Harry sat reading the Daily Prophet in the Kitchen at Grimmauld Place while Ron, Ginny and Hermione sat beside him having breakfast. He was flicking through the pages when a double page article about Hogwarts caught his attention about the rebuild in relation to his former school. The article read: HOGWARTS TO CHANGE PERMANENTLY!

Since the wars end and Voldermort's defeat people alike have been wondering about what will happen to the historic school of witchcraft and Wizardry Hogwarts and now I can reveal all to our valued readers. In an effort to weed out pro pureblood laws, prejudices and lifestyles Hogwarts has been completely changed. Gone are the previous four disingenuous houses and now instead there are four new houses. Hogwarts name is also being changed. From now on the newly renovated building which has completely changed in appearance inside will be known as MA or simply put Merlin's Academy. The four new houses are called: PANTERA, ZORRO, LOBO and LAPIN. Each house will have different uniforms in different colours so that no two houses look exactly the same. All students will wear a black cape with the new MA logo on it. I will now list the qualities for each of the houses and then explain how new students will be sorted. We have received intelligence that everyone will be resorted and the houses will be accessed in a very different way and will even look quite different. House colours will also be different. Everyone will receive by owl a questionnaire or survey to fill out and once completed will be told their house which they belong to.

PANTERA HOUSE:

Crest animal- Panther for which Pantera is the Italian

Colours- Teal and Purple

Element- Fire

Season- Autumn

Uniform- For girls: a long sleeved knee length teal dress with a purple shrug, purple ballet flats and a purple pillbox hat.

For boys: teal pants and blazer with a purple shirt, purple brogues and a purple ascot hat.

House Location- House is located in the Pantera Tower behind of the many bookcases with which to enter a password is required.

Qualities- Bravery, Loyalty, honesty and teamwork.

Pantera House students work together to tackle a common goal but have the ability to work alone just as well. They are brave and love to show their fearlessness against anything they tackle. They are very loyal and will always defend those that are most important to them whether it means there own destruction or not. They are very honest and really frown deeply upon those who tell lies or deceive people. If you or your house does this you will never get on with a Pantera House member. The members of Pantera love Italian furniture, literature and have a keen interest in Italian cuisine. They love to partake in fine dining and the consumption of fine wines. Pantera is the Italian for Panther so like a panther they are often sleek, beautiful, skilful and highly intelligent. The members of Pantera House are the most avid lovers and enjoy being passionate with whoever it is they are trying to be passionate with.

House ghost- Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was a rich painter in the Renaissance era. He was commissioned to paint many various important artefacts and buildings such as the Sistine Chapel. He was killed in the civil war of Italy many thousand years ago and has a vast memory of what life was like back then. He was in his time also a potions wiz so will teach anyone about it who wants to know more about it. He will also provide anyone with his knowledge and experiences of the war should they ask him. He was a fond lover of fine wines and Italian cuisine so will be able to advise everyone on what foods to eat, where to visit and what paintings to admire should one enter a gallery. He knows all about every single painting in Merlin's Academy having painted many of them himself so will always be on hand to tell you what he was thinking etc when he designed them.

ZORRO HOUSE:

Crest animal- Fox for which the Spanish is Zorro.

Colours- Royal blue and gold.

Element- Water

Season- Winter

Uniform- For girls an off the shoulder royal blue dress with a golden bolero, golden wedges and a golden cloche hat.

For boys royal blue pants and shirt with a golden tailcoat, golden boat shoes and a golden newsboy hat.

House Location- House is located out on the underwater Cavern which is accessed through the boat in the Black Lake with which a password is needed to enter.

Qualities- Cunning, Loyalty, Determination and competitiveness.

The members of Zorro house have a fond love of all things Spanish as the name of their own house means fox in Spanish. They have a flair for fashion and expensive items. They love drama and the performing arts. They are willing to do anything to reach the end of the course or achieve their objective. Because of their love of the performing arts they are very good at lying or deceiving with good acting skills to get whatever they want be it winning or to see someone else fail. They are very competitive and it is their determination to do anything to ensure success which makes them so cunning yet lovable in ways. They are very loyal to their own houses and families so will defend their honour above all else. Having elements of Spanish throughout their hosue means that they are also keen lovers and avid in romantic literature. Flamenco dancing is also prevalent throughout this house as you will often see many ghosts and paintings within practicing the tradition of flamenco dancing. The ghosts will teach anyone on the castle grounds who wishes to know about the dance no matter which house you come from.

House ghost- Felix de Vega.

Felix was the Spanish inventor of Spanish theatre in the region. He is celebrated all over Spain as being the father of drama and acting there. What is less known about Felix is that because of his cunning ways he outsmarted the town's richest man into paying entirely for the first ever theatre there without his knowledge of it beforehand. This man had thought his money was going to sick children but Felix's love of drama prevailed and the first Spanish Theatre was built. In the end this unknown benefactor of the Theatre got his revenge on Felix killing him whence his back was turned. He is now the resident ghost of Zorro House and those who ask him of his death will get a different answer each time because he is deceitful about it. He will however be as honest as he can about acting and anything to do with drama.

LAPIN HOUSE.

Crest animal- Rabbit as Lapin is Rabbit in French.

Colours- Red and silver

Element- Air

Season- Summer

Uniform- For girls a silver knee length dress with red long sleeved bolero, red low heeled slingbacks and a red beret.

For boys a silver pants and jumper with a red shirt, red dress shoes and a red panama hat.

House location- Lapin House is located in the Astronomy tower behind the statue of Ennoia. The House like the others is entered by using a password and touching the statue.

Qualities- Intelligence, Leadership, Curiosity and honesty

The students of Lapin House value honesty above all else and will tolerate nothing but. It is believed within Lapin House that intelligence is all that is needed to suffice in life. Having said that the students of this house may be blunt to the point of being nearly rude about their own views as they may feel at times that there are certain things everyone should know. These people are very curious about everything that goes on around them and have a keen desire to learn and obtain as much information on anything as they can. They are firm believers that everyone should have great leadership skills to be able to provide for themselves later on in life and often impress on people the point of leading by example. They have a keen interest in science, wine and cheese and anything else that is remotely French. They are known as the most adventurous house for their willingness to try anything new and their love of the French language. They admire French fashions and foods and as a consequence often have fresh cheeses and crackers each afternoon as a snack in their house. Cookery is well loved with these culinary geniuses.

House ghost- René Descartes

This Houses ghost is René a mathematician, philosopher and an academic. He studied law in France where he grew up but as he always had a keen knowledge for more information then went on to study mathematics. After he had become a mathematician he found that his endless need for knowledge would probably never be satisfied and so with this in mind he became a philosopher whose work is never truly done as they grow and expand with knowledge everyday. He has coined the phrase "I think; therefore I am". He is very popular in this house and often tells students of his dismay at dying of tuberculosis late in his life meaning that he could no longer continue to study. He died at the late age of fifty years old which in his day was considered to be very old. He will often discuss theorems with his students and provide them with any and all knowledge he has pertaining to most anything they would wish to know. He can often be found assisting the members of his house with their arithmancy homework or any problems they are facing.

LOBO HOUSE.

Crest animal- Wolf which is in Portuguese lobo.

Colours- Orange and green.

Element- Earth

Season- Spring

Uniform- For girls a burnt orange knee length dress with an Ivy green princess coat, some Ivy green t bar shoes and a burnt orange fedora hat.

For boys an Ivy green pants and shirt, burnt orange trench coat, burnt orange bowler hat and burnt orange sneakers.

House Location – Lobo House is located beneath the unused green house in the Academy grounds. A password is required to gain access here and only Lobo students will know which greenhouse it is.

Qualities- Patience, selflessness, responsibility and honour.

The Lobo House prides itself on being the most honourable of the houses. They are true to their name fierce wolves in the classroom they will defend the honour of anyone within their ranks or house acting much as a pack does. If someone within their house is flawed then they are all flawed. They work and move together as one. No one within Lobo is ever left behind and no one in Lobo struggles academically although they do have more important things to be doing. Academics is not entirely high on their list of priorities as they would rather have a life but get the grades. They much prefer music, playing games, solving puzzles and quidditch. They don't let study rule their lives but always maintain the good grade they set out to. They are very selfless and will give to others without a second thought. They are also very responsible at doing any task you set them and always strive to have a great degree of patience. Because their house is associated with Portugal they love swimming and anything to do with fine weather and boats.

House Ghost- Vasco da Gama

Vasco is Lobo's house ghost. He is able to tell all of his students of his wondrous adventures he had exploring the seas and of all the different lands he captured. He is a very good example to all those around him of good patience, leadership and responsibility. He is always willing to discuss history and maps and things with his students. He has a flair for divination and astronomy so will always help his students with their homework in these classes when he can. He will always encourage his students to do astronomy as a subject and is happy to help them in any way he can. He is often referred to by the other ghosts of the Academy as the joker and the prankster with his sometimes tall tales and love of fun over study.

Harry had read this in fascination before allowing the others to read it. "So what are you guys thinking of doing now?" said Ginny addressing the three of them. "Well I quite fancy having a normal year at school where there is no fighting. Actually I've seen enough fighting to last me my lifetime so I think after school I'd like to teach or something!" said Harry surprising everyone there. "Yeah I agree with Harry more time to focus on quidditch and being young again!" said Ron laughing. "I will of course be returning to school to study but even I've realised that fun needs to be a part of life" said Hermione smiling happily. Everyone jumped when an unknown black owl came to the window with some royal paisley headed paper for Harry. He unrolled the letter gasping at the beautiful Paisley print all around its edges. He began to read it instantly his eyes becoming wide with shock.

Dear Harry,

If you are reading this letter it means you are alive and have turned eighteen last month. I have some confessions to make to you now which you will find very shocking indeed. My parents were magical. They both attended Hogwarts and were pureblood. When Voldermort first rose to power he ordered that all purebloods who did not wish to join his ranks be killed. My parents were good people who wouldn't join him and so they moved into London living as muggles and it is this that saved their lives. My parents were very disappointed that Petunia had been a squib as it brought shame on the family and they only hoped that if they were lucky enough to have another child she would be magical. My parents were elated when I came along and was magical. I was unfortunately lavished on my whole life receiving the best of everything while Petunia was simply accepted as she was but my parents were never too happy about her view of me as a freak and often reminded her of it. I knew that we were really pureblood but had taken an unbreakable vow with my parents never to tell anyone this as it was safer this way. I attended Hogwarts as a muggle born witch and it was only James and those of the Order who knew of my real status and even they were placed under the unbreakable vow. When they passed away, my parents, we were both very sad Petunia and I. When James and I had you we thought it would still be safer for you to be known as a halfblood as this way you might be safer. We have placed a glamour charm on you Harry in the hopes you will be safer this way. For extra protection we even placed one on ourselves. Please point your wand at yourself saying Septum Reverto.

We have also arranged your marriage for you. Please do not hate us for this as it is common in pureblood society. You shall marry our friends' daughter Marianna Alvarado. Our friends Valentina and Matias Alvarado have hidden themselves as muggles for safety and live at the following address should you wish to find your fiancé. It is no 1 Heathgate Gardens, Meadway London NW11. They are also pureblood with a manor in Kent. They are of Spanish descent and wear the rich Spanish fashions at times. We feel it is no longer safe fro us here in Godrics Hollow as someone we are sure is Peter Pettigrew has revealed our location to the dark lord. We are frightened and have left you Potter Manor in the Yorkshire Dales. Please live there with your wife and access our family vault for your money as it is limitless at this point. Do with the money as you see fit. Please don't resent Severus as he has always loved me and would do anything for me I know that now. Also Petunia has been an outcast all of her life so try not to think too harshly of her as she will never understand me or you. We love you very much dearly. Love always Mum and Dad xxx

Harry looked at the letter and promptly fainted. "Harry what is it?" asked Hermione now very worried as soon as he'd gained consciousness. "It was a letter from my mother. We are really purebloods and I've had a glamour charm placed on me for safety which I must remove just now. Did you have a lodger in your house at any time Hermione?" "What why?" she asked him confused. "Just please answer the question. It's been arranged for me to marry a young lady called Marianna Alvarado who lives at your address and according to my mother her family are of Spanish descent." "Well maybe she lived there before us or something I don't know really." "Hermione can I ask you for a weird favour?" "Yes of course Harry!" she said confused as to what he would be asking her to do next. "Can you please humour me and allow me to cast the same spell on you after I do it on myself please. Nothing will probably happen anyway so can I?" "Eh sure although I know nothing will happen".

Pointing his wand at himself he said Septum Reverto. As Ginny, Hermione and Ron watched on in awe. He became taller and now stood at six ft even. His eyes became deep blue and he no longer needed his glasses. His body was slightly more muscular and he had now shaggy hair which was the same colour as always. He was now wearing some tight jeans, a tight t shirt and some plain black sneakers. All in all he looked much the same only slightly more refined and even more gorgeous then he had previously. Hermione looked at him in awe. He looked so amazing she was actually salivating before she scolded herself remembering to breathe properly and not blush deeply. He looked at her and pointed his wand at her repeating the spell. She screamed her head off as a gold light engulfed her totally. She shot up from her usual five ft even to a very tall five ft seven in height. Her skin became quite sallow and her eyes became deep green. Her hair was now very long ending in the middle of her back. It was now caramel brown in colour and straight. Her hair was half up and fastened in place with a simple hair elastic while a black bow hair band rested on the front of her head. She had on a pair of blue filigree dangling earrings and a necklace with a heart locket on it. She was now wearing a pair of dark coloured bootleg jeans, a pair of black knee length flat boots and a white shirt with a black cardigan over it. "What the devil is going on?" she asked in an angry manor shocked as she looked and sounded very different indeed.

"You're so hot Hermione oh wow!" said Ron salivating and making her blush deeply. "Yes well Ron now is really not the time to say such things. I'm so shocked that my bloody parents hid this from me and yes I'm fucking swearing! I'm so bloody pissed off right now I feel as though I could as Neville says spit fire. In fact I'm going out. I'll be back later" she said heading for the floo. "Wait! You can't go out now! We need to understand what's going on? Are we engaged or what?" asked Harry eyeing her up nervously. She laughed slightly at this as he looked as though he wanted to full on check her out but too nervous to do so at the present moment. "We are engaged yes but I'd like to go shopping and see what type of power my family has. I want to know what I can buy and things. I'll be in Twillfitt and Tattings if anyone needs me. If I see the Malfoy family I think I might have a bit of fun as well fucking snobs the lot of them" she said now laughing at Harry as he was full on checking her out. Before she could leave however an owl arrived with four letters on for each of them. She opened hers and it read:

Miss Marianna Alvarado,

We are pleased to welcome you to the new Merlin's Academy and are proud too ensure you the fairest and most even education you have received in years. We discovered much to our own distaste and surprise that Dumbledore had taken large amounts of money from pureblood families to add something onto the castle for all the students. What we then discovered is that in turn for their money he would jinx the sorting hat to ensure their sons and daughters went into the right house. We find this to be disgusting and so the sorting hat has been placed in retirement as we couldn't keep it because it had so many different dark charms and such on it. Now to find out which house you belong to you must look at the list following and tick which items appeal most to you. Now you must tick the appropriate box and once you are done your house name will automatically appear on the page in front of you alright? So tell us of the four colours purple, silver, gold and orange which one appeals to you most? (She ticked the purple one). Next please tell us which item appeals to most out of these four a brass cup, a mirror, an old shoe and a mysterious chest. (She selected the mysterious chest). We look forward to seeing you at this year's early return in three days and will be delighted to see you then. You shall be in year seven and the books shall be the same as they are for all seventh years. As we know you shall have to get knew ones we have given a list to Flourish and Blotts and they have prepares packs for everyone containing all of their books. Good luck, see you soon, Professor McGonagall, Headmistress, MA, Merlin's Academy.

After she filled out the questionnaire she found out she would be in Pantera House with Harry. Ron and Ginny were to be in Lobo House and although she was slightly upset they wouldn't be in the same house they swore to always be friends and meet up as often as they could. Running up to Harry she hugged him tightly and kissed his lips gently before breaking away smiling. "Thanks Harry for being so perfect for me!" she said giggling as she left. She stepped into the floo calling out flourish and blotts before stepping out once again in the shop. Adjusting her handbag she headed out to Twillfitt and Tattings where she spotted Narcissa Malfoy and Draco shopping and smirked to herself entering the shop. Narcissa looked up in awe at the girl but Draco who was too immersed in finding the right pattern for his new quidditch robes barley noticed her at all. "You see Draco a wonderful woman like that would make the perfect bride" she scolded him lightly and made him look up at the girl. Rushing over to the girl Narcissa thought she would be a good asset to the Malfoy name and great for the image of the Malfoy's. "Hello dear I'm Narcissa Malfoy and I thought I'd welcome you to London as you don't look like you're from here" she said smiling brightly.

"You are correct I am not from here but my fiancé is. I am Marianna Alvarado. I hear my fiancé is a big pureblood celebrity here but he's not big where I'm from so I don't really know. Harry Potter do you know him?" she asked sweetly. "Ha! Potters not pureblood he's only a halfblood scum! I mean to say you should be with someone whose pureblood and much better looking then him" shouted Draco suddenly. "Who might you be besides pretentious as all hell? And I'll have you know he is pureblood. Just because not many people know it is not my concern. The media makes up a lot of things including his status. He's always been pureblood but has hidden himself well as everyone will see at school. I'll be going there you know! I can tell that for someone like you looks really are everything considering you don't have many of them. " she said matter of factly before turning to Narcissa once again. "My goodness Narcissa some men can be so rude to others, no manners at all. Ignore him and lets continue our chat! I will not have this scoundrel sullying your oh so good name any further" she said as though the boy was nothing to Narcissa. "Draco go out to the street and do something else or something. I am sorry for my son. He tries so hard but himself and Harry have had a long standing rivalry" said Narcissa having the good sense to look ashamed. "That's no problem. I mean thank god Hermione is it, has gone. I couldn't stand the way she used to always hang around him like a lost puppy!" she said smirking just to see what Narcissa would do. "Yes the filthy mudblood was a hindrance but as you say at least she's gone now. That's one less problem in the world minus Voldermort of course!" she said smirking proudly. Clearly this woman had spent far too long in Luscious' company.

"Yes well you'll be more then surprised to know she too was a pureblood in disguise. She wasn't even a mudblood. You wanna know how I know this? I know this because I was her before I changed. You however will never change from spending so long with your evil husband and it's disgusting now get out of my sight you heartless cretin!" she said slinking past her and heading for the clothes rails at the back of the shop. She browsed through the many various clothing items before deciding what she needed when she was approached by the shop owner Eileen Tatting. "Can I help you mam?" she asked her smiling slightly. "Yes I will be going to the newly created Merlin's Academy in three days and I need some new clothes for it. I have just found out today I am part of Pantera House and will be needing some new clothes for it as well as some normal clothes as well. I don't feel like going to Madame Malkins as I'd rather higher quality stuff!" she said smiling. "Yes that definitely shouldn't be a problem. Can you please explain to me what your uniform should consist of and then we can get ready?" "Yes I can. I'll be needing a knee length long sleeved teal dress if you have one. Then I'll need a purple shrug, some purple coloured ballet flats and a purple pillbox hat. Do you think you will have all I need or will I need to different shops for some of the components?" she asked her seriously. "Absolutely not we have everything of that nature here. Please stand still while I measure you and then I'll have the clothes made in a jiffy" she said summoning a small podium in the centre of the shop.

Eileen came back in a few moments with some measuring tape and some fabrics. She quickly measured Marianna or Maria as she had told her she wanted to be known as. They settled on a floaty fabric that would be cool in summer and warmer in winter when worn the other way round. She had four of these style dresses made and had four simple purple coloured shrugs to match. The pillbox hats varied. She had two plain hats and two hats with a bow on the front of it. The ballet flats were simple and with a bow in front of each one. The difference in the shoes and hats was that the bow in the shoes was very thin and neat and the bows in the hats were bigger and velvet. "Will you be needing anything else today mam?" asked Eileen smiling at her. "Yes. I need four capes with silk linings in every colour bar yellow, brown and peach. Do you think you can do that? Also I require the same minus the same colours in ordinary clothing such as dresses, tops, skirt, pants, jumpers, cardigans and of course pyjamas sets. I will give you all of today and tomorrow to make them if you need to. I will want a variety of shapes and styles. Will that be achievable?" she asked slightly concerned. "Wow I am honoured you would choose me for such a task. After you leave I will close the shop and have everything for you this evening. The total including the cloaks and uniforms will be two thousand two hundred galleons. How will you be paying?" Maria was slightly shocked at the price but then considered she probably wouldn't be doing this ever again so just went with it. "I'll be charging it to the Alvarado accounts ok?"

"Sure one moment. Ok that's all taken care of." "Can you please do the same for Ginerva Weasley for tomorrow? Here are her measurements. She will need everything bar those colours but her uniform will be different. She will require a burnt orange knee length dress, an Ivy coloured princess jacket along with a burnt orange fedora hat and some Ivy green t bar shoes. Please charge it to my account and send it over tomorrow. I will definitely be doing any further clothing shopping here from now on" she said delighted at her treatment in the shop. "I'll do you a better deal. I'll stay closed after now and I'll design replicas in the different colours and because I've never had such polite and wonderful custom I'll have them both ready for you tonight late at about eleven thirty is that alright?" "Thank you so much Eileen that is more then alright it's perfect. Now you're not allowed to complain but here is twenty galleons for you to buy yourself something with and I insist you deserve it for all your hard work! I'll see you later on!" she left the shop heading into Flourish and Blotts and bumped into none other then Blaise Zabini in the way out. He turned to her about to shout at her but when he saw her found he couldn't.

"Mia Cara you look beautiful. Please be careful where you're walking I wouldn't want someone to damage you in anyway" he said lifting her hand to his lips and placing a delicate kiss there. She found herself blushing and thanked him heading into the shop and purchasing all of her books that had been compiled into a neat bundle. She shrunk them and using a featherweight charm minimized them and placed them in her hand bag. Her next stop was the quill store where she picked up two twenty packs of luxury quills and different colour inks for herself and Ginny. She then went into the trunk store to buy herself a new trunk as her old one had seen better days. She found some luxury black trunks that were filled with different pockets and areas for storing stuff and picked up four of them two of which were again for Ginny. She had since decided that as she hadn't been girly much before she was going to make up for it now that she had actual money. If she was going to be going to Merlin's Academy in style then so would her best friend Ginny Whether she liked it or not. It was the one and only way she could treat Ginny and knew Ginny would only let her do it this once. She got a quick chocolate Ice cream and headed home in the evening. Harry was waiting for her as was everyone else of course.

"Ginny come here please we need to talk in private for a moment!" she said looking at the ginger seriously. "What is it Maria?" she asked. "Well you know that you're my best friend right and as I've never been too girly because of a lack of funds I've gone on a shopping spree. I've bought a new wardrobe, the new school books uniforms and of course writing apparatus. I've also bought new black luxury trunks so I can travel to school in style. I've also thought if I'm going to be travelling in style to school then so is my best friend. I've given them your measurements in Twillfitt and Tattings and the new clothes, trunks and books etc should arrive for you tonight sometime around eleven with my won stuff. I don't want to hear you complain about it as it would upset me if you didn't accept it. I've never really had much luxury and so when I experience it I want you to share it with me which is why I bought you all of the same things as I bought myself. Are you mad at me?" she asked her nervously. "WHAT? I could never be mad at you for that. Wow I can't believe it. Thank you so much Maria!" she said hugging her tightly. Maria went back into the living room after dinner where she snuggled up with Harry on the couch with a cup of tea. She had never felt more relaxed and could have stayed in his embrace all night but alas had to sleep after all of the new stuff had arrived of course. Slipping into her own bed in Grimmauld Place she drifted off to sleep happily dreaming of Harry.