Tanya’s Hogwarts Adventures (Youjo Senki, Harry Potter)

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Book 1: Tanya Degurechaff and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter 1: Ladies and gents! This is the moment you've waited for!

Tanya Degurechaff

Finding oneself reincarnated with memories of a past life is supposedly an uncommon situation. Finding oneself reincarnated twice with the memories of both previous lives makes one question just how common reincarnation really is.

Not that I spend much time dwelling on such pointless philosophical issues when there are far more immediate and pressing concerns. Concerns including the fact I am once again in an orphanage. Thankfully the situation is not nearly as dire as my previous life. The nuns were not much different from my previous experience, but the building was an improvement. A bit drafty in the winter, but electric lights and central, if not efficient, heating was a welcomed improvement.

The food was also a small step up. While not the nearly putrid excess of sausages, the bland fair suited me a bit better. If only I had been born to a country that understood the value of proper seasoning or how to correctly prepare a dish. Both my current and my most recent life have had to deal with an abundance of boiled, bland food. At least this one uses condiments, even if their favorite is vinegar.

On a much brighter side, I was born in a modern nation during a time of relative peace, and if the history I am seeing correlates as well to my first life as it appears, the relative peace will become actual peace in less than a year when the Soviets' Communist nation collapses under the weight of an untenable economic policy.

A live free from war, in a respectable nation was a life I could find satisfaction with. I just needed to find a way to use my advantages to overcome my disadvantage of being an orphan. Two lifetimes of experience has given me enough of a leg up that many around me consider me a prodigy, a genius, a future leader. While I know from experience that I am not any of those things, I also know that perceptions of others is important and that playing the role of a highly gifted individual should enable many doors locked to those in my socio-economic class to be opened.

Before I could fully grasp my future though, I needed to figure out if the magic I had was a hold over from my previous life or if I needed to be concerned that I was not the only magical individual in the world. I could feel the mana flowing through my body and while shaping it into something useful was difficult without an orb, it was not impossible. Reflex and body enhancement in such a crude manner would be unsafe as would any of the combat spells I knew. The only safe spell I could utilize was illusion casting, a speciality that I used to great effect in my last life if I do say so.

A small ball of light in the palm of my hands was all the proof I needed that I still had magic. For now I needed to keep my power secret, until I was sure it was safe to find a way to profit off of it.

—-

It was several months after I first managed to prove to myself that the mana I felt was indeed magic and not a phantom itch that the orphanage had a visitor. A visitor that asked for me by name. The head matriarch of the orphanage stayed for the meeting and the pair made an unusual sight. The head matriarch was an older lady in a nun's habit with a severe demeanor, though I knew she put a lot of effort in keeping the orphanage going. The other woman was far more brightly dressed. I was reminded of the hippy movement that she would have been a child for looking at the woman who introduced herself as Professor Burbage.

"What institute are you a professor at?" The head matriarch asked.

"Before I answer that, I have question for the two of you. Has any unexplained events happened around young Ms Degurechaff? Thing moving around, items seemingly change colors? Anything at all?"

"Are you suggesting magic is real and that is why you are here?" I asked, reading the unspoken message in between her words. The technology to detect magical capacity must be more advanced in this world compared to my previous, despite at initial glance to being as unmagical as my first.

"Yes. I am the Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"You mean to take Tanya to some special heathen school to learn sorceries?"

"I promise you that we are not a heathen school. We provide the finest magical education available. And Ms Degurechaff has been selected to join our facilities."

"Is there a scholarship to go along with this offer? I would hate for my education to put an unnecessary burden onto the the orphanage that had spent so much time caring for me." It is unwise to leave my scholastic finances in the hands of a financially struggling institute, no matter the intentions.

"As you are an orphan with no living relative to help with the financial costs of your education, your tuition and educational materials will be covered by the orphan fund. Though you will not be allowed to board at the school over the summer breaks and will need to return here."

The matriarch looked at me before nodding her head. "That will not be an issue. Please give us some notice so we can insure a bed is made available for Tanya."

"Now then, Ms Degurechaff, we have your school items to gather up. Here is your acceptance letter and within is a list of supplies we will be getting today."

The envelope I was handed was thick and made out of parchment instead of the more standard paper. Inside was several pages. One was a form letter signed by the Deputy Headmaster. Nothing particularly noteworthy on it. The next was a standardized list for first year students. Looking the list over I saw that our education appeared to be primarily focused on magic and not deal with other subjects much. The mention of a wand was interesting as that appeared to replace the orb of my last life as the magical conduit of choice.

Well, if it can calculate spells, what did I care about what it was called.

—-

Charity Burbage

Every year a number of muggle born or raised students would be selected to join Hogwarts and it was the job of the teachers to collect and introduce the students to the Wizarding World. Most of the effort would typically be placed on the four Heads of House as well as the other teachers of the first year students.

Unfortunately the number of first year teachers capable of doing the task was far fewer than what it appeared on paper to be. Professor McGonagall in addition to being the Head of Gryffindor house was also the Deputy Headmistress and had other responsibilities. Professor Binns was a ghost. Professor Quirrell only recently changed posts to being the Defense Against the Dark Arts and needed time to work on his lesson plan.

Even though Professor Burbage was in a new position as well, taking up Quirrell's former post, she already had her lesson plan ready, having been putting in applications for the position for several years already, and happily volunteered to go into the Muggle world to collect the orphan Tanya Degurechaff and introduce her to the Wizarding World.

The walk to the nearby subway station gave Burbage a chance to look at the latest Muggle creations and fashion. Looking down at her young companion, Burbage noticed Tanya's eyes were scanning the surroundings, her stride was rigid, and she seemed to have a tight control over her young energy.

"We will be taking the Underground to Central London and from there we will go to Diagon Alley, the primary shopping district for the British magical community," Burbage explained to the girl.

"I am not familiar with Diagon Alley…"

"I would imagine not. The Muggle and Wizarding worlds are kept separate on purpose."

"You mentioned Muggle before, that you are the Muggle Studies teacher. What does that mean?"

"Muggle is our term for people without magic. In the Muggle Studies class, we teach students from purely magical backgrounds about what has occurred in the Muggle world and how to blend in."

Tanya's head turned to look at Burbage and her brightly colored sundress and rose tinted glasses with a raised eyebrow.

"I am aware that my outfit is not what the Muggle children of the day may describe as 'hip', but I rather enjoy the Muggle cultural scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Besides, fashion is cyclical and it is coming back in style."

"Right," Tanya said before looking down at her second hand clothes. "Not like I have much room to talk myself."

"The Orphan fund will include a small amount for clothing. It won't be anything special, but it will be in better condition. There is also a little room for a few other extra items, but we will get those last."

Pulling out the equipment list, Tanya looked it over. "How are we to carry all these items? Even if thin, eight books quickly adds up in weight, plus brass scales and a telescope are not the easiest to carry items."

"Our first stop after the bank will be to a second hand luggage shop. We will get your school trunk there and pack up the rest of your items into it as we go."

Tanya nodded as she looked over the list again. "How much of the list can be acquired second hand? And what do I need to have new?"

"The books, telescope, and scale can be gotten second hand without issue. The cauldron and phials we will have to examine closely to ensure they are in good condition before getting second hand. Your robes will need to be new for a few reasons and never trust a second hand pair of protective gloves. And there is only one trustworthy place to get a wand."

Tanya fell silent as she seemed to think on the matter. "How much will all this cost and how much does the Orphan Fund give each year?"

"I can't answer for each year. When you get your letter with the equipment list next year, you will also get a voucher you will use to get the funds you will need to pay for your equipment next year, but this year should be the most expensive.

"Several of the books you are getting should last through your seven years at Hogwarts, the robes should last two years unless you get a big growth spurt and could be tailored a bit to work for an extra year or two depending on how quickly you grow, your wand and other equipment should be good for your entire time unless something goes wrong.

"This year, it should be around fifty Galleons, if my estimation is right."

"I'm sorry, but I thought the British currency was the Pound Sterling. What is a Galleon?"

Burbage reached into her satchel and pulled out a few coins and handed a silver, gold, and copper one to Tanya to look at. "The gold one is a Galleon, the silver is a Sickle, and the copper is a Knut. 29 Knuts to a Sickle, 17 Sickles to a Galleon. And it is about five pounds to a Galleon, depending on the current exchange rate."

Tanya weighed the coins in her hands before returning them to Burbage. "I take it that they are not actually made of those metals because that much gold would be worth much more than five pounds nowadays."

"I don't know how the goblins make the coins, but you are probably right. An ex-boyfriend of mine use to go looking for lost treasure and when he traded the gold coins he found he got several Gallons per coin."

The two continued their trip in silence, Burbage paying for the Subway tickets for the two of them and ignoring the looks some cast the pair's way until they reached a run down looking pub in between two other businesses that most people seemed to ignore as they walked past.

"The Leaky Caudron is the primary entrance from the Muggle World to Diagon Alley, concealed by a charm that prevents Muggles from seeing it," Burbage explained as she lead Tanya into the building. "Hello Tom."

"Ah, Ms Burbage. Good to see you," the old barman responded. "And who is this?"

"A new student, Tanya Degurechaff. Ms Degurechaff will be starting at Hogwarts in the autumn and we are just stopping by to gather her equipment."

"Oh, a student you say? So they finally gave you that job? Good for you."

"Thank you, but I really should not stick around and chit chat."

"Of course, of course. You know the way. And Ms Degurechaff, if you ever need a room to stay, do remember the Leaky Cauldron."

Tanya gave a short bow to Tom. "Thank you Mr Tom. I will be sure to keep it mind."

With that, the pair went through a back door to a small area behind the bar with a brick wall on all sides and a single trash can.

"Pay attention to what I do to open the way into Diagon Alley. Once you have your wand, you will be able to as well. From the rubbish bin, it is three bricks up, and two over. Tap with your wand and…" Burbage allowed the moving of the bricks into a large archway to finish her sentence for her. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Tanya's eyes scanned the colorful, busy Alleyway, closer to a street in her opinion of the width of the walkway, before looking up at Burbage, her expression lacking the wonder Burbage was expecting.

"You said we are to go to the bank first, correct?"

"Yes," Burbage said, leading the way to the large marble structure of Gringotts. "Gringotts Bank is the primary financial institute, run by goblins. As long as you follow the rules, there should not be any trouble."

Burbage pointed Tanya towards a large poem written on the entrance of the bank. "Basically, don't steal. Got it."

Tanya made eye contact with the goblin guards standing at the entrance and the guards stared back. A small nod was passed between the three that Burbage missed as she led the young girl inside and got into the queue to see a teller.

Getting to the front of the line, Burbage pulled out a note and a wooden key* that she handed to the teller. After reading the note and looking down at Tanya, the teller directed his gaze back to Burbage. "The child is joining the first year class and needs funds from the Orphanage Funds?"

"Yes," Burbage answered with no hesitation.

"Wait there." The goblin got down from his seat and went to the back with the note and key.

After a few minutes, the goblin returned with a small sack of coins and a form. "You sign here, you here."

Two signatures later the goblin placed the wooden key onto a corner of the form and stamped over it before handing the coins over. "Next!"

Leaving the bank, the two headed down the alley till they got to an older shop full of well used furniture.

"Let's check here first for a trunk," Burbage said as they entered. Looking around they found several options. A couple with paint beginning to flake off, one that had a few questionable stains, and a few in good condition.

Looking them over, Tanya took a deep breath before looking at the person running the shop, squaring her shoulders and trying to look so adult. "How much for this one?" Tanya asked in an adorably firm voice indicating one with a lock.

The clerk gave a smile at the effort to appear adult. "Five galleons."

A sour look crossed Tanya's face even as Burbage was about to pull out the money. "Five galleons? What, does this trunk have some enchantments on it? Maybe something to make or light weight or shrink it down? That is far too much for a plain chest. One galleons and eight sickles."

The clerk's eyes narrowed and a shark like grin spread across her face. Burbage closed her eyes as she saw where this was going.

"One galleon and eight sickles? Why that is robbery. Far too low. You might as well just take my shop too. No that is a finely built trunk with a good lock and the keys are solidly built. Four galleons five sickles."

"Good lock? I could pick that lock easily…"

Burbage tuned out the haggling. She supposed she should have seen something like this coming, the orphanage likely did not have much money and Tanya probably saw the nuns haggle for supplies a few times. Knowing how this was likely going to happen all day and that Tanya was just trying to make the budget go as far as possible, Burbage planned on the non-negotiable items towards the end. The wand and robes had flat costs attached to them.

—-

Several hours of negotiations at multiple shops later Burbage and Tanya had nearly completed the shipping with a significant amount of coinage remaining, the coins now firmly in Tanya's possession as Burbage did not wish to continue ending in the bartering. Now at Madam Malkin's getting measured for her robes, Tanya was able to spend a few moments not arguing over every little detail of the items being purchased. The school robes had a set price, Tanya was told that haggling here would not work, and that the wand shop next would also have a set price for the wand.

Burbage sat next to the trunk that was filled with purchases, taking a moment to relax and reflect on how this must be similar to the feeling her exes felt when she took them shopping. After several minutes enjoying the blissful silence Madam Malkin finished her measurements and asked Tanya to step down and that the finished robes would be owled later.

"So, it is time for the wand?" Tanya asked as Burbage stood up and tapped the trunk with her own wand so it would float behind the two.

"Yes. We will be going to Ollivanders. His shop is about the only reputable store for getting wands. You do not want to be getting your wand second hand because it is rare to find one that is a good match."

"So wands are not a standardized item?"

"If you mean that each one is the same? No. Each wand is different. I don't know all the details, but apparently the wood and core all go into how well they fit with a given user."

Stepping into the dark, dusty store, Tanya's nose scrunched up at the smell before a voice spoke behind the two. "Now who do we hav-"

Tanya's reaction was quick, her spine straightened before her elbow found purchase in the old proprietor of the shop's groin. A moment later, he was flipped onto his back in front of the two ladies.

"Tanya! What in the world was that?" Burbage asked in shock.

Tanya took a deep breath and calmed herself before giving a bow and reaching out to help the old man up. "I apologize. You startled me and I don't know what came over me."

Ollivander gave Tanya a smile as he was helped up. "So I did. Those are some quick reflexes little one. Now tell me, what is the name of my new customer."

"Tanya Degurechaff, sir."

"I will remember that, Ms Degurechaff. Now, I suppose you are here for a wand. Let's see if we can find you a match." Ollivander went to his shelf full of boxes and pulled one down. "Blackthorn, unicorn core, ten and three quarters inches, firm. Give that a wave."

Tanya took a hold of the wand and with a flick a gout of flames came out.

"No. Not that one," Ollivander took the wand away and handed Tanya a different one, the cycle going on for a few minutes until. "Hm, yes. I think I know just the one." Ollivander went to the far side of his counter and pulled a box out from underneath. "Fir. Phoenix feather core. Twelve and a quarter inches. Reasonably springy. Try this one."

Grasping the wand, a small smirk appeared on Tanya's face as she gave it a flick and a stream of sparks came out.

"Yes. That is the wand for you. A somewhat unusual wand." Ollivander's demeanor became serious. "I expect to see some extraordinary things from you. The wand chooses the wizard, or witch in your case. And that wood is the survivor's wood. It is a poor choice for those indecisive and favors those who are focused and strong willed." Ollivander then gave a smile. "But I think you already know that about yourself, hmm? That'll be seven galleons."

After paying the two ladies left the store with Tanya carefully putting her wand away in the trunk. "Tanya, do I need to tell you not to hit the other students while you are at Hogwarts?" Burbage asked giving Tanya a serious look.

"No ma'am. I know I should not have done that, I was just not expecting anyone to appear behind us."

Burbage gave a nod. "Well, I cannot exactly give you detention right now for what you did as you haven't even started school yet, but if you do something like that again, I will be strict with you, understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, you still have some money left and we have time before we need to take you back to the orphanage, so how about we get you some outfits for when you are out of class?"

Tanya gave a simple nod and the two headed towards one of the second hand clothing stores with some nicer options.

—-

* The wooden key is a special one time use key. Certain vaults and accounts have access to special extra features like granting one time passes to the account for a withdrawal, often with limitations. In this case, the Orphan Fund can be accessed by a given orphan seven times for their educational expenses so long as they have one of the single use keys and a note explaining what materials they are meant to purchase. This is not a canon thing, but seems a reasonable detail to add seeing as it adds to the world without just giving anyone a bunch of money for no reason.

** The logic behind the wand: for the core the Unicorn hair would fit the Salaryman the best, but as Tanya has died twice the Phoenix Feather seemed most appropriate. The wide magic range capable of Phoenix and the independent, detached personalities of Phoenix fits well with Tanya as she is an advocate for personal freedom and looks at the world in a slightly detached manner. For the wood: I narrowed it down to Cherry, Yew, Holly, Fir, Red Oak, Elm, and Blackthorn. I knocked Holly and Yew out quickly because of Harry Potter and Voldemort already having the combination and knocked Elm out because the Pureblood plot line that I could follow with that one did not interest me. Next I knocked out Blackthorn because after dealing with combat it supposedly gets better and I didn't want to deal with that thread of plot. Cherry works for Tanya's first life as Japanese Salaryman, but that seemed a bit too obvious. I ended up choosing Fir out of the remaining because surviving with a focused, strong minded, and intimidating demeanor fits Tanya well. For length: Short wands are a sign of something missing in a person's personality while long wands often belong to those with big personalities. 9 - 14 inches is the average range of wands with 11.5 being the middle point. I went with 12.25 because Tanya is a bigger personality than average, but not massively so. For flexibility, Tanya likes being a social chameleon, adapting to new situations so I went with 'reasonably springy' as the descriptor.

—-

AN: Someone suggested I post this story here. I have a Patreon as well where in progress chapters are posted as I work on them. https://www.patreon.com/Half_baked_cat

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Tanya Degurechaff

Clothes shopping was not an activity I ever derived much joy from. In my first life I had purchased quality items that needed replacing infrequently with traditional cuts that would not go out of fashion quickly. During my second life, I wore uniforms and while for a time that meant I needed to have them tailored due to being very small, eventually I was able to just purchase standard uniform items. Even after leaving the military, I found myself regularly employed in positions with specific requirements that made my choices simple with little consideration to looks.

For the first years of this life, I had little choice in my outfit due to the limits of the orphanage's funds and the generosity of donated clothing. For the first time in multiple lives, I was given a chance to build my wardrobe to my preferences and I found the experience exhausting. Asking Professor Burbage why there was no standardized sizing to the clothes that would help me find clothes appropriately sized, she explained that most of the magic users had spells for minor alterations and that most clothing made in the Magical World was made to order.

Which meant I had to try on every article of clothing that caught my eye. Thankfully my day uniform for classes was already included with the robes we would be wearing, but for casual wear outside is classes and the weekends I was left to my own devices with only a few general guidelines from the Professor. Reasonable restrictions like not being too short or showing too much skin. Restrictions that I was comfortable following because I did not have to conform to gender outfits.

Was it too much for clothes designed for women to include pockets? To include a place to hold house keys, a wallet, maybe a bag of candy coated chocolates. While bags, purses, and satchels have their uses, a casual exertion to get a coffee at the corner shop or a regular day at a job should not require such a bulky object to hold a few items. Especially with how easy such bags were to steal or lose somewhere.

While I did not know how much I would need pockets during the weekends, it was better to have and not need than need and have a bulky bag getting in my way. To that end, I needed to go back to Diagon Alley to see if a few items were available. Briefly looking through my schoolbooks, it was clear wand work was a major part of most of the lessons. While the foci was different and the methods unusual, the analogue to the orbs from my second life was an apt comparison. Magic could be performed without an intermediary, but the output was significantly lessened to the point certain spells were rendered unusable. As such, my wand was an important equipment item that needed care and maintenance. Care and maintenance that I did not have supplies or training for. Perhaps these items would be provided and plentiful at the school, but I did not survive my second life by being unprepared and with equipment in poor shape. I would not let it occur in this life either.

Asking for permission to leave because some items were forgotten was a simple endeavor. Particularly as I was left with the remainder of my first year orphan funds, the point was simplified that I would not require any funds from donations and my meals for the day could go to the other children who would not be able to purchase a meal out of their own pocket. I was made to promise that I would be careful, but a smile and some assurances that I would be fine saw to it that the Head Matriarch aloud me to leave on my own.

The trip over was just as uneventful, though I had to walk as I did not have a pass this time for the underground and had no pounds to purchase one. I would see to it that a few galleons were exchanged just in case something turned up while I was in the 'Muggle' world as Professor Burbage called it.

After a quick meal at the Leaky Cauldron, I began wandering my way through Diagon Alley, looking for a shop that might have the items I was looking for. Spotting a household cleaning supply shop, I decided to check in there first. At the very least, one cleaning shop would likely be able to point me towards a different one that has the goods I needed.

"Hello Deary," the elderly lady running the counter greeted me as I stepped in. "Did your mother send you in to get her some supplies?"

"Mom is dead," I answered crisply, correcting an incorrect assumption. "I was actually just coming in to see if you could direct me to where I might find a kit or supplies to take care of the wand I just got."

I ignored the expression on the lady's face and the apology she gave. Not having a mother was nothing new for me. After her apology was made she gave me the directions I needed and I thanked her.

Following the instructions, I found the shop and was able to procure a wand servicing kit, which amounted to items to clean and polish the wand as if was just a fancy wooden decoration, but was surely more useful than just keeping the wand looking pretty. They also had a few holsters marketed as a way to not blow a buttock off in case of misfiring while in a back pocket. A sensible reason for purchasing one. The salesperson tried up selling me on all sorts charms that could be included for only minimal fees, but I was able to avoid all that by explaining I was only looking for a basic model for my time at school and whatever was cheapest would be fine. I did make mention of returning at a later time when I was prepared for an upgrade, which seemed to perk the man up some.

Having achieved my shopping goal, and spotting a cafe, I decided that I could afford a treat before returning to the Orphanage and preparing for my trip to school. The nuns don't need to know about one little cup of coffee.

—-

On September 1st, bright and early, the Head Matriarch drove me to King's Cross Station where I followed Professor Burbage's instructions for locating Platform 9 3/4, where a large red train was waiting.

—-

Harry Potter *

Having made it to the platform, Harry Potter began to make his way down looking for an empty seat. Getting towards the back, he spotted a cabin that only had a single girl that looked to be his age in it.

"Um, excuse me, would it be ok if I took one of those seats?" Harry asked the girl.

A pair of bright blue eyes stared down at him. Harry felt like a mouse in front of a snake, the hairs on the back of his neck raising. With a nod of her head, the tension broke.

"You going to need some help getting your trunk up?" She asked.

Harry gave her a smile. "Yes. Thank you."

The girl stood and met him at the back of the carriage. With her help the trunk was put up into the storage rack and Hedwig was safely secured.

"Thank you. I am Harry."

"Tanya," the girl said as she took up her seat again. Harry did not feel she was simply looking out the window, her gaze seeming to sweep the platform. "We should be leaving shortly."

"Are your family full of wizards?" Harry asked, curious about his traveling companion.

"Don't know. Dead as far as I know. You?"

Harry looked at his hands, his cheeks reddening as he knew how hard it could be dealing with dead parents. "My parents are dead. Both were apparently magical, but my aunt and uncle are not."

A sardonic smile appeared on Tanya's face. "A pair of orphans, huh? I take it you live with your relatives though?"

Harry frowned as he thought about his relatives, and the mutual dislike they all shared. "I wish I didn't. They are horrible."

Tanya looked at Harry again, the hairs on his neck raising again. Looking back, Harry refused to break eye contact.

"Perhaps we should drop this topic," Tanya said.

"Yes," Harry agreed after a moment.

The staring match was broken when the train started moving.

"Do you know how long the ride will be?" Tanya asked.

Harry shook his head, trying to think of Hagrid had mentioned anything.

"We should probably go ahead and put on our uniforms then. Best to make a good first impression with the faculty."

Tanya got up and began to dig through her trunk, quickly grabbing her clothes. As she was closing her trunk, the door opened up.

A young redheaded boy, the youngest boy of the family that helped Harry into the platform, was looking in. "Is anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full."

"You can have it, but first the two of you need to wait outside while I change."

Harry's face flushed red as he pushed the other boy out and closed the door behind himself.

"Hey Ron," an older redhead, one of the twins of the family, called out.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train," the other said.

"Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," Ron mumbled.

Harry kept his head down, staying close to the door.

"What are the two of you doing outside that cabin?" One of the twins asked.

"A girl is changing in there, so we are waiting until she is done," Harry said, his cheeks flushed. The twins looked at each other with grins beginning to grow. As one was about to open his mouth, the door slid open and Tanya wearing her black school robes strode out, her hat sitting neatly in her spot.

"Your turn," she said as she traded places with Harry.

"I'll need to get my uniform," Ron said with a blush.

Tanya rolled her eyes. "Go." Her voice came out like an order. Full of confidence that she will be obeyed without question.

"You heard the little lady little Ronnikens," One of the twins said, putting an arm around his brother.

The other did the same and began dragging the young boy away. "Indeed. We have to get you all dressed up right."

With the redheads heading off, Harry went into the cabin alone, dug out his uniform, and got dressed. Opening the door, he let Tanya back into the cabin. Following her gaze, he saw that they were out of London now and beginning to pass through the hillside of the country.

"This is my first train ride. Did you get much chance?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Tanya's hand balled into a fist that she placed on the window. Harry did not think she didn't hear him, but the silence dragged on for a moment before she turned to look at him.

"I've been on a few trains. It was always the best part of the trip."

"Really? Why?"

Tanya looked out the window again, her eyes looking unfocused. "Peace."

Harry could understand why someone would enjoy a bit of peace. His family rarely gave him any, but those quiet moments where they left him alone was better than when they gave him a lot of attention. A little depressing at times, but still better in a way.

Harry joined her in watching the scenery pass by until the door opened again and the Ron came back. His eyes were a bit watery.

"Are you alright?" Tanya asked, her eyes focused again. Harry's arm hairs closest to Ron raising.

"I don't like spiders," Ron answered with a shiver. Shaking his head, Ron snapped himself out of his funk. "Anyways, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Tanya Degurechaff."

"Harry. Uh, Harry Potter." Ron's eyes grew wide at hearing Harry's name. Tanya's eyes narrowed at Ron's reaction.

"No way. You're him? Do you, do you have the…?" Ron trailed off as he indicated his forehead. Harry lifted the bangs of his hair, showing the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

"Pardon me for interrupting whatever this is, but how do you know Harry and that he has a scar if you have never met before?" Tanya asked, her glare at Ron causing all of Harry's hairs to stand on end.

"You don't know who Harry Potter is?" Ron asked with glee in his voice.

"I am an orphan and have not exactly had a chance to keep up with the news in the Magical World."

"Oh." All the excitement left Ron as he realized he seemed to have made a mistake. Looking over at Harry he flinched slightly as he seemed to piece together he was the only one in the compartment with a family. "Well, Harry defeated You-Know-Who."

"Who?"

"Voldemort," Harry answered Tanya's question.

"And who is Voldemort?"

Harry could see Ron was gaping and was not ready to answer. "A dark wizard who killed my parents when I was a baby. Apparently I defeated him when he tried to kill me and got left this scar."

Tanya scoffed at Harry's story. "More likely your parents and this Voldemort person killed each other and you got hit by shrapnel."

Harry raised his hands, acknowledging the point. "You are probably right. I don't remember anything of it other than a green light."

After a moment of silence Ron spoke up. "You two said his name."

"I'm not trying to be brave saying Vold- You-Know-Who's name. I just never know you shouldn't," Harry explained, shifting in mid-sentence at Ron's gasp.

"Why shouldn't we say Voldemort's name?"

Ron flinched at the use of the name. "It is bad luck."

Tanya took on a thoughtful pose. "Normally I would write such superstitions off as an illogical flight of fancy, but considering our textbooks not only mention, but will teach us curses, I suppose there could be a curse tied to the name." Tanya looked at Harry and the hairs on the back of good neck raised again. "It would be wise of us to take caution and follow the social norms until such time we are certain about the validity of such superstitions."

Harry nodded in agreement as he adjusted himself in the seat.

The three children took a moment to sit in silence until Harry started asking about Ron's family, the conversation beginning to meander around various topics as Tanya asked a few questions about various things Ron brought up.

At a bit past noon, the clattering of a cart coming down the corridor heralded the arrival of an elderly lady pushing a food cart. "Anything off the cart dears?"

Ron's ears went pink and he muttered he had sandwiches. Harry had not had breakfast and leapt to his feet. Tanya stood up and looked over the options briefly before asking about coffee, getting a shake off the head.

Harry was not used to having any pocket money and not seeing any candies he recognized, decided to buy some of each. Harry dumped the lot onto an empty seat as Ron pulled out a lumpy bag that had several sandwiches and Tanya pulled out a wrapped sandwich of her own.

"She always forgets I don't like corned beef." Ron complained.

"How do you feel about turkey?" Tanya asked showing her sandwich off.

"I like it better. You want to trade?"

"Yes."

"I'll trade for one too," Harry said, offering a pasty he had just bought.

"You sure?" Ron seemed skeptical. Harry has never had anything to share or anyone to share with and was enjoying the feeling.

"Yeah, take one. You too," Harry tossed both of his traveling companions pasties as he bit into one of his own.

"Thank you," Tanya said. Her eyes watching Harry carefully as she bit into the pasty. Again, her focus raised the hairs on the back of Harry's neck as he was being studied.

Harry waved the thanks off and the three of them got to work eating Harry's pile of snacks, Ron explaining what all the different snacks were.

After some time and a large dent made into the pile of treats, a round faced boy opened the compartment door.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" He asked.

When the three shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"Didn't you say your brother is a perfect?" Tanya asked Ron.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Come along, your brother should be able to help. It is one of his responsibilities," Tanya said, bringing the two other boys along with her, leaving Harry alone in the compartment.

He looked out a window, watching the scenery that was forests and rivers now. A smile appeared on his lips as he thought that he had made his first two friends and there was no Dudley around to scare them away.

As he was thinking on that, a bushy haired girl opened the compartment door. "Have you seen a toad? Neville has lost one."

"No, but Tanya and Ron went with him to find Ron's brother. He's a prefect and should be able to help."

The girl bit her lip with her slightly oversized teeth. "I should have thought of that," she said angrily to herself as she closed the door and wandered off.

Harry went back to watching the scenery go by until Ron and Tanya returned, having successfully helped Neville get his toad back through Ron's brother. They went back to talking, mostly Ron explaining things about the Wizarding World with Tanya and Harry mostly just asking questions about things Ron mentioned.

The sun was nearly set when the announcement they were five minutes from arriving came into the intercom system and that all students should leave their belongings on the train. With that warning, the three students began putting away Harry's leftover snacks into pockets.

* Read the first book up to Harry arrives at the platform. I am not recapping all of that when nothing important changes.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Tanya Degurechaff

It was dark by the time we arrived at the station and shuffled our way out of the train. As we were beginning to try to figure out where to go, a loud voice called out for first year students. A loud voice belonging to what looked like a large bear dressed in human clothes. One of the acquaintances I had made on the train ride, a nice young boy named Harry, apparently knew the half bear man.

Following him, we were lead down a dark and slightly slippery path to boats that would take us to Hogwarts. I could not see what was propelling the boats, but chose not to concern myself overly much with the detail. This was supposedly a prestigious learning institute, there was no way they would put the students in unnecessary danger, especially untrained first years.

When the castle we would be learning and living in came to view, I felt my confidence in our safety was validated. While evaluating the security of the castle would be difficult in the dark of the night, I could see it had large walls that would be difficult for a grounded force to scale and the construction appeared to be out of sturdy, thick stone. I could better evaluate the defensibility at a later time when the light was better, but castles were a standard military structure for hundreds of years. While the reasons for their phasing out were still valid concerns, for a learning institute it would be perfectly adequate for a non-militarized defense against local fauna and perhaps the occasional drunken fool.

Passing into a grotto we arrived at what I assumed to be some form of servant's entrance as it was clearly not the primary entrance. Likely it was the entrance that shipments were taken to, or that was its primary function when this castle was used for actual military purposes.

Regardless, the humanoid bear gave the door a knock that was swiftly answered by an older woman in green. A Professor McGonagall going by what our guide here said. This was supposedly our Deputy Headmistress according to the acceptance letter I was given. She had an appropriately stern expression on her face and carried her age with dignity befitting our superior.

She lead us down a short path to a large set of doors that had a lot of chattering coming from it. The primary hall if I was to make a guess where all the students were gathered for opening ceremonies.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses."

Taking care of formalities before eating was reasonable. Hopefully it was not overly involved and would go swiftly.

"The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

Build a camaraderie among the students and a sense of unit cohesion. It almost took me back to my time in office school.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Ah, group punishment. Potentially effective method of using peer pressure to keep the more troublesome students in line. Elegant method of encouraging the students in each house to work together. And if each individual student's triumph earns house points, that is excellent motivation for the best students to help the ones in their house who are struggling the most.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

It was a reasonable request considering the state a few of my fellow first years were in.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

As soon as the professor was through the door, my fellow students showed how they were all still immature children that I would need to help by beginning to chatter and speculate what the sorting was going to be like.

Tests? Challenges? How foolish. The staff would obviously want the students divided evenly between the houses and would clearly use some form of lottery system. Random chance would be the deciding factor of where everyone went. Considering Ron's earlier statement that his whole family was sorted into Gryffindor, the random chance might be rigged slightly, but that was the purview of the faculty.

A gasp broke me from my thoughts as several silver figures came through the wall above our heads. Illusion? Projection? One mentioned something about an annoyance not be a ghost. Was that what these were? Spirits of the dead trapped here?

Professor McGonagall returning and shooing the spectres away and the ghosts obeying readily was suspicious. This was theater and a lesson. The castle was haunted, but we were not to be concerned about the spirits wandering the halls and not everything we would be taught would be in the classroom.

Lining up in the manner of the Professor's instructions and following her out of the waiting area into the Great Hall, a large space with several long tables the older students were at and a table the staff was sitting at that was easily visible to and had good line of sight over all the students. The floating candles above the tables was a lovely touch that added to the magical charm of the room, but the real star of the decor was the ceiling, decorated to look like the night sky. I suspected some form of illusion work as I could see a few clouds moving across and the constellations appeared right for this time of year.

My mind began trying to crunch the numbers on how I would recreate such an effect, but the sticking point was how to keep it going. One of the limiting factors of my previous life's magic was the need for active casting for any effect. I had made rooms appear a different size, hiding behind an illusionary wall, in my last life tricking people into believing I was not there, but to keep the illusion going required me to be in the room the entire time casting the spell. While it was conceivable that one of the staff members, or someone hidden from view, was casting the sky illusion, the practicality of doing some seemed wasteful. No, it would seem that in addition to using a form of magic my last life has dropped as inefficient and illogical, they had ways to create permanent effects.

If I was to make an analogy, I might compare my previous life's computation orb based system to the early mechanical computers, able to calculate and produce results quickly and far more robust and sturdy. This wand waving spell speaking method might be more equivalent to transistor based, digital computing, able to achieve a wider arrange of effects with increased longevity at the cost of being slower initially to get the spells going. Or perhaps the computation orb is the digital analogue. The analogy is not perfect, but the point was that they were two methods to the same end result with pros and cons and this world chose to stick with the more traditional magic system for reasons they found valid.

A hat beginning to sing brought me out of my thoughts. A ratty old pointed hat was singing. Singing about the virtues of the different houses. So not entirely random, but based upon vague personality values then. That would explain Ron's family as values are often taught down generations, so a family tradition of teaching their sons to be chivalrous would result in the sons tending to go to the same house. His parents must be excellent in their parental role to instill values across so many children so consistently.

Each of the personality values listed for each house were admirable in their own ways and none of them would be particularly distasteful to me should I need to signal to my fellows that I fit in appropriately. Though I was curious how our personalities would be judged. We have not been here long enough for any of the faculty to get an understanding of who we are.

The first to be sorted was up, a Hannah Abbot. Looking like we will be sorted alphabetically by last name. The hat was placed on Ms Abbot's head and after a moment the hat called out that she was to be sorted to Hufflepuff.

So the hat was some sort of personality test or gave one when placed on the head. Would it ask the questions? Was it going to invade the privacy of my mind? It looked really old, how do we know it was still functioning as intended and didn't need replacing?

Ms Abbot a was apparently the only A name as we went straight into B names. After five students were sorted, C was skipped and it was suddenly my turn. Sitting onto a stool and having the hat placed onto my head, I could almost feel the way the magic of the hat tried entering my mind.

'I am Tanya von Degurechaff. My mind is my own and my privacy will not be violated.' I thought as I instinctively attempted to stop the incursion. Being X violating the privacy of my mind was bad enough, I refused to let that happen again if I could avoid it.

"Oh, a secretive one?" The hat muttered into my ear. "Relax, I'm just going to take a quick peak into your head and sort you. I am bound to not share anything I find. Though whatever it is that makes you reluctant to show, you should probably tell someone about."

The hat is not an enemy. I can loosen my hold. It is not Being X and it is bound not to share. I just needed to relax.

'I find out you did share anything, I will burn you and piss on your ashes.'

"Sheesh. No need to get violent, I can't even if I wanted to. Now open up."

I relaxed myself and felt the haze of magic come into my head. Subtle even with me expecting something it felt like the buzz after a few sips of hard liquor beginning to settle in.

"Well, well, an old one I see. Not too often someone who has lived a full life, make that a life and a half, puts me on to get sorted. Normally I would just look at potential personality traits and place you somewhere appropriate, but you have a lot of experience to judge who are with. Now let's see. Well read, with a willingness to follow your scholarly passions. A bit of practicality in what you choose to learn about, but still a good head for learning. A very good work ethic and while you might lie to yourself, you do care about the men you had under your command. A good mind for politics and you know how to navigate situations to gain favor with others in an attempt to reach a goal. But no, I believe there is one house that fits you best. You may lie to yourself about why you kept going back, tried to pass out off as someone else's fault, but your bravery and warrior spirit truly makes you a GRYFFINDOR!*"

The hat didn't have to yell in my ear. Placing the hat back on the stool, I went to the table giving me polite applause for being sorted into their house. Sitting down at an empty place I watched the sorting go on, clapping politely along with the rest of the table wherever someone was sorted into Gryffindor. Along with Ms Brown who was already sorted, all the Gryffindor first years were grouped together near the middle of the table, the older students scooting over to make room as each new Gryffindor was sorted.

A hush came across the Great Hall when Harry was called to be sorted. Did everyone here really believe he somehow defeated a powerful dark wizard as a babe? How foolish to think an unarmed, unprepared baby could defeat an adult that could have easily smothered the child to death with no fuss. It was obvious that his parents were the real heroes and he is little more than one of many war orphans that have been produced throughout history. After a while of him sitting under the hat he was finally sorted into Gryffindor where the table exploded in loud cheers. I gave a polite applaud and scooted over to make room for him.

"Seems our new house is happy to have you," I greeted him as he took the place next to me.

"Thanks. I'm just glad I'm in a house with a friendly face I already know."

With the pleasantries out of the way and trying to ignore the silly celebration going on, I went back to watching the sorting. It was a good way to learn my fellow first years' names, especially those in my house where we would be spending a lot of time together. Eventually Ron joined Harry and myself at the table to the celebration of his family and the rest of the house before the last student was sorted into Slytherin.

With Professor McGonagall putting away the hat, the archetypal wise old wizard that was our Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore stood up to give a speech.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

I joined the polite clapping as the food appeared on the table. I heard Harry question the sanity of our Headmaster as I was reaching for some of the chicken.

"Isn't it obvious?" I found myself asking. "He is taking this moment to give us a lesson to think on while we eat. We are at a school after all and our days are suppose to be filled with education."

Ron's prefect brother gave me a smile, clearly having seen the lesson as well, and asked me to explain what the lesson was.

Leaning back a bit, I gave it some thought as I chewed on the piece of chicken I had grabbed. "Nitwit is obviously him calling us all fools, Fir we are here to learn and are this not the knowledgeable scholar our teachers are yet. A reminder that there is still more, even for the older students, to learn. Blubber is likely referring to someone blubbering and not whale fat. Oddment is an odd term for scraps. So he probably is telling us to talk about the odd scraps we learn with each other, the other nitwits."

"And Tweak?" Percy asked.

"That is the most obvious one. Take what we learn from each other and improve and modify on it. He is basically telling us that we have much to learn from each other, even outside what we learn in and for our classes."

"You sure you shouldn't be in Ravenclaw?" Ron asked me, a few of the other students around me nodding their agreement with his question.

I suppose I needed to prove myself as belonging to the house now that my personality has been questioned.

Giving Ron a playful smile, I told him, "I am very sure that the hat placed me appropriately, but I can always show you what I got later." That bit of bravado played well with those sitting nearby and I could return to my food, engaging in the conversation when asked a question. Most of the conversations were getting to know each other, family life, interests, the standard fair. I mentioned I was an orphan and that when given a chance I enjoyed reading, but the selection at the Orphanage was not great. I filed away what I learned about my house mates as best as I could. We would be living in close proximity for years, it would be best to be in good terms with all of them.

After dinner, dessert was laid out leading to a second round of excited eating before that too was magically cleared up and the Headmaster again stood to speak. A few rules and warnings were given along with several other notices. While the warning about the third floor corridor on the right hand side was dramatic, it was reasonable. The castle was old and repair work was dangerous. Renovating that area would likely take time and we would be informed when it was safe to use that section of the castle.

The singing of the school song was a chaotic mess, but following the lyrics as they appeared was easy enough. The somber way Ron's twin brothers sang the last few lines was rather touching and showed the pair to be a rather serious duo.

With the school song done, Ron's Prefect brother lead the first year Gryffindors away from the Great Hall to where we would be sleeping for the next seven years.

* As mentioned by the hat, Tanya would, in my opinion, fit into any of the houses and without any other influences on her choice she would find all of them reasonably acceptable. Depending on a few factors she might slightly prefer one over another, but I as an author needed her in Gryffindor so I made her completely neutral and have the hat be influenced by how Tanya is actually a battle junkie to place her in Gryffindor.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Hermione Granger

Finding out she was a witch was one of the most magical days of Hermione's young life. Validation that she was special and not just some buck toothed freak. And she was getting to go to a school full of people just like her, a chance to make friends with peers and not be made fun of just because she liked books or odd things occasionally happened around her.

Hermione was so excited about the chance to learn magic and coming to a boarding school full of people like herself that she practically devoured her school books and the other books her parents bought her for extra reading. And here she was, being lead up to where she and the other girls sorted into Gryffindor would be sharing a dorm room together. It would be like a sleep over!

As soon as the five of them got to their room and they started to go to the beds with their trunks, the blonde girl, Tanya, came up to Hermione.

"Would you be willing to trade places with me? I sleep better with a wall to my back."

Tanya's eyes seemed to pierce through Hermione. She wanted to make a good impression on her new roommates, so Hermione nodded her head. "That's fine. Do you need help moving your trunk?"

"I got it," Tanya answered picking up her trunk and moving it next to the wall before also pushing the four poster bed against the wall as well.

"How did you do that?" The sleek brunette, Lavender, asked.

"Magic," was Tanya's answer before she pointed to Hermione's trunk. "Do you need help moving your trunk?"

Hermione gave a nod and watched as Tanya picked up and set her trunk down at the foot of her bed. "Thank you."

"Anyways, I'm Lavender Brown. Both of my parents are magical, what about you?" Lavender was sitting on her bed, opening the conversation up, trying to learn about her roommates.

"I'm Parvati Patil. My twin is in Ravenclaw and our parents are both magical." Parvati was pulling out her pajamas from her trunk.

"I am Hermione Granger. Neither one of my parents are magical so all of this is so new to me." Hermione had a nervous smile on her face as she introduced herself.

"Lily Moon. My dad is magical. My mum is a muggle." Lily was bouncing on her bed giggling.

"Tanya Degurechaff. Orphan." Tanya was looking at her uniform's tie for some reason. "I'm going to get washed up." Tanya stood up stiffly she went about mechanically removing her robe, folding it up with care and precision, before pulling out a set of night clothes that were well folded.

After Tanya left to the dorm's shower room, Lavender spoke up. "She seems a bit stuck up."

Lily and Parvati nodded in agreement, but Hermione felt a bit differently. "You shouldn't talk about others like that."

"Oh whatever. If she removes that stick she might be fun."

"She said she was an orphan," Lily said, lying back and staring at the canopy of her bed. "Maybe she's not comfortable talking about that?"

Lavender's cheeks dusted red and she crossed her arms. "Maybe. She didn't have to be so stuck up about it. A lot of people lost family."

"What if she doesn't know?" Parvati asked. "All she said was that she was an orphan, maybe she doesn't know anything about her parents."

Lily rolled into her side with a big grin. "Or maybe it happened recently and their tragic death at the hands of some dastardly spy is still fresh in her memory and she is thinking of ways to sneak out of the school to fight the spy?"

The other girls looked at Lily for a moment before Lavender beginning to giggle started the rest to giggle as well. "Maybe her parents were fighting a dragon and got eaten and now she wants to hunt the dragon down and eat it as vengeance?" Lavender suggested getting another round of giggles going.

Before any more guesses could be made, Tanya returned dressed in her night clothes.

"I thought you said you were going to take a shower," Parvati asked.

"I did. The water is still hot if any of you wish to have one as well." Tanya went over to her bed and turned down the sheets neatly before getting in. "Best be quick though. Tomorrow will be our first full day of here and it would be best to get an early start on the day."

"Yes. Your right," Hermione agreed, grabbing her stuff for brushing her teeth and changing into her night clothes before scuttling off to ready herself, the rest of the girls doing so as well while chatting, Tanya laying down quietly.

—-

Lavender Brown

The first day of school was here. The thought led to Lavender waking up early, rising with the sun and ready for the day.

Though she apparently was not the most excited one. "What are you doing?" Lavender asked, looking over to where Tanya was moving in odd ways.

"Stretching. Daily exercise is important for a healthy life and a basic stretch routine and maybe some light cardio are the exercises safe for our age without causing any growth stunting or other issues."

"It looks like yoga," Parvati said around a yawn. "Mom did it all time at home."

"I suppose it is similar. Do you remember your mother's routine?" Tanya asked, finishing up her routine.

Parvati gave it some thought. "No, but mom did say a healthy body leads to a healthy mind and that yoga is what helped her attract dad. She said yoga was her secret to her beauty."

Lavender perked up at that. "Really? Maybe I could join you in your yoga." Lavender suggested before yawning. "Tomorrow. Today, I'm taking a shower."

"I'll owl mom if she can help," Parvati said, getting up and preparing to take a shower as well.

"That would be appreciated," Tanya said as she began her morning routine, preparing for the day ahead.

Lavender was happy to see that there were several shower stalls, though she would have liked to also have seen a bath available for use. Each stall had several nozzles that she played with finding two were to control the temperature, one made the water soapy, and the last made the water feel sick. Hot and cold water, soap, and some sort of moisturizer.

"These aren't scented," Lavender complained.

"I have some scented soaps in my trunk you can borrow until you can get your own," Parvati said from the next stall over.

"Thank you Parv," Lavender said, giving Parvati a nickname.

"Parv?"

"Yeah, Parv. Do you not like it?"

"I wasn't expecting it. Would it be alright if I called you Lav?"

"Sure," Lavender said before sticking her head around and into Parvati's stall. "Friends?"

Parvati gave a smile and nodded. "Friends."

The two finished up and returned to the dormroom where Hermione and Lily were now getting dressed and Tanya was looking through one of the schoolbooks.

"Morning everyone!" Lavender greeted.

She got mornings in return before Tanya spoke up without taking her eyes off her book. "Please be quick in preparing for the day. We were told we would be having classes together yesterday and it would be in our best interest to stick together going to classes until we all have learned the castle layout." Tanya then closed her book and stood up. "I will wait for you in the common room and try to catch the boys before they leave without us."

Lavender was not sure why Tanya seemed to act so mature and boring, but she didn't like it.

"She's right," Hermione said, hurrying up her own dressing. "It is a rather large castle." Hermione seemed to be bouncing in place, a smile on her lips.

"Maybe," Lavender agreed while flipping her hair. "Let's just get ready and get some breakfast."

"Woo! Breakfast!" Lily jumped up before tossing on her shoes and running down the stairs to the common room.

"She is a bit energetic," Parvati commented as she finished getting dressed.

Lavender began heading to the common room as well and stopped at the door. Looking back she nodded. "She is, but this is kinda exciting. Being away from home, actually getting a chance to learn magic. This should be fun. Hermione, leave your bag. We don't know what classes we have today. Once we know we'll come back and get our things for class."

"Uh, right." Hermione put her bag back onto her bed and followed Parvati and Lavender down to the common room where Tanya was talking to Percy Weasley, the Prefect that had guided the first year Gryffindors the previous night and seemed to be going to help them back down to the Great Hall.

Next to Tanya was Neville Longbottom, a doughy looking boy Lavender had met before they came to Hogwarts. Neville was a nice enough boy, but not someone Lavender planned on spending much time with. He was just too boring and the other boys were cuter.

Shortly after all the girls were down, the rest of the boys came down and the first years went down to breakfast.

—-

Harry Potter

The first breakfast at Hogwarts was an exciting experience for Harry. No preparing the bacon or being given a few scraps. He could eat as much as he wanted to. And he was eating it with his new friends, Ron to one side and Tanya to the other. Ron was even more enthusiastic about eating than Harry was while Tanya was more poised in her eating habits. Though Harry was not sure which one was actually eating faster because each time he looked at Tanya's plate another section was cleared. The rest of the Gryffindor first years were also nearby chatting to each other, speculating about what classes would be like and making jokes.

Harry wasn't comfortable with the way most of the other students seemed to stare at him and go out of their way to look at him. It was weird how everyone knew who he was and just… stared. So far, only Tanya has treated him as just Harry the entire time. No hero worship, no staring, just Tanya being his friend. Ron was not bad now that he got it out of his system and Harry hoped the rest of the school would get it out of their system soon too.

As they ate their fill, Professor McGonagall stopped by the table and handed out class schedules, introducing herself as their head of house and if they needed anything they could go to her office. The schedule looked a bit confusing to Harry and he was worried he would get lost getting to and from class, but it also had a lot of free time in it.

"Hm, looks like they do expect us to do a lot of self directed study," Tanya said to herself.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, ignoring Hermione telling him not to talk with food in his mouth.

Tanya pointed to all the empty areas of the schedule. "We have breaks where normally a class would be. That is when we are meant to fill time with self directed study to prepare us for our post school life by building good research and study habits when we need to learn a new spell to deal with a situation we have not dealt with or been prepared for in class."

"Perhaps we should use a few of them for a group study session to do homework and help each other on our self study projects," Hermione suggested.

"You two get that setup and I suppose I'll show up," Lavender said, having listened in before going back to talking with Parvati and Lily.

"Very well," Tanya agreed before looking to Hermione. "We will work out the details during the free time Friday after potions once we have a better understanding of what the actual classes are like."

"But when will we have fun time if we are just studying all the time?" Ron asked.

"There are plenty of other hours in the day for fun and games, you can play during those," Tanya answered. "Anyways, we have History of Magic and Charms, so once you are done with breakfast, head back to the dorm, grab your books, and meet in the Common Room. We'll go to the classes as a group."

With that, Tanya stood up and started heading towards the main stairwell. Harry got up to follow, telling Ron he would see him once he was done with breakfast.

As they were getting close to the Great Hall doors, the boy Harry met when he was getting his robes fitted walked up to the pair flanked with a pair of boys that reminded Harry of his fat cousin.

"So, the boy-who-lived got sorted into Gryffindor. I suppose you are not good enough to have been sorted into a real house," Draco said with a sneer.

"I'm sorry that you are jealous that we got sorted into the house of the brave and you didn't," Tanya responded, staring at the blonde boy. Every hair on Harry's body was standing on end as she evaluated the three Slytherin first years. "I could help you develop a spine if you ever needed it."

Draco's eyes turned to Tanya and his jaw was clenched. "And who are you suppose to be?"

"My oh my. I suppose before I teach you what having a spine is like, I will need to correct your manners. Lesson one, before asking the name of a girl you are interested in, you introduce yourself and your companions first."

"I'm Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle."

"Good to make your acquaintance Mr. Malfoy, I am Tanya Degurechaff, and I am not interested in you that way. Now if you don't mind, we need to get ready for class. Have a good day."

Tanya strode past the sputtering Draco with Harry on her heels.

"My father will hear of this!"

"Will not change my mind. I do not date weak little boys," Tanya called out over her shoulder.

After a few moments to get away from Malfoy, Harry broke out in laughter. "That was awesome."

"Professor McGonagall made it clear that we are meant to have unit cohesion within our houses. As part of that is developing a sense of House Loyalty and Honor. Letting someone from a different house to insult our house would be counter to that."

"Uh, ok?"

Tanya sighed before giving Harry a big smile that reminded Harry of the look the people behind the counter at stores would give his aunt when they went shopping. "Gryffindor first. Gryffindor forever."

Harry nodded. "Gryffindor first. Gryffindor forever," he agreed.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

The classes of the first week went as expected; introduction to what the class would cover, safety rules for the classes with wand usage, and an introductory lesson with an easy homework assignment to get us students into the correct mindset.

Professor McGonagall was a clear professional and strict taskmaster, but her first lesson was given in a clear, concise manner before giving us students a lot of time to practice and correct any errors in technique and methodology. The ability to transform objects from one form into another was impressive and I had no idea how to begin translating the work into the spell formulas I was more used to. Despite that, Hermione and myself were both able to complete the task of turning a matchstick into a needle by the end of class.

Magic performed with a wand was very different than orb casting. I had previously thought of the difference as the difference between computing technology, but differences were much greater than that. Now that I have actually gotten a chance to perform magic in both methods, it is more akin to playing music. With the orb, it is selecting a song and following the notes to the beat of a metronome. You can vary the song by changing the metronome's speed or the way a note is played, but the song overall will be the same each time. Wand magic was more akin to learning jazz, knowing certain key features and improvising while playing the song. Each time the song is a bit different depending on many more variables, but when it works it is one of the best styles. When it doesn't, the results are smooth jazz.

Professor Flitwick seemed to fully embrace this point, being a much more excitable teacher whose style appeared to be more free form and willing to follow students' tangential questions. He was clearly encouraging a curiosity in the students to balance the discipline Professor McGonagal was trying to instill.

Professor Quirrell needed speech classes. His stutter was atrocious, slowed down the lessons to a crawl, and was a pain to listen to for long stretches of time. Defense Against the Dark Arts was likely going to require the most out of classroom study just to ensure I was at an acceptable level of proficiency.

Herbology with Professor Sprout was an interesting and very practically minded class. While we had a text book for the class, the actual class work was done in the greenhouse getting up close and personal to some of the plants and fungi we were learning about. Her methods I could appreciate as being very effective on getting the relevant lessons across, though I was concerned about my grades. In both of my previous lives I had been gifted potted plants for my living space. Both times the plant died a surprisingly swift death and I am unsure what I had done wrong. Neville seemed like he knew what he was doing already in the class, so I might need to place him as the lead in the Herbology side sessions.

Professor Binns was teaching History of Magic as a clever cost savings measure. His effectiveness of teaching was as dead as he was and I wondered what we would actually need to learn for history for our upper year testings.

Professor Sinistra taught Astronomy in the middle of the night. While practical for being able to actually look at the night sky and mapping the current sky, I would rather be in bed. She has a rather technical method of teaching, explaining what she is teaching us in a very precise manner.

That left our final class, potions and Professor Snape. If I was a colleague of his, I might call him a drama queen. Sitting in on his lesson reminded me of watching a Shakespearean play, full of dramatic movements and pauses in speech to emphasize a point. Harry did not like the way Professor Snape used him as an example that natural talent or rumors of being some Dark Lord slayer at the age of one would not be enough to excel in his class. That it would take hard work and dedication.

I attempted to calm Harry down by explaining the Professor's actual point and that we would need to put in a lot of effort to ensure good grades. That his methods might be unorthodox, but he would not be a professor if he couldn't teach a class. Unfortunately, I was not able to fully get Harry out of his funk before he went to have tea with the bear by the woods called Hagrid and my meeting with Hermione to setup the group study sessions for the Gryffindor first years. My comment about Hagrid's physical appearance did get a laugh out of Harry and he promised to tell Hagrid I called him a bear man.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Lily Moon

Hermione and Tanya were in the Gryffindor Common Room when Lily got back from doing a bit of exploring of the castle. The building was just so big that Lily knew she couldn't explore it all at once, but she had found a hidden room. It was a dark dusty room behind a wall that wasn't a wall but looked like a wall and it would be a useful room to hide in whenever they decided to play hide and seek. Although the wall that wasn't a wall but looked like a wall was only a half of a wall that wasn't a wall but looked like a wall and she had to climb up over the wall that was actually a wall underneath the wall that wasn't a wall but looked like a wall.

Lily moved quietly to get behind Tanya and was about to make her presence known.

"Lily, mind letting the other girls know that we will be having a study session tomorrow morning? And the boys if you see them as well?" Tanya asked without looking up from the schedule between her and Hermione.

Lily deflated. "Ah, how'd you know it was me?"

"Your breathing gets loud and quick when you are excited," Tanya answered. "You mind letting the others know? We are almost done here."

"Fine," Lily agreed, leaving the two alone and heading up to the first year girl's dorm room where Lavender and Parvati were looking at a magazine while laying on Lavender's bed.

"Hey hey!" Lily greeted the two. "Tanya told me to tell you that we are all having a study session tomorrow morning. Whatcha readin'?

Lily hopped onto the bed next to Lavender to look at what the two were looking at so that all three knew what each other was looking at.

"Witch Weekly. They have an article about how to flirt with boys," Lavender said, showing the article to Lily.

"Oh, that reminds me. Tanya asked me to find the boys and tell them that she told me to tell them that we are having a study session. I should go do that." Lily hopped off the bed. "I'll see you two later after I find the boys."

Lily didn't wait for Lavender or Parvati to say bye before she was bouncing down the stairs back to the common room. Not seeing any of the boys there, she bounced up the staircase to the boy side of the dorms and let herself in.

Neville was by himself looking through a book using the light coming in from the window.

"Hey hey!" Lily greeted before taking a seat next to Neville and looking at what he was reading so she could see what Neville was looking at so that they were both looking at the same thing. "Whatcha readin'?"

"I was, uh, looking up information about wolfsbane. Professor Snape was really scary that none of us knew anything about it," Neville said, showing the page with a well drawn and labeled image of the plant in question.

"Oh, speaking of Snape, Tanya wanted me to tell you and the others that we are having a study session tomorrow morning. And now I need to find the other boys. I thought they would be here, but they aren't so I need to go forth and find them!" Lily stood up and dramatically brandished her wand as if it was a sword.

"Dean and Seamus are by the lake. Harry and Ron went down to the gamekeeper's hut," Neville said, pointing out the window where Dean and Seamus could be seen.

"You're no fun," Lily pouted before perking up. "But you were just helping so I won't hold it against you. Anyways, I'll see you later." Lily rushed off leaving Neville behind and running past Hermione and Tanya and out into the halls of Hogwarts.

"Ms. Moon, stop," Professor McGonagall's voice snapped out causing Lily to skip to a stop. "Mind telling me where you are going in such a rush?"

"Sure Professor!" Lily agreed with a big grin. "I went to the Gryffindor Common Room after finding this neat hiding room behind a wall that looks like a wall but isn't a wall even though it looks like the wall under it that looks like a wall because it is a wall and Hermione and Tanya were working on a study schedule so I tried sneaking up on them but Tanya heard me preventing me from surprising them then she asked me to tell the other Gryffindor first years we are going to have a session tomorrow morning so I went up to the girl's dorm room where Lavender and Parvati were reading a magazine with an article about flirting and I told them about the study session and when they told me they were learning tips to flirt that reminded me that I needed to tell the boys because now all the girls knew but none of the boys did so I went up to the boy's dorm room where Neville was reading about plants and complaining about how Snape is scary so I told him about the study session and then I needed to find the other boys so Neville told me where to find them so I left the Common Room and while I was going to tell the other boys you stopped me and asked me what I was doing so I told you."

Professor McGonagall took a moment to process the rush of information Lily just gave her before responding. "Alright, that is reasonable, but don't run in the halls. And let Tanya and Hermione know I will stop by the Common Room tomorrow morning to check in on your little study session."

"Ok. Thanks Professor, I'll let them know," Lily said before walking away at a more sedate pace.

"And remember to breathe when you talk," the Professor added before continuing on her own path.

Getting outside, Lily saw that Dean and Seamus were kicking a ball back and forth while chatting. Rushing over to them, Lily called out, "Hey hey!"

"Hey Lily."

"Hello Lily."

"I got something I need to tell you!" Lily said as she got near.

"What's that?" Dean asked, stopping the ball under his foot before kicking it up into his hands.

"Tanya and Hermione wanted me to let you know we are having a study session tomorrow morning!"

"Alright," Seamus shrugged. "Thanks for letting us know."

"Yeah, thanks. Hey Seamus, it is probably time we called it anyways."

"Yeah alright. See you later Lily."

"Bye," Lily said, beginning to rush off to the gamekeeper's hut.

"Later," Dean called out to her retreating form.

When Lily arrived at the hut, she gave the door several knocks that set a dog barking and a strong voice telling the dog to stay back before Hagrid's hairy face appeared in the doorway.

"And who might you be?" he asked gently.

"I'm Lily. I was told Harry and Ron are here and Tanya asked me to tell them something."

Hagrid barked out a laugh and opened the door up to let her in. "The girl that called me a bear asked you to find Harry and Ron, well come on in, though I think this little tea party was just finishing up."

"Thank you Mr Gamekeeper, sir."

"Well aren't you a polite one, but call me Hagrid."

"Alrighty, oh there you are," Lily said as she saw Harry and Ron. "Tanya and Hermione told me to tell you we are having a study session tomorrow morning!"

"On a Saturday?" Ron groused. "Saturdays are suppose to be fun."

"I'm sure you will have the afternoon free," Hagrid laughed at Ron's concern.

"Hagrid's right. It is probably just going to be a quick session and then we'll have the rest of the day free."

"Oh, that reminds me, Professor McGonagall said she is going to be there too to see how it is going."

Harry smiled at Ron's groan of defeat.

"Anyways, you were the last ones I needed to tell and now I've told you so I'm going to go back to Common Room. Bye!" Lily was out of earshot before Hagrid could comment on how excitable she was.

—-

That night, Lily's dreams were filled with her sneaking into a secure Gringott's Vault guarded by a giant made of candy to steal the legendary treasure chest of chickens.

—-

The next morning began as each morning in the girl's dorm did, everyone being woken up to do their morning yoga stretches lead by either Parvati or Tanya. Lily preferred Tanya's lead because she used the more advanced positions that made Lily feel muscles she didn't know she had, but Lavender and Hermione liked Parvati's lead because it was over faster but that is silly. The point to the yoga is to exercise to improve health and if you are just doing it quickly to get through it then you weren't getting your exercise done right and then you won't be as healthy as you could be and the magazines Lavender and Parvati read said it was important to stay trim and fit to attract boys not that Lily really cared what the boys thought of her but the point was that if they were going to exercise they should do it right and Tanya understood that.

After their morning yoga, Lily took a shower to freshen up before going down to breakfast. She didn't need to wait for the others because they were all meeting up in the common room after breakfast for the study session and she knew how to find the Great Hall and Common Room by herself now, though she did enjoy the traveling in groups thing they did during the week but that wasn't necessary today. Besides if she got to breakfast early she could take her time eating without delaying the others.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were already there talking to each other at the head table so Lily waved at them before sitting down and grabbing a bacon sandwich, pouring pumpkin juice over it and cutting up some boiled egg to top her breakfast before digging in, washing it down with a nice cuppa tea.

Soon Tanya came down and sat next to Lily, a cup of coffee appearing like it did every morning since she complained about a lack of coffee and she made herself a bowl of oatmeal with some fresh fruit.

"How's the coffee this time?" Lily asked with a smile.

"Better. I can almost taste the roast characteristics, but it is still a bit ashy. Whoever roasted these beans I think is the problem. The actual brew seem right."

"Wow, you know a lot about coffee don't you?"

Tanya stared Lily down. "I take coffee very seriously. I use to know someone that could make a very, very good cup of coffee."

"Oh? What happened to them?"

Tanya turned away from Lily's smiling face and stared into the dark depths of her coffee. "Dead."

Lily frowned at having upset Tanya and gave the other girl a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

Tanya carefully pushed Lily off of her. "I have made peace with it. I will not get to see the people I have lost again and there is no point in mourning their loss any further. There are more important concerns I need to focus on."

"Like why is the knight in chess so drunk on the battlefield that he is staggering around?"

Tanya looked back at Lily and her hopeful face before rolling her eyes. "Sure, I suppose that is a concern."

"Everyone else is being responsible and not drinking and then you have the knights who think they are so special that they can just get drunk anywhere when they should be focused in case they need to suddenly go off and fight a dragon that has kidnapped a princess. And alcohol is flammable so the drunk knight is just putting themselves at greater risk of being burned alive than if they were sober."

"Right. You should probably go ahead and finish your… breakfast." Tanya looked at the disaster on Lily's plate and chose to not question what she was seeing.

"Oh yeah, thanks!" Lily went back to munching on her food and humming to herself while Tanya ate in silence as everyone else trickled down for breakfast.

Malfoy stopped by to say something to Harry, but Tanya interrupted before he could say anything and told him to stop bothering her. She was not interested in dating him and that his insistence was a form of harassment. Before he could get a word in, Tanya stood up and walked away from the table, causing the first years to laugh at Malfoy's sputtering.

Lily didn't think Malfoy liked Tanya. She thought Malfoy needed more fiber in his diet because he seemed irritable and Lily's dad got irritable when he was constipated. Lily realized after a moment that the newest round of laughter was because she had speculated about Malfoy's bowel condition out loud.

"My father will hear about this!" Malfoy angrily said.

"Maybe he can send you some laxatives," Dean called after Malfoy's retreating form, causing the table to break down in laughter again.

After that and conversion switched to general chatter as the first years ate until they got up as a group to head back to the common room. Everyone scattered to grab their books and writing materials before gathering to sit in a circle on the floor.

"Alright everyone, Hermione and I have drafted up a schedule," Tanya started off. "If everything is going well, this should be the only time we have a study session on a Saturday."

That got cheers from the first years.

"That is if everything is going well. Adjustments may need to be made to the schedule should it prove necessary. As it stands, as we have a lot of free time after classes, the plan is we will gather together to work on our homework that was just assigned for a few hours each day. As we have a large free period Friday afternoons, in addition to the Potions homework we will be getting that day, we will be going back over the other assignments to ensure everyone has finished. Saturdays, as I said are free, but if any of you are slacking or getting bad marks, I will institute a tutoring session on Saturdays. Sundays we will meet briefly after breakfast to review our homework one last time before we have to turn it in during the following week's classes. Any questions?"

With no one having any, they began with the potions assignment, to the groans of most of the first years. Which Lily understood because Professor Snape was a meanie, but potion making was fun. They got to use knives which Lily's parents said she shouldn't play with because they were sharp ouchie makers but they were so shiny and Lily wanted to help in the kitchen because that was where biscuits were made.

Professor McGonagall came into the Common Room as they were moving onto the Astronomy homework, causing one of the older boys to hurry upstairs for some reason.

"Ms. Moon informed me that you were starting up a study group on the suggestion of Misses Granger and Degurechaff. Is this correct?" She asked getting nods all around. Professor McGonagall held her gaze on the group before she gave them a smile. "Normally we begin posting about study groups the second week. For getting ahead of the curve, one point to Gryffindor each. And a further one point to both Ms Granger and Ms Degurechaff for organizing this."

There were a few cheers at that announcement. "I must say, I was not expecting the first group study among the first years to be in my house. Usually it is either Flitwick or Sprout who gets that privilege. Now, you said there is a schedule, may I take a look at it?"

Hermione easily agreed, handing the schedule over with a smile. After a few moments, the professor handed it back. "Looks like you have a reasonable schedule setup. I hope you keep it up. Just because you are in my house does not mean I will be generous with your grades. Before I leave, do any of you have any questions?"

Lily raised her hand with a smile on her lips.

"Yes, Ms. Moon?"

"If you can turn into a cat, have you ever snuck into the Gryffindor Common Room to see how we are doing? And are there any secret passages on the ceiling?"

"I am unaware of any passageways that enter or exit at a ceiling level. And please do not go looking for any. We do not need you injuring yourself. That goes for the rest of you." With the question answered, Professor McGonagall left the Common Room.

Lily frowned as she realized something.

"She never answered if she is a guard kitty for the dorm."

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Harry Potter

The first three weeks at Hogwarts had has seemingly flown by in a flash. Friends were made, classes were attended, and so much studying was done. Everyone got the homework done during the study sessions, though Ron could probably finish his quicker if he complained about it less.

About the only thing that was ruining Harry's time at Hogwarts was Malfoy who regularly attempted to bother Harry about one thing or another, bragging about how great he supposedly was or trying to insult Harry and his friends. It was particularly annoying that Malfoy seemed to wait till Tanya was gone now because her verbal barbs against Malfoy seemed to infuriate the boy so much.

And now Malfoy's presence was going to ruin the class Harry has been looking forward to the most. Flying lessons were announced to begin Thursday with the Slytherin House.

"Just what I wanted," Harry complained to Ron while Tanya was reading a book. It was difficult to read her emotions, but Harry felt he had a good grasp that she was feeling happy currently. "To make a fool of myself in front of Malfoy."

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

Harry was not as sure about that as Ron was. While it was true Malfoy exaggerated his stories by talking about narrowly escaping muggle helicopters, all the kids from magical families talked about how they had flown and played pick up games of quidditch as kids. The only exception was Neville who's grams refused to let him on a broom. Considering the accidents Neville has had with both feet on the ground, Harry thought it was a sensible decision.

Where almost all the kids from magical households were confident, the ones from non magical ones were more nervous. Harry was excited, but there was a nervous fluttering feeling in his gut about his feet being off the ground for the first time. Hermione was attempting the impossible and trying to learn to fly from books. Even Dean seemed a bit unsure of himself. The only one who was relaxed about flying for the first time was Tanya.

Harry didn't know too much about his friend, Tanya seeming to be a rather private individual, but he did manage to find out she grew up in a non magical orphanage. It took work to get her to open that much with him, but Harry just wanted to talk to someone else about being without parents. None of the other first years really understood. Neville seemed the closest, having only ever mentioned his grams, but even she was more of a parent than the Dursley's ever were to Harry. Tanya, however, could understand. She had no real family, even a hated one like Harry did, and that was something Harry wanted to talk about. To see if some of his childhood wishes to not even have the Dursley's would have been better.

Harry was not sure of what the answer was yet, but he knew Tanya and he agreed that it was better being at Hogwarts where the food was plentiful and they had people who liked them nearby. Even if it sometimes seemed like he was the only one that did like her.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

In my previous life, flying was one of my greatest joys. Even with bullets flying by, shrapnel pelting my shield, and enemies seeking to end my life in a bloody manner, flying itself never lost its charm. The wind in my face, the weightlessness of hovering hundreds or thousands of meters in the air, and the sight of the ground so far below me, knowing that I was in control of when it got closer. It was exhilarating and was one of the few things I mourn about leaving that life behind.

This life has methods of flight as well with the use of broomsticks. I could likely adapt the flight spell to this life, casting with my wand, but the tried and tested broomstick in use here would be far safer than me attempting an experimental spell that I was not entirely sure would work how I wanted. Perhaps something to work on in the future once I had a better understanding of the spell craft we were being taught.

Ms. Granger was a nervous wreck at the thought of flying and was pushing that nervous energy into telling all the Gryffindor First Years about tips she read in some quidditch book as if this was one of our study sessions and she was helping Lily understand the lesson. The only one really paying attention to the babbling was the one that was nearly as nervous as her, Mr. Longbottom.

Thankfully the torrent of random information was ended by the arrival of the mail swarm. Carrier pigeons were a time honored and reliable method of message sending from history. To see it modified to use a larger bird with a bit of magic to give the owls the ability to find whoever it was they were sent to deliver a message to was a fascinating cultural artifact of the magical world. I vaguely recall some talk about the use of flying robots in my first life as a possible future method of package delivery, and here were wizards using such an idea for hundreds of years already by using birds magically bred and trained for such operations.

As orphans, neither Harry nor myself got much in the way of mail, though his gorgeous snowy owl would stop by occasionally just to show off and get attention. Hedwig, as Harry had named her, was picky about who she allowed to stroke her feathers, but a piece of bacon and a few compliments at how pretty she was managed to get me on her good side. Her feathers were surprisingly soft and she would occasionally purr at the petting.

While I was paying attention to the white bird near myself, Neville received a package containing a marble looking thing that turned red in his hand. Apparently that occurred when the one holding it has forgotten something.

"Did you bring your robes in your bag, or were you planning on going to class like that?" I asked him, seeing that he was the only one not wearing his school robes.

The red receded as Neville looked himself over. "Oh. Thank you Tanya."

I waved the thanks off as I went back to my breakfast. It was only right that I prevent my house from losing unnecessary points because someone was not dressed appropriately for class.

As Neville was about to get up to get his robe, Malfoy and his pets arrived for whatever power play he was attempting. I know that dividing up people into groups would foster competition between the groups, but Malfoy was taking it too far. The House Cup competition should be entirely based upon our scholastic achievements and how well we mold ourselves to fit within the school society we found ourselves in. Openly antagonizing others was at best a waste of time and effort and at worst was sabotaging his own house's chances to win.

"Mr. Malfoy, I fail to see how stealing from Mr. Longbottom is suppose to help you woo me," I said, falling back onto the line of insult that so far appeared to work on him the best. "Unless you have realized I am too much for you and you would rather admit to your secret desires of being with Mr. Longbottom."

The flustered expression on Malfoy's face and the laughter from my fellow house mates told me I was successful in defending Gryffindor Pride verbally.

"That is not what this is about," Malfoy said. His voice was raised. My hand fell to my side. He was unarmed currently and I was confident I could draw my wand faster than he could. If it came to a physical confrontation, I was in a better position to cause him significant pain than he was to do to me, the male weak spot within easy reach. His pet muscles would be slow enough that I could be on them, bringing them to the ground before they could respond.

"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall asked, having arrived before anything occurred. I relaxed my hand.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the marble onto the table. "Just looking," he said, before slinking off with his pets.

—-

After Transfiguration in the morning where Professor McGonagall had us focus on increasing our speed at transfiguring a match stick into a needle and back repeatedly, we gathered together to quickly work on her homework assignment. The study session was cut short because everyone was anticipating our first flying lesson. Really the only reason we were even having this one was to keep the schedule consistent until we were sure it needed to be modified to fit around the flying lessons and so everyone was together to head down to the grounds of Hogwarts for the lesson.

Heading down a few minutes early, we saw that the Slytherins were already there along with two rows of brooms on the ground. Not seeing the teacher yet, I went to stand by one of the brooms and awaited further instructions. Everyone seemed to follow my lead in standing next to a broom, some scattered conversations going on between those standing next to each other.

Madam Hooch, our instructor, arrived shortly and gave us a nod in approval. "Good, you are all in position. Now stick your hand out and say 'Up!'"

We did as instructed, my broom coming to rest in my hand with ease. There was mixed success as far as who managed to get their broom into hand and I wondered how much saying the word had to do with it and how much was just confidence and the will for the broom to obey. I suspected the latter had more to do with it as the two having the most issues were Neville and Hermione, the two showing the most signs of being nervous outwardly.

Once we all had the broom in hand, we were instructed on how to mount the broom in a manner that would prevent us sliding off while in the air. I was satisfied when she informed me that I had followed her instructions on how to grip the handle correctly and moved onto correcting Malfoy's grip.

Once she was satisfied everyone was situated correctly, Madam Hooch went to stand where she could see all of us with ease.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle. Three … Two …!"

Neville jumped the gun and was in the air. Madam Hooch was telling him to get back on the ground.

He was losing control. I could see his grip slipping. He was going to call and he had no shield to lessen the impact. I will not lose another!

I was in the air, moving towards where he would begin to fall. He was off the broom. I put mine into a tail spin to give me a better jumping off point.

I got him! Now to twist my body and get us the roll the momentum away. I was on my feet in a flash and hurrying to check my downed comrade. My CO was coming along as I was checking for wounds. No holes found. Check for concussion. Eyes are dilating correctly. CO is here.

No. Not CO. Teacher. My breathing is heavy. I need to slow my breathing. Deep breaths. Calm down and stand at attention. I just broke her instruction and needed to take responsibility for my actions.

"Nothing seems broken," Madam Hooch said as she checked Neville over. "Let's get you to Pomfrey just to be sure."

Standing up, she looked me over. "You should come along as well." I just gave a nod in agreement. Private punishment was less embarrassing, though often harsher. If that was what she wanted, I would accept her decision.

Turning to the rest of the class who were staring at us, Madam Hooch said, "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dears."

Following quietly, we began winding our way through the castle.

"Tell me, was that your first time flying a broom?" I was asked.

"Yes ma'am," I answered promptly, though I was not sure I could call what I did flying. Yes I got in the air, but it was towards a specific target before aborting the action. It was closer to a launch than a flight.

"Well, then we will have to see your Head of House then."

I did not know how punishments worked or with instructors could give out what punishments, so perhaps Madam Hooch needed permission to give me the punishment she wanted to give me.

We spent a brief moment dropping Neville off at the Hospital Wing before Madam Hooch began leading me elsewhere in the castle. Eventually we came across Professor McGonagall, Harry, and an older Gryffindor boy.

"Professor McGonagall," Madam Hooch began with a smile. "I think I may have found you an excellent choice for the quidditch team."

Professor McGonagall looked at me with a smile. "I was actually just about to introduce Wood to who I thought was going to be our newest seeker."

Madam Hooch gave Harry a critical look. "Oh? And how did Mr Potter come to your attention for the role?"

"I saw him make a fifty foot dive and catch Mr. Longbottom's remembrall. What did Ms. Degurechaff do?"

"She caught Mr Longbottom out of a fifty foot drop." Madam Hooch looked towards Harry with a stern expression. "Why were you catching something out of a drop? I thought I told you to stay on the ground."

"I'm sorry," Harry began. "Malfoy had taken Neville's remembrall and was threatening to toss it into a tree, so I was trying to get it back for him."

"And how did Mr. Malfoy plan on getting this remembrall into a tree?"

"He started flying one of the brooms and was moving towards the trees," Harry said, his eyes away from Madam Hooch, not wanting to take responsibility for his actions.

"I will be needing to speak with Mr. Malfoy it seems," Madam Hooch said. "I will leave it to you to figure out your quidditch team then."

With that, I was left with Professor McGonagall. And it seemed Harry and my punishments for the rule breaking we did was forceful conscription into the sports team.

"Guess we will have to test to see which of you gets seeker and which gets the bench," Wood said with a grin.

—-

Dinner was interrupted by Malfoy again. I was not up to dealing with him this time as I tried to figure out how the training for quidditch was going to affect my studying and free time. Currently there was no set training schedule, the problem with leaving children in charge of creating a schedule was a lack luster approach and no respect for proper order of things.

I was brought out of my contemplation as I registered Ron doing something stupid on Harry's behalf. Accepting a duel with no prep time? And after curfew when it is clear that this was not going to be a properly sanctioned and refereed duel. I was about to voice my complaints when Hermione began voicing hers instead.

I just stared at Ron and Harry as they dismissed Hermione's concerns.

"She is right. Gryffindor First. Gryffindor Forever. Which means that the pride and points of Gryffindor should be your concern. If you get caught, you will tarnish both. Besides, you need a referee for a duel."

"Oh? You're on Granger's side now?" Ron asked with a roll of his eyes.

"I am on Gryffindor's side. Which means we let a teacher know Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel and that we are willing to accept if an appropriate time and place can be arranged."

I stood up and turned towards the head table where I could see Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Snape. A perfect situation as the two Heads of Houses would likely need to be informed regardless. I ignored Ron's insistence I stop and walked up to the table.

"Professor McGonagall. Professor Snape. A moment of your time, please."

"And how can we be of service to you, Ms Degurechaff?" Professor Snape asked, continuing to play up his dramatic mannerisms.

"Mr. Malfoy has challenged Mr. Potter to a wizard duel. Mr. Weasley accepted on his behalf as a second. I have come so that an appropriate time and place could be arranged for the match and to ask for a neutral referee to be chosen."

Professor Snape's eyes narrowed as I described the events that had just taken place.

"Thank you-" Professor McGonagall began.

"I will ensure this little match is setup," Professor Snape cut off Professor McGonagall, who gave him a harsh look. "Thank you for informing me. Now if you don't mind, I have a foolish child to find."

Professor Snape got up and left, his robes blowing in a manner I suspected involved magic to add to his dramatic methods. I might need to look out for his drama class in a few years if I decided to get into theater.

Returning to the table, I informed Ron and Harry that Professor Snape would be arranging the duel. I could not understand their worries about that as it promised to be a good show in spite of the barely trained contestants.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Harry Potter

Harry was unsure how to feel about Tanya going to the teachers about the Wizarding Duel he had been challenged to. On the one hand, she had been looking out for him and Ron, preventing them from getting in trouble. On the other, she had made the entire thing a much bigger event than he wanted it to be. Ron, by contrast, had no issues expressing his displeasure at 'that stuck up and bossy girl' getting in the way of showing Malfoy exactly what they thought of him.

Regardless, the match had been rescheduled to the following Saturday as part of the first meeting of a dueling club that had been inactive for several years. All years were invited to attend and depending on how the first years this year behaved would determine if the first years the next year would be allowed to join or if it will be kept to older year students.

Malfoy was being annoyingly smug about the whole thing, though he was thankfully keeping his distance during the following week where Professor Flitwick announced he and Snape would be the ones running the club jointly and that the first meeting would be having several exhibition duels, including one between Harry and Malfoy, Snape and Professor McGonagall, and a secret third one. The attention on Harry after that was embarrassing, but Flitwick gave Harry a pamphlet with a couple of spells for him to practice.

Professor McGonagall was an even bigger help, pulling Harry aside after class to help Harry, in her words, not embarrass Gryffindor House by only being able to spray a few sparks at Malfoy. Her advice was to use the light spell, Lumos, to blind Malfoy before using the disarm charm, Expelliarmus, to leave Malfoy without his wand. If they didn't work, he was to spray sparks at Malfoy in a hopes that Malfoy either fell out of bounds or Harry could try disarming him again.

During the practice, McGonagall also mentioned that packages would be arriving for Tanya and him and that they were not to open them in the Great Hall, but to take the packages straight to their rooms and that their first quidditch practice would be Thursday evening at seven with Wood. Harry agreed to let Tanya know that.

When Thursday did roll around, neither Harry nor Tanya were surprised that a pair of packages landed in front of them, though the dozen owls carrying two suspiciously broom shaped packages did cause a stir around the Great Hall. Not wanting to upset Professor McGonagall and promising to explain later, the pair took their packages up to their dorm rooms and got ready for classes. Harry wanted so badly to open it and look at what he got, but Tanya calmly reminded him that even if he did, he would not get a chance to test it out until that evening regardless.

Despite the reassurances, Harry was distracted all day thinking about the package sitting on his bed or that he was going to learn how to play quidditch that night. Tanya, however, seemed perfectly able to focus on her work with no issue. She showed no glee or excitement or that anything about the day was special or unusual. When Harry tried to bring it up with her, she just told him there was no point letting the excitement get to them, that they would have a chance to open the packages in a few hours.

Those hours seemed to drag on forever to Harry until he was shoveling food into his mouth without paying attention to what he was eating so he could get back to the dorm room as quickly as possible. Ron followed close behind, wanting to see what it was as well.

Getting to the package sitting on the bed, Harry tore open the wrapping to the gasp of Ron.

"A Nimbus 2000! I've never even touched one."

Harry looked over to his friend as he continued pulling the wrapping off and admiring the beauty of the broom. "Is it good?" Harry asked.

"The best. It is what the professional quidditch teams have been using for the past few years, though I have heard they got a new model coming soon."

Harry didn't know much about brooms, but he and Ron marveled at it. It was gorgeous in Harry's opinion, a sleek, shiny, deep mahogany handle that had golden letter declaring it was a Nimbus 2000 at one end and went down to a long tail of straight twigs aligned neatly.

"You have got to give that a ride," Ron said after a while of admiring the broom.

Harry agreed and headed down to the common room where Tanya was waiting with her own Nimbus by her side surrounded by several other students asking about her broom. Seeing Harry coming down the stairs, Tanya stood up and grabbed her broom.

"Let's get down to the field and test these out before practice," Tanya said. She did not look overly excited, but Harry thought he could see a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

"Yeah, let's go," Harry said with a smile.

—

Tanya Degurechaff

Flying with a broom was rather different than orb based flight. With an orb I would have applied vectors to my body and the strength of the vectors were completely disconnected from my orientation within three dimensional space. With a broom, vectors of force could be applied in any direction, but the strongest vectors were in the direction the broom was facing and to change the facing of the broom. For what is classified as a racing broom, this was a beneficial decision as getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible was the only concern, but for overwatch situations the lessened ability to strafe was a disadvantage.

While judging the precise difference in speed was difficult, I estimated the broom I had was able to achieve about half the speed I was able to as an aerial mage in my previous life. Despite that, the tighter area of operation of the stadium and impromptu obstacles of the stands and goals made the test flight a rather enjoyable affair. Having Harry nearby to compare myself and challenge in maneuvers certainly made the endeavor into an activity I would enjoy engaging in again.

After some time of flying around, we were called down by Oliver, who had a wooden crate under an arm. Coming down for a landing, Harry and I got ready for our lesson. Wood's wide grin and laughter showed he has a relaxed, easygoing captain. I had met several individuals that were capable and effective leaders with similar personalities, though it was a personality I often found I needed to pound out of soldiers as it often came along with a negligent work ethic that negatively impacted the abilities of those around them. I would need to take a wait and see approach on how effective Wood was as a captain.

"I see what Hooch and McGonagall were saying," Wood said when we got to the ground. "You two are naturals! Alright, I'm going to go over the rules now and we will decide which of you is the seeker and which is on reserves later after we start team practice. We will be practicing three times a week."

It had been a long time since I was in school last, particularly a school outside of an active war situation with a truncated curriculum, but if I remembered right the sports clubs in my first life typically met twice a week. Then again, with a boarding school where there was no worries about commutes, or familiar responsibility to interfere, it made sense to increase the number of meetings.

Wood opened up the crate and pulled out a red ball that was about the size of a soccer ball. "So, quidditch is pretty easy to understand, but can be a bit difficult to play. Seven players a side. The first three are called chasers." Wood indicated the ball. "This ball is the quaffle. It is the chasers' roles to get this ball through the goals. 10 points for each time the quaffle gets through. Follow me?"

I nodded as Harry repeated out loud the main points.

"The chasers throw the quaffle through the hoops trying to score. Sort of like basketball on broomsticks and with six goals is it?"

"What's basketball?"

"Muggle sport," I answered. "Similar goal of trying to get a ball through a hoop. A question, please."

"Go for it."

"You mentioned that there are seven players, but only three are chasers. Does that mean only chasers can score? And if the chasers are in an offensive role of attempting to score, does that mean the other players are defensive?"

"Bingo," Wood tossed the quaffle at me. It was a fairly light, but sturdy feeling ball. "Yes, if one of the other players does manage to toss the quaffle through a goal it is considered a technical foul with one exception. That exception is my role in the team, the keeper. My job is to fly near our goal posts and prevent the quaffle getting through. By the rules, I am a specialized chaser in that if I manage to get the quaffle through the other team's goal it does count as a goal."

"Three chasers and a keeper who play with quaffle," Harry said, confirming his knowledge out loud, a useful technique for studying. "They are the only four that can score a goal or it is a foul. What about those other balls?"

Looking into the chest, I could see three remaining balls, two identical ones chained in place that looked like black medicine balls.

"I'll show you now," Wood said handing Harry a club that looked like a shortened cricket bat. "Take this." Once Wood was in position he gave us a smile. "These are bludgers, and I'm going to show you what they do. Stand back."

After Harry and I backed up a few paces, Wood flicked the release on the restraint and the bludger went shooting off into the air before turning around and coming at Harry. With a panicked swing that surprisingly found its mark, Harry sent the ball off in another direction before it turned and came towards me. I braced myself and caught it as it was coming to hit me in the chest. My earlier thoughts of it looking like a medicine ball seemed correct. It seemed to be a heavy metal ball about the size of a cannonball wrapped in black leather. Wood gave me directions to put it back in the chest and helped me lock it back into place.

"Blimey, how'd you stop the bludger like that?" Wood asked.

"Magic," I said as I looked at the club Harry was holding. "I take it someone uses that to knock the bludgers around."

"Yes. The bludgers rocket around the field trying to knock players off their brooms. Each team has two beaters to defend their team and knock the bludgers towards the other team."

"Three chasers, one keeper, two beaters. That is six out of seven players. You already mentioned seeker earlier as the role you are trying to fill. Is that what the last little ball is for?"

"You are a sharp one," Wood told me as he pulled out the little golden ball. A tiny thing that sprouted wings and was about the size of an eye knocked out of someone's skull. "This is the golden snitch. It is the seeker's job to find and catch it, a tricky thing because of how small and fast it is, weaving through all the other players in a dash to get it first. The first seeker to catch it ends the game and scores their team 150 points, nearly always winning their team the game. I think the record was three months, they had to keep finding substitutes just so the players could get some sleep. Any questions?"

Harry shook his head. I agreed that the basics were simple enough, but that behind that was a lot more to it than met the eye. I was not one much for sports ever since I was shown to only be of averaging ability in my school days back in my first life, so long ago, but I would do my best while I was required to be on the team in the mean time.

"So, 15 goals with the quaffle equals one catching of the snitch. If I did not know better, I would almost say this was two games stitched together."

"Not this again," Wood said with a roll of his eyes. "I don't see why muggle raised kids think that."

I have Wood a look. "I said if I did not know better. I can definitely see how that is the case in an amateur level of play because the level of coordination and situational awareness would be a strain to integrate the seeker's hunt with the chasers' scoring, but at higher levels of play, the seeker and snitch becomes a bit like a hybrid of the queen and king in chess. The most powerful and valuable piece on the board, but one that can be mitigated with the other players by preventing the seeker from getting into a position to properly engage the snitch to win the game. With enough distractions from the beaters and bludgers and the chasers finding ways to effectively rack up the score, then advantage the seeker gives is entirely eliminated."

Wood was grinning at me again. "I think we are going to get along great," he said before roping me into a discussion on different tactics and plays that have been used in professional quidditch that unfortunately do not work in their school level games.

—-

Harry Potter

Harry did not understand all the talk Tanya and Oliver did after they were taught the rules to quidditch. He knew it had to do with how players were meant to be positioned during certain times or something in order help or hinder the seeker from getting the snitch. Harry thought he would be a rather bad chaser or beater if he had to keep all that in mind, but when they were done talking Oliver pulled out a bag of golf balls and said they were going to see which of them would be the better seeker with a test.

Harry came out ahead, not letting any of the ones thrown at him hit the ground, and even managing to catch a few tossed at Tanya. Tanya did very good as well, but from what Tanya said, his eyes were better than hers at following the little balls. Harry wasn't so sure and thought Tanya might have been holding back a bit, letting Harry take the lead, but it was so hard to tell for sure.

Regardless, Oliver Wood seemed excited for their chances at the quidditch cup this year, certain that it would be in Gryffindor House this time. His excitement was so great that Harry almost forgot to be worried for his duel in two days.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Parvati Patil

Parvati was not sure about being separated from her twin initially when she was sorted into Gryffindor after her sister was sorted into Ravenclaw. They had spent their entire lives together, doing everything together as twins and the thought of being separated was a little scary, but she was not going to be alone. She had dormmates to get to know and distract her. Especially Lavender.

Lavender was great. Outgoing, confident, and full of so much advice and gossip. They could spend hours chatting away without any issues.

Lily could also chat for hours, but the girl was so energetic that Parvati felt exhausted after being in her presence for too long. Blessedly, Lily was easy to silence by distracting her with something.

Hermione was not so easy to shut up when she got rolling on a topic, and all the topics Hermione wanted to talk about were so boring. Who cared who invented the spell they were using or what all the different uses of some potion ingredient was?

Despite that, Parvati was willing to still call Hermione a friend. At least Hermione didn't scare Parvati.

Tanya terrified Parvati. She didn't talk much and kept what she did say short. And Tanya's eyes. Parvati and Padma went on a trip to India when they were younger to visit their extended family and while there a tiger got close to the property they were staying at. Tanya's eyes reminded Parvati of the look the tiger gave her and her Papi when they stumbled upon the tiger. So confident in its strength that it did not need to threaten. And Tanya was strong. Parvati knew how difficult it was to lift the school trunks and the beds they had did not look light either, and Tanya was able to push and lift them with seeming no issue.

And then there was Tanya's sleep schedule. Or lack there of. Parvati has yet to see Tanya actually fall asleep. Oh, Tanya would lie down and be still, but she didn't go into the deep breathing the other girls did. Parvati was certain Tanya was not sleeping and was just waiting till it was acceptable for her to get back up.

Even the way she saved Neville scared Parvati. The way she seemed to pounce off the broom and attack Neville's form before twisting them around to land. And then she was on her feet, pouncing onto Neville again looking for something.

The only thing about Tanya that allowed Parvati to sleep peacefully was that Tanya seemed to have decided that the Gryffindor First Years were hers to protect. Parvati was afraid to find out what would happen to her if she ever ended up on Tanya's bad side. If Tanya wanted yoga, Parvati would go along with it. And so far it seemed leading a simplified version for the other girls less used to the positions did not seem to anger Tanya. Parvati was not sure how long this would last, but hoped Tanya would at least give some warning before it was no longer enough.

On the bright side, a dueling club was starting up and Harry Potter was going to be there participating. So far he was not as impressive or interesting as the stories made him out to be, but he was still a rather cute boy. One who frustratingly spent a lot of time near Tanya, preventing Parvati from getting close to him, but the dueling club seemed a great way to maybe spend a few moments with him without Tanya's presence.

The morning of the dueling club started rather normal for a Saturday, yoga, shower, then breakfast. Malfoy could be heard bragging about something across the hall, likely saying how he was going to beat Harry. Harry was looking nervous until Ron said something to him, followed by something from Tanya that seemed to firm up Harry's confidence. After breakfast, everyone went to do their own things until the club was scheduled to begin, with Parvati stumbling on Lily with her arm in the vanishing step.

"What are you doing?" Parvati asked.

"Looking for treasure! People are constantly stumbling and jumping over this step, so they might have lost something."

"Find anything?"

"A galleon, two sickles, and a couple of broken quills!"

"Right, have fun I guess." Parvati moved past the other girl to meet her sister at the library before heading back down to the Great Hall together. Once they arrived, they saw the tables had been pushed to the side and a platform was in the middle of the room, on the platform was a white line that lead to two circles at the ends and a small mark halfway between the two circles. Professor Flitwick was standing in the middle of platform with Harry, Malfoy, Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore behind him.

There was only a small gathering of students that were in the Great Hall, the rest of the students in the castle seemingly having decided to do other things on their Saturday. Parvati and her sister got good positions at the middle of the platform to see what was about to occur.

"Alright, I do believe that is about everyone who will be showing up," the squeaky voice of Flitwick called out as he waved at the students. "There has been some interest by certain students in starting the dueling club back up, and I am rather happy to lead this club. As some of you may already know, before I started teaching here, I was on the professional dueling circuit and even managed to win a few tournaments back in my prime. It is with great honor that I lead this club and help share my passion with all of you who choose to join. Today, we will be just showing off a few exhibition matches and going over a few of the basic rules, if you are interested in actually joining up, sign up sheets with the location of the dueling room will be posted in each of the common rooms."

Professor Flitwick backed up onto another platform behind the main platform so the diminutive teacher could still be seen as he motioned for Harry and Malfoy to get onto the platform.

"So, for the first match, we have Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy. Neither of them had participated in a duel before, so I expect both of you to pay attention as I give instructions." Professor Flitwick looked at the two boys until they gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Good. Now in dueling, only magic is allowed to be used, no physically hitting each other. Secondly, you are to start with one foot within the circle and if you fall off the platform, that counts as a point for the opponent. Disarming counts as three. Any solid strike with a spell counts as one point. For this first match, we will be going to three points only, though a traditional match is to fifteen."

The professor made sure both Harry and Malfoy understood before continuing.

"Now, tradition dictates the duelists bow to each other to show respect. That's it."

Parvati thought the bows were rather stiff looking and the two boys did not let their eyes leave the other.

"Now take your starting stances. We will discuss proper form during the first meeting, so don't worry if your form isn't great right now. Just make sure one foot is in the circle. Very good. When I give the instruction, begin the duel. And when I tell you to stop, you will stop. Am I clear?"

With a pair of nods, Flitwick raised one arm and began a count down. "Three. Two. One. Duel!"

Harry started off whipping his wand forward while shielding his eyes with his other arm. "Lumos!" He yelled, causing a bright light to shine.

At that same moment, Malfoy also snapped out a spell, but his casting was quieter and Parvati couldn't hear his spell being cast and by the time her vision cleared the, she couldn't tell Malfoy had cast a spell at all.

Harry uncovered his eyes and cast another spell that went wide over the red spell Malfoy sent out. The boys were moving closer on the platform. Malfoy attempted to cast another spell, but Harry responded by sending sparks at Malfoy. Malfoy tried to get out the way and Harry sent another spell at Malfoy, knocking Malfoy's wand out of his hand as Malfoy fell off the platform.

"Winner! Potter!" Flitwick called out. Snape had gathered Malfoy's wand and was helping the boy up while McGonagall gave Harry a small smile. Parvati and the Gryffindors in attendance were giving Harry cheers for winning that died down with Flitwick's instructions. "Settle down, settle down. To end the duel as both contestants are able to, it is traditional for them to bow to each other again. There we go. Now, Mr. Potter did an admirable job on getting the first point in Mr. Malfoy. And a winning point at that, but as that was a shorten duel, there was little chance for either one to get the measure of their opponent's dueling style. Not that either Mr. Potter or Mr. Malfoy have much of a style yet. Now, how about something a little more exciting?"

There were cheers across the hall as McGonagall and Snape took their places across from each other and bowed to the other with more confidence and grace. Flitwick counted them down and the spells began flying.

Few incantations were said at all, the spells seeming to fly out of the wands with only the smallest flicks of the wrist. McGonagall transformed the platform as she blocked and dodged Snape's spells and sending her own across the platform.

"Point McGonagall!" Flitwick called out as Snape was hit with a stream of water, the first hit of the match. Snape looked rather annoyed as he was dripping wet while McGonagall was smirking. Without saying a word, the spells began flying again. Colorful bolts crossing the platform, either being dodged or splashing against rapidly raised shields or bits of transfigured platform. The display of skill was dazzling as the two professors dueled.

"Point McGonagall! Match Snape!" The last exchange went so fast, but Snape was on the ground with the jelly legged curse, but he managed to slip a disarming charm through McGonagall's protections. With a few flicks of his wand, Snape had undone the jelly legs and dried himself off while McGonagall had her wand returned. The two professors bowed before beginning to repair the dueling platform. As the platform was transformed back into its normal shape, Dumbledore took position at one end of the platform with Flitwick taking position at the other end.

Snape took center stage as the referee. "And now students, the final match of the day before you go off and fill the rest of the day with whatever inane activities you do outside of class."

Dumbledore gave a graceful bow, his long white beard touching the floor before taking his stance. "Go easy on this old man. It has been a while since I last fought." There was a smile on the Headmaster's lips as he brandished his wand.

"Not on your life. I haven't had a good duel in ages," Flitwick replied with his own bow before readying his stance.

"If you are quite done," Snape drawled, rolling his eyes at the theatrics Flitwick and Dumbledore were doing before the match even properly began. "Three. Two. One. Duel."

With that Flitwick sent a flock of small birds down the platform that were whipped out of the air by a flaming whip coming out of the end of Dumbledore's wand before he turned his whip into a shower of burning flower petals swirling back and turned to steam by shouts of water out of Flitwick's wand. Flitwick disappeared into the steam momentarily until it condensed down into icy blades sent back to Dumbledore before being blasted into a fine, snowy mist.

Where the duel between Harry and Malfoy was nearly pathetic in the spells used and the duel between Snape and McGonagall a fierce back and forth, the duel between Flitwick and Dumbledore was beautiful in a way. The way the colors of the spells reflected through the mists, crystals, and smoke they were creating was a light show on par with, or perhaps Parvarti would even say surpassing, any fireworks show she had seen.

The show, the spectacle, the performance. It was so beautiful. Like a combative belly dance. A thought crossed Parvati's mind. A stage outfit of hers plastered on the front of Witch Weekly as she toured the dueling circuits. A smile on her face as she watched the duel unfold.

—-

After spending some more time with her sister and giving Padma a hug before they separated, Parvati found a relatively quiet corner of the Common Room and began sketching her ideas for dueling outfits. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when one of her drawings was picked up.

"Hmm, clean line work. Proportions look good."

Parvati looked up and squeaked seeing it was Tanya. Tanya carefully put the image she was looking at down before picking up another.

"The outfits look like they are able to actually be worn by a person, though I would defer to others on the fashionableness of them."

"They are suppose to be dueling outfits," Parvati said, not sure what she was defending her drawings from.

"In that case, you will want to lift the hem up. And this dangling sash bit should be brought in closer to the body. You don't want anything getting in the way of maneuverability or that can easily get caught."

"Like this?" Parvati asked, making the adjustments.

"Yes," Tanya said before making other minor suggestions. A tightening here or there, perhaps padding there for protection. Parvati would not say it was a friendly interaction with Tanya, but if one was going to step into a dangerous field, one needed to heed the advice of a dangerous being.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Harry Potter

Two months seemed to have flown by so quickly when Harry realized it was already Halloween. The regular study sessions, quidditch three times a week, and dueling club weekly filled up his time to the point Harry was having difficulty telling how much time was even passing. Harry was slightly upset his two best friends couldn't share the extracurricular activities with him. Ron couldn't participate in the quidditch practice because he wasn't on the team and Tanya refused to join the dueling club. When Harry had asked why she didn't show for his duel or join the club, she told him that she wanted a peaceful life away from unnecessary violence.

The way she said that made Harry think she had a bad experience before she arrived at Hogwarts and was trying to make a fresh start at her new home. Something Harry fully understood as Hogwarts felt more like home than the Dursley's ever did. Harry hoped that Tanya was feeling as at home as he was.

As the first years traveled through the corridors towards breakfast, it certainly smelled homey with the sweet-spicy smell of pumpkins baking filling the castle. Even better than that, when they arrived for charms class, Professor Flitwick announced that he believed the class was ready to make objects fly, something everyone had been looking forwards to since the professor made Neville's toad fly around the room.

The class was divided into pairs with Flitwick selecting the partners. Harry was with Seamus, Tanya was with Lily, and Ron was with Hermione. It was hard to tell what Tanya thought of her partner, but Lily seemed happy about the situation. It was harder to tell between Ron and Hermione who was more upset about their partner. The two had been butting heads constantly during the study sessions over Ron's attitude to the sessions and doing the homework right away when they could push it off till later and play some chess or something. They never got to the point of yelling at each other, but the tension between the two was thick.

The spell was difficult. You had to do the swish and flick of the wand just right while pronouncing the words. Neither Harry nor Seamus had much luck and out of frustration, Seamus poked the feather, lighting it on fire. Harry managed to put out the fire with his hat. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Tanya was helping Lily with her wand movement as they said the spell repeatedly, slowly and deliberately.

Out of the other corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron was having about as much luck as Seamus and him, only Ron seemed to be taking it worse with Hermione's attempts to help him.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Ms. Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very sour mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Hermione ran past, bumping into Harry with tears in her eyes. Before Harry could say anything, he felt every hair in his body raise suddenly.

"Ron. We will be having a discussion later," Tanya said. That tone scared Harry on Ron's behalf and he could not explain why.

"Why does she want that?" Ron asked as Tanya followed after Hermione.

"I think they both heard you."

"So?" Ron said, trying to brush it off, but looking uncomfortable. "They must have noticed Hermione has no friends."

Harry shook his head as they continued their day.

Neither Hermione nor Tanya were seen during their next class or the rest of the afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati telling Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and Tanya was trying to calm her down despite Hermione's repeated requests to be left alone. Ron looked rather guilty at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione's problems out of their minds.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.

Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll, in the dungeons… Thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

The hall broke out into an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Ron's brother Percy was in his element as he directed the first years to follow him up the stairs to the Common Room.

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.

"I've just thought, Tanya and Hermione."

"What about them?"

"They don't know about the troll."

Ron bit his lip. "Oh, all right," he agreed. "But Percy'd better not see us."

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and
disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me."

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's footsteps faded in the distance. Harry could feel the hairs on his neck beginning to raise as they got closer to the girls' room.

They were about to turn the corner when they heard a loud crashing sound followed by a roar and a bang before the roar was abruptly cut off. The two boys snuck up to the corner and peaked around.

"Bloody hell," Ron wheezed out as the smell caught them full force. A smell that was a horrendous as the scene they stumbled upon. The troll was dead.

It was missing its leg, a large tree trunk stuck in the floor where the missing limb sat.

It was missing its heart, a messy hole oozing blood in the center of its chest.

It was missing its head. Its head was being held in Tanya's hand, looking at its corpse, before she dropped it to the ground with a moist splatter.

Tanya was soaked in blood, her robes wet and drips falling from her hat. Even her wand, gripped in hand, was dripping blood.

A whimper caught the boys' attention, showing a cowering Hermione that Tanya was moving towards.

"The fight is over," Tanya said in a soft voice. Harry was tempted to call it soothing if not for the grisly sight behind the girls.

Footsteps suddenly came up from behind the boys and they turned to see McGonagall followed shortly by Snape.

"What on earth are you two doing here? Why aren't you in your dormitory?" McGonagall's lips were pressed tight and white while her eyes were burning fire.

Harry tried to move his mouth to answer while Ron gulped.

"Well?"

"Hello professors," Tanya said as she came around the corner, helping Hermione who looked shaken. One look at Tanya and all the color drained out of McGonagall's face and the fire in her eyes died as she rushed to check Tanya over.

"What happened? Oh dear, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. None of the blood is mine. Some creature was making a ruckus and it was a bit harder to deal with it than I initially thought."

Harry did not think Snape could get any paler, but when the professor look around the corner and saw the troll the little color he had drained out of his face.

"Ms. Degurechaff, are you saying you took out the troll?" Snape asked, still looking at the mess.

"Is that what that was?"

"Why were you out of your dormitory?" McGonagall asked.

"Ron made a comment that upset Hermione off during a … sensitive time of the month. I felt that I should keep her company and try to help her calm down. I am sorry for losing track of time, I had not realized we were in there so long that curfew came into effect."

Harry didn't know why Hermione was suddenly blushing, but the professor was nodding as if she understood and gave Hermione a sympathetic look. "You did not miss curfew, but you did miss the start of the feast and the announcement that a troll had managed to get into the castle and that all students were to go back to their dorms."

"Good. I could use a good shower," Tanya said with a smile.

"And what about you two? Why were the two of you not in your dorms?" Professor Snape asked as he looked towards Harry and Ron.

Having had a chance to calm down, Harry was able to answer, "We knew Tanya and Hermione weren't at the feast, so after the troll was announced, we went to find them and warn them."

"A bit late to do that it would seem," Snape scowled at the boys.

"Indeed. And you boys should have told a teacher or prefect about the issue and not wandered off on your own. Five points each from Gryffindor for irresponsible behavior. As for you Ms. Degurechaff, twenty points to Gryffindor for helping your housemate in a difficult time and for sheer blind luck."

Tanya cocked her head and Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise.

"What luck? I was never at any risk and I ensured Hermione was at a safe distance."

"For taking out the troll with whatever, what is it?" McGonagall asked Snape as he shook his head.

"I can tell from the remains, Ms. Degurechaff was rather deliberate in her methods. Messy, but deliberate."

"I'm sorry Professor, but normally creatures die if they no longer have a heart to pump blood."

McGonagall's face grew ashen as she finally looked around the corner.

"But it would appear showing it its missing heart did the trick."

"Ms. Degurechaff, I will be letting Dumbledore know about this. For now, all of you return to your dorms. The students are finishing the feast there."

"Thank you Professor."

The wet squelching of Tanya's shoes followed them as they walked back to the Gryffindor Tower.

—-

Hermione Granger

The first two months at Hogwarts had been awful. While she got to spend plenty of time with her classmates outside of class thanks to the study groups that Tanya helped setup, Hermione was still without any friends. No one really seemed to want her around. She was trying so hard to fit in with the other girls and she could tell she was only being tolerated.

The idea of writing home asking to leave had been crossing her mind and Ron's insensitive comment just snapped something in her and Hermione had to go find a place to cry. She just wanted to be left alone and Tanya refused to do so. Hermione didn't know why Tanya stayed and talked while Hermione cried, but it was appreciated, even though Hermione tried to push her away.

Eventually, Tanya convinced Hermione it was going to be fine and they left the bathroom together, only to be confronted by a horrible smell akin to raw sewage. Around the corner came a troll, swinging its club. Tanya attempted to talk to it, but the troll just attacked.

The next thing Hermione knew, she has been pushed out of the way and Tanya was fighting the troll. Tanya was putting herself in harm's way on Hermione's behalf and all Hermione could do was freeze up. Hermione was frozen up and Tanya seemed a bit excited as she dismantled the troll piece by piece until it stopped moving. Then the fighting was over so quickly and Tanya was helping Hermione, helping like she had been trying to all day. Helping even when Hermione was trying to push her away.

Helped Hermione find a seat in the Common Room even though all eyes were on them in the packed room.

"What happened to Tanya?" Deans voice called out from the crowd.

"She killed a troll," Hermione answered.

"How'd the little firstie kill a troll?" One of the older students Hermione had not gotten to know yet asked.

"She ripped out its heart, but that only made the troll angry, but when the troll tried to hit her with its club, she pulled the club out of its hands and crushed its leg. Then she used her wand to cut off its head."

"Cutting charms do not work on trolls," Percy said. "They are magically resistant."

Hermione shook her head. "No. She didn't use a spell, she took out her wand and used it to cut off its head."

The Common Room was silent for a moment before Hermione got bombarded with questions that she did her best to answer. At some point, Harry handed a plate of food to her and told everyone that she was probably hungry and needed to eat.

Hermione gave Harry a grateful smile before digging in.

The conversation drifted for a bit after that until Tanya came down wearing clean, casual clothes and her hair wrapped in a towel, her wand and wand polishing kit with her. As soon as she was spotted, a voice called out asking how she managed to cut off the troll's head.

"Magic." Tanya moved to begin making a plate of food.

"You use that excuse all the time," Lavender yelled out. "How'd you do it?"

"Emit mana at a waveform of three hundred hertz with an amplitude of five cenna within a flattened ellipsoid with a sharpen great ellipse of less than point one two millimeters in thickness with point zero zero two being a more preferable upper bound."

The entire house was silent at that explanation. Hermione barely understood what Tanya said and could not figure out how that translated into what she did.

After a moment, Tanya looked up and saw the confused looks she was getting. "Like I said, magic."

"If you hadn't just killed a troll, I would think you should be in Ravenclaw," someone said.

"The Hat said I would fit well into any of the houses. It chose to place me here."

—-

Albus Dumbledore

Albus knew he should have gone to see to the student from the orphanage himself. While not always as bad as Tom was, they were almost always the young witches and wizards with the most unusual paths through Hogwarts. He could have gotten a look at her. Seen early on if she was going to be another Tom before something happened. She was sorted into Gryffindor, which put Albus's mind at ease. And she was friends with young Mr. Potter which filled his heart with joy that they had both found a friend.

And then she kills something in a horrifically brutal manner. Thankfully this time it was only a troll, but there might be other creatures she killed at the orphanage that Charity had missed noticing. The situation was concerning and he needed to talk to the young witch to hopefully head her off from going down a dark path.

The morning after during breakfast, Albus made a simple announcement. "The corridor on the second floor near the girl's room is closed until it is cleaned and repaired unless you wish to meet a most horrible stench."

Afterwards, McGonagall informed Ms Degurechaff to meet him in his office. Her arrival was rather swift and Albus welcomed her into his office with a kind smile. He wanted to encourage she stayed on the path of the light, not frighten her into anything drastic.

"Welcome. Lemon sherbet?" Albus offered up his bowl of sweets to her.

"No thank you, sir. I am not a fan of sour sweets." Albus nodded to himself. He knew his fondness of sour was not as widely shared as he would have liked.

"Quite alright. What sort of sweets do you prefer then?" Dumbledore motioned for Ms. Degurechaff to take a seat which she gracefully did.

"Sweet and bitter."

"Oh? Not too many kids your age enjoy bitter sweets." Indeed, it was not popular among most people Albus knew to enjoy bitter flavors.

Ms. Degurechaff smiled as she thought of something. "A good dark chocolate can be rather divine. Particularly with a good cup of coffee."

Albus gave a chuckle. The elves had been at work making coffee lately and trying to improve at it. Dumbledore had thought one of the fifth or sixth years had gotten a taste for it over the summer and were trying to seem cool for bucking the trend of enjoying a nice cuppa tea. "I'm sure. I'll keep that in mind the next time I invite you up to my office. Now, do you know why I called you here?"

Ms. Degurechaff gave a nod, a smile on her lips that Albus had seen on several politicians trying to get something out of him. "Is it about the troll, sir?"

Albus removed the smile from his face and steepled his hands as he looked at the young lady across from him. "Yes, and how you are feeling about killing it."

"I am fine sir."

That was what Dumbledore feared. No one should be so casual about killing.

"Are you sure? No regrets about it?"

Tanya shook her head and gave Dumbledore another smile. A different one he couldn't read.

"No sir. I did what was needed to protect Hermione."

There was no deception. Albus could read surface thoughts easily enough to know when someone was being honest or lying without actively digging deep into their minds and Ms. Degurechaff honestly felt no regret for protecting another. Dumbledore felt a huge relief that there was still light within her.

"Protect Hermione, but not yourself?"

Dumbledore needed to see how much light was in there and if it could be fanned to help prevent another promising student from pursuing dark aims.

"I was never at any risk, sir."

A rather fair point that she demonstrated she was fully capable of taking on a troll by herself without any harm coming to her or Ms. Granger.

"No, I suppose you were not. And if she was not there, would you regret killing the troll?"

Perhaps a hypothetical would get the answers Albus wanted.

"No sir. If a dangerous beast breaks in and is a danger to the children here, I would not regret putting the creature down. Losing any human life would be far more regrettable than losing the life of some beast that cannot properly communicate with us."

Albus smiled. No deception at all. Her wording was a little funny, but it was good to know she was following the knightly conduct Godric Gryffindor wanted out of his namesake house.

"Very well. It is good to know you are doing well. If you ever need to talk about this or any other issue, know that my office door is always open."

It was unfortunate that none of the students ever seemed to take him up on his open door policy, but Albus supposed his legend and position did make him difficult to approach over minor details that the other faculty members could take care of.

"Thank you sir."

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

The Headmaster doubling as the school counselor made a surprising amount of sense considering the small population of students and how he likely had plenty of time during regular class time to conclude what administrative duties he needed to perform. It also gave off a very caring image that he wanted to speak immediately after what would normally be a rather traumatizing event for the less capable individuals.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Lavender Brown

A troll breaking into the school was frightening, and a like bit exciting. Knowing that at any moment it might break through the portrait or that it might have shown up while they were going through the corridors to the Gryffindor Tower sent a shiver of excitement down Lavender's spine. That everyone made it to the house safely did not dull that excitement, even as the house continued the feast among themselves. It was after a while that Parvati asked Lavender about where Harry was.

Looking around, Lavender saw that Ron wasn't there either. Spotting Lily, Lavender asked her if she knew where they were.

"Last I saw they were sneaking off at the second floor towards the girl's room that Ron made Hermione run to when he made her cry."

"And you didn't tell the prefect they left because?" Lavender asked.

"They were sneaking, which means they were trying to be stealthy and me pointing out they were sneaking off would have ruined their stealth. Though I suppose Tanya does say we need to be learning from each other as much as possible so me pointing out they weren't doing a good job would help them be sneakier in the future and I would be teaching them a lesson on how to sneak away."

Lavender bit her lip as she looked around the Common Room. No one else seemed to have noticed they were missing yet. "Parv, should we let the prefects know," Lavender asked unsure.

Parvati fidgeted nervously. "Yeah. I think we should," she said after a moment. Before they could get to Percy though, the entrance swung open and the two boys stepped in looking a little green. Everyone turned to the entrance then and the ending of conversations let them hear the wet sounds of footsteps coming behind Harry and Ron. In came Hermione, being helped by the grisly sight of Tanya.

Lavender could see the dark brown-red splatters on Tanya's face and the same staining her shirt so completely that if Lavender didn't know she had been wearing a white shirt this morning, she might think that was the shirt color. The black color of Tanya's robes and hat hid the color, but it was still clear both were wet with something.

The thing that bothered Lavender the most about Tanya at that moment was her expression. Tanya did not seem concerned she was covered in some thick, disgusting liquid. All she did was lead Hermione to a spot on the couch that was quickly vacated before excusing herself to wash up. Harry and Ron immediately placed themselves around Hermione.

"What happened to Tanya?" Dean asked.

"She killed a troll." That answer put all attention on Hermione as she was asked a number of questions until Harry got her a plate of food and told everyone that Hermione hadn't eaten yet.

Lavender's roommate killed a troll. There was something terrifying about that. Something terrifying about the roommate she had been the least friendly with killing a troll and walking around in its blood as though it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Lavender's eyes were drawn to the splatters that formed the path Tanya took.

"She can't be fully human," Parvati said next to Lavender, forcing a bark of laughter out of Lavender.

"What do you think she is then?"

Parvati shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know if I want to know. What I do know, whatever she is, she is helping us."

A shiver went down Lavender's spine. "Yeah. You're right."

Whatever she was, Lavender wanted to be on her good side.

When Tanya did come down, wearing what Tanya called her casual clothes, a loose button-down shirt and a pair of loose pants with a bunch of pockets in a swirling pattern of colors, she immediately became the center of attention again. Before this, Tanya was mostly ignored by the older students, but killing a troll did a lot for a person's popularity.

Someone asked Tanya how she managed to cut off the troll's head.

"Magic."

The same excuse she used the first night when she moved the bed and trunks so easily. They were here to learn magic and she wasn't explaining what magic she was using.

"You use that excuse all the time," Lavender yelled out. "How'd you do it?"

It couldn't be that difficult if Tanya was doing it the first night they were here.

"Emit mana at a waveform of three hundred hertz with an amplitude of five cenna within a flattened ellipsoid with a sharpen great ellipse of less than point one two millimeters in thickness with point zero zero two being a more preferable upper bound."

Lavender was not expecting such an answer and was left speechless, along with the rest of the house. None of it made any sense to her. Magic was waving a wand and saying words and getting something to happen. It wasn't whatever Tanya just spouted out. Was it?

Lavender's head hurt trying to figure out what Tanya had said and just went back to the food and talking to Parvati about things very carefully not related to their roommate before heading up to the room for bed after the food was mostly eaten and the night was dragging on.

—-

The following morning began as it always did with some yoga, blissfully lead by Parvati, before they went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. There things went a bit different with Dumbledore announcing that the corridor Tanya killed the troll was out of bounds for now, which leads to much muttering from three of the tables. Lavender knew her house was the only ones that had the story and that the gossip vines would be filled with all sorts of versions of how Tanya killed the troll with all sorts of embellishments, and hearing the different versions should prove rather delightful.

After Dumbledore's announcement, Tanya was told to see the headmaster as soon as possible. Hermione promised to bring Tanya's school supplies along to potions.

Lavender was not sure if Potions or History of Magic was her least favorite class, but both were not particularly fun. Professor Binns sucked all the life out of the room while Professor Snape seemed to just smother the joy out of the Gryffindors. The only one that seemed to still like potions in Gryffindor seemed to be Hermione. Lavender might have been tempted to put Tanya into that camp as well if she expressed any preference for anything. The closest thing Lavender got out of Tanya was that she liked clothes with pockets.

Which, is like, fine, but pockets were not the only part of fashion that was important. Colors and cuts and styles were also important to making a cute outfit.

Not that it mattered when going to class thanks to the uniform everyone wore.

Tanya arrived to Potions last, but still before Snape began the lesson.

"Ah, Ms. Degurechaff. So good of you to join us. I trust there were no other creatures that got in your way to class."

Tanya shook her head as she took the empty seat next to Hermione. "No, sir. Actually, sir, I had a question if there is still time before class."

"I suppose I can allow it."

"When are you going to announce the sign up for the theater club?"

The few muted conversations that had been going on stopped at Tanya's question as everyone turned to look at the spectacle about to unfold.

"The theater club?" Snape asked with an odd smile.

Tanya just nodded her head. "Or whatever it would be called. You are the drama teacher, right? And I have not seen anything about drama being an elective or any sign ups for a school play, so I was wondering if I might have missed the notice or if it has simply not been announced yet."

Lavender and several of the other students couldn't help but giggle at the idea of Snape being the drama teacher. Giggles that were swiftly ended by his glare.

"There is no theater or drama club currently due to a lack of interest. If you could get enough students to agree to join, I will see what I can do about setting one up, but I must ask why someone with your destructive tendencies would want to join a drama club."

"I have not attempted acting before and thought it might be enjoyable to give it a try."

"Riiight," Snape dragged the word out before sweeping his robes around him as he strolled to his chalk board and with a wave of his wand a recipe appeared on the board. "If there is no more questions, we will begin today's lesson."

Lavender had several giggle fits during the lesson as Snape moved around the classroom and she attempted to picture him on stage doing the same moves.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

Creating a flyer and sign up sheet for students interested in joining Professor Snape's Theater Club was a rather simple affair. I did something similar on my last life on several occasions. Just clearly lay out the details with flowery language to provoke interest and get the word out to the people who would be interested. It was typically the last part that was the most difficult, but I was in a position to utilize the rapport I had cultivated with my teammates.

Fred and George Weasley were model students in practically every manner. Serious and studious enough to maintain the grades necessary to remain on the quidditch team with no issues, yet able to make others laugh with an ease that left them highly popular among the student body. They would likely be my best choice in gaining enough sign ups to allow Professor Snape the chance to put on a performance this year.

The twins were not difficult to find, the pair of them clustered together over a parchment in the Common Room, some bit of homework undoubtedly. As I approached them, they quickly put away the assignment and turned to me.

"How may we help you?" One of the twins asked.

"Yes, what does our favorite little troll crusher need from the two of us?"

So helpful right away, another model example they provided. One of them would surely become prefect, unless the teachers thought awarding it to only one of the twins unfair to the other and politely offered it to one of the other boys in their year.

"I was hoping you would help me get sign ups for theater. I am sure I am not the only one interested, but the two of you are far more popular than me and should be able to gain the ear of a larger portion of the students than I could." A bit of flattery never hurt when asking for help. The pair puffed up their chests a bit and graciously took the fliers I had and the sign up sheets to look them over.

"Well, let's see what you have," One said as they began to read. I was rather proud of what I had come up with.

'Bright lights and standing ovations,
Those with passion and glorious purpose wanted.
Voices clear and movements grand,
Everything we do, we do for the crowds.
Join us on the stage,
Sign up for the theater club today.'

"This seems pretty good."

"Why us?"

"Quite right, why not just ask a professor or prefect to put these in the other Common Rooms?"

A clear attempt at fishing for more compliments. An easy trade to make for their cooperation. "The professors and prefects would likely just post it. You two are able to actually gather a crowd to yourselves and announce it."

"And who is the professor running your little theater club?"

What a silly question. There was only one professor appropriate for the role. "Professor Snape. He is the drama teacher after all, such a shame there was too little interest and he has only been able to teach potions."

The twins looked at each other and smiled.

"Are you thinking..?"

"I believe I am."

"Shall we?"

"It would cut into our time."

"But the possibilities this opens up."

"It is rather tempting."

"I think we should."

"We shall."

The twins pulled out quills to sign on the sign up sheet just below my name already on it. So nice to see them willing to set aside time from their busy schedule to help a favored teacher.

They then put their arms around me.

"Little Troll Crusher, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Indeed, my dear brother. You were already our favorite little firstie."

"Don't tell Harry. He is going to be an excellent seeker."

"But he is a bit on the boring side."

"However, feel free to tell Ron."

"He's our brother and it is our duty to mess with him."

"Just so. Now, how about you tell us more about what you expect this theater club to be like."

Being on friendly terms with the popular students was an excellent result that would help make my time at Hogwarts smoother. Very similar to getting cozy with a senior coworker in my first life or the brass in my second. I did not need to be a popular kid so long as people associate me with the popular kids.

—-

Lavender Brown

Getting ready for bed had a bit of a routine to it, just as getting up in the mornings did. Lavender and Parvati would take showers at the same time, gossiping or generally chatting freely. Lavender had gotten her parents to send scented soaps, so she no longer needed to borrow Parvati's. After the shower and drying off, the two would brush their teeth in order to avoid Hermione's lecture on the importance of proper dental care.

Tonight, the routine was interrupted by Tanya speaking up from her bed.

"Would any of you be interested in joining me in the theater club?"

Lavender bit her lip. It sounded like fun, but it was Tanya who was asking for a club headed by Professor Snape. Spending more time with Professor Snape outside of class was not high on Lavender's list of things she wanted to do and she just did not like Tanya.

If she thought about it though, Tanya was currently popular. Being on her side meant that Lavender could steal some of that popularity for herself. Getting on stage in front of the entire school had a thrill to it. There was just one thing Lavender had to know.

"Why do you want to be in theater?" Tanya was so private about everything and rarely spent much time with others outside of the group study or when she went down to quidditch practice. She did not seem like the type that would want a lot of attention on her, but here she was wanting to be a part of what should be the most social activity in the school.

"I never tried it." Tanya seemed to be looking on the distance as she answered. "I never tried acting before and I want to get away from what I have done. To actually get away from the fighting."

Lavender's grandfather was involved in the Global Wizarding War, having fought in the conflict. The way he talked about the fighting and what he did afterwards was very similar to how Tanya was talking about… her past? Lavender was missing something, but Tanya seemed to have had a violent past. How? They were all eleven and thanks to Harry everything had been peaceful.

"I'll join," Hermione volunteered, not sounding too sure about herself.

The two least social people were joining the most social club?

"I will too," Parvati said, giving Lavender a nervous look. "If nothing else, the costuming will be fun."

"Yeah, I'll look as well," Lavender decided. "You'll need a leading lady after all." A flip of the hair along with a confident smile helped hide the nervousness Lavender was feeling.

The only one who hadn't agreed yet was Lily. Lavender turned to look at the grinning loon along with the other girls.

"What about you Lily?" Hermione asked.

"I can't agree now," Lily said with a shrug. "I already put my name on the sign up sheet next to Fred's to help Tanya because she seemed to really want to do this and she has been so helpful that the least I could do was help her in return. Which means I already agreed to join when it gets started so I would have to unagree first in order to reagree now and if I unagreed that would make Tanya sad even though I was only doing it to agree at the same time everyone else was agreeing to help her."

"Thank you Lily," Tanya said. "Thank you everyone. Hopefully it will be a good experience."

Lavender nodded her head in agreement. Hopefully it would be a good experience.

—-

Minerva McGonagall

Being handed a stack of papers by the Weasley twins that did not involve an assignment she had assigned them caused Professor McGonagall to raise an eyebrow with suspicion.

"And what is this you are giving me?" She asked the pair, looking over her glasses at the two boys.

"Sign up sheets," One said.

"For Snape's Theater Club."

"One of the firsties asked us to help her get it going."

"So we found a bunch of students interested and got them to sign up."

"We even double checked to make sure we had more than enough students interested for such a club before taking the sign up sheets to you."

"As the Deputy Headmistress, you are the one with the most say in which clubs can get started."

"Other than Dumbledore of course, but as our Head of House, we could get a hold of you much easier."

"Certainly easier than finding Snape."

"So, how about you go ahead and approve that and we'll let the little firstie know her club is started."

"And which first year did you day asked you for help?" McGonagall continued to look at the pair suspiciously.

"Tanya."

"Just came up to us with the forms drawn up."

"Even had her name right at the top."

McGonagall carefully looked through the papers before nodding. "Everything appears to be in order. I will let Professor Snape know his club can begin its meetings. Now you two, go run along. And do stay out of trouble, please."

""Us? Trouble? Never,"" both twins said at the same time before heading off. As they walked away, behind their backs, McGonagall allowed a smile to appear. She then moved swiftly through the corridors of the castle down to the dungeons where she found Snape working on a potion.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything," she said as she watched him work.

"Of course not," Snape drawled out as he adjusted the flame and wrote down some notes. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing Severus. I was just stopping by to let you know that your theater club has been approved and to hand you the list of interested students."

"Did our little troll slayer go behind my back and tell you?"

"Oh no. It was the Weasley twins who informed me of this. I must say, I was not expecting you to want to start up a Theater Club."

Snape scowled. "I didn't. But she surprised me by saying I was the drama teacher."

McGonagall laughed a little. "Oh my. Is that what she thinks of you?"

"Oh very funny. Laugh it up." Snape rolled his eyes.

"I suppose she is not wrong, Severus. Although I do not think any other student would see it as dramatic. Moody, maybe." McGonagall set the papers on Snape's desk. "I do look forward to the performance."

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Tanya Degurechaff

Professor Snape swiftly arranged the first meeting of the theater club in an otherwise unused classroom in the basement, not far from the Potion's Classroom where the Weasley Twins helped him give a wonderfully dramatic welcoming speech about bewitching the mind, perfecting mimicry, melting cold hearts, and how we would, for a brief moment, turn fantasy into reality. Snape must have seen the natural talent the two had for the stage and when he saw they had signed up he tapped them for help making this club a success.

After the welcome speech, Snape told us it would be our responsibility, with his approval of course, to select a production we would like to put on in front of the rest of the school. A few of the other students had suggestions for plays or musicals they would like to do. I was asked for my opinion and I had to admit that I did not have much knowledge about any of this and had no preference.

Everyone seems to be confused about why I want to be in the Theater Club if I did not already have a love of stage productions. I have to tell them only part of the truth because the full truth includes some elements even the magi of this world would likely find fantastic. It is true that I had never gone into acting and that I thought doing so within this school setting would be an enjoyable way to spend my time.

The full truth was that I am old. Really old. Physically, I may be eleven, but spiritually I have lived over a hundred years of life. I made it to a point in my life that I was able to look back on my history and I realized that I had focused too much on financial stability that I was not able to enjoy life while my body was able to. The thrill rides at amusement parks would be too risky for my old heart, most games were the realm of the youth, and I allowed the chance of a life partner slip me by. I let myself grow old before I allowed myself to enjoy life and I did not want to repeat that mistake.

As I was nearing the end of my life, a popular film genre was of high school aged children engaging in drama and theater classes and clubs. I would not normally have watched such films, my preference having always been for historical and military pieces instead, but one was on the television during a stay in the hospital. The energy and joy the actors were showing during the performance on the screen felt so real, so visceral that I cried realizing I had chosen to write such frivolousness off as unproductive. That I had skipped out on having fun just for the sake of having fun.

I am far too embarrassed to ever acknowledge, even to myself, how many times I watched those movies in my final days before I slipped the mortal coil of that life and entered into this life.

—-

After that first meeting, I remembered I had not discussed with Ron his behavior towards his fellow Gryffindor. Pulling him aside for the discussion was a rather simple affair, using the words that always seem to make men nervous.

"Ron, we need to have a talk."

Harry vacated Ron's side swiftly at that and Ron himself looked nervous. Good. His behavior was inexcusable.

"What about?" His voice wavered as he looked around the Common Room and unable to see whatever it was he was looking for.

"Your behavior. You said several things that hurt Hermione's feelings severely and nearly got her killed."

"I didn-"

"I know. You had no way to know she was being put into danger and that is exactly the problem. All of our actions have consequences and if I wasn't there, she very well could be dead now."

"I'm sorry."

I gave a less than kind huff. "I am not the one who nearly died. You will beg Hermione for her forgiveness after I am done with you. What I want to know is what were you thinking? Why would you say something like that, especially in a public place where anyone could hear you?"

Ron started to look down.

"Eyes on me," I reflectively ordered. Decades later and when I am dressing someone down I still expect them to maintain eye contact. It is basic respect.

Ron looked back at me and flinched. "I was upset. She is such a bossy know it all and I was just talking."

"You were upset? You often get upset?"

"Uh, well."

"Do you often get upset?" The desire to call Ron a soldier was stamped down ruthlessly as I gave Ron no room to wiggle out of answering me.

"Yes! Sometimes maybe." Ron took a step back as he answered me.

I took a step towards him and looked him directly in the face. "You are going to apologize to Ms. Granger. You will then be joining me regularly for lessons on controlling your emotions. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Ron squeaked, his eyes wide open.

"Then go!" I watched as Ron hurried off to apologize before grabbing my bag to see if the library had any copies of the plays mentioned at the Theater Club to develop an opinion on the options.

—-

November began the quidditch season properly with the first game being Gryffindor versus Slytherin. When it came to the matter of sports, this was evidently the primary rivalry in the school. To a degree, there was rivalry between all the houses in order to extract the best performance out of the students, but the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor was the fiercest on the quidditch pitch.

The morning of the match promised to be a chilly affair with the windows frosted around the edges. The atmosphere around the Great Hall seemed particularly energetic as the student body waited in anticipation for the match. Harry, however, seemed to be rather nervous, refusing to eat and claiming he was not hungry.

Not wanting my teammate suffering from a lack of energy on the field, I took it upon myself to ensure he ate by preparing him a plate of toast and the less greasy looking sections of eggs and set the plate in front of him. The fatty meats of the sausages would only further upset his stomach if the nerves were getting to him, but he needed energy.

"Eat this. I don't want to see you flying on an empty stomach. Have some pumpkin juice as well."

Looking him in the eyes, I could see Harry made the decision to follow my instructions with no further complaints.

"And relax, I will be there to ensure nothing too bad happens to you."

After breakfast, the team met in the locker room and put on the team uniforms, a surprisingly warm robe in red with our names on the back. Well, they would have had our names on them, if someone had not decided to put nicknames on them instead. Beat the nicknames and call signs I had in my last life, so I was not going to complain.

—-

Lee Jordan

"Hello Hogwarts! Welcome to the first game of the year between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It should be a spectacular game today. And here comes the teams. Slithering out in green we have Captain Flint playing chaser along with Pucey and Montague followed by keeper Bletchley. After him we have beaters Bole and Derrick and dragging in the rear is the seeker Higgs.

"And coming out on the other side in scarlet, we have Captain Wood playing keeper followed by the bevy of beautiful babes-"

"Jordan!"

"Sorry Professor. Following Wood is the chasers; Johnson, Spinnet, and Bell. Then we have the troublesome twins, Fred and George Weasleys as beaters. Following them is the boy-who-lived, Potter, as Seeker. And bringing up the read we have the reserve member, Troll Crusher!"

"Jordan!"

"What? It is what her uniform says."

"It does no- whoever did this has lost their house 20 points."

"You hear that audience, best make sure no one finds out who changed the Gryffindor's reserve member's uniform to say Troll Crusher, even if she was the one to crush that troll last week."

"Jordan."

"Sorry Professor. Just adding some light commentary as the players get in position. And Madam Hooch has released the balls. The game has begun and Johnson has taken control of the quaffle first. Pass to Bell, back to Johnson, over to Spinnet, and oh it has been stolen by Flint who is rocketing back, flying like an eagle. He is going to sc- excellent save by Wood who sends the quaffle to Johnson. Pass to Bell who dives around Flint. Heading down field and - ouch. Bludger to the back of the head and Bell is down. Troll Crusher-"

"Jordan, her name is Degurechaff."

"That is not what her uniform says."

"Regardless of what her uniform says, you will call her by her name and not some silly nickname."

"Yes Professor. Back to the action Slytherin had control of the ball, but it is back in Johnson's control. Clear field ahead of her as she heads down field flanked by her fellow chasers. In comes a bludger and it… is kicked… by Degurechaff? Well, I think we can see how she was able to beat the troll."

"Jordan…"

"Sorry Professor. Anyways, Johnson shoots. Bletchley dives. Misses! Gryffindor Scores! First point of season! Pucey gains control of the quaffle and is traveling down field, but here comes Degurechaff! A rolling steal out from under Pucey's arm. Nicely done! And we have a double bludger strike at Degurechaff. A flip to avoid the first. And slaps the second one to the ground. Remind me to never get on her bad side.

"Pass to Spinnet. Over to Johnson. Johnson shoots! Gryffindor Scores! Kick by Degurechaff! Double point Gryffindor! Flint takes control of the quaffle, but it is not looking good for the snakes, already down three goals. Flint passes to Pucey. Pucey dodges two bludgers from the Weasley Twins and is speeding towards- was that the snitch? Yes! And the seekers are off. Potter in the lead. Watch it folks, the game might be- oh! And Hooch has called a foul on Flint for purposely moving to block a seeker chasing a snitch.

"After that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-"

"Jordan!"

"I mean after that open and revolting foul-"

"Jordan, I'm warning you."

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession. Wood motions for Spinnet and the now recovered Bell to switch places. Johnson drop passes the quaffle to Degurechaff who hands off to Bell. Looks like the snakes saw this coming and have placed Bell in a pincher maneuver. Montague takes the quaffle and eats a bludger to the face for his troubles. Hope that broke his nose. Kidding Professor. And Slytherin scores. Oh no.

"Forty to ten, Gryffindor's favor. And Bell- wait. Something is going on with the Gryffindor Seeker. It looks as though his broom is out of control. And the players have noticed. Degurechaff coming in hot, and pulls Potter off his broom. Flint is telling something at Hooch as Degurechaff sets Harry onto the ground, Spinnet joining the rise into the air. Degurechaff has switched to seeker position as she goes to searching altitude.

"Johnson has the quaffle. Toss to Spinnet who moves into scoring range. Higgs has begun a chase with Degurechaff hot on his heels. I can see the snitch. Degurechaff takes the lead. Flint takes a shot at the goal, blocked by Wood. Degurechaff catches the snitch! Gryffindor Wins! One ninety to ten! And absolute smashing success.

"Looks like Flint is arguing with Hooch. Hooch has announced the official results. Gryffindor Wins! Fair and square! Woo!"

—-

Albus Dumbledore

Dumbledore had watched a large number of quidditch matches over his many years at all levels of play. In all that time, he has never seen, to use a Muggle phrase, a person tank a bludger as well as Degurechaff managed to. To kick a bludger into going the opposite direction required an intense amount of force.

Flints accusations of possible cheating had to be investigated to uncover if any out of match potions were being used or other underhanded tactics. Meeting with Hooch on the field, Dumbledore looked down at the small girl. So tiny, yet something about the way she was looking around at those around her gave Dumbledore the impression that she was only physically the smallest person there.

"Ms. Degurechaff, would you mind explaining how you managed to kick that bludger?" Dumbledore asked as kindly as he could. Tanya turned to look at him and gave a nod.

"Strengthening and reinforcement spells."

"See, she cheated!" Flint yelled. "You can't cast spells like that during a game!"

"Wanded spells are prohibited as are equipment charmed in a manner that gives an unfair advantage. I did neither."

Dumbledore believed her. The confidence that she did nothing wrong and her surface thoughts showing she believed what she said fully was enough.

And yet… "If not equipment or a wanded spell, are you saying that you performed wandless magic then," Dumbledore asked.

"I suppose one could say that, but to do so implies I was using a proper spell which provides a specific effect on the target. What I was doing was more of a constantly in flux event where I am infusing my muscles and bones with mana in a manner meant to protect said structures from damage which has the secondary effect of increasing the safe level of expressed strength I am capable of providing."

Dumbledore smiled at the explanation. It has been so long since he was able to talk about advanced spell work in such a manner with someone.

"Mana is not a term often used in describing magical effects," Dumbledore commented.

"I am sorry sir, but it was the only term I had available for the magical energy that produces spell effects."

"Oh it is quite alright. I understood what you meant. Though I am curious how one would go about recreating such an effect."

"Is the results of the match getting over turned or what?" Flint asked. Dumbledore looked around and realized most that only he, Snape, and McGonagall had been able to follow what Degurechaff had said well enough to know the results of the match for sure.

"Oh no. What Ms. Degurechaff did was not against the rules of quidditch, though it is a rather advanced technique. Five points to Gryffindor, Ms. Degurechaff. Most impressive. We should setup a time to discuss this more, perhaps over some tea? I'll be sure the elves have some coffee prepared for you."

"Thank you sir. I think I would enjoy that."

"Excellent. Now if you all don't mind me, I do believe I have a few forms on my desk needing my eyes on them."

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

The victory from the first game was well celebrated in the Common Room that evening. After a few hours for my house mates to get the joy out of their systems, I was able to locate Ron and begin his lessons on emotional control. Moving to a somewhat quieter area of the Common Room, I had him join me in sitting down on the floor.

"Hands in knees. And close your eyes."

"Why am-"

"Silence. You will do as I say. Now close your eyes. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. Good. Now clear your mind. Focus only on your breathing. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. The first step in controlling your emotions is being able to identify them. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. To identify your emotions, you must…"

Ron fell over, his breathing deep and even. Tanya have the sleeping boy a glare.

"We will need to work on that."

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Harry Potter

Losing control of his broom was a rather troublesome situation for Harry. The way it bucked and bounced under him, attempting to knock him off while Harry slowly went higher and higher into the air until Tanya pulled him off and brought him safely down to the ground before taking to skies again as the seeker. After the match, he had retrieved his broom from where it had landed just outside the stadium. He could not see anything wrong with it, the condition of the broom was exactly the same visually as before the match when it was working fine.

As he was looking his broom over, Tanya joined him with her own broom. They quietly looked the two brooms over before Tanya shook her head.

"They look the same," she said, standing up. "We should go ask Professor McGonagall to send these back to the manufacturer. Something is wrong with your broom and mine is likely from the same batch."

Harry did not want to hear that and groaned his disappointment loudly.

"I'm not happy about it either, but some silly game is not worth you getting seriously injured."

"I know," Harry grumbled as he grabbed his broom and stood to join her in looking for their Head of House.

As they wandered the halls looking for the Professor, Malfoy happened upon them.

"Being escorted by your girlfriend, Potter?"

"Are you finally giving up on me?" Tanya asked in a far too innocent voice for Harry's liking.

"I was never interested in you."

Tanya placed a hand over her heart and staggered. "You wound me."

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked with a roll of his eyes.

Tanya stood upright again and returned to her neutral expression. "Acting. You know, the thing we are learning to do in theater?"

"Whatever. Where are you going with those brooms?"

"Taking then to McGonagall. There is something wrong with Harry's and mine is likely to have the same defect if it is a manufacturing issue."

"You don't know how to check yourselves?"

Harry shook his head. "Everything looks the same as when I got it."

"Then it is probably the rider," Malfoy suggested with a smirk.

"At least I am good enough on the broom that I didn't need correction about my hand position by Madam Hooch."

"At least my parents are around to have taught me to fly a broom-" Harry felt the hairs on his body raise and his pupils dilate.

"Malfoy," Tanya's tone was ice cold and sent a shiver down Harry's spine. "You do know that both of us are orphans, correct?"

Harry could see a hint of fear appear on Malfoy's face. Harry could not see Tanya's face and was not confident he wanted to turn to look.

"Y-yeah. What about it?" Malfoy tried to hide his nerves with bravado, but Harry could see the cracks.

"Then you are aware that you are close to speaking ill of the dead, correct? I would advise you choose your next words very carefully."

Harry saw Malfoy struggle to gather his confidence until Crabbe and Goyle stepped out of the bathroom and took up their positions on either side of him.

"Whatever," Malfoy scoffed and turned to walk away. "If your parents weren't good enough to live, then good riddance."

"Your father will hear of this."

Harry could practically see the hallway frosting over with Tanya's declaration. Malfoy's confused expression might have given Harry some joy if not for Tanya's reaction to Malfoy's words.

Following closely behind Tanya, Harry did his best to not let the panic scratching at the back of his mind take over. His friend might be scary at times, but she was still his friend. He thought he knew her well enough to know that she would not do anything overly reckless. Though what constituted as reckless to Tanya was a question Harry could not answer, but he was sure she would be fine.

It took them a while longer to find McGonagall. She was talking with the Weasley Twins and looking annoyed about something while the twins were grinning.

"Hey Troll Crusher," one of the twins called out.

"We will continue this later," McGonagall said before turning to Harry and Tanya. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Yes," Tanya said, offering her broom to the Professor. "The malfunction of Harry's broom during the recent match is rather concerning. We cannot find any issues with the broom that would explain it."

"So you are both giving up your brooms?" a twin asked.

"No. We just need to have them looked over by a professional," Tanya answered before turning to the Professor. "Would you please send these back to be checked for defects?"

"Of course. I'll get that taken care of right away."

"Well, good thing we don't have another game until after the holidays," one of the twins said.

"Though it would be nice to play a pickup during the hols," the other twin said.

"I would much rather not fly in the cold," Tanya said, waving off suggestion. "Keeping up a climate control formulae suite in flight for the purpose of a game does not appeal to me and I would rather not play in the snow without such."

Harry could guess that Tanya was talking about some sort of heating charm. Hermione had learned to create a blue flame that was able to keep them warm, but what Tanya was describing sounded better.

"Anyways, I have a letter to write," Tanya said before giving a small bow to the Twins and McGonagall. "Speaking of, would you mind if I borrowed your owl to deliver it?"

"Not at all," Harry said with a grin. "I'm sure Hedwig would love the chance to stretch her wings."

"Thank you," Tanya said as they headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

—-

Letter

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

While I regret that my initial contact with your person must be on such unpleasant business, I am afraid that it falls upon myself to inform you of news that your son, Draco Malfoy, has been acting in such a manner as to bring upon himself and your house a most ill reputation through his discourteous actions and words. It would be a disservice to your family if you were left unaware of the events in question to correct these grievances and guide your child properly into a productive member of society.

While his early discourtesy, mostly taking the form of repeated attempts to engage his Gryffindor classmates in a childish fracas, was the sort of minor boyhood nonsense which might be expected from a young man of high standing, whenever these attempts were rebuffed through gentle teasing, Young Malfoy has attempted to call upon your specter as protection, rather than stand upon his own merits in the face of a conflict he himself began. Indeed, his cries of "When my father hears of this" have become a rather predictable rejoinder that leaves Young Draco seemingly having few convictions and limited abilities of his own and a desire to ride the coattails of those who came before him.

It is however his most recent insult given to a pair of orphaned individuals within his year that moves my hand. His precise wording was, "If your parents weren't good enough to live, then good riddance."

I believe that explaining precisely how such words would, in a more barbaric time, have resulted in an honor duel that would see your offspring left bereft of his life is unnecessary. This insult is made all the worse for the parents of one of the orphaned individuals died an honorable, soldier's death protecting their child and taking their murderer with them into death's embrace. To disrespect the dead shows contempt for the dead. To show disrespect to those who died fighting is to show contempt for every service person who puts their life on the line every day to keep society going and civilians safe.

I choose not to believe that this behavior is the result of your parental guidance as it is clear that Young Malfoy respects you as his father greatly. Instead it is likely that his first time out from under your guidance has left the child adrift in an unfamiliar location and his actions are the results of an uncertain boy exploring a new situation and erring.

I am not one to offer advice on how one should rear their child and will instead leave you with the hope that such behaviors can be corrected for and that Young Draco Malfoy may yet grow to be a responsible member of society.

Sincerely,
Tanya Degurechaff

—-

Hermione Granger

Hermione watched as Harry and Tanya looked over their brooms before deciding to take them to Professor McGonagall. A small smile crossed Hermione's lips as they made that responsible decision. Hermione suspected that some form of foul play was at foot with Harry losing control of his broom. After Hagrid pointed out Harry's erratic movement, Hermione had attempted to borrow his binoculars and scan the crowd, but, by the time she had found Snape, Tanya had begun helping Harry to the ground. The smile Snape had concerned Hermione, but she had no evidence that he had done anything wrong.

Having some free time to herself, Hermione decided to go to the library. Tanya seemed to have an advanced understanding of magical theory that allowed her to pull off feats that they should not be able to accomplish as first years. One of the books in the library must have the information that Tanya is using, but nothing Hermione had read have been useful for understanding what Tanya meant when she described the spells she used that were not a part of the curriculum.

After another fruitless research binge, Hermione returned to the Common Room with a rough plan of curling up in a warm corner with 'Hogwarts: A History' for some light reading when she saw Tanya writing something down while Harry Harry gave his beautiful snowy owl some attention. Going over to the two, Hermione sat down and gave Hedwig some scratches under the neck. Hedwig leaned into the attention and gave a soft whistle while closing her eyes.

"What are you working on?" Hermione asked Tanya.

"A letter," Tanya answered before scribbling her signature at the bottom of the page and folding in a rather intricate manner into being its own letter. "Do I need to put an address or anything on this?" Tanya asked Hedwig.

Hedwig gave a huff and turned her head as if insulted that such a thing was necessary for her.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to insult your capabilities. This is just the first time I have sent a letter by owl and I do not know the correct norms I need to follow."

Hedwig looked at Tanya and gave a nod, appearing to accept the apology before sticking her leg out to allow the letter to be tied on. Once the letter was secured, Hedwig was off in the air, heading towards its destination.

Tanya got up and stretched before heading towards the Common Room entrance.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, starting to follow.

"Hm? Oh, it is nearly tea time," Tanya answered. "The headmaster invited me to join him. I don't think he would mind if you were to join as well."

"Are you sure?" Hermione didn't think that sounded right. Dumbledore was a busy man and his time was valuable. It seemed wrong to interrupt it for some tea.

"Yes. I do not think he gets as many student visitors as he would prefer."

Harry began to get up as well. "Hey Ron!" He called out. Ron looked up from the chess set he was sitting at as he played against himself. "Want to join us for some tea?"

Ron gave a shrug and quickly put the pieces away. "Sure."

With the decision made, Ron, Harry, and Hermione followed Tanya till she came to a stop in front of an old gargoyle statue.

"Dumbledore is expecting me for tea," Tanya told the statue. Ron and Harry shared a look as nothing happened for a moment until the gargoyle began moving to reveal a staircase they took up to the headmaster's office where Tanya gave a firm knock.

"Come in," Dumbledore called out. "Oh, you brought your friends as well."

Dumbledore's smile was kind and his eyes were twinkling as he sat at his desk, a beautiful tea set in place with a selection of finger sandwiches to the side.

"Let me conjure up a few extra seats for you." With a swish of his wand several lovely, but mismatched, chairs came into being around the desk. Each had thick cushions and were very comfortable to sit in. "So nice to have some students join me for tea for a change. Don't tell Fawkes, but he can be a rather dull conversationalist at times," Dumbledore leaned in and whispered conspiratorially as he indicated a magnificent red bird behind him.

"Fawkes is a beautiful bird. What kind is he?" Tanya asked, taking her seat as the others followed her lead.

"A phoenix. Rather amazing birds they are. My family has a long history and affinity towards them." Dumbledore seemed to beam with joy as he talked about his bird. "Now, you like your coffee black if I recall correctly."

"Yes sir," Tanya nodded as Dumbledore poured the dark brew into a mug rather than the more dainty tea cups that were set in front of everyone else.

"And how about you? How do you like your tea?" Dumbledore switched to picking up a different pot of the brown and true.

"Milk and sugar, please, sir," Ron answered first, in awe of being served tea by the headmaster.

"Just cream, sir," Hermione answered, trying to take a page out of Tanya's book and treating this more casually than she really felt the situation warranted. They were having tea with Dumbledore, the most powerful and important wizard currently alive.

"Cream and sugar, please," Harry said with a smile as he was served.

After serving the children, Dumbledore added a couple heaping spoonfuls of sugar before twisting some lemon into his own cup. "How is the coffee?"

"It has been getting better. I do like the darker roasts, but it seems to be overly bitter still. I think the temperature of the water might be too high?"

"How so?" Dumbledore asked, picking up a cucumber sandwich and motioning for the children to help themselves.

"Something I sort of remember. I enjoy a good cup of coffee, but I never got into the craft of brewing it myself. I think I remember that for darker roasts a lower temperature is needed to brew out only the good flavors and to avoid too many of the bitter flavors." Tanya took a long sip from her mug. "I am impressed by the speed at which whoever is brewing the coffee has improved though."

"I believe it is Beeny. I'll be sure to pass along your compliment. She will be most pleased with the compliment. And how about you? How are the rest of you settling in to Hogwarts?"

"It's been brilliant, sir," Harry answered with a large honest grin. "I love it here." Dumbledore's smile became soft at that answer and the sparkle in his eyes almost seemed misty.

"Yeah," Ron nodded his head. "The food's great."

Hermione arched an eyebrow in Ron's direction before shaking her head. "I have been doing well, sir," Hermione answered. "The classes are great and I am learning so much."

"That is so good to hear," Dumbledore said. "While I have you here, do any of you have anything you want to ask me?"

Hermione bit her lip before nodding to herself.

"No, but I believe you wanted to discuss something with me," Tanya said before Hermione could ask her question.

"Ah yes. You mentioned that you infused yourself with mana during your quidditch match to protect yourself."

"What's mana?" Ron asked, his mouth occupied with a sandwich. Hermione gave Ron a glare while Dumbledore slid a napkin in front of the boy.

"Mana is magical energy. It is what actually produces the magical effects we call spells," Tanya answered in her tutoring voice.

"Isn't it our wands that produce spells?" Ron asked.

"No. The wand is a focus for magic. And we are the source of the magic that comes from the wand," Dumbledore answered.

"If you want to feel your mana, take it your wand and try to produce sparks without an incantation or wand movements," Tanya said as she took her wand out of the holster she kept on her side and demonstrated with a small spray of sparks coming out of the end of her wand. "There should be a clenching feeling. The more you try to force the effect without the aid of incantations or wand movements, the stronger the feeling should be."

Hermione took her wand out and tried to do as instructed along with Harry and Ron. Hermione managed to do as instructed by thinking back to her trip to Olivander's. She felt the clenching feeling. It was very slight and Hermione couldn't describe where it was, but it was there.

"Could you feel it?" Tanya asked. After getting nods all around, Tanya put away her wand. "That is you using your mana. If you focus carefully on that feeling, and have a firm image of what you want to happen…" Tanya trailed off as she held out her hand and a ball of light formed in the palm of her hand. "You can perform magic without a wand."

Dumbledore clapped, a large grin on his face. "Most impressive. You have not only performed wandless magic, but explained how to do it in a manner appropriate for lower year students. Most adults can't perform wandless spells and some of us who can have found the effort of learning not worthwhile."

"Thank you Headmaster." Tanya gave Dumbledore a small smile before turning back to her fellow students, the ball of light dispersing. "The Headmaster's point about the effort potentially not being worth the effort is correct. Particularly for increasingly complex spells. Keeping all the relevant information properly aligned in your head along with directing the mana and keeping an eye on your environment is difficult. Additionally, with the wand, incantation, and wand movements, by taking some of the effort off yourself and putting it into a focus and ritualistic casting you are capable of producing stronger spells than you could without."

"So, wandless casting is impressive, but not always useful?" Harry asked, getting nods from both Tanya and Dumbledore.

"You're bloody brilliant, Tanya," Ron said, looking at her with a grin on his face.

"Thank you."

"Is this related to how you killed the troll?" Hermione asked.

"In a way," Tanya said taking out her wand. "As I mentioned that night, I created a mage blade by emitting mana," Tanya's wand began to glow, "with a waveform of a particular frequency, strength, and shape." The glow began to take on a defined shape similar to a flattened teardrop. "What I described that night would produce this. A good shape for sure, but with practice it is possible to make the blade significantly sharper and more in line with a modern knife design." As she spoke, the magic teardrop morphed into a shape that looked familiar to Hermione. It looked a lot like the knife from the Crocodile Dundee movie Hermione watched with her parents a couple of Christmases ago.

"Interesting." Dumbledore leaned in to look closer at the blade. "Most interesting. I am quite impressed Ms. Degurechaff. Your methods are not the way we teach silent casting or how we would go about teaching wandless casting, but they do appear rather effective."

Dumbledore began stroking his beard. "Most interesting indeed. And you have been helping your fellow students with a study group?"

"Yes sir," Tanya said.

"If you keep up the good work, I hope you will help next year's batch of first years. I believe this school is made all the greater thanks to you."

"Thank you Headmaster."

—-

Albus Dumbledore

'A most interesting young lady indeed,' Dumbledore thought to himself as they finished up their little tea party and he invited the four students to come by any time. The young Tanya Degurechaff was proving to be a most interesting student. A rather concerning development considering certain suspicions Albus had about Tom Riddle's demise. So far though, the young lady seemed to be genuinely a kind, helpful young lady with an incredibly bright mind. A kind, helpful young lady and not in the ways Tom pretended to be helpful when it served his purposes. No, Tanya has gone out of her way to help her fellow Gryffindors in a proactive manner.

There was no time now, but perhaps over the coming winter break he could stop by Tanya's orphanage and ask a few questions.

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2021

Letter

Dear Tanya Degurechaff,

I thank you for your letter informing me of the errors my child has made, though it has left me with a few questions as well.

First and foremost among these questions being who you are. As Chairman of the Hogwarts Board of Governors I am kept informed of changes in staffing and general operations of the school and have not heard of you becoming a member of the faculty at Hogwarts. There is however one Tanya Degurechaff listed among the student roster in the same year as my son. Indeed my son has even made some complaints against this person in my letters, but it would appear my advice to him on the matter has been ignored in a rather unfortunate manner.

I would request from you what your relation to the student Tanya Degurechaff is. In the mean time, rest assured I will be writing to my son about how his actions are perceived and how to more carefully pick his words and will be having a firm conversation with him when he comes home over the winter break.

I await your response,
Lucius Malfoy

—-

Dear Lucius Malfoy,

I apologize for the confusion caused. It was not my intent to portray myself falsely as a member of the faculty, but to simply prevent my involvement in the situation from unduly coloring your opinion and methods of raising your son.

I am the student Tanya Degurechaff and it was myself along with Harry Potter that had our parents insulted by Draco.

My personal feelings about my parents are nonexistent due to having been left at an orphanage at an incredibly young age with no information on who they were or why I was not left in the care of a family member. The unknown status of my parents aside, Mr. Potter's parents are not people that should be casually insulted in such a manner. I understand there is some belief Mr. Potter defeated the leader of the terrorist organization known as the Death Eaters that caused instability within magical society in the 70s, but it is clear to me that saying a baby killed a prolific murderer and terrorist is a ridiculous claim and that it was clearly his parents that sacrificed themselves to take out the one known as Vol de Morte.

Mr. Potter's parents died ending a reign of fear and terror, fighting so that their child could grow up in a safer, more stable time. To besmirch their name is to spit upon the prosperity and safety of our time.

I apologize if I may have come across poorly in your son's letters. At our first interaction he gave insult to the house I was sorted into. As a response, I chose to 1) pretend that he was interested in pursuing a romantic relation with the cute blonde girl in Gryffindor ie myself and 2) rebuff these fanciful attempts at wooing myself by pointing out that I had no interest in dating him. I do not want you to feel that my lack of interest in your son is a slight against your person or your son's, I do not have interest in pursuing a romantic relationship with anyone at this time.

I am willing to allow Young Draco's youthful transgressions to slide by this time.

Sincerely,
Tanya Degurechaff

—-

Lily Moon

Theater Club was so much fun. They practiced fake emotions and how to pretend to be people other than themselves and how to whisper theatrically which meant talking loudly in a way that pretended to be quiet. And Snape seemed like less of grumpy grumperston during the club meetings and more like a mild confused instructor barely staying a lesson ahead of the class. Lily liked mildly confused instructor barely staying ahead of the class Snape over grump grumperston Snape because mildly confused instructor barely staying a lesson ahead Snape wasn't as mean with his comments and actually a little funny.

Besides the fake emotions and pretending to be other people and whispering theatrically, they were making set pieces for the play they had chosen. Professor Snape said that the roles would be split up after the winter break when practice could be done with regulatory and costumes could be fitted.

Lily Moon liked being able to spend time with students from all the houses, but the Slytherins were acting weirdly around Tanya. Lily overheard earlier in the day Lavender talking to Parvati about how she heard from Lisa Turpin who was talking with Daphne Greengrass that Daphne heard from Blaise Zabini that Draco received a Howler that morning in the first year boy's dorm room. From what Blaise told Daphne who told Turpin who told Lavender who was telling Parvati when Lily overheard, Malfoy's father and Tanya have been in conversations about Malfoy and Malfoy's father was upset about how Malfoy was behaving towards Tanya.

It was like one of the princess stories where an arrangement for the hand of the beautiful maiden is arranged with a dashing prince by the parents, except Tanya is her own parent and the dashing prince. So that would make it more like the stories where the prince comes in to help kingdom in exchange for the hand of the beautiful princess. That seems right! Tanya defeated the troll for the hand of a different fair maiden already, so why couldn't she defeat some other evil beast on the behalf of the most Ancient and Noble Lineage of the Great House of Malfoy?

"Something get your attention, Ms Moon?" Professor Snape asked standing behind Lily as she fell over the boat set piece she was suppose to be painting. Lily gave the professor a big grin as several of the students laughed at her falling over. Snape just sighed before bending over to help Lily back to her feet. "You silly girl. What got you so distracted?"

"The romance between Tanya and Draco," Lily staged whispered.

Snape got a pained look on his face as he closed his eyes. "I apologize for asking. Just do not allow these thoughts to distract you in a more dangerous situation. Like class. Or going down the stairs." Snape went to check on the backdrop the Weasley Twins were working on in a swirl of his robes.

Lily picked up the boat piece she knocked over and began casting the coloring charm again. If Tanya was attempting to arrange a marriage with Draco by talking to his father, Tanya would need to perform some daring feat to show that despite her humble orphaned origins she was worthy of being in the company of High Lords of the Land. A bold daring feat defending Draco's purity and-

"You do know you are talking out loud again, right?" Lavender asked Lily.

"Oh, was I?" Lily laughed. "My bad."

"I don't think Tanya and Malfoy would make a good couple. I mean, sure they would look cute next to each other, but Tanya, well, she's Tanya."

"I don't think they would either, but it is so much fun making stories up. My daddy gets paid to make up stories and he is always saying that he loves what he does."

"That's neat," Lavender said with a funny smile. It looked like the smile Auntie Gene got when Lily hugged her. "Just leave me out of your stories."

"Too late," Lily said, reaching behind her back and pulling out a pair of hand puppets of Lavender and Parvati in pirate outfits. "I already made a story of Captain Brown, Pirate Queen of the High Seas, and her first mate Parvati plundering the seven seas in search of treasure and to enslave cabin boys for your crew and pleasure. I even made puppets."

"So I see. Why?"

"Because you are my friends and creating stories about you as awesome pirate queens is the least I can do for my friends."

Lavender had Auntie Gene's smile again. "Thanks."

"Friend hug!" Lily gave Lavender a hug. Lavender returned the hug. Puppet Parvati pulled Puppet Lavender into hugging Lavender as well.

Lavender pushed Lily away. "I draw the line at being hugged by a hand puppet."

"Ok."

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

Midterms are arriving shortly as the final scholastic event before a portion of the student body goes home to spend Christmas with their families. Professor McGonagall had taken down the names of the students that would be staying over the break and in addition to myself not wishing to return to the orphanage and deal with their religious sermons about the birth of their savior yet again, Harry and the Weasleys would be staying while it appeared the rest of the house would be heading home.

To prepare for the midterms, Hermione suggested a special study session that was achieved through much grumbling and griping.

"Do we really have to do this?" Ron complained rather loudly.

"No, but a quick overview of what we learned this semester would not hurt," I told the assembled students as we commandeered a corner of the Common Room. "Further more, I do not want to see any of you receive a low grade on your midterms."

Low grades would have detrimental effects on the house's standing in the House Cup. Currently the scores were rather close without any one House having a significant lead or falling particularly behind. With the tightness of the race, it would not be proper to be the cause of our house slipping down the rankings.

"To start, how about we check how good everyone's levitation charm is?" Starting off with a relatively fun activity would hopefully keep everyone's attention better during the less exciting parts of the study session. It was not like I could use the threat of danger to keep everyone's attention sharp, we were school children. Not soldiers.

Going through the various spells we had been taught, interspersed with some light theory discussion, allowed us to breeze through a good portion swiftly. Having set a good pace for the study session, we continued touching on the different subjects and checking that everyone at least had a surface level idea of what we were discussing.

On the whole, I felt most of my fellow first years would do fine. Hermione was needlessly concerned about how she would do when it seemed clear to me she would be a top scorer with Harry not too far behind. Parvati, Lavender, Seamus, and Dean would all be fine. My main concerns were Ron, Lily, and Neville.

I gave even odds that Ron would get marked off for putting as few words as he possibly could manage onto the paper in a fit of laziness and apathy towards his schoolwork. Neville would do fine in most of the classes, but he was extremely nervous about potions and he seemed the type to choke under pressure.

Lily… Lily was a tricky one. Her exuberance was clear, but she seemed to space out regularly. When I had asked her about the levitation charm, she went on a tangent about tiny pixies coming out of the wand to lift the paper we were testing the spell on. While imaginative, if I was grading a paper with such an answer, I would mark the answer as wrong and irrelevant.

She was either going to surprise me by managing to achieve high marks, or I would be disappointed in her poor performance and need to take corrective actions. Either way, I will not find out which until everyone is back and class resumes so I would not allow Lily's possible performance bother me when I would have most of a month without classes, clubs, or quidditch practice to get in the way of spending time with a good book.

Half_Baked_cat · Oct 21, 2021

Harry Potter

The first snowfall came in the middle of the night just before the students that were heading home for the winter break left. The chill in the air seeped pleasantly into Harry's body as he gave Hermione a hug. Ron and Tanya had elected to not see their friend off, but Harry wanted Hermione to know how much he valued her friendship. With so few people he could honestly call a friend, each one of them was special to him.

"Thank you Harry," Hermione said, returning the hug. "It is so nice of you to see me off."

"Of course. Have a good trip." The two broke their hug before going their separate ways, Hermione getting into a carriage being pulled by nothing and Harry turning back to the castle.

"Potter," Malfoy called from nearby, Crabbe and Goyle waiting near a separate carriage. "No Degurechaff with you?"

"No, she said her farewells in the warmth of the Great Hall this morning," Harry said, staring down Malfoy. Malfoy looked down.

"Tell her I'm sorry. And I'm sorry to you as well. I shouldn't have said what I did about your parents."

Harry was silent for a moment. He didn't know what to say. Dudley never apologized for anything he did. Bullies did not apologize, they just kept being bullied and would only be sneakier about it if they got in trouble.

"Well?" Malfoy asked, whipping his face up, contorted in anger.

"Tell her yourself," Harry answered. Malfoy scoffed and turned away. "Thank you." Malfoy paused for a moment before continuing to his carriage.

—-

Albus Dumbledore

With the arrival of the winter break, Albus's schedule was freed up enough to pay a visit to the orphanage Tanya was from, Wings of Love Orphan Home. It was a small, well cared for facility from what Dumbledore could see from the outside, though he knew very well that secrets could hide behind such a pleasant facade. With a sigh, Dumbledore began to walk towards the building when the pop of apparition surprised the time with wizard.

"Lucius?" Dumbledore cried it in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Lucius Malfoy coolly replied.

"I have come to check on the home situation of one of my students. What business do you have here?"

"A Ms. Degurechaff I presume. My son has told me some interesting tales about her and I have come to look into her past myself."

The two men stared each other down. Thick tension in the air as the men calculated what to do about the situation.

"I suppose we should go together then," Dumbledore said, turning and resuming his trek to the orphanage.

"Indeed." Lucius began following, his gaze cutting across the street, his disdain evident as he watched the muggle children play in the snow.

With a firm knock on the door, the two men waited a moment for the door to be answered.

"Yes? How may I help you?" A nun asked answering the door and looking at the gentlemen with a raised eyebrow.

"We were hoping to speak the head of this orphanage," Dumbledore said, putting a polite foot forwards. "Tanya Degurechaff is a student at the school I am the headmaster at and we had a few questions about her."

The nun sighed and Dumbledore could feel the sense of resignation coming off of the nun's mind.

"Of course you want to ask about her. And is this gentleman with you a teacher?"

"I am the Chairman of the Board of Governors for the school," Lucius said, putting on his most aristocratic airs.

The nun raised an eyebrow at Lucius before letting the men in. "Follow me. Abbess Jane should be in her office right now."

The men followed the nun as she entered a hallway under the staircase in the foyer of the orphanage. The carpet was worn, there were scratches on the banisters, but the orphanage looked clean with no dust or cobwebs visible to Dumbledore's keen eyes. In the Head Matriarch's office the furniture was well worn, but appeared to be in good, sturdy condition and the bookshelves filled with files clearly labeled and organized.

"These gentlemen are here to talk with you about Tanya."

The Head Matriarch sighed and motioned for the two men to sit. "Thank you Sister Kate. That will be all. I take it you two are from that heathen school of sorceries?"

Dumbledore could tell that the abbess's words struck a cord with Lucius. Despite the harshness of the words, Abbess Jane's thoughts felt more resigned than upset.

"Yes. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, and the man with me is Lucius Malfoy, the Chairman of the Board of Governors."

"So, what did Tanya do?"

"Do?" Dumbledore feigned confusion about what the Abbess was asking about to gauge her reaction.

"We've known since she first arrived here that she was no ordinary child," the Abbess explained. "So what did she do? Did she grow fangs? Did her ears become pointed? Is she green now?"

"No. Not at all. Why would you think she would gain inhuman characteristics?" To have her accuse Ms. Degurechaff of gaining beastly traits was interesting. Dumbledore was concerned about her behavior prior to arriving at Hogwarts, but to have accusations unrelated to actions was most unusual.

"Well, she's not human is she?" The Abbess fully believed Ms. Degurechaff was not human. There was no deception, no deflection, just honest belief that a child that had been in her care for years was not a human child.

"What makes you so sure of that?" Lucius asked, saving Dumbledore the effort.

The Abbess stood up and began looking through her files. "She arrived in a rather unusual manner." The Abbess pulled down a folder with Tanya's name on it. Her full name by the looks of it. "She was left in a basket in the foyer with a note on her. A foyer we lock at night and was still locked in the morning when we found her. Ah, here it is. This note."

The Abbess handed over an old yellowing piece of paper with a single line of text written on it.

'Her name is Tanya Natasha Tenya Ginsei Romanoff Degurechaff.'

Even Albus had to admit to himself that was a very full name and perhaps a bit excessive.

"I have helped raise a great many children, many from infancy, in this building. None have been like Tanya. She learned to speak at an early age, and I do not mean one or two words. No, by the time she was two, she was using full sentences. And it was the strangest thing, she sounded like one of those actresses from the American movies. But as she got older, her accent changed. Or rather, she began hiding it under a different accent."

The Abbess took a seat and stared at the two men.

"I do not know what sorts of sorceries you are teaching those children, but the existence of magic is enough proof for me that those Irish folk tales of the fair folk and changelings are true. Tanya is not human, of that I am sure."

Albus leaned back in the seat and stroked his beard as he thought on this information. There were some creatures that could appear to be human, but there was always a tell. Web toes, forked tongue, something that marked them as different.

"What other proof do you have that she is not human?" Lucius asked with a snarl, likely disbelieving the tale as the ramblings of some superstitious muggle.

The Abbess shook her head. "Nothing concrete, just the way she talks and acts is not the same as a child her age should. Even as a mere babe, she would speak and move about as if she was merely a very small adult. The way she plays with the other children looked more like an adult indulging a child to me rather than two children engaged in a game."

"Interesting. Perhaps we should speak to some of the children," Dumbledore suggested. "Children often have a different perspective on things than adults."

Abbess Jane narrowed her eyes at Dumbledore before staring down Lucius. "You will not be filling the children's heads with stories of your heathen magic."

"We would not think it," Dumbledore promised with a kind smile.

"Before we do, though," Lucius added, a scowl still on his face. "If you believe us heathens, why allow Ms. Degurechaff to attend Hogwarts?"

The Abbess sighed and grasped her rosary. "Even if she is not human, it would be unchristianly of myself and this orphanage to keep her away from her people. I have concerns for her soul, but the good book tells us to be good people to each other, even if they are heathens that will burn in hell, for it is not our place to judge the sins of others."

Albus stayed close to Lucius as they talked to the children to get a fuller picture of Ms. Degurechaff. And the more they learned, the stranger the picture became. The best Albus could describe the impression even the older children had of Tanya was of an aloof older sibling. Distant as far as emotions were concerned, but constantly stepping in to prevent fights or end them, helping others with school work, and advising against certain actions, advise that when ignored always seemed to result in injury.

As they were about to part ways, Lucius stopped Albus.

"My son told me that there is a rumor that Ms. Degurechaff fought a troll that managed to get into the school. How accurate is this rumor?"

"Accurate save for one detail," Albus admitted, looking at Lucius. "The term butcher would be a more apt term for what Ms. Degurechaff did to that troll who had the misfortune to cross her path."

The slow widening of eyes along with the slow realization crossing Lucius's mind was a rather sweet joy that would comfort Albus as what was to be done with Ms. Degurechaff was determined.

Returning to his office, Albus pulled an old book off the shelf. For once the habit of people to purchase books as gifts for Albus was proving useful as only his old friend Newt would have gotten him an antique book on fairies with a detailed explanation of the varieties and peculiarities of the different types. While the superstitions of muggles were often wrong, there was often a basis in truth to the superstitions.

Getting to the section on Changelings, known by many names all across the continent, Albus saw a list of methods to identify one and the ways in which a changeling came to be. In most cases, changelings were fairies swapped with a human child to be raised by a human family. In a few cases, the swap was an elderly fae looking to live out the rest of their life being cared for by humans. Changelings were often sickly looking and the preferred targets were attractive people, particularly those of fair hair and blue eyes.

Albus bit his thumb as he thought and began pacing as he read on. Ms. Degurechaff was unusually pale of skin and her hair was a striking golden hue that made spotting her in a crowd easy. Combined with her bright blue eyes, she bore a striking appearance to Gellert.

Albus paused as the thought crossed his mind. He placed the book on his desk and pulled out a parchment to begin making notes. Degurechaff was a family name that sounded to be from Central Europe among the Germanic nations. On a quick whim, Albus checked the Arithmancy and was pleased to see the calculations did not line up, but Degurechaff translates into character of 3, heart of 5, and social of 7. Three prime numbers.

That was too significant to write off as a coincident. With the eyes and hair that match Gellert so well, Albus would need to compare facial structure. To see if there was a relation between the two.

Taking a calming breath, Albus went to his pensive and grabbed a bottled memory of his and poured it into the basin. He then placed his wand to his temple and extracted a memory of Ms. Degurechaff's face. With a wave of his wand over the pensive, two silver faces came out of the basin. A smiling, youthful Gellert laughing at something Albus had said and the relaxed, detached expression of Ms. Degurechaff. Albus looked past the expression to the nose and chin shapes and the structure of the cheeks.

Gellert's nose was crooked from an earlier confrontation that had not fully healed, but the thin profile and smooth curve was similar to Ms. Degurechaff, as was the high cheek bones both had.

Returning to the book, Albus furiously read. One of the identifiers for Changelings was a ravenous appetite in addition to wisdom and knowledge far beyond their years. Albus would need to watch the young Ms. Degurechaff the next time they ate to see how much she ate.

And have a large amount of eggshells brought to his office for the next time they had tea together. That was likely to raise questions from the faculty, but a bit of eccentricity to uncover a changeling would be worth it. Having the eggshells near a fireplace appeared to be enough to out a changeling, but the reason for how that worked was missing.

Albus sighed before pulling out his schedule and wincing. A trip to Austria would have to wait till the summer. Ms. Degurechaff had to date not shown herself a danger to the students at Hogwarts outside of her capacity to do harm, meaning that Albus could not justify rescheduling a week's worth of meetings on short notice and he needed to remain at the castle as much as possible until the summer to help protect the stone.

Sitting down, Albus began to organize his thoughts onto paper so he would know what he needed to confront Gellert about when they met again.

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Lucius dismissed the idea of a changeling child out of hand. The note and basket being left inside the orphanage with locked doors was clearly something any half decent wizard could manage with little issue. With a full name at his disposal and his son to confirm family resemblances, Lucius would be able to find out the blood status of this Tanya Degurechaff.

His first stop was to the Ministry of Magic to look through the records to see if one of the lesser wizarding families had a connection to a Degurechaff line. Appariting to the main foyer, Malfoy confidently strolled his way to the security checkpoint where Malfoy presented his wand and stated his business was to check the public records. After his wand was weighed, Malfoy took the elevators down to the records floor and began with a look through the marriage and birth records for any Degurechaffs that might exist within Wizarding Britain. The name had a certain Central European feel to it, so there was a fair chance Lucius would have to contact his old comrade Karkaroff about any Degurechaffs that may exist near him.

After hours of scanning records and finding nothing within the last one hundred years about any Degurechaffs existing in Britain, Lucius left the Ministry disappointed, but not defeated. A child able to butcher a troll at the age of eleven was sure to have come from a powerful, pure blooded family. Just not a family that Lucius was familiar with.

Returning to the Wiltshire Manor, Lucius sent for his son to meet him in the library where Lucius sat down at a writing desk to pen the letter to Karkaroff.

"You called for me, father?" Draco asked when he arrived.

"Yes. This Tanya Degurechaff you mentioned hanging around the Potter boy, tell me about her," Lucius said, looking up at his son with his face carefully kept blank.

"Why do you want to know? She's just some orphan."

Lucius sighed, displaying his disappointment in his son. "Draco, my son, surely you must know that many old families died off during the last few wars, leaving many children without parents. Some of these families could have found a way to leave their last heir at an orphanage so their lineage does not die out." Lucius leaned back in his seat as Draco fidgeted under the gaze. "This Degurechaff has garnered the attention of Dumbledore. He is investigating who she is and where she is from as well as I. While our hope that Potter was to be the next Dark Lord is seemingly lost, there might still be something there if he is connecting himself to a more powerful Dark Lady. We need to find out who Degurechaff is and where she is from. So, tell me, what do you know about her?"

Draco's eyes grew wide as he heard his father speak and nodded his head before becoming thoughtful. "There are rumors floating around the school, like that she fought a troll."

"Confirmed by Dumbledore that the incident was more akin to a butchering, but go on," Lucius interrupted.

Draco swallowed hard before nodding. "Right, other than that I have not heard much. We only have one class together and I haven't noticed her standing out too much there. The biggest thing is her flying. She is on the Gryffindor quidditch team as a first year and in the first game she kicked a bludger away. Flint spent hours complaining after the game that she cheated, but Dumbledore sided with the Gryffindors by calling it an advanced technique not against the rules."

"An advanced technique? Any specifics on what it is?" Lucius asked.

Draco shook his head. "No. Flint didn't mention what she said and none of us really wanted to hear him complain about the loss."

Lucius stood up and began to pace the room. "We need more information. I have a few leads to follow, but you need to get closer to her and give me anything she lets slip. She is not some normal witch and the Malfoy family needs to know if we need to get rid of her or if we should ally ourselves to her."

Draco looked uncomfortable as his father turned to him. "Yes father, but I may need to apologize to her first."

Lucius took his seat. "Whatever it takes. If you need to borrow some of the family funds, do not hesitate to ask." Lucius pulled out a parchment and began to write, dismissing his son.

—-

Letter

Dear Karkaroff,

I require information on a Degurechaff family. Particularly any that might be connected to a Tanya Natasha Tenya Ginsei Romanoff Degurechaff. The name sounds like it comes from your neck of the woods and she has garnered my attention and her lineage needs to be established.

Lucius Malfoy

Half_Baked_cat · Feb 28, 2022

Tanya Degurechaff

I was expecting to awaken on December 25th to an empty room, go down to see how Christmas was celebrated by those historically ostracized by fearful suspicious fools, before returning to the Common Room, cozying up close to the fire with a borrowed book from the library.

I did wake up alone, but not to an empty bed. The foot of the bed was covered in presents to the point of spilling onto the floor. I took a moment to decide if I should take the presents down to the Common Room to open with Harry and the Weasley brothers.

The first gift I opened in the privacy of my room turned out to be a sweater from Mrs. Weasley. An oversized green monstrosity with red flowers on it, some sort of orchid if I was not mistaken. I was practically swallowed by the fluffy warm sweater as I put it on. Along with the sweater was a box of fudge. Taking a piece as I grabbed a piece of parchment and quill to write who got me what to ensure I appropriately thanked them, I found the fudge to be rather agreeable as a snack.

The next package was from Hermione and was a small case of chocolate frogs. I wrote down a note about Hermione's gift and slid the chocolate stash under my bed for later enjoyment.

Having opened two of the smaller gifts, I allowed my curiosity to take me to the largest gift. An impressively sized box wrapped in a beautiful and ornate paper and a bow that felt like it might be made from an actually good quality fabric. Pulling out the attached letter I saw that this present was from Malfoy. The letter contained an apology for his behavior and his desire to start over as friends.

I made a note to let him know his apology was accepted. After opening the gift, I added an additional note to make it clear that while I was open to his friendship, I was still not interested in a romantic relationship with him.

There was a reasonable guess that he simply had no sense of the value of his gift to an orphan without wealthy parents. The gift was a beautiful coffee set for preparing and serving Turkish style coffee. A small pot with a long handle for boiling the grounds in water before pouring into the coffee cups. All of it was in a very ornate silver with swirling filigree patterns, including a serving tray and small dish.

Turkish coffee was not my favorite preparation for coffee. The texture of the unfiltered coffee was much thicker and fuller, almost as if it was a latte made with coffee flavored heavy cream. I preferred a pour over or drip style of filtered coffee. An Americano if I was to get an espresso based drink.

With that said, I did develop some fondness for the almost ritualistic yet casual way the coffee shops in the Middle East would handle their coffee in the Turkish style. Going to a coffee shop was to talk and slowly enjoy coffee over the course of an hour at minimum with the other patrons. I would happily make use of this set… if I had any beans or a grinder capable of getting fine enough grounds. Currently, Malfoy had given me a very fine display piece with no practical purpose.

I underlined my note to accept Malfoy's apology.

The next gift was unsigned, though the handwriting looked familiar. Opening the gift confirmed my suspicions. I could think of one person that might have given me a bag of chocolate covered coffee beans. If he wanted to be circumspect in gifting the beans, I was willing to be circumspect when I thanked him later.

The last two gifts were from Lavender and Parvati. A chocolate bar from a brand I was unfamiliar with, but looked to be of decent quality from Lavender and a small bag of coffee beans from Parvati. I made notes to express my appreciation to the two before wandering down to the common room.

After the holiday feast was done, perhaps I should ask Madam Pince if she knew which book would contain a charm for grinding items into a powder. Turkish coffee required the beans to be very finely ground, to a similar consistency to flour. In theory, I could use the mortar and pestle used for my potions class, but that risked cross contamination and I didn't know if the portion ingredients were safe to consume outside of a potion meant for consumption.

"Look Percy, even Troll Crusher got a sweater," one of the Weasley twins said as he helped push Percy down. Fred judging by the large yellow F on his blue sweater.

"Her name is Tanya," Percy said as he struggled to get his arms the right way through his sweater.

"I do not mind their nickname for me," I told Percy with a smile. "Considering Gryffindor is supposedly the house of the brave, Troll Crusher seems appropriately Gryffindorish and is more preferable to some call signs I have received in the past."

"What nicknames bother you?" Ron in his maroon sweater asked from behind his brothers, coming down the stairs with Harry.

I put a little edge into my smile and voice as I told them, "I would greatly prefer it if none of you ever called me Fairy or Pixie."

Seeing everyone nodding their heads in agreement, I decided to change the topic to something more pleasant than a few annoying call signs I previously had.

"Everyone satisfied with their Christmas gifts?"

"Yeah, the haul was great," Ron said as he went to drop his body onto one of the couches. "Bloody hell, Harry even got a gift from that git Malfoy."

"He apologized for his behavior when he was leaving at the start of the holiday break," Harry said, taking a seat next to Ron.

"I received an apology with the gift he sent me as well," I said before directing my next statement at Ron. "Mr. Malfoy seems to have gained an understanding that his attempts at friendship were poorly done and he wishes to start over. I believe we should be willing to accept his offer of friendship and help him learn how one befriends others."

"You're going to become friends with a snake?" George, going by the G on his sweater, said.

"Don't let Wood hear. He might think the little snake is a spy," Fred said.

"Knock it off you two," Percy said, looking annoyed at his brothers. "I think it is good that they are putting their differences aside and appropriately networking."

"Thank you," I said to Percy. There was much Ron could still learn from each of his older brothers. "Shall we head down to breakfast?"

Breakfast was a small affair, nearly a light snack, as the older Weasleys suggested that Harry, Ron, and myself save space for the Christmas Dinner. The Dinner turned out to be a lavish lunch of turkey, roasts, sausages, potatoes, and so much more all set on platters and separated by piles of magical Christmas Crackers. A few years at the orphanage we would be lucky enough to receive enough of the non magical Crackers for all the children to have fun with the holes inside and the paper crowns and little toys. The magical versions were similar in many ways, but the magic produced a louder bang when cracked open and the hats were not simple little paper crowns, but actual hats. As silly as I no doubt looked, I put on the top hat that I got out of one of the Crackers. Even the toys were more elaborate and included sets of Wizard Chess pieces, decks of cards, and other more substantial toys and games than should be able to fit inside such small tubes.

The Great Hall was full of laughter and cheer as the teachers let their hair down and, if Mr. Hagrid was any indication, partook in a few adult beverages that I would have to wait a few years before I could once again partake in the joy of.

After the meal, the boys convinced me to go outside to 'enjoy' the snow with them. The snowball fight ended up being unfairly boys versus girl. Just because I had better aim than any of them didn't mean they had to gang up on me like that. After managing to dodge for a while I convinced them to help me build a snowman that we left my hat on before heading inside to warm up by the common room fire.

Talking with Percy, I found he actually had the grinding spell I was looking for in one of his books. The twins were interested in learning the spell as well, seeing the benefit for their potion making. I got the coffee Parvati had gifted me to practice on and after a few attempts the three of us were able to get a decent amount of grounds fine enough to use with the Turkish set Malfoy got me.

Percy ended up being the only one to join me in actually enjoying the coffee, though Harry was kind enough finish the sample before saying it was too bitter for him.

All told, the secular manner the holiday seemed to be celebrated in the Magical Community, if today was any indication, was far more enjoyable than spending most of the day in Church services.

—-

Harry Potter

It was late at night when Harry remembered the gift from the mysterious person, the invisibility cloak that had once belonged to his dad. Looking over to the other occupied bed, Harry decided to move quietly as he went over to where he had left the cloak, underneath his bed. Pulling it out, Harry stroked the smooth material. Smoother than silk and lighter than air. The note with the cloak has said it was his father's and that he should use it well.

Looking to Ron, Harry got a small smile on his face. They would use it together later, but for tonight Harry wanted to experience it himself. It was his cloak and he wanted to have it by himself.

Throwing the fabric on and not seeing his reflection in the mirror, Harry crept downstairs and through the Fat Lady's portrait into the hall outside the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry thought for a moment where to go before letting his feet guide him through the halls. There was nowhere specific he needed to see, but the castle looked so different at night and empty of people. The portraits were asleep for the most part with only a few nocturnal ones still awake. He passed the Fat Friar and Grey Lady having a conversation in one hallway.

Snape was out. Harry turned a corner and saw the potions professor drinking from a steaming mug alone in a hallway. Harry saw Snape turn towards him and seem to look directly at him before turning back to his drink. Harry slowly went the other way, moving as quietly as he could. Seeing a door ajar, Harry slipped through into an unused classroom.

The desks and chairs were pushed against one wall and the room had a feel of being used for storage to Harry. Especially with a large standing mirror in one corner. With a smile, Harry crept closer to the mirror, wanting to look in the mirror again and not see himself standing there.

With a gasp, Harry whirled around before looking back at the mirror with his fist in his mouth to keep from making any noise that might carry to where Snape was.

The mirror did not show the empty classroom Harry was in. The the reflective surface displayed a crowd of people with Harry in the middle. The red haired lady behind Harry was within reach if Harry could just touch her. Stretching back while watching the mirror, Harry found he was still by himself, invisible, in the middle of an unused classroom, regardless of what the mirror showed.

Looking closer at the two closest to him in the mirror, Harry's eyes grew misty.

"Mom? Dad?"

Harry looked around at the other people and realized they were his family. He stood there quietly, soaking in their presence until he heard a noise that broke his focus. Looking around, Harry knew he had to get back to bed soon.

The next morning Harry told Tanya and Ron about what he saw.

"You could have woken me up," Ron said crossly.

"You can come tonight. I'm going back. I can show you the mirror," Harry said.

"Or we can go now," Tanya said, getting up. "We don't have to be anywhere specific right now and can do what we want. And if we want to look at a mirror in an empty classroom, no one can stop us. If we go at night, we could get in trouble for being out after curfew."

Harry smiled and agreed, getting up to grab some warm clothes as they would be leaving the warm Common Room to explore the rest of the much colder castle.

It took the group a while following Harry as he tried to remember how to get back to the room. Harry got in front of the mirror and pointed at it.

"Look, they're there."

"I only see you," Ron said.

"Maybe you need to look at it from the right angle, come over here. Now do you see my family?"

"No." Ron paused and just stared at himself in the mirror. When he resumed speaking his voice was barely above a whisper, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Look at me."

"Do you see your family?"

"No. I just see myself, but I'm older. And I'm Head Boy."

Tanya moved to stand beside Ron, looking at the mirror.

Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as Tanya gasped at what she saw. Looking at her, Harry saw her eyes shimmering as a tear began rolling down her cheek.

Harry's neck itched.

Tanya moved closer to the mirror, lightly touching the surface as she looked up at the inscription at the top.

"What do you see?" Ron asked Tanya.

"Socks."

"Socks?"

"Just, just leave it at that. Please." Tanya's voice was softer than Harry had ever heard it before. "That explains it."

" 'What?' " Harry and Ron asked at the same time.

Tanya pointed towards some words on the mirror's frame that Harry hadn't noticed before now. "The inscription here is backwards. As if transcribed by looking in a mirror. 'I show not your face, but your heart's desire'."

"So you desire socks?" Harry flinched at Ron's question.

"I do not want to discuss what I desire. I cannot have it, but you can have yours." Tanya turned to Ron. "If you work hard, your desires are achievable. I can help you, but you will have to put in the effort."

Ron nodded and Tanya went to stand next to him, looking into the mirror as if seeing what he saw.

"Is being Head Boy all you see? Or do you desire more?"

"No. No, I am also holding the House and Quidditch Cups. And I am the Quidditch Captain."

"When Wood gets back, we will talk to him about you apprenticing under him as captain and getting you up to speed as a reserve player."

"Thanks," Ron said.

Turning towards Harry, Tanya fixed her gaze upon him. "What is in the past should be left there. There is no bringing back the dead, no matter how much we may hate it."

Tanya left the room.

Ron was the one to break the silence they stood in. "She did not see socks in the mirror."

Harry felt he knew what, or rather who, Tanya saw in the mirror, but it was not his place to speculate about their friend.

"I'm heading back to the Common Room. You coming?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. I think I want to look at my family a little longer."

Ron nodded his head. "Ok. Just, uh, just try not to spend too much time."

Harry sat in front of the mirror as the door closed behind Ron.

"Your friends are right, you know."

Harry whirled around to the voice. "Dumbledore! How?"

Dumbledore gave a smile as his eyes twinkled. "I do not need a cloak to become invisible."

Dumbledore moved in front of the mirror and squatted down to place a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Ms. Degurechaff is right that the inscription is backwards and that it explains the function of the Mirror of Erised rather succinctly. This mirror shows us nothing more and nothing less than our deepest desires. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."

"And Tanya sees socks?"

"I rather suspect your friend might not have been entirely truthful about what she saw." Dumbledore looked into the mirror with a gentle smile. Harry saw his parents waving at him in the reflection and no clues on what Dumbledore was looking at. "However, I do believe her stated desire is a rather good one. One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't receive a single sock. People insist on giving me books."

"If I may ask, what do you see, Professor?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry with a soft smile. "I believe I will be stealing young Ms. Degurechaff's answer and say socks."

Harry frowned in thought. "You aren't being truthful either, are you sir?"

Dumbledore stood up and helped Harry to his feet. "Much like your friend, my desires are rather private and I do not wish to dwell on them long. Now how about we head down to the Great Hall? I do believe the house elves have prepared some hot chocolate with a bit of peppermint. A delightful combination."

"House elves?" Harry asked as he let Dumbledore lead him out of the room.

"Who do you think~," Dumbledore trailed off as he and Harry saw Tanya standing in the arch of a window, her back turned towards them. Standing on the outside of the window as she took a step off the edge.

Dumbledore moved, his wand coming to hand as he started to run as Tanya twisted in mid air. Twisted, spun, and did not fall. Harry was next to Dumbledore staring out the window, their faces pressed against the glass as they watched Tanya seem to dance in the air. Moving, twisting, spinning, skating through the air with the surety that she could traverse the empty space as easily as any hallway inside the castle.

Dumbledore gave a chuckle. "Well, that is not something you see too often."

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

Flight was a complicated series of formulas that took incredible focus to maintain without the aid of a computation orb. Perhaps there was a spell usable with wands that would make the process simpler, but that incredible focus was what I wanted. A few moments of the joy of flight combined with incredible focus would get my mind off of what the mirror showed me.

In officer school when given lessons on how to utilize magic and the computation orbs, we were taught the flight formula as an emergency resource. In combat situations, we would be sitting ducks as our movement is slow and sluggish. Parachutes had shown consistently safer results as a backup to computation orbs as they work even when the mage is unconscious or injured.

I could feel the mental strain as I kept the formula going and stable as I floated slowly in the air. My mind dull with the distraction as I burnt off my frustrations.

Moege die ewige Ruhe dich bewahren.

Half_Baked_cat · Feb 28, 2022

Readings of Chapters 1+ 2 I did. With bonus guests of cats.

Half_Baked_cat · Mar 1, 2022

Letter

Dear Malfoy,

I have asked around and there are no Degurechaffs, however you English have a habit of mangling other languages. It is possible you meant Дегтярёв which would be pronounced similarly and is a fairly rare family name in Russia. Currently there are no magical Дегтярёв alive that I could find.

More importantly, this Tanya you have found has a dangerous name. Рома́новы, or as you so crudely wrote it, Romanoff, is the Imperial House of Russia. The dead Imperial House. Murdered to the last during a muggle uprising that overthrew the government and put in place the Communist Government that has been in control of the country every sense.

I have heard that the Communist Government has recently fallen. If true, this Tanya of yours would do well to stay away from any they may attempt to use her as a figurehead for a new Russian Monarchy or wish to kill her to prevent the same.

From,
Karkaroff

—-

Lavender Brown

Bored. Lavender was bored. Her grandparents were so boring and there was nothing to do. Lavender was so bored she actually pulled out one of her school books to read ahead. Woo, the eggheads would be so proud of her. Ugh.

—-

Excerpt From "The Fae Book of Sidhe, Faerie, and Underfolk"

Titania are a peculiar type of Sidhe. Born from the union of a wizard and a High Seelie maiden, the Titania are exempt from many of the ancient treaties between magical society and the Fae. Titania are entirely female and take on a number of physical features from their paternal donator.

As the offspring of a wizard and High Seelie, the Titania are often confused with Changelings. The differences are that changelings, despite their human appearances, are magical creatures. Titania are half breeds with natures similar to their magical creature parent.

In many ways, Titania are most similar to the offspring of Veela (see Magical Avian Species and How to Talk with the Birds and Bees) in that the common magical capabilities and personality traits are inherited and that the Titania must be taught how to behave within polite magical society. See the entry on the previous pages for High Seelie and how to deal with them to know the proper methods of handling Titania as well.

—-

Hermione Granger

Holidays with mum and dad was always an enjoyable time for Hermione. They got away from England and spent time in the countryside or beaches of France. As it was a winter holiday, they were spending time at a vineyard in the north of France. The Champagne region, which was known for producing a sparkling wine, was lightly covered in snow.

The tour they went on explained that thanks to the cold, northern climate, the yeast in the wine casks would go dormant during winter and not awaken again until spring when the weather warmed up again, after having been bottled in special thick glass bottles.

The history of the region and how the wine was all terribly interesting to the young girl, though the sip of the wine she was offered with dinner was not pleasant to her young palette, being very acidic and dry. Her parents chuckled good naturedly at the face Hermione made at the taste and promised they would help her appreciate the taste when she was older.

For now though, Hermione could enjoy the snow of France by curling up next to a window with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and a nice book.

—-

Albus Dumbledore

A wide, short glass holding a large cube of ice and a brown fluid had captured Dumbledore's attention as he watched the liquid move in the glass, clinging to the sides. Whiskey on the rocks was not Dumbledore's preferred libation, but the thoughts Dumbledore was forced to face left him feeling the need for a strong drink.

Closing the book on fairs, there was no doubt in Dumbledore's mind now that Ms. Degurechaff was a fae creature of some description. That left the question of what to do about that.

Currently she was constrained and controlled by the school and its rules, but that was not going to last. She was eventually going to leave and there was no telling what she would do outside of the school. There was no inherent good nature to her, just rules she followed to attempt to hide her nature and blend in with others.

She could be taught goodness and kindness like Hagrid was taught gentleness.

Dumbledore briefly thought back to some of Hagrid's antics over the years. Of doors and chairs being replaced. Hagrid was a very kind and open person, but after fifty years the man still didn't realize his own strength and durability compared to everything around him.

Tanya should be better, right? She was highly intelligent, but Dumbledore would need to be swift on getting her on the right path. She already was gathering those who could be extremely influential to the future of the Wizarding World around herself, positioning them for the future and teaching them to be capable individuals.

Dumbledore drained his glass before opening a drawer in his desk, pulling out a yellowed picture of himself at a much younger age smiling next to another young, attractive man.

Was this some ploy by Gellert or his followers to influence the future of the Wizarding world, or was Ms. Degurechaff acting independently? Was she even actually doing anything wrong, or was he seeing things that weren't there?

Dumbledore sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stared in the direction of the ceiling, eyes not focused on any of the decorations hanging from above.

What was for the greater good in this case? Should he leave things alone and watch as everything played out or should he try directing a chaotically lawful creature into a safe path? It would be so simple to find a way to keep her trapped in one place, but she has not done anything to warrant imprisonment.

Dumbledore looked back at the picture of Gellert, a tear coming to his eye as he watched the way the two young men in the picture embraced each other. With a sigh, the picture was put back into its drawer and Dumbledore filled his glass again.

If this was a plot of Gellert or his followers, it appeared to be a very long term plot that Dumbledore could take his time investigating. In the meantime, a decision needed to be made on how to handle the fae child. Nothing was an option for now, but long term something would need to be done about Ms. Degurechaff.

Nothing.

Dumbledore stood up and strolled to his mirror and looked at himself, a glass of whiskey in hand and a long flowing beard that took decades to grow.

Nothing was what Dumbledore had done for a long time. Nothing with his political or magical power. Out of fear of what he could impose on others should he choose, but still nothing all the same. Dumbledore filled his time with operating a school, educating future generations and trying to direct society into a Greater Good one person at a time.

Nothing was precisely what he wanted Ms. Degurechaff to do, and teaching was a wonderfully rewarding way to do nothing. She already was showing an aptitude and enjoyment in helping her fellow students learn. If Dumbledore could foster that love of educating, he might be able to offer her a job upon graduation and have her cage herself into rules and doing nothing. Nothing with any political might she may develop and nothing with the magical might she already has. Nothing but filling the minds of the future with knowledge that could be used for a brighter tomorrow.

Dumbledore took a seat, a smile on his lips. It would take some work and a bit of political muscle to get someone without any professional experience a teaching position as the Board of Governors disliked hiring individuals who only know what was taught in school, but the Defense Against Dark Arts post has had steadily declining qualifications for filling the seat over the years and seven years was plenty of time for young Ms. Degurechaff to gain some notoriety if the troll incident was any indication.

All Dumbledore needed to do was encourage Ms. Degurechaff to tutor the younger years as she went through her schooling and that should be the final argument for hiring her settled, pointing out she was essentially already doing it and would simply be doing so in an official and paid capacity.

—-

Parvati Patil

The Patil family celebrated the Christmas Season with a trip to the shops followed by a meal at Mr. Patil's Cousin's restaurant just outside of the West End. Parvati spent the first week luxuriating in her bed at home, far away from any roommates that slept far too softly for her comfort. Afterwards, she spent a lot of time with her cousins, catching up on the family gossip and eating some comforting food.

Padma, however, wasn't as happy as Parvati to be home. The more bookish twin appeared to actually be missing the school library and needed to be pulled out of her funk for some fun. Thankfully, there was a hill in the backyard covered in snow and ready for sliding down.

Padma would have a fun winter holiday if Parvati had any say in the matter. And she did.

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Lucius held the letter he received from Karkaroff, staring at the message held within. A possible dead end as far as proving pure blood status, but a possibility of Muggle Royal blood. Lucius knew his family history. Knew who his ancestors built their fortunes with. While the advent of the Statue of Secrecy made dealings with muggles directly an impractical consideration, the Malfoy fortune was still funded by dealings and contracts with muggles from hundreds of years ago that were paying.

This Degurechaff child held no power outside of what she was personally capable of. She was by all measures a peasant to be passed on the street without a second look. And yet… and yet there was still evidence that she might be more than she appears. That her bloodline might still be noble, if not as purely magical as Lucius's own. And that noble blood would demand she take action and reclaim her place in the world.

Tying the Malfoys to a rising star would only see their fortunes grow further and as with the debacle after the last Dark Lord died showed, the Malfoys had the means to break ties when the ship begins to sink and remain in a financially stronger place compared to before Dark Lord's assent.

Lucius felt good about their chances with this one if they could nudge her in the right directions, but it was still too early. Too soon to be certain. Patience would have to be the name of the game. Patience and information.

Reading over the letter again and seeing nothing incriminating that would require the letter be burned, Lucius motioned with his wand and a cabinet in his study opened and an empty file came to him. Sliding the letter in place, Lucius left the office to gather a bit of extra information that should prove to be a steady stream with a bit of proper motivation.

With a crack of apparition, Lucius appeared outside the orphanage. Pulling out his wand, Lucius cast a charm to be unnoticeable to muggles before slashing his wand at the door, silently blowing it open as he strolled inside. Stalking the halls, he made his way to the Abbess's office. Not finding her in the office, Lucius began checking the nearby rooms, quietly opening doors till he found her in bed.

Closing and locking the door behind him, Lucius conjured a chair and took a seat, adjusting himself to give off the perfect impression of being fully in control as he cast silencing charms around the room to give them privacy. Oh how he longed to be able to torture the muggle fool for what she knew and for his own pleasure, but he needed her whole to be useful. Watching her realize how powerless she was before he got to business would still provide a bit of fun.

With a quick reviving charm casting the room in red for a brief moment, the old nun woke up, looking around in startling alertness.

"What are you doing in my room?" she loudly asked, her face twisted in anger.

"You are going to tell me everything I want to know," Lucius said with a confident, menacing smile.

"And why do you think that?" The old lady asked, getting out of bed, and starting to move towards Lucius who responded by pointing his wand at the old hag. The flinch and slow widening of her eyes was delicious.

"Simple. Imperio."

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 21, 2022

Draco Malfoy

Father had been irritated for a large amount of the Christmas break. Draco tried to understand why his father was irritated and it all seemed to stem from his failure to befriend Potter and Potter's blonde friend. Father seemed convinced that despite the two ending up in Gryffindor, they were still the next Lord Voldemort and Aunt Bellatrix, with Potter being the Aunt in this case. Getting close to them was going to be difficult with the way things were, but hopefully the bribes, or tokens of humble esteem as Father would call them, would get his foot in the door.

"Something wrong?" Vincent asked.

"Hm? No," Draco said, shaking his head. "Just thinking."

Vincent grunted before pulling out a deck of exploding snap cards. "Want to play?"

"No, you two have fun." Draco turned to watch the countryside pass by. The fields white with the occasional tree standing proud. Empty of the cattle or crops that would make the land they passed home during warmer months, all put away into warmer hiding places.

There was no telling how things would go once he was back at school. Becoming friendly with Gryffindors would be putting Draco's neck on the line socially within Slytherin House, but Potter's social status was not fully known currently. Everyone wanted to know the Boy-Who-Lived better and few were able to.

Draco had wanted to offer a hand of friendship to Potter before school had started, but no one knew which cabin he had been hiding in and when they arrived at the school and had a moment to try to find him, everyone was distracted by speculating how they would be sorted.

There was a rumor that Degurechaff said the hat was willing to put her into any of the houses. Draco was sorted into Slytherin right away, as was only right, but he did remember that she took a while to be sorted. Harry also took some time to be sorted as well. Even that Granger girl was a hat staller. Could it be that all of them could go into any of the houses?

Draco bit his thumb as he thought about this. Slytherin was the house of Noble Purebloods, but that wasn't the only thing the sorting looked for. It was cunning and ambitious. Degurechaff was certainly very cunning in how she got Professor Snape to become the Theater Club advisor. Potter hadn't shown any particular cunning outside of staying close to Degurechaff, but he might be ambitious and have plans on how to use his fame.

And their pet mudblood, she was clearly very intelligent and could have obviously been sorted into Ravenclaw. Probably should have been sorted there. Maybe that was her game, she convinced the hat to put her into Gryffindor for some reason that would further whatever her ambition was. Draco scowled around his thumb as he realized he was going to have to spend time around a mudblood if he was going to do as his Father wanted. Hopefully he wouldn't catch anything from her.

An announcement came over the speakers, letting the passengers know that they would be arriving in five minutes to Hogwarts. Draco straightened himself up to keep his presentation of a respectable Pureblood while Vincent and Gregory finished up their game.

After pulling into the station, Draco led the way off the train with Crabbe and Goyle flanking his sides. As soon as he stepped off the train, he spotted Degurechaff being assaulted by the energetic Moon girl. Draco was about to walk away, unsure of how to approach the Lions when he was spotted and Degurechaff managed to break away from Moon.

Draco braced himself mentally for what was about to happen. Degurechaff approached with a smile. Why did she smile with so many teeth? It was not a nice smile and a shiver of fear ran down Malfoy's spine. A shiver he hid knowing he had two big strong boys at his side and for all of the rumors around her, Degurechaff was still just a little girl.

"Malfoy, thank you for the gift, and your apology is accepted." Draco could feel Vincent and Gregory looking at him, not knowing what they should do.

"Good. I'm glad you got it and liked it," Draco said, hiding how he was feeling with a polite smile of his own that was met with an outstretched hand.

"I am willing to accept your attempt at friendship at face value, but we will need to work on how you make new friends," Degurechaff explained before looking at Draco's companions. "I understand it might be difficult to make new friends if you already have a long established friend group."

Draco reached out slowly and clasped his hands with Degurechaff. "Uh, yeah. That, uh, sounds good."

This bribing thing was easier than Father made it out to be. Draco was already achieving the closeness he needed.

"As we are going to be on friendly terms, feel free to call me Tanya." Degurechaff held her hand out towards Crabbe and Goyle. "You may as well."

"And you can call me Draco." Draco gave his companions a look and nod.

"Uh, Gregory." "Vincent."

With the fresh introductions out of the way, Tanya nodded as though satisfied with how things went.

"I will talk with you later," she said. "Lily seems interested in telling me all about her Christmas and it is better to let her get it out now."

With that, Tanya turned and left, leaving the three Slytherin boys awkwardly standing on the station before they began shuffling off towards the castle.

"What gift did you get her?" Gregory asked after a few moments.

"Some coffee set."

—-

Lily Moon.

Lily was happy to be back at Hogwarts with her friends and professors and the ghosts and pictures and that one statue of a bird on a wall that asks really smart questions that Lily hasn't been able to answer any of yet. Christmas break was a lot of fun! And Lily had so many things to tell her friends and the bird statue and the nicer portraits that actually talked to her. Like how her family went skiing and they saw a guy run into a tree, the ramp jump she did that made her belly feel like she was in the flying class or yummy hot cocoa with peppermint marshmallows. There are marshmallows with extra candy in them!

Hogwarts looked so pretty covered in snow, the castle all sparkly and shiny with icicles hanging off of the overhanging bits and the carriages from the train station with a dusting of snow were so pretty. Daddy would probably say something more descriptive that would match the prettiness of everything.

"Hey Tanya, watcha lookin' at?" Lily asked her super serious friend who was looking in front of the carriages at nothing.

"These pegasuses… pegasi?" Tanya said, indicating the air in front of them before beginning to climb into the carriages herself. "I had heard of winged horses like these, but I was under the impression that the wings would be feathered, not bat-like."

Lily gave her friend a confused look. "Is this a game? I don't see any pegasooses."

"You don't see the pegasus that is pulling our carriage?"

"No. Don't the carriages get pulled by magic?"

"Hmm." Tanya leaned back into her seat as she got a thinking look to her. "Maybe we should ask Mr. Hagrid about it. He is supposed to take care of the grounds, right? He should know how these carriages work."

"Ok!" Lily excitedly said. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

Tanya nodded her head as the carriage rattled into motion. "Yes. I was surprised at all the gifts I received and the Christmas feast was delicious. How about you?"

"It was great! We went skiing and there was a goat…"

The two passed the time in the carriage with Lily regaling Tanya of all the things that happened while Tanya stayed mostly silent, only speaking up to prompt Lily to talk more.

The first half of the year was so much fun and the second half was looking to be great too.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

Inviting Draco to the Gryffindor table for breakfast the first day of the spring semester was met with resistance from several individuals. Ron was placated with a reminder that if he wanted to be Head Boy he would be representing the whole school and working with all the houses, not just Gryffindor. Draco was reminded that he was attempting to join an established friend group and it would be wise not to antagonize others before really getting to know them and where the lines were. The girls kept their own conversations going while Harry sat there looking uncomfortable, but he at least tried being friendly by starting up a discussion about quidditch.

That seemed to break the ice enough for Seamus and Dean to get involved in the conversation, while I tuned out of that and focused on Hermione's thoughts about the upcoming lesson plans and the study group.

"We should meet up in one of the empty classrooms. That should give us enough space with Draco, Gregory, and Vincent joining us." I turned towards the three boys in question. "Speaking of which, bring your midterm tests with you too, let's go with one of the empty classrooms on the second floor. On the left side. Same with the rest of you. That should give us a good direction of where to help you all with your school work."

With plans made, it was time to enjoy the school day as intended, learning valuable lessons that will be important for our future endeavors.

—-

Severus Snape

Returning to the droll and drudgery of teaching with yet another semester spent in Hogwarts after an enjoyable month of being able to lock himself away in his lab for most of each day left Professor Snape in an annoyed mood as he focused on his food. Snape usually sat himself by Flitwick in the hopes of even a hint of intellectual conversation, but upon being bothered by the diminutive teacher, Snape's annoyance came to the forefront as his gaze was directed out into the milling mass of children.

Out in the sea of dunderheads and sniveling fools sat his godson, not at the table of the House of Snakes, but with the first year Gryffindors. Sitting and talking and looking like he wasn't in need of having his head extracted from his bottom as placed by his fill of a father.

"Isn't that nice, students crossing House lines to eat together," Flitwick said with an over excited clap and his voice high pitched from the joy.

"Yes, absolutely wonderful," Snape snarled out, attempting to focus on the porridge in front of him.

"Oh, don't be like that. It's good to see them actually have interactions before they try dating."

Snape leveled a glare at Flitwick, being reminded rather harshly of his own failed attempt at dating someone not in Slytherin while he was in school.

The smile slowly fell off of Flitwick's face. "Still? I know it hurts. She was such a gifted student, but it has been ten years. I doubt she would want to see her childhood friend mourning her this long."

Snape did not respond, turning his glower towards his porridge and attacking it, ignoring the sigh and head shake Flitwick gave.

—-

Hermione Granger

Looking over the midterm tests returned showed Hermione, Tanya, and Draco were the top three students across the board among the study group and Vincent, Gregory, and Lily barely passing. Or, Hermione should correct herself looking at Lily's Charms test, Vincent and Gregory were barely passing.

Looking up, Hermione joined the other Gryffindors in concern about the furious look on Tanya's face.

"Hermione, Draco, as the two with the best results, you are in charge of the study group." Standing up, Tanya seemed to tower over everyone with her presence. "Vincent, Lily, Gregory. You three with me, now."

Lily stood up slowly, her eyes wide as she swallowed heavily. Vincent and Gregory looked towards each other before looking to Draco.

"Go. We'll talk about this later," Draco said with a lot less confidence than he normally showed.

Once the four were out of the room, Lavender let out a long low whistle.

"Glad that isn't me," Parvati said with a shiver.

Harry and Ron breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded their heads in agreement.

"What's she going to do with them?" Draco asked, looking around at the Gryffindors, false bravado returning to his voice.

"We don't know," Hermione answered after a moment. "We've never seen her angry before. We should probably get started though."

"So, how does this work?" Draco asked, looking around the group.

"We start by picking a subject. We then go over the assignment and all work on it at the same time and if anyone has any confusion over something, they can ask aloud and we discuss it."

"But we don't have any assignments yet."

Hermione felt a sly smile come to her face. "Sure we do. We just don't have any work to do on it. Just discussing it." Hermione held up her own perfect copy of the charms test. "Let's start with Charms today as everyone scored the highest there."

Getting down to work, the students went question by question. If everyone got it right, they would see if anyone wanted to say anything about it before moving on. If someone did get an answer wrong, they would see where the answer was wrong and go over the correct answer and how to remember it for the future.

After some time, the results of the tests were finished being examined with the questions multiple people had issues with noted down by Hermione to be gone over again at a later time. From there, discussions drifted onto other topics with Draco being pulled into a game of chess against Ron. A game that Ron was having more difficulty winning than usual by Hermione's guess.

After finally trapping Malfoy's king into a checkmate, Ron noticed how late it was getting. "What's taking Tanya so long?"

Malfoy was scowling at the board while the Gryffindors looked at each other nervously.

"Maybe we shou-" Harry stated before the classroom door opened and a trio of dead eyed students stumbled into the room, slow shuffles as they groaned at others, followed by a short stern looking blonde.

"We will continue tomorrow," Tanya told Crabbe and Goyle. She then turned her attention to Malfoy. "I hope you had a good time with the study group."

"Yes, it was not unpleasant." Malfoy shrugged as he gathered his things and stood up. "I should probably head back."

With the Slytherins leaving, everyone turned to look at the seemingly exhausted form of Lily, flopped over a desk and groaning.

"Whatcha do to her?" Ron asked, looking at Tanya.

"She helpfully explained that during the test she got nervous and forgot everything she learned. I simply was helping ensure she wouldn't forget it next time and won't be nervous during the next test."

A long groan came from the sprawled form of Lily, causing Ron, Neville, and Parvati to nervously shift in their seats.

"We should probably get back to the Common Room before curfew hits," Hermione said, going to help Lily up.

"No more brain slugs mommy," Lily mumbled out as she was escorted back.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

Quidditch practice began swiftly in the spring semester with the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw game being within weeks of the semester starting. A good excuse to get on my broom and fly around for a bit, though I would prefer to do that without having to deal with all the balls and the open skies above a sports pitch. Racing through trees and obstacles was far more exhilarating, tight corners and narrowly dodging branches to get through tight spaces being a much more rewarding challenge than noticing a heavy ball was coming towards you and rolling out of the way.

At least the practice was a good way to help my housemates. Speaking of, "Ron! Quidditch practice."

Ron was playing chess with Neville, not paying attention to the time at all.

"Huh? But I'm not on the team," Ron was frowning as he replied to me.

"You want to be the quidditch captain, right? Well you need to be at practice to get the experience. Now come on. I'm sure you two can finish that later."

"It's fine." Neville knocked his king over, surrendering the game. "I'm sure I was going to lose anyways."

Neville's self confidence was something that would need to be addressed. Gryffindor House was the home of the brave and bold and a shrinking violet would not give off the right impression. For now though, it was Ron's time for improvement. Oliver was sure to be happy to ensure the future of Gryffindor's quidditch success was in good hands.

"So, uh, do you know what you will be working on?" Ron asked as we headed down to the pitch.

"No. That is for the captain to know and to tell us. What do you think we should work on?"

I would not know if Ron's suggestions were the most ideal, but utilizing the Socratic Method seemed ideal in this situation to get Ron thinking like a captain.

"Uh, what do I-? Uh, well the next match is against Hufflepuff, right?"

"Yes. Is that relevant?" Knowing the enemy was important. Ensuring Ron recognized that consciously would be good for him.

"Possibly?" Ron did not sound sure of himself as he shrunk in on himself. I could feel myself frown at his lack of confidence.

"You don't sound sure of yourself. Think about it. Is knowing who we play in a few weeks relevant to how we train today?"

"Uh, yes. Yes."

"Why?"

"Because they are who we are facing next and they don't play like the Slytherins did."

"How do they differ and why does that matter?"

"Well, the Slytherins are underhanded cheaters-"

"Ron!" I stopped and snapped at Ron, staring him down as he looked at me. "Remember, you want to be Head Boy as well. That means you will need to treat all the houses fairly. What the Slytherins do may be aggressive and likely to result in an increased number of penalty shots, they are not cheaters. They play with the same number of players as any other team and they do not engage in any behavior explicitly against the rules that would disqualify them if they were caught."

"Right."

I would need to keep an eye on Ron expressing his opinions on the other houses and make sure he knows when he steps out of line. The school would not allow someone into the position of Head Boy who openly mocked one of the houses.

"Again, what are the differences between the house teams and why do the differences matter?" I asked as I started back towards the pitch.

"Well, as you said, the Slytherins are, uh, aggressive in their tactics, going for a very offensive focus with a lot of play at getting control of the bludgers and attacking members of the other team. Hufflepuff has a more defensive approach. They focus more on control over the field instead of the power Slytherin uses."

"And how does that change how you would run tonight's practice?"

"I would focus more on a mixed approach to disrupt their field control and keep the quaffle out of their hands as much as possible."

"Why not a more focused approach?"

"Do you think we should be focusing our approach?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know one way or another what we should do. I was just on the team, not leading it. Let Ron and Wood focus on the tactics for this. "It does not matter what I think. What matters is you thinking about these things. So, what are the cons to focusing on defense or offense specifically that makes you believe we should mix up our focus?"

"Uh, well, our defense is already pretty good from the Slytherin match and the weakness of a defensive control strategy is that your team tends to be very reactionary. By using a mixed approach, we keep ourselves constantly moving in a manner that is difficult for the Puffs to predict and react to."

"That makes sense, but how does that work with how our team works?"

"Our team is in a good place to change up tactics with a focused practice. Fred and George are power beaters that have excellent ball control over the bludger when they do gain control and can easily pivot between offensive and defensive in how they use the bludger, Wood is a very solid keeper, and Harry is bloody quick on the broom. That leaves our chasers and you. All of you are capable of a speed style chaser which is most common in more offensively focused teams, but with some defensive focus in strategy you four could easily change up mid game to off balance the Puffs. And if we bring you in like in the Slytherin game, you are able to act as a sort of third beater with the way you handled the bludger in the Slytherin game."

"And if we were to focus specifically on a more offensive or defensive strategy, what would you suggest we do?"

Nearing the pitch I saw that the male members of the team were already waiting and that I seemed to be the first of the girls to arrive.

"Actually, hold that thought and think on it." I give a wave to the boys, getting waves in return.

"Hey Troll Crusher, what's little Ronnekins doing here?" One of the twins asked.

"Yeah, what is he doing here?" Wood asked, looking Ron over.

"Ron wants to be quidditch captain," I answered. "I thought the best way for him to get there was by working with the current captain and learning what to do."

"Oh, our baby brother wants to be quidditch captain?" One of the twins says, coming over and putting an arm around Ron.

"We better watch ourselves or he might be able to tell us what to do someday." The other twin put an arm around Ron while standing on the other side.

"Oh you are right. Maybe we should be nicer to him and not pull any pranks on him."

The two twins looked at each other for a moment before in unison deciding, "nah," with a laugh as they pushed Ron towards Wood.

A rather normal family interaction if I understood multi children families correctly. Not that I knew for sure, having been an only child three lifetimes in a row with the last two of them being an orphan on top of that as well.

"Hm, I suppose I can train you to replace me. What position do you think you would play?" Wood asked Ron.

"At home, I was always made to play keeper."

Wood barked out a laugh. "Great! I'll be sure to teach you all my tricks then. And there are the last of the team now. Gather around everyone. I got some bad news."

"Bad news?" one of the twins asked, hands to his cheeks.

"Oh no!" The other twin was copying the first twin.

"Could it be?"

"Possibly. It sounds terrible."

"What happened?"

"What did you do?"

"It surely wasn't us this time."

"No," Wood had a strained tone in his voice as he gathered us around. "Snape will be refereeing the next match. Madam Hooch apparently will not be on school grounds that weekend."

"Snape!" Several of the team cried out at once before they all started talking over each other. I didn't see what the big deal was. Snape has been mostly professional in his interactions as a professor. A bit dramatic, but that seems normal and expected of a theater teacher.

While everyone else was gossiping about what this could mean and what they should do about it, I got ready for practice, going to the locker room to change and tie up my hair. It was getting a bit long for my liking and I noticed that the wind caused it to get in my eyes, which would be a hindrance during a game.

It was probably time for a fresh haircut, though the school seemed to lack a barber. Were we supposed to cut our own hair? Or did I miss a memo about where to get one? Maybe I should ask Lavender if she knew, she seemed to take a lot of pride in her hair and probably knew the answer.

Half_Baked_cat · Oct 24, 2022

Tanya Degurechaff

Lavender was surprised at me coming to her to ask about hair cuts, but seemed excited to try a styling spell from one of her magazines. I stopped her before she could grab her wand and suggested we do this with supervision of a teacher as it might qualify as experimenting with a spell. With that settled, I suggested we find Professor McGonagal.

"Now?" Lavender asked, grabbing her wand.

"If we need to schedule a time for her to supervise us as you practice that spell, it is best to schedule it as soon as possible."

"I guess that makes sense. Why did you come ask me anyways?"

"You do a fine job maintaining your hair and have appropriate pride in it."

It took Lavender a moment to respond. I began to replay what I had said in my head and started to formulate a different way of saying the same thing when, "You came to me because you like my hair?"

"Yes." In our group, she arguably had the best hair. It was thick, full, and always had a healthy sheen to it.

"… Thank you."

Lavender was being quieter than she normally was for some reason. Looking at her, I saw that she seemed to be folding in on herself and was biting her bottom lip.

"Are you well? We can go to the Nurse's office if you aren't feeling well and I'll ask Prof. McGonagal myself."

"No. I'm fine."

Lavender seemed to bounce back to normal quickly, grabbing my hand and taking the lead in heading to our Head of House's office. I didn't know if this was a confusing child thing or a confusing girl thing, but I did not understand what was going through Lavender's head. Considering I spent an entire life as a woman, even a majority of my memory being of a woman, I decided to go with a confusing child thing. Whatever the case, Lavender began babbling about different things we could do with my hair.

"As long as it is easy to maintain," was my one specification. To which I was quickly assured it would be. There was a part of me that was concerned about what was going to happen to my hair, but after half a century of maintaining one hair style, it was probably time for a change.

Lavender mentioned something about putting some sort of potion based product in my hair. "As much as Snape might like you practicing your potioncraft, I said easy maintenance."

—

Prof. McGonagal was able to help us right away with my haircut and helped Lavender from going too far with the haircut when a mistake occurred. In the end, the mistake resulted in my hair being closely cropped over my left ear and having a strong transition to the right side where my hair hugged the side of my face down to my cheek. I would say it looked a bit too edgy for a twelve year old, but I am sure I would grow into the style. In the meantime, it seemed like an easy style to maintain. Should I decide I don't like it after living with it for a while, I could always just cut it again. It was just hair afterall. In the meantime, there was the quidditch match coming up that I guess I had to prepare for.

—

Lee Jordan

"Hello Hogwarts! You ready for the fourth match of the year? I said, 'Are you ready for the fourth match of the year?' That's better! Today's match should be an Exciting One. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff! Today's match is going to be a bit different from normal. The lovely Madam Hooch will not be refereeing today's game. Instead our least favorite Professor will be the referee for the match. So let's all give him a healthy boo-"

"Jordan! Professor Snape is still staff and you will treat him as such."

"Sorry Prof. As I was saying, let's all give Professor Snape the applause he deserves.

"Looking like a bunch of bees, the Badgers of Hufflepuff are buzzing out with Captain Finlay followed by his fellow chasers Rayne and Tansy. Next we have beaters Isla and Osla followed closely by Keeper Fleet and Seeker Diggory brings up the rear.

"And prowling out are the fierce Lions of Gryffindor! Captain Wood leading the way as Keeper followed by the lovely ladies-"

"Chasers."

"That too, Johnson, Spinnet, and Bell. They are followed by the masterful pranksters, Fred and George Weasleys as beaters and the bucking seeker Potter with TROLL CRUSHER bringing in the reserves!"

"Jordan! I made certain her uniform had her name correctly displayed."

"Huh, so it is. Degurechaff bringing in the reserves. Wood and Finlay shake hands before taking positions. Snape tosses the quaffle.. And THEY'RE OFF! Finlay to Tansy! Bludger from Weasley dodged and that's a whistle! Seems Weasley nearly hit Snape with a Bludger. Such an unfortunate miss."

"Jor. Dan."

"Sorry Prof. Anyways, that is a penalty shot. Tansy in position. The quaffle is flying! And Caught! Wood to Bell into a low swoop. Pass to Spinnet! Drop to Johnson and over to Bell! Bell barely manages to dodge a bludger tossing quaffle towards Johnson! Intercepted by Rayne! Over to Finlay. Back to Rayne. To Tansy. Charging towards the goals. Dodge a bludger. Pass towards Rayne. Intercepted by Bell! And Potter appears to be diving towards Snape! Is this some distraction ploy? NO! Potter caught the Snitch from next to Snape's head! The match is over 150 to 0 Gryfindor in the fastest game of the season!"

—

Harry Potter

Harry was happy to see that Tanya had waited for him as he took a private moment in the shower to enjoy the happiness and pride he felt. No one could say he was just a famous name as he showed everyone he was on the team for a very good reason. The previous hour after the game was a blur as Gryffindors swarmed the field and lifted Harry up on their shoulders and celebrated the swift win. A win that put Gryffindor House in the lead for both the House and Quidditch Cups this year.

"Good job," Tanya said softly as she stood up from the locker room's bench and slinging her own Nimbus 2000 over her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Great!" Harry said with a huge grin.

"Good. That's good." Tanya smiled before she began leading the way back to the castle. "I think the Weasley Twins mentioned something about getting some food for a party. The Common Room will likely be a little crowded."

"Is that Snape?" Harry asked as he noticed a hooded figure looking like they didn't want to be seen walking towards the Forbidden Forest. The prowling walk brought to mind only one person in Harry's mind.

Tanya looked towards the figure and shrugged before turning towards the castle. "Possibly. I think we can still get some hot food in the Great Hall before eating whatever has been gathered for the party."

"What do you think he is doing sneaking into the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked, following Tanya to first drop their brooms off at the broom closet before getting something quick to eat.

Tanya shrugged. "I do not know. Maybe he is getting some ingredients for a potion he is working on."

"Why would he be sneaking out during dinner to get potion ingredients?"

"He is a Head of House. Likely he is getting asked by the kids in his House constantly for help with things. This might be the only time he feels like he can get away unbothered."

"I guess that makes sense." Harry felt that wasn't right, but he couldn't see any holes in his friend's logic. Something in his gut was telling him that there was something going on. Something important.

Without any reason to be suspicious other than his gut, Harry just put his broom in the closet before quickly stopping in the Great Hall to grab a jacket potato. After getting a hot potato in their stomachs, the two began the trek back to the Gryffindor Tower.

"There you two are," Hermione squeaked as she marched over with Ron following closely.

"We won! You won! We won!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back with a huge grin. "Let's hurry to the Common Room. Everyone is waiting for you! We're having a party! Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchen."

"I am sure that is an exaggeration," Tanya said.

Climbing into the Common Room, the four first years were greeted by a wall of sound as the house applauded Harry and dragged him in to congratulate him again and ply him with the pilfered sweets and handing him bottles of butterbeer that some of the upper years had hidden in their rooms from visits to Hogsmead.

Harry was the center of attention and for once he was happy about it. He earned this attention.

—

Oliver Wood

Having beaten Hufflepuff put Gryffindor in a strong position. Depending on the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match next month would determine whether Gryffindor needed to straight up win against Ravenclaw or if there was a specific point spread Gryffindor could lose by and still win the Quidditch cup. Hopefully Ravenclaw would lose against Slytherin to give Gryffindor the best chance of winning overall. If they pulled it off, Wood would be over the moon as it would show his competency as captain, particularly with such a young team. Wood was the oldest member of the team by two years with everyone else being third year and below. Hell, their Seeker and reserve player were firsties. Bloody brilliant firsties when it came to flying on a broom. Frighteningly reckless too, pulling off stunts during practice that Wood would be too cautious to try. Then again, there is a reason Wood was a keeper and not a seeker.

Wood felt someone bump his side. "Enjoying yourself?" Olive asked. Wendy Olive was one of Wood's yearmates and the most outgoing of the girls in his year.

"Yeah. We won, our position is strong for the last game this year, and we have a great team."

Olive laughed and shook her head. "Always with your head in the game," Olive said before looking around the room quickly and pulling a bottle out of her robe. "How about something to add to the fun?"

Wood looked around and saw that Percy was distracted by his twin brothers and the other prefects were also distracted. He took a long drag off of his bottle of butterbeer before passing it over to Olive. Olive topped up Wood's bottle with the amber liquid of her bottle, passing it back to Wood. She then got onto her tiptoes to kiss Wood's cheek. "Find me later," she whispered before slinking off with her bottle hidden in her robes again.

Wood smirked and took a sip of his freshly topped off bottle, grimacing at the taste and refusing to let that stop him as he swallowed the spiked drink. Looking around the room, Wood spotted the smallest member of the team sitting by herself. Being the reliable, fabulous Captain he was, Wood decided to see what was up with his Reserve Player.

"What's up?" He asked, sitting next to Tanya, seeing she was nursing her own bottle of butterbeer and had a slice of cake the Weasley Twins had pilfered from the kitchens.

"Not much," Degurechaff answered. Despite having her back to the wall and sitting on the floor, Degurechaff was eating her cake with surprisingly refined manners. It reminded Wood a lot of his visits to his Aunt's house. Were table manners something she learned at the orphanage Wood wondered, or was it something she was emulating here?

"That's good. You are not upset you didn't get to play?"

Degurechaff turned her head to look at Wood, her eyes steadily looking into his own. "No. Do I appear upset?"

"N-no," Wood said, suddenly feeling much smaller as he stared into the crystal blue eyes of a frozen lake. "I just noticed you were sitting by yourself and wanted to check on you."

Degurechaff broke eye contact and looked into the crowd in the center of the room, Wood's eyes following the direction to find Potter surrounded by other Gryffindors.

"Tonight is a time for him to celebrate. It is his win and I am happy for him."

Wood looked back to Degurechaff. Her expression was as difficult to read as ever and it could have been Wood's imagination, but he thought he saw a slight tinge of red on the young girl's pale cheeks. "Yeah, I suppose-"

"Tanya!" A voice nearby loudly and excitedly said, "Look who I found! She was on the mantle of the fireplace looking over us and being a guard kitty like I thought she was, but luckily she seems to like kitty nip in cat form so I managed to convince her to come down from there and let me hug and pet her and she is purring!"

Wood recognized the girl as one of Degurechaff's friends and yearmates, but could not remember her name. Whatever the excitable little girl's name was, Wood knew he needed to be the responsible one here because some people could be touchy about their pets. "You shouldn't be picking up other people's pets without permission," Wood said gently.

"I don't think Professor McGonagall is anyone's pet," the girl said with a smile. "Are you someone's pet, Professor?"

The cat meowed in the girl's arm and looking closer Wood realized that the cat did indeed look just like Professor McGonagall in her animagus form. Wood's eyes widened and he put his thumb over the opening of his bottle.

"Well, looks like you have company now, so I'll just leave you three alone," Wood said nervously as he quickly got up and began looking for Olive. The alcohol would have to be even more carefully hidden now that McGonagall was in the Common Room.

—

Parvati Patil

Theater Club was surprisingly fun considering the teacher in charge was Professor Snape and Tanya was the one that had organized the initial club. Tanya always seemed so scary and serious, but she was really just incredibly awkward and was worse than Hermione at being social. Which was saying something since Hermione spent most of her time with her bushy head in a book. Regardless, Parvati was having a lot of fun making the costumes. She had to learn a lot of charms and Professor Snape had no idea where to begin in making outfits so Parvati spent a lot more time in the library getting Madam Prince's help than she had expected, but the costumes were coming out well in Parvati's opinion.

"Alright students," Professor Snape drawled out as he entered the classroom the club was using. "There are songs in the play you all selected, so we will need to see what you all are capable of. Degurechaff, you first."

Parvati noticed a slight panicked look cross Tanya's face at being singled out for singing first and the smirk on the Professor's lips. It seemed the only one that didn't know that Professor Snape wasn't really a Drama Teacher and was just going along with the whole Theater Club thing because he seemingly couldn't say no was Tanya herself and Snape was taking pleasure in messing with her as much as could.

Tanya closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. "Vansaai ia cram cross tser los. Jessubay nam guo war." Paravati was certain it wasn't just her jaw that dropped as Tanya belted out whatever those words were in such a crystal clear and pretty voice.

"Schpetzy kazagrem schommy shatzgem. Toad tangerloo worm. Szar. Szar. Crow."

The strength of her voice and the passion was pallaple. Parvati stood up straighter as she listened, her eyes unable to focus anywhere other than Tanya's singing. If anyone was going to have such a powerful, beautiful singing voice, Parvati would have thought Lavender or maybe Lily, not rough little Tanya. The entire room was filled with only Tanya's voice as she sang on in some unknown language.

As she finished up her song a little over a minute later, the Weasley Twins broke everyone out of their stupor with loud applause and whistling, getting the rest of the club to join in. Tanya's face flushed red and a smile crossed her lips before she took another deep breath and schooled her features back into that hard to read expression she always wore, but with reddened cheeks to show she was pleased with herself.

"Right, very good," Professor Snape drawled out, his expression looking more annoyed than normal.

"That's going to be a tough act to follow," One of the Weasley Twins said with a laugh.

"Indeed indeed. Who would have thought little Troll Crusher had such a lovely singing voice?" The other one agreed, nodding along sagely.

"Perhaps you two could show everyone how you would follow her up," Snape suggested, glaring at the Twins.

The Twins looked Snape. "Us?" The first asked.

"I suppose we could," the second said, a fresh grin forming on both faces.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

The twins then began to belt out some song rather badly, clearly focused more on getting laughs out of everyone than actually performing well with their antics.

The rest of the club meeting was spent with everyone singing some song for the group. Most of the club tried their best to sound good with a few following in the twin's footsteps and purposely doing badly. As the meeting came to an end, Parvati was sure no one else was as good as Tanya.

Half_Baked_cat · Apr 2, 2023

The careless use of language can lead to miscommunication. Miscommunication has led to the current world we exist in. Good Morning Fatherland! This is your favorite radio host Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff fresh from the battlefield. Our neighbors to the north decided to trespass onto Imperial land and we responded aggressively to remove this blatant violation of immigration laws. Not a single one of them went through the proper channels to obtain a Visa, can you believe that dear listeners?

And I was right there in the middle of it all, an adorable nine year old just floating in the air observing everything like I was supposed to when some big grown men came at me to touch me in inappropriate ways. Mostly by filling me full of holes and lead. As I was unarmed due to being too small to carry the radio equipment and a rifle, I requested to retreat and was denied. I was told to instead hold off the enemy until reinforcements could arrive in approximately five minutes. Not sure what they expected me to do to delay them, maybe a little song and dance? Whatever it was, they never bothered telling me so I went in close and did the best I could.

I ended up blowing myself up. Don't worry dear listeners, I'm still alive. It'll take more than one suicidal explosion to take me out. From what management has informed me, I took out six of the illegal aliens and my reward is some pretty jewelry and assignment to a research facility. I should have the inside scoop on all sorts of upcoming tech we will be rolling out shortly.

In other news, have any of you noticed the moon? Not the big one, but the second smaller one with the glowing red eyes and big friendly grin. Where did it come from? What are its plans for us? Should we prepare to fight in space?

And now for the Children's Fun Fact Science Corner!

Time is an artificial construct of human making. It dilates due to speed and gravity with no truly subjective point of reference. With enough speed and gravity it is possible to return to the our youthful past and tell our younger self that it is incredibly rude to tell a child to die for a momentary distraction of an enemy force.

That was the Children's Fun Fact Science Corner!

I just received a message from management. It is a reminder from the Kaiser's secret police, you know those sharply dressed people with a bleeding hole where their eyes should be. The message is: The Hierarchy of Angels is privileged information and only to be shared on a need to know basis. I for one fully agree with this decision as knowing who is in control of those awful things is not important when doing pest control. Remember audience, meet an Angel, kill and Angel.

And now, I take you to The Weather.

https://youtu.be/3qFzDGnQ-Tg

With that my dear listeners, it is time for this show to come to an end. I hope you had a wonderful time with me today. Stay tuned for an hour of quiet contemplation interrupted by the quiet sobs of a frightened woman in the room next door. Farewell Fatherland. Farewell.

Half_Baked_cat · Apr 9, 2023

Tanya Degurechaff

Sunday afternoon was a lovely time of the week to have 'tea time' with the Headmaster. Schoolwork was caught up earlier in the weekend so that all the students in the study group could enjoy some free time to relax and have fun. Professor Dumbledore always seemed to brighten up during our discussions when I was able to meet with him for tea.

Or rather, he had tea and I would enjoy some coffee. It was nice of him to go out of his way to ensure I had my preferred beverage when we met up. Today it was just going to be myself and the headmaster as Harry decided to have tea with Hagrid along with Ron, Hermione was spending time with Neville in the library, Seamus and Dean were outside playing a game, Lily was… somewhere, and Parvati and Lavender were spending time together looking at some magazines. I could have invited Draco I suppose, but I had not thought to do so during any of our interactions during the week. Perhaps I should mention it next time I see him.

As I arrived at the statue guarding the staircase to the Headmaster's Office, Professor Snape was coming down the steps.

"Hello Professor," I said to the man. Professor Snape looked at me down his nose, his robes fluttering around his body as he came to a stop.

"Ms. Degurechaff, shouldn't you be outside playing?" He asked me in the slow dramatic tones of his, pausing on words to give emphasis and subtle nuance.

"I might, after tea with Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Tea? With the Headmaster?" Professor Snape got one of his smiles that many called a sneer. I agreed that by traditional metrics it was not the nicest smile, but it fit the persona Professor Snape enjoyed portraying. A rather interesting persona for a drama teacher to take as the portrayal in the movies I had seen indicated drama teachers tended more towards colorful, exuberant, hippy-like personalities. For Professor Snape to take on a more somber, serious persona made me think he preferred the character roles that took a lot of careful nuance to portray properly, perhaps Hamlet.

"To be honest, I usually have coffee while he drinks tea," I paused as I thought about that for a moment. "Perhaps you are right, I should try the tea with the accompanying snacks. Thank you Professor. I will see you later."

The Professor couldn't keep the joy of his advice being helpful as a small laugh snorted out before he turned and strolled off. He did a marvelous job despite the slight break of character keeping his face from showing the happiness he was feeling.

Heading up the stairs, I found Dumbledore behind his desk in loudly pink robes. "Ah, Ms. Degurechaff. It is always a pleasure. Give me a moment and I'll get your coffee ready."

"Actually, sir, I was talking to Professor Snape before coming up and he suggested that perhaps I should actually enjoy the tea for tea time." I took a seat across from the Headmaster as he smiled broadly under the long beard of his, the corners of his mustaches curling up.

"Did he now? Well, I was going to brew up a spot of Earl Grey if you are interested." With a firm tap on his desk, the papers were cleared off and a tea set and a small tower of finger foods appeared.

"Yes please, sir."

Professor Dumbledore opened his tea pot, a beautiful piece that used the same magic in the portraits to have little animated butterflies dance across a field of flowers, and dumped in the loose tea leaves into the steaming interior, the hot water already contained in the pot. "Severus was telling me that you have a most wonderful singing voice, but that it was not in a language he knew."

I could feel myself blushing. I should have known singing the national anthem of the Empire might come back to bite me, but it was the first thing that came to mind. "Yes, sir. I enjoy learning languages, so I just sang something." Hopefully the Headmaster would take the conversational bait and move to the topic of languages instead of what specifically I was singing.

"Oh? I am a bit of a fan of learning languages myself," Professor Dumbledore said, thankfully going along as the tea sat brewing for a bit. "I've even learned a few magical languages."

"Magical languages?" An interesting notion. Were these languages that required a spell to speak?

"Yes. Mermish in particular is a fascinating language, changing significantly when spoken above or below water. Melodic below the surface, but above many refer to it as horrific shrieking."

"Interesting. How would one go about learning mermish if someone wanted to?" I had a few languages under my polyglot belt, getting into a magical language, even if it was one that I would never make use of, sounded like something interesting to explore while I was at this school.

Dumbledore's face fell a bit. "Unfortunately, that is a long topic. One I would love to teach, but interest in learning magical languages has always been low and I had to take it off the curriculum some years ago."

It was sad that the lack of interest in the past was messing with my opportunities in the present. "What about a club? If I got enough people interested, would you be willing to teach a language club?"

"Do you think there would be interest?" Dumbledore began to pour the tea, handing me a cup. I chose to take it straight.

"It doesn't hurt to ask, does it?"

Dumbledore gave me a small smile, but the drop of his shoulders made me believe he had doubts. "I suppose it does not. If you can get enough students to agree to a magical language club, I would be happy to help teach a language or two."

"Thank you sir," I said, helping myself to one of the cucumber sandwiches. While incredibly simple, the crisp and clean flavor of fresh cucumber in between two slices of buttered bread was a pleasing pallet cleanser. I was still stuck on the surface flavors of the tea, failing to pick apart the individual notes of how the various blended elements changed the experience. "There is orange in Earl Grey, right?"

"Hmm? In a fashion," my question seemed to take the headmaster off guard for a moment. "Bergamot rind. It is a type of orange, I believe, but Professor Sprout would be the better one to discuss the plant with. My knowledge of this plant ends with the fact it is used in making Earl Grey."

"That is fine sir, I was just trying to make sure of that so I can try to find the flavor."

"Exploring the flavor? Not many your age would bother."

If I was reading Dumbledore's emotions right, he was amused.

"It is nice to take a moment to delve into a drink and really understand the nuances. I am having a bit of difficulty with the tea, but that is probably just it being so different from coffee that I am still acclimating to the flavors of the tea itself."

Dumbledore stroked his long beard as he nodded. "Perhaps next time we should do a tea sampler? A variety of teas with differences you can try exploring."

"Would it be alright if I brought someone next Sunday?"

"Of course. Which of your friends are you thinking of bringing?"

"I think Draco would appreciate the opportunity to explore several teas."

Headmaster Dumbledore's eyebrow rose. "Young Mr. Malfoy? Of course, I will make appropriate arrangements for next Sunday."

—-

Harry Potter

Harry and Ron arrived at Hagrid's cabin in good spirits to see Hagrid tending to the garden in front of his cabin while his dog, Fang, was laying on the doorstep.

" 'Arry, Ron,'' Hagrid called out as he began wiping his hands clean. "Blimey, is it three already? Well, come on in lads and I'll put the pot on ta boil."

Heading into the cabin Hagrid set about getting a kettle over the fire before setting out his tea set. It was an old pewter set with dings in the metal making the otherwise plain set more visually interesting. On a platter next to the tea set, Hagrid set down some rock cakes and a jar of jam.

"How are ye' studies going?" Hagrid asked as he began heaping large spoonfuls of tea leaves into his pot, adding enough to make a very strong brew.

"Ugh," Ron groaned out. "Good I guess, but it feels like all we are doing is studying."

Harry laughed at Ron's complaint. "It isn't that bad. Imagine if Hermione was directing our study sessions."

Ron laughed too. "She would probably have us studying right now."

Hagrid gave a chuckle. "Well, I'ma glad ye' came ta visit and yer studies be good."

Harry smiled at the giant man and the three fell into a comfortable conversation with the two boys quickly realizing they should avoid the rock cakes due to them being as hard as their namesake. After most of an hour, the tea was drunk and the boys said their goodbyes with promises to visit again soon.

Making their way back to the castle, they saw that the grounds were busy with students relaxing.

"Want to play a game of wizarding chess when we get back to the common room?" Ron asked as the two boys took a moment to enjoy the castle grounds.

"Sure, just go easy on me this time."

"Yeah. Sure, sure." Ron laughed as the two boys began to rush towards the castle and up to the Gryffindor tower for their game.

Getting past the Fat Lady's portrait, the two boys were greeted to the sight of Lily with a bundle of cloth, thread, and a needle making a hand puppet. A puppet with red hair by the looks of it. Ron proceeded to politely ignore it and suppress the thought of who that puppet might be of as he went to the chess board.

—

Lily Moon

"Knight to f four!" Harry Potter confidently said, dramatically moving his piece into position.

"Ha!" Ron Weasley laughed evilly. "A beginner's opening!" He confidently moved a pawn into position.

"You may think that you villainous cur, but-"

"Lily? Are you having Ron and Harry argue?" Hermione asked, looking at the dramatic chess game between hand puppets on a tiny chess board.

"No. Ron is being an evil villain who stole all the garlic bread and the only way the heroic Harry can get the garlic bread back is by defeating the evil Ron in a game of chess! Like in those old stories about playing against death, except for bread instead of life."

Hermione did not look amused so Puppet Ron waved at the full sized Hermione.

Hermione sighed before crossing her arms. "Shouldn't you be doing some studying? What would Tanya say to you if she saw you playing with puppets while your grades are not doing good?"

" 'I'm not angry at you, just disappointed. Now what is the first exception to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?' The first exception is that food cannot be conjured, only multiplied, enlarged, or summoned. 'Good. Now what is food in this context?' Food is any substance that can provide significant nutritional value when consumed. In theory it is possible to conjure food-like substances that appear and taste like food, but would lead to a person slowly starving from lack of any nutrient."

Hermione leaned back as Lily's eyes went wide and she stared at nothing as she imitated herself and Tanya having a conversation. "Uh, that sounds correct. I think I saw mention of Gamp's Law somewhere, but I don't think we will cover that for a few years."

"Tanya says that if we are to get better at understanding our current work, we must understand the underlying concepts. Gregory, Vincent, and I are meeting her after she is done with having tea with Dumbledore to go over what we learned last week and why things work the way they do."

Hermione had not thought about what went on in the study sessions or how Tanya was focusing her efforts on the worst performers in the group, but the theory behind her methods made sense to the precocious child.

"Well, I suppose since you will be studying later, I will leave you to your… puppets," Hermione said before staring towards the stairs to the girl's dorm.

A few moments later Tanya entered the Common Room and Puppet Harry waved at her.

"Let me grab my things and we'll go meet Vincent and Gregory," Tanya told Lily as she headed up to the dorm room.

"Ok," Lily said, beginning to gather up her things, tidying up the area and leaving her things neatly in a corner, just like her mama taught her to do when play time was over.

"Let's go," Tanya said, bag slung over her shoulder before noticing Lily had puppets on her hands. "Leave the puppets."

"Can I bring one?" Lily asked, reaching into her bag and rummaging quickly before she pulled out a sock puppet with blue button eyes and yellow yarn hair and a black hat that looked very large on the puppet. "I made one of you."

A small curve at the edge of Tanya's mouth told Lily that the other girl was happy. Tanya rarely showed strong emotions and her usual 'happy' face was a smug smirk. This was much softer and Lily thought it showed genuine happiness.

"Just don't be distracting with it."

Half_Baked_cat · Jun 10, 2023

Author's Note: Don't do these often, but I figured I should explain. The following is cut from the next chapter. I wrote it, but decided it did not fit the chapter overall. It is still canon, so enjoy the content. Warning, contains Lily Moon and is not properly beta'd

Lily Moon

Sneak sneak sneak. Beautiful and graceful, Master spy extraordinaire Lily Moon snuck through the secret passage in the ceiling, making her way through the dangerous and evil headquarters of Hogwarts. Stealthily she snuck keeping an eye and an ear out for any secret information.

Ooh! The prefect with pink hair. How she managed to maintain that color was a mystery, but no, Master Spy Lily Moon would not be distracted! Especially since the pink haired minion was distracted by boringly kissing another girl.

Sneak sneak sneak. Master Spy Lily Moon continued her mission, supporting more dark minions slipping into a room. With Grace and Care, Master Spy Lily Moon maneuvered herself above the room and looked down on the minion to see what was being plotted.

Boring! Why were so many of the students here so focused on kissing? It was boring to do that. Hugs were much better. They were warm and you could actually talk to whoever you were hugging!

The Great Spy Lily Moon moved on, crawling through the secret ceiling passage. Sneak sneak sneak. The Dungeon Master has been spotted in conversation with the Guard Master. Lily leaned in to hear and

"Who's there?" Snape asked, swiftly turning and spotting Lily hanging down from the ceiling a bit. "What are you doing Moon?"

"Spying," Lily said with a huge grin.

"I w-will leave th-this to you," Professor Quirrell said before beginning to move away.

"We will continue this discussion later," Snape said, before snapping his wand at Lily and floating her down to the ground. "Why were you spying?"

"Harry, Draco, Gregory, Vincent, Ron, and Seamus are at Dueling Club and I don't really want to duel. Hermione and Tanya are at the library reading and being dusty, I don't know where Dean went to, Neville is at the green houses. Parvati and Lavender don't want to play. So I was left to entertain myself, so I decided to be a MASTER SPY! and sneak about the castle. But it was so boring, everyone is just kissing each other and that is not interesting to watch," Lily said, gesticulating her points thoroughly, much to Professor Snape's annoyance as he felt a headache coming on.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. Spying on others is not something you should be doing as 'entertainment'," Snape said, before swirling past Lily in the direction of the dungeons.

Half_Baked_cat · Jun 19, 2023

Hermione Granger

A loud clap stirred the bushy haired Hermione to consciousness, groaning as she rolled over to get out of bed to start the day, like she had so many times before with her dorm mates since the beginning of term.

"I'll lead," Parvati said with a yawn as she took the central position as the rest of the girls formed a semi circle around the Indian girl, soft, tired smiles on most of their faces.

At first, the yoga was difficult for Hermione to do as she was not used to bending and contorting her body into the positions while still for what felt like hours, but, after months of doing it everyday, even Tanya's version was becoming easy to do.

None of that stopped Hermione from working up a bit of a sweat first thing in the morning despite how slow the motions were. Unfortunately, none of the books in the school library included anything about why standing in funny positions would be so strenuous.

Regardless, a sweaty and properly awake Hermione grabbed a clean uniform for the day, tossed her dirty nightwear aside, and joined the other girls in the shower.

"Ugh," Lavender groaned under the water stream.

"What's wrong?" Parvati asked, a sudsy lather in her hair.

"We got Defense and History today."

"Ugh, Binns is so boring and I can barely understand Quirrell."

"Must you complain every week?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes!" Both Lavender and Parvati said.

"Let them complain," Tanya said as she scrubbed her hair. "Better to let it out than allow resentment to build. Oh, and Lavender, I do think that I do not like the haircut after all. Do you know of a way to fix it?"

"I think there is a hair growth potion, but I'll need to check."

"I think I saw it in one of the books in the library while-"

" 'Doing some light reading,' " Parvati quoted as Hermione finished her sentence, the bushy haired bookworm giving a small pout.

"If you could find that recipe, I would appreciate it."

"What kind of hairstyle would you like to try next?" Lavender asked, a gleam of mischief in her eyes.

"Don't know. Probably best to wait till after the potion has done its thing to decide."

Now clean, Hermione turned off her shower and grabbed a towel to dry off before putting on her uniform, packing her bag for the day, and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The boys trickled down over the next hour, food and conversation being shared.

"Oh, I didn't ask," Hermione said, turning to Ron and Harry. "How was tea with Hagrid?"

"Good, but if you ever visit, don't eat the rock cakes," Ron said around a mouthful of crumpet. "I think he uses actual rocks."

"Ron, please swallow before talking," Hermione requested, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"Didn't you want to ask Hagrid something?" Lily asked Tanya.

"Hmm. I did, but I don't remember what about," Tanya said, her face tightening up in concentration as she tried to remember.

"I think it was something related to an animal."

"Hmm, maybe?" Tanya seemed unsure.

"Next time I go, why don't you come along?" Harry asked.

Tanya nodded agreement and the conversations moved onto other subjects until it was time to head to class where Professor Quirrell was standing at the front. Without prompting, Hermione and the other Gryffindors dug through their bags to pull out their essays and set them on his desk.

The professor had a nervous smile as he said, "Th-thank you cl-class. Today's l-lesson will be a-about b-beast classifications. H-how d-dangerous various beasts c-can be. T-turn to page one f-f-forty three please."

Hermione had to admit to herself that Quirrell was one of her least favorite professors due to his stutter making it harder to follow along with what he was saying, but he was open to answering questions asked in class and was knowledgeable. This lesson in particular had a lot of questions being asked, particularly surrounding trolls and what Tanya did several months ago.

Hermione was not one of the ones asking questions as she remembered the amount of blood flowing from the troll's wounds and the smell coming off it. How Tanya stood covered in the thick blood unbothered by the gruesome demise and was the only thing keeping her safe from causing death.

"Are you ok?" Tanya asked, breaking Hermione out of the memory, a hand on her arm. "You are trembling. Do you feel nauseous? Warm? Cold?"

Hermione gave Tanya a smile. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"You sure? We can go to Miss Pompfrey's office if you are feeling unwell."

Hermione shook her head.

"Is-is there someth-thing you would like to s-say?" Professor Quirrell asked, looking at the two of them.

Tanya smoothly released Hermione's arm and turned towards the professor. "No sir, I was just checking that my used copy had the same chart as Hermione's textbook."

"M-most of the cl-classification h-haven't changed in d-decades. You sh-should be f-fine."

Hermione returned her focus to the lesson, putting the troll out of mind as getting a bad grade would be so much worse than what almost occurred with the troll.

—-

Draco Malfoy

Tanya seeming to suddenly appear around a corner to ask Draco a question was rather startling, particularly with her hard gaze.

"Ah, Draco, would you be interested in joining me for tea Sunday?" Tanya asked.

"Yes?" Draco was a little uncertain how to handle the request, but his father's desire for him to get close to her made him agree quickly.

She nodded after the answer. "I will meet you next to the gargoyle to the Headmaster's Office for afternoon tea," she said before leaving him behind.

"The Headmaster's..?" Draco didn't know where the Headmaster's office was. He hadn't needed to go there and it seemed like it was an odd place to meetup considering he could just meet her at the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Regardless of the meeting place, he would do his duty to his family and arrive at the meeting place to spend time with Tanya and get closer to her. While his father's thoughts about Potter seemed wrong as Potter seemed to be little more than a wet paper bag that is ok at flying Draco supposed, Tanya had something unnerving about her. Something that both were off-putting and attractive. If this is what You-Know-Who had about him, then Tanya being the next Dark Lady seemed likely and following from the start when she begins her reign would be a highly valuable position to be in.

With a shake of his head, Draco continued on his way to pick up Vincent and Gregory from where he left them in the library with a couple of books while he grabbed a volume for himself to focus on. That both of them could read was a relief to find after seeing how poorly they did on the midterm tests. He was concerned about how much effort it could take to help them pass the year, but Tanya had taken up the effort of helping them and that idiot Gryffindor girl pass. Whatever she was doing seemed to be working as both of the large boys had their heads in the books.

Dropping into a seat next to them, he opened up the book he had grabbed to see if it had any interesting spells he could bring to the dueling club. Potter may have gotten lucky, but Draco had the power and skill to beat him.

—

Potions class was one of Draco's favorites. Professor Snape was a great teacher who gave the Slytherins all the assistance they needed and making potions was something that was enjoyable to the scion of the Malfoy family. There was something satisfying about chopping up ingredients and mixing them into the cauldron and getting a magical result in a liquid form.

"We will be learning to bottle strength for when magic is not enough. So most of you fools should pay close attention," Snape began as he waltzed into the classroom, his robes billowing out behind him as he snapped his wand at the chalkboard where instructions and diagrams began appearing. His eyes passed over the class, stopping on Tanya. "Though I suppose at least one of you does not need the help."

With a flick of his wand, Snape sent one of the main ingredients for the potion from a cabinet to each workbench, a mostly red flower with blue spots and fangs on the edges of the petals, especially around the opening. "First we will be going over how to properly collect the fangs from the Fanged Geranium. You want to collect just the fangs with as little of the petal as possible. First cut the petal off the stem…"

Draco paid attention and carefully followed the instructions, getting his fangs cleanly separated from the rest of the flower whole and clean. Vincent managed to get his cleanly separated, but they were in broken pieces while Greggory's fangs had red sap covering the still whole fangs.

After the flower fangs were harvested, they began to grind snake fangs in their mortar into a fine powder. The class was mostly quiet with only the sound of stone on stoneware and slowly crushing teeth. As they transitioned to actually brewing the potion, Draco had a brief moment where he was tempted to toss some of Greggory's fangs into Longbottom's cauldron. He stopped himself as he remembered Tanya talking about how important it was to know where boundaries for his friends were and that it was always better to err on the side of caution. Longbottom was one of Tanya's friends and Draco needed to be on the good side of Tanya and her friends if he was going to follow his father's wishes.

Draco put the fangs into a hidden position and slid some of his properly harvested fangs in front of Greggory before continuing onto the next step of the brewing process.

—

Albus Dumbledore

Peering out of his office window, Dumbledore watched as the students were having a fun Sunday off from classes. Staring out to the lightly snow dusted grounds, a soft smile came to the old man's face. It was moments like this that everything was right in the world. Children being children. The future having fun and shining brightly, even if just for a brief moment.

A brief moment interrupted by his fireplace igniting in green flames and Bagman's face appearing. Dumbledore sighed before putting on a polite smile and turning around.

"Ah, Ludovic, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked as he crouched down in front of the fireplace.

"Dumbledore, old bean, I just happened to be looking through some old documents and had a smashing idea. There is this old tournament between Hogwarts, Durmstrong, and Beauxbatons that hasn't been run in years."

Dumbledore frowned at the mention of that tournament. "Yes, the Triwizard tournament. I am familiar with it. It was ended because the casualty rate grew to be too excessive, even getting spectators killed in the last one."

Bagman laughed jovially. "Don't you worry about that. We will make sure the tasks won't be getting out of hand."

Dumbledore stroked his beard, frown firmly on his face. "I don't know about this. It is a rather large request. And even if you can ensure the tasks are safe, how would you convince the other schools to get involved? Which school would even be hosting it after so long?"

"Oh don't you worry about the other schools. I was talking to my counterparts in the other ministries and they are just as excited to bring this tournament back. As for which school would be hosting, that was the reason I was calling, to let you know that Hogwarts is the next school in the cycle to play host!"

Dumbledore sighed, eyes closing as he realized he wasn't being asked for his opinion, but simply to be be told as headmaster of the hosting school.

"I suppose my hands are tied if you are already this far along. However," Dumbledore stared at the green flaming head in his fireplace with resolve, "I will be kept in the loop every step of the way to make sure everything is as safe as you claim it to be."

"Of course, old bean. I will personally call you every step of the way. There is a lot to prepare, so we won't be ready for at least a year to kick it off. Tah tah for now."

With the flames dying down, Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Bagman was right that there was a lot to prepare. Dumbledore could feel in his bones that the tournament was going to be a disaster, but despite all his titles, despite his position as headmaster of the school to be hosting the tournament, there was only so much he could really do to stop it. Especially without making compromises on other issues far more important than a mere tournament.

Creaking his way back into a standing position, Dumbledore relocated himself to his desk to draft some notes while his mind was busy firing in every cylinder on what he would most likely need to look out for and the various things he would need to put in place to ensure any collateral is mitigated.

It was with several pages of notes scattered on his desk and a migraine forming that he was alerted to a visitor at his office, looking to the clock, Dumbledore was mildly surprised to see he had worked through lunch and it was tea time. Which meant young Ms. Degurechaff and Mr. Malfoy must be waiting. Granting permission for them to enter and giving a sweep of his wand, the notes were all gathered up and neatly stacked to one side of his desk.

The pair of first years arrived to Dumbledore having just finished putting a kettle over his fire to heat up. Typically, he would just have his tea pot arrive already filled with freshly boiled water, but today he was going to be doing something a bit different with a little tea sampler.

Turning to the pair, Dumbledore could see the differences in their body language clear as day. Ms. Degurechaff was confident as she went to take her seat as she bowed her head and greeted him.

"Hello Headmaster."

Mr. Malfoy, in contrast, was a bundle of nerves. No doubt a combination of the boy's father's influence and this being the first time he was in the headmaster's office. Oh, he did an admirable job attempting to hide it behind a mask of arrogance, but Dumbledore had been in politics for decades and a teacher of students even longer. There are always tells, and Mr. Malfoy's were practically screaming at Dumbledore.

"Good Afternoon Professor," Mr. Malfoy said a touch stiffly as he took his seat, sitting far too upright while Tanya was the picture of calm,

"Ms. Degurechaff, always a delight to have you. And it is a pleasure you could join us Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, giving the pair an honest smile and shaking their hands before taking his wand and tapping his desk. Five small tea pots appeared along with six tea cups, five small carefully arranged bowls filled with tea leaves, some milk and a sugar bowl, and a small tower of finger sandwiches. A small tower that Dumbledore noticed had a few more sandwiches than normal for three people. Dumbledore chuckled quietly to himself at the care the elves had for him.

"Oh, Draco, Professor Dumbledore offered to teach magical languages if we could get enough interest to form a club. Would you be interested in joining?"

Dumbledore was highly amused at the panic expression on Mr. Malfoy's face. If Dumbledore didn't know Ms. Degurechaff was twelve, no matter how unusual she may be, he would think that she was a practiced politician for putting Mr. Malfoy into a position where it was nearly impossible for him to decline. In high society it was considered a faux pas to decline an invite being a guest to an event by a fellow guest in front of the event host. Of course, if the host has allowed the guest doing the inviting to invite others, it would be impolite for the host to turn down a guest that was invited by the guest they allowed to give invites, not that Dumbledore would hold such against Ms. Degurechaff nor deny Mr. Malfoy the ability freely accept or decline as he chose.

"What kind of languages?" Mr. Malfoy asked, looking at Dumbledore.

"Mermish and Gobbledegook are the two I would be capable of teaching, though I would also be open to discussions on the other languages. A club would enable us a more open structure in the matter of magical languages than a class would require," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his seat and stroking his beard as he thought about such a club, his eyes unfocused on an empty section of wall above the door to his office.

The kettle over the fire began whistling causing Mr. Malfoy to startle. Slowly, Dumbledore got to his feet and grabbed the kettle.

"I'll join," Mr. Malfoy said a bit reluctantly.

Ms. Degurechaff smiled. "How many students do we need for the club?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard as he thought through the current school rules. "I believe six is the minimum for an official school club to be formed."

"Good. With Draco, we have six."

Dumbledore looked at Ms. Degurechaff with a smile. "Really now? Who have you gotten to agree to join the club?"

"Myself, Harry, Hermione, Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin, and now Draco."

"I see. How about we gather together for tea time for the club meetings on Sundays to start?" Dumbledore suggested with a smile. "We can adjust the club meetings later if needed."

"I will inform the others," Tanya said as she looked closer at the bowls of tea leaves.

"I suppose we should be getting to the tea tasting, shouldn't we?" Dumbledore asked. "I have five teas for us to try today and even did a little research into the ones I am not familiar with." Dumbledore picked up a bowl full of strands of dark tea leaves. "First, we have what should be one of the more familiar teas, a good, standard, black tea. Add a bit of bergamot and you would have an Earl Grey. Process it further and you get a nice breakfast tea. Today we will be sampling the loose, whole leaf version, though when I stopped by the shop and mentioned I was doing a tea sampling, the friendly young lad that was helping me suggested this should be the second to last of these we sample today as it has a much stronger flavor compared to some of the more delicate offerings."

Dumbledore picked up another bowl with tea leaves that seemed to have been clumped together. "Poo wear tea," Dumbledore said carefully. "I have not tried it as it is apparently rather rare and expensive, but from what I have gathered, puer tea takes the longest to produce because it goes through some sort of aging process that results in a very intense experience. This will be the last one we will be trying today."

Mr. Malfoy looked rather curious about the puer tea while Ms. Degurechaff seemed to simply be attentive as she sat there listening.

Setting the bowl down, Dumbledore grabbed the next bowl, filled little brown balls of tea leaves. "Oolong tea I have had plenty of times, including during a few of our previous meetings Ms. Degurechaff. In many ways, it is similar to black teas and I thought we would actually be best served by tasting it at the same time as the black tea, to really compare the two."

With that, Dumbledore grabbed the last two bowls. One had strands of vibrantly green leaves and the other looked like a bowl full of dry leaves one might find in the yard, being shades of green to light brown. "First though, we will be trying green and white tea at the same time as these are the most delicately, and lightest flavored teas. When I asked the young lad about these, he told me that they are both the least processed teas on the market. White tea is taken from the plant and dried immediately and green tea is cooked quickly then dried. The other teas go through other processes before being dried."

Having said his little introduction, Dumbledore dumped the two bowls into the tea pots before following them up with steaming water from the kettle. As he waited for the tea to steep, Dumbledore set a pair of tea cups in front of both Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Degurechaff.

Half_Baked_cat · Aug 18, 2023

Tanya Degurechaff

I could safely say that even after death, I still preferred coffee, but I could learn to appreciate the world of tea rather easily. The green tea took me back over a century to my first childhood and spending time with my grandfather. I hadn't thought about him in so long that I could not even remember his face. I couldn't even remember whether he was my mother's or my father's father.

Likely I would have to get comfortable with forgetting loved ones as I continue living lives, making new acquaintances, and existing as a semi-immortal being who would only be reborn upon death in a new life. I would just have to ensure the time I did spend with those I would eventually forget was as precious as possible.

The white tea was lovely, though I would likely not be keeping any on hand should I decide to keep a tea set. Some black tea I would need to keep some on hand considering the prevailing preference in England for that particular leaf, likely several different ones, though I far preferred the oolong in the side-by-side comparison. There was a certain complexity to oolong that I found more interesting to explore, more like drinking whiskey than black tea's single note of flavor.

But the one that I found to be the most pleasing was the puer tea. Without tasting like it, it reminded me of some of the best coffee I have had, even taking me back to some of the good moments of the first war, my adjutant serving me some of her perfectly prepared coffees. Lieutenant Serebryakov as she was known at the time, though MdR Serebryakov would be more accurate after the war. Such an intelligent young woman who was always eager to learn, and used my lessons to go into politics after the war, becoming a national representative.

I never got a chance to tell her how proud of her I was. I was in hiding after the war and meeting with any of my men would be too dangerous, so I could only visit them at their funerals, always staying in the back, to pay my respects before leaving early. I know I was recognized during those visits, but my cover was thankfully never blown.

How long before I forget her name? Before I forget what she looked like? Would it be this life? The next?

"Wotcher, what are you doing there? Come down before you get hurt!" A voice behind me said. Turning around I could see it was a prefect with a rather vibrantly purple shade of hair.

"Sorry. Was just thinking and it is peaceful here," I said, getting down from the parapet I was sitting on.

"What are you thinking about?" The prefect asked as she started to lead me back inside the castle.

Shrugging, I answered. "Life. Death. Tea."

"Do you, uh, want to talk about it?" The prefect seemed a bit uncomfortable about the topic.

"I'm fine. I was just ruminating on someone I used to know." Looking up at the prefect, and seeing the concern, I couldn't help but notice the similarities in my former adjutant and the prefect. "Besides the hair, you kinda look like her, actually."

"Really? Usually people tell me I look rather unique," the prefect said as her nose changed into a snout and her chin lengthened. Considering some of the things I saw Serebryakov eat, the comparison to a pig was amusingly adept and I felt a small laugh escape. "Feeling better?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "About what?"

"Whatever you were thinking about."

"I guess. I wasn't really all that upset, I just hadn't thought about any of it in a long time."

The prefect looked me over with a frown before nodding to herself. "Listen, the name's Tonks you need to talk to someone about anything, come find me. I'll always be willing to listen. Even after I graduate at the end of the year, feel free to write to me, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

"Thank you Tonks, I will keep that in mind. My name is Tanya," I said, offering my hand. Such a kind young lady willing to offer an open ear so freely.

—-

Rubeus Hagrid

Rubeus Hagrid, or simply Hagrid as everyone called him, was a large man. A half-giant on his mother's side. He towered over all at Hogwarts, yet despite his intimidating frame, he was a man with an extremely kind and gentle heart. His large size and kindness made him very well suited to the tasks of being the Gameskeeper of Hogwarts. Tending to the grounds of Hogwarts took a fair amount of work as there were several gardens to tend to and a good number of animals that needed care. The Owlery needed regular cleaning, which took a strong back to shovel out the old straw bedding and bring in fresh bedding for the floor.

Currently, Hagrid had a large bucket of bloody steaks and was patting the leathery neck of the equine thestral as he fed the beautiful creature. There was always a small feeling of loss as he looked at the reptilian faces of the herd he had taken care of for decades. Hagrid was only a boy, still a student at Hogwarts when his father passed away. It had taken time for him to really understand what had happened, and even today Hagrid missed his old man.

Mostly though, Hagrid was just happy getting to care for the animals.

"Hey! What are you doing?" a young voice asked behind him. Turning, Hagrid saw it was Harry's red-headed friend… Ron! The youngest of the Weasley boys. Good kid. Less of a troublemaker than his twin brothers, but not as stiff as the prefect brother. Hagrid was reminded a bit of the eldest two Weasley boys when they first arrived at Hogwarts.

"I was jus feeding the thestrals," Hagrid said, patting one of the mares on the neck as he pulled out a piece of steak to feed her. Seeing his hand make contact with the animal and the meat getting consumed would be enough for them to know something was actually there.

"Oh, is that what those pegasi are called?" the blonde girl standing a step behind Harry asked, causing the other three to look at her.

Hagrid gave her a polite smile, understanding what the question really meant about her. "Aye. Beau'iful aren't they?"

"In a way," She answered politely, taking a step closer to get a better look.

"How can you see what he is talking about?" Ron asked.

The blonde looked at the young Weasley, but Hagrid was the one to answer with a bit of a sigh. "Death. Ter see a thestral, yeh have ter know death. Seen someone die, los' a loved one, really internalized tha' we all will someday die."

Four sets of eyes were staring at Hagrid, focused on his impromptu magical creature lesson. Setting the bucket down, Hagrid motioned towards the hut. "Let's head in. I'll put some tea on an' we can talk 'bout it."

The kids nodded and made to go in. Harry looked at the ground before he said, "I lost my parents, but I don't see the thestrals."

"Aye lad, I suspect yeh wouldn't," Hagrid said. "Yeh were a little thing when they died. Too young ter understand wha' was happening. It is abou' knowing in your heart tha' yeh will die someday, tha' wha' happens ter others will someday happen ter yeh. Yeh can know intelligently tha' ev'ryone dies, but tha' don't matter ter the thestrals. It is on'y when death is really felt tha' the thestrals will reveal themselves."

Hagrid rinsed off his hands before setting a plate of rock cakes onto the table the kids gathered around.

Ron was looking at the blonde before he asked a question that made Hagrid wince at the inappropriateness of. Hagrid was not the most high class of people, but he knew it was not good to ask, "Who did you see die?"

Hagrid looked at the blonde girl as she looked off into the distance before looking at the blunt redhead.

"The troll," the bushy haired brunette answered, causing Ron's face to flush in embarrassment.

"Right," he mumbled before he looked at Hagrid. "But we were there too, why don't we see the thestrals?"

"You arrived after I had killed it," the blonde said.

"Aye," Hagrid said with a nod as he filled his tea pot with steaming water. "I've heard o' some bein' able ter see the thestrals after visitin' a sick relative tha' died soon after, but it isn't often summat like tha' happens."

The conversation died down for a moment before the bushy haired girl turned to the blonde. "How do you do it? How are you able to stay so calm after what happened with the troll?" Tears were in the girl's eyes and she was curled in on herself, looking even smaller to Hagrid.

"It was not the first time," the blonde answered. "As wasteful as death can be, eventually you get numb to it. It is still sad to lose someone or realize you will never see someone again, but dwelling on it forever is unproductive. Moving forwards and living your life as well as you can is the best way to honor the fallen."

Hagrid thought about the many people he knew that were no longer among the living as he began pouring cups for his guests. "Aye. I believe yeh are righ'. They would wan' us ter be happy."

—

Harry Potter

Harry didn't know what to do about his friend and fellow orphan having apparently had to deal with a lot of dead people already. Tanya didn't talk about her life much before coming to Hogwarts outside of the fact that she was from a nun-run orphanage. Harry had complained about his family the times homelife came up plenty, but Tanya always remained quiet on the topic unless directly asked. Harry was a little worried that he was maybe being a bad friend by not asking more about that stuff, but neither Hermione nor Ron were doing so either. They seemed to know how being a friend worked a bit better, so maybe this was one of those things you just don't talk about.

His mind dwelled on this all the way to Sunday where he went with Hermione and Tanya to the Headmaster's office for the first meeting of the Magical Language club. They were the last ones to arrive at the statue that apparently lead up to the office, Draco and the two Ravenclaws having arrived already with Draco quietly leaning against the wall next to the alcove the statue sat in. If Harry remembered correctly, the two Ravenclaws were Paravati's sister Padma and Lisa Turpin. Harry didn't know much about either, but had seen Paravati spend time with her sister on multiple occasions.

"Well, seems we're all here, let's get this started," Draco said, turning to the statue to speak to it. "Let Dumbledore know the Magic Language club is here."

After a moment the statue moved out of the way to reveal a spiraling staircase the students took up to the office door, the Headmaster calling out as soon as they arrived at the top to come in.

The office was a large, round room with several wide windows and portraits of the previous headmasters hung up around the room and little silvery devices on shelves producing bits of smoke, spinning, and doing all sorts of things. Harry looked around in awe as he moved towards the oval table setup in the middle where he would have thought a desk would be. Instead seven chairs were arranged around the table with several tea sets and a pair of tea sandwich stands on either end of the oval table with a wide assortment of sandwiches available.

"Welcome welcome," Dumbledore said, with a beaming smile from where he sat at the center of the table wearing pink robes with purple stars. "Feel free to help yourselves and we can get started."

The students took seats around the table and began fixing themselves up cups of tea and grabbing a few sandwiches.

"Now, first thing, do any of you already know any magical language? Even if it is just a few words," Dumbledore asked as he looked around.

Draco raised his hand along with Padma who was a little more uncertain. Harry raised his hand slightly as well.

Dumbledore looked directly at Harry while stroking his beard. "Oh? You know a magical language Harry?"

"Uh," Harry could feel himself shrinking in on himself as everyone's gazes turned to him. "Does talking to snakes count?"

A gasp went around the table from most of the students, causing Harry to shrink in further into himself.

"Parseltongue, yes," Dumbledore answered. "Rather interesting, but I suppose it is a bit expected considering who gave you that scar."

"Voldemort," Harry mumbled, earning another round of gasps at his use of the name.

"Yes. Likely it was when his curse rebounded, a connection was formed between the two of you that allowed you to gain his ability to speak it as a Parselmouth."

Tanya raised her hand politely at this and when Dumbledore motioned for her to speak, she asked a question. "If he gained the ability to speak it in such a manner, is there a way for the rest of us to learn parseltongue?"

"Hmm," Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought while the other students turned to Tanya in shock.

"That's a dark ability. Only dark wizards know how to talk to snakes," Lisa told Tanya.

Tanya rolled her eyes. "It is just a language. That would be like saying German is an evil language because the Nazis spoke German."

"I have to agree with Tanya on this," Dumbledore spoke up, looking at Harry as he said this. "The language itself is not a sign someone is inherently evil, merely that they know a language that happens to have been used by some very bad people in the past. In fact, I believe there is a gentleman in Brazil that can speak parseltongue who runs tours of the Amazon river. To answer the question though, we will have to see if Harry is able to give us lessons another time."

Harry gave Professor Dumbledore a grateful smile.

"What about you Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, changing the topic.

"My father taught me a bit of gobbledygook. He said it would be good to know what the goblins at Gringotts were saying when we visit."

Dumbledore nodded at that explanation. "To be expected. And what about you Ms. Patil?"

"I know a bit of Prakrit, but I don't know if that really counts?"

"I have not studied Prakrit," Dumbledore said, "but I believe it would be akin to Ancient Runes as far as magical languages are concerned, an ancient language used by members of the magical community that is no longer in common use, though I do believe Prakrit also has a fair amount of muggle text associated with it while the Ancient Runes seemed to have been completely lost to the muggles."

Padma smiled at that, seemingly glad to have something relevant to add.

"So, that gives us four languages we can work on learning as I will be leaving Ancient Runes to Professor Babbling. Hopefully you all will decide to take her class in third year. I will have to gather some materials for Prakrit and, Harry, we will need to discuss the matter of your parseltongue another time to see how possible it will be for you to try teaching it."

Harry nodded with a smile as the club moved onto discussing how they would go about studying the languages as Dumbledore wouldn't be assigning any homework or other classwork as it was merely a club and not an actual class, so a bit of a more freeform style would be fine and they would focus on whatever bits the students found they were interested in at the moment. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun to Harry as they chatted.

—

Letter

Dear Father,

My closeness to Tanya has paid off. Harry Potter is a Parselmouth and Tanya has expressed interest in learning it. Dumbledore is hosting a magical language club where it seems we will be learning Parseltongue as one of the languages. He says knowing the language isn't itself a sign of being a dark wizard, but he also said that Harry likely stole the knowledge when The Dark Lord attacked him.

I will continue this friendship with Tanya to learn as much as I can and will keep you updated as I learn anything of import.

Respectfully your son,

Draco Malfoy

Half_Baked_cat · Sep 26, 2023

Harry Potter

As the school year continued along, Hermione started to get more energetic and muttered to herself out loud, as though something was starting to eat at her. At the same time, the number of assignments the teachers handed out increased as well. It was with about ten weeks left in the school year and two weeks till the Easter Holidays that someone finally asked what was wrong.

"Granger, what is with that incessant muttering?" Unfortunately, it was Malfoy who was the one to broach the topic. Since joining the study group and being folded into the 'friend group', Harry could say that Malfoy wasn't too bad. He was just big headed and a loudmouth.

"The final exams are coming up. We need to pass them in order to get to second year," Hermione said nervously, apparently working on some sort of study schedule while Tanya rolled her eyes. Crabbe, Goyle, and Lily still got private tutoring sessions with Tanya, but there were also times that the four of them rejoined the main study group, like today.

"Hermione, what are we currently doing?" Tanya asked.

"Uh, studying?" Hermione asked, looking at Tanya nervously. Harry smirked along with Ron and Malfoy while others snickered at what was about to come.

Tanya had a wicked habit of pointing out how stupid someone was being with very pointed questions or very sarcastic remarks and actions. Never directly calling them foolish, but making her opinion very clear.

"And what are we studying for?"

"Charms?"

"Hmm? Really? I thought we were studying to pass our classes and to not bring shame on our House with failing marks, but if you say we are studying for Charms… I guess we should make sure our Charms are up to stuff." With a flick of her wand, Tanya sent a gust of air to mess up Hermione's already incredibly bushy hair.

Red faced from embarrassment, Hermione focused on Tanya. "Fine. Locomotor Wibbly."

Tanya managed to jump out of the way of the spell, causing Lavender to be hit instead.

"I'm sorry," Hermione started to apologize to Lavender, only to get a spell shot at her that she barely ducked under. From there, the spells began flying fast and loose, laughter erupting as they fought each other.

—-

Even with Hermione being reminded that they had been studying all year to do well on the finals, the work the teachers had assigned found them all in the library during the Easter Holidays. Something they were all grouchy about as they broke up into smaller groups and caught sight of the beautiful blue sky outside the window, nary a cloud to be seen.

Harry tried to stay focused on the work, looking up 'dittany' in 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' to double check he had the right answer, when Ron groaned out loud.

"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" Ron asked, causing Harry to look up to see the large man sheepishly hide something behind his back.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?"

"Studying," Ron groused, tossing his quill down.

Hagrid chuckled at Ron's antics before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. Though Harry thought the large man in the mole skin coat looked less like a conspirator and more like a mountain attempting to be a hill.

"How about later you take a break and come visit me?"

"Would about an hour be acceptable?" Tanya asked, having been paying attention without lifting her eyes from her work.

"Yeah. That'll be good."

Tanya looked up with a smile that put the hairs on Harry's arms on end as she looked at Ron. "Then, so long as Ron finishes the assignment he is currently working on, we would be happy to join you."

Ron groaned, dropping his head into an open book. "I'm almost done," he complained.

"And you are the one at this table not finished with that essay. The rest of us have moved onto the next assignments."

Hagrid chuckled and patted Ron on the shoulder. "I'm sure you're doing fine, lad."

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione idly asked.

"Whatever it was, he clearly was embarrassed about it," Tanya said in a very firm voice, looking at Hermione while all of Harry's hair stood on edge and tingled. "It might be very personal and you should not pry."

Harry felt Tanya was thinking of something very specific, but he couldn't even begin to guess.

"Uh, right," Ron said, swallowing thickly. "What did you guys put as a Class XXXX dangerous beast?"

Harry was thankful for the change in topic as they began discussing the assignment Ron had been working on.

Soon enough Ron finished his assignment and they packed up and headed down to Hagrid's hut. They were surprised to see smoke rising steadily from the chimney and the curtains pulled shut. Hagrid called, "Who is it?" before pulling the four in quickly, shutting the door firmly behind him.

It was stifling inside, with a blazing fire going. Hagrid made some tea and offered some stoat sandwiches which only Tanya accepted.

"Are you feeling alright?" Tanya asked, looking at the little area of Hagrid's face not covered in hair. "Chills? Fever?"

"What? No no. I'm fine," Hagrid said with a grin and a wave of his hand.

"Do you mind if we open a window then? It is a bit warm in here."

"I, uh, can't let you do that," Hagrid said. Harry caught him glancing at the fire.

"What's that?" Harry asked as he spotted something under the cauldron.

"That, err, well…"

"Blimey!" Ron shouted at noticing what Harry saw. "Hagrid, where did you get that? It must of cost a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"What is it?" Hermione asked as she and Tanya took a few steps closer to get a better look.

"A dragon's egg," Ron answered before turning to Hagrid with an accusatory look. "Isn't this illegal? I thought dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709."

"Well, err, yeah. I suppose," Hagrid looked a bit sheepish. "But I've always wanted a dragon."

Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle slightly.

"I'm sure you have informed the Headmaster of your winnings then. It would be difficult to hide a dragon long term in this hut after all," Tanya said before daintily taking a sip of tea. "And I'm sure he could find a way to allow you to keep the dragon under some sort of educational thing."

"Err, well, no. Not yet that is, but I, uh, suppose I could go shortly," Hagrid seemed incredibly uncomfortable under Tanya's steady gaze.

"Hmm? Well, none of us are busy. We can go with you to try and convince him of how it could be a valuable educational experience for us." Tanya set her cup down and Harry knew the discussion was over.

"Well, I would hate to bother the Headmaster, he is a very busy man, you see."

"Nonsense," Tanya said, stepping to the door and opening it before returning her gaze to Hagrid, fixing her cold gaze on the far larger man.

Harry might have laughed at Hagrid being cowed by the smallest girl in their year, but the memory of the troll came unbidden to his mind and he remembered that despite everything, Tanya was also the most dangerous person in their year.

"The Headmaster has always made time for me. I'm sure he'll make time for you."

With no further argument, Hagrid meekly shuffled out of the hut and began the trek up to the castle with the four first years in tow.

It was not long before they were at the gargoyle statue, Harry and Hermione having tried to bolster Hagrid's confidence while Tanya stayed steadfastly silent and Ron chipping in occasionally.

"We are here to discuss a matter with the Headmaster," Tanya told the statue.

"Fizzing wizzbees," Hagrid said, causing the statue to move aside right away, rather than the wait Harry was expecting. Hagrid didn't look at Tanya's curious gaze. "Might as well get it over with," He muttered.

The five headed up the stairs and Hagrid knocked on the solid door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called out through the door.

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes before looking over the students above his half moon glasses. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Well, you see, I uh," Hagrid started nervously.

"Mr. Hagrid found and acquired a potentially highly educational opportunity for the school, but there are a couple of issues he needs to address with you before this opportunity can be utilized to its fullest."

"Oh, and what opportunity might that be?" Dumbledore asked smiling at the Not a Lie Tanya said.

"Yes, well, I uh got. You see, I was," Hagrid was clearly very nervous about the situation.

"He informed us that through certain confidential contacts, during his time off work last night he came into possession of a dragon's egg. Safely liberating it from a possible dragon breeding program."

"A dragon's egg you say?" Dumbledore's eyes widened at that, seemingly surprised.

"Uh, yes. A Norwegian Ridgeback if I identified the egg rightly," Hagrid said.

"Hmm, interesting." Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of himself. "And what precisely are the educational opportunities you were thinking of?"

"How often would we get to see a dragon hatching?" Ron asked excitedly before Hermione grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear.

"Hmm, I suppose that would be a rather unique situation, though I would need to know what we will be doing with the dragon after it hatches."

"Care of magical creatures is an elective course. I would imagine the students could learn a lot helping care for a newly hatched dragon," Tanya suggested.

"Charlie would have loved it if he was still here," Ron added.

"I suppose he would. If I remember correctly, your brother moved to Romania to help raise dragons." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "I will have to bring this to the Board of Governors, unfortunately, as a few of the laws are tying my hands from simply approving anything on this matter, but I will try to get this through."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione cheered while Tanya smuggly folded her arms and Hagrid wept in joy.

"Oh, and Rubeus, we will need to have a discussion later about your duties and free time and how they intersect later," Dumbledore added on after the excitement died down.

"Yes sir," Hagrid said, still grinning like… Harry was about to compare Hagrid to a school girl, but the only girl Harry knew that compared was Lily. So Hagrid was grinning like Lily?

Harry chose not to think too hard on that as they started leaving the Headmaster's office.

"Ron, you said that dragon breeding was outlawed in what?" Tanya asked.

"The Warlocks' Convention of 1709?" Ron said, uncertain. "Everyone knows that."

"Not everyone would remember the year so readily," Tanya said. "Good job. Keep that head for dates and you should do well on the history exams."

"Huh?" Ron stopped for a moment, confused, before rushing to catch back up.

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Swirling his glass, Lucius watched as the deeply golden liquid moved in the tumbler before bringing the glass up to his nose and taking in the bouquet. Fire, burning flesh, and salt. A lovely vintage made decades ago along the northern coast of Scotland. Taking a sip, Lucius allowed the liquid to linger on his tongue for a moment before swallowing to savor the flavor. While the acid flavors of the flame were present on the taste, there was also dark fruit, somewhere between a dark cherry and a plum, along with a meatiness. Somewhat akin to the crust of a steak cooked over a hot wooden fire and served with a dark sauce.

Lucius's contemplation of the whisky was interrupted with the arrival of an owl. A rather standard specimen, so not one of his wealthy acquaintances. Plucking the letter from the owl, Lucius waved the bird to the stand near the window of his office. The letterhead confirmed that the letter was from Hogwarts, though whether his son had done something foolish enough to warrant Dumbledore's personal involvement or this had to do with his position as head of the Board of Governors was left unsaid currently.

Reaching into the drawer of his desk, Lucius pulled out his letter opener, a silver knife with a deep green emerald carefully placed at the pommel, and sliced open the envelope before reading the message.

Lucius carefully placed the opener down and picked his glass back up and gave the spirit inside another swirl before taking an idle sip. It would appear Dumbledore had come across an interesting item and desired to utilize it for educational purposes. That he was coming to the Board of Governors for approval meant that there were legal barriers in his way. Lucius smirked to himself before draining his glass. While it might only be a mild benefit, the fact Dumbledore was asking at all meant Lucius could score some political points.

"Dobby!" Lucius called out, hearing a pop nearby announcing the house elf's arrival. "Inform Narcissa I have some business at Hogwarts to take care of and may be a little late for dinner."

"Yes Master!" Dobby responded before popping away.

Lucius grabbed his cane and put on his traveling robes before stepping outside his manor doors and apparating to Hogsmeade near the gates to Hogwarts' grounds. Stepping past the gates, he strolled up to the castle and made his way through the school to the gargoyle blocking the path to the Headmaster's office. Lucius likely could have just Flooed to the office, but the method lacked dignity, having to stoop into a dirty fireplace.

"Lucius Malfoy here to see Dumbledore on school business," Lucius told the statue, only having to wait a moment before the thing got out of his way and allowed him to enter the office where several other members of the Board of Governors were already waiting. "What is this opportunity that you found, Dumbledore?"

"Ah, Lucius! So good of you to arrive," Dumbledore said with a smile before picking up his candy bowl. "Chocolate covered coffee bean? A particular student put me onto these and they are rather energizing. Quite exceptional."

Lucius waved the offer away. "I would rather not. Your letter pulled me away from preparing for dinner with my wife. I do find it rather distasteful to keep Narcissa waiting."

Dumbledore chuckled as he set the bowl down. "Of course, of course." Dumbledore looked into Lucius's eyes with a degree of seriousness. "A student, a Ms. Degurechaff, brought to my attention earlier today that a member of staff had acquired a dragon's egg and suggested that the hatching and raising of a dragon could be a rather interesting learning opportunity for the Care of Magical Creatures class."

'Ms. Degurechaff was involved and wanted this?' Lucius thought to himself for a moment. That could mean a few different things. Including that she was simply a child excited at the opportunity to see a dragon up to her wishing to utilize dragons in her future plans of conquest. Lucius thought quickly before smirking. "She is right of course, but such an endeavor would be dangerous. Especially when it first hatches. Too many people nearby could either put the dragon or the students in harms way."

"I had already put some thought into that matter. Silvanus as the Care of Magical Creatures professor will, of course, be there, as will the staff member that got the egg. I was thinking of allowing five students at most to be there for the hatching, though it seems only fair that Ms. Degurechaff and her three friends that came with her to report the egg be among those five."

Lucius narrowed his eyes as he saw through the rather obvious ploy Dumbledore was pulling.

"Now, officially, the only fair way to choose that final student would be something akin to pulling names out of a hat."

"And unofficially?"

"Oh, I'm sure no one needs to know how many names were in the hat should the Head of the Board of Governors desire to favor a particular student in getting the opportunity."

Lucius looked at the other Board Members briefly as he thought about it. The Members of the Board were firmly in his pocket, so they would say nothing. This was an interesting opportunity to further tie the Malfoys in with Degurechaff should she prove to be the Dark Lady he thought she was to be. And, really, if Lucius was honest to himself, the biggest reason was thinking how excited he would have been as a child to get to see a dragon be born. It was an opportunity that even money was unlikely to purchase.

"I am sure my son would look forward to a chance at getting to see a dragon hatching," Lucius said, returning Dumbledore's gaze.

"Wonderful." Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "In that case, I do believe this meeting is done. I have some paperwork to fill out and a few things to arrange. I'll owl the paperwork for your approval once everything is in place."

Lucius nodded and turned on the spot to leave.

—-

Harry Potter

The first morning after the end of Easter Holidays, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Thanks to a member of staff and four students, a unique opportunity has arrived at these fine halls. The Care of Magical Creatures classes will be spending the rest of the year focusing on dragon husbandry. As only a few of you are in that, this announcement would ordinarily not affect you, however I am sure nearly all of you would be most interested in seeing a dragon being hatched."

A murmur swept through the hall at the excitement of there being a chance to see a dragon, a real life dragon, being hatched.

"Hagrid is going to be so excited to find out," Ron whispered.

"I'm sure he, as a member of staff, has already been informed," Tanya said, though she also looked a bit more excited than normal.

"Now, we can only safely allow five students to be present for the hatching. The first four of those slots will go to Misters Potter and Weasley and Misses Granger and Degurechaff for rightfully bringing the dragon egg to my attention. Furthermore, ten points each for appropriate actions for the school."

Harry could feel the eyes of most of the school turn towards him. He nervously smiled, but was pleased that the Gryffindor table seemed mostly happy that the four first years managed to earn a few points, pushing Gryffindor up in the House Cup.

"Now, there are a lot of you who would clearly love to go see the hatching too, and there seems to be only one way to fairly choose," Dumbledore said before pulling out a bright pink hat covered in silver mushrooms. "Blind luck!" Dumbledore shoved his hand into the hat and began moving, grabbing around before pulling out a slip of paper. "And the lucky student is… Draco Malfoy!"

Harry looked over to Draco and saw he looked a bit surprised at the announcement before relaxing his face as he accepted the polite applause of his fellow Slytherins while a lot of the other students around the hall groaned at having an opportunity they didn't know about just a couple minutes ago pass them by.

After a moment to allow the students to calm down, Dumbledore continued his announcements, "Now, as we will be having a dragon on school grounds, some safety precautions will have to be put into place. Firstly, a dragon enclosure is going to be built. Unless accompanied by an approved staff member, such as a Head of House, Care of Magical Creatures Professor, or the Groundskeeper, students will not be allowed to approach the dragon enclosure once the dragon hatches. Should any student be bit by the dragon, they are to immediately report to the Hospital Wing for care. Lastly, the meeting location for Care of Magical Creatures will be relocated closer to the Groundskeeper Hut as nearby the Hut is where the Dragon enclosure will be built."

With his announcements out of the way, Dumbledore took his seat and the excited chatter began again, along with those near Harry and his friends asking questions on how they found out about the dragon's egg.

The following week, about the only thing anyone could talk about was the dragon. Excitement buzzed as everyone speculated what kind of dragon it might be, discussed the differences between different dragons, and whether they might get a chance to ride it.

The last one was shot down quickly whenever a member of staff heard it as being too dangerous.

After nearly a week of anticipation, Professor McGonagall stopped by where Harry and his friends were eating breakfast with a kind expression and handed them passes. "You four are excused from classes today, though makeup work will be assigned to you. In the meantime, it is hatching. Hagrid will be waiting for you. Oh, and do bring your gloves."

Harry and Ron began eating faster to hurry up and get down to Hagrid's hut. Looking over at the Slytherin table, Harry saw Draco was also eating faster. Hermione ate a few more bites and Harry could not see any difference in Tanya's eating pace, despite the speed the food disappeared off her plate. Soon, they all got up and headed to their dorms to grab their gloves.

Ron and Hermione were excitedly chattering about the dragon birth. Ron was excited at getting to see one at all and Hermione was curious about how it was going to happen. Even Tanya had an excited energy about her. Draco was already at the hut with his gloves when they got there, looking uncomfortable, even as he smiled.

"Hello Draco, excited to see a dragon born?" Tanya asked.

"Of course," Draco said with his head held high.

Tanya stepped by Draco and knocked on the door firmly.

"Comin'!" Hagrid called from inside the hut. The door opened up and the five of them entered the hut. Professor Kettleburn, a worn man with wooden hands and legs and a bandage covering an eye and half his face, was already sitting at the table with a steaming cup of tea, the dragon egg sitting in the middle of the table on an old towel.

"So you're the ones that get to see this," Kettleburn said, his scarred face grinning before turning back to the scratching sounds coming from the egg. "Well gather round and get comfortable, this may take a bit."

They gathered around the egg, still radiating heat, and Harry was glad that the windows were open and they didn't have to hide the egg from prying eyes.

"How long does it take for a dragon to hatch?" Draco asked as the egg wobbled in place.

Kettleburn stroked his chin in thought. "About a month from being laid I believe."

"I was readin' up on it an' the Chinese Fireball is usually the quickest at a week," Hagrid said as he busied himself making tea for everyone.

"I meant, how long are we supposed to wait now?" Draco said.

"Oh that?" Kettleburn asked with a chuckle. "Couldn't say. This is my first time seeing a dragon hatching. Couldn't tell you how far along it is in breaking out now. I would guess a few hours. Don't chickens take about three?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Nah. They take 'bout seven usually once yeh start seeing the cracks." Hagrid pointed towards one of the cracks in particular on the dragon egg. "These started showing a few hours ago, so it should on'y be a coupa hours."

Harry noticed the excitement seemed to leave Ron and Draco a bit at the mention of waiting hours. Professor Kettleburn must have noticed the disappointment as he got up. "Since we got a bit of time, how about I show you kids the enclosure me and the older students worked on for the dragon as it gets bigger?"

"Yeah!" Ron said excitedly.

"That sounds nice," Tanya said, standing up along with the others as Kettleburn led the group along the edge of the forest till they got to a mound of grass covered stone with a large opening on one side to an opening. Around the opening was a large fenced area including a pair of troughs, a stone bench just inside the fenced area along with another in the overhanged area under the mound. Kettleburn began describing what they had done and some of the other things they included for the dragon, joy on his face as Tanya, Hermione, and Draco paid attention. Harry and Ron were looking around in awe as it sunk in how big the dragon was going to get. The opening was so tall that even Hagrid wouldn't be able to touch the ceiling and the area was larger than the Common Room was. And it was all for just one dragon.

"Blimey, how big is the dragon going to be?" Ron asked out loud.

"Norwegian Ridgebacks can get up to about eight meters depending on gender," Kettleburn said gleefully. "And I'm thinking we are likely to be getting a girl."

"How can you tell?" Hermione asked.

"Well, dragon researchers had noticed an odd trend with dragons. Most animals have a pretty even split of genders unless there is something specific that can cause a discrepancy, and the researchers noticed that depending on how hot the fire the egg was sitting in was, determined the chance of a male being born. The hotter, the more likely you get a boy."

Tanya snorted and muttered something to herself that Harry didn't hear.

"Why is that?" Ron asked.

Kettleburn shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya to be honest. They only figured that out in the past couple of years, so they are still doing research on it."

"Probably efficiency," Tanya said as she wandered over to inspect the stone fence.

"Oh? How so?" Kettleburn asked.

"A single male is much more capable of fertilizing multiple females than a single female being fertilized by multiple males, so to keep the species going it is biologically better to favor a higher female population ratio. To that end, if the egg temperature is what determines gender, then it makes sense to make the temperatures to achieve a male harder to reach. So dragon genders have efficiently created a system to guarantee that there are more females around to keep the species as a whole going."

"Hmm," Kettleburn looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll have to write to some friends of mine, but that is a good thought. Ever thought about becoming a magizoologist when you grow up?"

Tanya shook her head. "I had not given it much thought. I am not even sure of all the different career prospects I could be looking at within the magical world."

Kettleburn nodded to himself as he placed a hand on Tanya's shoulder. "Well give it some thought. You might like it. At least sign up for Care of Magical Creatures when you get to third year to see if you are interested in the field."

"I will," Tanya said with, to Harry's eyes, a wide smile.

After a bit more looking around, they returned to Hagrid's hut and chatted for a while as cracks began appearing more and more on the egg. Shards broke off the shell and Harry could see the membrane. Tanya and Hermione kept asking questions to Hagrid about how this compares to a chicken egg hatching as a line of broken shell began forming down the egg along with funny clicking noises.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty. Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. It had spiny wings, huge compared to its slim black body. Its snout was long with wide nostrils, head topped with the stubs of horns and it had large, bulging orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Careful there," Kettleburn said, reaching a hand out to pull back Hagrid's.

"Bless her, look, she knows her mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Maybe, but you gotta be careful. We don't know how venomous she is yet."

"Venomous?" Harry asked, looking at the dragon again.

"Oh yes, Norwegian Ridgebacks are known to have a venomous bite," Kettleburn said.

Tanya already had her gloves on and started to reach out before looking to Kettleburn. "May I?"

"Gently now," he instructed her as she began to pet the dragon, her eyes never leaving the thing. Hagrid gushing about how adorable it was. Harry looked over at Draco and Ron as he pulled on his own gloves to give the dragon a pet as well.

While they were there, they got to help with the dragon's first feeding, a mix of chicken blood and brandy. It wasn't a lovely mix, and Hermione and Draco were particularly squeamish about the blood, but Tanya's calmness about dealing with the blood seemed to help the others deal with it better.

Overall, it was a lot fun, though Harry was concerned about Hagrid. Hopefully he would remember there were things other than the dragon to take care of.

Half_Baked_cat · Dec 26, 2023

Long ago in a distant land of ice and snow where the midnight sun shines and the hot springs flow, a young maiden set off on a quest. A quest by boat to discover new lands, the hammer of the gods ringing in her ears driving her forwards, her oars sweeping through the water. Her only goal was a Western shore. Her feet land on soft fields of oh so green. There to meet the dark haired maiden was a cruel light haired pair. A nobleman who sought to bring all into his influence and a mischievous imp who invited the little firecracker to come and dance.

The young maiden spurred the advances of the nobleman as she danced the night away, her heels kicking and sparking against the ground to spark a blaze. The imp laughing as the maiden gathered together the serfs to join their power together to topple the nobleman. Smoke and fire and magic. Low did the nobleman fall. Giggling as she sang, the imp danced to the maiden and whispered to her that the lands were now hers, including all the curses.

With a scream of fear, and a blast of magic, the imp was bound to a serf, morphing into a loyal elf servant. Bound now to serve, the imp worked to find any fun in the work she was forced to do.

—

Lily Moon

Lily wasn't happy. They had performed the play they had spent months working on, and only a few people showed up. On top of that, the boat fell over, again, and Lily knew that was probably her fault somehow since she painted it and knocked it over repeatedly, several of them forgot their lines, costumes took too long to change into during dramatic moments, and the whole thing was a big old disaster!

And everyone was moping around, knowing how much of a disaster the whole thing was. Everyone except Professor Snape and Tanya who were coming back from the costume room, Tanya still with some of the imp makeup on her face, but wearing her comfortable clothes.

"Why the long faces?" Tanya asked as she noticed everyone was upset.

"The play was a disaster," Lavender shot at Tanya, sounding rather mean.

"And?" Tanya asked as she moved to where she had left bag. Everyone looked at each other for a moment in confusion before turning back to Tanya.

"What do you mean 'and'?" Lavender asked.

"We put on a play for fun. There is no competition, no money, nothing but our own personal enjoyment," Tanya said as she looked through her bag before pulling out a rag to start rubbing her face, trying to get the makeup off. "And I enjoyed myself enough. Sure, it could have gone better, but the important thing is we had fun, right?"

The Weasley twins chuckled as they got off the box they had been sitting on. "Wouldn't have thought you would be the one to point it out," one said.

"But you are right, it was fun," the other finished.

"Heh," Malfoy huffed, "I suppose it was enjoyable, but is that really all this was for? Just some fun?"

Tanya looked at Malfoy, and Lily couldn't see Tanya's face, but could imagine the small smile that sometimes appeared. "I've learned that sometimes there does not need to be anything more to life than enjoying the moment. For all the plans we may have for the future, it is important to remember the here and now. None of us may end up being professionals on the stage, but we can still have fun in the meantime."

"Yes, very motivating," Professor Snape said, drawing all the attention to him. "Now if you don't mind, I need to get ready for exams. I suggest you all do the same… after cleaning up."

Lily felt happy as she watched Professor Snape leave the room, his robes billowing out. The play was a disaster, and that was ok.

—

Tanya Degurechaff

Balancing studying for the finals with keeping Hermione from pushing everyone too hard and helping Lily, Gregory, and Vincent with their own studying along with all my other obligations was a challenge, but one that I found satisfying to have accomplished. The days were getting warmer and I carefully folded away the sweater Mrs. Weasley had made for me to the bottom of my trunk. I suspect that it was a heat wave of some sort as I did not expect it to get this warm in Scotland until we were in Summer properly, but there was nothing to be done currently other than to put up a weak temperature control formula under my robes.

It took a bit of calculations and adjustments that I had to work out on paper to figure out how to get it to work continuously and stick to just the inside of my robes to keep me cool as we went through the exams so that my sweat and discomfort would not distract me.

We were given quills specifically for the written portions of the exams that were, apparently, charmed with anti-cheating charms. I had no way to prove the validity and no desire to do so as I wouldn't think of impugning the honor of the exams by doing anything less than my best to demonstrate how well I understood the course material.

Then there was the practical portion of the exams, which I found rather fun. We were given simple instructions and freedom on how to approach the exam. For Charms, I was instructed to make a pineapple tapdance across the desk. While no one specific charm we were taught would accomplish that, there were a few to cause the pineapple to move and with a bit of skill and thought, one could do something resembling a dancing pineapple. I'm not sure how much the unsteady looking bouncing across the desk I did really looked like a tapdance, but I think Professor Flitwick appreciated the bow I added at the end.

For Transfiguration, I was to turn a mouse into a snuff box, something we had not specifically covered but similar to other transfigurations we had done, with extra points awarded for how attractive the box turned out and points subtracted for any mousey qualities it still had. I had to clarify what, precisely, a snuff box was before I began, but after a quick explanation of what snuff was and how it was to be stored while being carried around, along with Professor McGonagall's amusement at how I didn't like the idea of shoving tobacco up my nose any more than the idea of smoking it, I decided to go with a wooden box with geometric designs carved into the surface, a brass latch closure, and an inlay mosaic design on the top. I choked a little and just went with a mouse as the mosaic on the top instead of something more creative, but Professor McGonagall seemed pleased with the result anyways.

Potions was to brew a forgetfulness potion from memory. A rather clever joke on Professor Snape's part as one of the most common issues in exams is forgetting something, so having us brew something focused on forgetting was a reminder of what we might end up doing during the exam. It was actually a very simple recipe with many ways to prepare the main ingredients and a few optional ingredients to adjust the potency. I tried to brew a slightly more advanced version with an extra ingredient that would adjust how long the effects would last depending on how it was prepared, with me aiming for a week long effect which required a fine dice. My dice was not as even as I would have liked, but I felt I still made a good potion.

The four other classes were all written tests this year, though Defense Against the Dark Arts would have practical exams starting next year. This year was more focused on getting a base of knowledge for the following years to build on. History of magic was the final final exam we took and then it was a week free from classes as the exams were graded.

With time to relax, I decided to visit Rebecca, the school's new dragon under the care of Hagrid and the Care of Magical Creatures class. She had been growing rather swiftly in the weeks she had been here and would have difficulty fitting through most doors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined me as we headed to Hagrid's hut first to get him as approved adult supervision before approaching the dragon enclosure. While we were heading there, Harry mentioned his scar was hurting and Hermione suggested he go see Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing.

Harry tried to refuse, but I wouldn't hear it. "Hermione is right. After we are done visiting the dragon, we will take you to the hospital wing. Even if it is nothing, you said it has been a few days and at the very least, she should have something to help with the pain. And if it is something more serious, she would be the one to know how to check for it."

Harry simply nodded his head as I knocked on the hut's door.

"Comin'!" Hagrid called as his dog, Fang, barked loudly. He greets us with a warm smile behind his massive beard, "Wha' can I do fer yeh? Your tests all finished up?"

"Yes," I say with a nod. "We were wanting to see Rebecca with the tests over and nothing being an immediate priority."

"O' course. I was jus abou' ter go feed her."

We helped Hagrid carry the buckets of blood and brandy soaked chicken, Rebecca having graduated at some point to solid foods. She was lazing on a warm rock in the sun as we approached, perking up at Hagrid's voice and the sight of the bloody buckets.

The feeding consisted of reaching in, grabbing a chunk of meat, and tossing it at Rebecca, who snapped the flying meat out of the air. Harry was the only one to join me in helping Hagrid feed Rebecca, Ron and Hermione content to watch and just enjoy the moment.

A lovely moment that had to end as we escorted Harry to the hospital wing. Passing the house point hourglasses showed a close competition as Professor Flitwick began to place black tarps over the points for the final days before the End of Year Feast.

—-

Quirinus Quirrell

A year. It had taken most of a year to find out the methods to get past each of the challenges protecting the Philosopher's Stone and its Elixir of Life. Every challenge except the damn mirror. Quirrell's master, the Dark Lord Voldemort, had been displeased at Quirrell's inability to get the stone from the mirror, if it was even in there.

With no time in the year left, and the narrow time Dumbledore was away from the school shrinking rapidly, the pair had to make a decision. A hard decision to abandon this path towards returning Voldemort to life. There were other options. Options Quirrell had looked up during the year.

One possibility that Quirrell managed to convince his master was viable would require a long trip, so the pair snuck into the Forbidden Forest to stock up on unicorn blood. Before leaving for the Colonies.

—-

Lee Jordan

"HELLO HOGWARTS! Are we excited for the last match of the year!? I said, are we excited!? Great! This match will determine who takes home the Quidditch House Cup this year. Currently, Gryffindor is primed to win it all as they sit with two wins and no losses, if they win this match, they take the cup. Hufflepuff is out of the running entirely, Slytherin is currently sitting pretty with two wins, one loss. Ravenclaw has one win and one loss. If Ravenclaw wins, we will have to go to the point totals for the year to see who takes the cup, and Ravenclaw is a fair bit behind Slytherin in the points and will need to rack up the points to secure total victory, but watch out Ravenclaw as Gryffindor can still take the cup in overall standings if you let them score too many goals.

"And here comes our players. Captain Hoganis leading the Ravenclaw team, followed by his fellow chasers Lambkins and Kettles. Then we have the beaters Badgers and Barrows, keeper Filly, seeker Gerble. And coming on the rear we got the reserves for Ravenclaw! Chang, Davies, and Page!

"And out of the other end of the pitch is Gryffindor! Captain Wood, chasers Johnson, Spinnet, and Bell, the terrible twosome of beaters Fred and George Weasley, the nimblest seeker Potter, and reserve Degurechaff!"

"Thank goodness."

"What was that Prof?"

"Don't you worry about that Jordan."

"Whatever you say Prof. The captains have reached center pitch and shaken hands. Players are in position and They! Are! Off! Lambkins with the quaffle, pass to Kettles. A nice dodge by kettles before passing to Hoganis to Lambkins. A clever pass off the bludger back to Hoganis. AND WE HAVE A STEAL! Bell passes to Spinnet passes to Johnson. It is a race down the pitch. Pass to Bell to Spinnet back to bell and… Filly catches the shot! That's ok Spinnet you almost had it!"

"Jordan, neutral."

"Sorry Prof. Kettles has the quaffle and is off down the pitch, passing to Hoganis. AND GEORGE COMES OUT OF THE SKY! Like the bludgers he has stopped Hoganis' advancement long enough for the Gryffindor chasers to catch back up and Hoganis passes the quaffle to Lambkins, who takes a bludger! Ooh, that has to hurt. Bell recovers the quaffle, but her pass is intercepted by Kettles! Pass to Davies who is subbing in for the injured Lambkins. Pass to Hoganis.

"AND THE SEEKERS ARE OFF! Looks Potter has spotted something! Gerble hot on his trail, heading looking around not seeing what Potter sees. A bludger comes in, nearly hitting Potter, but Fred is able to get in the way in time, taking the blow for his teammate! AND POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH!

"THERE WE HAVE IT! Gryffindor wins! Gryffindor takes the match and the cup! I can tell you that the common room is going to be celebrating well into the night."

—-

Lily Moon

Lily was scared. Everyone got envelopes with their grades and she was scared about failing. Tanya has helped her so much and would be sad if Lily didn't pass because of the wasted effort. So Lily had climbed up the wall that was there into the space behind the wall that wasn't there, but looked like it was there to hide as she stared at the scary letter. Lily was curled up staring at the letter on the dirty stone ground of the hole in the wall that looked like a wall but wasn't a wall even though it was above a wall that was there.

Biting her lip, Lily snatched up the envelope and ripped it open and looked at her grades, heart pounding hard, breath quick, and eyes dilated. Her worried frown slowly turned into a wide smile.

She passed! She passed! She got Acceptable in almost every class except for Transfiguration where she got Exceeds Expectations! Professor Guard Kitty thought she exceeded expectations!

Lily liked Professor Guard Kitty!

She needed to write her parents! Lily jumped out of the wall that wasn't really a wall, but looked like a wall and was above a wall that really was a wall. She jumped out as Professor Guard Kitty passed by and hugged her favorite professor.

"I passed!" Lily excitedly yelled at her favorite professor. "IpassedIpassedIpassed!"

Before Professor Guard Kitty could say anything, Lily was excitedly running off. Professor Guard Kitty just shook her head, a soft smile on her lips.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

The second to last day at Hogwarts for my first year of a rather comprehensive magical education saw me making sure all my things were packed away safely in my school trunk. Clothes folded with care, books neatly organized, and equipment clean and orderly. My broom was in Professor McGonagal's care for the summer as it would be difficult to store in my trunk safely and I would have no time to use it during the summer break anyways at the Orphanage.

"Hey Tanya!" The bright voice of Lily called out from behind me.

"Hmm?" I turned an ear towards her as I continued packing my trunk.

"I told my parents that you helped me pass my tests and would be going home to an Orphanage and wouldn't be able to have a lot of fun, so they wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go on vacation with us!"

Hermione mentioned that her parents usually went to France for summer holidays, Parvati said her family was going to India for a few weeks to visit extended family, and Lavender was going to Italy. I, on the other hand was resigned to spending time going to church, helping the nuns take care of the children, and spending most of the summer working. The idea of getting out of all that and having fun was attractive.

"I'll have to ask Abbess Jane first, but I would like that," I said, carefully hedging if I was told no. Considering Lily practically tackled me in a hug after my tentative agreement, she seemed to take it as a complete agreement.

Lily was beaming as she began telling me all about all the fun things we were going to do, I only needed to occasionally ask a question to keep the conversation going all the way to the End of Year Feast where the hourglasses were uncovered and the Great Hall was decorated in Red and Gold. A brief perception enhancement formula showed me before any end of term announcements were made that Gryffindor had won the cup by a single point over Slytherin.

"Another year give," The Headmaster said, standing up from his seat and gesturing wildly. "And what a wonderful way to end the year, with the closest scores in decades. In fourth place, Hufflepuff with three hundred and seventy eight points; in third, Ravenclaw with four hundred and forty two; and just missing out this year by but a single point is Slytherin with four hundred ninety nine to Gryffindor's five hundred!"

Surprisingly, it wasn't just Gryffindor celebrating as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined in cheering that Slytherin's winning streak had finally come to an end. I could see Professor Snape seemed a bit upset by this, along with a few Seventh Year Slytherins who just missed out on being able to go their entire Hogwarts life as House Cup winners.

The hall slowly quieted down as Dumbledore calmly held up his hands.

"Yes, well done Gryffindor. Congratulations for your narrow victory. I also must sadly announce that Professor Quirrell has chosen to leave our school, as some of you may have already noticed."

Indeed, his seat was empty. Curious that he wouldn't at least stay for the end of year feast, but I suppose it was a rather emotional situation for him and he didn't want to deal with it. I could sympathize with the desire to make a quiet exit.

Regardless, the feast and following celebrations lasted long into the night and soon enough we were on the Hogwarts Express heading back to London, a final chance to laugh, joke, share candy, and talk with friends made during the year till September.

It was a long, slow process for everyone to get off the platform and I was happy to see Abbess Jane had come personally to pick me up. She was standing next to a family with a father and son that were… broad in build and a mother that looked like she made lemonade, she left out the sugar. Or, I suppose lemon drink would be more apt, though I had not had the drink since being reborn in Britain.

Before heading over, I gave my thanks to Mrs. Weasley in person for the sweater she has knitted me before joining Harry in walking over to the Abbess and the family. The family must be the Dursley's, Harry's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin.

"Hello Abbess," I sat politely with a slight bow.

"Tanya," She greets in turn, a bit stiffly. "I trust you did well with your studies."

"Of course Abbess, though one class would benefit from me getting better in the kitchen."

"I am sure your help cooking could be arranged."

"Also, one of the other girls invited me to vacation with her family for having tutored her in several of the classes, if that is alright with you."

The Abbess was quiet for a moment, eyes unfocused as she thought about it. "That is fine, just make sure you let me know when they are planning to pick you up and when they will be dropping you off. And write to me about what you are doing."

I give the Abbess a reassuring smile. "Of course."

Turning to the Dursleys, I see they are about to leave, but I step up to them and hold out a hand.

"You must be Mr. Dursley," I say, managing to get him into a firm handshake while maintaining eye contact. "Harry has told me that you are a rather successful salesman. It is great that you are able to take time out of your undoubtedly busy schedule to spend time with your family to pick up your nephew."

"Of course," He stammers out, looking between me and the Abbess in her habit.

"I believe it is Timothy three five that states 'If someone does not know how to manage their own household, how will he care for God's church?'" I may not be personally religious, but growing up in a Catholic Orphanage with little else to do, I had very carefully read the Bible and memorized any lines that were useful in dealing with hypocritical Christians or their God if he ever decided to try bothering me again. If what Harry mentioned about his family's desire to appear normal was accurate, then they would want to appear to be good Christians, and a gentle reminder of his own hypocrisy could help there and give Harry either an annoying summer as he is taken to Church, or a better holiday as his family thinks on what their previous deity had to say about family. "I'm sure you know how to manage a household in a properly Christian manner though." I let go of his hand and turn back towards the crowd to look for Lily to let her know I would be able to go with her.

A nice relaxing vacation sounded wonderful. Especially with… a friend. I would need to remember to not forget to do these things when I grew up again.

—- End of Book 1 of Tanya Degurechaff's Hogwarts Adventure: Tanya Degurechaff and the Philosopher's Stone —-

And here we come to the end of the first book. I will be changing the name of this thread to "Tanya Degurechaff's Hogwarts Adventure" soon and continue posting future books in this thread for ease of everyone.

In other news, I am planning on doing one more chapter of my Star Wars story and then begin doing a poll on my Patreon for which of my stories people want me to focus on with my goal of doing at least 1 chapter/month. If I do an extra chapter of either that story or another, that is just a bonus.

There are 3 stories that will be put on the poll.
1. Tanya Degurechaff's Hogwarts Adventure
2. A Girl's Jedi Record
3. A Young Dragon's Hedonistic Record

Edit Suggestions: HP23

Half_Baked_cat · Feb 27, 2024

Harry Potter

Harry was having a good summer. His family did not know he could not use magic over the summer, so he could spook them when he wanted with nonsense words, his friends were sending him letters, though he had much more limited capacity to reply due to his Uncle refusing to allow him to let Hedwig out of her cage, and the Weasleys were coming to pick him up on his birthday.

And to top it all off, while his Uncle had some important meeting coming up that could apparently land him a big commission or something, his Uncle couldn't even properly get excited over his plans of getting a vacation home in Majorca. Tanya, one of Harry's best friends, had gone off to vacation in Majorca along with Lily and Lily's family and was sending postcards that showed the beautiful beaches and talked about some of the things they got up to. That there were 'freaks', as his Uncle liked to say, going to Majorca really soured Uncle Vernon's opinion on that matter.

That didn't stop his Uncle from putting on a brave face and making sure his family was all set for his guests to arrive. They were all dressed up and going over the plan as Harry came down with his few things that weren't locked up in the cupboard under the stairs packed up.

"Good, good. And Dudley?" The large man, neckless with a large black mustache, sitting at the dining said. Harry's Uncle Vernon was turning to his nearly as large son, Dudley.

Dudley was best described as looking like a pig learned to walk on its hind legs and was wearing a blonde toupe. "I'll be waiting to open the door," Harry's cousin said as he put on a simpering smile. "May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"

"They'll love him," Aunt Petunia, a thin horse faced woman, gushed over her son.

"Excuse me Uncle," Harry said, interrupting from the doorway as he held up Hedwig's, Harry's pet snowy owl, cage. "Mind taking the padlock off of Hedwig's cage and opening up the cupboard? The Weasley's should be here shortly and I would like to get out of here as soon as they arrive."

Vernon's face turned even more purple as he turned towards Harry. The man had locked up Hedwig as soon as they arrived back home along with putting all of Harry's school stuff in the cupboard under the stairs, attempting to hide away anything he viewed as freakish.

For all that Vernon did not like his nephew though, the man was reasonable enough to see that by just doing as asked he would be rid of the burden he viewed Harry as soon enough for the rest of the summer vacation.

"Fine fine," Vernon said, lifting his bulk out of the chair and opening up the cupboard and tossing Harry the key to the padlock so that Harry could unlock the cage himself.

As much as Harry wanted to have a bit of breakfast, he would much rather be out of the house. So he just grabbed his trunk and, checking the time, saw that his best friend should be arriving in a few minutes to pick him up. With that in mind, Harry dragged his trunk outside and began to wait.

"Don't worry Hedwig, you'll be out of that cage soon enough," Harry cooed to his bird, gently stroking her feathers.

It wasn't long before a turquoise car drove up the street, driven by a red headed man with a red headed boy in the passenger seat.

The boy stuck his head out of the window and waved at Harry, "Harry! Good to see you, mate."

Harry had a huge grin as he waved back at his best friend. "Good to see you too, Ron!" Harry called back.

Mr. Weasley stopped the car in front of Number 4 Privet Drive and got out of the car. "Good to see you, Harry," the kindly, slightly balding man said as he reached out to shake Harry's hand. "Happy to have you staying with us."

"Thank you for having me, Mr. Weasley."

"Call me Arthur."

The three climbed into the car, Harry and Ron both getting into the back seat and beginning to chat, catching up after a month of being away from each other. Harry got a feeling that Ron was hiding something from him, but didn't want to bring it up as he was just happy to see his friend again. It was nearing one in the afternoon by they time they turned down a road and Harry got a good view of a house that could only be described as magical.

It looked like an old stone pigpen that had rooms added and stacked on top of it crookedly that only magic could explain how they stayed up, something Harry had to briefly remind himself was entirely possible, about five chimneys perched on the red roof. As they drove up, Harry's mouth was open in a wide eyed grin, passing by a wood sign declaring that the house was 'THE BURROW'.

They went into the yard and around to a little tumbledown garage.

"Here we are!" Mr. Weasley said, starting to get out of the car. "Ron, mind helping me put away the car? Harry, why don't you head on in and say hello? I'm sure everyone is excited to see you."

"Sure Dad," Ron said.

"You sure Mr. Weasley?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure," Mr. Weasley said, patting Harry on the shoulder before nudging him on the shoulder. "Just head on in."

"Ok," Harry said, getting a feeling something was going on. Looking over at Ron, Harry saw his friend just motioned for him to go on in.

Shrugging, Harry headed to the house. He politely knocked and waited. He heard nothing coming from the house. Slowly, he grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, peaking into a dark room.

"H-hello?" He asked as he stepped into the room.

"'Surprise!'" A chorus of voices shouted out as the lights came on. "'Happy Birthday!'"

"W-what?" Harry gasped as he looked around at all the smiling faces. Most of them had red hair, but Harry also saw a bushy head of hair belonging to Hermione along with who must be her parents standing near her along with Dean and his family. Lavender was here with her mom and Hagrid was standing behind them.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Ron said with a grin from behind him.

Harry felt his smile was so wide and a tear was forming in his eyes. He had thought last year was the best birthday ever learning he was a wizard and was going to get away from the Dursleys, but here, surrounded by friends, he couldn't imagine how he could have a better birthday.

—-

Lily Moon

Lily was having a great time! Tanya was able to come with her and Mommy and Daddy to the beachy place! Mom your can! It was so amazing! The sun was always shining and the water was so blue and clear! She could see all the things in the water like the little fishies and the plants that Tanya called kelp and Daddy called seaweed. Lily thought calling it seaweed was a bit rude because weeds were not wanted plants. Lily learned about that in Herb class from Professor Sprout! Lily didn't see how the plants were unwanted considering they looked so pretty waving in the water and the fishies needed something to eat, so they must graze on the water plants like mini cows!

Currently Lily was building a castle out of sand like she saw some of the other kids doing and Tanya was helping! Tanya was so smart in how to get the walls to stay up and to make it look all castley. When Lily asked how Tanya knew all about making sand castles she got a rather boring answer involving history and how actual structures were built in various parts of the world and Lily felt like she was back at school in class. School was a lot of fun, exploring the castle, but classes were BORING!

"Girls! Lunch time," Mommy said.

"Yay!" Lily shouted as she got up and rushed over to where Mommy and Daddy were packing away the towels and umbrellas. Well, Daddy was using his magic to pack them away.

Tanya is much calmer than Lily in getting up from where they were building the castle, dusting herself off and emptying out the bucket they were using of the wet sand. "Where are we eating, Mrs. Moon?" Tanya asked.

"There is an adorable little stall I saw on the pier yesterday that I was hoping to try," Mommy said with a smile as she took Lily's hand and the four began heading along the beach towards a wooden structure jutting out into water with various shops and stalls built on it.

The beach they had visited was a magicals beach hidden in ways Lily didn't know about. She just knew that Mommy had to hold onto one of their hands to get to the beach, though not to leave the beach. Tanya started a conversation with Daddy about his books. Lily hummed to herself as she already knew all about the books he wrote that she was allowed to read or be read to. She was still too young to read some of his books and even if she was allowed to read them, some of them sounded really boring to her.

Who wanted to read a story about a magical lawyer living in a small village and dealing with magical legal issues?

The stall they went to was a tapas stall. Which Lily had learned basically was just a fancy way of saying it is a place that serves a bunch of little dishes so you can taste a lot of different things instead of just one normal meal. Tapas was so much fun! It was almost like being at a Hogwarts feast, but even better because the food was so different!

They spent a lazy hour sitting around an umbrella covered table, slowly eating the tapas that seemed to mostly be different cold cuts, cheese, and bread, but there were also some other veggie plates they snacked on.

"We should probably work on some of the homework later," Tanya said, looking at Lily before taking a bite of crusty bread topped with some of the oily tomatoes.

Lily groaned in disappointment. "But it's summer!"

"Scrambling at the last minute will mean none of the information will stay with you."

Daddy rubbed Lily's back. "Your friend is right. If you finish up all the homework before we head back to England, we will celebrate by getting a Battenberg cake."

Lily perked up. "Really?"

Daddy smiled and nodded.

"Let's do it!" Lily declared, looking at Tanya who just chuckled and shook her head.

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Lucius was not having a good week. He had gotten notice of a coming inspection of his manor for dark artifacts and any item that could be found to be in violation of that damnable Wesley's muggle baiting law.

As annoying as that might have been, Lucius had time to deal with that before the search was to happen. No, adding onto his headaches was his latest update from his asset watching the Degurechaff child. The stupid muggle was losing control of Degurechaff if he did nothing.

After properly expressing his annoyance with the muggle filth, Lucius deigned to allow it to explain itself. The muggles were doing away with orphanages for parentless children for some new method that would see Degurechaff lost in the shuffle of child caring facilities.

Normally, the Ministry of Magic would be able to swoop in to take care of any magical children in such a situation, but Lucius would lose a close eye on the girl.

He had contemplated just adopting the child himself in order to further shore up the brewing alliance with a future Dark Lady. Unfortunately, he has political considerations to make. Adopting her would be far too public of a declaration far too soon, especially without solid proof of her Pure Blood.

Waiting for her to grow into her power and aligning with her would allow for any… inconsistencies in her heritage to be overlooked more readily. Lucius needed her in a position he could monitor easily, but not in a position where it would be looked unfavorably upon his own person until the time was right.

There was a way to solve both issues, though Lucius was loathed to do it. He was going to sell off his artifacts aggressively and then covertly convert galleons into muggle cash for his asset to use to keep the orphanage running until the Degurechaff child was an adult.

This has found Lucius going through his manor, a crate floating behind him as he grabbed various poisons, objects, artifacts, and miscellaneous things to be sold in Knockturn Alley. Picking up a little black book, and old worn diary, Lucius recalled something his former master had informed him of prior to handing it to him.

It was important that it be kept safe, and that it could open Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts through some means that was not disclosed. Lucius snarled and tossed the book into the box. If that fool of a former master could not even defeat a baby, then there was no reason to keep his junk safe. No, far better to hitch the Malfoy horse to a new individual that would be better able to handle the duties of being a Master of the Dark Arts.

Half_Baked_cat · Mar 26, 2024

db4fb049-89c5-4733-98d4-bd14388c1fef_multiverse_tanya-1.jpg

Someone, DRKSHDOW, commissioned a group piece. My Hogwarts Tanya is in there in the green sweater Molly made her.
From Left to Right, the authors of each Tanya is:
Requiem Jeer https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/psychoprotective-youjo-senki-psychonauts.1040559/
DrkShdow https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/holo-archive-of-a-young-warlords-empire.1090779/
General Max https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/long-live-the-empire-youjo-senki-star-wars.1131007/
L4 of the West https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-saga-of-the-runt-youjo-senki-wh30k.987151/
Myself https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TanyasHogwartsAdventure
BrettFire https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14106928/1/Rising-Heroine-Tanya
Swiss Chocolate https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-saga-of-slime-and-devil-youjo-senki-tensura.1111834/
At least, those are the identities I know the authors by.
For now, these are the links I either already had or were given to me for each author's story. Will update this as I get more.
DrkShadow was the commissioner of the piece, Yoshikage was the artist.
Visit https://twitter.com/a_yoshikage for more art by the artist. Be warned, they are NSFW artist.

And by the same artist, but commissioned as a gift from myself to L4 of the WEST

fd5899ce-20a6-49a3-828c-d60a81b5071c_halfbaced_christmass_2.jpg

Half_Baked_cat · Mar 26, 2024

Tanya Degurechaff

It was really nice of the Moons to invite me to join them on vacation to Majorca. In many ways, I was reminded of my retirement at the end of my last life in Florida. Palm trees, warm weather, and salt in the breeze.

Only now my body is young enough to enjoy the beach and the little shops scattered around. My body was able to keep up with the youthful energy Lily had, so I was mostly letting her set our pace when her parents allowed us to explore on our own.

I was confident that I could handle anything the locals could send our way, from simple scams meant to bilk tourists of their money to possible kidnappers looking for some English girls to use as either drug mules or 'personal servants', but I would respect Mr. and Mrs. Moon's desire to keep their daughter safe from trouble. A perfectly healthy concern considering Lily's powerful imagination.

I could see where she got that from as her father was a fiction author that dabbled in multiple genres under several pen names. Her mother worked for a small upscale shop in London to stay busy. Mr. Moon apparently made enough on his stories that they don't need the extra income, particularly with how cheap Magical Britain could be to live in if you were smart about it, but she didn't like being idle and the housework didn't build up enough to keep her busy. Especially now that Lily is going to a boarding school most of the year.

Loving, caring parents worried for their child and their child's future. Mr. Moon had admitted that they weren't sure about letting Lily go to Hogwarts so soon. Her birthday was August 31, the literal cutoff age for students going to Hogwarts, and she was a premature birth. That certainly helped explain her difficulties in class to a degree, but my efforts had gotten her to pass, proving she had been ready… with a little help. And if tutoring her got me tropical vacations, I was not going to complain about the compensation package at all.

Despite her issues in class, I was half convinced that Lily only acted stupid because there were times she would say something profoundly correct. She mentioned how I didn't look at historical relics with awe, but with nostalgia, as though seeing something again after a long time.

She was right in a lot of ways. The historical locations and museums we visited were not unfamiliar to me. They were not the same as my last life, but they were close enough that I only saw the similarities and not the differences.

She was a silly, energetic girl, but hidden somewhere in that head of hers was a mind capable of seeing things others could not. If only I could pull out that potential, she could be someone amazing.

"Wooow!" Lily cried out as we reached the top of the hill and got a good view of the city, the beaches, and the sea in a gorgeous panoramic scene. Skies only lightly dusted with whisps of clouds in the clear blue skies.

"Wow indeed," I said, smiling. It was beautiful and I was able to enjoy the moment in a way I haven't in decades. Maybe ever. I had no aches and pains, no worries or concerns. Just a future of potential and a… friend by my side.

—-

Quirinus Quirrell

New York was a disgusting hive of people. Full of muggles going through their worthless lives, buildings meant to hold them in such tight capacity that it was a wonder they weren't cannibalizing each other, and their various metal contraptions they use to get around clogging the streets.

A mess that deserves to be wiped out like the plague they are.

But not yet. Master Voldemort would begin cleansing the world of Muggle filth soon enough, but for now they needed to get him a new body and off the back of his head.

Getting to America was not difficult for the pair as there were ships constantly moving between England and America, though a lot more seemed to be traveling to and from China for some unfathomable reason. A couple of charms and they were on one of the ships. It was not luxurious or comfortable, but those would have brought potential scrutiny they could not afford.

No, they would be traveling in secrecy. While there was no Dumbledore in America to watch their movements, the old codger had allies everywhere. He likely was unaware that Quirinus was attempting to resurrect Voldemort, but would have noticed the attempt on the stone. It would have been best if they had managed to claim the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect Voldemort with as it would have had the least complications.

Returning a spirit back to the world of the living was not a simple or easy process with multiple rituals and methods around the world with a variety of requirements and reagents. In Voldemort's life, he had done research into a multitude of these rituals and methods and created a bit of a list of which ones he found most beneficial for himself should he ever need them. The topmost option was a potion made with the elixir of life as there would be nearly no downside to using that method.

With some potential downsides, there were rumors of methods for a spirit to return to life using a ritual deep in the southern swamps of the Colonies. Having to travel all the way to this backwater cesspit of simpletons and find a local Dark Magic practitioner both able and willing to aid in Voldemort's return were certainly a pair of indignities Voldemort would have preferred to do without.

For now, Quirinus had imperiused a server into giving him a meal that he paired with a vial of unicorn blood. With the preservation charms on the vials and the amount of blood he had managed to collect, Quirinus estimated with careful rationing he could perhaps extend how long he had before Voldemort's presence in his body would kill him to about a year. Unicorn blood could extend a person's life, especially if they had some form of illness, significantly, but at a cost. Already Quirinus was noticing a paleness coming to his skin.

Quirinus was already in too deep to back out now. Accepting Lord Voldemort into his body was already going to be a death sentence if they did not get him a new body, but the riches would surely be worth all the pain and effort as Quirinus proved his loyalty and worth.

Their destination was south on the coast of a large gulf. While a magical means of travel would be preferable, there was too much risk of being detected by the Magical Congress. No, they would need to walk. A look at a map showed that most of the journey could be made along the coastline with minimal hurdles until they got to the peninsula of the Colonies where cutting across from the ocean coast to the gulf coast would be quick and easy to traverse.

A long journey in front of them, but one that will prove Voldemort's immortality to all.

—

Harry Potter

The party was great, getting to spend time with friends he had made over the school year, meeting their parents, and having fun and good food with them all. He really could not think of a better birthday.

After almost everyone went home, Harry had thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for doing this for him, only to be told Hermione was the one to come up with the plan and arrange for everyone to show up. They had simply played hosts.

Harry then thanked Hermione, even giving her a hug, causing the bushy haired girl to smile before she handed her gift to him, a leather wand holster so that Harry could stop walking around with his wand stuck in his pants.

The Grangers left soon after, leaving Harry and the Weasleys to clean up and relax. Molly told Harry he did not need to help clean, as he was a guest, but Harry was fascinated with the magical ways of cleaning up after a party. The swift and effortless disposal of trash, disappearing into thin air with a simple wave of a hand. No more need for bulky rubbish bins or tedious trips to the curb. And the rags, seemingly animated by some invisible force, glided over surfaces with precision and efficiency, leaving them sparkling clean without any human touch needed. It was like living in a world straight out of a dream, where mundane tasks were magically taken care of without any effort on our part.

It was simply magical the way witches and wizards kept a tidy home.

Soon enough, Harry found himself in Ron's room getting ready for bed. A room covered in orange with posters of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team. Ron was insistent that they had a shot this year. Harry didn't really know enough about professional Quidditch to dispute anything Ron said, so he simply agreed with his friend.

The next two weeks were a blur of helping with the chores, having fun with the youngest three Weasley boys, occasionally seeing their sister peeking at him around a corner before hiding, and sending letters to his friends.

The greatest birthday turned into the greatest summer ever for Harry. And it was one bright, sunny morning that he and Ron came down for breakfast that they were reminded that they would soon be seeing more of their friends, along with their teachers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Ginny were sitting around the kitchen table already. Ginny stuck her elbow into her bowl of porridge as soon as she saw Harry come down, which he pretended to not notice as she hurriedly cleaned her elbow up with cheeks glowing like the sun setting over the hill behind the Burrow.

"Letters from Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley said, passing the envelopes of yellowish parchment addressed in green ink as Mrs. Weasley handed out toast to the boys. Fred and George came down as the letters were getting passed out, still in their pajamas. "You two've got them too," Mr. Weasley added.

For a moment, everything was silent except for the crunch of toast and riffling of pages as the children at the table looked over the letters and Mr. Weasley looked over the morning paper.

The Hogwarts Express would be leaving on September 1st from King's Cross Station, as usual. The list of most of the equipment seemed to be the same as last year. It was only once Harry got to the book list that something unusual became apparent.

'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2' was expected. Having seven books from a single author was a bit odd to Harry. Seven books from someone named Gilderoy Lockhart.

Harry could feel the tension in the air as everyone began discussing how expensive the books would be. Mrs. Weasley had been so kind to him for the past two weeks, being far more of a mother than Aunt Petunia ever was to the orphaned boy. He bit his lip as he thought about the situation, and how he was lucky enough to be able to spend time with this loving family.

Hedwig swooped into the kitchen carrying a letter. Hedwig, his first real birthday present. A gift from Hagrid.

"I could help with the books," Harry offered as he took the letter from Hedwig, seeing it was from Tanya.

"No dear, you don't need to do that," Mrs. Weasley started.

"It is not a problem. You all have been so nice to me, letting me stay with you for so much of the summer," Harry said, looking around. "It is the least I can do to pay you all back. At the very least, I can buy Ron's," Harry paused for a moment as he looked at Ginny and gave a soft smile, "and Ginny's copies of these Lockhart books."

Nearly everyone still seemed tense as they wrestled with what Harry was offering. "Thank you Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "As long as you are sure you can afford it and the rest of your schooling."

The tension in everyone's shoulders left them as Harry nodded. "I'm sure."

Percy came down as Harry read the letter from Tanya.

She was back in the UK and had briefly stopped by the orphanage she had grown up in and was still supposed to be during the summer. Apparently orphanages were being phased out entirely and it was only through a single, large donation that the orphanage she was part of would be able to stay open long enough for all the children currently in residence to either be adopted or to age out of the care. A mix of bad and good news for everyone there. For now though, Tanya was spending her remaining weeks with the Moons and they planned to visit Diagon Alley soon. She hoped Harry and his friends could join, as they had missed celebrating his birthday together.

"Why don't you go tell them we would be happy to?" Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "Would be a perfectly fine day to get all of your school things."

"Sure," Harry said with a smile. "I'll do that before we head up to that paddock."

The paddock was on a small hill surrounded by trees that the boys were planning on using to play quidditch. Well, more tossing apples at each other while they flew low, but it was close enough to quidditch for the three members and the Captain-in-Training of the Gryffindor Team.

But first, Harry wrote a letter to who he quietly thought of as his oddest friend, but the one he felt the strongest connection to, Tanya Degurechaff.

---

AN: Thank you to everyone that has helped with editing/beta. I now have a Kofi as a one-off way to tip if you want to as well as a Patreon for monthly support. I am hoping Kofi will let me replace some of the broken image links that were originally attached to Patreon or Discord, but I otherwise have no current plans for offering any benefits for Kofi supporters. Patreon supporters are why this chapter is released now, otherwise I would likely have written another chapter or two of my Pokémon trainer Tanya story instead as they get to vote in a monthly poll on what story I should make sure to focus on for the month. This month's poll still has a couple of days left and by a narrow margin it looks like next month will be another Hogwarts Adventure chapter. Next month poll drops in less than a week so you can influence what I write for May.

Thank you for reading.

Probably should also start dropping a link to what I'm referencing in the Chapter Titles.

Half_Baked_cat · Apr 29, 2024

Harry Potter

Mrs. Weasley woke up the whole house early the following Wednesday, including the ghoul that lived in the attic over Ron's room. The ghoul quieted down quickly as a breakfast of bacon sandwiches was eaten. With bellies full, Mrs. Weasley pulled a flowerpot off the mantel and looked into it.

"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today... Ah, well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"

Harry looked at the pot before staring at the family looking at him.

"Uh, what do I do?" Harry asked.

"Oh! Right, sorry, Harry," Ron said. "I forgot you never traveled by Floo Powder before."

"Never? How did you get to Diagon Alley last year?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I went on the Underground-"

"Really?" Mr. Weasley interrupted eagerly. "Were there escapators? How-"

"Not now, Dear," Mrs. Weasley shushed her husband, "Floo powder is a lot quicker, dear. But goodness me, if you've never used it before…"

"He'll be alright, Mum," Fred said after she trailed off with a large grin. "Harry, watch us first."

Fred reached into the flower pot and grabbed a pinch of a green, glittering powder. He threw it into the fireplace, causing an emerald-colored flame to shoot up taller than he was before he confidently strolled into the flame. "Diagon Alley." With a strong voice, Fred was whipped away, vanishing into the flames.

What followed was a barrage of advice from Ron and Mrs. Weasley as George and Mr. Weasley took pinches of powder, giving Harry encouraging words that he would be fine. Harry took a deep breath and remembered Tanya's lessons on how to memorize information. The key points seemed to be to stay calm, watch for the correct fireplace to come out of, and speak clearly where you want to go when you step into the fire.

With that in mind, Harry took a pinch of the Floo Powder and scattered it into the fireplace. Seeing the green flames, he stepped in, turned towards the room, opened his mouth to take a deep breath, and state his destination. As he began speaking, ash got into his mouth, causing Harry to hack as he felt the magic take effect. It was a sucking feeling, as though he was being pulled through the drain pipes, spinning around. He pulled his arms in as he coughed, the whirling flames and flashes of fireplaces made him feel a bit nauseous. His breakfast was churning roughly inside of him.

And then… it was over. Painfully as he was tossed roughly out of a fireplace, landing hard on the ground. His glasses fell off and broke at the bridge of the nose.

Squinting around, Harry saw that he was in some sort of shop.

"One moment, Mundungus," an oily voice said as a stooped figure came around a shelf. "And who do we have here?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, grabbing his broken glasses and wiping his forehead before holding the frames up to his face to see the old man with oily hair looking at him with a toothy grin.

"Ah, it would appear Mr. Potter decided to visit my shop."

"Uh, sorry sir, but I don't know where I am," Harry said, seeing the shop was filled with… items that gave Harry an uncomfortable feeling. "I was using Floo for the first time and, uh…"

"Ended up in the wrong place," the man said, returning to the shop counter. "Well, I suppose I can help you, though I do hope you will think of ole Borgin next time you are looking for some… products."

Harry nodded in agreement, though looking at the items in stock, especially a necklace that seemed to proudly declare that it had killed nineteen muggles, he would not be making any purchases here.

The man, Mr. Borgin, as he seemed to introduce himself, reached under the counter, pulling out an old black book and a gnarled old wand. "Three galleons and two sickles, and you can take this with you. And I'll throw in an extra sickle if you get rid of this for me," Mr. Borgin told the other man in the store, a short, bow-legged man who looked like he hadn't seen a bar of soap in at least two weeks.

"Deal," the man said.

"As for you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Borgin turned to Harry with that wide, toothy grin and pointed his want right at Harry. Without another word, Harry felt his glasses jump together and fix themselves up. "There, all fixed up. I'm sure you got some school things to purchase, so why don't you run along? But do remember me in the future. I am sure I have something you will want."

There was a spark of greed in Mr. Borgin's eye that made Harry think that what he was doing was not out of the kindness of his heart, and he expected to be compensated later for his 'kindness'. For a brief moment, Harry could almost see Tanya having the same look, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind as Tanya had never shown such a look in the past year he had known her.

"Thank you, Mr. Borgin," Harry said, putting on a smile. "Just, uh, which way should I go?"

"Go left, follow the street until you see Gringotts. I'm sure you can find your way from there."

Harry's smile became more genuine at the instructions being easy to follow. "Thank you. If I ever find myself this way, I'll be sure to stop in," Harry politely said before leaving and hurrying along the path given. The street he was on was so dark, with many disturbing things. A shop full of shrunken heads, an old, bent-over woman with a tray of what looked like fingers. Harry did not dally and quickly found himself looking at the white marble of Gringotts.

—

Tanya Degurechaff

While the vacation in Majorca was lovely, and I would enjoy going again, it was nice to return to the UK. One of the first stops was the orphanage, where I was greeted by the site of the postcards I sent back pinned up on the wall at the entrance. The second thing I noticed was that the kids were wearing nicer clothing.

When I asked about it, I was told that the orphanage was being closed down, but a rather generous soul had made a sizeable enough donation that while the orphanage wasn't going to be saved, it would be able to care for all the current children under its roof until they reached the age of majority. This even included new clothes for all the children.

New clothes that I had to very politely accept despite them being little better than school uniforms, knee-length skirts in a dark gray with a matching vest and plain white blouses. Not a single pair of pants or pocket to be found.

The second-hand clothes from last year still fit and are in good enough condition. I purposely got clothes that were a bit baggy to give me room to grow into them. So, I would still have some good clothes to wear outside of classes and while visiting with friends over the summer.

Friends like Lily, whose family was still willing to host me so we could purchase our school supplies together and get to the train on time.

Speaking of school supplies, after a trip through the London Underground with Mr. Moon, we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, where there was a bit of a commotion with the Weasley family.

"Where's Harry?" Lily asked, looking around as we approached.

"We don't know," Ron said, coming over to greet us, but looked concerned. "We were using the Floo Network, but Harry started coughing as he tried to say the destination."

I didn't have time to figure out what a Floo Network was, but considering they were gathered near a fireplace, I had to assume it had something to do with a chimney flue. I only somewhat knew the flue was part of the chimney, but, if that is correct, then it was reasonable that the Floo Network was some sort of fireplace-based transportation system.

This seems rather dangerous considering how often a fire would be going, but that is tangential.

"What was his destination?" I asked.

"Diagon Alley," Ron said.

I groaned and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Alright!" I barked out, straightened up, and gathered everyone's attention. "If Harry's destination was Diagon Alley, he could be anywhere in the Alley. We will want to spread out to cover more ground as we look for him."

I looked at the clock on the wall briefly. "Gringotts is a good central location to reconvene in thirty minutes. Lily, stick with your dad. Harry would not recognize him, but together, you should be able to point him out if you two spot him," I started instructing different groups on where to go and how to split the groups off, using similar logic for keeping Hermione and her parents together, Fred and George as a team, Percy and Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and lastly was Ron and myself. As the one who devised the plan, I would be heading straight for Gringotts. If Harry came up and stumbled upon our rendezvous spot, we could keep him from getting lost looking for us.

Ideally, he would stay in one place when lost, as taught in many survival basics. The likelihood that Harry learned any basic survival lessons was shallow, so someone else would need to stay in one place. To that same logic, Percy and Ginny would be sticking near the passage between the back of the Leaky Cauldron and the start of Diagon Alley.

With a plan in place and complaints about the plan quashed under the simple logic of no one else coming up with anything to resolve the situation, we moved out.

"You're scary, you know that?" Ron said as we headed straight to Gringotts.

"I am a confident woman," I corrected. "Many people mistake being intimidated by a confident woman with being scared of her."

I briefly looked at Ron, who fell silent and gave me a look before shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.

As we hit the white marble of the stairs up the primary wizarding bank, I couldn't help holding back the smirk at seeing Harry coming around the corner of an alley down the bank's side.

"Harry!" I yelled, waving at him.

"Huh? Where?" Ron looked around before spotting Harry as well. "Harry!"

Harry heard us and turned towards us before rushing up to us. "Tanya! Ron! I'm glad I found you!" Harry looked around a bit. "Where is everyone else?"

"Looking for you. They should be here," I started before looking up at a nearby clock, "in about twenty-five minutes."

"Where did you go, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Some creepy shop," Harry said with a shiver. "The owner helped me, but…"

"But what?" I asked, looking at Harry closer. He had a bit of dirt on him but looked uninjured. And he had not been gone long enough for anything… untoward to happen.

"I don't know. Just something about him bothered me." Harry shook his head. He then put on a smile. "Anyways, you went to Majorca. I got your cards, but tell me how it was."

The change in conversation was clumsy, but I allowed it as Harry did seem genuinely alright. As we talked about my trip, the rest of our rather large group filtered over, everyone relieved that Harry was fine, with Percy and Ginny being the last to show up.

Ginny was a lot more subdued and red-faced at seeing Harry than the brief amount of time when I met her briefly in the Leaky Cauldron.

Childish crushes were no concern of mine, so I put them out of mind as we entered the bank and got into several lines. The Grangers and myself in one for counter-only service and the rest of the group in line for Vault services. Exchanging muggle money for wizarding coinage and the wooden key for an orphan school supply stipend was finished up well before the group going to their vaults were finished up.

While waiting for the rest of our group, I spotted Draco and his father and led Hermione and her parents over.

"Mr. Malfoy. Draco. It is good to see the two of you," I say, bowing politely to the elder of the pair.

"Ah, Ms. Degurechaff," Mr. Malfoy said with a thin smile as he looked at us. "And company."

As the adults introduced themselves, Hermione and I got caught up with how Draco's summer had been going.

According to Draco, it had been spent chiefly relaxing at home.

"Draco," Mr. Malfoy said, "you can spend time with your friends while I gather your supplies. Be at Flourish & Blotts in three hours."

Draco was handed a small bag of coins as Mr. Malfoy stepped away. A scowl briefly showed as his eyes passed over the Weasley family coming up from the back of the bank. Mr. Weasley had a similarly strained look as he saw the senior Malfoy.

Whatever tensions the two may have between themselves was not my concern as long as they kept a tight lid on it.

With the group gathered back together, budgets were established, warnings not to leave the alley given, and a timetable set for a meeting to get everyone's books as the last thing of the day. Everyone split off into groups. Mr. Weasley took Mr. Moon and the Grangers to hang out at the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Weasley was taking Ginny with her, Fred and George were going off on their own, having seen Lee Jordan, and Percy going off on his own.

That left Lily, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Harry, and myself to get school supplies and hang out together.

There were only a few school supplies we needed besides the books, as most of what we needed was bought last year. Just a refresh of potion ingredients, extra parchment, ink, and spare quills. After ensuring we got what we needed, we wandered around looking at the different stores and their wares.

A few items caught my eye, but I didn't even bother with price tags. The book list was long enough and textbooks expensive enough that I would likely have only a tiny amount left over.

Draco was confused when I explained why I was not getting anything as we window-shopped. The boy was so used to money just always being there that he could not comprehend not being able to purchase anything you wanted. Lily and Hermione tried being understanding, but I suspect they never went without because of financial concerns. Harry and Ron truly got it, as they've dealt with not having.

I was likely the only one here who knows what it is like to have grown up both financially stable and in a household where a single emergency would require significant belt tightening to handle. Not that I could explain that to anyone.

I was not concerned about being captured for experiments or being declared mentally incompetent from insanity for talking about having lived multiple lives. Still, it was a life experience that no one else could genuinely relate to. Not unless they also remembered past lives.

It was with such thoughts that, in a little junk and knickknack shop, that a brooch caught my eye. A rectangular gem of red set in silver. For a brief moment, I thought it was a computation orb till I came back to the present and saw that the jewelry I was holding had none of the clockwork of early orbs or the circuitry of the ones coming out near the end of my life, mostly obscured by the jewel.

I set the piece back down. I had died and that world was gone. All I had was memories that were fleeting away from me. Spending a chunk of money, possibly not being able to afford my school books, all for a facsimile of something I once used was a foolish way to try and hold onto a piece of my history.

With window shopping done and plenty of time before we needed to be at Flourish and Blotts, our group found ourselves at the ice cream shop getting a few scoops. Half the group opted for peanut butter and strawberry of all things, Lily got chocolate chili, and Draco got me and himself Earl Gray Lavender.

A very interesting variety of flavors compared to what I was used to, but it was very well made. Cold, creamy with a floral punch combined with the citrusy bergamot and rich, almost toasty black tea. Small crispy bits that may have been tea used to make the ice cream added a delightful textural contrast.

"Here," Draco said, sliding something to me as we ate.

Picking it up, I saw it was the brooch I had been looking at earlier. My thumb ran over the gem as I thought back to those mages who had once been under my command. Men and women who jumped at my command, were trained into the perfect fighting force. Blank faces as time erased the specifics from my memories. Only the feelings of what they meant to me remained.

"Thank you."

"You were looking at it pretty intensely, so I thought you wanted it," Draco explained.

It was a very obvious and boyish ploy of a boy trying to impress a girl. His little crush on me was cute in a way, but I would have to squash it. Later. For now, I pinned the brooch close to my neck as though it was a computation orb.

"Pretty!" Lily said, leaning over to look at the brooch closer.

Hermione, thankfully, came to my rescue and moved the conversation away from Draco's gift as we worked our way through our icy treats.

With bellies full of ice cream, we went to the crowded bookstore. There was a sign outfront I had not paid attention to when we had passed by earlier.

'GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30 P.m. to 4:30 P.m.'

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione excitedly said. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"

"Yes, yes," I said drolly. "How exciting it will be."

"Don't be like that," Lily admonished me. "He must be doing something right if he has as many books published. Daddy has told me all about how hard it was to get his stories published when he was starting out. I think it'll be nice to meet someone like my Daddy that isn't Daddy."

I kept the feeling to roll my eyes to myself. No need to dampen the mood of those around me.

The line for the book signing was mostly a bunch of middle-aged ladies who would fit in perfectly at a book club that meets Tuesday nights at the rec center talking about the latest romance tripe and nearly wrapped all the way around to the next store.

Slipping into the store to grab copies of 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade two', it became clear that in addition to his autobiography, all the other books he had written were roped off near the table set for him, and we would have to get in line and wait our turns.

A rather unfortunate oversight if you asked me, as the books were on the school book list and there would be people, such as myself, who do not care about getting signed copies of things. Even if it does increase the resale value by some amount, I prefer to keep books for reference materials over selling them later or donating them to a library and getting a tax deduction for my charity.

Regardless, we got in line with the rest of the Weasley family, the Grangers, and Mr. Moon, allowing us to skip a chunk of the line. Draco separated from us to join his father a bit behind our group, looking as miffed about waiting in this line to get school books as I felt.

Slowly, the line moved forward until we could get a good look at the man, surrounded by a sea of his own face plastered on the covers of books, grinning with extremely white, straight teeth. While British dental care was good, the focus here was on health rather than looks, so I would not be surprised if Lockhart had taken a trip to America, where teeth appearance was of greater importance, and had some work done.

The man himself looked like a self-important ponce with his blonde locks carefully coiffed and his blue robes cut in a very fashionable manner. He was either a master of hiding his feelings or was loving all the fawning the middle-aged women were giving him as he had a huge, dopey grin.

A short man with what I could only assume was a magical camera, considering the purple smoke puffing out as he took pictures of the whole thing, was recklessly jumping around.

"Watch where you are going," I tell the man, grabbing him before he runs himself into Ron.

"Don't touch me," he says, pulling out of my grip. "I work for the Daily Prophet."

"And I am sure they would love getting sued for you harming a child in your recklessness. You nearly knocked over and stepped all over my friend. Can you imagine how much trouble you would be in if you had harmed him?" I stepped up to the man who was not that much taller than me and glared at him.

The man gulped but Lockhart stepped in to calm the situation.

"Now, now, Weatherby here meant no harm," he said, giving me his best smile. "And is that Harry Potter!"

Lockhart attempted to reach for Harry, but my hand snapped out to grab his arm. I gave it a warning squeeze. "You know, Mr. Lockhart, it is generally frowned upon in polite society for a grown man to be trying to touch a boy without getting permission first."

I let go of his arm and moved to stand in front of Harry, daring the man to try anything. I do not care if he was the King of England, he would respect that Harry was a CHILD while I was around, no matter what kind of fame Harry may have gotten from his parent's deaths.

"My apologies. A picture of myself and Harry would have been worthy of the front page of the prophet, I dare say," Lockhart said, still smiling, though it looked a lot more put on now than it did a moment ago.

"Then you can wait till after Harry is an adult and able to decide for himself if he wants to be a public figure. For now, he is a boy and a student who is focusing on his studies."

"Right, of course," Lockhart said, fixing up his robes before beginning to project his voice. "And that is a good point to make a rather important announcement I've been sitting on for some time."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, when Harry and his friend stepped into this store, they merely wished to purchase my autobiography, which I will be happy to give them now, free of charge, that they would be getting more than my book, Magical Me. They and their classmates will be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd applauded at the announcement. I could only hope that he would be as good at teaching as he was at public relations. As annoyed at the situation as I was, he was able to smooth over the ruffled feathers his faux pas could have been and the snafu the cameraman could have caused.

The fact that I found myself weighed down with copies of his books and did not need to purchase any of them myself earned him a bit of grace in my book. A bad first impression was no reason to remain upset with someone you would need to deal with long term.

"Thank you," Harry quietly said to me after we got our books, him dumping the copies he got onto Ginny to purchase his own copy. It was a noble sentiment that I was not financially comfortable enough to follow myself.

"Not a problem," I told him, giving him a smile. I would like to think I would have done it for any child in that situation, and not just one I was personally acquainted with.

Something that would have been tested shortly after the Malfoys left and our group began making our way to the Leaky Cauldron when a drunkard tripped over a kid, causing all their school supplies to spill across the street.

"Watch where yous goin'!" The man said, shaking his dirty hand as he stumbled away.

By the time I was about to help the kid, a first-year going by the number of things they had, several people had already gathered around helping to gather the things up while complaining loudly about the drunk. Apparently, a well known nuisance called Mundungus.

With that situation clearly handled, we went to the Leaky Cauldron, said our farewells to the Weasleys and Harry before the Grangers, Lily, and Mr. Moon took a booth to have some supper before we went home ourselves.

AN:

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Tanya’s Hogwarts Adventures (Youjo Senki, Harry Potter)

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?

Not too sore, are you?