Unexpected

Gohan sat in the compartment of the train, musing silently as his friends discussed the upcoming year. The last they had seen of Mr Weasley was when he left to handle some sort of disturbance caused by some ex-Auror he called Mad-Eye Moody. Gohan had listened to the entire conversation. The man seemed rather unbalanced, paranoid. The others were talking about Quidditch…well, maybe not Hermione. She sat near him, snorting as the laughing identicals left the compartment.

"The nerve of those two…they just called me Lady Voldana!" She whispered in annoyance. Her expression changed to concern. "What's the matter?"

"I donno. Maybe I'm just being foolish. I've got a really bad feeling. Even this secretive thing that the adults keep talking about. There's something happening at the school this year. They all seem excited about it. But all I feel is dread."

Hermione nodded. "I've been meaning to discuss it with you. I think we should get more serious with our training."

"All of us? Hermione, where are we going to find room enough for all of us to train?"

She smirked. "I think it's time we appropriated enemy resources. I know of the perfect place. No one would ever suspect it. I'm going to tell Dumbledore my intention."

Gohan frowned. "What do you mean? Where is this place?"

"((I'll show you when I am finished. I'm going to leave it a surprise.))"

Gohan sighed. "Oh, Goody. More surprises."

Hermione laughed.

...

Neville was drinking in all of the details of the World Cup. He nervously eyed the mini Krum that hobbled in Ron's palm as he talked about his experience. "We saw Krum up close. We were in the Top Box."

"For the first and Last time in your life, Wealsey," Draco sneered, standing in the doorway with his thuggish-looking bodyguards.

"Don't recall inviting you, Malfoy," Harry said coldly.

"Heh. Hey…what is that?" Malfoy said, pointing at a moldy, maroon tailcoat Gohan recognized as Ron's dress robes. Malfoy snatched them from Ron's attempt to hide them. "Look at this! These went out of fashion in the eighteen nineties. Surely you're not planning on wearing this!"

"Eat dung, Malfoy!" Ron said as he snatched the robes away. Malfoy and his cronies broke out into loud laughter.

Hermione stood angrily.

"Oh no, boys. Look out, Granger has stood! I wonder how Potty and Weasel feel, needing protection from a monkey and a girl. So, Granger, are you going to enter? I'm sure Potter will. He never misses a chance to show off."

"Enter what? Either explain what you mean or leave."

Malfoy looked gleeful. "You mean you don't know? Weasel has a father and a brother at the Ministry, and they didn't tell him? Or maybe they didn't know. Father found out from Cornelius Fudge ages ago. I guess they don't tell the less important people."

"Get out, Malfoy," Hermione said firmly.

"Or what? You'll go all 'sapphire' on me? You're not much of a threat, you know. I'll I have to do is dart you with a Living Death tipped needle—"

Hermione picked him up by his collar and tossed him out of the compartment. He stood and brushed his robes off absently with a smirk. "Now I have to take a bath. You got your Mudblood slime all over me!" But Malfoy didn't seem really angry. Hermione shook her head half exasperated, half confused, before closing the compartment door.

"Phew!" Ron said as they made their way out of the rain. "One more second in that and I would have been soak—AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Ron shouted as a large water-filled balloon burst on top of his head.

Gohan giggled as the poltergeist Peeved swooped down on them, throwing his water missiles. Gohan took initiative and blocked the attacks with his own body.

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! Gohan took twenty direct hits by the balloons and was completely drenched.

"Mr. Son! That will do!" Professor MaGonagall barked. Gohan sheepishly lowered himself to the stone floor and dripped. "Out, Peeves!" Casting an annoyed glance at the half-Saiyan, she pointed her wand and muttered a spell. Gohan felt suddenly hot as the cool water vanished from his skin and clothes.

Hermione looked over at Ron and giggled. Ron glared at his grinning friends.

...

The group sat no less than ten seconds when a familiar greeting rang across the table. "Hiya, Harry!"

Harry sighed. "Hello, Colin."

"Guess what? My brother Dennis starts school this year."

Gohan and Harry exchanged glances. "Swell," Harry muttered sardonically. Just then, the doors opened and McGonagall entered, followed by a group of first years. An especially short, brown headed Colin-clone excitedly walked past Harry toward his brother and said happily, "I fell in the lake!"

"Ooookkaay," Videl said with a risen brow.

Gohan listened to the hat sing with the characteristic, bewildered Son expression. Then the sorting began. Tiny Dennis Creevey was sorted into Gryffindor. He zoomed over to his brother.

"Colin, I fell in! It was brilliant! Something in the water grabbed me and put me back in the boat!"

"It was probably the giant squid," Colin said excitedly.

Dennis gasped. "Wicked!"

Colin began pointing down the table. "Know who that is, Dennis? And him with the spiky hair? And her with the black braids?"

Videl's face fell into her empty plate. She groaned.

Dumbledore stood. "I only have two words to say to you…tuck in!" The platters and tankards became full. Gohan began loading his plate and eating in earnest. Hermione shook her head, smiling as she made her selections.

'You're lucky there was a feast at all, you know," Nearly-Headless Nick said. "There was trouble in the kitchen."

"Wha' 'appened?" Harry said, his cheek poking out from a piece of steak.

"Peeves. The usual. Wanted to attend the feast. But he's completely uncivilized. Even had a ghost council. Friar was willing to give him a chance, but Baron put his foot down. It was dreadful. Pots and pans everywhere. Havoc and mayhem…the poor house-elves were beside themselves.

Clank. Hermione dropped her fork. "Hogwarts has house-elfs?" She looked at him in horror. Gohan looked up from his plate.

"Why, certainly. Largest number in any building in Britain. Over a hundred."

Hermione glared at her plate. "But I've yet to see one."

"They rarely leave the kitchen during the day. At night they clean and stoke the fires. A mark of the good elf is that they are not seen."

Hermione glared. "They get paid? Pensions? Holidays?"

Nick laughed. "Elves don't want holidays and pensions, silly girl!"

Gohan looked up at him. "How do you know? Have you ever asked?"

Nick looked at Gohan like he had looked at Hermione, like the boy had lost his good sense.

Hermione glared angrily at the food, muttering something about slave labor. Gohan sighed as he matched her motions of pushing the plate away. He decided to make a note to ask Dumbledore whether the elves got paid. Ron had tried enticing Hermione and Gohan with the food, but gave up when they shot annoyed glances at him.

Gohan nudged Hermione. "We'll go fishing before our spar tonight." Hermione nodded in agreement.

Ron rolled his eyes, muttering something that suspiciously sounded like Lady Voldana. Suddenly, his pumpkin juice exploded in his face. He wiped his face angrily. "What the bloody hell was that for?" He glared at Hermione.

"You know well what!" she retorted angrily.

"Mental!" He said loudly. "It must be genetic."

Hermione angrily opened her mouth to reply but the headmaster rose from his seat.

"So, now that we are all fed and watered—"

Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "Hmph!"

"—I must now have your attention, to a few short notices. Mr. Filch has asked me to tell you that the list of forbidden items has been extended to include—"

"So, who do you think is going to be the new Defense teacher?" Gohan asked Hermione in a whisper.

Hermione's eyes grazed the table anxiously. "Donno. Dumbledore might not have found anyone."

"—It is also my sad duty to inform you that the Interhouse Quidditch Cup will not be held this year—" Dumbledore continued.

"What?" Harry said loudly, and the entire school erupted into boos and protests.

"—specifically due to an event that will begin in October, and will continue throughout the entire school year, taking up teachers and students time and energy. It is my pleasure to inform you that this year at Hogwarts—"

The Grand Hall doors burst open as a loud rumble of thunder clapped across the enchanted ceiling. A man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long staff, and clad in a black traveling cloak. All eyes fell on the stranger as he limped across the hall toward the Headmaster. An exceptionally brilliant fork of lightning traveled across the ceiling, casting his uniquely chiseled features into sharp contrast. He shook out his long, grizzly gray hair as he went. Every other step a loud clunking sound resounded across the room. Another flash of lightning. Hermione gasped.

Every inch of his face appeared scarred. A chunk of his nose was missing, his mouth looked like a diagonal cut on his face. He had one natural dark, beady eye. The other one was large, blue, and whirring incessantly in its socket.

"Gohan, do you sense that?" Hermione whispered.

"Yeah, it feels…off," was the best word Gohan could use to describe it. "For some reason, he…this… reminds me of Captain Ginyu."

"But he's a frog now, right?"

Gohan blinked as he stared. "Yeah. But it still reminds me of him."

Hermione looked at the man's back. Usually, Gohan's instincts were right. "So, how does it remind you of him?" She asked as the man shook hands with Dumbledore and took the chair to the right of Dumbledore's empty chair.

Gohan frowned as Dumbledore introduced the man as the new DADA instructor. "Well, when Ginyu had arrived in my Dad's body, I knew something was off. His ki wasn't my father's ki. Also, ki usually fits the body better, especially since the ki had been in the body for a while. Ki is usually accustomed to the body it is in; his ki just doesn't seem to match the container. I dunno…maybe I'm just being paranoid. His ki is also kinda dark…reminds me of how Vegeta used to feel."

"Moody? Mad-eye Moody?" Harry was saying to Ron. "Wasn't he the bloke your father went to help earlier today?"

"Must be," Ron said in a low, awed voice.

Hermione's empathy took over. "What happened to him? What happened to his face?"

"Donno. He used to be an Auror."

Dumbledore broke the silence. "As I was saying, Hogwarts has the honor of hosting a legendary event! The Triwizard Tournament!"

"YOU'RE JOKING!" Fred and George shouted together. The entire room burst into laughter.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I assure you, Mister Weasley and Mister Weasley, that I am not. For those of you who are ignorant of history, the Triwizard Tournament was started seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between three prestigious wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected from each school to compete in three tasks. The schools took turns in hosting the event every five years, until it was discontinued due to the large death toll."

"Death toll?" Hermione said weakly.

"There have been several unsuccessful attempts to reestablish the Tournament. The Department of International Cooperation and the Department of Magical Games and Sports have decided that the time is ripe for another attempt. We have been working exceptionally hard to ensure the safety of participants and spectators.

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October with their candidates for the champion slots. An impartial judge will select the champions most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, glory of their school, and a thousand galleon prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred said happily. He wasn't the only one whose face was lit with thirst.

"However eager I am sure you all must be to bring the Cup for Hogwarts, The Ministry and Heads of the Schools have agreed to set an age restriction on those eligible to compete. Only students who are seventeen or older before October Thirty-First will be eligible."

The hall broke out into noise as the disapproving students voiced their anger.

"I will personally ensure that the impartial judge won't be deceived into selecting a younger student. So don't bother attempting," Dumbledore continued, casting a twinkling eye in the direction of the twins.

"The delegates from the other schools arrive in October and will remain throughout the remainder of the year. I expect my students to extend every courtesy to our guests and give your whole-hearted support to whichever champion the judge selects to represent us.

"As it is late, and you have classes tomorrow, I now suggest you turn in for the night. Chop Chop!"

As Hermione and Gohan turned to head toward their house, a Head Boy with familiarly long, flowing white-blond hair and a Slytherin badge approached them. "Mister Son, Miss Granger, Headmaster wishes to see you in his office." Hermione blinked stupidly at the young man's back as they followed him toward the familiar gargoyles.

"Headmaster? I've brought them," the young man said in a quiet, soft voice.

"Ah, thank you, Legolas. You are excused." The young man exited silently.

Dumbledore motioned them to sit. "Piccolo informed me that you had quite an adventure at the World Cup. How are you feeling, Lady Subaru?"

Hermione winced at the name. "I'm fine. Krillin and Eighteen took me to Dende. He gave me sacred water to counteract the effects of the potion."

"I see. Well, as you may well know, next year, you come of age. That gives you full legal rights over the Subaru estates and titlements. You will also have an assumed seat among the board of governors and have complete veto power concerning some of their bylaws."

Hermione nodded. "I understand that I must be present in order to vote. That may be a problem, considering I need to keep anonymity for awhile, but—"

"—your power to veto any authorized or unauthorized decision can be executed while on the grounds and fully without your identity being revealed. That may come in handy, should the Ministry try to usurp the governors."

Hermione stared. "Do you know something, sir?"

"Ah, I'm afraid that Cornelius wasn't too happy with the incident involving Sirius Black. He was irritated at Harry and myself, to say the least. I believe he suspects our involvement in Black's escape."

Hermione nodded. "Fortunately, he can't prove it."

"Indeed. However, he can still be a danger to us. He's beginning to ignore my advice, something he has never done before. I believe Cornelius is becoming paranoid. But more important matters…we were discussing your coming of age. Because you will be coming of age next year, I've decided to tell you about your inheritance."

"My inheritance, sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes. The Subaru were vastly wealthy. According to wizarding law, if a will isn't present, the entire fortune is placed into legal limbo for the required sixteen years, in order to ensure an Heir isn't being depraved, before the law confiscates and divides the estates. But because you, the Heir, will be claiming the estates, the Ministry is going to suddenly find themselves 'holding the bag' as the Muggles say. They will know that a surviving Heir exists sixteen years to the day that your mother died."

Hermione sighed. "So, it's only a matter of time before they discover my existence and ultimately, my identity."

"Correct. But at least you will have a year's head start. Now. You, of course, own a fair amount of Arandia lands, the Forbidden Forest, the Black Lake, and a nearby castle that rests on Arandia grounds. The castle is warded exactly like Hogwarts. No one can apparate in or out of the place; although I understand that may not be a problem for you. The castle remains undisturbed. It has been cared for by an adequate number of house-elves since its vacancy. I believe you own no less than fifty, including your recent acquisition—"

"Are you deliberately trying to get on my nerves?" She said in exasperation.

The old man's eyes sparkled. "Not to mention that every single house-elf here considers you to be their master by default."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I don't want slaves!"

"You should consider this an opportunity, Lady Subaru. You have an incredible opportunity to affect so much. We'll discuss that another time, but for now…you have no less than ten sizable Gringotts vaults. You own multiple estates across Britain and Europe. You own multiple wizarding companies under the table, such as Zander's Brooms and Vondo Attica, and you have multiple investments in Bertie Botts, Flounder Publishing, even a bit in Zonko's.

"And that's just your mother's possessions," Dumbledore said with a sudden mischievous glint in his eyes. "If you really wanted to ruin your father, I've researched some of his holdings, as well."

"I want nothing to do with him!" Hermione said hotly.

"Perhaps not. But you could seriously cripple his cause by inheriting his Gringotts vaults. You see, Voldemort made a serious error in judgement by placing wards on his vaults that say only an Heir of Slytherin could open them. You could empty his vaults. It's not even his money, anyways. Most of the money he had was stolen from victims or 'volunteered' by various Death Eaters. And the best part, Lady Subaru, because Voldemort's status is unaccounted for, you don't even have to wait until you come of age. You could very well walk in there now and empty the accounts."

"I don't want the money! If it's stolen—"

"Well, the point is, Lady Subaru, you can do whatever you want with the money…as long as you deprive him of its use. You can even return the money to some of its owners, providing that you do it as discreetly and secretively as possible.

"I am suggesting that we do this next weekend. You may wish to borrow Harry's Invisible Cloak. I won't look suspicious outside of the school, but you and Mister Son certainly would."

Gohan stared. "I'm going with you?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Certainly. As well as the secret keeper, if Mister Son wasn't your choice."

Hermione sighed. "It's going to be rather crowded with Harry under the cloak."

Dumbledore appeared both pleased and surprised. "You made Harry your secret keeper?"

Hermione gave a wry smile. "I thought it was rather fitting, don't you?"

"And ironic, putting so much faith in your father's worst enemy."

Hermione's eye twitched irritably. "But fitting, considering he's one of my best friends…and I trust him."

"I can see that. I hadn't expected you to reveal yourself so soon to Harry, proving how, despite some similarities in regards to talent, how different from your father you truly are."

Hermione looked up hopefully. "You mean that?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "My dear girl, I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't."

Stupid boggart, Hermione thought acidly.

"Boggart?" Dumbledore said mildly. Hermione jumped. Were her thoughts that transparent? "Ah, I see. You feared I would compare you to Tom Riddle. Well, I guess I need to apologize for confirming your worst suspicions."

Hermione smiled sardonically. "But not in the manner I expected. That was one of my fears."

"I see. There were others?"

Hermione sighed. "I feared Harry's reaction to finding out. I feared your perception of me, because I assumed you already knew, considering your friendly relationship with Piccolo. I also fear him, but not because of the fact he can kill me…there are some things even worse than death."

Dumbledore winced. Recovering, he nodded, smiling. "Once again, you display your differences from Riddle. He would never openly admit his fears to even himself, more or less anyone else, as you just did. Also, had he stood in front of the boggart, he would have seen himself dying or dead, believing that nothing is worse than death. It is why he can commit such atrocities. He loves nothing, and he fears Death. He assumes that others fear it above everything else, as well. Sadly, if he had been on the receiving end of one of the countless lives he has left in ruin, perhaps he would have chosen differently."

Don't bet on it, Hermione thought bitterly. Tom Riddle wouldn't know empathy if it bit him on the—

Dumbledore interrupted her internal rant by chuckling. "You disagree? I suppose we will never know."

Hermione smirked as she stood. "He will if I have anything to say about it. Is there anything else you need?"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, frowning thoughtfully, his eyes sparkling. "Nothing at all, Lady Subaru."

"Then, I have something to ask of you."

"Oh?"

"I have a bad feeling about this tournament thing. I was wondering if you would permit me, Gohan, Harry, and the Weasleys to train somewhere within the Hogwarts campus."

"I see. You have found such a place where you can accomplish this? I had already given Gohan my approval. I wonder why you are asking permission."

"Well, my selection of training ground is rather," Hermione paused, adding a wry smile, "Irregular. I wanted to ensure your approval and perhaps even your participation in our training. If you say yes I plan to start renovating the area immediately."

A look of dawning had slowly etched its way across the old Headmaster's face. He covered his momentary shock with his own sarcastic grin. "I see. You are definitely planning to rub it in Tom's face, aren't you?"

Hermione grinned evilly. "You have no idea."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, Lady Subaru, if that's the way you want it, I have no intentions of stopping you. I'll scan there area there, to ensure no lingering curses or evil creatures remain. I'll need you to teach me the passwords, of course."

"Of course. It would also be beneficial for you to install protections, so that anyone with questionable intentions don't find themselves there."

"Yes. And you and your 'study group' will need to take the extra precautions for your meetings to go unnoticed."

"Naturally. I assume you'll want to participate in the remodel? It would be nice if the area's decor could reflect the ideals of House unity." Hermione stood.

"I would be honored with the invitation to do so, Lady Subaru." Dumbledore mirrored her. "Unless you have any more frightfully fascinating schemes you plan to share, perhaps it is time for you to retire." He gave a small bow.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Goodnight, Professor."

"Goodnight, Miss Granger."

Dumbledore turned his eyes toward the half Saiyan. "So, Gohan. I believe it's your turn."

Gohan shuffled his feet, smiling shyly.