Thank you for clicking the link, if you don't mind please read the AN at the bottom. It will tell you a little about how I plan to go.
The woman he was meeting tonight looked exactly the same as she did when he met her for the first time. He smiled softly as he recalled that night, leaning back in his chair and letting out a soft breath. The reason for this visit between the two had yet to be clarified, however he was certain that the patience she was exhibiting would wear thin soon if he did not get down to it in the very near future. He could not help but to wonder if she would accept, as she had duties that may not allow her to take leave for as long as he suspected he would need her. The woman blinked at him slowly, her golden eyes sharp and scrutinizing as she sat patiently on the stool he'd conjured when she had declined the plush chair currently occupying the corner of his office.
"Ask, Dumbledore-san, you will not know until you do and I currently another obligation to attend to this evening."
Her voice had changed, but perhaps some things could not remain the same.
"I would like to ask a favor of you old friend," he stated firstly, laying his hands on the top of his desk and lacing his fingers together. "If I may, would you be willing to take up a position in this school for the next seven years? I find that I might have the need of a…. guidance counselor. I have a student coming to the school who may not have been given the… ah… best childhood upbringing. I daresay that there may be other students as well who may find that having a figure to speak with who would not judge them and offer advice when needed would be a great thing. The ones who are applying themselves to their last years and dealing with tests especially so."
The golden eyes closed, the intelligence within their depths becoming hidden from his gaze. He worried that she might not accept the offer, he would have to take another route to secure long term protection for Harry Potter. He sat in silence for the better of thirty minutes, reminiscing about the older days, before movement drew his attention back from the past.
Her hand came up to move a length of hair that had slipped over her shoulder, the sleeve falling to reveal her forearm up to the elbow and the curious markings wrapping themselves around the limb. There were two of them, both a dark green color, and were not the only stripes on her person. There were four on her face, same green color, that stretched out almost to her nose. He knew, as he had seen it only once before, that when she changed the stripes grew along with her, becoming jagged. The golden eyes opened, the maroon color on the lips disappearing gradually until only a thin line remained on both lids, "I will accept, there is nothing to my knowledge that I would need to be around for in the coming future. If there is, well… I do have retainers to send out missives to dictating what actions should be taken."
Dumbledore smiled, his beard twitching, and leaned forward to give her his full attention. "You have given this old man peace of mind for the second time in my life. I thank you for that," he stated, his eyes twinkling in a way that often unsettled the woman across from him.
She inclined her head minutely, blood red hair shifting across shoulders bearing silk and metal, her form straightening. "Your second is waiting at the gargoyle below this office, the scent of worry is stifling." She told him, eyes flickering to the right where the door stood.
"Ah," Dumbledore turned his head towards the door and then back to the woman, "you don't mind if she comes in? We'll have to do introductions to the entire staff but as she is my… second she should be aware first."
"Have her come up, I detest the scent of worry," the woman told him, her golden eyes narrowing.
Dumbledore waved his wand at the door, the sounds of the staircase moving coming a heartbeat later. Soon the figure of a witch stood in the doorway, dithering slightly, before an older woman strode in. Her features softening as she scrutinized Dumbledore and found nothing out of place. She moved to the chair that had been declined by the woman beforehand and sat in it sharply, her lips pursing as she regarded the red haired woman with no small amount of suspicion.
"My dear McGonagall, please allow me to introduce to you our new guidance counselor, she has just accepted my request and will be here for the foreseeable future," Dumbledore told his friend and deputy headmistress.
The woman moved only her head to look over at McGonagall, "Dumbledore-san has informed me that your name is Minerva McGonagall, I am Rinmaru," she stated.
Minerva lifted both eyebrows, her expression disbelieving for the briefest of minutes before she smoothed it out and nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, however," she turned to Dumbledore, "we have never had a counselor before, what do you think we would need one now for?"
Dumbledore inclined his head to her query, acknowledging the woman's legitimate question, "Harry Potter," he said simply, as if that would answer her question.
It did, her eyes brightened knowingly and she made a small noise in the back of her throat.
"Dumbledore-san," Rinmaru turned to the seemingly older man, "I must take my leave soon. Show me the quarters that I shall be occupying, after that I must go, the other matter that I will be attending to tonight is fairly urgent." She stood, the flowing silk of her sleeves billowing as she lowered her hands from her knees. Dumbledore nodded and took to his feet as well, motioning for Minerva to do so as well before he led the way out of his office.
Minerva turned and looked over at the strange woman once they were all in the corridor outside of Dumbledore's office. She blinked, surprised, as she realized that this woman was at least two heads taller than the headmaster! "Miss… Rinmaru, might I ask if you are part giant?" she queried politely, looking up at the woman's face.
The woman exchanged a short glance with Dumbledore and then shook her head, "McGonagall-san, I am nothing you have ever seen before." The woman's golden gaze seemed to flash, "I am a dog demon, purebred Inu Taiyoukai."
Minerva mouthed the word a few times before shaking her head and asking for clarification.
"Dog demon," Rinmaru stated, allowing for a brief moment for her eyes to turn red and her youki to fluctuate through the air.
Minerva found herself short of breath in that moment, her knees shaking slightly as small beads of sweat popped up close to her hairline. Her pupils dilated as primal fear courses through her veins for the verify second that Rinmaru kept her aura, her youki, uncapped.
"As you can see, whenever I release my aura to flow freely… your people have a negative reaction to it." Rinmaru cocked her head slightly, nostrils flaring, "your reaction may very well be doubled because of your second nature. Naturally a cat is terrified of a large and powerful dog, no matter what form." She stated informatively, watching as the old woman regained her composure.
Minerva was still shaking, but she was slowly gathering her wits as time passed. A small look to Dumbledore told her that he wasn't unaffected by whatever the strange energy was either, his visage was pale, eyes slightly unfocused, and his breathing seemed to be coming in small pants.
"I apologize for that, but I felt a small demonstration was necessary, it is less effective than returning to my true form, but still takes a toll on the being who is not also one of my own kind." The demon seemed to sigh as she waited for the old humans to regain their grip within themselves.
Dumbledore straightened, Minerva recovering a few seconds later, and then nodded to Rinmaru, "a lot more powerful than the first time I met you," he commented to her as the three began their walk towards the staircase that led to the Great Hall.
"I have been hunting rogues, training with my father and uncle, and performing sweeps of my territory in the seventy years between the time when we first met Dumbledore-san." Rinmaru rolled one shoulder back, the pauldron on it making a small noise as the metal pieces rubbed one another with the movement.
Minerva almost choked, her eyes widening in disbelief, "sev… seventy years?" she turned to Dumbledore, "Albus! What in the world?" she exclaimed.
Dumbledore held up a hand, "I will explain to you later Minerva, for now I would like to show Rinmaru-sama to her quarters so she can carry out her next engagement without being late." He told her calmly.
The three continued in relative silence the rest of the way, Dumbledore explaining a few things here and there in the trip to the room. When the trio reached the wooden doorway Dumbledore pushed it open and then stepped back as Rinmaru walked inside and gazed at the place where she would den for the next seven years. It was…
"Acceptable," she told the old man, turning back and walking out, her head inclined towards him. "I express my gratitude towards your remembrance of my personal likes in denning."
Dumbledore twinkled.
Rinmaru turned then and started walking away, "I shall return within the next full moon, Dumbledore-san," she stopped and turned her head towards him, "I will bring my ward along. I trust you remember him?" she asked.
Dumbledore nodded, "he may be free to explore the school, if he remains on his best behavior."
Rinmaru's already narrow eyes narrowed further, "if he finds himself in a position that is unfavorable only inform me and I will rectify it." She stated, returning to walking away.
Once she had disappeared into the night, Minerva watching in fascination as she formed something like a red cloud under her feet and then flew off, the pair waved their wands and the doors to the Entrance Hall closed slowly.
"Now my dear," started Dumbledore as he turned his attention to his deputy headmistress, "what do you wish to know?"
Back in action, with a new story I've been wanting to try my hand at for a while. I feel like I have matured enough to do this crossover justice.
Please bear with me, I will try to span all seven books… However, I have a very rough job. I can't promise regular updates either. I can't even promise long chapters as I will be writing on my phone. It's the only device at my current disposal for now.
Anyway, thank you for reading, drop me a comment and tell me how I'm doing.
Aso, one last thing before I jump off here and upload, I will be including mentions of Sesshomaru, however it is unlikely that he will appear except in maybe the last 'book'. Inuyasha…. He's pretty much a wild card, he will probably appear from time to time.
