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The Headmaster and his small entourage exited the infirmary, having adjourned their meeting with light farewells towards both Yuki and Harry, brushing past both Emmeline and Hestia by the door, who were still standing guard.

"Well?" Emmeline asked Minerva, the two Order members marching in lockstep with the trio down a dim corridor.

Minerva replied, "You needn't worry, Emmeline. Miss Tsukumo is not an enemy. If anything, she's proven herself to be…helpful, if a bit forward. Too forward."

"We can't be too sure of that, Minerva," Emmeline argued. "She's a dark witch!"

Minerva gave the younger woman a sidelong glance. "And?"

Emmeline blinked, with Hestia glancing over her shoulder at the Transfiguration Professor with no shortage of surprise as she was walking ahead of them. Albus was in the lead, a smile glued to his face, while Snape chose to remain apathetic as he trailed at second.

"Dark as Miss Tsukumo may seem, Harry and I owe her our lives," Minerva contested easily. "Had she not been there, I fear we wouldn't even be here."

"All the more for her to be suspect," Emmeline maintained haughtily. "For all we know, she and her Death Eater collaborators could have orchestrated that entire fiasco."

"That is indeed a possibility, but they have never been so bold since the absence of their master," Minerva stated. "Without You-Know-Who, they have posed no significant threat other than the occasional disturbance. They have not made any strides since. What happened at Privet Drive was…had you been there Emmeline-"

"Had I been there," Emmeline interrupted, "you and Harry would have been back here at Hogwarts in two shakes. These…'Cursed Spirits' or whatever the devil they're called just sound like a bunch of overexcited poltergeists that have been haunting that dreadful Muggle village en masse."

Minerva pressed her lips thin, not at all liking the witch's tone in regards to Privet Drive. Lives were lost that day. Innocent Mugg-people. People who no doubt perished under the horror of those demons. She had considered the possibility, but no poltergeist she knew of; that wasn't Peeves, could stand to be capable of such carnage, much less murder (at least not deliberately), and the behavioral patterns she had observed firsthand were so unlike the conventional Spectre that she would have deemed them as more of a yet discovered variant of Inferi.

As for the witch being there, she doubted it would have made a difference. The bastards seemed damn near invulnerable to whatever spell she threw at them, and her shield charm had been next to useless other than deflecting stray debris. Emmeline, or really, any others would have stood little to no chance against such monstrosities. And if Albus' word was to be believed, the implications could only be…

"Emmeline," Minerva began contritely, "had you been there…" Her breath caught in her throat, she bit back a choke as she lifted her spectacles to delicately wipe at both eyes with the tips of her right hand. "Had you seen…poor Arabella…"

"Hm?" Emmeline fully glanced at Minerva with a quizzical raising of her brow. "What about Arabella?"

It took Minerva the entire span of a moment for her thoughts to catch up to the question. A question that almost made her pause in her step at how…flippant it nearly sounded.

"Eh?"

"A-Arabella," Minerva repeated with a stutter, unable to believe that the woman didn't know yet. Granted, she herself had been confined in the two days of having to recover from the ordeal, but surely she and the rest of the Order had been informed. The Transfiguration Professor could not officially claim to be part of the Order, but Arabella was still a friend regardless. "She-"

"Arabella was one of the many casualties of that incident," Albus chimed in coolly. "She was murdered by a Cursed Spirit, which unfortunately resulted in her body becoming a catalyst to birth another." He stopped, causing the party to do the same as he turned to his Deputy Headmistress. "You witnessed it yourself, did you not, Minerva?"

Minerva steadied her bearings. Between reeling from Emmeline's seeming dismissiveness and her memory of the horrific event still fresh in her mind, the old witch could do nothing but spare a reply. "Y-Yes, I…I've never-" Minerva blinked, her eyes widening at her superior, "B-Birth another?"

Albus simply kept smiling, even as he proceeded to explain, "Yes, you heard correctly. Sorcerers refer to the phenomena as a 'Cursed Womb'. To put it simply, they are Cursed Spirits in a nascent state. Certain, ideal circumstances give way to this type of evolutionary process where the spirit will be given time to grow. The process itself is rather volatile, but the result will almost always be a spirit of high quality."

"Quality?" Hestia echoed in interest.

"Cursed Spirits are formed from the leaked Cursed Energy of living beings. Beings who are sapient enough to feel emotion. Negative emotion. This would naturally include Muggles," Albus revealed casually, drawing gasps from Emmeline and Hestia. "Yes, Muggles especially," he added for the question left unsaid. "The intricacies of how they are formed and their varieties are still obscure, at least to me. Miss Tsukumo could know more on the subject."

"B-B-But…that's…that's impossible!" Emmeline snapped. "Muggles don't have magic! Th-They're Muggles!"

"Cursed Energy is simply the byproduct," Albus continued unimpeded, raising a lecturing finger. "I've done my fair bit of research on Sorcery, and even amongst their circles, the nature of Cursed Energy and its origins is still largely a mystery. It certainly has similarities to magic, but is fundamentally divergent in its underlying nature. There is also the matter of how Cursed Energy itself tends to…assimilate magic."

"Assimilate …?" Emmeline repeated, a mixture of fear and confusion seeping into her tone.

"I can vouch for that," Minerva said, deciding to momentarily put her feelings aside. "No matter what I did, stunning, blasting, even my best defensive spells did little, if anything, to those monsters. The same with Miss Tsukumo. Even a healing spell had no real effect on her. All my magic ever really seemed to do was…empower her."

"Empower?" Snape finally spoke, with no shortage of intrigue.

"It…" Minerva shook her head, still in disbelief that such a single person could be capable of such destruction in one sitting. "I'm afraid the devastation that befell Privet Drive that day cannot be attributed to anyone else but Miss Tsukumo."

"What?!" Both Emmeline and Hestia cried, with Snape only betraying an arched brow. The two women were gawking at Minerva like she had just told them that You-Know-Who had returned. They would have happily dismissed her statement as ramblings brought about by lingering hysteria, but they knew better than to doubt her word.

"How do we know that she simply didn't conjure these so-called Spirits herself then?" Hestia posed, to which Emmeline nodded fiercely. "By that logic, they could simply churn those things out at their leisure."

"Cursed Sorcerers, unlike Muggles," Albus stated for the benefit of those listening, "are able to control their output of Cursed Energy, preventing leakage. This wards off the possibility of ever generating Cursed Spirits of their own. At least on an intentional level. Instead, they harness their inherent Cursed Energy to exorcize and destroy Curses. In theory, they should be more than capable of dispelling curses as they would in casting them with greater efficacy than we do."

"Headmaster," Emmeline began with trepidation, "are we sure that this…Chukumo girl or whatever her bloody name is can be left alone with the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Tsukumo, Emmeline," Minerva lightly chided the woman.

"Her name could be Shirley for all I care, Minerva," Emmeline bit back with a huff. "To hell with her and her kind. Cursed Sorcerers, Death Eaters, they can all bloody well sod off."

Minerva blew out a sigh through her nostrils. Out of everyone in the Order, or really, any wizard and witch, Emmeline could proudly claim to hold the most disdain for the Dark Arts, if for no other reason than considering them a perversion to what she viewed as the sanctity of magic. There was also a personal aspect to her distaste, her family having suffered at the hands of Death Eaters in the last war.

"But for Muggles to…" Hestia started uneasily.

"I'm afraid it is something that can't be helped," Albus expressed. "Not unless Muggles start having to suppress their ability to feel emotion."

"Hmph, they could certainly try," Emmeline suggested snidely, to Minerva's disapproval. "For mere Muggles to even be capable of cursing. Why, it's absurd! We leave them be so that they could go about their unassuming lives, seemingly without magic, and then we find out that they have power? And what of these-these 'Sorcerers'? How do they come into the mix?"

A light frown came to Minerva's features, disapproval lining her brow over how…vindictive Emmeline was sounding.

Filthy…filthy…hypocrites…ALL OF YOU!

"Sorcerers practice their own form of magic, though they don't formally refer to it as such," Albus provided. "In our opposition to the Dark Arts, we lean more towards the light. Point being, feelings of love, happiness, memories that we cherish and hold dear are what power charms such as the Patronus. Sorcerers, on the other hand, are more or less the opposite. They turn to a different source. The only source they can draw from. Feelings of anger, hatred, even despair. Muggles are not exempt. The strongest emotions, cultivated within their own hearts, can bring forth remarkable effects. These can range from Cursed Spirits, to actual curses. The kind that cannot simply be dispelled or countered by magic. Curses borne from powerful grudges that can linger even after death."

"Muggles? Capable of casting curses?!" Emmeline spat fearfully, looking positively scandalized.

"You would be surprised," Albus remarked to her. "I certainly was."

"But why?" Hestia asked, curious. "What exactly is this…Cursed Energy? Do we even have it?"

"Like we should even care, Hestia. Could these Sorcerers be in league with You-Know-Who then?" Emmeline asked the real question, and received an unexpected chuckle from the Headmaster.

"That's provided Tom even bothered to know they existed," Albus answered. "No, and I'm fairly certain they'd have little, if any, interest. Cursed Sorcerers largely keep to their own, with most not even being aware of the magical world, and vice versa. In a situation where our two factions do manage to intertwine, it is promptly swept under the rug by the Ministry."

It was Minerva's turn to ask, "Why the secrecy then?" None of them could forego the irony.

"A balance, as I mentioned. An unwritten rule that neither side would prefer to tread over. As for the why," Albus pursed his lips, as if chewing on his next words. "Minerva, how did it feel for you when you found your magic having almost no effect on Miss Tsukumo? The intended effect, at least."

"Confused, naturally," Minerva answered with a shrug.

"And on the Cursed Spirits?"

"... Terrified," Minerva answered again, she and the rest comprehending the insinuation.

"So to avoid mass panic, we've been kept in the dark in the same vein as Muggles?" Emmeline seethed. "Ludicrous! Then how are we finding out about these so-called Cursed Spirits just now?"

"Oh, I'm sure we've come across the occasionally belligerent cryptid," Albus told her. "Sprites, apparitions, poltergeists that haunt and stalk about in the dark. The corners we are content to not burden ourselves with, the odd phenomena and mysteries we can so easily dismiss. We are like Muggles in that way, content to defer to the supernatural with what we ourselves can yet to explain.

"Do we possess this…Cursed Energy as well?" Hestia asked shakily.

"As interesting as that would be, no," Albus answered with a stroke of his beard. "In my research, I've come to find that those with magic do not possess Cursed Energy. As for the reason why, all I can really posit for now is that if we did, we'd likely end up as Squibs."

"Squibs?!" Emmeline echoed emphatically.

"Yes, Squibs also possess Cursed Energy," Albus revealed. "It may even very well be the true cause for why they lack the capacity to harness magic. The magic is there, but because of the nature of Cursed Energy, it is simply suppressed. As part of my research, I've been meaning to find a means to alleviate this."

Emmeline and Hestia couldn't hide the dread coming off of them. That Muggles were more than what they seemed. Had they not come to know of what they now knew, they would have been content to continue paying them no heed, as opposed to Pureblood sentiments that actively despised them.

"Also," Albus added with a pointed tone of voice, "there is a more compelling justification. That being how the Pureblood Faction would capitalize on such knowledge. That Muggles are the source, albeit inadvertently, of such hostile entities. It would only give credence to their cause and more."

Hestia placed a hand to her mouth, both Minerva and Emmeline paleing in dread at how much it would rally more people to the Death Eaters by the threat that Muggles secretly posed, when previously they could slap on whatever nonsense they fancied as propaganda, they would have actual substance behind such claims if information were to be ever widespread.

"Not that this has been a fascinating discussion," Snape spoke up again upon finding an opportunity, ignoring Emmeline as she continued to brood, "but what of the damage done to Privet Drive? Don't tell me the Ministry isn't going to be involved."

The man having brought up a point, Minerva exchanged troubled glances with the other two women, while Dumbledore was ever calm, lacing his hands behind him. "A squad was promptly dispatched not a day after Harry's arrival. Considering the magnitude, the entire perimeter has been cordoned completely so that they can work to mitigate the damage as much as possible. Cornelius has reached out to the British Prime Minister to keep the authorities and media at bay until everything has settled. In all likelihood, he'll be paying me a visit as well."

"What angle should they be going with this time?" Snape asked.

Albus' expression turned thoughtful, as Cornelius would predictably turn to him for advice. "Urban legend."

All present understood the underlying meaning behind that. It might come off as contrived to most, but they could always count on the imagination of Muggles to do much of the work for them. With a little help from the media and select conspiracy theorists, many of the strangest and most bizarre that cannot rightly be explained are more often than not attributed to a mysterious phenomena, be it freak storms, extraterrestrials, or the odd disappearance.

That managed to ease just one of their worries. "What of Arabella?" Minerva brought up their deceased comrade. "Should we not hold rites for her?"

Emmeline and Hestia silently deliberated amongst themselves, with Albus responding, "I will have my agents in the Ministry retrieve her remains to be cremated. Arabella was a valued member of the Order who performed her duties admirably to the very end."

This drew nods from the two younger witches, leaving Minerva relieved that they would at the very least pay Arabella her due respects.

Just so you can pretend to be better than them!

Minerva panned her sights towards a nearby window, the memory having crossed her mind as the party resumed in their trek, the sight of the blue sky helping to soothe her own simmering emotions, for she needed to keep a level head to maintain her Occlumens the entire time she had been in proximity of the Headmaster. She had no doubts that Albus already knew, or at least suspected, that she was no longer under his memory charm, but for why he refrained from recasting the spell, she could only think of a particularly few reasons. The pragmatic one being that he simply did not wish to risk tarnishing what little trust she had left in him. A sign of good faith, then? Her skill no doubt paled in comparison to his Legilimency, but it didn't hurt to try as a precaution. In the two days of having been bedridden, she additionally placed wards in her personal quarters for good measure in case he paid her a visit, but he never did. Today was the first she had convened with him since.

She made a passing glance at the back of Snape's head as he dispelled the charm that confined the sounds they made within the hallway before breaking away at the same time both Emmeline and Hestia disapparated, their assistance concluded until needed once more, the two having served as additional security at Albus' suggestion. It simply wouldn't do to keep her students waiting, or worse, give them the impression that they were free from her company after her classes were suspended without warning. She could only imagine the excuse given for her absence.

The next day…

Minerva's footfalls echoed in the silent hallway leading to the infirmary, each purposeful step clacking rhythmically. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand, thankful for having had her morning tea after a simple breakfast of grilled haddock. She was thankful that today was a Saturday, giving her plenty of free time until she was to proctor her N.E.W.T. class for the current crop of Seventh Years in the following week. Time that she needed to spend wisely in preparation. First, a quick stop to the infirmary to check on Harry, and perhaps exchange some remarks with Miss Tsukumo regarding what she knew.

The girl might not have any direct ties to Death Eaters, but that didn't mean she could readily dismiss her presence that day as being mere coincidence like Emmeline posed. She mentioned something about being a freelancer, which could have been a lie. The other possibility was that she still maintained some ties with whoever oversaw these Sorcerers back in her home country. Were they solely based in Japan? Could there be Sorcerers in Europe? She saw no reason for there to be none, perhaps even mistaken for the common magic user.

She inwardly snorted. "Sorcerer". "Sorcery". Terms that were easily interchangeable in connection to "Wizard", "Witch", and "Magic".

That they were their own distinct classification was an irony that wasn't lost to her. Although, there wasn't exactly a rule to disqualify the things the young sorceress did as its own brand of magic.

Rounding a final corner, her perception was immediately overtaken by a gathering of students clustered in front of the infirmary, the lot of them pushing and clamoring to get a view of the inside.

Blinking, she gathered her bearings and promptly stalked up to the crowd. "Students!" The Transfiguration Professor snapped

This elicited joint looks from all present, many of which were First to Second Years to after a cursory scan, with an upperclassman or two in-between, one of them she recognized as being part of her N.E.W.T.s. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The younger students all froze, many in their civvies as opposed to those in their robes for extracurriculars, their mouths rendered shut by the authoritative presence she exuded. One of the eldest amongst them whom she earlier identified, with his eye-catching mane of red hair, seemed to pluck his courage and stepped forward.

"Well, Mister Weasley?" The Deputy Headmistress demanded curtly. "Care to explain what exactly it is that has you all gathered here?"

The Seventh Year she named as Weasley held the Deputy Headmistress' gaze with his own, beating down the urge to scratch at his thick tresses from a nervous tick he'd been working to overcome. He turned his head to steal a glance from the rest behind him, as if wishing for their input before resuming eye contact with the witch.

"Um, Professor," he stammered awkwardly, "I think you should…erm, see for yourself."

The young man raised a trembling finger pointing in the direction of the inside, prompting Minerva to take a peek after holding the young man's gaze for a second longer.

Upon doing so, each and every one of the students present made a mental note to remember the face she made for years to come.

"Faster! Faster!"

"You heard him, Garuda!"

Her mouth was the widest it had ever been, her eyebrows completely slanted apart, the spectacles nestled between her eyes coming loose and threatening to fall off from having lurched abruptly to confirm if what was happening before her, was really happening before her.

A large serpentine creature was zipping about the room at a speed faster than what could be considered safe, and who else but a boy too young for such was riding on it that he was just a blur to all watching, letting out unmistakable cries of joy. Standing in the middle of the queue of beds was none other than Tsukumo Yuki herself, looking up with a wide smile on her face as her eyes seemed to keep track of the creature if the swiveling of her head was any indication.

Minerva stood completely still, her gaze slowly trailing down and landing on the blonde, who seemed to catch on to her presence out of all the eyes on her. Yuki looked over her shoulder. "Mh? Oh, hey granny," she greeted brightly with a wave of her hand.

Silence gripped the collective of students, leaving only the sounds coming from the boy as all of them glued their eyes to the blonde, some naturally wondering to themselves if she was a student and what House she belonged to, while others were coming to their own conclusions and theories. Minerva, face still frozen in shock, wordlessly marched up to the blonde.

The students stood back in suspense as the old witch stopped in front of her, the two of them only a foot apart as Yuki's expression turned inquisitive from the witch boring a hole into her, as if nothing was amiss. Before anyone could even predict what would come next, the gathered students jointly winced.

A loud thud drew Harry's and Garuda's attention from their fun, causing them to stop and hover in midair, the boy's arms and legs wrapped snugly around the Shikigami's neck to keep himself from falling off.

Yuki's hands made a grab for her head, the tips of her fingers encircling the spot where Minerva's fist struck, wafting a billow of smoke from the unexpected force of the blow. "W-What the heck was that for?" Yuki groaned.

She should be the one asking that, thought the witch to herself. "Whatever it is you're doing right now, I implore you to stop and go back to bed before I'm forced to do the honors with my own two hands!" Minerva seethed through gritted teeth before darting her head left and right searchingly. "Where's Poppy?! "

She didn't need to look for long, soon finding the healer standing stationary by the far corner of the room, her back facing them as she was staring lifelessly at nothing. Minerva shook her head in sympathy at the beleaguered woman after coming near and seeing the utter despair written on her face, no doubt borne from the girl's antics in her wing.

After dispersing their audience with nothing but a stern glare, Minerva manually closed the door shut as Poppy escorted Harry back to his own cot, the nurse only too thankful that the madness had been put to a stop. Yuki was sitting back on her mattress with a pout and her arms crossed over her chest, letting a leg dangle by the edge of the bed, Garuda circling above her.

Minerva sucked in her lips as she inhaled sharply through her nostrils, then exhaled out of her mouth to help in gathering her composure. With that, she turned and traipsed towards Harry's bed first to see if he was alright. True enough, he looked fine, if not a bit disappointed, clearly moping over how his fun had been cut short, lips set into a pout.

"Harry?" At the sound of her voice saying his name, the boy lifted his head in her direction. Minerva wore on a thin smile to help keep him at ease, but he was nonetheless mildly perturbed over who this woman even was. When he first awoke, he had been greatly surprised to find himself resting under an unfamiliar roof rather than the bottom of the stairwell of his cramped cupboard, rendering him more than a little confused. How did he end up here? Who were these people? And where were his relatives? After coming out of what he could only describe as a troubleless slumber, it didn't take long for his most recent memories to come in flooding.

He felt sad. Sad and confused over the things that had happened. He had wondered to himself when he could go home. Home to the only family he knew.

A calm silence descended between them as the woman sat down next to his bed, dressed primly in a white blouse and black long skirt, her hair drawn into a bun. She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling with kindness and warmth behind her square rimmed spectacles. "Good morning, Harry."

There was a smidgen of hesitation before the boy replied back, "G-Good morning." His words sounded fragile, meekly dipping his head between his shoulders as he avoided eye contact, perhaps believing that he was in trouble. Minerva's eyes softened upon sensing this, that being the last thing she wanted.

"Are you alright?"

Harry nodded silently after a long delay.

"Are you sure? No dizziness?" He shook his head. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

Another meek shake.

"Pardon me for asking this, Harry, but why were you riding that…thing back there?" Minerva made sure to ask gently, whatever that creature even was.

"..."

She leaned in closer to hear. "Pardon?"

"…f-fun…"

"I see," Minerva conceded, pulling back. "Did Miss Yuki put you up to that? Did she encourage you?"

When he hesitated for much longer, she pushed forward with the next question.

"Have you already eaten?"

Minerva's eyes narrowed in the fraction of a second she took note of a slight shift in the boy before he shook his head slowly. "What would you like for breakfast, then?"

At his continuous silence, Minerva experienced a sliver of resentment towards the Dursleys, but not by much upon remembering why they became that way. The time would have to come for her to confront him on that matter, but there was still much she needed to sort out until then.

Harry could only stare at his entwined hands resting on his lap, his fingers twiddling gently. He was still being quite defensive, but not as much as the first time he found himself in such an unfamiliar place, with only hunger winning over him when he was presented with food. Today, the growling of his stomach would win over him once again.

"Eggs…" he mumbled.

Minerva made an internal sigh of relief. "What else?"

There was another prolonged silence before he added, "Bread…"

"You're free to ask for more, Harry," Minerva encouraged him smoothly. "Much more if you'd like. Go ahead."

Harry lowered his head, still refusing to face the witch when a voice chimed in, "Hey, Harry. Instead of bread, how about some hotcakes?"

At this, the boy looked up and glanced at Yuki. "Huh?"

Minerva couldn't stop a frown from coming on, taking keen note that the boy was being more responsive to her.

"Yeah, a big stack of hotcakes with butter and maple syrup!" Yuki exclaimed, raising her arms for emphasis. "With some bacon to go with the eggs and a hot, steaming mug of cocoa to wash it all down! How about that?"

At this, Harry seemed to light up at being reminded such foods existed, and he nodded. He finally looked to Minerva with what could plainly be read as excitement and anticipation, and the old witch could do nothing else but smile back at him while stealing a castigating glance at the blonde in her periphery.

With a flick of her wand, all the foods he wanted were summoned from the kitchen, freshly prepared by the House Elves. Harry beheld the spread before him hungrily, each dish lined up in a neat order above a large tray that stood over his lap, the hotcakes layered on top of each other and drizzled by a generous amount of syrup, topped with butter. Counting four, he had only ever seen Dudley eat such a dish, while he would be made to watch by standing in the corner until his relatives were done, by which only scraps and leftovers would be left for him to cobble together.

They would feed him full meals at times, but only to keep him alive, and even then, their leftovers were leagues more palatable.

Plucking his courage, Harry slowly moved his right hand over the knife, before his tiny fingers enclosed themselves around it. His nose itched and twitched from the overpowering scent of the syrup, causing his mouth to water. With slow, tentative movements, he brought the edge of the knife over the top and dug it in, carefully rending himself a slice. Next, he slowly went with the fork to his left, grabbing it with the same right hand after placing his knife down. Clumsily, he tried picking up the slice, but the syrup had softened the already spongy cake even further, keeping it from holding. After a few more tries, Minerva could see signs that the boy must have been unused to eating something other than what the Dursleys would spare him, which only alluded further to the wretched conditions he lived under.

After much effort, he finally managed to pick only a single slice up, and plunged it into his mouth before it could fall. The moment the taste hit his tongue, it was like the spark that lit a fire in the boy, driving his hand to move.

"Try the cocoa, Harry," Yuki suggested, eliciting a nod and a glare from the boy and Minerva respectively. He placed the fork down and made a grab for the mug filled with hot chocolate, and after swallowing, took a small sip. It tasted the same as the other day, warm and sweet, with a hint of bitterness that made it all the more delicious. It was undoubtedly the best hot chocolate he ever had.

The only hot chocolate he ever had, as the Dursleys were strict to deny him anything that wasn't water, and even then, he was only allowed to drink by their whim alone.

"So, how's the hotcakes?" Yuki asked, curious herself to how they tasted so that she may try some. Harry looked up and a smile drew itself on his lips, and the blonde couldn't help a snicker when the cocoa left a visible mustache.

"Good," Harry answered. "Really good, fluffy and sweet."

"Are they now?" Yuki said with a grin. "Hey, granny-"

"Yes, Miss Tsukumo," Minerva said with a sigh. "I'll get to you soon, but I'd rather wait for Harry to finish."

"Eh?" Yuki whined. "Can't you just make me some with that magic of yours?"

Minerva stiffened. "Miss Tsukumo. I don't 'make' the food. The House Elves do, and they're in the kitchens. What I do is summon the food by simply knowing where it is." She cleared her throat. "Also, consider the delay a penalty for your misbehavior."

"Aw," Yuki pouted, then asked. "So, you don't just pop stuff out of thin air?"

"A common misconception," Minerva sniffed primly. "By the laws of magic, we don't simply create matter out of 'nothing'. We use our mana as a base, but one has to not only be skilled, but intimately knowledgeable on what they wish to create, and even then, there are still limits that magic cannot overcome. The central one being that the original will always be superior to what is conjured, as magical constructs never last long. We would have a much easier time simply moving something, duplicating it, or enlarging it."

"Do they have any limits?" Yuki asked more inquisitively.

Minerva adjusted her glasses, recognizing a curious student when she saw one. "The duplicates are always of lower quality by shaving off the already existing matter. Enlarging something only makes it more fragile, and there is always a limit before the object collapses by the matter not being able to support the demands of the spell."

Yuki's face became inquisitive as she nuzzled her chin with a finger. "How about altering matter?"

Minerva smirked, and said, "The formal term is Transfiguration, Miss Tsukumo, which is the branch I just so happen to specialize in and teach. Observe." With a flick of her wand, the witch changed the glass standing on top of the drawer beside Yuki's bed into a bronze goblet.

Yuki made a grab for the transfigured object and examined it closely, the feel undeniably metallic to her fingertips. "Does this magical energy facilitate the bending of molecules to the caster's will? It would explain how you were able to heat up the oatmeal yesterday. Are spells relative to experience? Maybe…"

Minerva cocked a brow as the girl went on her tangent. "She figured it out that quickly?" In all her years of experience, she had only come across a handful of students with such prodigal insight into magic. Listening to the girl going off on theory alone, she wasn't drastically that far off. From what she read on science…

She clutched at her head from a dull pain. Damn it, Albus.

Minerva recalled that she had indeed read up on Muggle science books in her younger days, material to help better her understanding of the natural laws governing reality in relation to spellwork, and cross referencing them with her own scrolls and spellbooks. Mostly on physics and biology, but also zoology, mathematics and aeronautics. She had spent a great deal in the Muggle world, more genuine memories of her travels resurfacing, with parts being her duties for the DMLE, and discarding just some of the fake ones that somehow, someway placed her in the 1930s.

If Miss Tsukumo had been born a witch, she had no doubt that she'd go far.

"What about living things?"

Ah, now there was the clutch. "That is naturally far more complex," Minerva explained. "Transfiguring living organisms carries with it a fair bit more caveats than with an inanimate object. Not only must you have a keen understanding of anatomy, but biological functions as well."

"You're basically playing God," Yuki surmised.

Minerva shrugged. "You can call it that, but creating a living and thinking human is a remarkable feat all on its own already. It is also illegal, and is in line more with alchemy, which is a a more advance sub-branch. Animals are similarly complex. You can transmute living things into objects, but you must also possess the know-how to change them back, otherwise, the effect is permanent. Failure to undo an unwarranted transfiguration, especially on Muggles, can land you twenty years under the Statute of Secrecy."

She flicked her wand, and the goblet within Yuki's hands turned back to glass. "Speaking of which, care to explain the creature you have in your possession, Miss Tsukumo? Is that your Familiar?"

"More or less," Yuki said with a shrug, Garuda continuing to circle above her. "This is Garuda, my Shikigami."

"Shikigami," Minerva repeated in fascination, lifting her gaze up and beholding the flying serpent. "Do you breed them?"

Yuki smirked toothily. "We conjure them."

"…You're joking."

"Nope," Yuki said with a shaking of the head. "We Sorcerers are capable of creating Shikigami from talismans that we imbue with Cursed Energy. How intelligent and independent the Shikigami is depends on one's overall skill level. The most basic act more as remote extensions of the user, programmed with basic instructions. They're largely useful as spies or scouts." The young sorceress reached for her hair and pulled out a strand. "It normally takes years for a Sorcerer to learn this technique, and those with skill can even use other objects. The best you can do without a talisman is hair."

Hair? Well, any witch worth their cauldron knew that hair was a valuable magical ingredient, whether for spellcasting or potions, so that was perhaps one of the commonalities they had with Sorcerers. No sooner than that thought crossed her mind, Minerva froze.

Yuki channeled some of her energy into the strand before blowing on it, letting it change shape, the hair transforming into a simple canary, its wings beating frantically as it darted around in a seemingly confused manner, yet it didn't make a sound. Still a novice in the art, she failed to assert proper control before her hold collapsed, causing the avian to turn back. "Admittedly, I'm still not good at it, but…"

The sorceress caught the witch and Harry staring, the latter more impressed from childish wonderment. The former, on the other hand, was giving her an odd stare that was part quizzical, part scrutinizing. "Can you do that again?"

Yuki did as the woman asked after deliberating on her options. A little showing off couldn't really hurt, and from how Minerva was scrutinizing the technique carefully, it was clear that there was some interest in learning it.

"Is the…Shikigami you're making autonomous? Does it have a will of its own?"

"Not really," Yuki replied as her latest one was dispelled, beginning to feel some drain on her reserves. That was the risk with novices. Creating Shikigami was insufficient unless one had finesse in their control. "Shikigami at their core are no better than mindless automata unless programmed in such a way that they can perform certain tasks. This can range from simply spying on something or attacking it. More complex Shikigami, like my Garuda, have what you could technically call a will, but the reason for that is often heavily tied with one's Innate Technique."

"Innate Technique," Minerva repeated. "I believe you mentioned that before. What is that, pray tell?"

"Innate Techniques are a Sorcerer's bread and butter, if you could call it," Yuki elaborated. "When a Sorcerer is born, they are naturally equipped with a technique that's wholly unique to them. This technique is engraved into the body and manifests around the time we hit the age of about five or six, and will continue to grow with training and practice. Think of it like a spell that you, and only you, can do, that you can perform on instinct, and can't be copied by others without compromising their own natural progress."

Minerva was stunned. If what this girl was saying was true, then Sorcerers were in ways similar to Metamorphmagus, only more varied and unpredictable. Being naturally born with an instinctive spell or ability that was unique to oneself was what any spellcaster would trade their wand for, provided the spell was useful. "You mentioned being engraved into the body. What do you mean by that, Miss Tsukumo?"

Yuki raised the finger of her right hand and tapped it against her forehead. "The Prefrontal Cortex, or sometimes known as the personality center, is where the signal to activate the technique is located, which also happens to be the area of the brain where we regulate much of our higher function, like decisions, emotions and actions, making the technique a reflection of the individual. It's precisely what sets us apart from one another and why it's also a double-edged sword if one wishes to learn someone else's Innate Technique from scratch. The more complex or powerful the technique is, the higher the demand in processing the information required to pilot it."

Minerva went deep into thought over this new information with no shortage of intrigue. On the surface, it was like the girl was deconstructing the bare mechanics of how to wield magic, but it couldn't be any more dissimilar. She was certain of this through research done only recently. An average magic user needed most of their brain's higher functions to not only precisely cast a spell with the desired and intended effect, but manage the output needed, but it would seem that these Sorcerers somehow managed to compartmentalize that method. There must be some caveat or condition attached.

"Do you use wands?" Minerva questioned. "We commonly use them as foci for our magic, though wandless spellcasting is also practiced."

Yuki tilted her head. "Not commonly, I'm afraid. We often employ the use of paper talismans to create wards, barriers or spawn Shikigami, but on average, you'd have an easier time finding someone using Cursed Tools."

Minerva froze. "Cursed…Tools?"

"Tools that possess a curse or are imbued with Cursed Energy," Yuki expounded. "They normally come in weapons to help us battle and exorcize Cursed Spirits, but they can be other things. Heck, I actually thought that twig of yours was one the first I saw it."

Minerva's worries over the existence of such items evaporated at that last part, replaced by a deadpan arch of her brow. "I see. Well, this has been an enlightening conversation with you, Miss Tsukumo. That was indeed why I came here, but also to check on young Mister Potter."

"Uh huh," Yuki responded drily. "So, since I've been pretty generous so far, I don't suppose you can spare to answer a few questions of my own?"

Minerva stared at the young woman, already guessing what she wished to know. "Go ahead."

She only needed to wordlessly flicker her eyes at Harry.

"Mister Potter is the son of two of my former students," Minerva answered without missing a beat, "whom I maintained friendly relations with well after graduation. That day, I intended to pay him a visit after having some tea with another friend of mine…Arabella. As you can imagine, that went about as well as the two of us remembered."

"His parents…" Yuki started, making a motion with her hand.

Minerva kept a firm grip on her emotions, careful in choosing her words. "Mister…Harry, lost his parents years ago. At the time, we deemed it best for him to stay with his maternal relatives until his paternal grandparents were ready to take him in. Unfortunately, that would not come to pass. They had their first child; Harry's father, at a later age, and raising their infant grandson would have carried with it its own challenges as they were getting on in years. They were initially willing, of course, riding off of their son's death, but ultimately rescinded."

"So, these relatives were…"

"Muggles," Minerva finished. "They…well…harbored a particular aversion to magic, you see." Minerva blew out a sigh, still quite torn over the truth she discovered on the Dursleys. That they weren't as awful as she was made to believe. They still hurt Harry, of course, but by all merits, they couldn't be held responsible under a Wizarding court of law because of a few certain clauses relating to the Statute of Secrecy. Modifying memories was perfectly legal when used on Muggles.

Against other wizards and witches, however.

Back when she was still with the DMLE, she had processed quite a few who unlawfully modified memories, and she had half a mind to bring Albus in if she could, but considering the man's standing and reputation, it was her word against his. All she would really accomplish was a tarnished reputation and any chance of ever exposing him.

From the corner of her eye, she found Harry done with his meal and had long been listening in. Smiling, she reached out with her left arm and gently brushed a hand along the boy's head, the lad not refusing the contact.

"I feel like there's more than what you're willing to tell here," Yuki said boldly.

Rather than deny such an allegation, the old witch merely closed her eyes. "What would give you that impression, Miss Tsukumo?"

"Security detail," Yuki stated. "The way you guys keep acting around the kid like he's someone high profile. Even now. Unless that's customary in how you treat your brats, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Harry is more than he seems."

"Oh?"

"How did his parents die?"

The air around Minerva shifted significantly. She was tempted to cast a Silencing Charm on the girl, but remembered how futile that would be. "I can't say. Not in front of-"

"You wanna know about your parents, Harry?"

Minerva snapped up from her seat like the crack of whip, now glaring daggers at the sorceress, who did not back down in the slightest.

Harry, having heard this, sat stunned. "My…parents?"

"Yeah," Yuki said. "Your real parents. Haven't you ever wondered about them?"

"Miss Tsukumo!"

Yuki returned her glare once more, the witch finding herself transfixed in the girl's striking red eyes. "What's the problem?"

"The boy's emotional state," Minerva provided. "Just to name a few."

"Indulge me, then."

Minerva tightened her grip around her wand. "Miss Tsukumo, I would highly prefer that you not meddle in affairs that have far to do with you than the Chudley Cannons ever have of seizing the World Cup."

"The what and the what now?"

"All I can say is that Harry being safe is all that matters," Minerva insisted. "If you have any contentions with that, we'll be more than happy to send you on your way. You've already seen and heard quite enough, for there is nothing more that you should know."

Yuki's head sank as she belted out a sigh. She then lifted her head and bore deeply into the old witch. "Then why do you call him the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Minerva's eyes widened into saucers. "How do you-?!"

Yuki barely had a second to react as she lunged forward out of bed and placed herself in front of Minerva to take a blasting curse, greatly startling the witch and Harry. Yuki had her arms crossed, having absorbed the magical energy but still feeling winded by the raw force it carried.

"Damn!" Yuki croaked, her gown torn open and exposing her chest.

Minerva shook her head to recollect her bearings before peering past the young woman, and she could only gawk in wanton disbelief.

With a smoldering glare and her wand directly trained at them, Poppy Pomfrey had her back to the door, barricaded shut to keep any potential interlopers out.

"Don't tell her anything, Minerva!" Poppy spat with rage, her lips peeled back, the warmth in her eyes having been replaced by a dark determination.

Author's Notes: Transfiguration and Alchemy are actually similar to each other in certain aspects, which canon should have pointed out since transmutation is heavily involved in both. In fact, they might as well be one and the same, but since Alchemy is far more complex than simple spellwork and consists of procedures bordering on the scientific method, it is naturally considered a more advance discipline that should logically be reserved for NEWTs.