Hogwarts School Of Prayer And Miracles

by Grace-Ann Parsons

  Harry's face reddened as they crossed an expansive, flowery field. They were going in the direction of a cluster of imposing, stone, academic-looking buildings. "Thank you," he muttered happily. "It is beautiful; and it feels very holy."

  "It is," Hermione commented enthusiastically; and her chocolate-colored, carefully curled tresses were bouncing along with her steps. "My father is a very godly man; and to spread the word of the Lord is his greatest dream."

  "Truly, that is a noble dream," Harry responded gravely with wisdom beyond his few years.

  They walked for a few more minutes in silence. Eventually, they reached the end of the lovely, green meadow.

  "The boys' dormitory is this way," Hermione exposited knowingly; and, with the innocent, casual affection so often found in children, she grabbed Harry's hand as she led him around the edifice of classrooms.

  Harry was so nervous; he could not think of anything to say. His brain fumbled for the perfect, Christian thing to say; but, before he could even manage a word, Hermione came to a stop in front of a tall, stone tower.

  "This is the boys' dormitory," the devout young woman explained kindly; and she gestured to the heavy, oak door beside them. "I would show you inside; but I would hate to cause a scandal."

  "I understand," Harry declared graciously. Too many young men these days pressure young women into things undesired and forbidden. It is the mark of a true, old-fashioned gentleman to respect the fact that every young woman is another man's future wife. And we all know that it would be a dreadful, terrible sin to bring another man's wife into intimacy. Why does modern culture suddenly treat that as okay simply because he does not have her yet? Man's laws may permit it; but the laws of the Lord are not bound by time.

  Hermione moved to push open the imposing, large door, but she struggled with the knob. It was quite a heavy door! But Harry was a good, devout Christian now. He would not have a young, godly girl struggling to open a door which he was perfectly capable of opening himself!

  With the simple faith so often seen in little ones, Harry got down on his knees; and lifted his hands skyward; and shouted prayerfully, "Dear Lord, please open these doors; and allow me to enter my new home!"

  With a loud, thunderous boom that echoed throughout the expansive, beautiful campus, the doors crashed open. Harry stood up piously as Hermione's jaw dropped. Now, she knew for certain that this was truly a man of the Lord!

  Harry was about to step inside when Hermione grabbed his arm. He blushed once more.

  "Wait, Harry!" Hermione uttered quickly. "There's something you should know."

  "What is it?" Harry queried questioningly.

  "My father says that dark times are coming," Hermione spoke worriedly. "There is a man named Voldemort who wants to destroy all that we stand for. He is pushing an agenda in congress which will stop us from practicing our faith freely."

  "But that is what our founding fathers built this nation for!" Harry cried indignantly. "The freedom of religion!"

  "Voldemort doesn't care," Hermione remarked sadly; and she shook her head. "And he is gaining power. The freedom of Christians to practice our faith is disappearing by the day. Soon, it will be like it was in Rome." Lovely, ladylike tears began to roll down her delicate, terrified face. "And I don't like lions!"

  "It will be alright," Harry reassured manfully. "We will just need to pray really, really hard! That's why we're here, after all."

  "You're so brave," Hermione pronounced admiringly; and she wiped the tears from her eyes. She flung her arms around Harry's neck. "Thank you for giving me courage!"

  Harry patted her head before departing and entering his new home. It wasn't until the doors had closed behind him that he realized that he did not know where he was supposed to sleep! The tower consisted of an old, stone staircase winding up the steep, sacred walls; and there were doors leading into each bedroom off of the stairway corridor. Harry felt very lost for a moment, but a quick prayer showed him the way!

  As he collapsed into his bed, very tired from such an eventful day, he thought about the days that were coming. It was truly a good thing that the Lord had called him when He did!

  Chapter 5: A New Friend?

  Author's Note: Hello, friends! I'm very sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter than usual; because just as soon as one sick little one gets better; wouldn't you know it; another one starts running a fever. Whew! A mommy's life sure is exhausting. I wasn't planning on posting another chapter until things had settled down; but the hubby says the work of the Lord doesn't wait for the whims of men. So you can all thank Ephesians 5:22-24 for the speedy update =) Ooh, and on that note—some of you lovely readers have requested me to write down the Bible verses after each chapter. Well, far be it from me to not spread the Word of the Lord!

  Another question I have gotten—in the "original books", Harry Potter and friends frequently question authority; and how do I feel about this? Well, that is quite a toughie you've asked me! I talked to the hubby about it; and we agreed that usually, it is good to obey authority; but when authority is acting contrary to the Lord; you should talk to that authority about it! Acts 5:29! You just might see authority figures making bad decisions in this chapter—nobody is perfect except the Lord; no, not even Dumbledore, no matter what "the original books" told you—and how Harry Potter handles this will be a big question in the story. Hint: it will be very different than the "original books!"

  And finally—I got a "PM" from a lovely friend who was a bit confused; so I'll just clear this up now: I do not own the "original books"; and those belong to JKR!

  So, without further ado—

  Harry Potter woke up drowsily in a comfy, fluffy mattress. It was only now that he had the energy to observe his surroundings. The room was small but also everything a little boy needed; there was a big, warm fire place in the grey, stone wall across from him; a shelf of intelligent, age-appropriate books—the Holy Bible was in the center of the shelf, of course!—and there was a simple, wood dresser of respectable, school-appropriate attire; and of course a clean, porcelain sink for washing up and brushing teeth and such.

  It was only then that our hero noticed that there was another bed in the room. It was the same as his own bed; except that this other bed had not been made. Also, this bed had its own Bible in it; and it looked different from the one on the shelf. But where was this new roommate of his?

  Harry looked behind him to see a small, pallid young boy with shockingly bright red hair kneeling with seeming piety as he prayed to a small statue. At this shocking sight, Harry felt a horror; but he quickly composed himself; and declared bravely, "Hello, friend! My name is Harry Potter; and I take it that we are roommates. What's your name?"

  "Ronald Weasley," the other boy responded friendlily; and he reached out a hand to shake. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am a Christian, too."

  "Really?" Harry exclaimed delightedly; and clasped his hands together. "This is joyous news!"

  Ronald smiled deviously; and Harry remembered that he had just seen this boy praying to a statue; and he wondered why that would be; but he was new to this whole Christianity thing; and maybe that was okay. Still, it didn't feel quite right. He bravely resolved to would bring it up with Dumbledore.

  "Would you like to come with me to breakfast?" Ronald queried politely; as he got up from the statue he had been kneeling in front of. "They have delicious food here in the Great Hall."

  "Would I ever!" Harry cried delightedly; and he bolted out of bed; and brushed his teeth; and washed his face. This little one certainly had a healthy appetite!

  In a jiffy, Harry and his new friend had joined the stream of young lads on the steep, winding stairs heading to breakfast. They could smell the aroma of breakfast from the Great Hall; and it wafted right into their noses! Before they knew it, they were all sitting in the Great Hall.

  "Come sit with me and my family," Ronald offered eagerly; and he motioned frantically toward a table packed full of people with hair just as red as his. "Come o
n come on come on; I can't wait for them to see that I have made a new friend!"

  Harry followed Ronald with the obedience of one who does not have many friends in a new situation. Oh, what a difficult circumstance that can be—and how many believers have been led astray by those situations!

  "Guys, guys, guys!" Ronald screeched joyously as he pulled Harry toward the table of his family. "This is Harry Potter; and he is my new roommate."

  "Hello, Harry!" the Weasleys chorused in unison. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles!"

  "H-hello," Harry stammered shyly. Something about this group made him nervous. "Nice to meet you."

  He sat down at their table. He could smell a delicious breakfast—but where was the food?

  No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when the Reverend Dumbledore came onto the Great Hall's stage; and dropped down to his knees; and raised his hands skyward; and screamed, "Dear Lord, please provide these devout young ones with three strips of bacon or links of sausage each—two for the ladies—a bowl of hardy oatmeal flavored with cinnamon and apple chunks; two poached eggs cooked all the way through; home fries seasoned with garlic; a glass each of orange juice and milk; and dishes up to the task."

  Harry was once again amazed to see the food appear in front of him. The food looked and smelled amazing. He suspected good old Minerva had something to do with this delicious spread!

  But before he dug into the food; he remembered that he had something to discuss with the reverend. Harry fought his nervousness; and he ran after Dumbledore as he hopped dexterously off of the stage.

  "Excuse me!" the young believer cried innocently as he ran after the reverend as fast as his little legs could carry him. "Excuse me, reverend!"

  "What is it, son?" the reverend reiterated kindly. He was dressed respectably in sturdy, manly jeans and a red, white; and blue plaid shirt over which a few virile tresses were visible; and a pair of admirable, brown cowboy boots. "Are you settling in alright?"

  "I sure am," Harry retorted graciously. "How are things with your family?"

  "Very well," replied Dumbledore knowledgeably; and he was impressed with this little one's manners. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

  "Well," Harry began uncomfortably; and he scuffed his blue-sneakered foot against the polished wood floor of the Great Hall. "I woke up this morning and saw my roommate praying to a statue. Is that really an okay thing to do?"

  "That is a real toughie," Dumbledore answered ponderously. "Well, I don't worship idols. It is, in fact, a very un-Christian thing to do. But you see, here at Hogwarts, we divide ourselves up into Sorting Hats. After breakfast, all the new little ones will choose their Hats. Each of the different Hats have different beliefs; but we all love the Lord! And what more in common do you need?"

  "That does sound true," Harry pondered sensitively. "But is it really? It seems that, if we all really love the Lord, we don't need to divide ourselves. Are the divisions between the different Hats really so significant as to merit dividing Christianity? What are these divisions?"

  "Well, they are somewhat significant," Dumbledore allowed tentatively. "For instance, I am a Gryffindor Hat. We believe everything in the Bible; and only the Bible. That redheaded roommate of yours is a Slytherin Hat."

  "And Slytherins worship statues?" Harry queried innocently.

  The reverend nodded gravely.

  "Then how are they Christian?" Harry questioned skeptically. "What about Exodus 20:4-6? That's a ten commandment!"

  "Well, they have different commandments," Dumbledore explained well-meaningly. "They love the Lord; and that is all we need."

  "But do they really love the Lord?" Harry posited timidly. "If they do; then why do they worship statues?"

  "Dark days are coming," Dumbledore replied earnestly. "We need to be inclusive. If there were only Gryffindor Hats at Hogwarts; then there would not be many people left."

  "I see," Harry conceded uncertainly as he walked back to Ronald's overcrowded table. He was getting nervous about this Hat business; but he supposed he did have to trust Dumbledore. After all, grownups know best, right?

  wwwAuthor's Note: Blessings!

  Ephesians 5:22-24: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

  Acts 5:29: Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey God rather than men."

  Exodus 20:4-6: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

  Chapter 6: Sorting Hats!

  Author's Note: Hello, friends! I apologize to people who's private messages I haven't been able to reply to; but things are awful busy here in Fort Parsons; and a mommy's work is never done! Many thanks to those lovely friends who have asked about the little ones. It looks like the second sickie did not have pneumonia after all; and it was just the flu. It was a rough few days; but now all the little Parsonses are in tip-top shape. Phew!

  Harry Potter walked back to the table of redheads. It was only now that he noticed that they were all wearing black and green baseball caps with snakes on them. Tentatively, Harry sat down next to Ronald; who was not wearing a hat; since he, like Harry, was new.

  "So," Harry began nervously; and he bit into a thick, juicy slice of perfectly fried bacon. "What Sorting Hat do you think you will chose?"

  "Oh, I will definitely choose Slytherin," Ronald declared confidently; and he began to eat his oatmeal with his hands. "My whole family is Slytherins." He gestured to the countless redheads sitting at the table; and they all turned to Harry and smiled and waved. "You should become a Slytherin, too! We could do it together!"

  "Hm," Harry uttered ponderously; and he took a bite of eggs. "Why don't you tell me about what Slytherins believe?"

  "Sure!" Ronald replied ecstatically; and he kept eating his oatmeal. "Well, first of all, we believe in the Bible."

  "That is wonderful!" Harry reacted happily; and he took a sip of his orange juice. "I do as well. Perhaps I could be a Slytherin after all?"

  "But wait—that is not all!" Ronald continued excitedly; and washed his oatmeal down with milk. "Gryffindor Hats believe in the Bible, too. But Slytherins have even more. We have a book full of guidelines on how to be a good person, and a whole panel of Slytherin Hats to tell us what to do."

  Harry furrowed his innocent, childish brow; and he took another bite of oatmeal; and he questioned confusedly, "Why do you need all that if you have the Bible?"

  Ronald guffawed; and he shoveled more oatmeal into his mouth; and he replied, "Why only have the Bible when you can have more? Why, that would be like only praying to God!"

  Harry gasped in horror as he bit into more bacon. "Of course I only pray to God! Who else would I pray to?"

  "What about Mary?" Ronald posited angrily around a mouthful of oatmeal. "You have to at least worship to her!"

  "You mean the mommy of Our Lord?" Harry demanded in scandal; and he chewed his bacon. "I don't worship her?"

  "Well, then, God hates you!" Ron stated simply; and pieces of bacon flew out of his mouth as he did so.

  Harry was tentative; since he was new to this whole Christianity thing; but he did not think God would hate him for not worshipping His mommy. On the contrary: he had a hunch that God wanted people to only worship Him.

  "Don't listen to him," commented a drowsy voice self-righteously from behind Harry.

  Harry turned around; and he saw a girl about his own age. Her pale yell
ow hair was tied into braids; and she wore a tie-dye shirt and faded jeans and flowers in her hair. "Peace" signs and donkey patches were sewn all over her clothes.

  "You should not become a Slytherin Hat," the girl continued confidently; and she was eating what looked like it was supposed to be bacon; but it did not smell or taste like bacon. It missed that smokey, meaty taste that bacon is supposed to have. Instead, it tasted like vegetables blended together and died red. Yuck! Harry would take real bacon over that any day of the week. "They are far too strict."

  Harry hmmed skeptically. He was not sure about this whole Slytherin business; but the word "strict" was not what came to mind!

  "You should become a Hufflepuff Hat," the girl instructed arrogantly; and continued to nibble at her breakfast. "That's what I'm going to do."

  "What do Hufflepuff Hats believe in?" Harry pondered aloud; and he took a bite of his real bacon. Oh, how he wanted to find the true Hat!

  "Hufflepuff Hats believe in the Bible; but only some of it," Luna explained casually; and she was still feeding on that stuff. "We don't believe in the stuff against fornication and drinking and socialism; but we really like Matthew 7:1; and that's about it. We're really fun and we seem really nice and really tolerant as long as you agree with us!"

  That was when a derisive laugh echoed through the cafeteria. A smug-looking young man about Harry's age with slicked-back hair even paler blond than Luna's and wearing a sweater vest and khakis strolled languidly down between the rows of tables.

  "Please, ignore this fool," Draco drawled smugly. "Luna here thinks she can have a career even though she's a woman; and women are stupid."

  Harry gaped at this horrible person. What a mean thing to say!

  "Women shouldn't not have careers because women are stupid!" Harry shouted indignantly. "Women are not stupid at all! Women should not have careers because women are nurturing and loving and their gifts serve them best in the home!"

  Draco gasped tentatively. "You are diluting the truth! Women are beneath men!"