Harry Potter and the Revival of the Wand Works

When the bus screeched to a halt in the Amburgdale Station, the bus grew silent as all the players looked at the village from the bus windows. It was very quaint, similar to Hogsmeade, but very different in other ways. While Hogsmeade looked more Victorian, Amburgdale looked almost new. There were no signs of wear and tear anywhere. The village looked like it could have been built yesterday.

"Welcome to Amburgdale, 'ost of the 2008 Quidditch World Cup, and host of the 1884 Quidditch World Cup. The village 'as been redone for the Cup in a couple o' years, and it's becoming the most popular wizard tourist destination 'n the world. Hope ya' enjoy your stay 'ere in Amburgdale," Stan told them all.

As soon as Ernie announced that they could get off the bus, there was a mad rush to the door because everyone was anxious to see the town and the quidditch fields. Harry found himself crunched between two enormous players who could only be beaters, and he had to squeeze between them to grab his trunk. He dragged it out until George offered to lend him a hand, and then he picked it up with George's help.

"Harry, do you think you over packed just the tiniest bit?" George laughed. Harry shrugged in response.

It took about twenty minutes to get all the players and their trunks out of the bus. Some people that Harry assumed must be from Amburgdale School of Wizardry and White Magic were waiting at the station, and shouted and screamed as they were reunited with their friends. Harry didn't know any of them, so he just set his trunk down next to the bus and waited for someone to tell him what to do.

A very old and wizened wizard with white hair and a tall silver hat walked onto the platform. As he walked in, everyone grew silent. He seemed to have an air similar to Dumbledore's, except his hair was not nearly so long and he didn't wear any spectacles. He gave a quick bow and then pointed his wand at his chin and said, "Sonorus."

"My fellow wizards," he began. "For those of you who do not know me, I am Erwizius Halmokel, the Scottish Minister of Magic. I am very pleased to be in charge of the organization of this year's International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Training Camp, but I must thank the heads of the Department of International Sports and Games in the Scottish Ministry. They have worked in very close association with each of the European, Asian, and American Ministries of Magic to select the young players to be invited to this selective camp. Each of your respective Ministries have spoken very highly of your talents on the quidditch field as well as your character, so besides trying hard in quidditch, I expect you all to follow the regulations set forth in the International Compromise of Quidditch Conventions. If anyone is unfamiliar with the regulations, they may talk to me to receive a copy.

"Tomorrow all of you will be split up into groups based on your position on the quidditch field. You will participate in drills to help you improve your game. You will learn from the best; Viktor Krum and Monique Sanchez will be directing the Seekers, Ludo Bagman will be directing the Beaters, Molly Moran and Ryan Troy will be directing the Chasers, and Hassan Mustafa will be directing the Keepers. We have excellent drills and games planned for all of the positions.

"In the second week of the camp we will participate in organized matches based on country. We have decided that we will call this the Junior World Cup. Each of you will compete against members of the camp from other countries, and the country that wins will win the trophy. Last year, Switzerland won the trophy. We are sure that all of you will play nice, fair games and will show off your talents. Sometimes, representatives from professional teams in the International Quidditch Union will come to watch the JWC matches. Last year, several players were selected from the crowd to play for professional teams after they graduate from school.

Harry grew nervous. Professional quidditch scouts may be watching all of the final matches? He would give anything to have a contract with the Chudley Cannons or the Bergdorf Bees...

"Finally, on the last night of camp there will be a formal party which you are all invited to attend. We have booked the Sucelli Songbirds for the evening and there will also be a feast. This will be an occasion to wear dress robes and look your best.

"I think that is all. If anyone else needs something, or has any questions, you are welcome to contact either me or any member of your Local Organizing Committee.

"Oh, I almost forgot. As new safety precautions against he-who-must-not-be-named, you will not be allowed out of your dormitories after dark, and you are never to walk alone outside of the grounds. Thank you very much."

Another wizard walked up. This wizard was much younger and had a friendly face and sandy brown hair.

"I am the headmaster of Amburgdale School of Wizardry and White Magic. You will all be staying in dormitories on campus that will be assigned to you when you get to the school. The quidditch fields are on school grounds but are public property, as this is a public school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have several free hours this afternoon, during which you may socialize, play quidditch, or make yourselves at home. Enjoy!"

With George's help, he carried his trunk the quarter mile to the school. Amburgdale School of Wizardry and White Magic was a rather simple brick building with rose gardens all around it. In the distance, Harry could make out quidditch hoops and fields. But the remarkable thing about Amburgdale was that behind the quidditch fields, Harry could see the Atlantic Ocean, a thin blue strip of water from this distance.

When Harry got up to the school, he thanked George and told him that he would be able to make it to the dormitories himself. At the doorway, he was handed a thick parchment envelope with red script on the front. He set down his trunk and opened it before he went up the spiral staircase in the Entrance Hall. Inside was a schedule for the week that read:

PLAYER: HARRY POTTER POSITION: SEEKER

Day One: Monday

Orientation and Welcome Feast, 7:00 pm

Day Two: Tuesday

Seeker training with Viktor Krum, 9:00 am

Trip into Amburgdale, 5:00 pm

Day Three: Wednesday

Seeker Training with Viktor Krum, 8:00 am

On-land Drills with Geril Stavnohfsky, 2:00 pm

Day Four: Thursday

Seeker Training with Viktor Krum, 8:00 am

On-land Drills with Geril Stavnohfsky, 2:00 pm

Day Five: Friday

Seeker Training with Viktor Krum, 8:00 am

On-land Drills with Geril Stavnohfsky, 2:00 pm

End of Week Feast, 8:00 pm

Day Six: Saturday

Seeker Training with Viktor Krum, 8:00 am

On-land Drills with Geril Stavnohfsky, 2:00 pm

Day Seven: Sunday

Free Day, Activities will be announced

Day Eight: Monday

Scrimmages begin at 10:00 am

Day Nine: Tuesday

Scrimmages begin at 10:00 am

Day Ten: Wednesday

Britain Junior World Cup Team Meeting, 9:00 am

Practice for World Cup with team, 12:00 pm

Day Eleven: Thursday

World Cup games begin at 10:00 am

Day Twelve: Friday

World Cup games begin at 10:00 am

Day Thirteen: Saturday

World Cup games begin at 10:00 am

Day Fourteen: Sunday

World Cup finals begin at 10:00 am

End of Term Feast and Party, 6:00 pm-1:00 am

Day Fifteen: Monday

Departures by Knight Bus, 9:00 am

Departures by Portkey, 12:00 pm

Harry also noticed that at the end of the schedule were a big red number 4 and the word (or name, or whatever it was) Lodgefoot. He asked the doorman what that was supposed to mean.

"It's your dorm, o' course. You know, where you'll be staying?" he said as he looked at Harry as if astonished that anyone could be so ignorant. "It's up this staircase and to the left. You'll have to get the password at the door, bein' as I don't know it. They don't tell us important stuff like that... confidential, they say..." Harry walked off as the doorman mumbled to himself about how the management should trust them more, how the students weren't respectful, and on and on, reminding Harry very strongly of Filch.

As Harry dragged his trunk up the stairs, he ran headfirst into Icicle, because he had been looking down and not paying attention at all. She gave him a very superior look and said, "Why don't you just put a spell on it so it's lighter? I mean, wouldn't that be a whole lot easier?" which left Harry feeling extremely stupid and foolish.

Once he had put a spell on his trunk and dragged it up the stairs, he noticed that there were about five corridors to the left, and he had no idea which one to go through. He took a chance and walked down one with brick walls and ceilings covered almost entirely with paintings of quidditch players and captions like "Walter Willingham, the Holyoak Captain of 1883, dodges furious bludgers chucked his way by Lurham Nelson, the Crookhome Beater of 1882-1885," and "Stephanie Chase tackles the unstoppable duo of Nosila Markham and C.J. Cairns, both of the best team Amburgdale has ever seen, the Lodgefoot Bears of 1796." Stephanie Chase kept winking at him and Lurham Nelson kept squeaking, "You 'aven't ever seen no Beater hammer bludgers quicker 'an me!" After he had walked back and forth down that corridor seven or eight times, he spotted Fred and George at the end of the hall.

"What are you doing here?" Harry wondered.

"We might ask the same for you," said Fred.

"I was looking for my dorm, but I've begun to think that I'm lost because I've been down this hallway about eight times and I haven't seen any door or anything."

"What are you?" George asked.

"Lodgefoot."

"Bummer, we're both Crookhome. But we know where your dorm is, and the password. We got Marcus Morthinia to tell us. You know him? He's from Beauxbatons, came last year for the Triwizard Tournament. Anyway, it's behind the portrait of Catherine the Human Transfiguration Master in the fourth hallway on the left of the stairs. Password's 'Santrificus Sonorus.'"

"Thanks. But what are you doing here if you aren't going to the dorms?"
"That is for us to know and you to find out," George winked. "But I'll give you one hint... Marauder's Map. Talk t'you later, Harry! See you at dinner, won't we?"

"Yeah, s'pose you will."

They wandered off down the hall and kept tapping pictures with their wands and poking all the cracks in the bricks. Harry laughed, because he knew that they must have been looking for secret passages out of the castle so that they could head to the village. As he was leaving the corridor, he saw one of the paintings at the end of the hall sprawl open as Fred and George disappeared behind the frame. He wondered where it led to; he wouldn't mind going to the town of Amburgdale and looking around, and he had never been to any wizarding village besides Hogsmeade. But just now he really wanted to get into the dorms and set his things down, maybe even meet a few new wizards. Or see Cho... he hadn't seen her on the Knight Bus, but he heard that some people might be arriving by Portkey, and he hoped that Cho was one of them. Maybe she would be in Lodgefoot too... but he knew that it was probably just wishful thinking.

So he was very surprised when, as he was tapping the painting of Catherine the Human Transfiguration Master and Cho walked right out of the portrait hole.

"Er - hullo."

"Hi Harry. I didn't know that you'd be here," Cho answered. "Are you in Lodgefoot too? Well, never mind, I guess that question's a bit stupid since you're at the entrance to the Lodgefoot common room. What have you been doing this summer?"

"Um, nothing really. Had to go back to the Muggles again... they were actually nice to me for a change..." he trailed off. He had no idea what to say to her. He wanted desperately to say something funny, something really witty, so Cho would think that he was funny and worth hanging around with. So she would think that he was someone like Cedric.

But, quite obviously, Cho did not see Harry as she had seen Cedric, because while she had walked around the school hand in hand with Cedric, she did not talk to Harry any more than that. She said goodbye, I hope I'll see you again later today, but Harry got the devastating impression that she was saying it out of convention, and that she really didn't care at all if she saw him later today or not. Harry began to think that he should give up on Cho, and try Icicle instead, because she was pretty too and seemed very nice and funny and smart, and a lot like Hermione, only prettier. But Harry wasn't very talented at manipulating his emotions, and he couldn't make himself like Icicle any more than he liked Cho. Besides, he thought, Icicle wouldn't like him either, because she, like Cho, was much better suited for popular, funny, and handsome boys like Cedric.

So he entered the stood all alone at the entrance to the Lodgefoot common room. Catherine the Human Transfiguration Master kept smiling and winking and then turning herself into some type of beast, most of which Hagrid would have liked very much. She was halfway to being a hippogriff before Harry mumbled, "Santrificus Sonorus."

"Hmmm? What was that you said?" Catherine the Human Transfiguration Master beamed down at him.

"I said, 'Santrificus Sonorus'!" Harry said irritably.

"My, my, someone's impatient today!" she answered. "I'm afraid that I only open the door for Lodgefoots, and I hope that no Lodgefoot is ever quite so bitter as you, my dear." But the portrait hole swung open anyway, and Harry lugged his trunk through the hole. Even though he had put a spell on it, he hadn't done it very well, because it still weighed about twenty pounds.

He entered the Lodgefoot common room feeling very pathetically sorry for himself. Harry wasn't usually the type to think about how unlucky he was, but he felt that today was an exception. Because he was so preoccupied, he didn't even notice that when he had walked in, all the teenaged heads had snapped to attention, and all the eyes in the room had performed the familiar flick upwards to his hairline. By the time he finally looked up, a boy had started to clap, and was soon joined by several other people. For about the fifth time today, Harry found himself wishing that he was not famous, that he didn't have a strangely shaped scar upon his forehead, and that he hadn't been the one to cause Voldemort's downfall. He desperately wanted to get out of the room, because he was feeling very embarrassed. He asked the boy nearest to him where he was supposed to put his things in a quiet whisper.

"Harry! Nice to meet you. I'd heard that you played quidditch of course, not much gets pass the press...You a seeker? Yes? Me too. Name's Robert McGowan. Very pleased to meet you, o'course. You go to Hogwarts? Thought so. I go hear, I'm Scotland born and bred. 'S'pose this school's kind of boring compared to yours. I heard it's a great big castle on a lake. Is it? Hope you like it here. I can show you around the village, if you like, just tell me when. Do you think that I could have your autograph sometime? I'd love to show my mum that I met Harry Potter at the camp. Well, anyways, the rooms are divided by position, so you can go through those double doors next to the fireplace. I'm staying in the first room, but the first four are all for seekers. You can stay in either of the first ones, 'cause they're for boys, long as there's not six people in any of 'em yet." Harry was very annoyingly reminded of Colin Creevy, and while he thanked Robert for his directions, he made a mental note not to stay in the first room. Two weeks with Robert McGowan would not be much fun.

So Harry pulled his trunk through the common room, and was relieved to notice that most people had resumed their activities. There were a few people playing Exploding Snap, Gobstones, or wizard's chess, some were huddled around a girl with a big book in her lap, some were on their own, and others still were gathered around a boy with a tongue that was touching the floor. Harry laughed as he realized that he had been unfortunate enough to eat a ton-tongue toffee by mistake.

The hallway through the double doors was narrow and dark. The walls were used brick, just like the rest of the school, but they had a blackish tint to them and there were no candles or lamps in the hall. The first door read "Second year boys" so Harry supposed that it must be the dormitory for second year boys during the regular school year. The writing was on a golden plaque hanging on a peg over the door, which was also painted black. The second door was for third year boys, and Harry decided to stay in that one.

Inside the room there were three sets of bunk beds, but not the regular Muggle kind. The ceiling seemed to have some sort of enchantment on it so that the top bunk could go straight through the ceiling, and these were queen-sized beds, not the twin beds that Muggles used. The covers were a deep blood red over midnight blue sheets. Harry wondered how the students here could even tell whether it was day or night outside. The room was about the size of a small house; it seemed that beyond the bunk beds the darkness went on forever. Harry pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos," and a bright glow sprouted from the tip of his wand. He saw that the room was very large indeed, and behind the beds there were six large doors that looked like the doors Muggles had in front of walk-in closets. Harry peeked inside of one and saw that there was a trunk and a huge stuffed armchair; he assumed that each of the students had their own door, but the rooms behind them looked more like bedrooms than Muggle closets.
The fourth closet was the only one without anything in it, so he pushed the door open and pulled his trunk through the door. As he entered the door, he felt a surge of pain rush through his scar, and he staggered, his head slamming into the wall. He swore quite loudly.

Even though he was able to push his trunk through the door and slam it shut, he couldn't help but be worried. Could Voldemort be in Amburgdale? Very few people knew that Voldemort had taken part in a rebirthing ceremony just a few months ago. Most people still assumed that he was still weak and hiding, or even dead. But Harry kept seeing Voldemort rising out of the cauldron with a real, human body, as if the film was playing over and over in his mind. It seemed like an hour passed like this, and he heard someone knocking on the dormitory door, so he went to open it.

It was Cho.

"Er - are you all right? I heard a loud noise, like someone fell or something..."

"Yeah, I'm fine, nothing happened at all," he lied.

"Are you sure? I'm in the dormitory next door, and I'm quite sure that I heard something. You don't need any help or anything?" Harry shook his head furiously. "Well, then I guess that I'll be heading back to my room. D'you... d'you want to go for a walk or something after dinner?"
Harry felt like jumping up and down and shouting, "Yes, yes, yes! Of course I will!" but he didn't want to sound too excited, so he just shrugged and said, "Sure, that'd be great. See you at dinner."

"Okay then," she said. She smiled as she turned around and left the room. Harry could hardly believe it, but he told himself not to get his hopes up too high, because she would probably decide that she didn't like him after all and that he wasn't the hero she thought he was and it would all be over. Harry found himself feeling sorry for himself again, which was strange, because Harry was not normally the type to self-sympathize too much.

After taking a good nap and meeting one of his roommates, Michel Joubert, a French seeker who attended Beauxbatons, Harry and Michel went downstairs to the orientation and welcoming feast. Michel was very friendly, and even though Harry could barely understand a word he said because of his very thick French accent, he immediately liked him. Michel was quite tall with a shock of black hair that contrasted very sharply with his pale skin, and he had a smile that stretched quite literally, from ear to ear. He had a very large mouth and a small nose, making him look like he was smiling at you all the time, even though Harry thought that he probably wasn't.

"D'you know where the Great Hall is, or whatever they call it here?" Harry asked him, but did not expect to be able to understand the answer.

"Non, je ne connais pas," he answered, whatever that meant. Harry understood the "no" part, so he just asked the next person to walk up behind him, and that person just happened to be Icicle.

"Um, excuse me," Harry said, as he ran to catch up with her (she was walking very quickly). "D'you happen to know where the Great Hall is? Or the dining hall? Neither of us know."

"Well, it's called the General Assembly Room here, but anyway, it's right through the main doors, across from the entrance. I'm sure that you've seen them."

"Thanks," Harry answered.

When she had walked away, Michel grinned, "Elle est tres tres belle. Beautiful, no?"

"Yeah, sure is," Harry answered. "Don't know if I like her though. Seems like she's always up to something, or judging you, or something like that, if you know what I mean."
"Know. Last year, she comes to our school as exchange. Don't like her. But beautiful."

"Your English isn't so bad as you pretend it is," Harry noticed.

Michel laughed. "Getting better, it is," he nodded.

He and Harry walked down the enormous staircase and were back where Harry had met the bitter doorman. Across from the entrance, there was a pair of double doors with blue paneling; Harry assumed that these doors must be what Icicle was talking about.

When Michel pushed the doors open, they were met with a loud crowd of noise and what looked like about 300 Quidditch players. Most people were wearing their Quidditch robes, but some, like Harry and Michel, were just wearing regular black robes. There were about twenty medium-sized tables separated into four large groups, and in the middle of the room was a raised circular platform with a row of twelve seats and a table. The only people that Harry saw that he knew were Selene and Sandra, and Harry didn't like them very much. Michel knew most of the members of the French team, but Harry didn't much feel like sitting with ten people jabbering in a language of which he knew nothing. Because Michel joined them, Harry was left wandering the room and trying to spot someone he could sit with. He didn't see Fred and George, and he thought that it was entirely possible that they were still exploring whatever secret tunnel they had found.

Finally, in a remote corner of the room, Harry found Fred and George in the middle of a cluster of about twenty boys. As Harry pushed his way through the group, he heard the phrases "toy wand" and "canary," thus leading him to assume that Fred and George were selling more of their Wizard Wheezes.

"Evenin', Harry!" George shouted. "Doing some good business here, see?" He gestured towards the growing group of boys. "We've sold about two hundred galleons worth of stuff tonight! It's great! We've sold about fifteen fake wands, a walloping broomstick, and hundreds of canary creams and ton-tongue toffees." Harry smiled back at him.

"Together with the gold you gave us, Harry, we've got almost enough now to rent a space in Hogsmeade... but the more we see of Amburgdale the more we think of setting up our shop here," Fred whispered to Harry.

"That is, unless we don't get a quidditch contract in the JWC next week," George winked and Harry.

Just then Erwizius Halmokel, the Scottish Minister of Magic, stood up on the platform and yelled for their attention. The talking began to grow dimmer as he began to speak again.

"I hope that you have all made yourselves at home here in Amburgdale. We are very pleased to have you. In just one moment, I will shut up and you will get to eat, which is what I know you all have been waiting for.

"First of all, I hope you all find your dormitories satisfactory. You have been sorted into dormitories by recommendation from your home school's headmaster or mistress, as the case may be. The four dormitories are Lodgefoot, Holyoak, Crookhome, and Modgener. They are each named after a famous and influential Scottish wizard. Leonora Lodgefoot was born in 1780, and she defeated the dark wizard Marskelbane, the most evil sorcerer of his time. She was known as having an uncanny ability to guess the truth, as well as having unparalled bravery and honor. Hennon Holyoak was the founder of this school, as well as having been the Minister of Magic here in Scotland for forty years. He valued rules and order and the keeping of a strong society. He was smart and very clever, as well as a good leader and administrator. Cabitha Crookhome was the fourteenth generation of Crookhomes. She was hilariously funny and took Scotland by storm when she began to tour the wizarding villages with her comedy acts. She was something of a petty thief, but she had morals as well and valued honesty and perception above all else. Matticus Modgener was the founder of the well-known line of Nimbus Brooms in 1654; he was industrious, a hard worker, and was very well respected by his peers.

" Now you know that you have been placed into a dormitory based on what others have observed about you. All of the dormitories are founded by noble, law-abiding wizards, because Amburgdale has never held with the Dark Arts at all. While you are here, you are to follow Amburgdale's rules and no others. If you are flagrantly violating any safety precautions, you will be sent home.

"Now, that is all I have to say; dig in!"

The dinner was fabulous. Harry helped himself to course after course of food that could rival Hogwarts in culinary genius. Over the course of the meal, he heard at least ten different languages spoken. Some people looked quite lost in their surroundings; they looked overwhelmed. A girl sitting across from Harry didn't say a word the entire meal, and since no one around him spoke good English, (Fred and George had moved on to sell their goods at other tables) Harry was left to think for himself.

It was no wonder that Fred and George were in Crookhome; Dumbledore couldn't have been more accurate in his assessment of their skills. They, like Crookhome herself, were wildly funny and popular, but were not always honest and have even nicked things a few times, mainly off Filch. Since everyone hated Filch, no one really cared if Fred and George stole from him. Lodgefoot sounded something like Gryffindor, but the school in Amburgdale lacked a group of villains; there was no equivalent to Slytherin, the greedy, power-hungry group of Hogwarts students. If Draco were here, what would Dumbledore do with him? Harry wondered.