Interlude 54, Kunou's Hogwarts Adventures 13 (Patreon)

“Fire Whisky?” Dumbledore offered.

“Thank you, Headmaster.” The Headmistress of Mahoutokoro thanked him because she very much needed a drink right now. 

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as she downed the glass in one gulp, but he also understood the mental weight she was experiencing right now.

He can’t say he hasn’t done the same as a school Headmaster too.

“May I ask…about these Youkai?” He started. “There seems to be some problem?”

The talk with Kunou earlier in the day clearly had her upset in some way. Dumbledore would have to be blind to miss the way her attitude changed after hearing what Kunou said.

“You don’t understand, Dumbledore. While I can’t just…assume the child’s words are truthful, if they are…if they are, it is a significant matter. We thought there were only thousands of Youkai left across Japan. Perhaps no more than ten thousand if we were being generous. And now, I am being told that there are millions, all kept away, ruled by one person—one Youkai, the girl’s mother?”

Dumbledore rubbed his beard. “She said they exist in a, what do the muggles call it, pocket dimension? Their own personal realm, yes? If there has not been trouble before, surely it isn’t that distressing?”

“Would you feel comfortable knowing that your goblins have amassed millions of soldiers…millions of soldiers that can rip apart a full-grown wizard with ease?”

Dumbledore pursed his lips.

He can’t say he didn’t understand her standpoint either. Perhaps if there was suddenly that kind of threat looming over his own country, he may have had a different reaction.

“Youkai don’t just come in one shape, Headmaster. We have Youkai of all kinds, equivalents to your giants, your monsters, and your dangerous beasts. But most of them have intelligence.”

“Hmm.” Dumbledore thought deeply on the issue. “Perhaps we can contact Kunou’s mother? To help put you at ease? She was a very cooperative woman; she was kind and polite. I didn’t feel like she was the type to… "He trailed off, but she didn’t need him to finish.

The headmistress considered it but rejected it for now. “Maybe, but for now, I believe it’s more prudent to…secure more information.”

Dumbledore sat up in his chair. “I understand the complicated situation you find yourself in, Headmistress. However, regardless of what’s happening, Miss Schweinorg is one of my students; I won’t allow her to be...interrogated at your discretion.”

The headmistress frowned. “Dumbledore –”

"Sumiko," Dumbledore said sternly. “This is not something I will relent on. The protection of my students, both physically and in their privacy, is my main priority. However, I will allow you to stay here for a period if you wish to…observe and interact with Miss Schweinorg in a proper manner.”

“Stay?” She repeated the word as if to evaluate it. “I suppose I could manage a few months.”

“We can call it a cultural exchange. I could even have you fill in for some of the teachers, giving them a break while giving you an opportunity.”

“Ah, that is very generous of you, Professor." She smiled. “Would it be overstepping of me to request access to your monitoring system?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to reject that request. As Headmaster, I am beholden to certain rules myself. I’m not allowed to give anyone else access to the monitoring methods throughout the school.”

That is, his connection to all the Portraits, his authority over the Ghosts, and the Wards themselves.

All of those were under the purview of the Headmaster.

“Where is… Miss Schweinorg, now?” She asked.

Dumbledore took out his wand and aimed it at a blank portrait on the wall. The white canvas changed to show a classroom full of students, Kunou one of them.

“Now, students. Today, we’re going to be turning a block of wood into a mouse. Different than a matchstick, this will take more…force than finesse. However, if you think you can ignore the proper movements and skills that you learned with the matchstick, you are sorely mistaken.” 

“That is your deputy headmistress, yes?”

“Professor McGonagall, yes," Dumbledore answered.

The Deputy Headmistress was teaching Kunou’s class at this time. 

Kunou was sitting at the table with Luna as they were practicing their wand movements.

“Mmm, it feels like a lifetime ago that we learned such, does it not?” The headmistress found herself relaxing from the earlier anxiety. Watching the students practice the basic transfiguration methods.

Dumbledore chuckled, running a hand through his beard. “Yes, truly a lifetime ago.”

“Professor, look, I did it!” Kunou shouted, jumping up onto the table in excitement.

“Miss Schweinorg! Keep your voice down and get off the table! ...However, excellent work.” She sniffed, giving the girl a glare, but softened at seeing the good job she did.

“Kitsune are naturally capable of magic. They take to our magical lessons quickly, even back home.” The Japanese headmistress informed him. 

“Professor, what happens if I turn the table into a mouse?”

“Miss Schweinorg –”

“Mouse!” She performed the same spell on the table, and it…halfway turned into a mouse. A rather large mouse, much to the classroom’s startlement.

Its legs were still table legs, but the body was indeed a mouse.

“Miss Schweinorg!” Professor McGonagall shrieks. “Turn it back right now!”

“More! Mouse, mouse, mouse!" She was pointing to the other tables, turning them into mice as well. Some of them better, some of them worse.”

“Oh, let me try! Mouse!” Luna copied her; her spell was a tad worse off, but one of the tables certainly turned into what could be described as a mouse.

That is, as all hell broke loose in the room.

The mice, even if they weren’t really mice, acted in the park, running around frightened, which made all the children also frightened as they screamed and panicked.

One ran out the door, and that was the signal for all the ‘mice’ to escape as well.

They all bolted out of the classroom and down the hallway.

“Miss Schweinorg, detention for the next two weeks!” The Deputy Headmistress screamed as she ran out of the classroom after the desks.

"..."

"..."

"Would you believe me if she weren’t the first student to do exactly this?” He looked at her.

“I would be surprised if it were so.”

She had her own share of…troublemakers at her own school.

“Dumbledore, I have a…request. I understand that as a guest, I may be overstepping, but I hope you will hear me out.”

“Very well.” Dumbledore knew she was trying to get more of a grasp on the situation, and if it was something unintrusive, he would be willing to be helpful.

She plucked a hair ornament from her hair and blew into it. The hair ornament transformed; a fluffy tail poked out of it first before it fully transformed into a little fox.

“This is my Shikigami, Gin. Meaning silver. It’s customary for a master to give their Shikigami an exclusive name, as it’s not his true name. But he is a young Kitsune, with only one tail, so it is his only name. I found him in the cold, almost dead. And I formed a contract with him a few years ago.” She explained.

“A Shikigami?”

“Ah, it’s a broad subject, but…perhaps you would understand more if I said he is my familiar?”

“Ah.” Dumbledore’s eyes brightened in understanding. “I see, I understand then.” He looked at the little silver kitsune that was all but purring in her lap as she rubbed him. “And what is it you wish to ask me?”

“Would it be acceptable to allow my Shikigami to…watch her from a distance? Within the public spaces, that is, nowhere private.”

Dumbledore’s first reaction was to reject that out of hand, but after giving it a moment of consideration, he realized something. Was it any different than how she’s currently being observed already?

There are moving. Paintings in nearly every room, there are ghosts wandering the halls. He can almost always find someone wandering the castle if he so chose.

All in all, it’s not like the children had any real privacy within the public spaces of the castle. 

“There are conditions.” Dumbledore said pointedly. “Absolutely no spying within the House dorms. No bathrooms. No classrooms either. And only within the castle grounds. You will respect Miss Schweinorg’s privacy in all matters and only observe, from a distance, in public spaces. The moment she goes somewhere for privacy, I expect that to be respected.”

“That will be the only offer I receive, yes?” She asked, but his expression all but confirmed it, so she didn’t try to haggle. “Very well, I thank you for your generosity, Headmaster. I will do my best to not abuse your trust.”

“Thank you, Sumiko. Will your Shikigami understand these conditions?” He asked, looking at the fox.

She smiled, petting her fox. “He cannot speak yet, but he is fully intelligent, about that of a teenager, not dissimilar to Miss Schweinorg. The only difference is the…tails, as it is. They hold significance for a Kitsune. Only when a Kitsune achieves three tails will they be able to transform into a human form by themselves.”

The fox yipped as if to confirm.

“You heard him, Gin. Respect Miss Schweinorg’s privacy. Otherwise, you have observed her already; she is a Nine-Tailed Fox, be respectful. And do not engage; keep your distance and only watch and report back. Do you understand?”

The Fox let out another noise of confirmation.

“Will you need help concealing him?”

“No need; Kitsune are naturally very skilled in illusions. Gin here in particular is quite talented, more so than his peers.” She let him go, and he disappeared into a haze.

“Oh my, you were kidding. I have to stress myself to notice his presence.” Dumbledore acknowledged his prowess. “I opened the door for him.”

“Thank you, Headmaster. While he goes and does that, how about we work out the details of my…cultural exchange?”

@***@

The deputy headmistress could be seen running down the hallway, chasing after a half-mouse, half-desk monstrosity as it crashed into the walls, banging against everything in its path, trying to run away.

At this point, most of the school had seen it enough.

"Go, little mousy..." Kunou whispered in encouragement.

“Kunou, should we help? ” Luna asked.

“Freedom for the mousey!" Kunou threw her arms up. 

“Hmm, but they aren’t technically living mice.” Luna pondered but ultimately threw her hands up too. “We have detention for the next two weeks, though.”

“Bleh, I already had detention.” Kunou shrugged. “Can’t have more detention on top of it!”

“Oh, you’re smart, Kunou!” Luna perked up. “Do you want to go play, or do you want to go to the great hall and eat a snack?”

“Is Ginny out of class?” 

“I think she’s in her defense class still.”

“Aww, I want Ginny to come play. Let’s go eat until Ginny’s done with her classes. We can go find a few more and play a game.”

“We can go get Ginny’s brother! And his friends! Oh, you know Fred and George asked to play the next time we started a new game of Extreme Dodgeball!” Luna perked up, rattling things off happily. “Is there anyone in your house that will want to play?”

Kunou pursed her lips. “I don’t think anyone in my house likes me.”

“Really? How come?” Luna tilted her head.

Kunou shrugged. “No idea.”

“That’s unfortunate. I don’t think my house likes me either. Do you want to go find Mr. Squid to play? He loves to join in when we play games.”

“Oh!” Kunou’s eyes brightened. “That’s a great idea, Luna!”

“Hey Kunou..." Luna tilted her head again as she looked down the hallway. The other students were walking about, unconcerned, going about their normal days, seemingly unaware of the Silver Fox sitting right on the tiled floor. “I don’t want to be rude, but is that one of your family members?” She pointed at the silver fox.

“Huh?” Kunou whipped around to see where she was pointing. “Oh! Another Youkai! Hi, my name is Kunou! What’s your name?”

The silver fox tilted its head. ‘Hello, my name is Gin.’

“Oh, is it because of your silver fur? It’s very pretty.”

‘Thank you.’

“Are they talking?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, he’s talking in a way that’s hard for humans to hear. His name is Gin; he’s a youkai! A Kitsune, just like me!”

‘Why do you have Nine Tails?’

“I was born this way. My momma had Nine Tails too, and she said that every firstborn of a nine-tailed fox also has nine tails.” Kunou happily explained.

‘Really? You were born like that?’

“Ya huh!”

'How…unfair.'

Kunou blinked. “I’m sorry?”

‘I had to survive, scrape by, and fight for my life, and I barely got to where I am today. And now I hear that you were…born with the mythical Nine?’

The air got really chilly all of the sudden.

Most of the students had already cleared out of the hall, completely ignorant of what was happening.

The silver fox’s nails scraped against the floor as it stood up and walked a few steps forward. ‘I had to lower myself, pretend to be some…pet to survive, and you say that you reached the legendary pinnacle by virtue of your birth.'

“Luna, get behind me.” Kuno stepped forward protectively in front of her friend.

The silver fox’s shadow slowly twisted; what was once one tail now showed five.

‘Tell me, little kit, what do you know of survival? I ate my siblings, and from that I gained my second tail. I eventually ate my mother, and that earned me my third tail. I found a four-tailed fox and devoured him too. I found an elderly matron, a five-tailed elder. I pretended to join their clan, earned their trust, and when the opportunity presented itself, I devoured her too.’

The silver fox transformed.

It was no longer a tiny little fox; it was now bigger than a dog, perhaps the size of a large bear, as it took up significant space in the hallway.

Its appearance elicited screams and cries of confusion and panic from the students as most of them quickly ran away in terror.

‘How many tails do you think I will gain when I devour you as well?’

It had a wide smile on its face, accentuated by its sharp teeth.

It waited for a response; it wanted to see her look of despair. But strangely, it never came; she never revealed the same fear as the other children that it ignored in the hallway.

“Trash.” Kunou said simply.

There was a beat, a moment where the silver fox heard the word and registered it before it lost itself to anger. Hearing a little kit that was handed nine tails, called it trash, when it already felt disdain towards it, was enough to set it off.

The large fox leapt at Kunou, mouth wide open, trying to devour her in a single bite.

It didn’t expect Kunou to deliver a Touki-infused punch straight under its jaw.

The fox let out a strange noise, a mix of pain and confusion, as she sent it hurling towards the wall.

Perhaps it had let its guard down due to arrogance. The Silver Fix could admit it underestimated her, that a Nine-Tailed Fox was still a legendary existence, even if it were a child.

It stood up, spitting out a dislodged tooth.

It took a deep breath and let loose a silvery fire from its mouth.

Kunou responded in kind, “Fox Fire!”

Her golden fire met his silvery fire, neither of them winning in the collision.

“Hmph.” Kunou put her arms up as the Fox narrowed his eyes.

“Kunou, do you need help?” Luna asked, concerned.

“It’s alright, I can handle him. Go find a teacher.”

The Fox grinned slightly, watching the human girl. He charged at Kunou, but just as Kunou punched at him, he disappeared in a haze, leaping against the wall to get around her and then raising his paw, claw out, aiming at Luna.

Kunou was about to fling a Talisman to save her, but someone else beat her to it.

“Excuse me. Miss Schweinorg. Would you kindly tell me what is going on?” Kuzuki caught the paw before using the fox’s own momentum and flinging him across the hallway into another wall.

“Mr. Kuzuki!” Luna called out happily. “That Fox tried to hurt Kunou! I don’t think it’s very nice!”

“He’s mean and icky. He wants to eat me.” Kunou stuck her tongue out.

The Fox sat up. “Human.” It spoke in plain English for him to hear. “Get out of my way—"

Kuzuki was already sprinting forward and punching out into the fox’s snout. The fox was utterly baffled at how a human managed to slip through its perception like that and, likewise, didn’t understand why he felt bones in his face snapping.

At the same time, he released a flurry of punches, each one aimed at a vital area of the fox, or at least estimated to be so. 

Kuzuki had no knowledge of a fox's anatomy, so he was being generous in his estimations.

The fox leapt back from the onslaught, regaining its footing, before leaping at Kuzuki again, using its own illusion abilities to avoid several more punches.

“Die!” The fox roared as it was about to bite his neck.

Kuzuki didn’t even react; his expression remained completely stoic as he jumped into the air, using both his elbow and his knee to pin the fox’s mouth shut, breaking its jaw altogether. 

The Fox hit the ground just as Kuzuki aimed his knee at the back of its neck, breaking its spine.

The fox went limp and unmoving.

There was shouting and a commotion as teachers all ran up the stairs, fearful students peeking out of classroom doors or from behind cover.

“Ah, Headmaster.” Kuzuki greeted both him and the Japanese headmistress as they quickly appeared, looking at the scene in confusion and astonishment. “A wild beast made its way into the school; I have taken care of it.”

He wiped the dust off his clothes. 

Headmistress Sumiko stared there as she looked at the corpse of the apparent Five-Tailed Kitsune that was her Shikigami, having been beaten to death with bare hands.

Wasn’t he supposed to be a muggle!?

She genuinely wondered now, what the heck was wrong with this school? 

@***@

A/N

Had this funny idea, basically, every big ‘magical problem' gets solved by Kuzuki beating it up as a muggle. Don’t know if I’ll do that, but I just thought the idea was funny.