Chapter 5: New School 01Chapter TextNew School 01
As we got off the train I couldn't stop myself from pulling up short and staring wide eyed across the gigantic lake near the platform. Just on the other side there was a genuine medieval castle, complete with turrets, and fields, and fires in the windows, and parapets, and giants hoops around the corner in -
I blinked and leaned forward, staring at what looked to be giant hoops thrusting into the air. "Hey, Astoria?" I said, snagging the arm of the younger Greengrass sister as she nearly sprinted past me. She jerked to a halt as her friends barreled on. "Why are there wooden hoops in midair behind the castle?"
One of Astoria's friends had stopped and turned back, looking at us, pointing back and forth with a frown. "How did you - When did you - You were looking towards Hogwarts! You're still towards Hogwarts!"
"She has really good peripheral vision," Astoria said, rolling her eyes.
"That's not -"
"Taylor, those are the Quidditch hoops. You can see them from here?"
I nodded. "Barely. Those are really tall. Jeez, no wonder Daphne said not to play that game."
"Oh you are going to love Quidditch. Our Seeker is Cho Chang this year. She's pretty good, leagues better than Daphne's House. They have Draco. He's…okay. Harry is where it's at though. I'll take you to watch a game between him and - hey, Sue! Who's the new Seeker with Hufflepuff this year?"
A redhead stopped and looked our way. I scowled, glancing away from the hoops towards my nonexistent chest. Maybe that girl cheated with magic? Nobody was that lucky without being blonde. "Astoria right? Uh, I think it might be Lina Tande this year. She was talking about getting a new broom over the summer and after Cedric…"
"Right, yeah, sore subject. Sorry, I should've thought of that." The redhead waved her off before she continued on her original path. Astoria looked back at me. "I don't know much about Lina, but she was really good on her old Cleansweep. If she's upgraded then she might be a challenge. And who knows, maybe they'll have Snape ref again and we can even see the Gryffindors deal with more blatant cheating! That's always fun, 'cause they stillwin. I have a standing 5 galleon bet on him eating his robes afterwards too."
"Astoria! Carriage! Now!" Daphne growled, stomping up and grabbing her sister's arm to haul her to the side. I took one last look at the castle, a small smile on my face as the shorter kids piled into boats nearby and started across the lake.
Tromping up behind them, I moved to the front to pat the flanks of the skeletal horse thing while Daphne threw her sister into the carriage. Luna and Harry were there as well, Luna smiling wistfully at the creature, while Harry was just staring wide-eyed.
"Hey, buddy," I murmured. "You're not as scary as you look are you?" The horse whinnied and leaned into my hand. Its skin was leathery, but not unpleasant. Just odd.
"You can see them," Harry whispered.
"The horses?" I asked. I gave the big guy one more pat and turned to face him. "Are we not supposed to be able to see them?"
"They weren't pulling the carriages before," Harry murmured, his eyes not lifting from the creatures. "None of my friends can see them."
"You're wrong, Harry, they've always been here. Shall we go?" Luna said. As she walked past me, her smile dropped and her shoulders drooped. "I'm sorry for your loss," she whispered.
I frowned, but didn't say anything as the three of us got into the carriage with Daphne, Astoria, and Neville. Ginny had moved to one further up the line with people I assumed were her brothers from how they were talking to her.
As the horses started moving us forward, I inclined my head towards Luna. Her fake smile was back in full force. It didn't reach her eyes. She was still better at pretending than I had ever been.
"What did you mean? Outside - about my loss."
Daphne frowned as she stared between us, eyes narrowed. Luna's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. If I hadn't been watching for it I might have missed it. The silver-haired girl shrugged, pointing over my shoulder towards the front of the carriage. "Just the thestrals. Spindlesprouts can be found by anyone who walks around the right type of tree three times. Thestrals are different. You have to see death and understand it. That's all."
The bugs in the woods stopped what they were doing as they all sat down at once. A moment later they resumed their chirping and skitterings and weavings. All the while, I stayed still, staring at Luna, barely doing more than breathing. She met my gaze moment for moment.
"I'm sorry for your loss too," I murmured.
Luna reached over to pat my hand. "Thank you."
Daphne had shifted her gaze from the two of us to the leathery horses just visible through the window of the cabin. "These carriages…they're towed by thestrals?"
"Oh yes. They have been ever since I arrived at the school at least. They're really quite lovely."
"The one I was petting did seem nice. I wouldn't want to own a skeleton horse, but, you know, it's still a cool horse with wings. And if I don't get to see a unicorn, then I've still seen a cool horse with wings," I said, my voice soft.
Harry was staring at his hands and he whispered, "Cedric." Shaking himself, he set his mouth into a thin line. "Thank you for the information, Luna. It's nice to know I've not gone crazy."
Luna chuckled. "I believe we're all a bit mad, don't you? The world is much more fun that way."
"She's not wrong," Neville commented.
As the carriages rolled to a halt, we all got out and headed towards the gigantic doors into the castle. The whole thing was even more impressive up close; the damned castle was simply massive. Trying to map the rooms was starting to give me a headache with some of the looping areas that my bugs were running into in places. There were actual space-warping effects on corridors and rooms. Actual space-warping! I knew that people like Vista could do that with their powers, but these people just did it with a few shouted words and then let the effect stay put for however long they wanted!
And the ceiling of this cathedral room!
"If my mom could have seen this," I murmured, my head craned all the way back as I stared up at the reflection of the cloudy skies above. It was like someone had made the roof out of glass yet I knew there were floors above it. The candles floating above the tables added mystery to the illusion. It was…beautiful.
"Hey watch where you're - " The hard-faced brunette that had stopped in front of me snapped. She cut off with a frown as I side-stepped around her without even sparing her a glance.
"Daphne, you didn't mention that ceiling. Is it always like that or just for the first day back?"
"The ceiling of the Great Hall is enchanted to always reflect the sky above it." I glanced to the side finding the tall, prim woman in a severe bun as she stopped next to me. "Miss Hebert, I presume?"
"That's right."
"Miss? That's a girl?" The whispers from the students just behind me were quiet enough that this teacher probably couldn't hear them. Not that it would've likely mattered. It never had before and I wasn't even a student here.
Just because I wasn't as endowed as Redhead didn't mean I was okay with being mistaken for a guy though. Maybe the suit had been a mistake.
No, screw it, I liked the suit…Daphne liked the suit too, and that - surprisingly - made me feel good. I was not going to give that up just because people were idiots.
I set the nearby spiders to weaving intricate patterns in their webs to bleed off some of my annoyance as I met the teacher's gaze. "Can I help you, Ma'am?"
"No. I am here to help you in point of fact. I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts." I clamped down on my snort of derision at that statement. She was at least introducing herself, that was already leagues better than the Vice Principal at Winslow had ever done. Some days I doubted that the man even existed. "Please, follow me for a moment." She turned on her heel and quickly strode away, leading the two of to a small section just off the main room.
"Lord Greengrass advised us you would be arriving, Miss Hebert," McGonagall said. "I need to know where you intend to stay, however, before we are able to finish arrangements. As I'm sure the Greengrass sisters have mentioned, they are not in the same House here at Hogwarts and it is not feasible for you to transition between both at regular intervals."
I peeked at Daphne through my bugs and Trevor the Toad - that I could actually get a sense of things through Neville's pet was…it was still throwing me for a loop. Not important. I could deal with it later. I needed to focus. Daphne was sitting at the far right table in a sea of robes trimmed in green. A few were smiling, but the vast majority were either completely impassive or glaring across at the other tables. Daphne herself was talking with a brunette witch - one of the few happy people - though both were sitting fairly apart from the others nearby. Astoria, by contrast, was nearly oblivious to everything around her as she continued chatting with her friends at a table with blue-trimmed robes. She was near Luna and both were laughing at something that an older girl had mentioned about knives and the Silk Road. Turning back to the teacher, I tapped my hand on my thigh.
"Miss Hebert?"
"Slytherin is supposed to be more dangerous right?"
McGonagall sighed, her height nearly dropping in half as she slumped. "Hogwarts is supposed to be safe wherever you are. But, yes, in the current climate, you would be correct."
"I'll sleep there then." Not that I wouldn't still be able to keep an eye on Astoria easily enough. I might not be able to see the entire castle, but I had already found three out of four dorms plus what looked like some of the teachers' rooms. They were all well within my range. Staying closer to Daphne for reaction time was smarter, but I could watch out for Astoria without any worries, especially if I built up a swarm and kept them near her.
"I'll have your things moved down there. Is there anything you require immediately?"
"I don't suppose you happen to have any books on magical creatures?" I asked. "I didn't have much time to do any real shopping and the books at Diagon Alley were, well, lacking in what I'm looking for."
McGonagall frowned. "Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher is away on assignment for the moment, but when he returns he would be the best person to ask. What sort of creatures are you seeking knowledge of?"
"Anything and everything really, but primarily the small ones. Bugs, pests, arthropods…amphibians too now I guess."
"I will…see what I have available before Professor Hagrid returns. You can also try asking Madam Pince in the library; I will make sure she is aware that you are allowed to borrow books. No need to let your mind go to waste while you are here on assignment." She paused and raked her eyes over me. "Out of curiosity, where does your interest stem from?"
"Let's call it a hobby."
"An oddly…general hobby."
"Professor McGonagall, I'm just trying to do my job, the same as you. Are we done?"
A small smirk ghosted across her lips so quickly I almost mistook it for an illusion. "Nearly, Miss Hebert. There are a few quick ground rules for you. You are, of course, free to explore the castle, excepting after curfew, just like everyone else. Unless you wish to join a patrol with one of the Prefects, in which case you are allowed to do so and continue to explore with the patrol after nightfall. As you are not here as a student, you may travel to Hogsmeade whenever you wish. If you want to attend the classes you may - I highly recommend this. I do not know your specific circumstances as I am unfamiliar with parahumans, however your patron advised that there is a chance you may be able to perform magic after a fashion. As such, these courses would at least teach you the theory."
"Okay."
"Lastly, the Headmaster wishes to see you after the feast."
I nodded and we parted ways. She went to the line of kids that had come from the boats while I took a seat next to Daphne. The brunette leaned around, a wide smirk on her face, but she didn't have a chance to say anything before all of our attention was drawn towards the front of the room. Apparently I had missed something while talking with Professor McGonagall. Well, 'missed'. I had heard the old hat sing…I just…Hadn't really believed it…
But it was talking again. And I couldn't ignore my eyes like I could ignore my bugs.
"Gryffindor!"
"It actually talks," I said, rubbing at my eyes.
"Well it would be a rather poor Sorting Hat if it couldn't sort people," Daphne commented.
"Ravenclaw!"
"Yeah but…it's a hat!"
The brunette laughed as she leaned around Daphne again. "From what I heard, you got to experience Floo travel for the first time earlier today. You're surprised about a talking hat, but not with a magical fireplace that can spit you out basically anywhere?"
"Ravenclaw!"
"It's a hat."
"It's a shame I didn't get to show you my mother's mirror," Daphne said. "That gives fashion advice. I don't tend to agree with its advice, but sometimes it is decent in its choices."
"Slytherin!"
The table around me erupted in cheers as a terrified looking kid ran up to an open seat near the end.
"It's a hat," I pleaded. No one listened to me.
Thankfully the Sorting didn't take too long and the meal afterwards was…amazing. The food would probably have bankrupted Dad and I for at least three months back home. If all of the meals were like this…Ugh I was going to have to start working out more regularly again. If I wasn't going to be going on regular patrols anymore to keep my weight down, I was going to wind up getting my stupid pudge back.
Not. Happening. Running every morning: that was the game plan. Every. Morning.
Instead of following the Slytherins down to their dorms once the food was gone, I followed Professor McGonagall and a rather thin man, who had no idea what proper hair care was, through a gargoyle and onto a set of rotating stairs.
The talking gargoyle I could deal with. Paintings were talking all over this castle, and apparently hats talked here. A gargoyle was nothing compared to that. An escalator that looked like spiral stairs was…weird, but also not that bad.
This guy though, this guy annoyed me. I didn't care about my looks at Winslow - there had been no point. I was boring at best, and if I had tried to dress myself up the Trio would have just destroyed my outfit or my makeup. But I had made sure that my hair was always in good condition. It had basically been the only thing I was proud of before I got here. This Professor Snape person…he was a personal affront to what little femininity I had.
And none of that made any sense. Oh god. I swallowed as the bugs in the castle started to scurry. I was turning into Emma. The smallest bit of confidence and suddenly I was a critic and…
No wonder I had lost my friend.
"Good evening, Miss Hebert. I am Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this school, and it is a pleasure to meet you."
The old man behind the desk in front of us was…ancient was probably a decent word. He wasn't frail and he exuded power just like Armsmaster had, but he was also old. There was no way this man was going to be joining me on my runs and if he was capable of lasting for more than 15 minutes in a fight I'd give him 50 bucks.
He probably wouldn't need 15 minutes though, not with the way the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end as I looked at him.
"It's nice to meet you as well, Sir. Professor McGonagall said you wished to see me?"
"Indeed. Please, sit, sit. Your bones may still be young but no need to stress them unduly." He gestured toward the chair in front of him and I took the proffered seat as the other two teachers moved to take their own chairs. "There has not been a retainer in Hogwarts for many years. I am curious as to why the Greengrasses thought it prudent to obtain your services."
"That would be a question better asked of them, Professor Dumbledore," I said. The bugs outside the office scurried about faster as I met his gaze. "I was hired to do a job, I don't particularly need the nitty gritty details." As if that wasn't a bald faced lie right there…Lisa would've seen through it in an instant. Lisa…fuck.
Lisa probably had seen through me in an instant hadn't she? And yet she'd still let me stay on the team…
God, I shouldn't miss the Undersiders. I shouldn't.
"I doubt that either of us truly believe that, Miss Hebert."
"Well, what you should believe is that it's not my place to speak about what my employer intends," I said. "Except to keep my charges safe."
"You are barely older than them," Snape stated, his hands clasped. "By Greengrass' own admission, you are no witch. What can you possibly do to protect those two?"
I bared my teeth in parody of a smile. "That's a secret. I am very effective though and I can see quite a lot."
Dumbledore just smiled. "Indeed?" His eyes…twinkled, my ring warmed under my glove, then his eyes widened, then he jerked back, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose as he gasped. Snape stood and quickly moved to his side while I just frowned.
"Are you alright, Sir?"
"Perf-perfectly f-fine, my dear," Dumbledore said, his voice cracking on the last word.
McGonagall remained steady in her seat the entire time, politely sipping at her tea. That was…interesting. Had the Headmaster tried something and I'd missed it? Something that she had expected and tacitly disagreed with? Did my power protect me?
Good power. I mentally whispered.
My ring briefly warmed again.
Yup, I had a clingy superpower - one with magic - that could apparently hear my thoughts. Ooookkkay then. There would be time to deal with that later. Much later. Much, much, much later. Like maybe…never?
Dumbledore shook his head, turning back to me as Snape finally sat back down, his own expression far more guarded now. "Where were we? Ah yes, I just wanted to ask you a few quick questions before Professor Snape takes you down to the Dungeons."
"The Dungeons?" I asked. I could see that there were beds down there, but they didn't need to know that. Why anyone had decided to put beds in dungeons was beyond me. It was like they wanted their kids to be jerks.
"That is the location for the Slytherin dorm," Snape stated. "What are your intentions here, Hebert?"
I frowned, and centered my gaze on him, frowning deeper as he carefully avoided meeting my eyes. "I told you, I'm going to protect Daphne and Astoria. If I can learn about magic too while I'm here, that would be great."
"Ah," McGonagall said, setting her tea cup down. "Should I allow these two to continue on, we will get nowhere. They are attempting to discover if you are here scouting as an agent of the Dark Lord."
I blinked and snapped my head to her. "Well, I'm not. I had to deal with Nazis back home, I'm certainly not about to jump on the bandwagon for Wizard Nazis here. But you're just going to come right out and ask that?"
"I saw your wonder when you witnessed the Enchanted Ceiling for the first time. A Death Eater would not bother to fake something like that. I have been a teacher for a very long time, Miss Hebert. There are some things that you learn to pick up after several decades. Wonder is one of them. You are no double agent."
"Thanks," I smiled. "It's rare to see a teacher standing up for the people in their school."
"Hmm, it should not be. Regrettably, it is all too common these days. Even here." She fell silent staring into her tea mug.
Dumbledore clapped his hands, smiling wide. "Well, I am satisfied. I have not gotten to where I am by ignoring my minders! There is just one last thing, Miss Hebert." He waved his wand and the Sorting Hat flew down from the shelves, landing on his desk. I stared at it, resisting the urge to reach for the piece of animated fabric.
"I realize you are not a student here, yet, I find myself curious which House you would fit in best! And to be honest, it is a bit of a tradition that everyone who passes through the Great Hall gets sorted - if they are to stay in the castle longer than a week. Would you care to participate? It is entirely your choice of course."
I stared at the Hat. I wanted it, if only to touch it. It was a talking hat. "All I have to do is put it on my head right?"
"Indeed."
The word had barely left his mouth before I had snatched it off of the table and plopped the thing down onto the top of my head.
Mmm, interesting. Interesting. I have not come across one such as you before, nor have I tried to sort a dual existence. What say you Taylor Hebert? Shall we give it a try?
Uh, sure?
Good show! Now, you're quite a bit older than I usually deal with so your basic tendencies are long since set. We shall have to first look at your motivations. What makes you you. You enjoy learning, that's clear enough, and research and preparation are highly important to you. So Ravenclaw would be a good fit.
I'm sensing a 'but'.
Not really. Just that it's not the only thing you're suited to. You are cunning. Oh are you cunning. Not exactly ambitious, yet you would run rings around your enemy just to convince them that they were your friend if it was advantageous to you.
I don't think I'd go quite that far…
Oh but you would! It's all right here in your head! So yes, Slytherin would be an excellent fit as well. You're not really suited for Gryffindor. While you are, technically, brave, I believe the more appropriate term is 'suicidal'. You should really sort that out child.
My cheeks burned and I clenched my fists. Fighting Lung had been stupid, but suicidal? I wasn't that bad.
Yes, you were. You're not that bad anymore, but you were. Either way, that is not really what being a Gryffindor entails and I am not a therapist. I am a hat, a smart hat, but a hat all the same.
Yeah. Okay. Let's…please move on.
Certainly Taylor Hebert! Finally we come to Hufflepuff. You are fiercely loyal. Why from what I see here, you would burn the world to the ground to save your friends. Hufflepuffs value loyalty and hard work and you are willing to put in the effort to whatever you set your mind to. You my dear are, through and through, a "Hufflepuff!"
Dumbledore's smile was wide and his chuckle was belly-deep as he reached for the hat. The accessory twisted on my head and bent forward. "Did I say I was done, Albus? Keep your dirty hands off me until I'm finished!"
Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall all reared back in their seats as they stared at the hat. I just cocked my head as my ring heated up and the hat settled itself back onto my head again.
Now, if you will excuse me Taylor Hebert. I have to confer with your…passenger for a time.
You mean my power…right?
Well it says its name is Queen Administrator and that it is a 'shard' not a 'power' but, in essence, yes. Do keep me on your head, please.
…Sure.
My power called itself 'Queen' Administrator. My power had an ego. Oh.
Well.
Well, okay then.
If I ever got back to Earth Bet, the scientists were going to kill to be able to talk to me.
I was still trying to figure out how I felt about my power calling itself a Queen - and desperately ignoring how the other three were fidgeting in their seats - when fifteen minutes later, the hat abruptly roused and sat up straight on my head.
"RAVENCLAW! The ur example of a Ravenclaw if I have ever seen one!"
Dumbledore slowly reached out and took the hat from my head. As he placed it onto the table, the fabric bowed to me. "It's been an honor child. I doubt I will ever meet another like yourself. Go forth and do great things! Hogwarts believes in you!"
"…I'm…I'm just going to…go…"
Snape stood fast enough that his chair shot backwards. "I will take you down. Follow me."
As we headed to the door, I kept staring over my shoulder at the hat. It was…humming to itself. And my ring was still warm.
Chapter 6: New School 02Chapter TextNew School 02
We were nearly at the Dungeons and there had been no conversation the entire way. Snape was apparently a quiet man. Normally that would be perfectly fine for me. But Daphne had mentioned that he was her Head of House, so I would probably be seeing him more often than not. I sighed internally as we turned the last corner and cleared my throat.
"Not to overstep my bounds, Professor Snape, but I am new to this country. I don't know if American non-magicals have different types of products for their hair, but I've always had success in the past. I could loan you some of the things I use. It looks like you have a similar style to my father; he got amazing results when he switched companies."
Complete and total lie. Didn't matter. As long as it got him to fix that monstrosity before I saw him again…
Snape stared down at me, his expression completely blank. "What?"
"…Never mind." It was worth a try. Maybe I could roll some of my bugs in something and then fix it for him while he slept - no, that was a bad idea. What was with me lately?
Stupid awesome magical castle; it was completely throwing me off. I should be staying quiet and unassuming. The Trio had taught me how to lay low. I didn't need to go and accidentally antagonize a teacher before I'd been here for a single night. This was going to end up like Lung all over again if I wasn't careful!
As we came to the bottom of the small staircase, Snape drew to a stop, seemingly waiting for me to acknowledge him. His theatrics were good, but not at cape levels. Maybe some of the effect was lost since I knew the Common Room was just behind the fake bricks. The question was where the latch or the lever was; those I hadn't been able to find yet.
"Hebert, you will be the first non-Slytherin in these rooms in centuries. Appreciate this honor."
"I am working for a Slytherin though," I replied, narrowing my eyes. There were theatrics and then there was being a bully. There was no need to attempt to grind me down just for entering a room. These people had magic. Congratu-fucking-lations. I had superpowers. Wizards were apparently a dime a dozen, but I was the only parahuman here. I would hang back and stay quiet like Emma and Sophia had taught me, but I would not let this become another Winslow.
I was in a magic castle. No one was going to take this away from me. I was going to get to gape and stare and maybe even squee. I was not going to be brought to heel on the first day.
This was not Winslow. This was a magic castle housing a magic school. And I was going to get to enjoy it if it was the last thing I did.
"Yes, you do work for a Slytherin, that is why you are allowed in without complaint. You need to be aware, however, that because you are not a Slytherin and we have our traditions, there will be dissenting voices. I do not coddle my House. If you cannot deal with upset children on your own, then you do not deserve your position."
The spiders weaving shirts in a nearby empty dungeon room picked up their pace tenfold.
This was exactly like Winslow.
"I expect you to be able to handle this. I know Cyrus Greengrass; he and his family are no fools. Watch your charges well, Hebert."
The spiders slowed their pace again as I stared at the man. That was probably the most backhanded compliment I had ever gotten. "I will."
"Good. The password for the Common Room changes every fortnight, check the boards for updates. The first is 'unity'."
The word had barely left his lips when the bricks next to us pulled out of the expanse of wall, rotating outward. Oh. There was no lever, no latch, no hinges - just magic. I…should have expected that.
"Good night, Hebert."
"Good night, Professor Snape."
He didn't come inside with me, and the door shut as soon as I walked through. As I got a look around the Common Room with my actual eyes, I had to pause and just stare.
"Oh, wow."
Suddenly, being situated in the Dungeons made a lot more sense. Most of the far wall was completely taken over by giant windows that looked out onto the lake. There was the typical aquarium feel as fish swam past and seaweed waved in the lazy current. But then, further away, I could see something that looked like what you would get if a biotinker decided to merge a seahorse with an actual horse, plus another set of swimming things that were more like what I imagine a Japanese Kappa would look like, complete with fins on its hands and a bowl in its head. My bugs had told me there was a window and my power had latched onto crabs outside. I hadn't quite understood just what that meant though until now.
"Oi! Hebert! Stop gawking and come sit down, girl. You gotta tell us what old Dumbles wanted!" With not insignificant effort, I tore my gaze away from the lake and made my way over to Daphne and her brown-haired friend who had called out to me. The brunette was still grinning widely as I dropped into an armchair next to them. "If you think the view is good now, just wait until the Giant Squid comes to say hello. The upper classes say we used to get merfolk too, but…eh, some people scared them away a few years back."
"Giant Squid?" I turned back to the window, frowning as I tried to pierce the gloom coming on with the setting sun.
"Oh yeah, if you're up on the shore, sometimes it'll play with you too. I've seen Macmillan throwing a ball back and forth and some of the older Ravenclaws have let it toss them around for some sweet dives in the warmer months. Not that we have many of those up here, but hey, there's like a three week period that you can go swimming!"
"Tracey, please, don't encourage playing with the Giant Squid, you know it just encourages the creature to splash the rest of us when we're innocently trying to do our homework outside," Daphne said, sighing.
I raised my eyebrows at them. "One of my friends back home had a few dogs. I could barely get them to play fetch with me. I would kill someone to have a chance to play fetch with a squid."
Daphne groaned. "Ugh, you both are impossible. I'll be staying a safe distance away, well outside of the splash zone."
"Don't mind, Daph, she's just jealous because she never gets to have fun anymore." Tracey leaned forward and clasped her hands over mine. "So, tell me, tell me, howdid you end up in England from across the Pond and whyare you working with Daph of all people!?"
"Is there someone else I should be working with?" I asked.
The boy from the train - Draco Malfoy if I was remembering correctly - sauntered over at that moment and threw himself across an armchair across from us, letting his legs dangle over one arm while he laid against the other. "Well, I'm certain that my father could pay you better than whatever the Greengrasses are. We haven't had a retainer at Hogwarts for decades. That you're here now means a lot and it's a heavy status symbol. We could certainly bring you onboard and ensure that you receive appropriate compensation for that increase in status. Daphne's family is decent, but they aren't politically relevant anymore. My father is."
"I already have a job."
"We'd give you a better job."
Tracey dropped my hands and leaned back, crossing her arms as the smile fell from her face, leaving her with a mask of disinterest in its place. "Really? I find that surprising, Draco. From what I hear, your family has issues working with anyone not pure. Somehow I doubt that Taylor here would get a fair deal with dear old Lucius."
"My problems with you are entirely irrelevant, Davis." Malfoy pulled himself up enough that he could glare at Tracey before turning back to me with a large smile plastered back onto his face. Suddenly I understood why Rachel disliked people so much. If she saw all of us as this two-faced, her general annoyance made a lot more sense.
"Why do you even want to try to poach my bodyguard, Draco?" Daphne asked. She, unlike Tracey, was entirely relaxed, even the hint of a grin cresting. "In case you haven't noticed, she doesn't even have a wand."
"Which means that she's really good with wandless magic of course," Malfoy said, waving his hand dismissively. "You wouldn't have hired her if she was useless. So what do you say, Hebert? Want a ticket to the high life?"
"I believe I already said that I have a job, thanks," I said. "And to make things clear so that we get this out of the way right now instead of later, I'm a parahuman."
Malfoy's face clouded. He twisted, sitting up fully straight as several of the other students in the room perked up as well. None were very obvious about it, but every one of them had either an ear towards us or a wand held pointed towards the space between us. Could they use a form of listening magic? I would have to ask Daphne later. That would be useful information to know.
"And just what is a parahuman?"
I shrugged. "Someone from far away. There's not many of us around in this area; I'm probably the only one in Europe, let alone the country. I have very different strengths than you. Maybe one day, if you are incredibly unlucky, you'll get to experience them first hand."
Malfoy frowned, his eyes narrowing. "You're a creature. Like those Veela from last year."
"I have no idea what a Veela is, but if you mean that I have abilities you don't because I'm a parahuman, then you're correct. But if you think I'm some kind of animal, you are mistaken, I'm very much human, just…better." Everyone was definitely far more interested in our conversation now than they were in their own business. This was like the inverse of Winslow, now instead of being invisible, I was the primary point of interest. Maybe I could use this…
"Why would Greengrass hire a creature instead of a human?" Malfoy shifted his gaze to Daphne. "Are you really that hard up now that you couldn't even afford a proper guard?"
"It's a bad idea to underestimate me, Draco," I said. Leaning back in my seat, I smiled and grabbed the mug of tea that had been set on the table. Daphne blushed just on the edge of my view as I took a sip, my smile widening. This was good tea. "The last person who underestimated me wound up in the hospital for a week trying to regrow his privates."
Not that I had meant to rot Lung's crotch off, but they didn't need to know that. If there was anything that Brian had drilled into me, it was reputation. I needed to look big and powerful to these people. They were not going to get a chance to ruin being around actual magic by being bullies. Not this time. I wasn't going to become Emma or Sophia, but I was going to be the scariest parahuman any of them had ever heard of.
It was only fair after all; I had to properly represent capes.
"That sounds like a load of shite," Malfoy said. He was far less confident this time though and he was pulling away from me as subtly as he could.
"I don't care what you do or don't believe. I've warned you not to mess with me, my charges - or if I make some here - my friends. That's all I was saying."
Twisting so I was looking at Daphne, I dropped out of the deadpan tone and grinned wide. "So, I keep meaning to ask! I need books on magical critters, Daphne. I saw some pretty interesting things while we were coming onto the grounds and I want to research them. And I heard your mom mentioning something about a bug that can make you fly after it stings you?! What the hell is that and where can I get one?!"
Daphne just stared at me while Tracey laughed. "Oh girl, if you think billywigs are cool, wait til I show you a moth that laughs as it flies!"
"No way…"
"Professor Hagrid has a bunch of them. When he gets back we can ask to see them."
Daphne grunted. "That man is insane. He's very sweet, but he has no understanding that his creatures can be dangerous."
"Oh come on, Daph, the guy is a huggable oaf. He's adorable."
"He's a menace," a dark-skinned boy chimed in from a couch a few feet away. I glanced over to him and he nodded to me. "Blaise Zabini, nice to meet you. And don't listen to Tracey. Hagrid has a whole menagerie that will kill you in a moment. The Professor is very nice, but he's an idiot with proper safety for his XXXX and XXXXX creatures. It's not very surprising considering his heritage, though at least he tends to restrict it to just his collection of deadly animals."
"All of you are just jealous," Tracey said rolling her eyes. "Hagrid's creatures are cool!"
"He had an actual dragon in our first year, Davis," Draco scoffed. "I saw it with my own eyes. The longer the half-giant buffoon is gone the better for us all."
Blaise nodded. "Yes, I have to agree, Hagrid is not a good teacher. And who could forget those monstrosities he made last year. Who would ever think that breeding a manticore and a fire crab was a good idea?"
"Fire crabs?" Ohhh, now that sounded useful indeed. I could control regular crabs without having to delve into the weirdness that was Trevor-the-Toad or the heat from my ring when I reached out to him. If I could get a colony of crabs that breathed fire…
"Yes," Daphne said. "Hagrid bred the giant crabs with another giant evil thing and got what he termed 'blast-ended skrewts'. They were so bad he had the Champions face off against the survivors last year. Ugly things too. Stingers on both ends, no mouths, yet they still managed to eat somehow, and shot fire out of their behinds…or their fronts, it was never clear…" She trailed off and shuddered.
I definitely needed to find some of those…
The others started to talk about their summer activities, leaving me to smile and nod. Thankfully, I had far more interesting things to focus on, instead of pretending to be interested in this ball or that newspaper event.
Snape had gone back to talk to Dumbledore. Now thisshould be fun to listen to!
"Albus, we need to discuss the child."
Oh really, Professor Snape? Do tell! We spoke less than I had talked with Lung, what sort of impression did you get of me, good sir?
"Indeed," Dumbledore said. He didn't sound nearly as jovial as when I had been in front of him. It was nice seeing behind the mask. Why hadn't I used this more back home? I could've gotten so much use out of spying! Why bother going out in the field when you can gather information - then attack from a distance if needed.
Why had I constantly jumped to being in the fray before? Something to add to the list of mysteries.
"What did you see? What happened with your Legilimency, Albus? I have never heard of a reaction like that."
Hmm, what was that?
Down in the Common Room as Tracey grilled Blaise about something concerning skiing, I leaned over to whisper to Daphne, "Hey, what's Legilimency?"
She frowned and glanced at me. "Surface mind reading. It requires continual eye contact. Skilled users can delve deeper. Why?"
"Apparently I got mind read; and it didn't go well for the reader." I leaned back, narrowing my eyes. That was a huge invasion of privacy; served him right for getting a nosebleed from the attempt.
"Severus, have you ever attempted to read someone with dual personalities?"
The professor sat down. "Yes, it was a supremely unpleasant experience and I was unable to keep contact for longer than ten seconds. Seeing through two perspectives at once was…heavily disconcerting."
Dumbledore chuckled though there was no mirth in it. "Imagine that experience, multiplied a thousand, thousand times and you will begin to approach what Miss Hebert's mind is like."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "You mean to suggest that she has thousands of personalities?"
"Oh no, not at all. I'm saying that it is merely a good approximation, my friend. She can see through millions of perspectives at once, all in wildly different areas. I only caught a glimpse and I could not begin to understand what I saw and it nearly overwhelmed me. But judging by the impression, I would not be surprised if she could see the entirety of the castle from anywhere within our bounds."
"That is…"
"There is more, Severus." Dumbledore's exhalation was long and tired. "She is a dual-existence. The Sorting Hat was proof enough of that."
"So that was your intention," Snape sneered. "I had suspected, but Albus, that is a perversion of the magic of Hogwarts. I may not agree with many of your policies or decisions, but I respect them. With this, I fully agree with Minerva on this."
Dumbledore sat up straight and he twisted to - presumably- glare at Snape. "That was not my intention. I stand by tradition and I was merely curious what House she fit in best, the same as everyone else who passes through these halls. I no more expected the reaction from the Hat than you did."
"…Very well, I will trust you, as I have in the past." He sighed and took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Now, what do you mean by dual-existence?"
"The impression I received of her vision was minimal, barely a second. Almost immediately I was shunted to a far different perspective. It was…the only appropriate word is 'vast'. I could not comprehend what I saw."
"Then -"
"I was allowed to see, Severus. It was ancient, colossal, but above all curious. It let me gain an impression of its age. Then it thrust me out with a single word that cut through me, shaking me to my core. No."
Both men fell silent while I sank deeper into my armchair. So…apparently my power didn't like me being mind-read either…That was…sweet?
"So…she is not just a girl then."
"I don't doubt that she is what she appears to be, Severus. A polite, determined child trying to complete a job. A girl contracted by a very smart man who was concerned for his children and recognized a golden opportunity. Yet, she is also the vessel of something dangerous in its curiosity. Something that does not belong in our world."
"I don't understand, Albus."
"There are things that the Department of Mysteries investigated, doorways to other places, portals between worlds. I believe she is telling the truth about being a parahuman, despite no one having ever heard of such a race. I simply don't believe that 'parahumans' occur naturally on our world. This secondary being behind her eyes, the observer, I will have to reach out to old colleagues to start assembling the puzzle. For this to drop into my school now, just as Voldemort regains his power…There must be a deeper reason for it. And even if there isn't, we both know that I don't like to let mysteries lie dormant. I want to discover more about the observer. Perhaps…perhaps it could help in our problem…"
"So, what do we do now, Albus?"
"Nothing for the moment. I will contact the Department of Mysteries and my old friends. As for Miss Hebert, let her do her job. Do not anger the observer. She is not here to support Voldemort and the observer likely won't care to act beyond its natural curiosity. We have our own battle to fight. She can protect her charges, and we will fight our war, protecting Harry Potter until the proper time comes. Once I have enough information to determine more about her situation and the being she is linked to, then I will approach her."
I sank deeper into the chair, swallowing hard. That man was…intelligent. Very intelligent and very dangerous. He figured out more about me and my power in five minutes than most of our scientists had in decades. And…just what was my power? What was I connected to?
"Hey, Taylor, can you tell us about MACUSA? I've heard they're rather a shite example of a government."
I shook my head and tried to chuckle as I looked at Tracey. "I don't really know much. My dad and I weren't involved with the government at all. He was a, uh, Union leader."
"Isn't that political?"
"…I didn't really get involved with his work. He was always busy and I just was…left to…do my own thing. Tell me about the Ministry?"
Tracey started to talk and I leaned back, continuing to smile politely.
What the hell were our superpowers?
Chapter 7: New Class 01Notes:AN: Some there is a tiny bit lost in translation in this version compared to the SB one. The parts where the students are whispering while in the class far away from Taylor are meant to be smaller font. Ao3 doesn't really let me do that sort of formatting unfortunately.
Chapter TextNew Class 01
My eyes were wide as I stared at the catalog in front of me. An ear-to-ear grin was plastered all over my face. I couldn't help the maniacal little chuckle that bubbled forth either. I didn't want to.
The critters here, oh boy! I could have ruled Brockton Bay in under a week! I could've driven out the Nazis, the Merchants, hell I could've gone after Lung with impunity and not barely escaping being charbroiled!
I cackled again.
"Will you stop laughing like an evil madwoman please? It's disturbing," Daphne commented, looking over her shoulder to eye me.
Tracey snorted. "That's what's disturbing you? Not that she can follow us with that guidebook held in front of her nose, huh? That's better than Granger - I'm pretty sure she at least hit a wall or two. What sort of freaky senses do you have, Taylor? You haven't missed a single turn or glanced up from that thing once."
"I'm good with spatial awareness," I commented. I flipped the page and had to actually bite my tongue to avoid laughing again. We walked into the Entrance Hall and I had Trevor pull himself up to a sitting position so I could better see the area that Daphne and Tracey were leading us towards without having to shift yet more bugs around. He was just so useful; what would the rest of these guys bring?! "Daphne, can I mail order doxies?!"
She stopped mid-step, her neck nearly creaking as she turned to look at me. Several of the other nearby students also looked up from their plates, forks halfway to their mouths. "What?"
I just stopped behind her and flipped another page. "How about a vampyr mosp? Oooh, we need to get some redback spiders and cocoon spiders!" I was probably drooling; I didn't care.
"Taylor."
"The glumbubble could be interesting too. Oh, and someone said that Hagrid had flitterbies right?! I wonder if he took them with him on his trip."
"Oh my god, she's serious. Daphne, she's serious. Why is she serious?" Tracey had lost most of the teasing lilt and had taken to staring at me with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.
Trevor croaked a quiet laugh at her antics. I breathed a quiet sigh when the movement drew Neville's attention to the small, now-jingling, bell on his neck, and the Gryffindor boy picked up the toad, robbing me of my view. Trevor was happy about it though so I let his consciousness drift away from me. I made one final circle in the catalog, then looking up with my own eyes, I held it out to Daphne.
"I marked everything I want! Please, please send a message to your dad. Soon!"
She took the catalog, the bare minimum of fingers touching it as she swallowed and flipped through a few of the pages. Daphne stopped on one of them, the booklet dropping to her side as she held my gaze. "You have fire crabs circled."
"Did you see those critters?! They grow so big! It's like a giant tortoise, but a crustacean! And it can shoot fire! And its shell is so pretty!"
"You need a special license to even inquire about one." She glanced down at my notes, grimacing and shuddering. "I'll…talk to Father."
"You're the best." I flashed her my best smile. I was a bit out of practice with it since, well, Emma, but I was fairly sure I still hit all of the right beats. Daphne's rosy cheeks were indication enough that I was on the right track.
As we sat down at the table a moment later, Blaise angled his fork across the table towards me. "So, Hebert, I couldn't help overhearing. What do you want with all of those pests? You're not planning a prank or anything are you? I mean, importing doxies is pretty extreme. Especially considering that there has to be a decent sized nest somewhere here in the castle anyway."
"Really?" I asked, my eyes as wide as saucers and my pancakes forgotten. How had I missed them?! Was it like with Trevor where I needed to find the magic critters first and let my passenger warm up to them through the ring? Ohhh I needed to explore. I needed to find these things! The breeding rates alone…I would have my own army in weeks!
"I mean, they're a menace; evil little things that get everywhere. Muggles have rats, we have doxies. Unless Peeves clears them out on his own I'm sure the horrible little shits are hiding somewhere."
One of the upper years grunted. "Certainly enough unused classrooms these days. Me dad's talked about the old days when you couldn't go two steps in Hogwarts without tripping over someone; now the corridors are almost always empty."
That did bring my mood down a bit and took another look around the Great Hall. These tables were awfully large for such a small group of people…"What happened?"
The larger boy shrugged. "First time the Dark Lord started his war lots of people died. Grindelwald before him was worse. If there's a war this time too there might not be enough people left for a full class the next go round."
My good mood soured a bit at that. Still, a few wars…that wasn't really anything compared to the Endbringers. We lost hundreds of capes and tens of thousands of civilians every few months. These people just lost a few families every few decades and it put a noticeable dent in their numbers? Just how small was the magical population here?
I narrowed my eyes and speared my pancake. This was stupid. These people killed each other off for nothing. We had to deal with monsters that were slowly destroying the world. They had petty squabbles and it wiped them out? Idiots.
"Hey, are you okay?" Daphne murmured, poking my side with her elbow.
I shook my head. "It's nothing. I'm just realizing that I'm apparently more callous than I had realized."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I don't get to claim the moral high ground." Alec would probably laugh at that admission and Lisa would just pat my back and say that everyone came to understand that sooner or later.
I still thought of them. I had barely even known them. Yet I had been intending to betray them.
Damn…I would never have actually followed through with that, would I?
I had gone native. I had barely been with them for 3 weeks and I had thrown my lot in with the villains. But was it all that surprising? They had been good to me. They had been my friends. My only real experience with the Heroes was Armsmaster being a dick, Shadow Stalker immediately taking Emma's side, and…they all collectively let Brockton Bay slide into being the worst city in America. A city run by gangs, where every third person you passed on the street was probably part of one of the gangs.
The Heroes hadn't done anything. They had been worse then incompetent. They had been malicious. And everything had gone to crap under their watch.
Only the Villains had gotten results. Unfavorable results, but still, results.
"Taylor?"
If it were me in charge, I could prevent all this…
"I should take over Britain. You can't all keep killing yourselves off every few years if you have someone standing at the top to smack your nose if you start being idiots again."
"I love this girl! Crazy pets with a side of world domination!" Tracey crooned. She looped an arm around my shoulder and laughed. "Daph, I don't know where your family found her, but she's awesome!"
I just speared more pancakes, letting them keep the delusional idea that I was joking.
After breakfast finished I left Daphne to her own devices and fell into step with Astoria as she walked to class. The younger Greengrass sister glanced at me, shrugged and kept talking to her friends. Luna was actually the first one to say anything when she started skipping along next to me.
"Good morning, Taylor. Have you been thinking of world domination this morning?"
I nearly missed a step as I jerked around to stare at the girl. "Why would you ask something like that, Luna?" And how good are your ears?
She shrugged, lifting a finger to point just over my head. "You have heiress humphreys hovering over you today. Daddy always said that people with heiress humphreys have great ambitions." I just lifted an eyebrow. She smiled and nodded back towards the Great Hall. "Also, I heard you talking to Astoria's sister. It's nice that a Slytherin isn't mumbling at meals for once. I sit so close to them, but it's always so hard to hear their conversations."
I snorted. "You're rather more sneaky than people give you credit for I bet."
"Oh yes. It makes things so much more…interesting!"
"Don't listen to her, Taylor," Astoria said. She stuck out her tongue at Luna and Luna just chuckled. "Luna here just likes to hear what sort of pranks the Slytherins have planned."
"That too. My day is usually much easier if I know who Marietta has reached out to in the morning. The poppies by themselves aren't always enough to figure it out."
The last bit of cheer from my discovery of the manypossible expansions to my bugs died a fiery death.
"Luna, I love you, but we'd get so much further in these talks if you would actually make sense," Astoria said, laughing.
I had heard a 'Marietta' talking last night when I scanned the Ravenclaw dorms. She was two years above Luna and Astoria. Well, that would make this easier; I wouldn't feel guilty for hurting a girl harassing someone that much younger than her.
There was something seriously wrong with me.
"Luna, have you heard of the flickering fireflies?" I asked. The classroom door was in sight, but there was enough time before we got there. Luna shook her head as she looked at me. "Where I come from, they say that there are special fireflies, ones that only appear to people looking to hide or run away."
"Oh, that's interesting. I haven't heard of that variety. I wonder if father has."
"You should ask him. From what I remember, I think they were supposed to lead those people to safety."
"Hmm, I will do that. I'll also have to keep a lookout for them from now on."
Astoria had slowed her pace, letting her friends take over their conversation. She eyed me, then glanced at Luna. I held a finger to my lips while the others pulled ahead of us and filed into the classroom. She glanced at Luna's back one last time, then sucked in a breath and mouthed 'Marietta' to me. I nodded once and held out my hand for her to head inside the room. Astoria scowled, though she quickly wiped it from her face and replaced it with a cheery grin.
The girl was almost as good as her sister at acting.
The diminutive instructor for Charms was fantastic. If we had had more teachers like him at Winslow I might have actually enjoyed school. He was like a hyperactive puppy and he lavished praise on anyone who deserved it while completely ignoring the people who slacked off. It was really a breath of fresh air to see a teacher who could teach.
"Now that we have finished the initial material for this first class, I would like to review a few topics from previous years. Since this is the first class of the year, we might as well all go through some of the basics to make certain that we haven't lost our touch over the summer!"
One of the Ravenclaws raised their hand, frowning. "Professor, we've never done that before."
Flitwick grinned wider. "Indeed we haven't. The reasoning is twofold. Can anyone figure it out?"
"We're Fourth Years now so we have a lot more things that we need to remember since the work gets harder this year?" a Hufflepuff girl said.
"That's a well reasoned answer, Miss Hestridge. Five points to Hufflepuff! Does anyone else know the second reason?"
Someone shouted, "We have exams this year so we have to be ready."
Most of the blue-trimmed students groaned at that as did several of the yellow-trimmed kids. Flitwick just sighed. "While I appreciate the enthusiasm, Mr. Brody, your O.W.L.s are next year. Anyone else."
Luna raised her hand. When Flitwick signaled her she said, "Because we have a guest and you want us to show off for her."
A sea of heads turned to me. I swallowed and tightened my tie, the bugs I had working down in the dungeons twitched and started weaving their shirts a little bit faster. "You don't have to do that, Professor."
Some of the students on the far side of the room frowned, leaning forward and narrowing their eyes. One of the guys elbowed his friend and whispered to his friend.
"Hey, why does Astoria's bodyguard have such a high-pitched voice? Bloke sounds like a girl."
"I think that is a girl."
"No way. He's wearing a suit!"
I sent a fly to bite the ears of the little jerks and sped up production of my spider-silk shirts even more. Just because I didn't have large breasts didn't mean I couldn't wear a suit. Asshole.
"Now, now, Miss Hebert, no need to be modest. I understand that your background in wanded magic is patchy, so let's show you a bit of a primer in the Charms direction!" Flitwick said, he jumped off his stool and strode to the center of the room, raising his wand.
"See! I told you she was a girl!"
"Ow! Stupid bugs. Fine, fine you were right. Now help me with the repelling charm!" the jerk whispered back.
Flitwick meanwhile had started to wave his wand as in the air and a feather lifted up before him. "Let's all start with Wingardium Leviosa and move up from there."
There were a few groans, though the class quickly performed the spell.
Jeez, 14-year-olds that could essentially perform telekinesis…magic was awesome!
"Why isn't the repelling charm working?!"
Magic apparently wasn't able to stop my bugs though, which brought me to an internal chuckle.
"Maybe you did it wrong? I'll check the book again. It's supposed to work on all mindless insects!"
Too bad that little fly wasn't mindless then huh? Maybe think twice about mistaking a girl for a guy again, jerk. I did, however reluctantly, call the fly back as I turned more attention to Flitwick. There was no need to be mean about it. I got my nip in, I was mostly satisfied.
"Yes, Miss Hebert?"
"I can do the levitation trick too." I stared at a feather near Flitwick and jerked my head up towards the ceiling, while keeping my hands folding on the table in front of me. The feather leaped up, dragged by the loops of spider silk I had threaded around the edges of it. A bit of careful manipulation and the feather did a nice little dance in the air before I lowered it back down and cut the cords. I also set two flies to go and get the loops off of the feather itself once the class's attention was back on me.
The class as a whole had wide, round eyes as they stared at me, a few holding their breath. I frowned and glanced towards Astoria. "What did I do?"
"I believe they are just impressed with your wandless and nonverbal casting, Miss Hebert," Flitwick said. He was still smiling, though he also winked at me, his gaze briefly drifting to the ceiling.
I couldn't help a small answering grin and a slight nod back. Smart man, Professor. Don't be distracted by the curtain, watch the trick itself. Smart man.
"Now, let's move onto the next Charm! Miss Hebert, I don't think you will be able to replicate this one quite as easily, but let's see shall we?"
Challenge accepted, Professor.
Chapter 8: New Class 02Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextNew Class 02
I dropped into the chair next to Daphne in the defense classroom after parting ways with Astoria, the smirk still etched on my face.
She arched an eyebrow at me. "Someone is in a good mood."
"Professor Flitwick is a fun opponent."
"I almost don't want the details," Daphne murmured. "You look terrifying right now."
"Thank you."
While I hadn't been able to figure out a trick to make the Cheering Charms work, I had been able to get something for the voice throwing 'spell' without any effort. The only real difficulty with that one had been doing it close enough to a wall or a table so that no one noticed the swarm of bugs I had drawn together to imitate my voice. I was still curious as to why I could make do with fewer bugs or why they actually sounded exactly like my voice now instead of 'The Voice of The Legion', as Lisa had called it.
My ring probably had something to do with it - considering it had warmed up when I had gotten going. Maybe my hitchhiker was enjoying the bit of misdirection 'magic' here too?
That thought should probably terrify me, instead of making me feel warm and fuzzy…
I glanced down at my ring, directing a thread of thought towards it. Hey, Power, did you help me pretend to be magical? Nothing happened, not that I had expected a response. Are you Cthulhu? Maybe that would get a response.
You know there's a big difference between 'tactical misdirection', and 'pranking misdirection'. If you're Cthulhu, I don't feel comfortable with you helping; I feel like you'd be helping for reasons more approaching the latter situation rather than the former. I have some major issues with pranks. Still nothing. I'm also a bit worried about long-term sanity concerns if you're Cthulhu.
Now that got a response. My ring warmed but cooled down almost immediately afterwards.
That's not very informative, I groused. It didn't help that I noticed Trevor entering into my range as he hopped along one of the corridors above us too.
Still nothing? You're a bit of a jerk. You know that right?
Whatever I was connected to was annoying and apparently not interested in talking much. And I…apparently didn't mind this nearly as much as I knew I should. A bit of a hurt ego was not the same as an existential crisis. I should be gnashing my teeth or tearing my hair out…maybe not my hair. I liked my hair.
I was more worried about my hair than my quiet hitchhiker. Fuck.
I almost would have preferred Cthulhu…
Before I could even start to dive into the myriad roiling emotions that revelation was stirring up, the door to the office at the front of the classroom opened, and admitted a portly, pink-clad woman. I frowned, dimly remembering this rotund blight from the feast at the beginning of the semester.
I could deal with my own issues later. Parahumans had gotten by perfectly fine with their hitchhikers before I ever started trying to talk to mine through a magic ring.
My life was messed up.
Shaking my head, I pushed aside my thoughts and focused on Dolores Umbridge. My first close-up impressions of her were in stark contrast to Flitwick. This woman seemed like a transplanted Blackwell - if Blackwell's mother had been some kind of humanoid frog. And if her 'speech' from the meal at the beginning of the semester was anything to go by, then that comparison was more apt than I would have liked. I hadn't paid all that much attention to her at the time, and now I was going to have to compensate for that. Why a woman like that would deign to teach kids was beyond me. They were all alike from my experience. Dealing with her was going to be a nightmare.
Ah, well, if it got really bad then I could always just flip between Astoria and Daphne and never have to actually sit in on her classes. I wasn't getting paid enough to deal with this sort of crap again.
"Good afternoon, class," Umbridge said. Wow, even her voice was too sweet. She was a fly trap that didn't bother trying to hide that it was going to eat the flies. You had to practice to sound that syrupy. "Eh hem. I said, good afternoon, class."
The students just stared at her, some blinking, others crossing their arms.
"The correct response is: Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." She was smiling, but the expression was straight off of Sophia's warped visage. I moved a few more bugs into the room and sent them towards the ceiling and the corners to hide. There was no harm in being prepared. "Good afternoon, class."
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," several half-hearted mumbles echoed back.
She tsked. "Well, that will do for today I suppose. I am certain that we will learn to improve as the year moves on." Oh god, her laughter was even worse. I'd take nails on a chalkboard over this. Yeah, I wasn't coming back to these classes at all.
"Now, if you will all open your books and read through Chapters 1 and 2 that should take us through the period. Please raise your hand if you have any questions about the material."
I frowned as I leaned over Daphne and glanced at the book on the desk. "Wasn't that the utterly useless one?" I murmured.
Daphne nodded.
Apparently I wasn't quiet enough as Umbridge cocked her head at me, her smile cracking. "Something to add, Miss Hebert? I believe you should be raising your hand if you have a comment."
Oh for…No. No, I was not dealing with Blackwell 2.0 again. Hell, this was Blackwell and Quinlan combined into some unholy lovechild. I didn't let my disgust show - much - as I crossed my arms and very deliberately set them on the desktop. "I was just asking for confirmation that this was the same book that was considered completely and totally useless, except as kindling, Ma'am. Now that I can get a clear look at the cover, I can see that it is indeed the very same one I was thinking of."
Umbridge blinked. "Excuse me child, but this book is the only Ministry of Magic approved text currently in use in the entire school. Something that is certain to be corrected in short order. Hogwarts must be brought up to the Ministry's standards from the depths it has fallen to under the current leadership." She leaned forward, and sneered at me. "Moreover, I was under the impression that you couldn't even use magic." If I hadn't already had bugs near her I probably would have missed her muttered comment of, "filthy squib."
My bugs flew a little faster, but I didn't let myself react visibly to her barb. Instead, I just smiled and met her gaze. "As a highly paid professional, ma'am, I believe I am far more qualified to espouse an opinion on the matter of defense than a gaggle of bureaucrats who, last I heard, had been bested by a simple terrorist group."
"How dare you imply that you know more than the Ministry of Magic," Umbridge hissed. Oh, the sweetness was gone from her voice. Good.
"I'm literally being paid to be the bodyguard for two teenagers and I've defeated foes who had the government quaking in their boots before. You're extolling the virtues of a book that I wouldn't wipe my ass with. Whoever wrote this had no idea what he was talking about, and was just filling pages with nonsense to get a government contract at the lowest bid."
"Miss Hebert, it is quite clear that you do not understand anything about how real witches and wizards work, or what we do or do not write about. You should not speak out of turn on subjects of which you do not know. Do not shame your…employer further by continuing to speak on this."
Did she just…imply I was a slave? Was that what she was trying to say? How the hell was I supposed to respond to that?
A hand shot into the air from a few tables over. The girl was a Gryffindor and she was sitting next to Harry. She didn't bother to wait for Umbridge to call on her - clever girl, Umbridge never did say that you had to actually be addressed once your hand was up. "Professor, I fully agree with Miss Hebert. There is barely any discussion of the theory anywhere in this text and there are no practical topics at all!"
Umbridge's faltering smile suddenly flared back to life, morphing into a full on smirk as she centered her gaze on the brunette. "Why, Miss Granger, whatever would you need practical instructions for? You would never use that!"
"What?!" The indignation in the girl's reply was enough to make me wince.
"So, what?" I cut in. "Fifteen years ago you just stood around and let terrorists fire deadly spells at you? That explains why this school is so empty…and the state of your country as a whole, I guess."
"I'm certain that the fools in your home country were able to perform so much better, little girl." She ground out, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Considering no one even knows of your…species, why, they must have all died out," Umbridge gasped as she held a hand over her mouth, doing little to hide the giggle. "Such poor dears, they did such a fantastic job of running their country that they all killed themselves off!"
Fuck this bitch. My bugs swarmed into the surrounding classrooms as I tried to figure out how to defend capes without having capes actually in this universe to back up my claims.
"Professor," Granger said, drawing Umbridge's attention back towards her. "What if we are directly attacked? We need to know how to defend ourselves! It happened just last year at the Quidditch World Cup!"
Umbridge's lip twisted as she scowled in my direction, though by the time she had turned back to Granger her smirk was firmly cemented back in place. "Why, if there should ever be a problem then you should call for the Aurors, Miss Granger. The Ministry will handle all issues that arise!"
'Let us handle everything, we'll report it to the right people. You don't need to worry. We'll handle it. We're the authorities. We can deal with it. Even though we never, ever have and never, ever will.'
The bugs in the dungeons and on the grounds started frantically weaving more and more intricate webs. I also found myself growing aware of more of the castle than I had been when walking into the room a few minutes ago.
"…This is completely ridiculous! How are we supposed to study for exams?!"
Oh there was a doxy nest under one of the bathroom floors - a false floor. Well, wasn't that interesting. That was neat. I could focus on that. Did doxies have a hive cluster setup or were they too intelligent for me to control? My ring warmed up and the faint impression of the creatures sharpened into laser-focus.
"…So you're saying that we should just let Voldemort and his Death Eaters kill us when they are standing right in front of us then?" That was Harry yelling now. I should pay more attention to the class again.
"Idiot," Daphne muttered.
"Mr. Potter. You are lying."
"I am not!"
"Shut up, idiot," Daphne muttered.
The false floor under the bathroom was far larger than I had expected. I sent a few of the doxies to explore the giant cavern. There were very few bugs as a whole down there, not enough to get a good picture of it and I wanted to move the hive back towards the main castle, not deeper underground. I'd have to explore it later.
"Detention!"
My main body was shaking now and my eyes were screwed shut. I had gotten the doxies moved to a new nest closer to the dungeons though and I had finally found the Gryffindor Common Room. That was nice. This class wasn't an entire waste of time.
The yelling finally quieted; a minute later my fists unclenched, and the breath I had been holding slowly leaked out too. I barely noticed as Daphne took my hand in hers, dabbing a napkin on my sticky palms. After a moment, she murmured something under her breath, and my hand warmed. I glanced down, just in time to see thin cuts on my palms sealing shut, my ring burning hot.
Yay. Now I have a Brute rating too, just what I always wanted. Too bad it was a fake Brute rating from magic I couldn't control.
I didn't meet Daphne's eyes until the class ended half an hour later. Umbridge was the first to leave the room and almost everyone ran out afterwards too. Soon enough, it was just me, Daphne, Granger, and Harry left. The redheaded boy that had been on the other side of Harry had bolted from the room as soon as the class was dismissed and I didn't blame him at all. I'd have followed him if I had been more composed. Granger looked like she was trying to get Harry to calm down from his outburst earlier, while Daphne wasn't letting me go without me talking to her.
Sighing, I twisted my head, raising one hand, palm out. "Thanks," I murmured.
"You're welcome," she replied, her voice soft. "What happened?"
"I've…met people like her. People who pretend they're going to do something, lord it over you, and then smile and laugh while they shred the report paperwork in the other room, not caring at all that you can see them doing it."
"Taylor…"
"I'm not coming back to this class with you again, Daphne," I stated. Standing, I grabbed for my bag and straightened my tie. "For her safety and everyone else's too." I bit my cheek and looked her in the eyes. "I'll keep a watch on you while you're in here, and I'll do the same with Astoria, but I can't actually sit in here. I would end up doing something that everyone would regret before the week was out."
"Taylor, wait!"
"Maybe not that even that long." I brushed past her. Stopping besides Harry, I grabbed his arm. "Don't let the bitch beat you down. I took it for a year and half and it almost broke me. Don't let her win, don't give her an inch. Don't take any punishment she gives you."
Harry met my eyes. "What are you saying, Taylor?"
"I'm saying: learn from my mistakes. I tried to take the high ground and I just wound up dying inside. Fight back. Find me later, or call for me and I'll find you. I'm notletting this - person - destroy magic for me. It's fucking magic. Nobody gets to poison magic, nobody."
Harry searched my eyes, after what felt like an eternity, he reached up clasping my hand. "I know exactly how you feel. Let me talk to a few friends, we'll see what we can do. Greengrass, are you interested in joining the resistance?"
"Taylor, we need to talk," she hissed, grabbing my arm. Leaning down, Daphne hissed in Harry's ear, quietly enough that I needed my bugs to hear, "Not in her bloody classroom, idiot!"
Harry paled, swallowing hard as his head whipped around to stare about the room. I let Daphne drag me out into the hallway where she forced me against the wall, breathing hard.
"Okay, look, I get that you have some deep-seated issues. I'm really, really sorry that those were enflamed here - especially since you were in such a good mood before - but you can't do that! Not there! If you're going to organize an insurrection you have to do it the right way, Taylor. You start it in corridors or hidden rooms, or taverns. You -"
"She was petting her cats and talking to her portrait of a man in a green bowler hat, Daphne. I'm upset, I'm not an idiot," I said, sighing. "And, Granger, you can stop eavesdropping and waiting for a good segue. Hi, I'm Taylor, we haven't met, nice to meet you."
The brunette walked out of the room, grimacing, while Daphne hurriedly stepped back from me.
"Your senses are even better than the rumors suggested, I don't normally put any stock in them, but this time…," Granger said. "I apologize, I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine."
"I'm Hermione." She held out her hand which I quickly shook. Glancing back, she inclined her head to the door. "Thank you for what you said to Harry. He's not been in a good place this year and I think you may have helped lift his spirits a little. Normally, I would not agree with rebelling against a professor, but Umbridge is not really a professor, is she? How can she be if she doesn't want to teach." She bit her lip, and glanced back towards the classroom. "Did you mean what you said about being able to see that she couldn't spy on us?"
"Well I meant she wasn't. I don't know if she could or not."
Daphne rubbed at her temple. "She could. Well, any competent witch could at least. That probably rules out Umbridge, but it is never smart to discount your opponent out of hand. Let us table this discussion until we can convene at a more appropriate venue. Granger, can you keep your friend under control for two weeks? We should have a Hogsmeade trip then and it would be much safer to plan things outside the castle."
I held up a hand. "What if I can find a hidden room in the castle?"
Both of them blinked at me. Harry finally came out of the room as well, hitching his bag over his shoulder and walked up to us, falling into our little circle.
Hermione broke the silence first. "Taylor, while I appreciate the effort, I don't think there are any rooms that Harry and I don't know of…"
"How about a room under a false floor in a bathroom? Seems pretty hidden to me."
Harry and Hermione both seemed to stop breathing while Daphne just stared at me.
"Taylor," Harry said slowly, "I think that you are a very dangerous person, and that we are all going to be good friends. Hermione, Ron, and I will come find you later, after dinner, and we are going to have a far longer talk. Is that okay?"
I nodded, and watched silently as he and Hermione left, leaving me alone with Daphne, her arms crossed and her foot tapping the ground impatiently.
"I can explain."
"You don't owe me an explanation," she said. "But what you do owe me, is reassurance that you're going to be alright. You've just decided to join up with Mr. Nearly-Dies-Every-Single-Bloody-Year." Her arms dropped to her side. "Taylor, you barely know how Magical Britain works, I'm just…worried about you."
I smiled, looping my arm through hers and started pulling her towards the next class. "I appreciate the concern, Daph. I'm pretty sure I can count the number of people who care about me on one hand with fingers left over. And most of those are in a different - err - continent."
A small ghost of a grin graced her lips and she picked up her pace to match mine. "Well, at least one of those people is here now. And don't you forget it."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Daphne."
I had issues, but I did still have friends here too. That was an okay trade off. I could make this work.
Notes:AN: So here we see Taylor in her unnatural habit, relaxing, enjoying life, beginning an...insurrection? Already? Oh Taylor...come on girl...let's not escalate quite...that...fast...oh there she goes.