{Edited} The Chaotic Traveler - Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Chapter 8: Occupational Hazards

"Sorry, sorry. Was just excited is all." Hagrid's booming laughter shook Jin's eardrums, but even so, the big guy was too wholesome to get angry at as he fussed over Jin's hunched form. "Your back ok?"

"I-it's fine." Jin grunted as he held his aching spine and twisted to pop it back into place. "Ah~, that's better."

"Oh, you fixed it." Hagrid applauded.

"Keep those cannons away from me, and it will stay that way." Jin stretched out with a wince, hiding his concern over the fact that he literally could have died from that hug a month earlier.

"Ha! Don't mean nothing by it." Hagrid rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with the most innocent look imaginable. “I heard somethin’ about ya being a half-giant and got excited.”

Jin blinked at the larger man. ‘It’s like a golden retriever met a giant and had a child.’

He coughed to clear the image from his mind. “No worries, big guy, I was just-.”

An angry yowl made both men pause as Shadow made her presence known, hissing at Hagrid for attacking her hooman.

'Good girl.' Jin smirked internally at the adorable fluffball slamming deadly paws of death into the half-giant's hide.

“Ooh! What a beauty.” Hagrid reached down with more gentleness than Jin would imagine a man his size could produce, completely ignoring the way Shadow pounced on a finger the size of her body and brought her closer to his face. “Who’s a good girl, you are.”

“You can tell her gender?” Jin asked curiously, feeling no threat to his kitten’s well-being.

"Of course." Hagrid boomed with an easy smile. "Female Kneazles have more pointed ears, and their fur leans toward darker shades." The big guy was unbothered by the murder fluff ball gnawing on his finger and scratched her head. “What’s er name?”

Jin's eye twitched at how his loyal girl fell apart under the half-giant's ministrations, purring up a storm as Hagrid found her sweet spot in seconds. “Shadow.”

“What a sweet lil thing.” Shadow jumped onto Hagrid’s head and curled up, ears standing up as she got comfortable at the new vantage point.

"I know." Jin chose to ignore the little traitor and look around.

After getting past Hagrid, the golden retriever ninja guarding the castle gates, Jin could finally take in Hogwarts in all its glory.

As a guest, he had to use one of the Floo points on the outskirts of the castle territory, near the school's courtyard gates.

But that just gave him a better view.

"First time, eh? Take a moment." Hagrid smirked at Jin’s expression of awe and shuffled off to the side to mess with a creaky gate hinge, but Jin could tell the guy was just letting him take it all in.

And take it in, Jin did.

It was easy to imagine Hogwarts in a book or movie, but it was entirely different to see it in person.

Hogwarts stood on a plateau, its entrance facing toward the north with a pair of massive doors.

An expansive, miles-long courtyard stretched directly in front of the doors, overflowing with flowers, greenery, and plant life, all shaped in ways that could challenge the Gardens of Versailles.

And the castle.

The castle was enormous, with multiple spiraling towers piercing toward the sky and a massive monolith of a main building at its center.

Moving left, Jin walked up to a railing and could barely make out the mist cloud of a waterfall falling somewhere around another corner of the school, where it fed into a river that ran under a bridge and into the iconic Black Lake.

Jin even caught sight of the train stop where the Hogwarts Express would be dropping off students in a few days.

On the other side of the school, Jin could barely make out the edge of a giant stadium, multiple stories tall, that sat between the school and a natural mountain rising even higher than the school.

Back at the entrance gates, Jin looked out at the rolling green plains of the Scottish Highlands, saw the distant massive trees of the Forbidden Forest further north, and spotted picket signs pointing toward Hogsmeade to the northeast.

If one word summed up everything Jin was witnessing, it was... "Magnificent."

"Ain't it?"

"Whoa!" Hagrid's booming voice startled Jin something fierce; his heart skipped a beat as he turned to see the half-giant beside him. "Put a damn bell on you. How did you move that quietly?"

"Hahaha, years of practice!" Hagrid took it in good cheer and slammed a meaty hand on Jin's back. "You spend enough time in those woods, and it comes naturally…" The big guy trailed off as he lost sight of Jin.

"Urh." Jin mumbled.

Hagrid looked down at the crumpled form on the ground. "Huh? What’re ya doin’ down there?"

'I'm going to die by Hagrid, never mind soul extinction.' Jin couldn't help but be certain of that as he was picked up off the indent in the ground and dusted off.

"You alright there?" Hagrid looked bewildered.

"Yeah." Jin took a deep breath to avoid saying something negative and move on from the indignity. "I'm good. Thanks for coming to meet me out here."

"It's nothin'!" The big guy waved it off. "I had to oil that ole gate door anyway. Now come on, Professor McGonagall is waiting for ya, and you don't want to keep a lady like her waiting."

Jin sent the half-giant a confused look. "Then why did you let me stand here and gawk for ten minutes?"

"Er... fair point. We should hurry." Hagrid could move when he wanted to, and Jin jogged to keep up as they made their way to the massive double doors.

They barely slowed as Hagrid pushed the door open and gestured for Jin to follow. "C'mon now, no lollygagging."

'Aye, Dragonborn.' Jin snorted in humor at the immediate reaction and stepped inside, getting his first glimpse of Hogwarts's interior.

The ceiling must have stretched dozens of feet up, with walls littered with one painting after another. Grand staircases stood on the left and right, leading up to another floor, with the Hogwarts insignia prominently displayed ahead on a large metal plaque.

"This place is incredible." Jin marveled.

"Just wait till ya see the rest." Hagrid winked and moved on ahead. "We got a bit of a walk."

And what a walk it was.

They went up and down various staircases of different designs, passing by the grand doors to the Great Hall, where banners hung from the enchanted ceiling.

Full-plate knights shifted in their stands.

Figures in paintings called out to each other and ran through their frames in a flurry of activity.

Jin even caught sight of a painting of a man in a wig powdering his bulbous nose in a mirror, only for the man to notice Jin staring, blush furiously, and pull a curtain in the way with a coquettish giggle.

The combined sight alone made something curl up and die in Jin's gut. 'I need bleach.'

Small items such as letters and objects levitated through the air above, moving independently to destinations Jin couldn't guess.

Hagrid led him through a giant atrium full of marble staircases with a grand stone fountain. “This be the Central Hall Fountain. If ya ever get lost, aim to get back here, and ya can always find the direct route to most spots."

"Thanks." Jin responded absentmindedly, watching the lifelike mermaid statues in the fountain shimmer and smile at him.

A low-powered song rang in his ears that made him want to stay and watch them dance, only for a distant roar to echo somewhere deep in his mind and snap him out of it to see the statue no longer moving. ‘What was that?’

He shook his head and hurried to catch up with Hagrid, who hadn't noticed Jin’s pause. "What's with the fountain?"

"Hm?" Hagrid turned to look. "Oh, the sirens get ya? Just a silly enchantment; they'll pull in students and blow water in their face. Nothing to worry about.”

"Right." Jin sweatdropped at the easy admission of entrancing children. "That seems fun."

"Ain't real magic if it's normal." Hagrid's booming laughter rang out as he led him up a final staircase and gestured to a room. "That be the one."

The big guy stopped to brush off his jacket, not that Jin saw anything wrong with it, and gave Jin a once-over before nodding in acceptance and knocking a meaty fist that shook the doorframe. "Professor? I brought the guest."

"I could hear you from down the hall!" A Scottish-accented voice called back from within. "Just come in, Hagrid."

Hagrid entered first and left the door open for Jin, who had only a second to blink before he felt like a mountain lioness had locked onto him.

"Ah, Mr. Fluff. I was wondering when you would join us." A strict, no-nonsense voice had his spine straightening unconsciously, and Jin suddenly didn't feel very safe under the eyes of Professor McGonagall. "Sit down."

0000

After a five-foot-five elderly witch with a phenomenally pointed hat read him his Miranda rights, Jin found his earlier confidence faltering.

Meanwhile, Hagrid was off to the side, tinkering with various things on the woman's tables and obviously breaking them. Yet, the professor hadn't so much as reacted beyond a minute twitch at every cracking sound that rang out.

Rather, she turned her attention to the room's extra occupant. "Hagrid, why is there a Kneazle kitten on your head?”

The old woman had been in a staring contest with Shadow's blue eyes while drilling Jin, not missing a beat in his introduction despite the distraction.

“Hm? Ah, Shadow’s Jin’s. A beauty, ain’t she?” Hagrid reached up to scratch the purring creature before returning to his ministrations.

“Is that so?” McGonagall gave Jin an unimpressed look. “She is your familiar, Mr. Fluff?”

Jin did his best to sit up straight and look her in the eye as he spoke. "Er… sorta?” McGonagall’s eyes narrowed as Jin quickly corrected himself. “She adopted me, Ma’am.”

Shadow meowed and jumped down from Hagrid's head, ran along the desk, and jumped onto Jin's shoulder, hissing slightly at the witch as she staked her claim in the most adorable of fashions.

The older woman's eyes softened a tad as she looked more favorably at Jin. "Very well.” She marked off something on a page. “As far as the school is concerned, she’s your familiar and your responsibility.”

“Thank you.” A slight glare had Jin correcting himself. “Ma’am.”

McGonagall nodded in approval. “Good.”

“Ma'am, must I address all the staff like this?" Jin could be polite if necessary, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be polite.

"No." McGonagall waved her hand flippantly. "I don't care what you say to the rest, Mr. Fluff. Just mind your manners, and remember that the only pecking order you must follow during your time in this establishment is myself first and Hagrid second. Understood?"

'So, I don't have to take shit from Snape? Nice.' Jin cleared his throat and answered. "Yes, ma'am, is the headmaster not on that list?"

The old witch scoffed. "Perhaps when the headmaster deems such tasks within his line of sight, he would matter. Until that point, no."

Her answer was swift and final.

Jin restrained his instinctive urge to comment with the little survival instinct he had. 'Someone's not happy with the old man.’

McGonagall went on as she placed a stack of paperwork before him. "Sign here, here, and here. And use your full name, no aliases or such nonsense."

Before signing, and considering magical contracts were a thing, Jin stopped to actually read what he was expected to follow and got a nod of approval from the strict woman as she waited patiently.

Jin flipped through the pages quickly. 'It's a bunch of fancy wording, but the facts are; don't attack students, don't destroy property intentionally, don't attempt to…'

Jin raised a brow and pointed at a line. "Ma'am, is it necessary to specify not crossbreeding magical species on school grounds?"

McGonagall gave him an unimpressed look and silently pointed her quill at where Hagrid was sitting, trying to combine a wooden horse figurine with a fish.

Jin said no more and signed the dotted line while McGonagall hummed in approval.

It took barely an hour to get through everything before McGonagall told him his schedule, during which time Shadow wandered over and began betraying Jin to get scratches from the older witch.

"While you were mainly hired for the upcoming events during October until the end of the year, that doesn't mean there is no work to be done before then.” McGonagall snapped her fingers loudly. “I'm sure Hagrid could use an extra pair of hands until that time."

Hagrid was startled awake and quickly nodded in agreement with a large smile. "Oh, sure! Plenty to do, plenty to do. I'll give ya the runaround once you're good and settled."

The older woman nodded and dismissed them with a wave, handing Shadow to Jin like a parcel with the most casual motion. "Good, that will be all for today.” She gave Jin a small smile. “Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Fluff. Hagrid will show you to your accommodations."

Jin deadpanned and took Shadow as the woman immediately returned to the stacks of paperwork on her desk. 'Did she just tell me I'm useless till October? Well, the free time would be appreciated. Wait, I want permission to use the library.'

Jin wasn’t sure why he raised his hand, but he did. "Ma'am?"

She looked up from her work, one eyebrow raised. "Yes, Mr. Fluff? And you are neither a student nor in a classroom; put your hand down."

Jin scratched the back of his head awkwardly; there was no reason to fake his actions, as he was feeling awkward saying this, just for different reasons than she might expect. "Ma'am, as you know, I wasn't accepted for formal education when I was eleven due to my… difficulties."

Her eyes gave him a once-over and gestured for him to go on.

"Would it be possible to explore the castle in my free time?” Jin saw her expression narrow and quickly added on. “See the place I couldn't be a student in, I mean."

The old witch's eyes softened a tad at the admission. "And where would you be exploring, Mr. Fluff?"

Jin shrugged. "Wherever students usually go? The Great Hall, the library, the hallways full of paintings, etc., I just wanted to see what it would have been like to have been a student here.” A genuine smile crossed his face. “The walk from the front door was already incredible."

McGonagall’s heart visibly thawed for a wayward youth, but the older woman had far too much control to show weakness.

"Very well, Mr. Fluff. You shall find yourself upgraded from temporary Staff rights to full-time Staff rights under the castle wards." Her gaze pierced him with a strict authority. "Do not become a distraction for my students, or those rights will be retracted, understood?"

Jin instinctively saluted the woman. "Yes, Ma'am."

Her lips twitched in amusement before she waved at the door, and Jin took the hint to leave.

'She wasn't so bad.' Jin mused.

McGonagall came across as a strict and stern woman, but also as an educator who cared.

'Looks like she's the real authority in the castle as well.’ Jin tapped his cheek. ‘Hmm, I wonder if that cliché of her having a drinking habit is accurate. Maybe I can bribe her?'

For some reason, Jin's expression made Hagrid uncomfortable.

0000

"So, what do ya think, Jin? Made er myself, I did." Hagrid's beaming smile reflected the light of the sun on Jin's employee benefits, making him feel a host of conflicting emotions.

Apparently, Hagrid had built him a hut. ‘The school is making me sleep outside the castle.’

Staring at the one-floor wooden hut, with Hagrid's proud face on the side, Jin couldn't help but thank the gentle, giant assassin from out of arm's reach and praise him for his work. "Thank you, Hagrid; it's wonderful.”

The big guy blushed and tugged on his beard self-consciously. "Bah, nothing to thank me for; I'm used to it. Plenty of overexcited critters not knowin their strength over the years, had to rebuild me own hut half a dozen times."

‘Pot meet kettle.’ Jin's smile turned strained, and he hoped the larger man didn't have… creative project plans for the year. "I still appreciate it. If you need anything, feel free to ask."

The smile that lit up the half-giant's face made Jin feel like he had said the right thing. "Will do! It'll be nice to have another pair of hands around the place. Much to do and all.”

He radiated joy at the idea of work, then shook it off. "But don't let me hold ya up. Go on and get settled; I'll come get ya in the morning."

Hagrid waved and walked down the path to his own hut in the distance, obscured by the tree cover from his direct line of sight, leaving Jin to explore his new home, with Shadow already wandering off to investigate.

'Nice guy.' Jin shook his head and looked around.

Hagrid's hut and his own were north of the castle, closer to the Forbidden Forest than the school, but still within walking distance. 'Perhaps it's a bit too close to the Forbidden Forest, though.'

The sounds of various creatures echoing from the forest reached him clearly from where he stood, only enhancing the place's magical atmosphere, with flower patches and multicolored butterflies fluttering around.

'They might be unintentionally trying to kill me by putting a hut out here, but it kinda fits the theme.’ Jin could only chuckle at his fate. ‘Still, I can appreciate the effort and time it must have taken Hagrid to build a cabin without magic.'

Jin pushed open the wooden door and entered his new abode. "Hmm, it looks better on the inside. Kind of homy."

It was built in a classic log-cabin style, with a hearth, a table, a bedroom, and a bathroom.

Jin checked that last one first just to make sure. ‘Looks like someone put down runes to vanish waste and liquids. That could have been bad.'

The hut was mostly empty aside from the most basic furniture, with a bed that looked like it would be comfortable for a rock, and a kitchen that didn't have more than a single cup.

Jin didn't know what to say about the lacking setup. ‘I guess I'm not assumed to need much with House Elves on staff. Not like I can blame them; how many young wizards or witches actually know how to cook?’

Thankfully, there was an easy solution to his comforts. "Gol."

His head House Elf popped in, well-dressed in fresh clothes.

"Yes, Sir?" The eldest of his Elves picked up a slight drawl while perfecting his English, which made Jin wonder where precisely the Elf had been studying.

Jin pointed a finger around the cabin. "Do you think you can fix this place up with extra supplies from the castle?"

Gol took a look around and scoffed in disgust at the lack of… well, everything.

"Right away, Sir." He popped off, and Jin barely had to wait a minute before a storm arrived.

Jin stood in the center of the room as Gol, who seemed to have roped in Sil and Bron, began rapidly filling the space with fresh apparel.

A new mattress with silk linen for the bed and a larger wooden frame.

Toiletries for the bathroom.

Furniture for the living room, including a table, dinner chairs, a leather couch, and a matching pair of plush leather loveseats next to the hearth.

Sil even snapped his fingers to ignite the hearth, which heated up and spread a relaxing vibe through the room.

Shadow jumped through a window, curling up by the flames in a perfectly sized cat bed that Gol acquired from who knows where.

Within minutes, Jin's bare cabin was filled and styled, radiating comfort that put one's mind at ease.

‘Who needs interior decorators when you have House Elves?’ Jin plopped down on the loveseat with a groan of pleasure. “You’re a wizard, Gol.”

“I am a House Elf, Sir." Gol corrected, straightening out his sleeves with a small smirk.

Jin chuckled and let the little guy have it. ‘Not bad for the place I’ll spend the next year in.’

He had his own little bro pad where the school students wouldn't disturb him.

No need to worry about loud noises, people moving around, or distractions from his true purpose in Hogwarts.

[To get magically swoll]

'And do it in style.' Jin snorted with amusement and kicked his feet up as he retrieved his pipe. 'I could get used to this.'

Chapter End.