Trigger warning: Chen Hecking curses again.
"Ran, we're here!" Chen said, leading the group of Slytherins into a large auditorium shaped classroom.
Ran was floating up near the ceiling, hanging up what looked like a Plesiosaur skeleton from the roof.
"Very good Chen, and I will overlook the fact that you did not come back immediately if you come up and finish hanging the skeleton." Ran said, descending to the floor.
Chen groaned and flew up to properly secure the levitating skeleton.
"Wow, neat setup," said Hailey, ignoring her two friends gawking at the ease of flight, being more interested in all the props and decoration that Ran placed around the room. "Where did you find all this stuff?"
"Nowhere in particular," said Ran. "Just nick-nacks and tools I had accumulated over the years. When you are teaching, it is amazing how much some random clutter can increase your credibility."
Ran looked over Sophie and Lily with an appraising eye. "So you are Sophie and Lily. A pleasure to meet you," she said, bowing. "I am Ran Yakumo, Haileys tutor, Chens Master, and for the time being, teacher at Hogwarts."
Sophie bowed in return. "Pleasure to meet you. I take it Hailey has told you about us?"
"Not at all," said Ran. "I haven't seen her since term started. It is simply my job to know such things."
Sophie looked vaguely uncomfortable.
"We're professional stalkers~" sang Chen, floating upside down from the roof. Then a broom was thrust into her hands and she sulked off to dust cobwebs in the corners.
"Ignore her. Despite my best efforts, she insists on being a clown," Ran said. "Now by you being here, I assume you are here to enroll in my classes?"
"I hadn't given it much thought until Hailey said she was going, so I considered giving it a shot." Sophie said, and Lily nodded in agreement.
Ran nodded. "A reasonable decision. Bear in mind however that while I encourage trying new things, I will not suffer half heartedness in my classes. If you are here, you will learn. Am I clear?"
Sophie and Lily nodded tentatively.
"Excellent, as long as you understand," Ran said, before addressing Hailey. "Now for this lesson you will be assisting me, as you will be far more knowledgeable on these subjects than most students at this school. You will be called upon to answer questions, and I expect you to answer eloquently and in detail. I know you will not let me down."
Hailey preened like a particularly proud hen.
"As for you two, unless you want to help Chen clean up, I might as well try out the assessment test I will be using," Ran said.
"Assessment test?" Sophie said.
Ran looked like she was about to elaborate, but a girl peered into the room. "Excuse me, is this the extracurricular class?"
Ran smiled at the new Arrival. "Come in Hermione, you are in the right place."
Hermione entered the room looking in awe at all the decorations that Ran had put up (and Chen hovering near the roof).
"You have already been introduced to Hailey, and you've at least met Chen," said Ran, "But these are Sophie Roper and Lily Moon, her friends and roommates. Girls, this is Hermione Granger. I met her on the train, and I feel she has far too much intelligence to be wasted on this schools farce of a curriculum, so I invited her here early in order to get started."
Hermione blushed at the praise, while Hailey started pouting.
"Aww~ Is little Hailey jealous that someone else is getting praise from Ran?" Chen titered, who had started hovering upside down next to Hailey.
"Shove it."
"Are you finished cleaning up the cobwebs Chen?" Ran said.
"Yup, they are the cleanest cobwebs this side of the castle!" Chen said impishly.
Ran massaged her temple. "Chen…"
Students had begun to enter the auditorium and sit down, chatting amongst themselves while they waited for class to start. There was a mix of age groups, from inquisitive first years to curious seventh years. All wanting to see what the strange new 'general knowledge' teacher had to offer.
The large majority were Ravenclaws, perhaps unsurprisingly. The house lives up to its reputation as the home of inquisitive minds it seems. There were also a few Slytherins dotted here and there. Compared to the other two, there were substantially less Hufflepuffs, and barely any Gryffindors.
If Ran was surprised with the turnout, she didn't let it show. She walked to the front and stood in front of the long table, With Hailey and Chen Flanking at either side. There was a murmur as people recognised Hailey, but at a quick glance from Ran brought the room to complete silence.
"I suppose I should welcome you to the first lesson of my extended curriculum program. As you are probably aware, I am Ran Yakumo," she said, bowing. "I must say, I am impressed by how many there are of you today. I know none of you had to come, which only begs the question: why have you come? What do you expect to gain from my classes?"
Ran let the question hang in the air for a moment, before continuing. "Are you here out of idle curiosity? I imagine most of you are. A strange new teacher and a strange new class. I must warn you, you'll not make it through my course on curiosity alone."
"Others are here to kill time I wager, something to do out of class. To those people, my class is no joke. I will tolerate no half hearted students. Do not waste my time if you are not committed to learn."
Some students looked at each other nervously, but Ran wasn't finished.
"But the ones I am truly interested in, for I hope there are some, are those of you who are here because you are truly interested in the enrichment of the self, and you wish to better yourselves and be the best you can possibly be. For it is those students that this class is for."
With a wave of her hand several pieces of chalk flew up and began writing a very long list on the huge chalkboard behind her. "These are disciplines I am willing to teach, if you are willing to learn. History, chemistry, sociology, mathematics, literature, physics, music, engineering, and far, far more. I can teach you how the world works, and where you as an individual stands within it."
Some students looked genuinely intimidated. That was a very long list.
"Of course, I can't expect you all to learn everything here," she went on to say. "Between this and your regular classes, there aren't enough hours in the day, nor days in the week. Nor will every discipline be relevant to every individual. That is why I devised this little test."
She summoned a large, thick booklet in her hand and held it aloft for everyone to see. "This is the general knowledge assessment test. You will be using this to decide which units you wish to enroll in, and at what level you will be starting with."
A copy appeared in front of every student, with the exception of Sophie and Lily, who had already taken the test, and Hermione, who was still going.
"This is not a test you can fail at, nor is it under test conditions. This is to gauge were your interests lie, and how much you know already. If you are unsure of anything or wish to have a discipline explained so as to make an informed decision, feel free to ask myself, Hailey, or Chen." She gestured to the girls. "both have been my students for many years, and while neither are experts, they are well equipped to answer most questions you might have. You may also discus the test with your peers, but getting answers from other people is discouraged, as this test is impossible to fail, and it will only make it more difficult for you in the long run."
"Also, do not rush. This is not a timed test. Take your time in selecting your units and answer the questions at your own pace. I fully expect this to take over an hour and am willing to stay longer for any stragglers. After you have finished the test and brought it to the front, feel free to leave. I will get your modified timetable to you sometime within the next few days. Alternatively, if you feel my classes are not for you, feel free to leave now. You will receive no judgement or penalty from me. As I have said, I am only interested in teaching those who are willing to learn."
There was some nervous shuffling, and some students got up and left.
After the last filed out and the class was stilled, Ran simply said, "For those that remain, please beguin."
"So it's like Potions then?" said the random ravenclaw girl.
"Not quite, but similar. Potions is a bit more like cooking, and Chemistry also deals in both solids and gasses in addition to liquids. But it is a similar practice. The major difference is that it deals in the mundane chemical properties of materials rather than the magical ones," Hailey said.
"And that's useful?" the girl said, looking up from the notes she was writing.
"Well yes. You'd be amazed what perfectly ordinary materials can do when prepared in a particular way," Hailey said.
"Can I have some examples?"
Hailey thought for a moment. "Well its most common uses are in medicine, industry and agriculture. Paracetamol is a common painkiller that can be used to relieve headaches and fever symptoms. Phosphorus is a chemical compound that will burn in contact with the air, and is used in incendies, matches, and fertilizers. Chemistry has also had some applications in warfare, although it has been largely banned by most international courts. Mustard gas for instance causes blistering on both skin and in lungs, and a concentrated dose of cyanide can result in tissue degradation and rapid heart failure."
While the girl looked a little green at the last two, she noted it down, and after thanking Hailey, went back to her test.
"She teaches you about mustard gas?" Sophie asked incredulously.
"In History, not Chemistry," said Hailey. "She still won't tell me how to make the stuff."
"Why do you want to?"
Hailey shrugged. "Search me, but it seems like it would be useful to know."
Sophie shook her head, "You know, one day I will understand how you think."
"Maybe. Don't bet the farm on it though."
It had been about an hour now, and most of the students had already finished or given up. Only a few of the more dedicated stragglers were left. Sophie and Lily had stayed to keep Hailey company.
"They sure are taking their time aren't they," said Sophie, and Lily nodded.
"Tell me about it," said Hailey. "such a pain, I'm gonna have to share classes with all these people."
"Umm… What classes are you doing Hailey?" Lily asked, "You didn't take the test."
"That's because I don't have a choice. All of them," said Hailey
"All of them?!" Sophie exclaimed. Causing some people to look up before going back to the test.
"Yup."
"How?" said Sophie, "Thats a lot of classes, and I mean a lot. Ran said it herself, there isn't enough hours in the day."
"Of course there is," said Hailey. "There are twenty four hours in the day, about seven are spent at hogwarts classes, that's more than enough time for both Rans Classes and time to spare for fun."
"What about sleep?"
"What about sleep?" said Hailey, shrugging. "I mean it's nice, but I'm mostly a night person anyway. I need like four hours, six tops." And even then, It was because Ran made her.
"But… Why?" Sophie said.
"In order to be useful to Yukari-sama, I need to be the best I can be," she said.
"Yukari-sama?" Sophie said quizzically.
"I heard you mention her. She's your guardian, isn't she?" Lily said.
"Yup," said Hailey, beaming. "Yukari Yakumo, the border… Well, she's someone really special anyway." Hailey said, slightly annoyed she couldn't go into further detail.
"Yakumo? Is she related to Ran then?" said Sophie, as usual fishing for information.
"In a sense…" said Hailey. Being a Shikigami, Ran was more akin to an extension of Yukari's self, but she wasn't allowed to talk about that. So instead she said, "It's more accurate to consider Ran her right hand."
"And Chen?" Sophie asked.
"Rans Left hand and general burden," Hailey said.
"I heard that!" called Chen from across the room, causing several people to jump in their seats. "I'll run circles around you any day of the Week Hai-chan!" She then got back to explaining media studies to some rather confused Hufflepuffs.
"Hai-chan?" Lily said.
"Some of my japanese friends have trouble pronouncing my name, so they call me Hai-chan. It's a term of endearment, but Chen uses it when she wants to belittle me." Hailey said, pouting.
"So they aren't related, yet they use the same surname?" Sophie said, getting back on topic.
"Yup," said Hailey, once more forced to grossly oversimplify. "They all share the name as members of the Yakumo household."
"I see...but wait, aren't you a member of the household?" Sophie said.
"Not yet I'm not. That's why I have to work so hard, to become worthy of the Yakumo name," Hailey said.
"Isn't that... harsh? You're only eleven," Lily said.
Hailey shrugged. "I owe everything to Yukari. I don't mind the work, as long as she's there for me by the end of it."
Lily and Sophie exchanged glances, but further conversation on the subject was derailed when Hailey noticed something. "God, is she still going?"
Lily and Sophie followed Haileys gaze to Hermione, who despite having started an hour earlier than anyone else, was still doggedly going through the test.
Hailey walked over and put an elbow on Hermione's desk. "You know, there is no way to fail the test." Hermione jumped at the sudden intrusion, before focusing on Hailey. "You don't have to agonise over answers."
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "But I'm not. I did pay attention you know. I only went as far as I could answer easily. This is testing what I know after all. No point on dwelling too long on answers you don't know."
Haileys eyebrows rose, "But you've been at this for nearly two hours, how are you still going?"
"Well it is a rather large test, and I do need to be thorough. I don't want to waste Miss Rans time.
Hailey got a sneaking suspicion. "Can I have a look at this for a minute?' without waiting for a reply she snatched the test using her thumb to keep Hermione's place, she looked at the front of the test, confirming her suspicions.
"Hey give that back!" Hermione said snatching it back.
"You literally signed up for everything?!" Hailey said incredulously.
Hermione sniffed. "Well it all seems so fascinating, and who knows when I will get an opportunity like this again."
"You willingly signed on for Rans full course," Hailey said.
"Well why not?" Hermione huffed, "Ran said she was willing to accommodate me, so why shouldn't I? She told me it would be a waste if I didn't."
Hailey just stared at her in dull shock. It was true Hailey didn't mind Ran's curriculum: it was the quickest route to being who she wanted to be, although she would prefer not having to go to Hogwarts on top of that. But the thought of someone, especially a normal human girl, willingly subjecting herself to the full brunt of Rans tuition on top of her regular schoolwork boggled her mind.
"Well, if you are sure…" said Hailey dubiously. "I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you then."
Now it was Hermione's turn to look perplexed, "You mean…"
"You will be taking the same full course as me and Chen," Hailey said. "I wish you luck. You're gonna need it."
"What's that supposed to mean…" Hermione said, but Hailey had already walked away.
"Poor girl," said Hailey, rejoining her friends.
"Why?" said Sophie.
"She is not going to be getting a lot of sleep," said Hailey, smirking.
"You'd best help her along then."
Hailey stood Ramrod straight as the familiar voice came from behind her. Several people jumped at the unfamiliar presence. Everyone left in the room looked up to the new arrival who had arrived in the center of the room without anyone being the wiser.
Hailey then spun around and launched herself. "Yukari-sama!"
"Miss me already did you?" Yukari said, catching Hailey mid jump, and stroking her head. "Oh dear, how will you ever survive a whole year?"
"Hehe~" Hailey cooed happily.
"Good afternoon Yukari-sama," Ran said, bowing.
"Don't mind me, just need to borrow Hailey for a little chat," Yukari said.
"Of course, will you be long?"
"Not at all," said Yukari. She then addressed Sophie and Lily, "Just borrowing your friend for a little while. Don't bother introducing yourselves, we will have plenty of time for that... later. Ta ta."
And just as suddenly as she arrived, Yukari opened a gap under her feet and sunk into the ground with Hailey still in her grip.
There was a silence.
Chen broke it.
"I can see it on your faces," she said, having creeped up behind Lily and Sophie. "They are practically screaming, what the actual fu…"
"What's wrong Yukari?" Hailey asked as Yukari set her down, in what looked to be an empty Classroom.
"Oh nothing terrible. How about you tell me about school first before we get into anything serious?" Yukari said.
Now Hailey knew she had done something wrong. And Yukari was going to make her admit it first. It didn't take a genius to figure out what.
"I'm sorry, I really lost my head there!" Hailey said, bowing apologetically.
Yukari sighed. 'Such a shame. I miss when you were more innocent and clueless. It was so much easier to catch you off guard. I suppose you have figured out why I am here then?
"I'm sorry…" Hailey whimpered.
"I still want to hear it from your mouth dear. We are having this conversation," Yukari tutted, bopping Hailey on the head with her fan.
"I… I just really wanted to get him to hate me…" Hailey mumbled, "so I tried to bring out his hatred, but he resisted, and now he probably knows something is up."
"Oh it's not the secrecy part that I'm cross with," Yukari said, Surprising Hailey, "To be perfectly frank I'm surprised you have kept the secrecy pretence up for so long. I'm actually impressed, I know subtlety isn't in your nature after all."
"Huh?" exclaimed Hailey. "Then why…"
"I did not raise you to be a foolish girl Hailey, search your head. I know you commit my lessons to heart even if they occasionally slip your memory."
Hailey racked her memory, racking her brain for which Lesson Yukari was referring too, what happened with Snape that was…
Oh…
"I… I tried to force a grudge, to create hatred with my powers that wasn't there to begin with." Hailey said softly.
Yukari clapped her hands. "Good! if I had to teach you that particular lesson again I would be very cross. You remember Parsee then?"
Hailey didn't think she could forget…
Hailey looked around as they entered the main chamber of what was old hell. She had never been down here before. It was fairly warm, like a hot summer day, but not unbearably so. This was no longer a place of torment after all, but a place people lived. Although it apparently gets hotter the closer you get to the blazing fires.
"Stay close Hailey, I don't want to loose you down here. Us surface Youkai aren't supposed to be down here after all," Yukari said.
"Why are we here Yukari-sama?" Hailey asked, clutching the back of Yukaris dress.
"There is someone we need to meet. A very special Youkai. Someone with an ability very similar to yours, albeit more developed," Yukari said.
"Oh is she going to teach me how to use my ability better?" Hailey said.
"More like how not to use it," Yukari said.
"Huh?"
"Here we are," said Yukari, stopping in front of a large bridge. "Parsee, are you decent? You have guests."
"I have guests? now that is unusual," came the voice of a young woman, who landed in front of them. "And the border Youkai too of all people. How may I help you?"
"Oh nothing too much, just a social visit." said Yukari.
"Oh how nice it must be to have the freedom to just go and call on people like this, I'm so jealous." Parsee said, smiling.
Hailey on the other hand, was getting a different vibe from the youkai. It was something like hatred, but not quite. It oozed from every centimeter of Parsees being. Even as she chatted amicably with Yukari, she could feel Parsee broil with it. It was mostly directed at Yukari, but more than that, it seemed to flow everywhere. Including Hailey, when Parsee turned her focus to her.
"And who is this? She is so young," Parsee said, looking down, her friendly smile still on her face.
Hailey whimpered as the invisible green maisamma hit her full force. It felt so wrong, so strange. while hatred usually made her feel good, this made her feel queasy. There was something terribly 'wrong' about Parsee.
"Oh dear, it seems Hailey is taking this rather worse than I thought," said Yukari. "Another time Parsee, another time."
"It must be nice to come and go as you please…" was Parsees parting words before Yukari gapped herself and Hailey away.
"Why did she feel so… wrong?" Hailey said, finally free of Parsees oppressive aura.
"So you can feel that. That makes this lesson far easier," said Yukari. That was Parsee Mizuhashi, and she is a youkai of jealousy… although it's more like envy if you ask me. But these days that distinction is more semantic than anything else"
"Envy?"
"Yes. I wager the power you felt was similar, yet different to your own. Jealousy and hatred go hand in hand after all… and that woman is jealous of everything," Yukari said.
"Why is she jealous of everything?"
"Because she is what you must strive to never become," Yukari said. "She is a youkai of jealousy, just as you are a youkai of grudge. Thus she both draws power from, and can manipulate, jealousy and envy. And that in the end was her downfall."
Hailey listened with baited breath. This was a lot more serious than her other lessons, and the earlier encounter had left her on edge.
"Parsee has been bound to that bridge for a very, very long time. Although the bridge has been moved once or twice, she remains its prisoner. She has been like this for as long as I have known her, but her story is well known to me."
"She was once what you might call normal, capable of feeling things other than seething envy at least. But she was never a happy woman, some say it was a relationship that went sour, maybe she was swindled out of what was rightfully hers, or maybe she was just born a bitter person. None can say except Parsee herself."
"But nevertheless, she spent her days coveting what others had and she did not, and this envy eventually transformed her into a youkai. And as many youkai who were formally human, it did very strange things to her mind. Eventually, sick of being envious of everyone else, she started inflicting these feelings on others, messing with people's heads, making them covet their neighbors, family and friends. She traveled about Japan, causing chaos and anarchy in her wake, which eventually lead to her being bound to the bridge, or so they say.
"But binding her to her bridge did nothing to smother her burning jealousy, and the carnage she raught had a strong effect on her mind, for she had created envy where there was none. But she lacked the power to escape on her own, and people new better to attempt to cross the bridge where the bridge princess dwelled. In her desperation to escape her confinement, she started creating envy within herself. She envied everyone, everything, from the wealthy lord in the castle to the pauper on the street, to the birds in the sky to the beetles beneath her feet, slowly filling her being with Jealousy. And she got power, oh yes, but at the cost of her psyche. Now envy is all she feels. She doesn't even try to escape her confinement now, despite it being well within her reach. She just watches her bridge and envies the freedom off all those who pass by."
"Thats… Thats…" Hailey said, struggling to find words.
"Terrible? Tragic? Pitiful? Its all those and more. But most importantly it is a cautionary tale for those like her, like you for instance."
"Oh yes, that could be you, if you are not careful, consumed forever by hatred," said Yukari, taking note of Haileys terrified expression. "And this is why I instruct you: be wary of using your powers to create grudges where none exist, especially within yourself. And be on watch for excessive hatred, for by hating too much, you could undo yourself, much like Parsee did."
"Yes Yukari-sama," said Hailey, nodding timidly.
Yukari ruffled her Hair. Good girl. You're no use to me broken after all."
Hailey was still conflicted though. "I… I can still hate my Aunt and Uncle right?"
Yukari rolled her eyes playfully, "I wouldn't dream of stopping you."
"What you did there was dangerous Hailey," Yukari continued after the end of the flashback. "That man had no real ill will toward you, but you tried to force a grudge anyway, intoxicated by his hatred of your father. That was a loss of control that could have very well lead you down a very slippery slope indeed."
Hailey bowed her head low.
"Oh chin up Hailey," Yukari said, lifting her chin. "We'll just treat it as a learning experience and leave it at that. If I was you I'd stick to that Malfoy fellow. You seem quite adept at pushing his buttons. With a little bit of tender love and care, that could mature into a very nice grudge indeed."
Hailey brightened at that.
"Now that the lesson has been re-learned, how about you tell me about your week. No strings this time, promise," said Yukari, sitting back.
Hailey hopped onto her lap and started recounting her week enthusiastically. Yukari just smiled and nodded. While she already knew, it was fun to watch Hailey explaining it.
Bonus:
Hailey woke up hungry, unusual for her.
'That time of the month I guess' She thought groggily.
She checked the time on her clock. Two AM, as good a time as any.
She pulled herself out of bed with a groan, shivering a bit at the difference in temperature.
There was another groan, and Sophie looked up from her bed. "Hailey wuh…?"
"Don't mind me, just going out for a quick bite." Hailey mumbled, going out the door.
"Okaay…" mumbled Sophie, lying back down.
Then she looked back up. "What?"
Later, in a different part of the castle, a fox was stirred from her sleep by an incessant nudging.
"Ran, I'm Hungry." Whined Hailey.
Ran groaned as she lifted her head, and turned her sleepy eyes on Hailey. "Already? I could have sworn we fed you before we left."
"Hungry." Moaned Hailey, shaking Ran some more.
"Fine, fine I'm getting up, you get far too needy when you are like this." Ran said, getting out of bed.
Ran pulled a large stick of dried meat out of a gap, and handed it to Hailey, "This won't satiate you but it should take the edge off for a spell."
Hailey took the meat and started nibbling on it.
"Now stay here, I'll be right back." Ran said, before stepping into a gap.
Hailey sat on Rans bed, and waited for Ran to return, still nibbling the dried meat. It still had the same taste more or less, although tempered with the drying process. However, it didn't just scratch the same itch.
It needed to be fresh after all.
Don't worry everyone, Ran uses ethically sourced meat for Haileys special dietary needs. ;)
But yeah Sorry Indominator, My Chen is more of a cheeky troublemaker (read: little shit) than sweet and pure. I kinda based her on my cat: A malicious, vicious little furball when she wants to be, but still lovable and friendly, and I miss her dearly when at Uni.
That's Rans classes though, some people are gonna be getting EDUCATED. Her classes will be something that is going on throughout her school years. As well as being important for Haileys future, it's also a way for Hailey to interact with characters from different houses Hailey wouldn't normally interact with, like Hermione for example. And while she is probably the only one so far, others might be joining sooner or later.
What do you guys think of this little Parsee backstory? I'm pretty proud of it, although it is hard to write a backstory from the perspective of someone like Yukari.
Since I have had two different messages about shipping, I felt it best to get it out there. No I will not be shipping Hailey with anyone. It's probably pretty important to get this out there however, as I will probably be doing an awful lot of ship teasing, (not gonna say with who though). Yeah there will be a bit of crushing here and there, and maybe a blood nose if I can't stop myself. But I feel anything more will detract from the story, rather than add to it. Romance deserves to be centre stage or not at all, as shoehorning in romance rarely does any good.