on the stool, Rachel could be seen very concern and most shocking the hat seemed to be confused as well. After a longer moment the Hat said. "Better be… Ravenclaw!" Harry cheered and Hermione hugged their friend, after all the girls share their love for books so they would be a great addition to the house of the smart.
Many more students got their house sorted, in the end only a dark skinned boy who introduced as Blaise, a red haired boy who introduced himself as Ron and him were the only ones left. "Wayne, Harry" The professor called and Harry turned to see the other boys.
"Good luck guys" Harry said, he walked to the stool and sat just like everyone else, he felt the Sorting Hat began speaking to him once it was placed on his head.
"Ahhh, so Harry Potter did came to Hogwarts, only with a different name" The Hat said
"Please don't reveal my secret, I beg of you" Harry implored
"Don't worry child, anything I learn stays with me" The Hat said "Now let's see, let's see what's on this young mind. Hmmm, interesting you have a very strong loyalty towards your family and friends, especially to your father and sister, that's a Hufflepuff quality, you have a brilliant mind always hoping of gaining more and more knowledge, you could easily fit into Ravenclaw, but I also see that you have a strong sense of family, your bonds to your father and your relatives makes you step forward in every situation, I feel that blazing courage that would make you a strong Gryffindor, your birth parents would be proud, they were Lions as well, but they don't define what you are, but your cunning speaks to me of the great tactician you're Mr. Wayne and how you could be a strong Slytherin. Decisions, decisions. I'll guess that I have to say…" The Hat's voice rang inside Harry's mind.
To be continued...