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

[Reynard69]

"Ron bad" was a tired take ten years ago.

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and yet... it's still a significantly held opinion.

for me, he's more eh, than bad. Not a particularly good friend, but not worth bashing either. He's got his good points, but instead of issues, he's got a subscription.

I'd have kept him with Lavender.

 

[The_Bajar]

and yet... it's still a significantly held opinion.

for me, he's more eh, than bad. Not a particularly good friend, but not worth bashing either. He's got his good points, but instead of issues, he's got a subscription.

I'd have kept him with Lavender.

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True, Ron/Hermione pairing, what was Rowling imbibing when she concocted that lunacy? (the only worse pairings in the books are Harry/Ginny and Remus/Tonks). Not that Hermione/Harry is any better. Hermione has a few subscriptions too for one

 

[Reynard69]

True, Ron/Hermione pairing, what was Rowling imbibing when she concocted that lunacy? (the only worse pairings in the books are Harry/Ginny and Remus/Tonks). Not that Hermione/Harry is any better. Hermione has a few subscriptions too for one

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Rowling said in an interview, which I think was on the promotion tour for book 7, that she'd originally scripted for Ron and Percy to die, and Hermione end up married to Fred, helping the twins advance magic through the shop. But then things happened in her life, and she needed a happier outcome for personal reasons, with everybody being one big happy family.

I know a lot of people consider anythings she says outside of the books themselves dubious at best, but it fits to me.

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

I mean, not only is it Ron, but I'd also always had her pegged as Aro/Ace

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When we first meet her, Luna laughs hard at his jokes, tells Ron that Padma was upset he didn't dance with her at the Yule Ball and would have been fine with that, and in general shows interest in him.

There is a lot of evidence towards her being VERY interested in Ron.

I am not all that into the idea of Luna/Ron as a couple myself, but I'm not pulling her crush from absolutely nothing. Maybe she wouldn't be interested in him at this point, but she is by fifth year.

 

[auraofcalm]

The movies did Ron so dirty I still can't get over it. He's a much more likeable character in the books. He's still flawed for sure, but you aren't asking yourself why they still tolerate having the guy around.

Hermione is also flawed, as opposed to the vision of perfection the movies made her. She's genuinely annoying and overbearing to be around, and it makes sense why Harry would prefer Ron's company to hers when he's not being a jealous ass.

Worth noting, that "jealous ass" stuff was pretty much done after book 4 when shit got real. There was that blow up in Book 7 when Ron and Hermione are going insane with fear for their families' safety where people said shit they didn't mean and which blew over in ten minutes...which was also way worse in the movies.

Book 4 and Book 7 are the two moments the anti-Ron crowd draw most of their ire from, and imo the Book 4 one is the legit issue. However, he does realize what an ass he'd been, apologize, and start throwing his support behind Harry even harder to try and make up for it.

In Book 7 he really just tries to leave and go check up on his folks, realize "shit I can't they need me," and comes back to put his life on the line and help out again immediately.

What an asshole that Ron.

 

[Reynard69]

but you aren't asking yourself why they still tolerate having the guy around.

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Because Harry's spent his life abused and is so desperate for a friend that he'll even forgive snape. And because Ron's not that bad most of the time.
Because Hermione's been ostracized for being a bossy annoying nerd ever since she started school and is similarly desperate. Add in that Ron's interested where Harry (and everyone else) seems not to be, and she'll forgive what's honestly a pretty poor and one sided relationship.

Book 4 and Book 7 are the two moments the anti-Ron crowd draw most of their ire from, and imo the Book 4 one is the legit issue. However, he does realize what an ass he'd been, apologize, and start throwing his support behind Harry even harder to try and make up for it.

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5 and 6 he's an ass too. I've seen more people point to his weird ideas on how to treat Hermione across all 7 books than his issues in book 7, which mostly get forgiven due to him wearing The ONE RI *cough* I mean the locket.

 

[Chrisleech]

The movies did Ron so dirty I still can't get over it. He's a much more likeable character in the books. He's still flawed for sure, but you aren't asking yourself why they still tolerate having the guy around.

Hermione is also flawed, as opposed to the vision of perfection the movies made her. She's genuinely annoying and overbearing to be around, and it makes sense why Harry would prefer Ron's company to hers when he's not being a jealous ass.

Worth noting, that "jealous ass" stuff was pretty much done after book 4 when shit got real. There was that blow up in Book 7 when Ron and Hermione are going insane with fear for their families' safety where people said shit they didn't mean and which blew over in ten minutes...which was also way worse in the movies.

Book 4 and Book 7 are the two moments the anti-Ron crowd draw most of their ire from, and imo the Book 4 one is the legit issue. However, he does realize what an ass he'd been, apologize, and start throwing his support behind Harry even harder to try and make up for it.

In Book 7 he really just tries to leave and go check up on his folks, realize "shit I can't they need me," and comes back to put his life on the line and help out again immediately.

What an asshole that Ron.

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A big problem with him, is that a lot of his positive scenes were stolen and given to Hermione and Harry. Like how he would explain things about the magical world being given to Hermine because "she would have read it in a book". They also added negative scenes to him when he was there, but not in focus in the book in an answer to the question of "what is Ron doing?". Like in book 2 when they're going into the forest, he's not very in focus, so in the movie they have him complaining about being scared of spiders instead. It doesn't help the the movie director was a bit of a Hermione fanboy, to Rowling's surprise, since she was so used to fan letters praising Ron.

 

[veekie]

It can be done today without too much hardship, but if you exclude the modern vegetarian synthetic foods you need to go to various specialty imports and end up paying several times as much for a healthy vegetarian diet as you would for a healthy balanced diet.
And even today that requires an adult willing to go to the extra effort, given that Luna needed to remind her father when she was going off to school I can't see him handling that so how would she get a healthy diet?
The most likely answer is she wouldn't and is thus suffering from various malnutrition disorders.

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Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if the students all had malnutrition. Meat and dessert heavy feasts are a nice fantasy, but if you let a tween pick their own food at Hogwarts feasts they're going to have serious health problems once teenage invincibility wears off.

 

[Reynard69]

Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if the students all had malnutrition. Meat and dessert heavy feasts are a nice fantasy, but if you let a tween pick their own food at Hogwarts feasts they're going to have serious health problems once teenage invincibility wears off.

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meat heavy isnt a problem from a nutritional standpoint, it's actually a boon according to the last 40 years of research. You could argue red vs white vs fish, but that's a different issue.
Sweets heavy (if its not fruit) and vegetable lite though are definite issues.
The Food Pyramid is pretty much inverted from what it should be, processed sugar level aside. Turns out the thing was designed by lobby groups, not anybody with any sort of medical background.

 

[veekie]

Pretty sure many eat nothing but the meat and sweets lol

 

[The Unicorn]

Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if the students all had malnutrition. Meat and dessert heavy feasts are a nice fantasy, but if you let a tween pick their own food at Hogwarts feasts they're going to have serious health problems once teenage invincibility wears off.

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I would - the feasts are one meal every ~3 months. That won't have any affect on their overall diet. Also keep in mind that unlike modern teens or tweens their access to sweets outside those feasts would be limited and access to soft drinks non-existent. Instead they drink pumpkin juice (or possibly fruit juices), which are much healthier than modern sodas.
Also, my (second hand)experiance with RL boarding schools had them let the kids pick what they want to eat...but also track what they eat. If a kid doesn't eat right for several days in a row they get pulled in for a talk, if they ignore that they could get a meanls picked for them and loss of other privileges...

In Hogwarts the House elves or magic monitoring could easily tell what the kids eat even though it's all on the table in front of them, and the nurse or a prefect could have a talk with anyone who wasn't eating right. For that matter the Prefects might direct younger kids to certain dishes as well.

Keep in mind for pre-teen kids the sort of nutrition issues we're talking about can be life threatening...

 

[The_Bajar]

In Hogwarts the House elves or magic monitoring could easily tell what the kids eat even though it's all on the table in front of them, and the nurse or a prefect could have a talk with anyone who wasn't eating right. For that matter the Prefects might direct younger kids to certain dishes as well.

Keep in mind for pre-teen kids the sort of nutrition issues we're talking about can be life threatening...

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makes total sense, that's probably going on indeed

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

Keep in mind for pre-teen kids the sort of nutrition issues we're talking about can be life threatening...

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Snipped for space.

This is some very useful information. Very useful indeed. This might be the direction things occur. I can't picture Luna being bullied from day one. And I already had a Prefect notice her vegetarianism.

 

[Thomas Bennett]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

Tanya Degurechaff

First day of class, starting it off with some black coffee in the Great Hall while waiting for the schedules to be passed out. Lavender was complaining lightly about having to do yoga as soon as we got back to school, but she was alone in her complaints.

As I was enjoying the rich aroma and flavor of my coffee along with some eggs and toast, McGonagall came by with the schedules. Today was going to be a shorter day with herbology and transfiguration in the morning and only Defense Against the Dark Arts after lunch.

Looking around, I see Ron's younger sister nearby and ask to see her schedule.

"Why?" She asks as she hands it over.

"I told one of your yearmates that I would help her with setting up a study group for your year. I need to see when it would be best for us to meet."

As long as Luna did not have classes that went till dinner, I should be able to work with the first years to arrange a study schedule for them. Handing back the schedule, I look over to the Ravenclaw table and see that Luna is sitting next to the other Ravenclaw first year girl.

"Luna, mind if I take a quick look at your schedule?" I ask as I come over, Professor Flitwick having already gone by.

"I do not mind at all," Luna says with a smile, holding it out for me. A quick look over confirms she has the period before dinner free.

"There is a classroom not far from here, just a few doors down from the entrance," I tell her. "Meet me there when you are done with Transfiguration today and we'll work on the study schedule. Try to get as many of your classmates to come as well."

"What's going on?" asked the other Ravenclaw… Flower? That seems about right.

"I told Luna I would help her set up a study group for your year on the train. It is part of how Hogwarts is structured that we are supposed to help our fellow students do well in classes, but I'll go more into that once everyone is gathered. For now, just make sure as many of your fellow first years are there."

With my piece said, and everything arranged with two of the houses, I went back to the Gryffindor table to finish my breakfast before I would need to grab my things for Herbology.

—

With long engrained efficiency, I had set out towels on each of our beds for the double Herbology along with a change of clothes for myself in the dorm room, along with my toiletries, and was waiting outside the greenhouses for Professor Sprout along with the Hufflepuffs, giving me a chance to speak to a few of them. Knowing that I would likely be able to talk to Draco later about getting the Slytherin first years to join the meeting, it seemed only fitting that I should invite the Hufflepuff first years as well through an intermediary.

Susan Bones was the most outgoing of the Hufflepuffs from what I could tell and was the one I chose to talk to about it.

"Is that why Gryffindor did so well last year?" Susan asked me after I mentioned the study group. "We studied so hard for finals, but you all beat us pretty good in grades."

I nodded. "Yeah. We started our study group around the start of last year and had been working together the whole time. Draco, Greggory, and Vincent joined after the Winter Break and there was a noticeable improvement in their classwork as well."

"If it works so well, why are you letting other houses join in?" Justin asked.

"We may be competing for the House Cup, but we should all be helping each other do well academically," I answered easily enough. "I have not set a schedule for the second year study group, but we can meet up Saturday to figure out a schedule we can all work with."

A bit of discussion was had from the Hufflepuffs as the rest of my Gryffindor year mates began arriving.

"We'll join you," Susan said. "How does after lunch sound?"

I nodded my assent. "I have no problems with that."

With that, conversations moved into other topics until Professor Sprout's cheerfulness came up to us. "Alright deeries, it looks like everyone is here already. We will be working in Greenhouse Three for most of this year." A muttering of excitement came up from my classmates at that proclamation. "Now, I know you all have enjoyed Greenhouse One last year, but I must warn you all that Greenhouse Three is far more dangerous. Nothing that should kill any of you, so long as you follow all the proper safety, though there are a few things that can give you a nasty sting even if you are careful. Understand?"

With everyone voicing agreement, Professor Sprout waved at us to follow her. "Alright everyone, file in." With a flick of her wand once she was inside and everyone was lining up alongside the tables in the middle of the greenhouse, twenty one pairs of earmuffs in various colors lined themselves up onto the wood table she had for herself in the center of the greenhouse.

"We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"

Hermione's hand was the first to snap to attention.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," answered Hermione. "It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Hermione was about to shoot her hand up again, but I caught it before she could.

"Give someone else a chance," I said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. I think Professor Sprout might have noticed the interaction as she called on Neville who had timidly raised his own hand.

"Uh, isn't it that the cry of the Mandrake can be fatal to those that hear it?" Neville answered.

"Very good, another ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Sprout said with a clap. "Now the Mandrakes we will be dealing with are still very young, just sprouts really."

The professor indicated several plant trays with purplish green plants growing in neat little rows.

"Everyone, take an earmuff and wait for me to put them on," Professor Sprout said. There was a scramble by the other students over the earmuffs that I waited to subside before grabbing one of the last pair, a fuzzy pink pair.

"When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered," said Professor Sprout. "When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs up. Right! Earmuffs on."

With that, we all put on our earmuffs. The earmuffs must have some sort of silencing charm over them to remove as much sound as they did as soon after confirming we were all wearing our earmuffs, Professor Sprout pulled one of the Mandrakes out of its spot in a tray, revealing a root that looked a lot like a screaming baby, even moving in a way similar to a upset baby.

I did not have to deal with babies often in my previous lives until I was in a retirement home and one of the other residents would have their grandchild or great grandchild visit with their baby to show to 'grand nona' or something. Thinking on it, most of my experience dealing with babies was having to help the nuns with babies at the orphanages I've lived in. Both times being thankfully short experiences of dealing with fussy babies.

With swift efficiency, the Mandrake was shoved into a pot full of soft compost, getting fully buried. After clapping most of the dirt off of her hands, Professor Sprout gave us the thumbs up to remove the earmuffs before taking off her own.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet," she said with a calm smile. "However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. Four to a tray - there is a large supply of pots here, compost in the sacks over there, and be careful of the Venomous Tentacula. It's teething."

Professor Sprout gave a dark red plant that had been slowly reaching out towards her a sharp slap, causing the plant to recoil back to its pot.

Gathering supplies, I was partnered up with Ron, Harry, and Hermione in repotting a tray of these Mandrakes. With earmuffs firmly in place, we got to work and found out that much like real babies, Mandrakes were messy, uncooperative, and incredibly fussy. One that Harry tried dealing with was particularly fat and looked heavier than the rest, so I hopped over to help him wrestle the bastard into its new home.

By the end of class, everyone was sweaty, dirt covered, and ready to get in a hot shower and feel clean again. I had to rush Lavender and Paravati a bit so we would not be late for Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall had us go over what we learned last year. A day of checking who forgot what. Thankfully, a steady program of studying over the entirety of last year seemed to have helped us retain the lessons. That, or Professor McGonagall gives the same praise of 'this class has done the best at remembering everything I've taught that I've had' every year. She did seem to have a bit of a soft side to her that she kept under control most of the time.

With the class in high spirits after having successfully turned several beetles into buttons each, though Lily's seemed to still have legs, we went down to lunch where I was able to talk to Draco about him getting the Slytherin first years to join the study group I was setting up. He promised to try, which was all I was looking for, though the fact that it would be only Slytherin missing out seemed to perk him up a bit in being able to accomplish gathering all the first years.

With arrangements made, I found myself rejoining the rest of the Gryffindor second years in a shaded courtyard just outside. A first year was talking with a decidedly uncomfortable looking Harry.

"Creevey, right?" I asked the boy holding a camera.

"Yes," he said, nodding as he turned his attention to me.

"You like taking photographs?"

"Yeah," he said. I cut him off before he could continue by gently placing a hand on his shoulder and starting to move him away from Harry.

"That's great. I noticed last year that this school didn't have a yearbook. How would you like to help me start one up as the official photographer of the yearbook?" I was making things up, but I believe Luna mentioned her dad was in publishing, so if I could use that connection I could get Colin busy enough to not bother Harry about his apparent fame until Colin could control himself and see Harry as the child he was.

I let him know we would likely need to get Professor McGonagall's approval to have a yearbook committee started up before sending him on his way.

"Thank you," Harry said softly when we met back up.

"No problem," I said, waving him off. Keeping your acquaintances happy was an important aspect of building and maintaining a social network. Harry was rather simple. He was a humble boy who wanted friends that just saw him for who he is and not some story built up around him. "Let's get to class."

The classroom for Defense Against the Dark Arts was decorated with silky curtains, portraits of Professor Lockhart, and a rather gaudy looking chandelier for the year. Certainly more personality than last year, but it was… not to my tastes.

Soon after the class was seated, Lockhart swept into the room, smiling grandly as he used one of Neville's books to introduce himself with. It was a reasonably well rehearsed speech that would have played a lot better at a fan meetup instead of in a classroom.

Then he had us do a quiz based upon his books. We hadn't been assigned to read them yet, so I imagine more than a few of us got all the answers wrong. And I would have applauded the man for which questions he chose to ask as a way of testing how much attention we were paying to small details. It was a tactic I remember employing during the war to build up a force of Elite Aerial Mages, though my test was to see through an illusion I had cast.

Lockhart's test was all about little tidbits about himself sprinkled throughout the books. So far, he was leaving me with the feeling that he was a narcissistic person too puffed up on his own accomplishments to be reasonable, but it was only the first day of class.

After grading the quiz and noting Hermione had gotten all the questions correct, Lockhart moved to to a covered cage.

"Now, be warned!" Lockhart started, showing off some rather excellent showmanship. "It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

I found myself joining in the excitement building in the classroom as I leaned forwards.

"I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them."

With a flourish, Lockhart removed the covering to reveal a cage full of little blue creatures that could only be described as-

"Yes! Freshly caught Cornish Pixies!"

Seamus snorted a laugh as I raised a hand. Lockhart chose to ignore Seamus's laughing snort to address me.

"Yes, you. What was your name?"

"Degurechaff. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they an unintelligent pest?" I believe that was mentioned in one of the books I read last year.

"Yes, and devilishly tricky little blighters they can be!"

With a theatrical flourish that would make Professor Snape proud, Lockhart placed his hand onto the door to the cage.

"How about we see what you make of them!" He rhetorically asked as he threw the door open.

Instantly they flew out to cause chaos and destruction around the classroom, two of them smashing through the window and escaping early while the rest began messing up the decorations, grabbing at our supplies, and trying to be a general nuisance.

Tried being the operative word.

"Sn-crack!"

The sound of ribs cracking as I snapped a neck of the tiny pest briefly got the pixies' attention. I slowly stood up, tossing the carcass onto the floor. Pulling out my wand, I took aim at a cluster of the pests and sent a torrent of flames to burn them to death.

I estimate that there were about eighteen in the cage. Two escaped, one neck snapped, six burned. Nine bogeys left.

The pixies began chittering and moving swiftly. Concentrated shot to a pair moving after Neville. Seven left. One moving to hide in the chandelier. Flame, redirect flamethrowing to get two more moving to the back of the class. Four remain.

Scanning, I spot one peeking out behind Lavender's books. I gesture with my off hand to move the books aside and blast it with a freeze charm before it can react.

Three to account for. I spot one hiding one the teacher's desk behind a picture of Lockhart. I blast it with concentrated force, 'accidentally' smashing the picture while crushing the pixie.

The last two show a bit of intelligence and throw themselves back into the cage which Lockhart locks the door to quickly.

"Blimey, remind me never to get on your bad side," Ron said looking up at me from where he had fallen to the floor.

"Yes, uh ten points to Gryffindor," Lockhart said from the front of the class, eying me up as I sat back down. "Perhaps a bit on the rough side, but very good."

"Pests should be dealt with swiftly, before they start infesting the place," I reply, giving Professor Lockhart my best smile.

 

[minitune001]

"Pests should be dealt with swiftly, before they start infesting the place," I reply, giving Professor Lockhart my best smile.

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I'll bet her smile was all teeth. I wonder how long it would take for Tanya to deal the "pest"?

 

[Piknos]

I'll bet her smile was all teeth.

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And all the more adorable for it.

 

[Kahalah]

Lockhart probably just shat his pant see her smile. If her smile is anything like her second life smile Lockhart would need another pair of underwear and pants no matter how much cleaning charms he casts.

 

[Psyckosama]

"Pests should be dealt with swiftly, before they start infesting the place," I reply, giving Professor Lockhart my best smile.

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[Fable of the Unspoken Word]

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there's something wrong with me, that smile does things to me

 

[x+y=1]

Look on the bright side Lockhart, she hasn't figured out how to magically meth herself up for combat. Yet.

 

[Unclouded]

I spot one hiding one the teacher's desk behind a picture of Lockhart.

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one -> on
minor typo

Thanks for the chapter and good luck on your future writing.

 

[Xintax]

I'll bet her smile was all teeth. I wonder how long it would take for Tanya to deal the "pest"?

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I wonder if Lockhart will have Bella flashbacks if Tanya's deranged smile was at all similar...it could add even more fuel for the fire that is the mystery of Tanya's past, I mean Tania is a really similar spelling and is a star thus fitting in with the Black naming convention. This theory would likely be easily disproven but it would still be at the back of everyone's mind's if they lived through the first war.

 

[WhyDidIHaveToMakeThis]

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"Let me give him a calm reassuring smile" ahh

 

[Maleficarum]

This story always tends to be a treat when it updates, thanks for the chapter

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

Daily Degurechaff is doing Halloween themed Tanyii this month and today was 'Witch'.

Close enough for me to share!

If you are unfamiliar with them:

https://dailydegurechaff.tumblr.com/

 

[Reynard69]

there's something wrong with me, that smile does things to me

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Do you have a penchant for Yandere series, perhaps?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Okay, I can see that you're not familiar with British English, so here's a few pointers.

Dumbledore wouldn't say 'kids'. He would say 'children' or 'students'.

'Cuppa' means 'cup of tea'. It doesn't mean 'cup'. In any case, an upper class character like Dumbledore or a precise character like Tanya would either say 'cup of tea' or 'tea'. Unless they were northern, in which case they'd say 'cup of tea' to avoid confusing it with the meal.

The tubes of cloth which cover your legs are trousers, never pants. Pants are underwear.

Edit:

If there is no more questions

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If there are no more questions.

 

[Mr Zoat]

could be done with regulatory and costumes could be fitted.

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regularity

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

Albus Dumbledore

Albus was rubbing his temples as he felt a migraine coming on. He could easily allow Minerva to handle discussing with young Ms. Degurechaff her actions in Defense Against the Dark Arts class on the first day of school, but the situation both felt like something he should personally handle and left him wanting to ask some delving questions about the girl's history. And the only way to be sure he got what he wanted was to use Legilimency on her.

Using Legilimency to read surface emotions to determine if someone was being truthful was not too onerous even without verbally casting the spell, but the focus required to cast it silently and without the other individual aware of any intrusion at all to get more than the most surface level information always gave Dumbledore such a headache. Even thinking about the task was enough to start a migraine forming.

Albus became aware of Ms. Degurechaff's arrival and straightened himself up. "Come in," he called at her knock on the door.

In stepped a young girl. Small, delicate features on a pale face under a messy mop of blonde hair growing out of the style created with her last haircut and surrounding large, piercing, bright blue eyes. There had been several individuals who had passed through the illustrious halls of Hogwarts that could be described as doll-like and Ms. Degurechaff was possibly the one who could most easily be mistaken as just a large porcelain doll if she was to sit on a shelf.

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster?" Ms. Degurechaff asked as she entered the room, eyes quickly scanning over the furnishings, never lingering as she stepped towards the chairs across from Albus's desk, nothing having really changed in the couple of months since her last visit to his office.

"Yes Ms. Degurechaff," Albus agreed, giving her a gentle smile. There was no reason to be stern with the girl yet, no matter how worrying her actions may have been. This was not the first time Ms. Degurechaff has come to his office after having killed some creature, though the number of witnesses to her methods and her methods in question left Albus with little choice but to have this discussion. "Have a seat."

Ms. Degurechaff held his gaze easily, making the task of attempting to read her mind much easier. The eyes were the windows into a person's inner self, making the connection easier. "How was your first day back?" Albus asked as he attempted to enter her mind to see how she saw her day.

Attempted to enter her mind, only to hit the brick wall of her mental defense. Without decades of experience, Albus may have let something show on his face about his attempt to enter her mind, but she simply answered without seeming to have noticed the attempt at all.

"It was good sir," she answered with a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Actually, I was just helping the first years set up a study group when I got your summons and wanted to discuss starting a Yearbook Committee for the students."

Ms. Degurechaff wore her emotions and honesty openly on the surface of her mind, as dull as her emotions often were. Albus had failed to realize the strength of her mental defenses previously as he had only skimmed the most surface layer of her mind in the past, but to find the majority of her mind locked down so hard was interesting. Even many skilled Occlumencers would have had difficulty creating a defense that allowed emotions and honesty to sit on the surface while keeping everything else hidden.

"Really? And what prompted this?" Albus asked.

Thinking on it, Albus supposed it could be that the reason separating part of one's mental self out of the defenses erected around the mind could be that the goal most Occlumencers sought out was to keep others from gaining any information. Severus would probably be a good person to discuss Ms. Degurechaff's mental defenses as he used a style of mental defense centered around misdirecting mental attacks. Leaving out crumbs the intruder would latch onto and be trapped by without giving away anything of value.

"One of the first years brought a camera with him and I was worried about the problems he could cause in his enthusiasm if left to his own devices. By putting him on a yearbook committee as the official photographer, I was hoping his energies could be directed in a more productive manner."

No emotion attached to that honest statement.

There was no serious issue with a yearbook committee. One sticking point was ensuring that such a book would not upset any parents and cause Albus or Minerva unneeded hassle trying to soothe the rustled feathers of a prudish individual.

"I'll bring it up at the next staff meeting," Albus promised. "Certain measures will need to be put in place, overseen by a member of staff, but I do not have any objections to you starting the committee."

Looking closely, there was a lack of warmth to the polite smile Ms. Degurechaff put on. Hardly any emotion other than a dull satisfaction.

"That isn't why I called for you though. Do you know why I called you in?"

Tanya leaned back, pursing her lips as she thought about it. "While I'm sure it could be to arrange for the language lessons to continue, you would likely have waited for the weekend to set a meeting for that. So I'm guessing it has something to do with my conduct today. Was it perhaps my actions during Professor Lockhart's lesson?"

Albus nodded his head. "Correct. Why don't we start with you explaining what happened and I can determine how to go from there?"

"Certainly. The class began with a surprise test, that in the hand of a competent instructor would show which students are capable of noticing small details within the texts for the class. Unfortunately, as I only had about a week between getting the books and the class, I had not gotten around to reading them at all so I have no doubt I failed said test horribly and had to improvise answers."

No emotion either on her mind or tone. Tanya was just drolly stating facts.

"After that, Professor Lockhart," a small spark of irritation that was quickly quashed, "brought out a cage of Cornish Pixies. Before he released them, I confirmed that they are considered unintelligent pests. As he released them, he told us to deal with them. If he is as competent an instructor as he is portraying himself, then that is a clever way of gauging how we react in a crisis and how to teach us going forwards.

"I then dealt with the pests."

No elevation of voice. No other emotional response. Just words calmly and carefully said.

"And in dealing with these pests, did you perhaps threaten the teacher?"

Surprise. A tilting of the head as a flurry of emotions quickly goes through Tanya's mind. The emotions slow down as Tanya thinks back to the lesson and tries to find what could possibly result in such a question.

"No sir." Honesty. Not a hint of deception. "I can't imagine what would give the impression that I threatened Professor Lockhart. Well…"

Tanya paused as she thought a bit more. "My methods of dealing with the pixies may have seemed threatening to someone not familiar with the control I have."

Albus nodded and allowed a smile to grace his lips as he thought back to several displays of both power and control young Ms. Degurechaff had over her magic.

"Would you mind demonstrating what magic you performed?" Albus asked.

"Of course not," Ms. Degurechaff said as she stood up, pushing aside her robe to reveal her wand holstered securely to her side. With a practiced ease, she pulled out her wand, pointed it at the fireplace, and sent a gout of flames barreling out.

The flames were hot, but kept to a tight, incredibly straight stream that ended precisely at the entrance to the fireplace. Not entering and not igniting, showing the extremely tight control Ms. Degurechaff had as even a little slip in control would see Albus having a cozy fire going.

But what was far more notable to Albus was the silence. There was no crack of the spell going off, no roar of the flames, no sizzle in the air. And no spell spoken aloud. Ms. Degurechaff simply willed the flames into being and it was done.

Albus was incredibly familiar with fire spells, even having invented a couple. In this familiarity, Albus was aware of the full scope of what he was seeing. Ms. Degurechaff likely had many ways to deal with the pixies. That she chose to burn them said she wanted to impart a message.

For who and what the message was, Albus had a few guesses, but the important thing is that she had not put any of her fellow students in danger. At least, not for now.

That she resorts to such strong violence so quickly was very concerning and the root of Albus's frustration with the situation. By nearly every metric, the girl across from him was a perfect student. Popular among her peers, studious, polite, and helpful.

But there was another student very similar to her many years ago, that Albus suspected killed another student, before going on to be one of the worst Dark Lords of all time and the worst one in living memory.

Was young Tanya Degurechaff another Tom Riddle? A bright mind bent towards horrible ends that will go on to be the next Lord Voldemort? Was she already a killer?

Or was Albus seeing ghosts in the youth that are not there?

These were the thoughts pounding his head as he tried his hardest to read her, but unlike young Tom Riddle, her mind was not nearly as open a book as his was when they first met.

Dumbledore carefully put one arm below the desk and slid his wand into his hand, watching as Ms. Degurechaff slipped back into the seat.

"Very impressive," Albus complimented. "I must admit curiosity where you learned to do that."

"Fire was possibly the first human invention. Creating fire magically is an incredibly simple thing to do."

Deception through deflection. Albus did not need to read the avoidance coming off of Ms. Degurechaff to see this. His political acumen made the maneuver as obvious as water being wet.

Albus sighed, his headache increasing. It was a risky move he was about to take, but confirmation would help so much one way or another.

Leaning forwards, and establishing a hard eye lock with Ms. Degurechaff, Albus asked a simple question. "Have you ever hurt someone?"

Surprise briefly flickered before being snuffed out. Nothing replaced that surprise. Not anger as Albus would have expected nor confusion if she was truly innocent of what he thought.

"Sir, I do not think this is an appropriate conversation."

"Please, Ms. Degurechaff, just tell the truth," Albus tried his best to give as friendly a smile as he could give.

Ms. Degurechaff closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Opening her brilliantly blue eyes and locking them to his own, Albus saw a history there. An age long gone. He still was unable to delve into her mind, though if he just cast Legilimens fully he could probably push past her defenses and look at her memories directly.

"I had no other options." Ms. Degurechaff said, honestly. "Or, at least, at the time I did not think I did. It was my life or theirs. Kill or be killed."

Albus saw the weight of that statement. The truth of it. He leaned back in his seat, his grip tightening around his wand. "Do you regret it?"

"I regret a great many things, sir."

Albus was able to keep a neutral face towards Ms. Degurechaff even as he deeply frowned in his mind. She was being honest, but there were things she was hiding. He could tell so easily that the chambers of her mind held many secrets.

"Would you tell me about it?" Albus asked, pushing for more information.

"No."

Albus had expected her to dance around the issue, try to avoid it. Not flatly deny his request. It looked like this meeting was coming to an end soon.

Gilderoy's concerns about Ms. Degurechaff were cleared. She was not threatening a teacher. At least, not directly, but whether or not she was a threat was left unanswered.

Albus set both hands on the desk, releasing his hold on his wand. Ms. Degurechaff's eyes honed in on the wand.

"That is an interesting design," she commented about the wand.

"It is an old wand, from before anyone alive now was born," Albus admitted.

"I thought that wands were paired specifically to the user."

Albus nodded with a smile. "Indeed that is how most wizards and witches come to find their wand, but there are a few wands that have been passed down. This one fell into my hands many years ago and has been a most adept companion."

"If you don't mind sir, I would like to get some dinner."

"Of course, Ms. Degurechaff. And know that my doors are always open if you ever want to talk about anything."

"I will keep that in mind, sir," she said with a nod as she turned and left the room.

Albus collapsed into his seat with a sigh.

"If I didn't know better, I would think she was from my family," Phineas Black said from his portrait.

"I dare say she certainly would appear to fit in," Albus agreed as he turned to his long time feathered companion. "What do you think, Fawkes?"

He got a trilling song in response that soothed Albus's headache and relieved some tension he had been feeling.

"I do hope you are right, old friend."


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AN:
Patreon! Where you can vote on future chapters!
TV Tropes! Which has been filled out nicely, but seems mostly focused on Book 1 and hasn't really delved into some of the newer things.
Discord! Where not much happens, but I would love to see it get more traction!
Unrelated Discord! Firefly the Game is a great board game and I want to share the love.
Shoutout! They don't know I'm doing this, but shoutout to a different fic I've been enjoying reading.

I need to get better at these self promotion thingies. Anyways, todays title is in reference to:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo

I think that is everything. Side note: Is Tanya clinically depressed?