Chapter 476
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Chapter 476:
I nearly kicked the door to the house off its hinges.
"I'm home!" I shouted for anyone that was here.
"Welcome home~" Yasaka responded from where she was lazing around on the couch.
"Thank you." It was Venelana who answered for me, as her head peeked over my shoulder because I was carrying her on my back.
"Rough weekend?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow at us.
"Oh, definitely~" Venelana and she shared a knowing smile.
"I'm glad you're back." Yasaka got up, and gave me a quick kiss.
"Do I get one of those?" Venelana giggled, obviously joking, but Yasaka quickly moved and placed her lips against Venelana's, initiating a rather deep kiss.
I sort of just stood there, silently watching them for a few moments before they broke apart.
"Well, that's a welcome surprise." Venelana's expression didn't change much, and not a hint of displeasure.
Yasaka just had a smug look about her as she noticed my expression. She grinned mischievously, patting my cheek.
My girls were the best.
"I heard you had a fun dinner." She finally said.
I walked over, letting Venelana slide off onto the couch. "That's one way to put it."
Well, I was one hundred percent sure she knew the details, so I didn't really feel the need to recap.
"At least you had a fun weekend." Her eyes lit up with amusement.
"Tired." Venelana practically fell over. "Been awhile since I've been this exhausted."
She wasn't the only one. I can honestly say that after spending nearly the entire weekend with Venelana, I was also tapped out for the moment.
The funny thing was, despite all the ridiculousness that's inside of me, that really should elevate me to levels beyond her ability to handle in such a way, she kept up without much issue.
But damn if that wasn't a good problem to have.
Yasaka just giggled at her response. Her tail wrapped around me happily. "I almost thought I would have to drag you back home. You were cutting it close, time-wise."
"Oh, come on." I nudged her with my shoulder. "You know I wouldn't miss something so important."
"Is it time to go meet the people at Kunou's new school?" Venelana perked up. "With everything else happening, I nearly forgot."
"That's a lie." Yasaka rolled her eyes, looking at me. "You should see the messages she's been sending. Pretty much hourly updates so our schedules wouldn't conflict."
"Don't give away my secrets~"
Maybe I should just let Venelana run my Harem? She seemed to be really good at it? Though it seemed to run itself already.
"Mmm, when you get back, how about we talk about setting up a playdate?" Venelana offered. "I think Milicas would love to have a friend. He's sort of stuck in the same situation Kunou is, it's hard for him to make friends when his dad is a Satan and the others don't have kids his age."
I was certainly not against Kunou having more friends.
And....after the fiasco of that dinner, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and mend bridges in some parts outside of the ones I couldn't bring myself to actually like. My Half-Brother was by no means guilty of any negative feelings I had for much of his family.
"Alright, we can talk about that after." I nodded.
Nearly as soon as I said that the door opened and a fluffy missile shot right at me.
"Daddy!"
I caught my little fox in a big hug with Raikou right behind her.
"Can you tell she's excited?" Yasaka smiled.
I guess after the knee jerk 'abandonment' reaction wore off, she hyped it up a bit in her head? If I were in her shoes, it would certainly also be an exciting thing to me as well.
I rubbed her head and gestured for Raikou. My Servant accepted the side hug since Kunou was wrapped around me. Followed by a quick kiss, she smiled happily and sat on the couch next to Venelana.
"Was she hard to deal with today?" I asked.
"I was good!" Kunou immediately denied. "Right, Auntie Raikou?"
"She is always wonderful." Raikou chuckled.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.
"No burned down building?"
"Dadddd, that was only one time!"
"Only one time so far." Venelana snorted with a bit of laughter.
"Auntie Venelana...." Kunou pouted.
I don't know how it happened, but she started calling Venelana Auntie as well. Honestly, I think Kunou was a lot like me in that aspect, she really loved having a big family. She's happy to take it in any form it came in.
A new Auntie? Sign her the hell up. Just another person to dote on her.
She had them wrapped around her finger and everyone knew it.
But I digress.
"How about breakfast? Then maybe we can do some paperwork? Also, I have some errands to run...."
"Noooo, Dad!" Kunou started pulling on me.
"What?"
"I wanna go look!" She whined.
"Really? Do you wanna see it that bad?"
"Yes!!!"
"Alright, stop teasing our poor daughter." Yasaka nudged me. "We already planned to head over right away after your Auntie Venelana decided she was done with your Father."
Venelana's smug smile didn't disappear even as Yasaka shot her a little grin.
"We, I suppose." I said with mock reluctance.
The Little Fox all but bounced around the room with another burst of excitement.
There's no way this school was going to be still standing by the time she graduates.
"But seriously, anything we should take care of before we go?" I looked towards Yasaka.
She held up her hand, then started lowering fingers. "Artoria is handling that.....Scáthach is handling some other things. Oh, then there's the person coming from –"
"I'll handle that." Raikou suddenly spoke.
"I appreciate you so much." Yasaka's expression softened. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble." Raikou dismissed.
No matter, some independence will be good for her.
"And beyond we have a small town that older students are allowed to visit on the weekends called Hogsmead." The Teacher continued. "It's less than a 30 minutes' walk from the castle."
Sounded almost like a College and accompanying College town.
Honestly, impressed so far. The Facilities looked very good on the surface, we'll see how they hold up under a bit more scrutiny.
"And how far does the School's property extend? You said that Kids aren't allowed to go to this town, right? Are they also not allowed to leave the Castle itself?" I asked.
"The School grounds extend to the forest you can see in the distance." She pointed. "However, that Forest is forbidden, and your daughter will learn more about that later. And it is obvious where the grounds end on the other sides as they are marked by a pathway. We do not allow younger students to venture beyond these points without being accompanied by a teacher, and without a reason. As for venturing beyond even Hogsmead itself, without a proper reason, students are not allowed to leave without express approval by the administration."
I nodded, not perturbed by her words. It was a boarding school, kids were supposed to stay at the school. Randomly going home whenever they wanted went against the whole concept.
Exceptions were made for obvious reasons. But we wouldn't be able to simply pull her out for a weekend to visit or what have you.
It was both an experience for them and a place of learning.
"Let us not tally." She said promptly, pivoting on her heels. "Please follow me."
Silently, we paced along across the brick bridge. Kunou marveled as she quickly ran to look over the edge and nearly jumped around to get a good look at the massive castle.
We couldn't see most of it from this angle, but it was a marvel of engineering if nothing else.
Coming up to some large wooden and metal doors, they seemed to open by themselves.
A person waited beyond for our arrival as the Deputy Head-Mistress came to a stop for them.
An older gentleman sporting some rather colorful – and painful to look at – robes. He also had a remarkable beard that went down to his waist.
"Albus, I thought you would be waiting in your office."
"I found myself fancying a walk." The Older man chuckled and his attention turned to us. "Greetings, I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I am Albus Dumbledore."
He held his hand out and Yasaka took it first. "I am Yasaka, Leader of the West Kyoto Youkai." She introduced professionally. "Thank you for allowing us to visit."
"Oh, it's certainly no trouble!" The Headmaster quickly exclaimed. "I admit I am excited. Rarely do we get visitors from your side of the world." His eyes twinkled for some reason. "Welcome to Hogwarts, I hope that regardless of any discussions, you enjoy your time here."
Well, he seemed nice.
He then looked at me and I took his hand.
But before I could speak, there was a flash of flames, and a very familiar looking bird appeared and perched gently on his shoulder.
"Birdie." Kunou's eyes flashed.
The Headmaster chuckled awkwardly. "Apologies, Fawkes here likes to come and go as he pleases."
The Bird in question let out a soft squawk at him.
"It's nice to meet you, Headmaster." I shook his hand politely. "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself with a very well-practiced ease. "You have a wonderful School here."
"Yes, I've heard your name in recent days." His eyes twinkled again.
"Good things I hope." I smiled.
".....that depends on the perspective, I suppose." He said with a strained smile. "And who is this wonderful little lady?" He his tone shifted to a bit more grandfatherly as he hunched over slightly to address Kunou.
"Hi, I'm Kunou." Kunou introduced herself. "You have a pretty bird."
"Why thank you." He smiled good-naturedly. "Fawkes here has been my companion for many years. And he loves when people compliment him. Don't you?" He gently rubbed the mythological bird.
"....can I pet him?" Kunou asked, a little bashfully.
"Well, that depends on Fawkes. While he may seem almost like my pet, he is actually my familiar and a partner. He is no less intelligent than you or me, so you need to respect his opinion on the matter."
As if to answer, the Bird flapped his wings and almost dropped to the ground to get more level with my daughter.
"It appears that he said yes." The Headmaster chuckled.
Fawkes tilted his head slightly and Kunou silently, but excitedly, began to rub him gently.
I mouthed a thank you to the bird that looked at me from the corner of his eye.
Well, so far, I wasn't getting any bad vibes, and my instinct was spot on for most things. Thus, I was being skeptically optimistic so far.
"Well, this is wonderful." Dumbledore clapped his hands. "I have been looking forward to this meeting for several days now." He turned his gaze to me. "I had the most interesting news arrive not long after I received your original letter. My good friend Ollivander regaled me with an interesting tale about a rather particular customer of his."
"....I paid for all the damages."
The corners of his lips curled up. "Yes, yes. He had to reassure the Auroras that there was no malicious intent regardless of the substantial damage to his shop."
Yasaka stared at me.
"And then there was an incident that occurred that brought the entirety of Diagon Alley into a chaotic hazard. Seemingly, there was a strange spell cast that disrupted a significant amount of wards that hid the Alley from the Muggles. The Auroras scrambled to fix the issue without alarming the population."
"...how peculiar." I forced out.
"Yes, quite." His eyes twinkled again. "After investigation, they said that it was a simple Lumos spell amplified to a degree unheard of. Quite the conundrum."
Yasaka's eyes drilled into me.
"I can only hope that the proper authorities handle the issue with haste and do diligence." I said with a completely straight face.
"Indeed." The Headmaster stroked his rather impressive beard. "Then, I heard one last piece of interesting information."
"Oh?"
"Yes, And I find myself confused." He stated. "I have some good friends in the lovely Aurors from the ministry that are working on a rather strange case. You see, a masked man and a....bird, reports say a Phoenix, were seen accosting a rather prominent member of the community."
He looked at me, then down at Fawkes.
Fawkes squawked and disappeared in a flash of flames.
"They say that the bird in question was.....oh yes, painted blue for some odd reason." The Headmaster informed me. "And that the masked stranger bludgeoned several people."
"It sounds like a strange tale indeed." I was an expert in keeping my cool.
The headmaster continued to stroke his beard. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"
"I have never met a phoenix before in my life." I responded with my expert lying ability. Fawkes already reappeared with a flash of flames, landing up my head and nodding to confirm my statement.
I could tell by the look on his face that I successfully fooled him.
In a completely unrelated matter.
"How about we talk about that sizable donation we wished to make towards Hogwarts?" I definitely wasn't changing the subject.
[***]
A/N
If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty under the same name for people who can't use the above.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 476:
I nearly kicked the door to the house off its hinges.
"I'm home!" I shouted for anyone that was here.
"Welcome home~" Yasaka responded from where she was lazing around on the couch.
"Thank you." It was Venelana who answered for me, as her head peeked over my shoulder because I was carrying her on my back.
"Rough weekend?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow at us.
"Oh, definitely~" Venelana and she shared a knowing smile.
"I'm glad you're back." Yasaka got up, and gave me a quick kiss.
"Do I get one of those?" Venelana giggled, obviously joking, but Yasaka quickly moved and placed her lips against Venelana's, initiating a rather deep kiss.
I sort of just stood there, silently watching them for a few moments before they broke apart.
"Well, that's a welcome surprise." Venelana's expression didn't change much, and not a hint of displeasure.
Yasaka just had a smug look about her as she noticed my expression. She grinned mischievously, patting my cheek.
My girls were the best.
"I heard you had a fun dinner." She finally said.
I walked over, letting Venelana slide off onto the couch. "That's one way to put it."
Well, I was one hundred percent sure she knew the details, so I didn't really feel the need to recap.
"At least you had a fun weekend." Her eyes lit up with amusement.
"Tired." Venelana practically fell over. "Been awhile since I've been this exhausted."
She wasn't the only one. I can honestly say that after spending nearly the entire weekend with Venelana, I was also tapped out for the moment.
The funny thing was, despite all the ridiculousness that's inside of me, that really should elevate me to levels beyond her ability to handle in such a way, she kept up without much issue.
But damn if that wasn't a good problem to have.
Yasaka just giggled at her response. Her tail wrapped around me happily. "I almost thought I would have to drag you back home. You were cutting it close, time-wise."
"Oh, come on." I nudged her with my shoulder. "You know I wouldn't miss something so important."
"Is it time to go meet the people at Kunou's new school?" Venelana perked up. "With everything else happening, I nearly forgot."
"That's a lie." Yasaka rolled her eyes, looking at me. "You should see the messages she's been sending. Pretty much hourly updates so our schedules wouldn't conflict."
"Don't give away my secrets~"
Maybe I should just let Venelana run my Harem? She seemed to be really good at it? Though it seemed to run itself already.
"Mmm, when you get back, how about we talk about setting up a playdate?" Venelana offered. "I think Milicas would love to have a friend. He's sort of stuck in the same situation Kunou is, it's hard for him to make friends when his dad is a Satan and the others don't have kids his age."
I was certainly not against Kunou having more friends.
And....after the fiasco of that dinner, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and mend bridges in some parts outside of the ones I couldn't bring myself to actually like. My Half-Brother was by no means guilty of any negative feelings I had for much of his family.
"Alright, we can talk about that after." I nodded.
Nearly as soon as I said that the door opened and a fluffy missile shot right at me.
"Daddy!"
I caught my little fox in a big hug with Raikou right behind her.
"Can you tell she's excited?" Yasaka smiled.
I guess after the knee jerk 'abandonment' reaction wore off, she hyped it up a bit in her head? If I were in her shoes, it would certainly also be an exciting thing to me as well.
I rubbed her head and gestured for Raikou. My Servant accepted the side hug since Kunou was wrapped around me. Followed by a quick kiss, she smiled happily and sat on the couch next to Venelana.
"Was she hard to deal with today?" I asked.
"I was good!" Kunou immediately denied. "Right, Auntie Raikou?"
"She is always wonderful." Raikou chuckled.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.
"No burned down building?"
"Dadddd, that was only one time!"
"Only one time so far." Venelana snorted with a bit of laughter.
"Auntie Venelana...." Kunou pouted.
I don't know how it happened, but she started calling Venelana Auntie as well. Honestly, I think Kunou was a lot like me in that aspect, she really loved having a big family. She's happy to take it in any form it came in.
A new Auntie? Sign her the hell up. Just another person to dote on her.
She had them wrapped around her finger and everyone knew it.
But I digress.
"How about breakfast? Then maybe we can do some paperwork? Also, I have some errands to run...."
"Noooo, Dad!" Kunou started pulling on me.
"What?"
"I wanna go look!" She whined.
"Really? Do you wanna see it that bad?"
"Yes!!!"
"Alright, stop teasing our poor daughter." Yasaka nudged me. "We already planned to head over right away after your Auntie Venelana decided she was done with your Father."
Venelana's smug smile didn't disappear even as Yasaka shot her a little grin.
"We, I suppose." I said with mock reluctance.
The Little Fox all but bounced around the room with another burst of excitement.
There's no way this school was going to be still standing by the time she graduates.
"But seriously, anything we should take care of before we go?" I looked towards Yasaka.
She held up her hand, then started lowering fingers. "Artoria is handling that.....Scáthach is handling some other things. Oh, then there's the person coming from –"
"I'll handle that." Raikou suddenly spoke.
"I appreciate you so much." Yasaka's expression softened. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble." Raikou dismissed.
No matter, some independence will be good for her.
"And beyond we have a small town that older students are allowed to visit on the weekends called Hogsmead." The Teacher continued. "It's less than a 30 minutes' walk from the castle."
Sounded almost like a College and accompanying College town.
Honestly, impressed so far. The Facilities looked very good on the surface, we'll see how they hold up under a bit more scrutiny.
"And how far does the School's property extend? You said that Kids aren't allowed to go to this town, right? Are they also not allowed to leave the Castle itself?" I asked.
"The School grounds extend to the forest you can see in the distance." She pointed. "However, that Forest is forbidden, and your daughter will learn more about that later. And it is obvious where the grounds end on the other sides as they are marked by a pathway. We do not allow younger students to venture beyond these points without being accompanied by a teacher, and without a reason. As for venturing beyond even Hogsmead itself, without a proper reason, students are not allowed to leave without express approval by the administration."
I nodded, not perturbed by her words. It was a boarding school, kids were supposed to stay at the school. Randomly going home whenever they wanted went against the whole concept.
Exceptions were made for obvious reasons. But we wouldn't be able to simply pull her out for a weekend to visit or what have you.
It was both an experience for them and a place of learning.
"Let us not tally." She said promptly, pivoting on her heels. "Please follow me."
Silently, we paced along across the brick bridge. Kunou marveled as she quickly ran to look over the edge and nearly jumped around to get a good look at the massive castle.
We couldn't see most of it from this angle, but it was a marvel of engineering if nothing else.
Coming up to some large wooden and metal doors, they seemed to open by themselves.
A person waited beyond for our arrival as the Deputy Head-Mistress came to a stop for them.
An older gentleman sporting some rather colorful – and painful to look at – robes. He also had a remarkable beard that went down to his waist.
"Albus, I thought you would be waiting in your office."
"I found myself fancying a walk." The Older man chuckled and his attention turned to us. "Greetings, I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I am Albus Dumbledore."
He held his hand out and Yasaka took it first. "I am Yasaka, Leader of the West Kyoto Youkai." She introduced professionally. "Thank you for allowing us to visit."
"Oh, it's certainly no trouble!" The Headmaster quickly exclaimed. "I admit I am excited. Rarely do we get visitors from your side of the world." His eyes twinkled for some reason. "Welcome to Hogwarts, I hope that regardless of any discussions, you enjoy your time here."
Well, he seemed nice.
He then looked at me and I took his hand.
But before I could speak, there was a flash of flames, and a very familiar looking bird appeared and perched gently on his shoulder.
"Birdie." Kunou's eyes flashed.
The Headmaster chuckled awkwardly. "Apologies, Fawkes here likes to come and go as he pleases."
The Bird in question let out a soft squawk at him.
"It's nice to meet you, Headmaster." I shook his hand politely. "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself with a very well-practiced ease. "You have a wonderful School here."
"Yes, I've heard your name in recent days." His eyes twinkled again.
"Good things I hope." I smiled.
".....that depends on the perspective, I suppose." He said with a strained smile. "And who is this wonderful little lady?" He his tone shifted to a bit more grandfatherly as he hunched over slightly to address Kunou.
"Hi, I'm Kunou." Kunou introduced herself. "You have a pretty bird."
"Why thank you." He smiled good-naturedly. "Fawkes here has been my companion for many years. And he loves when people compliment him. Don't you?" He gently rubbed the mythological bird.
"....can I pet him?" Kunou asked, a little bashfully.
"Well, that depends on Fawkes. While he may seem almost like my pet, he is actually my familiar and a partner. He is no less intelligent than you or me, so you need to respect his opinion on the matter."
As if to answer, the Bird flapped his wings and almost dropped to the ground to get more level with my daughter.
"It appears that he said yes." The Headmaster chuckled.
Fawkes tilted his head slightly and Kunou silently, but excitedly, began to rub him gently.
I mouthed a thank you to the bird that looked at me from the corner of his eye.
Well, so far, I wasn't getting any bad vibes, and my instinct was spot on for most things. Thus, I was being skeptically optimistic so far.
"Well, this is wonderful." Dumbledore clapped his hands. "I have been looking forward to this meeting for several days now." He turned his gaze to me. "I had the most interesting news arrive not long after I received your original letter. My good friend Ollivander regaled me with an interesting tale about a rather particular customer of his."
"....I paid for all the damages."
The corners of his lips curled up. "Yes, yes. He had to reassure the Auroras that there was no malicious intent regardless of the substantial damage to his shop."
Yasaka stared at me.
"And then there was an incident that occurred that brought the entirety of Diagon Alley into a chaotic hazard. Seemingly, there was a strange spell cast that disrupted a significant amount of wards that hid the Alley from the Muggles. The Auroras scrambled to fix the issue without alarming the population."
"...how peculiar." I forced out.
"Yes, quite." His eyes twinkled again. "After investigation, they said that it was a simple Lumos spell amplified to a degree unheard of. Quite the conundrum."
Yasaka's eyes drilled into me.
"I can only hope that the proper authorities handle the issue with haste and do diligence." I said with a completely straight face.
"Indeed." The Headmaster stroked his rather impressive beard. "Then, I heard one last piece of interesting information."
"Oh?"
"Yes, And I find myself confused." He stated. "I have some good friends in the lovely Aurors from the ministry that are working on a rather strange case. You see, a masked man and a....bird, reports say a Phoenix, were seen accosting a rather prominent member of the community."
He looked at me, then down at Fawkes.
Fawkes squawked and disappeared in a flash of flames.
"They say that the bird in question was.....oh yes, painted blue for some odd reason." The Headmaster informed me. "And that the masked stranger bludgeoned several people."
"It sounds like a strange tale indeed." I was an expert in keeping my cool.
The headmaster continued to stroke his beard. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"
"I have never met a phoenix before in my life." I responded with my expert lying ability. Fawkes already reappeared with a flash of flames, landing up my head and nodding to confirm my statement.
I could tell by the look on his face that I successfully fooled him.
In a completely unrelated matter.
"How about we talk about that sizable donation we wished to make towards Hogwarts?" I definitely wasn't changing the subject.
[***]
A/N
If you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty under the same name for people who can't use the above.
Chapter 476:I nearly kicked the door to the house off its hinges."I'm home!" I shouted for anyone that was here."Welcome home~" Yasaka responded from where she was lazing around on the couch."Thank you." It was Venelana who answered for me, as her head peeked over my shoulder because I was carrying her on my back."Rough weekend?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow at us."Oh, definitely~" Venelana and she shared a knowing smile."I'm glad you're back." Yasaka got up, and gave me a quick kiss."Do I get one of those?" Venelana giggled, obviously joking, but Yasaka quickly moved and placed her lips against Venelana's, initiating a rather deep kiss.I sort of just stood there, silently watching them for a few moments before they broke apart."Well, that's a welcome surprise." Venelana's expression didn't change much, and not a hint of displeasure.Yasaka just had a smug look about her as she noticed my expression. She grinned mischievously, patting my cheek.My girls were the best."I heard you had a fun dinner." She finally said.I walked over, letting Venelana slide off onto the couch. "That's one way to put it."Well, I was one hundred percent sure she knew the details, so I didn't really feel the need to recap."At least you had a fun weekend." Her eyes lit up with amusement."Tired." Venelana practically fell over. "Been awhile since I've been this exhausted."She wasn't the only one. I can honestly say that after spending nearly the entire weekend with Venelana, I was also tapped out for the moment.The funny thing was, despite all the ridiculousness that's inside of me, that really should elevate me to levels beyond her ability to handle in such a way, she kept up without much issue.But damn if that wasn't a good problem to have.Yasaka just giggled at her response. Her tail wrapped around me happily. "I almost thought I would have to drag you back home. You were cutting it close, time-wise.""Oh, come on." I nudged her with my shoulder. "You know I wouldn't miss something so important.""Is it time to go meet the people at Kunou's new school?" Venelana perked up. "With everything else happening, I nearly forgot.""That's a lie." Yasaka rolled her eyes, looking at me. "You should see the messages she's been sending. Pretty much hourly updates so our schedules wouldn't conflict.""Don't give away my secrets~"Maybe I should just let Venelana run my Harem? She seemed to be really good at it? Though it seemed to run itself already."Mmm, when you get back, how about we talk about setting up a playdate?" Venelana offered. "I think Milicas would love to have a friend. He's sort of stuck in the same situation Kunou is, it's hard for him to make friends when his dad is a Satan and the others don't have kids his age."I was certainly not against Kunou having more friends.And....after the fiasco of that dinner, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and mend bridges in some parts outside of the ones I couldn't bring myself to actually like. My Half-Brother was by no means guilty of any negative feelings I had for much of his family."Alright, we can talk about that after." I nodded.Nearly as soon as I said that the door opened and a fluffy missile shot right at me."Daddy!"I caught my little fox in a big hug with Raikou right behind her."Can you tell she's excited?" Yasaka smiled.I guess after the knee jerk 'abandonment' reaction wore off, she hyped it up a bit in her head? If I were in her shoes, it would certainly also be an exciting thing to me as well.I rubbed her head and gestured for Raikou. My Servant accepted the side hug since Kunou was wrapped around me. Followed by a quick kiss, she smiled happily and sat on the couch next to Venelana."Was she hard to deal with today?" I asked."I was good!" Kunou immediately denied. "Right, Auntie Raikou?""She is always wonderful." Raikou chuckled.This chapter was first shared on the Nvl1n platform."No burned down building?""Dadddd, that was only one time!""Only one time so far." Venelana snorted with a bit of laughter."Auntie Venelana...." Kunou pouted.I don't know how it happened, but she started calling Venelana Auntie as well. Honestly, I think Kunou was a lot like me in that aspect, she really loved having a big family. She's happy to take it in any form it came in.A new Auntie? Sign her the hell up. Just another person to dote on her.She had them wrapped around her finger and everyone knew it.But I digress."How about breakfast? Then maybe we can do some paperwork? Also, I have some errands to run....""Noooo, Dad!" Kunou started pulling on me."What?""I wanna go look!" She whined."Really? Do you wanna see it that bad?""Yes!!!""Alright, stop teasing our poor daughter." Yasaka nudged me. "We already planned to head over right away after your Auntie Venelana decided she was done with your Father."Venelana's smug smile didn't disappear even as Yasaka shot her a little grin."We, I suppose." I said with mock reluctance.The Little Fox all but bounced around the room with another burst of excitement.There's no way this school was going to be still standing by the time she graduates."But seriously, anything we should take care of before we go?" I looked towards Yasaka.She held up her hand, then started lowering fingers. "Artoria is handling that.....Scathach is handling some other things. Oh, then there's the person coming from ""I'll handle that." Raikou suddenly spoke."I appreciate you so much." Yasaka's expression softened. "Thank you.""It's no trouble." Raikou dismissed.No matter, some independence will be good for her."And beyond we have a small town that older students are allowed to visit on the weekends called Hogsmead." The Teacher continued. "It's less than a 30 minutes' walk from the castle."Sounded almost like a College and accompanying College town.Honestly, impressed so far. The Facilities looked very good on the surface, we'll see how they hold up under a bit more scrutiny."And how far does the School's property extend? You said that Kids aren't allowed to go to this town, right? Are they also not allowed to leave the Castle itself?" I asked."The School grounds extend to the forest you can see in the distance." She pointed. "However, that Forest is forbidden, and your daughter will learn more about that later. And it is obvious where the grounds end on the other sides as they are marked by a pathway. We do not allow younger students to venture beyond these points without being accompanied by a teacher, and without a reason. As for venturing beyond even Hogsmead itself, without a proper reason, students are not allowed to leave without express approval by the administration."I nodded, not perturbed by her words. It was a boarding school, kids were supposed to stay at the school. Randomly going home whenever they wanted went against the whole concept.Exceptions were made for obvious reasons. But we wouldn't be able to simply pull her out for a weekend to visit or what have you.It was both an experience for them and a place of learning."Let us not tally." She said promptly, pivoting on her heels. "Please follow me."Silently, we paced along across the brick bridge. Kunou marveled as she quickly ran to look over the edge and nearly jumped around to get a good look at the massive castle.We couldn't see most of it from this angle, but it was a marvel of engineering if nothing else.Coming up to some large wooden and metal doors, they seemed to open by themselves.A person waited beyond for our arrival as the Deputy Head-Mistress came to a stop for them.An older gentleman sporting some rather colorful and painful to look at robes. He also had a remarkable beard that went down to his waist."Albus, I thought you would be waiting in your office.""I found myself fancying a walk." The Older man chuckled and his attention turned to us. "Greetings, I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I am Albus Dumbledore."He held his hand out and Yasaka took it first. "I am Yasaka, Leader of the West Kyoto Youkai." She introduced professionally. "Thank you for allowing us to visit.""Oh, it's certainly no trouble!" The Headmaster quickly exclaimed. "I admit I am excited. Rarely do we get visitors from your side of the world." His eyes twinkled for some reason. "Welcome to Hogwarts, I hope that regardless of any discussions, you enjoy your time here."Well, he seemed nice.He then looked at me and I took his hand.But before I could speak, there was a flash of flames, and a very familiar looking bird appeared and perched gently on his shoulder."Birdie." Kunou's eyes flashed.The Headmaster chuckled awkwardly. "Apologies, Fawkes here likes to come and go as he pleases."The Bird in question let out a soft squawk at him."It's nice to meet you, Headmaster." I shook his hand politely. "I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." I introduced myself with a very well-practiced ease. "You have a wonderful School here.""Yes, I've heard your name in recent days." His eyes twinkled again."Good things I hope." I smiled.".....that depends on the perspective, I suppose." He said with a strained smile. "And who is this wonderful little lady?" He his tone shifted to a bit more grandfatherly as he hunched over slightly to address Kunou."Hi, I'm Kunou." Kunou introduced herself. "You have a pretty bird.""Why thank you." He smiled good-naturedly. "Fawkes here has been my companion for many years. And he loves when people compliment him. Don't you?" He gently rubbed the mythological bird."....can I pet him?" Kunou asked, a little bashfully."Well, that depends on Fawkes. While he may seem almost like my pet, he is actually my familiar and a partner. He is no less intelligent than you or me, so you need to respect his opinion on the matter."As if to answer, the Bird flapped his wings and almost dropped to the ground to get more level with my daughter."It appears that he said yes." The Headmaster chuckled.Fawkes tilted his head slightly and Kunou silently, but excitedly, began to rub him gently.I mouthed a thank you to the bird that looked at me from the corner of his eye.Well, so far, I wasn't getting any bad vibes, and my instinct was spot on for most things. Thus, I was being skeptically optimistic so far."Well, this is wonderful." Dumbledore clapped his hands. "I have been looking forward to this meeting for several days now." He turned his gaze to me. "I had the most interesting news arrive not long after I received your original letter. My good friend Ollivander regaled me with an interesting tale about a rather particular customer of his.""....I paid for all the damages."The corners of his lips curled up. "Yes, yes. He had to reassure the Auroras that there was no malicious intent regardless of the substantial damage to his shop."Yasaka stared at me."And then there was an incident that occurred that brought the entirety of Diagon Alley into a chaotic hazard. Seemingly, there was a strange spell cast that disrupted a significant amount of wards that hid the Alley from the Muggles. The Auroras scrambled to fix the issue without alarming the population.""...how peculiar." I forced out."Yes, quite." His eyes twinkled again. "After investigation, they said that it was a simple Lumos spell amplified to a degree unheard of. Quite the conundrum."Yasaka's eyes drilled into me."I can only hope that the proper authorities handle the issue with haste and do diligence." I said with a completely straight face."Indeed." The Headmaster stroked his rather impressive beard. "Then, I heard one last piece of interesting information.""Oh?""Yes, And I find myself confused." He stated. "I have some good friends in the lovely Aurors from the ministry that are working on a rather strange case. You see, a masked man and a....bird, reports say a Phoenix, were seen accosting a rather prominent member of the community."He looked at me, then down at Fawkes.Fawkes squawked and disappeared in a flash of flames."They say that the bird in question was.....oh yes, painted blue for some odd reason." The Headmaster informed me. "And that the masked stranger bludgeoned several people.""It sounds like a strange tale indeed." I was an expert in keeping my cool.The headmaster continued to stroke his beard. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?""I have never met a phoenix before in my life." I responded with my expert lying ability. Fawkes already reappeared with a flash of flames, landing up my head and nodding to confirm my statement.I could tell by the look on his face that I successfully fooled him.In a completely unrelated matter."How about we talk about that sizable donation we wished to make towards Hogwarts?" I definitely wasn't changing the subject.***A/NIf you want to read 9 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforoneI also have a boosty under the same name for people who can't use the above.
