Severus groaned as a knock at the door of his assigned room dragged him back to the land of consciousness. He yawned out an acknowledgement and forced himself to sit up, in the extremely comfortable bed. After stretching, Severus leant back against the headboard and let himself wander through the surprising events of yesterday. The shinobi hadn't left anything up to chance in their contracts; he had to admit to himself, that it was an impressive contract that even Lucius Malfoy would struggle to write one more binding. The quick agreement between Minerva and the Hokage had been a pleasant surprise, that bode well for the future of contact between the two cultures. Severus himself had also struck a deal with the heads of the Nara and Yamanaka for a bunch of herbs and some antler shards. For a set amount they would provide him with some pouches of dried herb, and a few different seedlings he could grow. He wouldn't be able to sell the plants, but he could use them and then sell the potions. He would also be able to get a discount on 1kg of shed antler every spring, again he couldn't sell it, but he could sell the potions he made. Overall, the trip had been productive. Then the magic testing happened… and it happened in a big way. He had been pleasantly surprised at the both the power level and talents of the first two heirs. Certainly, they would be on par with some of the more powerful students in Hogwarts when it came to pure power anyway. They'd need a lot of training before they could use it effectively. The shocker had been the Nara heir. If Severus was being honest, he expected the universe to throw a curveball; especially with how determined Albus was about her being the new saviour. What happened was way past curveball. It was bright… blindingly bright. Lily had been an extremely powerful witch, but her birth daughter was taking it to a new level. The brightness was on level with his or Minerva's. It was the colours that really took him back. Severus shook his head and sighed, before rolling out of bed and shuffling to the bathroom. Honestly, white light would have been easier! A glance at the clock had him hurrying. He was meant to meet up with the three kids to start their tutoring in an hour and a half!
Shikamaru sat, curled up on a chair, in the assigned meeting room; her head buried in her arms as her teammates chattered about what they thought magical training would be like. They had been given a schedule first thing this morning, splitting their weeks and their days between magic and ninja training. Just thinking about it made her tired. Honestly, the whole thing was turning out to be a bit of a drag.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday:7 am til 1pm was magical training. 2pm onwards was ninja training
07:00 to 07:30: meditation
07:30 to 08:00: Queries from previous day/s
08:00 to 09:00: Potions
09:00 to 10:00: Charms
10:00 to 10:30: break
10:30 to 11:30: Transfiguration
11:30 to 13:00: Defense and dueling
Tuesday, Thursday: 2pm til 9pm was magical training. The morning was ninja training.
14:00 to 15:00: Herbology
15:00 to 16:00: History of magic/current events
16:00 to 17:00: Law and current society
17:00 to 17:30: break
17:30 to 19:00: testing/ assignments
19:00 to 20:00: electives.
20:00 to 21:00: Dueling
Just the thought of it made her want to curl and sleep. The so-called headmaster of this school had no idea how much work they wanted to get through. The Japanese wizarding world started two years earlier than Hogwarts. They would need to cover at least 2 years' worth of content in the next few months, and that meant splitting the week daily, rather than hourly. With a muffled whimper, Shikamaru braced herself for the intensity about to hit them. As it was for a mission, she couldn't even sleep through it… and her dad would kill her if he thought she caused shame and dishonour to fall on the clan and his name. Maybe Snape would be willing to compromise…...Shikamaru snorted in amusement, no chance that guy would compromise, he looked like a particularly unfriendly bat. A gentle tug on her hair had Shikamaru turning her head on her arms to blink sleepily at the warm chocolate eyes of her best friend. He indicated the door with his head just as it swung open and in stepped the unfriendly looking wizard. Shikamaru straightened in her chair, aware of her teammates sitting on either side of her, and Asuma leaning against the wall. Let the hell begin.
Severus eyed the three children in front of him. Two of the three were ten years old, they would be first years in September. The slightly older one would normally be going into second year; however, the agreement was the three would learn and stick together so he would be in the same year. The question is how much of this bootcamp in magical education could the three master. With a quiet hmm of consideration, Severus picked up the timetable that Albus had created; he had been assured that it was a nice split between lessons. Breaking eye contact with the little Nara (Severus would never admit that she scared him a little, especially after last night), Severus glanced down to the paper in his hand and blinked. He vaguely noticed the shinobi in the room shift and move in a way that would let them dodge quickly, as a snarl crossed his thin lips. Albus was a fool! This wasn't going to do anyone any favours, considering they were starting from scratch, and had to cover a minimum of 2 years! Scrunching the paper up and setting it on fire with a brief surge of nonverbal wandless magic, Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to his new students, muttering unpleasantly about elders who think they know everything. A trio of sniggering had him opening an eye to glare at the children and their sensei, who was grinning openly at him. The little Nara had her hand up, a soft barely-there smirk on her face, as she waited for permission to speak. With a sigh, Severus indicated she should talk.
"Good morning, Professor, we saw the timetable this morning and came up with an alternative suggestion, if you don't mind. I think to take advantage of the time available; we should split the days by subject. It'll let us advance quicker and give us the time to learn the theory too. If that is to your liking, I propose we spend today learning the basics about magic and the magical world. Having that fundamental understanding will help us make connections that we wouldn't culturally make." Severus watched, a small sliver of approval inside, as she voiced his own thoughts. Good, he thought, they weren't stupid. With an incline of his head, Severus agreed and pulled out a chair to sit in.
"Agreed. Now, you may call me Severus for the next few weeks until we are in the school. How required is it that you do shinobi training every day? Could we maybe do two full days of magic, a day of ninja work, and so on? Leaving Sunday as a free study day/reviewing session/tutoring should you wish it." Severus was faintly amused as the blond and red head both glanced at the only girl, before nodding.
"We find that acceptable Severus. Last thing. On behalf of the Nara clan, my father has asked me to extend an invite for you to stay in the clan main house as our guest whilst you are here." Shikamaru asked, her voice pitched to show that it was just an offer and not a demand. Honestly, she really didn't want to offer. Who would want their teacher to live with them? But her old man had insisted. Snickering broke the continued eye contact between Shikamaru and Severus.
"My father also offered, should you find you need a break from Naras." Ino had a huge catlike grin across his face as he recounted the offer from his own clan head. Even the smack aimed at his shoulder from his offended teammate couldn't break the grin.
With a whispered agreement, Severus launched into his first lesson of the day; detailing the beginning of magic, and the history through to today. He was pleasantly surprised to see all three children take out pens and notebooks, before getting down to writing. It made a nice change to the normal dunderheads he had to teach! Honestly, he had been expecting the Nara to be as lazy as the reputation of the clan said, yet she seemed to have the most notes forming in front of her. With a slight grin, Severus went back to weaving a gripping tale of the history of the wizarding world of the UK; maybe…just maybe… this wouldn't be such a hardship at all. The three in front of him patiently raised their hands, and waited in silence for his acknowledgement, before asking their questions as concisely as possible. A busy and productive day was ahead of them, he just knew it.
Shikamaru stretched her arms out over the top of her head as they paused for lunch. She twisted around, groaning in satisfaction at the click from her spine, note taking was the worst job; nobody could convince her otherwise! Shika closed her note pad that had filled with historic events, diagrams, sketches, and timelines over the course of the morning. With a grimace, she stood up and massaged her hands, both had been put to work this morning and they ached so bad. Also, she was starving! Shikamaru rubbed at her belly as it growled. Well, that would serve her right for missing breakfast and dinner, Shika thought ruefully. Still, Asuma had suggested they took Severus to their favourite BBQ place and introduce him to the village properly over the lunch hour, so she wouldn't have to wait long for lunch. Stretching like a cat, Shikamaru watched with half closed eyes as Ino and Chouji chivvied Asuma and Severus out of the door to go for lunch. Even the chatterbox blonde of the group was quiet from the amount of information thrown at them today; normally the silence would be a blessing, but Shikamaru kinda wished Ino would talk. The wizarding world history and culture was a …mess… to put it lightly, and that's coming from shinobi, trained assassins…
The segregation, the elitism, and the politics created a society built on destruction. Vaguely, Shikamaru understood (from a clan point of view) about keeping the bloodlines "pure"; but even then, the Nara clan had never cared about the status of anyone marrying in. As long as they added something to the gene pool, they were welcome. Yes, in some bloodlines marrying outsiders did dilute and weaken their abilities, but for the most part, the clans encouraged new blood to strength, and remove weaknesses, from the next generation. Shikamaru shuddered at being forced to marry a cousin just to continue the gifts in the family. No wonder they kept having dictators pop up that tried to eradicate anyone outside of their preferences. Shika was aware that Severus had glossed over a lot of the fall out and consequences of their wars; she guessed it was to get through an overview of the wizarding world of Britain. So, she wasn't looking forward to getting the details. Either way, so far, the wizarding world really wasn't looking appealing to her.
Severus closed his eyes slowly in pleasure from the burst of flavour across his tongue. The children and their teacher had taken him to a favourite lunch spot of theirs. The chubby boy, Chouji if Severus remembered correctly, had taken over the marinating and cooking of the meat for the table. Something that the others seemed to be used to by their relaxed appearance. Then again, if he had a friend that could cook and season food like Chouji, Severus was pretty certain he would also let them take over any cooking they wanted too. Inclining his head in both approval and gratitude, Severus took another bite; before leaning back to consider the three preteens across from him. Taking the time, as he slowly chewed his tender slice of beef and tangy pickled veg, to come up with an approach to discuss the next steps in today's training. He was grateful that the rest of his lunch companions were quiet, with only minimal essential talk, it made a change from normal lunches at Hogwarts.
With a slight shift of his body, Severus leant forward a little to address the table. "We should talk about this afternoon." Severus's voice was a silky murmur, loud enough for the table only. "It has already been approved, but this afternoon we will travel to Diagon Alley to get you your wands and equipment. We won't spend long, just enough to pick up the requirements. Should you wish to pick up extras, or other resources, you'll have to bring money with you. Your summer school equipment, I shall provide."
"Our fathers mentioned it. They said they will be with us for the trip and will also bring money. Is there a way to get currency exchanged there?" Ino piped up, clearly the more outgoing of the three. In fact, Severus would bet his left arm that that was a carefully cultivated image to keep attention off the other two.
"Very well. We shall find them after the meal. To answer your question, yes there is. An institution called Gringotts, the wizarding bank. It is run by goblins, vicious and bloodthirsty creatures that they are, there are no better bankers than them. When we go, be blunt and forceful. They respect shows of strength and consider politeness from wizards as disrespectful. Last thing, do not turn your back directly on one." Severus balanced his chopsticks across his bowl as he spoke. He didn't want them to screw around with the goblins. One of the quickest ways to go broke in the wizarding world, get on a goblins bad side.
Conversation over, the table fell back into silence as all five of them contemplated the afternoon's upcoming trip. Four in curiosity, one in irritation.