Acceptance

by AsphodelWolf15

If Vernon and Petunia were so concerned about their image why did they treat Harry the way they did? A child with a bad reputation living in their house forced them to tell tales, when it would have been much easier if they treated him like part of the family. How would Harry have turned out if he was accepted? (This is not for Dumbledore fans)

23. Restrictions, Safety and Investigation

Chapter 23 – Of Restrictions, Safety and Investigation

Albus Dumbledore

It was all falling apart.

Somehow, Albus Dumbledore, leader of the light, smartest, most powerful wizard in existence was being pushed aside. His reputation was in tatters, the school wasn't obeying him, his teachers were a step away from mutiny, and the darkness was upon them. This was the time he was most needed. If there was ever a time for someone to take his advice, do as he said, it would be now. The light should be gathering, rallying around his banner so that together they could fight back the darkness and restore peace, just like he planned.

Nothing was going to plan. Everyone was behaving like spoilt children, because compared to him they were all children, even the teachers. Didn't they know you were supposed to look to your elders?

He knew who was to blame, there could really only be one culprit. Harry Potter. He was too much like Tom. Honestly, he should have seen this coming. They had similar power levels and had that same charisma. Both boys had taken longer to sort than most, meaning they were complicated children. The students flocked to Harry just as they had to Tom. There were very few eleven-year-olds that could influence the older students but both Harry and Tom had done that. The only real difference he saw, beyond house, was Harry's ability to fly. Tom had been dreadful on a broom, his only failing.

Harry must have met Tom's shade and bonded with it, or perhaps the Horcrux had taken over and there really was no Harry Potter left to speak of. What else would explain Harry's inability to trust him? He was so sure if Harry still existed that he would crave a grandfather figure, a figure which Albus was so prepared to fill. He would have to look into that once he fixed this mess with the Heir.

It was going to take something truly drastic to fix this. Maybe he should bow out. If he left willingly, sighting the lack of trust between himself and the staff, and maybe his busy schedule, then perhaps he could come back as the hero later. Yes, that might do it. If he left before Tom killed anyone, then he could come sweeping back in when the deaths start piling up. Unfortunately, there would have to be more than one this time. They really did need to learn their lesson, so he couldn't save them after only one child died. With the way Tom was going about it this time it wouldn't be long before the deaths started. A few weeks or a month at most and he would sweep in and fix things.

Not that he knew how to fix this but he supposed he could do more research into what was actually attacking the students. And, if he was going to fix things, he would need some assurances. The school would have to come to heel. There would be no more threats about evicting him. The teachers would have to toe the line as well. Severus, Minerva and Filius were particularly irritating, perhaps he would have them take an oath. The new history teacher would have to go, and while he liked Remus, he would have to go as well; the students did not need consistent teaching of defense, not yet at least. Most importantly, he would need unlimited access to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. If Harry was truly gone, then the Longbottom boy would have to do. The wizarding world needed its sacrifice, hero, after all.

Oh, and Vindictus. The castle would have to agree to get rid of Vindictus' portrait. He should probably get rid of Phineas Black too. Dippet could be irritating. He would just have to ask that all portraits be removed and that from this point forward, only his portrait would grace the Headmaster's walls. Albus Dumbledore was too important to training young wizards not to be here, even after death. Maybe he should insist that his portrait be hung in the Great Hall so he could instruct the students too.

Yes, that was a workable plan. Let the school realize its mistake in not trusting him, then he would save the day and subtly rub it in their faces. The teachers would listen and Harry would be his to mold. In a few years, when the wizarding world looked like it was going to fall, he would lead Harry to his suicide and Albus Dumbledore would pick up the pieces, singing the boy's praises.

Albus Dumbledore popped a lemon drop in his mouth and smiled. All was not lost. He could fix this; it would just take some patience. In all honesty, this was probably for the best. The people needed to see that they were helpless without him before things got really bad. He would wait a few days and then announce at the feast on Saturday that he would be leaving. His staff would learn of this at the same time as the students and the castle, it was better for them to not try to talk him out of it or have any advanced warning. Minerva deserved to be hung out to dry for once.

In his office, with only portraits to watch, Albus Dumbledore laughed.

Minerva McGonagall

The deputy headmistress of Hogwarts was stressed. Stress was not an uncommon thing for a teacher and was even less strange for her as deputy head and a head of house but for some reason, her current stress levels were harder to bear than usual. A part of her knew that this was an uncommon situation and additional stress was to be expected but that did not mean she would just roll over and accept it.

Minerva McGonagall had gone into teaching because she enjoyed it and she wanted to make a difference in the lives of children. She had agreed to become a head of house, again, because she wanted to make a difference but also because she honestly enjoyed helping and molding students into their more adult selves. It did not surprise her that she was seen as strict and intimidating by her students, that was entirely true; in fact, she was the way she was because she felt it was the best way to protect her students.

The Transfiguration instructor was a Gryffindor and would not go down without a fight.

Upon finding not only the Weasley twins, but also three upper year Slytherins petrified, the Heads of House sat down with most of the rest of the teaching staff to hash out new safety measures for the students. Minerva had 'forgotten' to tell Albus about the staff meeting, wanting to avoid his ideas on safety. A part of her rebelled against putting so many restrictions on the student's movements, it seemed a bit too much like a prison, but at the same time she knew it was the best way to keep track of them all. Each student that had been attacked had been out in the halls outside of normal class hours and no where near meal times leading them to believe the heir had to sneak away before they could attack anyone so they hoped this would hinder the attacker while keeping the students safer.

All students would move together to breakfast in the morning and return as a group to their common rooms after dinner. They would move in groups to and from classes, accompanied by either a teacher or an Auror. Students needed to arrange trips to the library or a potions lab with their teacher beforehand and they had to be escorted. All students would also be stuck in their common rooms at 8:30, no matter their age and would not be allowed to leave until 6:30 the following morning, which was when they would be escorted to breakfast. To her dismay, quidditch was suspended for now; it was entirely necessary though so she could hardly argue. All students would also be required to leave the school come the winter holiday. They were working on making arrangements for students who typically needed to stay for one reason or another.

Albus had not been pleased when he read through the rules after they had already been posted. The heads had posted the list of rules in the common rooms and had each called a house meeting to discuss them as well so there was no question as to the severity of the situation. She had been right to not involve him in the writing of them. If he had his way, the students only restrictions would be to remain in groups at all time and to limit them to the common rooms between 10 PM and 5:30 AM, which was essentially the rule year round (the prefects patrolling the halls were typically the only students allowed in the halls after ten). It was his opinion that having Aurors on site would be more than enough to ensure all wandering was safe. Luckily, the house ghosts had agreed with the heads and not the headmaster on this. The rules had been posted for six days, and while there was some grumbling, the students had not actually argued, probably because each house was attacked. It seemed to be working as there had been no further attacks and all students remained accounted for throughout the week. Hopefully that would continue after the end of classes that day. Their true test would be the weekend.

Minerva sighed, it seemed discovering the secrets of the chamber was up to her. She rose from the chair behind her desk and made her way out of her office. The students were in classes at the moment and she had a free period before lunch; this was the best time to talk to the one person, or ghost, who might actually know what was going on.

If the former leader of the light couldn't pull his head out of his ass and deal with this, then she would.

Remus Lupin

Hogwarts had always felt like home to Remus Lupin. Life with his parents had been strained after the attack so their house never really felt like home after the age of four. The magic and acceptance he found at Hogwarts had become a new definition of home for him. He hadn't realized how much he missed being at the castle until he returned. Wandering the halls and just breathing in the air had always had a calming effect on him; until the attacks anyway.

The heir of Slytherin was destroying the feeling of safety that Hogwarts should always have for those who live within her walls and he was going to stop him, or die trying.

There were few who knew the school like Remus Lupin, and most of those who did he had been his friends at school. Only one of those remained, James wad dead, Sirius was recovering from his incarceration but still not completely there and Pettigrew was trapped in a cage in his office while Remus fought with himself on what to do with the rat. He had been surprised to find the idiot. The youngest male Weasley had decided to bring the rat with him to class a few days ago so the rat wouldn't be lonely in the dorm rooms. The second Remus had seen the fat rat he had known who it was. Getting the rat from the boy had been easier than he thought it would be, all Remus had to do was promise to buy him an owl and the boy had all but thrown the despicable rat at him. He got a sick sense of glee from the fact that the rat trembled in his hands.

Remus had failed to tell anyone about his prisoner.

That was not his biggest concern though. The safety of Harry, and the other students were at the top of his list. Remus knew things about the castle others didn't because of James and Sirius. Also because of the duo, Remus knew more about the ghosts than most as well. He knew that some ghosts had been at the castle longer than others and that was what was important right now. Sirius had sweet talked the Gray Lady once and she admitted that her name was in fact Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of founder Rowena Ravenclaw. The other interesting ghost was the Bloody Barron. The Barron had been friends with Salazar Slytherin and it was he who Remus was looking for.

"I see you have not forgotten where I like to haunt," the Barron sighed.

Remus nodded, stepping up next to the ghost. Unknown to most, the Barron liked to spend hours a day on the Astronomy tower because it gave him a perfect view of Ravenclaw tower and one room in particular that his lady love tended to be. "I would never be able to forget. Has she forgiven you?"

"Not as of yet, but that is not why you are here, is it?"

"It is not. I was hoping you would consent to speaking about your life."

The ghost glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, "I have never agreed to speak of that time with you. Why would I do so now?"

"There are many reasons I could name, not the least of which being that I am not a student any longer but that is not the reason you should consent to speak with me. I think there is something you know about this chamber business and I know you don't want harm to come to the students. So, I ask you as a teacher, and as a concerned honorary uncle, what do you know about Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets? What do you know about his monster?"

For a moment, Remus did not think that the ghost would answer.

"Had you demanded answers or asked in any other way, the bindings on me would not allow me to speak of this." The ghost looked out over the grounds, "As you know, Salazar was my friend and he made me take a vow to never reveal what I knew of his chamber unless the safety of the school was in danger because of the chamber and my oath continues even in death. The other stipulation was that I could not reveal the truth to someone unless they asked with the intent of protecting the students. Helena is bound similarly. She and I are the only ones who know anything about this.

"Salazar is not what history makes him out to be." The ghost sounded tired, strange as that was. "He was paranoid and had strong feelings against muggles but not muggleborns. You see, muggles were killing muggleborn children and wizards, when they found them, because they feared them. He wanted to protect magic; it was his methods that drove a wedge between himself and the others."

"I had guessed that there were parts missing from the story. Nothing is ever as black and white as history makes it out to be," Remus agreed softly.

"Indeed. There is much I could say but I think it is important that you know the truth now before it is too late. The creature inside the chamber is something he referred to many times. He did not tell me what the creature was in so many words but I could guess. Knowing your specialty, I will give you what he gave me without my opinions to color your conclusions. If you can find no answer from his words, I will share my opinion." The ghost breathed in, a habit that did not disappear even though he did not need air to survive, "He always referred to her as his beloved queen of serpents."

Queen of serpents.

Royalty among snakes.

The most deadly and revered species of snake known to wizards.

A part of Remus Lupin froze in dread, the rest stood there, shaking at the implications of that one reference slammed home. "A Basilisk?" he breathed out quietly, as though afraid to voice his fears. He supposed he should have guessed that long ago. What else would Salazar Slytherin bond with?

"That was the conclusion I drew."

"How are the students not dead?"

The ghost shook his head. "That I cannot tell you, nor could I guess at a reason. As I said, Salazar rarely spoke of her and did not give me specifics beyond that she was to be a guardian of the school in times of war."

With a shiver, Remus nodded, "I can see how a basilisk would be useful when facing an army but I also see how that could be a danger to the very students he was trying to protect."

"I told him of my fears, the same you just named, but he said there was no reason to fear her."

Remus nodded, "I thank you, but I must go. This is too important for me to wait to tell the others. The students are my priority."

"Go, Remus Lupin. I sense something is wrong within these walls and the darkness we fear is closer than we think."

The Baron did not need to turn to know that once again he was alone on the astronomy tower.

Filius Flitwick

The Charms master waved to the Auror who was escorting his last class before dinner to their next class; he was lucky enough to have his free period before dinner on Friday as it left him with the potential for an early weekend when things were not so crazy. Now, it just left him with more time to mull over the mysteries surrounding the chamber.

As a head of house, his first priority was always the safety of the students, no matter their house. His job had been made slightly easier with the other heads of house stepping up and taking more care with their students so he could focus more on his Claws. When they had found out about the additional five students that were petrified, Filius had made the decision to pull a certain young man aside and inform him personally. Harry was extremely close to the Weasley twins, closer to them than he was to miss Lovegood, so he thought it best to attempt to control the situation or at least minimize who was exposed to Harry's reaction.

Upon discovering the five petrified students, the student body was returned to their common rooms, despite how close it was to dinner. The teaching staff had wanted to take a head count and make sure there were no more missing students. The student body knew there was another attack but unless they were Slytherins or Gryffindors, they did not know the identities yet, that would be announced at dinner. He had brought Harry to his office alone, leaving Miss Granger in the common room with the rest of their house, under watch of Septima and Bathsheda.

Harry had known, upon seeing his face that it was someone close to him. He had feared that it was Cedric or Draco, as he had not seen either boy that afternoon.

The Charms master had asked him to sit and had assured him that all the attacked students were alive, merely petrified. That assurance did not placate him. Because he was terrified, he told him about the Slytherin students first. Whatever relief Harry might have felt was short live. Learning the twins were the other victims was shocking. Harry Potter had frozen. In fact, it felt as though the vary air around them froze.

Harry had asked where they were found in a deathly calm, quiet voice. When told the location, Harry had deflated. It turned out that the twins were using an empty classroom to create their joke material. The second year had looked at him sadly, claiming that the twins must have been storing everything properly while they were under attack.

The Charms master had asked Harry to show him their 'lab,' so that he could make sure everything was properly stored so nothing could explode. Explosions were a distinct possibility with the Weasley twins. He had thought that Harry had managed to keep his magic in check. Filius had been wrong. Harry's magical reaction had not come until the small professor resealed the lab, confirming that everything in the room was stored or in stasis. His magic had exploded out, causing a concussive wave to radiate out from him. The only real damage was to the large mirror hanging not far away. The mirror had shattered, the glass raining to the floor in a way that sounded oddly like tears.

Harry Potter had apologized profusely while Filius escorted him back to the common room.

That had been a few days ago and the student body was adjusting as best they could. It pained the small man to see his students so afraid of the shadows.

Filius was currently contemplating whether or not the school could remain as it was until the Yule holiday or not. He was fairly certain they would not last but he hoped they could. If they could keep the heir under control until the holiday, he was going to bring in the goblins to route out and destroy the monster and find the heir when they returned. The heads had already decided that every student would have to return home for the Yule holiday if the heir was not found before then. Perhaps he should meet with the curse breakers before then and have them scan the students as they were leaving instead. The goblin made a note to owl young Bill Weasley, so that he could deliver a letter directly to his department head to ensure a quicker delivery.

He nearly jumped out of his seat when his door flew open, slamming against the wall. Filius jerked his head toward the door and blinked owlishly upon seeing Remus standing there, panting. "Remus? What has happened?"

"Salazar's monster is a basilisk."

"Dear Merlin," he squeaked and launched himself out of his chair. "We have work to do."

Potions Classroom

"That will be all for today, as I said at the start of the period, your essay topic is on the board and will be due Wednesday." Professor Snape said smoothly as the last cauldron was placed on the shelves after being washed. Poorly washed as it was the cauldron belonging to Pansy Parkinson and Sue Li, average students who hated cleaning. "Aurors Dawlish and Robards should be waiting in the hall for you. As you are aware, you are required to accompany them. Slytherins, unless we have spoken previously, you are to return to the common room. Those remaining behind will either be escorted by myself or Auror Dawlish who will return to his post outside the classroom after taking your peers to the Slytherin common room."

The second year Slytherin/Ravenclaw potions class gave a sigh of relief when class finally ended. This was their final class of the week and they couldn't be happier. The week had been more stressful than usual because of all the changes. While most understood and were happy with the added security, there were some who couldn't help but complain, like Pansy Parkinson. Pansy, and those who hung on her every word, felt that the only individuals who should have restrictive movements were the muggleborn students. It was unknown whether she had forgotten the fact that every single student that was targeted was a pureblood or if she was just ignoring it. Draco had actually theorized that she simply thought herself invulnerable in this situation because she knew her father would not stand for her being hurt in any way. Who in their right mind would target a Parkinson? It was unclear if Millicent and Goyle really thought the same way but they did tend to sit there and nod mindlessly when she started ranting.

"Bulstrode, Goyle, Crabbe," Professor Snape called quietly before they could exit, "did you forget that you are required to remain behind to work on today's lesson with me?"

It had not necessarily been a secret that professor Snape worked with his troubled students after class periods but then again, most didn't know because they were too terrified of the dark professor to be terrible in his class; students were more likely to seek out the help of their peers to prepare for class then ask the potions master. What was well known was that he remained in the classroom during his free periods to answer questions. In the entire school, there were no more than two dozen students who willingly ventured into the classroom for extra help. Unsurprisingly, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter were typically among those students.

Two of the three singled out students deflated slightly and slunk back to their seats. Crabbe, however, had been the first out the door and even though he did hear the professor he did not stop, nor did he acknowledge his Head of House. Those left in the room were more than a little terrified of the irritated look the crossed the professor's face as he stared out the door after the retreating boy. "Detention, Mister Crabbe," Severus Snape bellowed, knowing that everyone in the corridor would hear him.

Harry and Daphne, who were just coming to the door exchanged a look, both confused by Crabbe's recent attitude. The boy was still quiet and rarely spoke but his regular facial expression was rarely blank anymore; in fact, the simple boy seemed angry or scarily gleeful lately. Daphne had shared that Goyle was concerned and confused by the changes in his friend. Daphne placed a hand on Harry's arm and pushed gently to get him moving again, knowing he wanted to figure out what was going on but they also had an appointment to keep.

As the professor had stated, the two Aurors were waiting for the class. Crabbe stood off to the side, his arms crossed, scowling at the red robed men.

"Ravenclaws," Robards called a few feet away. He took a quick count and looked down at his list. "I'm missing one."

"Hermione Granger stays behind after class," Harry let the man know from his position beside Daphne. He had let the Aurors know before class that he had permission to study in one of the labs after class so he would not be accompanying his year mates to the common room or library.

He lifted his head and nodded, "Thanks, Potter. Let's head out then. Library first for the three who have permission, you better have your slips, and then off to the common room."

Dawlish watched them go, more than a little bored. He understood the importance of this assignment but he wished he was on the investigative teem and not on the babysitting team. It did help that perfect Auror Robards was also babysitting snot nosed brats but he still hated the assignment. "Right," he glanced down at his notes, "we have to drop Potter and Greengrass at the labs and then we will head to the common room. Your head of house reports that Greengrass, Bulstrode, Goyle, Crabbe and Malfoy should be studying," he looked at the thick boy throwing him a death glare, "But it seems one of them has decided he doesn't need to study so he will be going to the common room. He will also stop glaring at me or I will be reporting his attitude to not only his head of house but also his father." John Dawlish had to fight the urge to shoot a stinging hex at the little whelp when Crabbe rolled his eyes; luckily, the boy did stop glaring at the Auror. "And this is why I should not be babysitting," he mumbled under his breath.

The labs were only a few doors down from the common room so instead of the group moving, they stood outside the classroom and watched the pair walk to the open lab door where Imogen Aldridge stood waiting, as promised.

"Thank you, Auror Dawlish," Potter smiled and waved over his shoulder.

Dawlish, for his part, was both pleased and irritated by Potter. He had been prepared to hate the boy because he assumed, like many, that the boy would be an arrogant toe rag because of his fame. Instead, he was forced to actually like the boy because he was not arrogant but was perhaps the most respectful student he was forced to watch over. Even most of the purebloods were not nearly as respectful despite their upbringing. Most of the Slytherins actually looked at the Aurors as servants, which irritated the Auror even more. There was something seriously wrong with kids these days, in his opinion. No respect, no brains and no idea what the world was really about.

Instead of responding, Dawlish nodded. "Right, start moving. You know where your common room is."

The only good thing about escorting the Slytherins to their common room after potions was the fact that it didn't take more than five minutes to get the group there. What had irritated him the first time he had taken them there was the fact that they tried to insist that he couldn't know the password. He had decided not to tell them that all Aurors in the castle were well aware of all passwords to student common rooms, mostly because he wanted to see which of the idiot children decided to use their brains. It came as no surprise to him that it had been Zabini, Malfoy and Greengrass. Malfoy had been the one to say the password, louder than necessary to prove a point. Zabini had stared at his year mates and told them they were stupid for thinking the Auror would not already have access to the room, while the girl had rolled her eyes and shaken her head. At least those families didn't have idiots for heirs.

"Crabbe," the little pug girl hissed. "Where are you going?"

Dawlish looked toward the girl and then further down the hall where the troublesome boy was. "Get to the common room, Parkinson."

"But…"

"I will take care go Crabbe. If you do not enter your common room right now, I am guessing that your head of house will have you in detention for the rest of the year, just like he will be when we are done with him."

The girl pouted, which added to his irritation, but she did comply.

"Vincent Crabbe," Dawlish called, loudly, his voice laced with irritation and mounting anger. "You will return to your common room this instant. If you do not comply, I will be forced to take magical action to ensure your compliance." Part of him hoped the boy would ignore him. He really would enjoy stunning the little idiot since he wasn't really allowed to do much else.

Crabbe looked over his shoulder with an amused look on his face. Instead of turning around and returning to his class mates, he rolled his eyes and started walking down the hall again. The fact that the boy didn't even look remotely concerned caused the Auror to pause for a moment and that moment was long enough for the boy to turn down the next hallway.

"Bloody, buggering, hell," John Dawlish growled. "I'll kill him. Not hear and not now, but someday, I will kill that boy," he muttered under his breath as he jogged after him.

Coming around the corner, Dawlish found himself at a dead end with the second-year grinning at him with an evil glint in his eye. The fact that Vincent Crabbe was holding his wand in his hand, tip pointed at the floor, was really not concerning to the Auror. He had not lied; he knew the boy's father and knew that the boy was not particularly talented with a wand. According to his father, Vincent could barely cast a stunner and it rarely knocked anyone out. While he was a pureblood from a traditionally dark family, he did not know many spells because his father hadn't taught him any after learning just how mediocre the boy was.

"Alright, Vincent," he glared down at the boy, "you've had your fun, but now you have to pay the consequences. You are going to be facing not only your head of house, who is already angry at you, but also Deputy Head McGonagall and she told us there will be no leniency on rule breakers during this crisis. Your looking at detention for months if not suspension."

Instead of cowering, as he should, the boy laughed. For the first time, Dawlish did not feel so confident. That laugh did not sound like the laugh of a twelve-year-old boy. It was the laugh of a man who knew how to cause harm and enjoyed it. The laugh spoke of pain and insanity. It spoke of a lack of morality and a joy for causing death and destruction. The boy laughed like a terrorist who had managed to catch the enemy in a trap.

"Do you really thing you can do anything to me?" the boy asked, his voice wrong.

It wasn't the voice Dawlish remembered from when he had seen the boy that summer with his father. There was something mixed in; an echo. With a flick of his wrist, Dawlish's wand was in his hand. It would do no good.

"Avada Kedavra," Vincent Crabbe hissed in malice. "Well, it seems you have moved up my plans." He looked down at the red robed man dead at his feet. "I was planning on causing a bit more fear and then striking as they evacuated the school. I was going to kill more of the useless children, making the professors watch, and then I was going to kill Potter while watching the ridiculous twinkle leave the idiot headmaster's eyes." He scoffed, "Honestly, the man thinks Potter can defeat me. Me the greatest wizard to be born since Salazar Slytherin." Crabbe/Voldemort flicked his wrist and the body floated into the air, "take peace in the fact that you died so that my cause could come to pass. You were foolish to stand in my way but I wonder if you would have done so had you known it was me." With a shrug he turned toward the wall, "It is no matter. I will have to hide your body for now, I can't have anyone finding you before I take care of Potter or they might force me to change my plans again."

…

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Hogwarts wept.

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Hogwarts screamed in anger.

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All throughout the school, students, staff and Aurors heard an ominous bell sound.

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Sorry for the delays everyone, I have been traveling for work every other week for the last two months and working on major repairs at home on my days off. That being said, you should expect an update (or two) within a week for this story, baring any crisis at work that my require travel again.

A bit shorter than usual, but the next chapter is finished save some editing. This story should be finished soon. I have two (possibly three chapters) left and then that will be the end of Acceptance. For those also reading A Different Professor. I plan to jump in head first once I only have one active story.

Wolf