A/N: I apologize in advance, LeafStorm924, because I believe that my OC-centred chapters are planned up until Chapter 7. Chapter 9, for sure though, is more canon-centred. You might want to look out for that. And guys, we have surpassed 300 hits. PS I'm posting this in Design and Technology lol.
Also, RIP to all the famous people that died in the span of a little more than a month. I swear there have been at least 4…some of our poor Nations are going through tough times now…
Chapter 6: Intervention IV – Cammi Kam and Professor A. R. Heathers
Lyrical Title: I Finally Understand
Date of Writing: 11 November – Before December 2018
Date of Typing and Editing: 1-2 December 2018 (Partially while my Internet was down)
Warning: Kind of general…not as much plot-relevant details. Only character building. Also, I don't know if the tents of today existed back in the 90s, and I know for sure that Spongebob Squarepants wasn't broadcasted 'til 1999, but forgive me. The opportunities were too good to pass up. Plus mild language, a flashback (mostly translated from Cantonese into English for you) and Cantonese.
Monday, 11 September 1995
Mira woke in her bed, in the tent set up on the grounds. It wasn't a very big tent, but it was quite cozy…and modern. On the outside, it appeared to be a tiny dome of black nylon, like it were just the sleeping quarters of a couple of campers. On the inside, however, was a decent four-room microflat dorm with four bunk-beds, a small bathroom and a sitting room area.
She changed into a teal turtleneck and her school windcheater (plus a Warming Charm…this is the Scottish Highlands, not the subtropics) before stepping out of the tent to the Great Hall (she remembered the way), yawning half the way – after all, she was still adjusting to the time zones. She brushed her fingers over the jade necklace-pendant over the dip in between her collarbones. It was a gift from her maternal grandmother, whom had said that it was an ancient family heirloom – not Xia-Dynasty-ancient, but still pretty old.
When she got to the Great Hall, she noticed that her Buddy, Leanne MacFusty was chatting at the Gryffindor Table with her best friend, Katie Bell, whom was accompanied by her own Buddy – Sasha, if her memory served correctly. Then she saw her own best friend, Cammi Kam at the Ravenclaw Table. Her Buddy, Amanda Brocklehurst was busy shoveling sunny side-up eggs into her mouth while furiously flipping through the pages of A History of Magic. She took a seat behind her best friend at the Hufflepuff Table.
"Zou san, Cammi." Cammi turned from her seat at the Ravenclaw Table, replying, "Zou sah ah, Ah Bik! Nei zap cai yeh mei ah?" Pinkish pimples were dotted all over her forehead and nose. Mira took a slice of toast with butter and strawberry jam from the Breakfast Buffet.
"You're not my ma. Don't worry about me."
"I ehm oh-da den you, so eet ees my...re-spon-see-bee-lity to tick care of you," her best friend insisted. She lightly facepalmed.
"Ngo m zoi hai BB wor."
"Nei zung hai ngo ah mui ah."
"Not by blood," Mira pointed out.
"Family don't have to have blood relation," Cammi gently retorted, running her fingers through Mira's ponytail.
Mira had met Cammi when she first started at Causeway, but then they found that they went to the same secondary school, though in different classes. The girl, who was only three months and a week older than her, had claimed her as a younger sister/best friend less than three months into her friendship, though it took months for her to open up. In fact, she had only learnt the reason why Cammi treated her so one Friday recess that April at secondary school.
"I can't have little siblings," Cammi explained, her face morose. Mira had cornered her 'sister' for a heart-to-heart, after she was found sobbing over…well, she couldn't quite remember already, but it had to have been bad if they made Cammi of all people cry. They were at secondary school at that time.
"My ma left my ba when I was six. I found that when Ah Ba had to work late, she had brought home this other man named Doyle." Cammi's dad worked at some cha chaan teng about four or five streets away from their flat in Sheung Wan. "I told Ah Ba that they were making strange noises all night once – they had kept me awake and I fell asleep in my first three classes the next day and got shouted at by my teacher. They divorced two months after I told him. It's all my fault…I can't have a proper family…later that year, my teacher told us to do a project on our families. We had to make profiles of three family members. Since my ah ba's ma was gone before I was born – because of an accident, I think – and my ba's two little brothers were at work overseas, they couldn't spare any time to help me with my project…"
"Chun choi, they didn't divorce because of you. They did because your ma was cheating on your ba with this Doyle. You didn't know that your ma was unfaithful, and you're not the reason why they separated." Mira's voice changed to a pleading tone. "It's been eight years, Tsz Ying. It's not your fault. You don't have to ask for forgiveness. Get over it…m goi lah, Gah Jeh…" That was the first time she had ever acknowledged this relationship with Cammi, and hopefully would be the last. Then the bell signaling the end of recess rang. They returned to their classrooms for their respective lessons, and as Mira noticed, her 'sister' looked like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
That was when over a hundred owls swooped into the Great Hall. One of her fellow exchange students – the small one that looked more like a primary school graduate than the Form Two kid that he really was – let out a high-pitched scream and ducked underneath the Gryffindor Table. From what she had heard, that boy was a new-blood. She just hoped that the poor kid would be able to survive life as a wizard. Perhaps he would choose to continue his education in a mundane university as opposed to HKUSE – the Hong Kong University of Sorcery and Enchantment, or get a mundane job. At least, it is be the path that involved the least owls…unless he chooses to work at some wildlife park or avian sanctuary. That will be stupid.
A barn owl landed in front of her – the one carrying her copy of the Daily Prophet (a subscription was included in the exchange student package) – as well as the one with her copy of Bauhinia Daily. As she flipped open her copy of the latter newspaper, the two owls simultaneously did their business on the Buffet sausages and on the congee that one of the other exchange students was eating.
"Yau mo gau chor?!" shouted the exchange student – Andy Tong, if her memory served her correctly. Oh, yes, he was the son of Edmund Tong, owner of Tong Kee Tim Ban (湯記甜品) – more commonly known as Tong's Desserts among foreign tourists. Cammi's dad had brought her and Cammi there once to celebrate Cammi's thirteenth birthday. The rumours were true – they made the best red bean soup in town. She had also seen him when he visited her family's wand shop.
"Pear and deihlùhng whisker, 30cm (approx. 12"), slightly swishy," her father had told Andy. She was watching in the distance, practising Avifors and Switching Spells. She noticed as his eyes met hers, which quickly averted to his wand. That was the first time they had met. It was a bit awkward when they started going to Causeway (thank Huangdi they went to a different mundane school, or it would be even more awkward).
She turned to her copy of the Daily Prophet.
MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATION REFORM, the headlines screamed, DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR.
"What the hell…" Mira muttered, reading the article further. "What is wrong with employing werewolves and half-giants?" Granted, werewolves didn't really have first-class treatment at home (though there was a charity that supplied cheap Wolfsbane Potion for them, and hospitals charged less for them the day after every full moon – and that's about it, really), and she had no idea that giants could do that with humans (she suddenly had a great desire to burn that thought with Fyrserpent acid), but those two seemed to be actively prejudiced against here.
Their first class was Transfiguration, in which they had to vanish mice…which was technically animal cruelty (they practised with cheap ball pens at home), Mira's mind pointed out, but oh well, the things we do for education. After stepping out of Classroom 1B, with an essay on Vanishing Spells (she hadn't learnt them yet, so it was certainly…enlightening) to complete, she and the Hufflepuffs (well, most of them – three or four of them headed off somewhere else…their Common Room?) went to the grounds, gathering with a dozen or so Ravenclaws near a small house that belonged to "Hagrid", as Leanne explained. "He's our Care of Magical Creatures Professor, but apparently he's away for a mission from Dumbledore."
Even though Mira didn't choose to take Magizoology, she did want to see what the Hogwarts equivalent of the subject was.
That was when Professor Abigail Roxanne Heathers stepped into the field. She was quite tall – only slightly shorter than Ernie Macmillian (who was close to 6 feet tall in the Imperial System)…maybe by five or so centimetres (around 2"). Her chestnut-coloured hair was tied back into a single braid. To the surprise of most of the students around her, she was wearing mundane clothing – overalls and brown combat boots over a horizontally striped shirt.
"Are ya ready, kids?" she shouted. A few pairs of eyes lit up. Cue Ernie, Susan Bones and over half the class – probably raised without (or with little) mundane influence – looking as though thinking in unison, what the hell is going on? Am I missing something?
"Aye, aye, Captain!" the ones with relative mundane upbringing yelled back.
"I can't hear you!" The grin on her face was playful and teasing.
"Aye, aye, Captain!" the responders repeated, Mira included, a little louder this time. Professor Heathers placed her hands on her hips and laughed. "Well, look who knows their no-maj pop culture, eh?" The (primarily) magical-raised glanced at each other, probably wondering what the hell no-maj meant.
"Anyways," she continued, "welcome, or welcome back to Care of Magical Creatures. In case you forgot or don't know, I'm Professor Gale Heathers, and we re-visited Hippogriffs last week. This week –"
"Hem hem."
And the first words that came to Mira's mind were holy Huangdi, that lady looks like an oversized pink toad. Indeed she did. At the back of the group was a woman with mousy hair and a striking resemblance to an amphibian. She was dressed in pink robes and a dainty matching bow sat at the top of her head.
"Good morning, Professor Heathers. I hope that you have received my message that I am inspecting this class," the Pink Toad trilled. Her voice was high-pitched, flighty and girly, but in no way pleasant – it reminded her of several chengyu that she had learnt in Chinese class throughout the years, especially siu lui cong doh and hau mut fuk gim.
"I have, High Inquisitor Umbridge," replied Professor Heathers, as her turquoise eyes averted to the other woman. "Now, 'cuz you're a guest here just to observe the lesson, I would like you to stay back and not disturb us. Fyrserpents are rather easily startled, and there are grievous consequences if they get jump-scared. My classmate in college did that. He had to visit the Healing Faculty's Medical Wing and couldn't use his wand arm for weeks. That Dorcus didn't even listen to Professor Kwong, and he's not freaking deaf either. Thank Merlin he didn't graduate. Professor Kwong let it slip that it's 'cause of that stunt he pulled. Last I heard from that Dorcus, he left to work in Southeast Asia, and good riddance to him!"
Mira could see the confused looks on everyone else's faces. Probably wondering why the hell there can be a male Dorcus…excluding this boy with ginger-brown hair. Leanne had told her his name, Terry Boot, and advised her to go to him if she had trouble with Potions and/or Charms; as well as this other blond Ravenclaw called Anthony Goldstein. Their faces were serious, as though they were both having a note-to-self (don't mess with Fyrserpents) moment. "High Inquisitor Umbridge" herself looked as though she had bitten into an especially sour lemon – not the M-rating-and-above (explicit-or-above for AO3) kind, you depraved fan. (Then again, she would have looked like that if she saw two guys going at it.) Probably 'cos she couldn't interrupt the lesson with pointless rambling so that she could disturb the Professor, portray her in a negative light in official eyes and chao kui yau yu.
"What's a…Fire-serpent?" asked a Ravenclaw with a blackhead on his nose. "I've read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Monster Book of Monsters, but the Fire-serpent isn't anywhere to be found in either one of those books!" Murmurs of agreement broke out throughout the not-classroom.
"For Merlin's sake," she heard Professor Heathers mutter, before passing around copies of paper (yes, I mean paper, not old-fashioned parchment) notes. Mira took a single look at her copy and instantly recognized it as the section on Fyrserpents in Creatures of the World.
The Fyrserpent, or the Pun Fo Seh in Cantonese, Feuerschlange in German or Pēnhuǒshé in Mandarin Chinese, is a highly endangered magical reptile. They are known for their bat-like wings, vivid scale colours and highly acidic breath, which erupts from their mouths as a substance akin to flames.
The Fyrserpent was first discovered by ancient Chinese magicals and first recorded as Téngshé by nonmagical Confucianists in the 4th century BCE. Over time, the Fyrserpent has moved south due to hunting by "Barbarians" from the north, and some have begun to migrate to Germania, or present-day Germany. The migrated Fyrserpents return to their homeland every autumn, which has violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy multiple times after its establishment.
During the 20th century, after mundane first Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong began the persecution of magicals during the 1950s, the Fyrserpent has almost been hunted into extinction in the Mainland of China. The ones which have fled to the British colony of Hong Kong, the Portuguese colony of Macau and the (self-proclaimed) independent Republic of China (also known as Taiwan) remained unharmed and were placed into reserves there. Those that didn't leave the Mainland were promptly placed into reserves in the Hainan Province in China to prevent their extinction in the Mainland. Only after Deng Xiaoping came to power and tried to fix the chaos left behind by the mundane 'Cultural Revolution' did the Ministries of Magic of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as the Chinese Council of Magic, work together to return the Fyrserpent to the wild.
The scales of the Fyrserpent vary in colours, the most common being purple. Their equivalent to 'albino' is having bright golden scales. The scales are occasionally used as a wand core, which produce wands with fiery, temperamental personalities and an affinity for grey and dark magic, as well as that for the elements of fire and air. Its highly corrosive breath is a Class B Tradeable Material and is used as a major ingredient of the Draught of Deterioration, a potion used for the execution of criminals awarded with the death penalty by the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
"I have never heard of this Fyrserpent before. Can you please inform me of its Classification in the British Ministry of Magic in order for us to register it into our system?" came that Toad's sickeningly sweet voice. Mira was already sick of her. Professor Heathers snorted. "If I were you, I would rank it XXXX, because experts have been able to train Fyrserpents, and one has succeeding in Bonding with his, though they are still quite precarious to be around because no Fyrserpent can be 100% controlled. I witnessed one kill a goat while his handler's back was turned. Goriest thing I've seen. And yeah, it's worse than the Dorcus that failed college with that stunt."
High Inquisitor Umbridge's face looked as though she was concealing a thunderstruck (rage variant) expression. Just as she started scribbling down stuff on her clipboard, Professor Heathers snorted. "Don't you freaking rant to me aboot why they are too dangerous for fifth-years. Last time I heard, there were dragons here last year at the Triwizard Tournament – or is it Quadwizard? Or even Tetrawizard? Boy, do you Brits even know how to count? Those are XXXXX creatures. As in, even more dangerous than Fyrserpents. As long as the kids follow our instructions, our temporarily resident Fyrserpents won't even hurt a freaking Doxy."
"The Ministry does not require students to know of magical creatures outside of their textbooks. They do not concern them," High Inquisitor Umbridge tried to justify. Yeah, right. That's like placing an invisible glass barrier so that we children can't reach the great skies above us. That's probably why magicals haven't made any space-related advancements yet, other than sheer ignorance and lack of resources for those who do.
"That's just discouraging them from looking outside the box into the freaking real world," scoffed Professor Heathers, before going on once again, "Anyways, I have invited another special guest to our class today. He's that expert that managed to Bond with a Fyrserpent. How he did that, I have no idea." The way she said that last sentence…she could tell that it was a complete lie. "You can come out now, Mr. H–Wong-Kirkland."
Then out came the diplomat that somehow reminded her of…home. It was as though she had known the young man – whom looked barely older than her, as well as the rest of the class – all her life. Even from a few metres away, he faintly smelt of some kind of flower, seawater (though they were nowhere near the ocean), incense smoke, milk tea, the wood in her lo dou's wand workshop and…a hint of vehicle emission?
Mr. Wong-Kirkland proceeded to show them his Fyrserpent Familiar, Tai Hang – isn't that a place name back at home? Why would he name his Familiar for a place? – and briefly introduced them to the rest of the flock. They (the students) were then asked to make a rough sketch of their assigned Fyrserpent, of the eight, and write an essay on the history and physical and magical properties of Fyrserpents. "And guys, you can't just copy from the book – I'll know. You gotta look up stuff that's not in the notes I gave you. If you copy from anyone, whoever with the balls or guts or whatever to do that gets a one-way ticket to detention with me. On Saturday. As in, an all-day detention. I already had to hand out tickets to a couple of stupid Snakes last week. I bet they're scarred for life. Metaphorically, of course – I won't go so low to physically make a mark of my students."
She seemed to place emphasis on the work physically, as though…she had found out that someone was hurt physically during detention.
Or she experienced it herself, her mind supplied.
She did, though, overhear a conversation between the three non-students in the class.
"You don't usually teach this class, do you, Professor Heathers?" inquired that very annoying Toad voice.
"Nah, I'm just substituting for Professor Hagrid," came the reply.
"And, do you happen to know where Professor Hagrid may be right now?"
"Nope, not a single idea. Maybe he's going on an extended vacation."
"I was unable to find you name in the Hogwarts attendance records or any records at all in the Ministry. Do you have an explanation for this?"
"I went to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States for my magical schooling. And in case you're gonna ask for my qualifications, I've gotten two Sorceress' Academic Degrees in college, one of them for Magizoology. I took this job to get my third in Education."
"I see." High Inquisitor Umbridge scribbled something down on her notes, then turned to speak to the diplomat. "And you are…"
"Leon Wong-Kirkland," the 'teen' replied, though Mira strongly suspected that he wasn't a teen at all, "International Ambassador for the Hong Kong Government, as well as Advisor to the Minister of Magic." WHAT. Her eyes fleetingly gazed at the trio. The Toad's face had twisted itself into a frown. "How old are you, exactly?"
"Older than you think I am," the slightly monotonous answer came. She stifled a chuckle at that.
"Where did you receive your magical education?"
"Here," Mr. Wong-Kirkland gestured to the castle in the distance. "I was a Slytherin, though the Sorting Hat did consider Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff." He said it with a certainty that she couldn't detect a lie in his statement.
"Oh, I was a member of Slytherin House too. What a coincidence." She reached out to shake his hand, and he did, though when Umbridge pulled back, she seemed like she was checking if she still had circulation in her fingers.
"Your last name is Wong Kirkland?" And the interrogation went on.
"Hyphenated," Mr. Wong-Kirkland replied, though sounding considerably more forced than before. "I was…adopted by Arthur Kirkland in my…younger years." The word adopted was said in a way as though he wasn't very happy about it. Mira wondered what happened to make it seem that way.
"I see."
After lunch came History of Magic, which was taught by some ghost professor, whom lectured about giant wars and that alone. How exactly is this cow dung related to modern magical society? The question echoed throughout Mira's brain, as well as random quotes recently made while she mindlessly leafed through the pages of her (mundane) Geography textbook.
"Don't you freaking rant to me aboot why they are too dangerous for fifth-years. Last time I heard, there were dragons here last year at the Triwizard Tournament – or is it Quadwizard? Or even Tetrawizard? Boy, do you Brits even know how to count? Those are XXXXX creatures. As in, even more dangerous than Fyrserpents. As long as the kids follow our instructions, our temporarily resident Fyrserpents won't even hurt a freaking Doxy."
"That's just discouraging them from looking outside the box into the freaking real world."
"Older than you think I am."
"She's an inquisitor alright. What the Rappaport is this, the Spanish Inquisition? Next thing we know, we'll be subjected to the Judas Cradle or something for not meeting the dumbasses' 'qualifications'!"
She followed Leanne to Defense Against the Dark Arts about an hour later, where she sat two desks away from what some people called "the Golden Trio: - the (in)famous Harry Potter and his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Mira had read from Bauhinia Daily that in late June that year, Harry had won the Triwizard Tournament as the fourth Champion (she had agreed with Professor Heathers before she even made that comment – are Brits really this bad at Maths?!), but his fellow Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory died in the last Task. Apparently, he also claimed that this Dark wizard called Lord Voldemort was back from the dead. Personally, she didn't believe it much, but who knows what the capabilities of the Dark Arts can extend to?
"Hem hem."
Oh no, not that b!tch again…her mind whimpered, but lo and behold, the Toad Queen was teaching this class. Fan-f**king-tastic.
TRANSLATION TIME, and there's quite a bit too!
Zou san – good morning [Cantonese]
Nei zap cai yeh mei ah? – Have you packed everything? [Cantonese]
Ma – mom (one of the ways of saying that) [Cantonese]
Ah Ba, ba and lo dou – dad (three of the ways to say that) [Cantonese]
I ehm oh-da den you, so eet ees my...re-spon-see-bee-lity to tick care of you. – I am older than you, so it is my responsibility to take care of you. [English with a kinda heavy Cantonese accent]
Ngo m zoi hai BB wor. – But I am not a baby anymore. [Cantonese]
Nei zung hai ngo ah mui ah. – You are still my little sister. [Cantonese]
Cha chaan teng – Hong Kong style café [Cantonese
Chun choi – idiot, stupid (person) [Cantonese]
M goi lah, Gah Jeh – Please, big sister. (in pleading tone) [Cantonese]
Yau mo gau chor?! – Oh, come on! Or, are you kidding me? [Cantonese]
Deihlùhng – Dilong, subspecies of Imperial Dragon (original magical creature) [Cantonese Yale Romanization]
Chengyu – Chinese idioms, usually with four characters [Putonghua]
Siu lui cong doh – 笑裡藏刀 – literally 'hiding a knife/dagger in a smile', meaning is to 'hide malice and murderous intent behind a friendly/smiling exterior'. [Cantonese]
Hau mut fuk gim - 口蜜腹劍 – literally 'mouth sweet/honey stomach/abdomen sword', meaning is to 'have a honeyed tongue to conceal malicious intentions'. [Cantonese]
Chao kui yau yu - 炒佢魷魚 – literally to 'stir-fry him/her squid', meaning is to 'fire/sack [her]' (note: slang) [Cantonese]
Pēnhuǒshé and Pun Fo She – literally 'spray fire snake' [Putonghua and Cantonese, respectively]
Feuerschlange – literally 'fire serpent' (note: Google Translate, may be unreliable [German]
A/N: Over 3800 words of content, and over 4200 words in total this chapter! Wow! We have also surpassed 300 views. And I'm sorry for inducing boredom or anything. I was typing and editing this chapter for hours, until past 1am! I hope that my hard work paid off! Please review, fave and follow, if you want to! I want this fic to reach 5 reviews by the time I upload next chapter. (I know I was only supposed to upload this at 3 reviews, but forgive me, I know you want me to update sooner.)