Disclaimer:

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

Title: The House of Skepticism and Common Sense (Working Title) / Chapter 2

Posted Date: February 13 2022

Updated: 7 June 2022

Tags: Fifth House of Hogwarts, Common sense trumping magic, Younger / Mentor / BAMF Bathsheda Babbling, Sorting Hat Mentor, other character focus

"He gets his own house!"

"WHAT?!" The hall reverberated from the collective shout of every person in the Great Hall from the announcement by the Sorting Hat, one could be forgiven for thinking that a bomb had gone off to make that much shaking. They barely had time to consider the possible ramifications of those words when the Great Hall started to vibrate and shift, and before their eyes became wider to have a smaller table between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Said table was roughly half the length of the other tables and was considerably newer than the four. Then with a flare of white flames, a new flag appeared to take its place among the four flags of the founders. Said flag was a rich purple color with the white symbol of a wolf with two tails surrounding a sun and moon respectively embroidered on it. Likewise, where hourglasses with different color gems were situated, a fifth appeared on the far right with dark purple gems in the top part.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, and the staff of Hogwarts," the Hat said, turning to the staff with a bow of the tip and what appeared to be its best impression of a sneer at Dumbledore, who was currently quite flabbergasted at the proceedings, "After all these years, I am pleased to announce the establishment of LupusScale House."

"What?" Dumbledore said, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Seriously, Dumbledore? I hope you are not going deaf and senile at your age. Harry Potter gets to start his own House, named in honor of the fifth Founder of Hogwarts, Oriana LupusScale." The hat replied.

"I have never heard of this person before." Minerva voiced out from her end.

"Of course, you wouldn't have heard of Oriana, because they wrote her out of the history books in the same manner that they made Salazar out to be a blood purist that started the stupidity of blood bigotry." the Hat snapped with a bit of heat, with whispers issuing from its words. "The problem with history books, the writers tend to forget those who do not contribute as much as others, if not outright remove them to emphasize on others. People believed that only the Four Founders had created Hogwarts, when in actual fact, there were others who aided in the task and were promised some form of authority or guidance to help others. Oriana was one such person; she helped to finance the creation of Hogwarts and forfeited her lands for the castle to be built. She, along with six others aided the founders to construct the castle and give ideas on how magical education should be granted to others. Yet upon completion of the castle and her death, her wish was denied along with the others." That got a few sympathetic mutters and frowns at the explanation.

"Well, what are the requirements of, uh, LupusScale students?" said Dumbledore. The hat appeared to give a shrug at that.

"How should I know? Oriana didn't get her House so she didn't get the chance to decide which students would be taught." The hat decided to leave out the part of him informing Harry Potter of a bit of history regarding Oriana to grant him some idea of the new house. "If you have any questions regarding the house or need to choose a Head of House, you can ask Potter. I have passed him some information to start this off."

"Why go through this much trouble? You could just place Mr. Potter into Gryffindor." Dumbledore remarked with a good number of the students from said house nodding eagerly. To the surprise of many and slight amusement from the Slytherins, the Sorting Hat snorted loudly at that remark.

"Because Gryffindor would have stifled the rest of his talents, the same can be said of the other Houses. He is one of the rare few over the past few years that qualifies for all houses, and this time I get to perform one of the tasks that I was created to do. I am warning you Dumbledore, do not try to mess with the sorting as you have done before. Either you stay silent and accept this or you can make a completely pointless fuss over a closed matter which Hogwarts has approved wholeheartedly and if pushed too much… Need I remind you what happened to another headmaster named Wallace Cloudmore? Or how about Phineas Black? What happened to those two would be considered minor unpleasantness compared to what will be installed for you should you continue this action." The hat gave that warning in a manner that sent chills down a fair number of spines and the professors to exchange uneasy expressions. This was turning out to be a very unusual year for the new students to be sorted in, and already a few of those seated in benches were thinking of writing home to their parents or guardians on this as soon as they were let off from the feast.

Dumbledore opted for the smart option, for once, and chose to butt out; though it was obvious from his expression the matter would be brought up again, likely in the privacy of the office.

"Go on, Mr. Potter. Take your first step into your new house. I will contact you shortly." The hat encouraged Harry who got off the chair and made his way to the exclusive table while his robes and tie gained purple and white colors, doing his utmost best to ignore the stares of the other students, a number of whom seemed put out that they hadn't thought of asking for their own House. It took the hat to remind the professor to call out the next name for the sorting to continue.

As the Sorting progressed, Harry was fairly certain that the few remaining students were trying to get placed in his House, but none of them made the cut given the manner they looked at the hat after it called out their house and the longing at his table. Much to his quiet relief, a thin girl with long dark hair named Sophie Ropher came into the new house after having spent a few minutes under the Sorting Hat, who laughed out loud and called out the house joyfully for all to hear. Harry applauded for his new housemate as she came closer and sat down with a red face, then repeated the action for Lisa Turpin, a twin tailed and energetic girl, and one Emma Vane, a girl with short cropped brown hair. He was a little disappointed that Ron was sent to Gryffindor when his turn came, but decided that he could talk to him in between lessons if possible.

Although he was not sure why the old wizard looked irritated with Ron's sorting at that.

The final person called up was "Zabini, Blaise", a dark-skinned youth who took the seat and appeared to be mentally debating with the Hat for a few minutes before it called out the fifth house. Harry was slightly thankful for this as he would at least have one fellow boy to talk with, and from what little he could tell, may be able to answer questions on magic if he was wizard-born. As the applause for Zabini died out, Dumbledore stood up and called for the feast to start. There was less food at the newly created table, as there were only five students, but it was no less extravagant. At least they had it all to themselves.

"Well, here we are. Shall we introduce ourselves?" Harry tried to break the awkward silence that came about. That helped a little as the girls chuckled and the boy snorted. "I will start first then. My name is Harry Potter, pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"Lisa Turpin. Nice to be here, Mr. Potter." Lisa waved her hand at him.

"Thank you for the new home, Mister Potter. Sophie Ropher" Sophie nodded her head while chuckling at his attempt.

"Emma Vane." Emma greeted Harry with a smile.

"Blaise Zabini." The boy nodded with a cocky smirk but one that Harry can tell had no malice. "So, what are your plans for your house?"

"What do you mean? It's our House, isn't it?" Harry raised an eyebrow at that.

"Potter, the Hat effectively named you Head of this new House. It had wanted to put me in Slytherin but saw that I was both logical enough to not follow the whole blood bigotry, and not interested in attacking you, to let me into this LupusScale House." Harry blinked at that admission before turning to the girls.

"The hat wanted to put me in Gryffindor, but saw that I was too cautious for the whole daredevil routine." Sophie started her bit. "I asked why were the houses split in such a manner, and why do I need to act like a rampaging idiot with a possible stay in the hospital wing in the future. That was when it placed me here."

"It wanted to put me in Ravenclaw," said Lisa, "but I was clever enough to ask if Ravenclaw was more about obtaining knowledge as it is written and not questioning what you see or if it was a place where you could think critically about everything and actually apply those skills in the real world as opposed to the classroom."

"My first choice was Hufflepuff. I like loyalty but not to the point that I will disregard others. I choose whom to be with." Emma answered her bit.

Harry hummed as he listened to their explanations and considered what little the Sorting Hat had told him about Oriana Lupuscale before being sent off. Oriana was evidently a woman who believed that the notion of sorting the students into different houses was a powder keg waiting to blow up, and that it would be better to combine all traits with logic. That did not make her a very popular person, and while the hat had glossed over it, Harry had the impression that the people back then did not appreciate her open-mindedness and may have contributed to her mysterious death and subsequent rejection of her last wishes. It was at that point that Harry had an epiphany of what the house meant.

"Well then... I think I've figured out what LupusScale is supposed to stand for," Harry said with a smile.

~ooOOoo~

Outwardly, Dumbledore projected an air of wisdom and curiosity on the situation, but inwardly had to fight the urge to bang his head on the table to crack it. This wasn't how his plans were supposed to go. Harry was supposed to be in Gryffindor so that the Weasley boy could ensure he didn't question things too much and to keep him on the path that he had designed for him. Oh to be frank, he had contingencies in place if Harry went to the other three houses, like ensuring Sprout getting potions to have her ignoring Harry, bind Filius to oaths, or encourage Severus to 'educate' Harry to the point of wanting out of the house. But the bloody hat decided to throw an Erumpent Horn into the mix and blasted a fair number of his plans to bits with the introduction of a new house that has not been heard of before, not to mention airing out his past actions and daring to rebuke him in view of everyone in the hall.

He needed to know more about this Oriana Lupuscale and quickly!

"Well, this is certainly quite an unusual sorting. I guess we'll have to ask Mr. Potter who he wants as a Head of House after the feast." said McGonagall as she reclaimed her seat beside Dumbledore after asking an elf to return the hat to the headmaster's office.

"Perhaps we do not need to. Minerva, could you -"

"Albus, need I remind you that I am currently the Head of Gryffindor House, the Transfiguration Professor, and the Deputy Headmistress?" Minerva looked to him with the infamous Scottish Glare Number 4, reserved for people who said stupid things around her without thinking. "Where in bloody Dobber's mind am I to have time for another position and set of responsibilities? Don't bother asking the other heads as they too will be busy with their subjects and head duties, and I will not subject the new students to Severus just yet. And do not think I have forgotten what the hat said about your interference with the sorting." Dumbledore winced at the tone directed at him in her thick Scottish tone, this was not what he needed.

"I can volunteer for the position." Professor Bathsheba Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor and currently the youngest professor in Hogwarts at the age of 23, raised a hand to them. "It would be nice to interact with the students outside of my subject, and this year seems to be relatively relaxed since last year's batch graduated."

"Yes, that would be nice. I think you would do well." Minerva answered before Dumbledore could refuse. The old wizard wanted to push further but got interrupted by the appearance of the hat before them.

"Hogwarts approves of the appointment of Bathsheba Babbling to the role as Head of House." That solemn declaration and the light chiming of the bells signaled the agreement of the allocation. "You may ask Mister Potter for further instructions since I passed it to him earlier."

"Wait a moment, I am the headmaster, I should be the one to decide if she is able to do this." Dumbledore looked at the hat with a disapproving eye.

"Heed my warning, Albus. Do not interfere." the hat appeared to be giving a glare of its own. "You cannot give the role to those already made Head of Houses, Hogwarts forbids it and will enforce on it. And as dear Minerva had pointed out, she has a hard time keeping up with three seperate roles, each one are full-time I remind you, so she cannot handle another position. Miss Babbling can handle the role just fine."

Dumbledore did not think so; he did not want Harry Potter to have any competent adult around him other than himself to 'guide' him, and he certainly did not want the boy to be motivated to do well in magical subjects that could grant him an edge against Voldemort. But with the others watching him and the hat, Dumbledore had to keep silent for now and wait for the opportunity to get the boy to listen to his wisdom.

Once the feast was over, the old wizard gave his announcements to the students, ensuring that he applied a bit of magic to his voice as he gave the 'warning' regarding the third floor corridor for them to supposedly avoid a painful death, but ensured that people would go to the door to start up the rumor mill and get the Potter boy curious for the next step. If he could get him hooked on that, it would be easy to get some information.

Now he had to deal with the schedules of the new house. Blast it!

~ooOOoo~

The students of the four original houses stood up after getting dismissed and made their way out of the hall, a good number of them looking to the small handful of students waiting for the headmaster and professors to come to them. Of the five students of the new house, only Blaize was as cool as a cucumber, at least that was the impression Harry got since the Italian was the only one that had his hands in his pockets and looked calm if not bored. The girls wore differing expressions of nervousness and tiredness, while Harry felt like stones were being churned inside his stomach. Perhaps he should not have taken those treacle tarts?

Too late for regrets, for the headmistress and one fairly young and attractive professor had arrived at their table.

"Students, this is Bathsheba Babbling, our Ancient Runes professor." McGonagall introduced the woman next to her. "We are wondering if you are willing to accept her as your head of house." As one, 3 girls and one boy turned to look at Harry.

"Really guys?" The other children nodded cheekily, making Harry sigh. "Thank you professor for volunteering for the position."

"It is not a problem. I will do what I can to fulfill the responsibilities that come with the position." Professor Babbling seemed to be psyching herself up for the task at hand when she paused. "Actually, where are you guys going to sleep?"

"The Sorting Hat told me to ask an elf?" Harry tilted his head at that, yelping along with the girls when a creature dressed in a clean pillowcase and the logo of Hogwards stamped on the side appeared before them.

"Young Sir has called for Mopsy?" The little creature directed wide eyes at Harry as it asked in a squeaky voice that sounded female. Harry blinked before shaking his head to clear the thoughts.

"Yes, I assume that Mopsy is your name?" Harry figured that was a safer question as opposed to asking what it was.

"I am Mopsy the elf, pleased to meet you young sirs and misses." The being bowed to them. "What are your requests?"

"The Sorting Hat told me to ask for an elf regarding the location for LupusScale House?" Harry asked, his reply in the form of the elf beaming and hopping lightly on the spot.

"Mopsy knows where! We have been waiting so long for it to come home!" The elf moved to the doors with the children and adults following suit, their steps quickening behind the elf who was practically skipping forward in joy. They found themselves on the fourth floor in front of a statue featuring a wolf looking down on them with the tails adoring the sides of the wall acting as a fountain feature overlooking one part of the courtyard. The eyes of the statue glowed a dim green before raising its head with the sound of grinding stone.

"Who goes there?" The children shivered slightly from the deep and raspy voice issuing from it, as though it was a creature from the depths of time that had not spoken in a long while. Not helped with what appeared to be dust coming out of the mouth like a creature breathing out smoke.

At least, they were hoping it was dust.

"New students have come for LupusScale." Mopsy answered while waving a hand to the children in question. The statue's eyes glowed brightly as the head moved to look at each of them, pausing at Harry.

"Have they now? It is a long time coming." The sounds of something issued from it before the portion of the wall underneath the head cracked and broke down into dust that disappeared into the suddenly increased volume of water, revealing what looked to be polished metal beneath it. "Enter if you wish, but if your intent is false, beware of my fangs." The eyes briefly glowed red before the head went back to its original position with the mouth open and more dust came out of it for a while.

"Dramatic much?" Professor Babbling mumbled at that display.

"You will be surprised. From what I recall, all the four houses had statues with their own quirks. Ravenclaw is the only house that held on to their statue all these years since it was just asking questions and riddles all the time. Gryffindor used to be guarded by a stone lion's head opening its mouth for the entrance." Minerva replied before grimacing. "Let's just say that there was a very good reason why we are using a portrait now to be the guardian and leave it at that." The children stared at her before turning to face the entrance in front of them with trepidation.

"Well, we are not going to get any younger, best to go in." Babbling motioned at them. Harry sighed at this point and stepped forward, figuring that he would take one for the team and go forth to the unknown. He paused at the front, his nose itching from the dust coming around him, and slowly reached out with his hand to the polished metal. He was not sure what to expect when his fingers made contact with it, but it was certainly not having his fingers sink into the surface like water, or his fingers tugging at the surface briefly when he pulled his hand back. Harry took a deep breath and moved right through the entrance, shivering at the ice cold sensation going about and through his body. He had the brief vision of going through a silvery curtain of water before exiting it and into a large circular room, the immediate change of temperature setting goosebumps on his skin. Harry rubbed his arms to gain some warmth before he took a few steps forward to view the room as fire sprung on from what appeared to be a fireplace.

Said room had the walls plastered and painted with elegant murals of medieval men and women as well as various magical creatures. Hanging from the ceilings were small pots of plants that gave off a warm glow to light up the room, with a fine stretch of purple and white fabric spread across the ceiling, lending an almost tent-like quality that was only disrupted by the golden chandelier that hung down from the center. There was a large window at the far end of the room that looked out over the grounds, and indicated by a secondary stretch of stone that the room was situated in some sort of nook hidden behind a tower, lending a cozy atmosphere to the space. A large, white marble fireplace with wolf heads engraved on either side was in one corner providing the main source of light, and above the mantle was a portrait of a witch with short, light brown hair dressed in simple purple robes and apparently fast asleep. A mural of the sun and the moon was by the sides, with the moon currently glowing with the shape of a crescent.

A sound behind him drew Harry's attention back to the exit which he now noted to be a giant slab of polished metal that was currently acting like water as the children and adults walked through slowly to come into the room, each one having their own reaction to the entrance.

"Oh, that felt weird." Sophie bent down and grabbed her knees while taking a slow breath. The others mumbled their agreements as they shook off whatever effect they experienced. "I think I need a hot shower for that, that feels way too cold."

"Interesting manner of entering a room." Their new head of house did not appear bothered about the entry method, instead looking about their exit with a keen eye to see if she could find something. "I imagine that sensation we experienced was a means to test the visitors' intent and maybe remove any spells from them."

"Indeed."

Everyone turned to the fireplace where the portrait was to find the occupant now awake and looking at them with clear blue eyes that seemed to penetrate into their very souls. "It was designed to protect the denizens of the room to ensure no one with ill intent could enter without repercussions. May I ask the purpose of this visit?"

"Lady Oriana, Mopsy be bringing you the House members." The house elf announced while bowing. The children quickly followed suit as they realized that this was the portrait of the unsung founder.

"Truly?" The woman perked up at that. "How long did it take for my house to be recognized?" The house elf scratched the back of her head while the adults looked away with their attention on the interior.

"This is the first time we have heard of your house my lady since the creation of Hogwarts 1000 years ago." Blaise took the first step to tell her. The woman stared at him before raising a hand to rub her forehead with exasperation.

"I should be surprised, yet I am not. I had the feeling those four would not like the idea of others sharing their fame. I suppose my assumptions that magical society would turn into a staunchly separatist and isolated domain that shuns progress were unfortunately correct. After all, if it hadn't then someone would have figured out the House loophole centuries ago." Oriana let out an annoyed hum "So, who was the one that had figured out the loophole?" As one, everyone turned to look at Harry who was experiencing deja-vu.

"Really?" The kids nodded cheekily again while the adults gave a wry smile. The boy sighed before looking at Oriana.

"To be honest, my lady, my sorting was weird since I both fit and failed the parameters set by the Four Founders. Sebastian and I talked about the houses and why people were fitted into the stereotypes, and somewhere along the line, Sebastian voiced out the idea that since I won't fit well into the four houses, why not have a fifth?" Harry shrugged nervously while Oriana looked at him. After a few moments, Oriana threw back her head and laughed loudly.

"Oh Sebastian, I remembered that hat. He wanted to see the world through our eyes, so I let him look into my head to have an idea of what to expect. I had long talks with him on how a school for magical students should have been run, and he did consider them very different from those four. Something about Godric being too stubborn and Rowena being an er…" Oriana paused to look at the children, "perhaps something that I should not say in front of the children." Professor Babbling snorted at that while Minerva looked scandalized. That drew Oriana's attention to the two adults. "Who may you two be?"

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, teacher for Transfiguration and current Head of Gryffindor along with being the headmistress of Hogwarts." The senior witch introduced herself formally.

"Professor Bathsheba Babbling, teacher of Ancient Runes and designated Head of this new House." The younger woman bowed while waving her hand. Oriana tilted her head before nodding at her.

"I will be keeping an eye on you. See that you protect the students under your care, and we will have no problems with each other." With that Oriana turned back to Harry. "As you are the official founder of my new House, I would very much like to know your name." Harry gulped but stood straight.

"Harry Potter, My Lady." The woman tilted her head again while narrowing her eyes.

"Hmm, curious… Those eyes looked familiar." Oriana muttered to herself. "Well, Harry, may I call you that? I hope you will make this House a fine example for the rest of the school. It's about time those who follow the example of the other four get their heads on straight. Sebastian wouldn't have offered you the chance if he didn't think you were a capable leader." She looked at the other children.

"May I know the rest of you?" That allowed the other children to greet her in different manners, those muggle-raised girls trying to curtsey properly with Blaise and Emma being the only ones to greet Oriana in the noble manner.

"Make no mistake, my young ones. Each of you are also important for making my newly-established House a success," said Oriana. "What you students want this House to stand for is entirely up to you. That is the nature of being in LupusScale. And you're lucky you don't have the weight of the other Houses' mantles hanging over you. The rules are yours to make and shape as you please, provided that you do not antagonize others. Good luck, and goodnight. Your rooms can be found over there." She nodded towards a corner behind them that was right next to the entrance, chuckling at the manner all the children stretched their necks to look without leaving their spots.

The corner was deceptive to the eye as it looked like a flat space of wall until you moved directly towards it. Up a few steps was a fork that led to a pair of long hallways lined with doors marked out for each set of years and a final room for the Head of House smack in the middle.

"Seems like I'll be moving in with you kids." said Professor Babbling while peering into the room and giving a slow nod.

"Mopsy will collect Professor Bubble's belongings over and get other elves to bring the children's as well.'' The house elf waved her goodbyes to the children before leaving with a quiet 'pop'. The children held back their chuckles at the butchering of their professor's name.

"We will leave you children to sort this out, the two of us are needed back at the office to discuss how to integrate your house to our subjects." Minerva nodded to them. "Have a good night to you all, tomorrow will be the beginning of your lessons." Professor Babbling followed her senior out of the room, not before telling each of her charges to have a good sleep.

Waving each other good night, Harry and Blaise took the right hallway to the first year boys' dormitory while Lisa and the girls went to the one down the left. Stepping into the room, it looked markedly larger on the inside than the exterior indicated. Like the common room, it was decorated in purples and white and there were symbols of wolves. Two beds had been set up for the boys, set up in what seemed to be alcoves with purple curtains along the one exposed side. There were also two desks, one on either side, and two large closets. There was also a second room with two bathrooms inside so as not to cause any disputes. There was one large window like the one downstairs that gave a view out to the grounds.

"Pretty sweet, all of this to ourselves." Blaise looked about with an approving nod. Harry let out a hum of agreement as he considered the décor. Harry had to wonder how the dormitory was kept up-to-date when no one had been there in a thousand years. His first inclination was to dismiss it as "just magic" when something at the back of his mind nagged at him to inquire further tomorrow.

Right now, he was too tired to think.

~ooOOoo~

"Blast you damn hat!" Dumbledore glared at the Sorting Hat in the privacy of his office, the heads of house having left after an hour discussion of settling the class schedules due to the new house. "Why did you not sort Potter into Gryffindor as I told you to?"

"I believe I told you earlier. Putting him in any of the current houses would stifle his talents, so I simply made sure to send him and the other students into the house that would benefit them all. I know that you planned to have your designated plant to gain his friendship so that he could hold Mister Potter back and eventually become your source of information, but it will not work as well as you want." The Sorting Hat gave what might pass as a shrug using the tip.

"You will cease this nonsense and sort them back into their proper houses this instant!" Dumbledore growled before yelping as he felt a stinging hex on his behind and his office rumbled roughly enough to scare away his phoenix who flamed away.

"Hogwarts has tolerated your interference long enough. And need I remind you that I am the one with the final say of the sorting? Do not mess with us. We are keeping an eye on you. This is your final warning." With that ominous statement, the hat disappeared, leaving behind a frustrated wizard trying to consider the ramifications of the new house. He just knew that there would be a fair amount of fervor over the next couple of weeks once the children write back to their parents about the boy-who-lived being the first student of a fifth house that no one had heard of, and he was going to have to deal with the ministry and the board on this unless the hat could relinquish information which he evidently gave a little to the Potter heir for some guidance.

Damn that meddlesome hat!