Sitting amidst the clutter of over a century of life, Dumbledore sucked on a bit of hard candy, hard at work on the latest reports to the Ministry. Fawkes the Phoenix was dozing on his perch, but there was the soft chatter from the portraits and the whirr and pop from various magical knicknacks scattered around.
Just as he was finishing up, the door to the Headmaster's office opened, and four very irate heads of house stalked in, led by Minverva McGonagal.
"Albus, that...WOMAN, has got to go!" McGonagal growled, her body tilted forward and her hair bristling, much like her cat form would if you had stepped on her tail. "She is a drunkard and a disgrace!"
"She's exorcized no fewer than six ghosts since she's arrived!" Flitwick lamented, wringing his hands. "She's only done some of the minor ones so far, but Lord Draben is quite worried, as is Sir Nicholas!"
"She's no help at all with anything! Her curriculum is a complete disgrace. Even my Hufflepuffs are complaining that she's only had them doing arts and crafts all week! Even the Seventh Years!" Sprout pointed out, flushed and far out of her usual good humor.
"She treats the students like friends and she has been awarding house points for complete nonsense!" Snape growled, his mood as dark as the cloak trailing behind him.
McGonagall rolled her eyes at Snape. "And here I thought you'd be pleased. The fool girl has given Slytherin over 9000 points in just a week!"
"If Slytherin is to win, it should be through cunning and ambition, not because you compliment someone's hair cut!" Snape snarled, continuing an argument so old that both of them knew it by rote.
Dumbledore let the four heads of house bicker and complain for a bit, a faint smile on his face. As they talked, he took out a white dove from a cage sitting on stand beside his desk, letting it perch on his fingers as he fed it some birdseed.
"Do you know," Dumbledore remarked once his professors had wound down. "I had one of the Gringotts Spell Weavers appraise what it would cost to repair our castle. They estimated it at 6000 galleons, and that it would take the work of a dozen master enchanters to fix things after the incident with Quirrinius and his passenger last year. That doesn't include the masonry, which would have been a further expense."
"I don't see what that has to do with-" Sprout began, but then she frowned. "Wait. Didn't you say Mizu repaired the castle with only the help of my Miss Fortuna? And Chris, well...she never showed any real aptitude for that sort of thing. She was only ever interested in quidditch and mischief…"
"A fluke. She has shown no such aptitude since then. It was a trick of some sort," Snape argued.
"That dove, Albus," Flitwick said slowly. "That's not...is that one of the creatures she conjured at the feast?"
Dumbledore smiled. "It is one of the creatures she produced, yes."
McGongagall gasped. "But...it's eating! Conjured creations do not- and it's been a week!"
"You are our Master of Charms, Filius," Dumbledore said, nodding to the half-goblin. "Perhaps you can manage it. Try dispelling or vanishing the creature."
Flitwick frowned, but took out his wand. He tried several spells, but all he managed was to send the dove flapping about the room in panic.
"But I don't...how?!" Fllitwick gasped.
Dumbledore held up his hand quietly, and after a few moments the dove returned to peck at the food. "Try transfiguring it, Minerva."
"Albus, you can't possibly think-" But a look from the headmaster quieted McGonagall's protests. She tried her own hand, more quietly than Flitwick had. The dove refused to change. After growing red in the face and increasingly frustrated, McGonagall muttered an oath under her breath, then swished her wand.
The dove turned from white, to grey.
"There," McGonagall said, her nostrils flaring. "Stubborn thing. What is it, really?"
"As far as I can tell? A perfectly ordinary columba livia domestica. And you are to be congratulated. I tried myself, but I could not get it to change so much as a feather," Dumbledore told McGonagall, giving her a wide grin.
"That's impossible though!" Sprout protested. "If it's a conjuring, or even just an ordinary animal, you should be able to do any number of things to it. You can't simply vanish a living thing, but transfiguring it should be perfectly possible."
Snape took out a small vial filled with perfectly clear liquid from a sleeve. "Can it be killed?"
"I will not have you harm an innocent creature, Severus," Dumbledore chided. "It is simply a bird. I caught this one through kindness, and I would not do it a poor turn now. Sadly, the others are long gone. I would so like to have studied them all...I have named this one Gregory."
"But then...how did she do it? I didn't even see her use a wand," McGonagall said, sounding both vexed and perplexed.
"Ah, now that is an excellent question," Dumbledore said, gently putting Gregory back in his cage, then covering it with a cloth. He took off his spectacles, absently polishing them on his robe. "You see, there are several things about Miss Mizu that are rather...odd."
"That is an incredibly polite way of putting it," Sprout huffed. "She's the most useless, brainless lump I've ever...Albus you know I hate to speak ill of people, but the woman is...well, stupid."
"And yet she can exorcise ghosts that have inhabited these halls for centuries with but a word," Dumbledore pointed out. "She can repair enchantments so complex that they took the school's founders years to lay down, and have been added to by many since. She can create creatures that resist all magic on what appears to be a whim. And she has...knowledge. Knowledge that even I would consider arcane."
"What sort of knowledge?" Flitwick asked, suddenly very interested.
Dumbledore frowned. "Of that, I am not yet certain. I would call it Dark knowledge, and yet…"
"That would be a pleasant change. She is supposed to be well versed in the Defense against Dark things," McGonagall huffed.
"Oh she is," Dumbledore said. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a silver amulet shaped like a seven spoked water wheel. "I must return this to Miss Brown soon, but she was given this by Professor Mizu. It is True Silver, and completely sovereign against Werewolves."
"True Silver?" Snape demanded, incredulous. "That's impossible. The last True Silver was tainted and tarnished years ago, and none has been made in centuries."
"Since the death of Merlin, I would wager. But this amulet is newly made," Dumbldore said, admiring the jewelry as it spun on its chain.
"But that...it's worth a fortune then!" Flitwick squeaked. "What modern alchemists would give for it! Not even Nicholas Flamel, God rest his soul, could make True Silver!"
"Indeed. And yet Miss Mizu seems to have forged it for no better reason than to gift to a young girl. Miss Brown told me a most queer tale, one that I easily verified. It would seem that our newest professor has True Vision, and is a seeress."
"Not another one," McGonagall groaned. "You haven't told Sybil, have you?"
"No, I would prefer to keep this secret amongst ourselves," Dumbledore said. He smiled, eyes twinkling meerily. "So you see, I think perhaps that our students have a great deal to learn from Professor Mizu. As do I."
"As do we all," Flitwick muttered. "I shall have to inquire about how she conjured those birds...and the true silver…"
"I would ask you to be discreet and indirect in your inquiries," Dumbledore cautioned. "I am not certain yet as to her...nature."
"You don't think-" McGonagall began, but Dumbledore held up a hand.
"At this point, I think it wise to reserve all judgement. Her methods are strange. Her actions quite queer. But it is undoubtable that she is an eminently skilled individual, and has the potential to be a great asset to our facility. Why, if she really can break the Curse…"
"I may have to apologize to her," Sprout said, sounding very uncertain. "Perhaps she merely acts the fool…"
"I have been accused of foolishness myself, from time to time," Dumbldore said with a shake of his head. "If you have further concerns, my door is open, but I will not at this time be dismissing Professor Mizu."
"At least talk to her about how she runs her classes?" Flitwick suggested. "We've had bad Defense Professors before, but...well. She had my Seventh Years finger painting. Finger painting!"
Dumbledore hesitated, then sighed. "I will speak with her about professional expectations."
With that, McGonagal, Flitwick, and Sprout seemed mollified, and after making polite excuses left, leaving Snape alone with the Headmaster.
"Albus. I know of one man who has unlocked more ancient lore than you, and who could do powerful magics no other could match," Snape said grimly, beginning to pace back and forth. "And considering last year-"
"She is not Tom, Severus," Dumbledore said, setting his spectacles back on his nose and squinting in irritation.
"How can you dismiss that so quickly? The Dark Lord could do many things, and there was that mention of horcruxes. I know not everything, but that is a word-"
"She is not a servant of Tom, Severus," Dumbledore said, his tone rather firm. He snorted. "Really. Did you EVER know Tom to even hum a tune? Or smile half as much as she does? Or delight in the simple pleasures of life?"
Snape hesitated. "Not as such, but he was a chameleon. Able to-"
"Able to declare Hagrid to be his 'best friend' and a 'swell guy' and then paint that astonishing portrait that moved even you to tears?" Dumbledore demanded.
Snape grimaced, recalling the picture. It had been sketched on a piece of parchment, and colored in with, of all things, half melted crayons pulled from the woman's bodice. "Perhaps not…"
"And would Tom EVER consent to be a woman?" Dumbeldore demanded, shaking his head. "I think not."
"Well...you cannot deny she is suspicious," Snape grumbled.
"Oh that I can. To be quite frank, I think the woman has not a deceitful bone in her body, nor a hint of guile about her," Dumbledore stated.
"You have misjudged the character of men before," Snape pointed out, his tone dark.
"That I have. As such, watch her. She seems to be rather taken with Miss Potter and her friends, as well as Master Crabbe and his. Interesting, is it not?"
"An agent of the Dark Lord would-" Snape cut himself off at the incredulous expression on Dumbledore's face. "Well, perhaps not make balloon animals for everyone and call the Dark Lord a, what was the phrase?"
"'A big fat doo doo head and a meanie who smells bad,'' Dumbledore quoted. "Quite the way with words, wouldn't you say?"
"For a five year old," Snape growled. "I shall have my eye on her."
With a swirl of his cloak, he stalked out, all sour moodiness.
Dumbledore shook his head, and lifted the cover of the bird cage. Gregory had his head tucked under his wing, but looked up at the intrusion of light.
"A perfectly normal bird," Dumbldore muttered. Then he paused, and checked again.
Gregory was back to pure white.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Dumbledore muttered, and tried to puzzle out just what it all meant.
Kazuma was relaxing in the dorm room, laying on his bed and reading his latest comics. Dobby was delivering them weekly along with "care packages" from Lucius and Narcissa. Draco had gotten those last year, and they were just simpering letters about how he was doing. Like they really cared.
But the biscuits and sweets were nice, even if it was obvious that Dobby was making those as well.
Still, Kazuma was not to be deterred from his mission. He'd bring the House of Malfoy tumbling down…
Later. Someday. When he felt like it. It would happen eventually.
But first, Kazuma needed to catch up on his comics! He had Superman and Green Lantern this time, and he could settle in and-
"Whatcha doin'?"
Kazuma slowly lowered the comic to find Ginny standing beside his bed. She had his tin of biscuits in her hands, and was munching on them, her cheeks already stuffed with sweets.
"Hey, those are mine!" Kazuma protested, reaching for the tin.
"I can spit it out if you like," Ginny offered around a mouthful of food.
"Ugh, no, keep it! Just...give me the tin!" Kazuma ordered.
Ginny passed him the container. He forlornly shook it into his hand, getting only some crumbs. "My biscuits…"
"They were lovely. Got anything else to eat?" Ginny inquired, looking around.
"That's not- wait. This is the boy's dorm! How did you even get in here?!" Kazuma demanded.
"Through the door," GInny said, grinning widely to show her teeth covered in mashed biscuits.
"Ugh, I mean, I thought it was spelled to keep you out!" Kazuma grumbled.
"Nah, the girl's dorms are charmed to keep boys out, but no one cares if I come in here. Right Dust?" Ginny called.
"Nah, it's cool!" Dust agreed, looking up from his book on dragon anatomy.
"I just wanted to know what we're going to do next," Ginny explained. "You know. Your plan."
"Huh?" Kazuma blinked at her. "Oh, right. Well, step one is what I like to call, 'Operation Friendship.'"
"What's this about Yunyun?" Draco demanded, looking up from his letter home and frowning. "I haven't even seen her lately. She's not even bothered us at all."
"No one cares about your girlfriend, Draco," Kazuma snapped, then hissed at Ginny as the other boy spluttered in outrage. "We can't talk about that here!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine, come on."
"Hey, are we going somewhere?" Dust asked excitedly.
"No," Kazuma said hastily. "Ginny just, um-"
"I'm going to make Kazuma do my homework," she explained.
"Oh good, he made us do that last year, so it's only fair that it's his turn," Dust said, then went back to his illustrations.
Kazuma glared at Draco, who was sniggering at the mention, and dragged Ginny outside the dorm. "Come on, we need to go somewhere private."
After a bit of searching they found an empty classroom, of which Kazuma always thought there were an inordinate number. It seemed like the school could fit ten times the numbers of students that it did, and was always at least half empty.
"So, I have an essay in charms on safety, and we have to do a potion for Snape, and I thought-" Ginny began, only to burst into giggles when Kazuma whirled on her, his nostrils flaring.
"I'm not doing your homework! This is about The Plan."
"Well, since you don't seem to actually have a plan, you can just do my homework," Ginny said with a shrug.
"I'm not doing your homework! Ugh, look. I told you, your job right now is to ingratiate yourself with Dust and Draco so that they like you."
"Uh-huh. I had that done by the end of the train ride. You three dolts were tripping over yourselves to be nice to me." Ginny batted her eyes and clasped her hands together by her head. "Oh Gin-gin, won't you have another chocolate frog? Please, I'm a big strong man, can I carry your luggage? Oh Gin-Gin, it will be so wonderful to have a proper pureblooded lady in our group, we need someone to civilize us!"
"Hey, we never said that last one!" Kazuma protested.
"Yes but I figured it out on my own. Honestly you three are a bigger group of neanderthals than my brothers. So, about that homework."
"I'm not doing your homework, and you can't bully me into it," Kazuma huffed, turning away. "I've been bullied my whole life, and I'm putting my foot down now."
There was quiet for a moment from Ginny, then she came around to sit on top of a dusty old desk in front of Kazuma. "I guess you have. You never really had a family, did you?"
"I...look, my family and I don't have a great record," Kazuma sniffed, scrubbing at his nose and looking down.
"Well, I could be your family."
Kazuma looked up, his heart skipping a beat for some reason. "What are you talking about?"
Ginny gave him a smile, tilting her head to one side in a manner Kazuma could only describe as cute, her legs kicking the air. "Well, you never had a little sister, did you? Someone to tease and annoy you."
"I've got Dust and Draco for that. Ugh, I'm half Malfoy already. Draco's insufferable as a brother, adopted or not," Kazuma grumbled.
Ginny got up and came over to put a hand on Kazuma's arm. "Well, what about someone to look up to you? Someone who you could show how to do things, to be the big brother to, to-"
"Big...brother?" Kazuma muttered, something in the back of his mind shifting around.
"Yes. Aqua said something about how I was your 'imoto character' in class," Ginny explained.
"I-imoto?" Kazuma gasped, his heart suddenly thumping.
"Yes, she said to call you...onii-chan," Ginny said, watching Kazuma's face carefully.
Kazuma blinked, blushed, and looked away. "Don't even bloody well know what that means…"
"Big Bro."
Kazuma turned back, a huge, stupid grin on his face.
"Big bro, will you help me with my homework?" Ginny asked, her lip trembling slightly.
"Of course! You can count on your big bro! I'll show you how Flitwick likes his essays done, and how to brew an extra amazing boil removing potion!" Kazuma declared. "Come on, little sis, you can count on me!"
Kazuma missed the cat-like grin on Ginny's face as he led her back to the Slytherin dorms. And they said Slytherin was supposed to have the clever ones in it.
She'd be queen of this entire house by the end of the semester.
