As August was heading into its last third Professor Dumbledore paid the Xavier School another visit. As this visit was not an emergency he took an international portkey from London to New York and passed through magical customs in the normal way before apparating to Xavier's School. He rang the front doorbell and after a few seconds the door opened on its own.
"Good morning Albus" Professor Xavier sent to Dumbledore, "what brings you here today?"
"I came to speak to Harry about his magical education" said Dumbledore, "may I ask where everyone is?"
"The X-Men are in a training session right now" was the reply, "and I am with them. If you wish to observe please follow my directions to where we are."
"I would like that" said Dumbledore as he turned down the left-hand hallway in the direction of the Danger Room, "I'm quite interested to see how Harry's training is going."
"Very well" said Xavier, "they're all doing well. Now before you enter our training room I must caution you against interfering. No matter what you see, no matter how dangerous it may look, don't interfere. My X-Men know what they're doing and I would rather they not be distracted."
"I understand" said Dumbledore who had now reached the door of the Danger Room.
"Then please come in" said Xavier. Dumbledore quietly opened the door to the Danger Room and slipped inside. Professor Xavier himself was sitting in his chair just inside the door watching his students. Dumbledore went and stood beside him and got his first look at an X-Men training session. His first impression was that he could not possibly be seeing what he was seeing. There were four other people in the room with Professor Xavier. One was firing red beams of power from his eyes at objects that were being hurled at him. Another seemed to have turned into a living snowman and was generating and throwing ice spears at targets. He did recognize the one with the wings (or rather he recognized the wings) as he'd seen him before but had not seen him fly. Lastly the shortest one was also flying but without any means of support or a tool for doing so and at the same time he was firing bolts of lightning from his hands at testing dummies at one end of the room.
Dumbledore's surprise only lasted for a second or two. Having met all of these people before he knew who they were. Even with all of them in uniform and wearing masks he knew who was who. The boy with the wings was obviously Warren and the snowman was Bobby. The one firing optic blasts was Scott – Dumbledore remembered the red glasses he wore – which meant that the last boy must be Harry. This, however, was the first time he was seeing them in action and it was a bit of a shock to see them working out with their powers. It was an intense training session they were undergoing and some of the things they were doing could very easily lead to injury if they made any mistakes. It made sense that Xavier didn't want him to distract them at all.
"You certainly run a tough program" Dumbledore sent to Xavier without betraying any change of expression on his face as he did so.
"Do you disapprove?" sent back Xavier.
"Since I know what you're building here and why, no, not at all"came Dumbledore's reply, "what your students are doing is very much like the training aurors get. My old friend Alastor Moody who is a senior auror would very much approve of how your X-Men train. If you ever let him view an X-Men training session he'll probably want to start sending auror trainees to you. He might even try to hire you to run the auror academy."
"That would be interesting" said Xavier, "although your auror trainees might not want to be taught by someone who isn't a wizard."
"That might well be true" said Dumbledore, "but Alastor would set them straight about that very quickly. By the way, how much longer will they be training for?"
"Not much longer" said Xavier, "and I think you should start using their code names whenever you see them in uniform as I feel it would be a good idea to keep their identities secret out in the field."
"All right. What are their code names?"
"What do you make of Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, and Lightning?"
"I would assume" said Dumbledore, "that Warren is Angel and Bobby is Iceman. I would also guess that Scott is Cyclops and Harry is Lightning."
"You would be correct" said Xavier.
"Harry flies well" observed Dumbledore, "I knew he could move objects with his mind. I did not realize that meant he would be able to move himself – but I should have. It's only logical that a telekinetic would be able to do such a thing. Unfortunately wizards are notorious for not being logical and I'm afraid that I'm often no exception in that regard."
"He picked up flying very quickly" said Xavier, "out of all of his abilities that's the one he likes the most."
"I'm not surprised" said Dumbledore, "it was the same when he first learned to fly with a broom at Hogwarts. Even before that when he was a baby he showed real potential for flying. Lily was angry with James when he gave Harry a toy practice broom for his first birthday and he flew all over the house and apparently scared Lily's cat out of at least one of its lives. As Professor McGonagall said, he's a natural at it."
"She's not the only one to say that" said Professor X, "excuse me for a moment Albus," Professor X touched a control on a remote he was carrying and all of the machinery in the room turned off.
"That will be all for now" he sent to the X-Men. The four students all gathered together near the professor.
"Hello Professor Dumbledore" said Lightning, "when did you get here?"
"Only a short time ago" said Dumbledore, "I've been watching you all train and it's been very interesting to see. If you don't mind I'd like to see you fly some more."
"I don't mind" said Lightning with a smile before looking at Xavier, "may I?" Xavier nodded. Lightning took off and started circling the room.
"Join him" said Xavier to Angel, "and show our guest some of your moves."
"You got it" said Angel who soon joined Lightning in the air. The two of them chased each other around the room in their usual game of aerial tag. It wasn't always easy to tell which of them was "it."
"They always do that" said Cyclops to Dumbledore, "at least once every training session."
"I've never met two people who liked flying more than they do" said Iceman, "I can't say I blame them though." Dumbledore nodded as he watched the two X-Men flying around the room. One of the only times he ever saw Harry act like a kid was when he was flying. He was glad that the boy's mutant powers allowed him to freely do something he loved so much. He would never need to use a broom again if he didn't want to.
When Lightning and Angel landed a few minutes later they gave each other a high five before turning back to their teacher.
"Very good" said Xavier, "I see you both enjoyed that. We're done with training today. Lightning, Professor Dumbledore is here to see you."
"Charles may we talk in your office?" said Dumbledore, "you should probably join us."
"All right" said Xavier, "Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, you may go." The three other students all thanked Xavier and left the Danger Room.
"Do you mind if I get changed first?" asked Lightning.
"There's no hurry" said Dumbledore, "take your time."
"Thank you headmaster" said Lightning who followed his classmates out of the Danger Room.
"I'm glad you persuaded me to let Harry stay here" Dumbledore said to Xavier as the two of them left the Danger Room to head to Xavier's office, "this is a good place for him and he's getting better training here than what we could give him at Hogwarts. When Voldemort returns he's going to have a lot more trouble with Harry than he thinks."
"If Voldemort does come back" said Xavier, "he won't only be fighting Harry. The other X-Men will be with him."
"I'm glad to hear it" said Dumbledore, "I hope I get to see Voldemort's face when he discovers who his new enemies are. Is your team complete? Or will there be more X-Men?"
"There's always room for more" was the reply, "right now there are at least one or two people that I have my eye on who may join us soon. Beyond that we'll just have to see."
"Interesting uniforms you have for your school"
"They're mostly designed to be practical" said Xavier, "for what they're learning they need to be able to move freely without any of their clothes getting in the way."
"I see" said Dumbledore, "wizarding robes would not work so well for that. Harry wouldn't be able to fly as easily."
"My students seem to like them well enough – well I know Harry thinks he looks pretty cool in his."
"He told you that?" asked Dumbledore with some amusement in his eyes.
"No, I heard his thoughts" said Xavier, "he hasn't learned how to fully shield his thoughts yet although he, like all of my students, is working on it."
Harry joined the two professors in Xavier's office a short time later. He'd changed into jeans and a t-shirt in the meantime.
"I'm here" he said to the two professors, "did I keep you waiting for too long?"
"Not at all my boy" said Dumbledore who looked at Harry's t-shirt with raised eyebrows, "that's an interesting shirt you're wearing Harry." The shirt had a picture of a naked baby floating just underwater in front of a dollar bill that was on a fish hook. On the lower left corner of the picture were two words. The top one was "Nirvana" and underneath was the word Nevermind.
"Warren gave it to me after I listened to the album" said Harry, "I have to get my own copy."
"What album?" asked Dumbledore and Harry realized that, like many British wizards, Dumbledore knew very little about popular (muggle) music. So Harry gave Dumbledore a brief recap of his discovery of modern rock music during his and Warren's drive back from Stark Mansion on his birthday.
"That doesn't sound like anything I would like" said Dumbledore, "but it confirms my belief that the British wizarding world is too insulated from the muggle world. Our children, at least should know about things like this."
"The muggleborns probably do" said Harry, "and a lot of the half bloods too. It's mainly the pure bloods who don't."
"And they're the ones with the most influence in our society" said Dumbledore, "and therefore with the least reason to want to change anything. Well, that's a topic for another day. For now let me tell you why I've come here today. I'm here to discuss your magical education."
"Yes please" said Harry.
"Since you're not coming back to Hogwarts so you can continue your training here" said Dumbledore, "I thought it would be a good idea if you joined one of the American schools as a part time student."
"Can I do that?" asked Harry, "that's not an option at Hogwarts."
"You're right" said Dumbledore, "it's extremely rare that Hogwarts or any of the European schools might do something like that. But some of the American schools do have that option. Personally the school I would most recommend is Ilvermorny. They're the premiere school in this part of America and I know the headmaster. I've been discussing your case with him (don't worry, I didn't tell him about your mutant powers or the X-Men) and he said that you would be welcome at his school. We would just need to work out your schedule and make sure it fits in with your training here."
"I usually have the X-Men train in the morning" said Xavier, "unless there's a mission Harry would be free most afternoons if that helps."
"It does" said Dumbledore, "most likely, Harry, you won't take classes with most of the other students in your year but instead will either meet one on one with tutors or study with a couple of other students. Ilvermorny is pretty flexible in that regard."
"Okay" said Harry, "that sounds like it might be doable. Where is Ilvermorny?"
"In Massachusetts" said Dumbledore, "on the summit of Mt. Greylock. I thought we might go there today so you could see it for yourself."
"Well" said Harry, "as far as I know I'm free for the rest of today?"
"Yes" said Xavier, "go see this school but may I recommend you put on something a little heavier? It may be summer but Mt. Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts. It will be at least a little cooler up there."
"Sure" said Harry, "I'll be right back." He left the office and came back a minute later wearing solid blue pullover hoodie.
"How are we getting there?" asked Harry. Dumbledore took out a short piece of rope and held one end out to Harry who took it in one hand.
"We'll be using a portkey" said Dumbledore, "when I activate it the portkey will move whomever is touching it to its set destination quite quickly. It will also bring us back when we're done. Please hold on to it Harry. Charles, we'll be back later." Dumbledore tapped the portkey with his wand. Harry felt the sensation of a hook behind his navel pulling him off his feet and then it felt like he was flying through very heavy winds before it all suddenly stopped and Harry proceeded to fall flat on his face.
"Oh dear" said Dumbledore who had landed just fine, "it does take some getting used to. Once you've taken it a few more times you shouldn't have any problems with the landing."
"I bloody well hope not" said Harry as he got to his feet and looked around to see where they were now. He could tell at once that they were high up as the view in front of him of the surrounding country was spectacular. When he turned around he saw a round tower rising up several stories which Harry thought must be some kind of monument or memorial. However one side of the mountain top (because they were obviously on a mountain) seemed to have a lot of clouds sitting on it not letting Harry see the view in that direction. Dumbledore motioned for Harry to follow him as he started walking toward the clouds.
"The school is hidden by enchantments" said Dumbledore, "including muggle repelling charms in the clouds. Usually a portkey will take you straight to the entrance but I thought you might like to see the view from the mountaintop first.
"I'm glad" said Harry, "it's beautiful." He and Dumbledore then walked into the cloud bank. Once they'd passed a certain point the clouds disappeared and Ilvermorny came into view. It was very impressive. Like Hogwarts it was a castle although the architectural style wasn't quite the same having been built several centuries later. Whereas Hogwarts had a medieval feel overall Ilvermorny more closely resembled a Renaissance castle and was less grim in appearance.
Standing by the front doors waiting to meet them was a tall, thin, elderly man although with one look at him you could see that he wasn't as old as Dumbledore. He came forward to meet the two arrivals.
"Albus" said the man, "I'm glad to see you."
"Likewise Furnell" said Dumbledore before turning to Harry "Harry this is Furnell Pope, the headmaster of Ilvermorny. Furnell, this is Harry Potter."
"How do you do?" said Headmaster Pope holding out his hand.
"I'm fine" said Harry shaking the hand, "and you?"
"Very well, thank you" said Pope, "now why don't you come inside and we can discuss the arrangements you wish to make. Later on I'll give you a tour of the school.
They went in the front doors of Ilvermorny and entered a large round entrance hall with a balcony running around the second story level. On one side there were four wooden carvings. One was a large bird, another was snake with horns, the third looked like a large cat of some kind, and the fourth was a creature that looked vaguely humanoid but resembled a goblin more than a dwarf.
"Those carvings represent the four houses of the school" said Pope, "the bird is a Thunderbird, the snake is a Horned Serpent, the cat is a Wampus, and the last one is a Pukwudgie. Despite being in different houses every student wears the same uniform. We do the sorting here. The new students stay down here for it while the rest of the school watches from the balcony. The sorting usually takes place at the beginning of the school year however as you won't be here full time and might not be able to be here for the regular sorting I thought we could do your sorting now and then we'll go to my office to discuss the arrangements."
"Okay" said Harry, "do you have a sorting hat or something?"
"No Mr. Potter" said Pope, "all you need to do is stand on the symbol in the middle of the hall and face the carvings. They will let you know which house you'll belong to."
Harry nodded and went to stand on the symbol in the hall. It was of a very complicated knot unlike any Harry had seen before. He stepped on to it and faced the carvings. The Thunderbird immediately came to life and began beating its wings fiercely. The other carvings didn't react.
"Ah, you're a Thunderbird" said Pope.
"Somehow I'm not surprised" said Dumbledore, "considering the adventures you've had, your love of flying, and your other main current circumstance I think it's fitting."
"What does it mean?" asked Harry.
"Like at Hogwarts" said Dumbledore, "each house is said to favor certain characteristics."
"The tradition says" said Pope, "that a Horned Serpent is a scholar, a Wampus is a warrior, a Pukwudgie is a healer, and a Thunderbird is an adventurer."
"I see" said Harry. He'd never really thought of himself as an adventurer but when he considered the past couple of years of his life and his future with the X-Men he supposed there was some merit to the assessment.
"Does more than one carving ever try to claim a student?" asked Harry.
"Yes" said Pope, "on those occasions the student can choose which house they want. There have been times when all four carvings wanted a student, but that's very rare."
Harry thought about this. He remembered his own sorting and how the Sorting Hat had said he had traits that fit each Hogwarts house and ultimately he had chosen his own house – or rather he had chosen not to go a specific house but the Sorting Hat had honored that choice. Maybe it wasn't too different he supposed.
"Good" said Pope, "now that the sorting is done let's go to my office."
Both Harry and Dumbledore agreed with this and they followed Pope out of the entrance hall and deeper into the school.