But For A Stone (A Matou Shinji Series AU)

[Skull Leader]

[X] Make it a potluck - everyone can bring something!

This concept might not have been heard of by some of the guests but really this is a good way to have a combination of foods for people to explore.

[X] Cho and Nigel - who seem a bit disconnected from the rest of the group

They at least came even if this party is not their cup of tea and/or close to Shinji, so Shinji should at least play graceful host and attempt to integrate them into the larger group.

[X] Draco Malfoy

Playing Granger is just asking for trouble. And while I can see Shinji playing Iris, I can't help but think that Shinji would love to play Draco here. He can use this as a way to relax and state all the things he would have a hard time saying to Miyuki or other girls since in this case he would be playing the love struck Draco crushing on Iris. RP was supposed to get Shinji to work out his issues, well there you go Shinji. Now go flirt with Amber/Nats under the cover of the sake of playing your character.

[alfheimwanderer]

On a tangent, I think one of the things I'll talk about over the next year or so is how Hogwarts changed from how it was under the Founders. I find it quite likely that back then, each of the "houses" operated as effectively separate schools, with each Founder heading up one of them and tailoring what was taught to their students in a way that best suited their learning styles and needs.

Slytherin, of course, took those who were most familiar with the magical world - the most achievement oriented and ambitious of the lot - likely to ensure their ambitions were for the greater good.

Gryffindor took the ones who were most "courageous" and daring - those who knew no fear - whose recklessness probably had to be tempered, lest they get themselves killed.

Ravenclaw took the ones most suited to learning from books and seeking out knowledge for its own sake, encouraging their explorations while ensuring they looked beyond the textbook.

And Hufflepuff took "the rest" - the ones who didn't have a particular inclination that needed to be tempered at any given time, or hadn't demonstrated one particular aptitude to be encouraged yet. Seeds who needed to be nurtured to determine their potential, because not everyone is finished growing at the age of 11.

I think that in those early days, relations between the Houses were much more...fluid, with the Founders passing students from one to another as they saw fit, based on how each was developing, or to address the needs each had. Of course, over time, things changed.

Slytherin left the school due to a disagreement with the other Founders about whether to accept Muggle-born students, as he didn't quite trust them, judging them both a security concern (as well as finding them more difficult to teach than those who had some background in the magical arts). Keep in mind that some of the first secular laws were passed against witchcraft by Æthelstan, King of the Anglo-Saxons, and later the, English in the early part of the 900s. Further, things like the Floo Network - a critical piece of infrastructure which allowed Wizarding Britain to function as a separate society - did not exist, nor was apparition something that most wizards knew or practiced at the time (as there was no Ministry sanctioned classes for it). Further, in those days, students of Hogwarts had to make their own way to the school, as there was no state provided means of transport.

This was particularly dangerous for muggleborn, given that their families would not have magical brooms (which had been invented just a generation before Hogwarts was founded!), and thus would have to go by cart (their family's or those of traders) or...on foot, none of which were a great options, either for their personal safety or for the security of wizardkind in general. Besides, if a young child who was not a noble were to mention school, there would very quickly be suspicions about what they were doing...Slytherin did not think this state of affairs suitable, and so, for the time being, did not want to accept Muggleborns, even if their raw magical potential was considered higher - as it was simply too big a risk. The others disagreed, and so Slytherin eventually left the school, though he left his basilisk behind as a secret weapon to be used in case Hogwarts had been taken over via treachery or negligence, so that as long as someone of his blood remained, the school would be protected.

One by one, the others also left (because they died), with control of Hogwarts passing to a Headmaster, who, being more distant from the students, was not as familiar with their particular needs, and a teaching staff that could not quite replicate the arrangements of the Founders (teaching or otherwise) - and likely had no inclination, especially if being appointed a head of house came with some additional perks (such as an extra stipend per student in their house). While the Sorting Hat and the Houses remained, their chief function - to nurture or temper students with various inclinations and interests - was lost. Instruction became more centralized, more standardized across the four Houses, with more concern given to teaching a set of facts than recognizing special talents or addressing special needs, and slowly, the system became what it was today - a relic from the past that has no purpose in the present.

TL;DR: The House system at Hogwarts was not inherently nonsensical - it only became so over time, after the death/departure of the Founders, and the installation of a more rigid system to replace them, which calcified into what one sees today.

TL;DR2: Informal systems built around relationships between individuals in a relatively flat organization rarely survive as intended during a transition to a more rigid, hierarchical structure (see: startups which grow past a certain size).

[Haunter]

[X] Pizza - the better to surprise the purebloods
[X] Neville and some of the +1s
[X] Draco Malfoy

[alfheimwanderer]

What are we feeding everyone? [x] Make it a potluck - everyone can bring something!; Shinji will provide [x] Pizza - the better to surprise the purebloods

And who does he prioritize talking to? [x] Cho and Nigel - who seem a bit disconnected from the rest of the group; [x] Neville and some of the +1s

After the introduction of the two characters in the Iris Potter campaign, Selina asks the group to choose which one they'd like to stay with. Which does Shinji want to play...? [x] Draco Malfoy

---

At this point, I'm moving on to a more interesting choice - one that will have some pretty interesting repercussions going forward for Matou Shinji and his friends. Based on his choices so far, he has unlocked a number of options, each of which allows for a number of developments with regards to Shinji's skill tree and his relationships with others.

Where will Shinji spend his summer? (choose one)

[ ] In Mahoutokoro, with Miyuki-senpai and Natsumi
[ ] In France with Selina and her family
[ ] In Fuyuki, where he can check in with Tohsaka and others
[ ] In Britain, spending time with Phelan and Ernie

[Desann]

[x] In France with Selina and her family

[skulkidcachi90]

[X] In Fuyuki, where he can check in with Tohsaka and others

Because I really want go full family route.

[Skull Leader]

Happy to have you back skulkidchachi90! And that is with you coming in and voting for the one option here that I dislike, but that nothing new. I expect you to vote the Rin option or the family option even if that ship has a major hole in it due to the effects of Shinji's first Quirrell trial.

[X] In Mahoutokoro, with Miyuki-senpai and Natsumi

I really do not have much preference here other than not liking to deal with Shinji going back to his real family and watching those explosions since Shinji is not equipped to handle his emotions yet if he had to deal with them all summer. I will start with my vote for Mahoutokoro cause sempai.

But really spending all summer in England in his new house would be just as good cause it would give him time to focus on learning from his books and developing the skills he has already started. But France could be just as fun with Shinji being exposed to more new stuff and him maybe learning how to do social combat in word sparing there.

[alfheimwanderer]

Chapter 33. Lords of Swinverrucas, pt 1.

When Professor McGonagall called her name, she walked out of the antechamber into the Great Hall, trying not to show how intimidated she was to take her first true steps into the world of magic. Many had already been called before her, with her having no sense of what had transpired, only that at irregular intervals, there was a shout of GRYFFINDOR, RAVENCLAW, HUFFLEPUFF, or SLYTHERIN.

‘There weren’t any screams of pain or bestial roars, so I probably don’t have to wrestle a troll,’ she thought with some relief. Trolls, from what Draco mentioned, smelled rather rank after all, and while the copper-haired girl was capable of enduring many things, terrible body odor was not one of them.

(Which, now that she thought about it, might be another reason she didn’t like most boys, given how sweaty and dirty they usually were.)

Sokaris had said that the Sorting Ritual would probably involve a magical artifact of some kind, citing the example of Ilvermorny, so, deferring to the purple-haired girl’s wisdom, she looked around, finding a ragged hat sitting on a chair.

‘I guess that’s it…the item that will determine my destiny.’

But how? Would it simply choose for her once she sat down or sat it on her head?

Would it ask her odd bits of trivia to make her prove her worth?

Would it…give her a personality test of some kind?

She shuddered at the last possibility, given that such a thing would probably dig into her past and reveal the myriad truths about who and what she really was – hopefully not to everyone assembled.

Still, there was no helping it, so she walked over to the chair, as bidden, sat down, and allowed a teacher to plop the Hat upon her head, whereupon a voice asked her a very simple question…

“What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?”

---

There was a strange silence as the group collectively blinked, some of them glancing at one another as if wondering whether this was a serious question, with others closing their eyes and lowering their faces, as if trying to recall what little they knew about swallows (which was generally very little, since they weren’t magical creatures).

“I think I speak for everyone when I ask how this is supposed to be a ‘simple question’?” Phelan demanded, the striped face paint he was wearing, and the great lion’s mane around his face making him look particularly fierce. “How is anyone supposed to know such a thing, anyway?”

“…well, even if she didn’t know it, Sokaris could probably figure out how fast it flew, if she knew how heavy it was and how long its wings were,” Natsumi mused aloud, the raccoon ears on her head wriggling a bit as she dipped her head. Marten, her pet pig, squirmed a bit from his place on her lap, perhaps because he found his knarl (hedgehog) costume uncomfortably hot. Or perhaps because he didn’t enjoy the smell of his mistress’ half-eaten plate of maple-bacon waffles. “But we’d also have to know how often it beat its wings...”

“That would probably depend on what kind of swallow it is,” a thoughtful Nigel Wroxton, dressed all in a robe of black feathers noted as he looked up, the raven on his shoulder squawking in agreement. “Since there are about 74 kinds around the world.”

“What…seventy-four?” Pansy echoed, from where she was curled up in a chair, the cat ears peeking out from her dark hair stiffening in surprise. “Why…no, besides why, how do you even know that?”

“…you’d be surprised how much trivia you remember when you spend most of a year in the hospital with nothing to do but read,” the older Ravenclaw said self-deprecatingly. “Though, it’s not as if I’m good for much else, even now that I’m back.”

“Oh, Nigel…” Cho, who was sitting beside him, absently stroking his…feathers, sighed, squeezing his shoulder in a way that was supposed to be comforting. Given that she was dressed in robes of fiery red, with a headpiece that looked like the crest of a phoenix, it almost seemed instead that the poor raven was about to be swallowed up by flames. “That’s not true. You’re…you make people happy?”

“You don’t seem very confident about that, Cho,” Nigel pointed out, making the Chinese girl blush.

“Well, it made me happy that you invited me, but if you’re going to be so sour all night, maybe I shouldn’t ha…”

“I’m assuming it’s probably a barn swallow?” Amber spoke up, cutting Cho off as she stood, the sailor-style Japanese school uniform she wore seeming quite at odds with the more elaborate costumes the others were wearing. When Shinji’d asked what she was supposed to be, Amber had smirked and said “a tsukumogami of a ship”, pointing to the metallic antennae-like things sticking out of her hair and the rather technical looking rigging she’d made for herself. Shinji had protested, saying that ships probably didn’t look like cute girls, though in truth he had no idea what a tsukumogami was even supposed to look like – and his comment had backfired, since he grew embarrassed as Amber had thanked him for calling her cute.

“Are you asking me?” the resident storyteller questioned, with the blonde’s eyes twinkling with amusement in the firelight, much like the scales of the dragon-hide garments she wore. “Or are you asking the Sorting Hat?”

“…the Hat,” Amber replied, sitting down again, somewhat disgruntled.

---

‘…well, that would depend on what kind of swallow, wouldn’t it?’ Iris Potter asked wryly, keeping her face perfectly expressionless. ‘You can’t just expect me to know how to answer otherwise, can you?’

‘I see,’ the Hat’s voice rang in her mind. ‘Asking for details are you? I suppose you’re not likely to be a Gryffindor, then, since you look before you leap.’

‘Fair enough. I’d rather be cautious and alive than bold and dead anytime,’ Iris commented, her curls shaking as she tossed her head. ‘Any other questions?’

‘Certainly,’ the Sorting Hat affirmed. ‘Suppose you see a runaway train – the Hogwarts Express – let’s call it – hurtling towards a car full of potions bound for St. Mungo’s. You are standing next to a lever that controls a switch. If you pull the lever, the trolley will be redirected to a side track, and the train will not collide with the car full of potions. Before you choose, note that you can also see a woman collapsed on that side track, with her young daughter crouched over her, shouting and trying to pull her away from the track. What do you do?’

---

“I…no, you can’t pull it!” Phelan declared, recoiling from the very notion of deliberately acting to hurt someone. “I…what kind of person is Iris going to become if she just kills two people like that?! Wh-who would even choose to pull the lever in a situation like this?”

“I would,” Amber spoke up, with her twin looking at her incredulously.

“Why in God’s green earth—”

“Because it’s the Hogwarts Express,” the copper-haired girl bit off, shaking her head. “I don’t like the choice any more than you do, but if a train full of students hits a railway car loaded with potions, it’s going to derail, and you’re going to have more than just two deaths on your hands.”

“You can’t possibly be certain of that, sister!” the earl’s son thundered, his face going red. “It’s quite possible that nothing will happen except the potions being ruined, and who cares about a bunch of potions when lives are at stake—”

“—I should think the patients at St. Mungo’s would care,” Cho replied sharply, glancing worriedly over at Nigel, whose expression had soured at the question, as if remembering something unpleasant. “Without those potions, many of them will die.”

Phelan looked like he wanted to say something very rude, but instead, he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands balling into fists as he took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “Fine, why don’t we ask…will the train derail?” he asked, his voice quieter than anyone had heard him speak before. “And are the potions something that could save people’s lives?”

“You don’t know that,” Selina supplied, watching as the earl’s son winced.

“But—”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you more, because in that situation, you wouldn’t know,” the bespectacled blonde continued, not without sympathy. “All you know is that if you pull the lever, one – maybe two – people will die. If you don’t, the train will hit the railway car. No more, no less.”

“Ugh…”

“Look, Phelan, we’re not standing at the lever making that choice,” Ernie Macmillan spoke up, the feathers of his barn owl costume seeming a bit ruffled as he shook his head. “It’s just part of a game, you know. A what if from Iris’ point of view? It’s not as if what we choose here reflects what we would actually do in that situation.”

“Isn’t it, though?” the earl’s son questioned. “If you think something enough, it might come true.”

“If that were so, Nigel would have gotten well far sooner,” Cho muttered under her breath, with her companion blinking.

“You know, let’s not pick on him,” Neville spoke up, choosing to defend his fellow Gryffindor. “It’s not wrong to not want to kill people. Right, Hannah?” he asked, turning to the girl who had come with him.

“Right,” the Hufflepuff girl said stolidly. “Don’t you agree, Matou?”

Shinji, however, shook his head.

“It might not be wrong, but for something like this…the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” the Japanese boy argued, the crown of branches and cloak of vines he wore identifying him as a kodama, one of the tree spirits of Japan. “Just because you don’t see others being hurt because of what you do doesn’t mean they won’t be.”

“That doesn’t mean you can use a what-if as an excuse to hurt the people in front of you!” Phelan shot back. “You heard the choice. If you pull the lever, two people will die. We don’t know more than that. Based on that, I can’t in good conscience pull the lever.”

“I can,” Nigel said quietly, breaking the silence that followed in the wake of Phelan’s outburst. “Because more people will be saved.”

“But that’s not what we’re told,” Ronald Weasley interjected, weighing in on Phelan’s side. Seeing him bluster, Selina had to suppress a smile, if only because he was dressed like a big yellow bird. A Golden Snidget, he’d explained when asked, even if seeing his costume – made by Fred and George, no less! – had brought a rather different character to her mind. “We just know that if we pull the level, at least one person will die. But even if the little girl doesn’t, wouldn’t that make her an orphan? Just like Iris?” He shook his head. “Are you saying that knowing someone will die means less than people maybe being hurt?”

“It’s not a maybe,” Nigel – whose life had depended on the availability of certain potions last year – ground out. “People will be hurt.”

“She didn’t say that.”

“She doesn’t have to!” the usually mild-mannered Ravenclaw exploded, surging to his feet, his face red with frustration. “When will you accept that the world is bigger than what you can see?”

“It’s not wrong to not want to be a monster who kills people because it might help others,” Ron spat, now on his feet as well. “Listen to yourselves, all of you…Nigel, would you pull the lever if it was Cho on the track?”

“…w-well, no, but…”

“And Matou, what about if it was…your sis—”

“Yes, definitely.”

The Japanese boy’s reply, and the cold little smile that accompanied it, stopped Ron cold, with the redhead swallowing.

“What. Y-you would…your own sister…” Ron whispered, shaken by the unexpected comment. “How can you—"

“Don’t assume everyone’s circumstances are the same as yours,” Shinji stated, his eyes hard. “It’s obvious not everyone is going to agree, so can we just vote on this?”

“…fine,” Phelan grumbled, though now he looked rather worried as he looked between Shinji and his sister. “I’m…I’m done talking about this, if none of you are going to listen. Let’s just vote and move on.”

---

‘So you choose to sacrifice the mother and daughter for the sake of the greater good,’ the Sorting Hat mused, reading the answer in her thoughts. ‘Interesting…’

‘…what would have happened if I’d chosen otherwise?’ Iris wondered, her lips curving into a frown despite her best efforts. ‘W-would more people have been hurt?’

‘Who knows,’ the Hat answered in a very unsatisfactory manner. ‘In life, none of us have all the answers. Speaking of which, just a few more questions, if you will…’

‘Fine…’ Iris huffed. ‘Ask what you will…’

‘I will, then! Imagine that you, and the rest of the first years, are trapped in a hallway at Hogwarts with a rampaging troll. The door you came in through is barred. The only other exit is at the other end, past the troll. What will you do?’

The copper-haired girl nearly groaned as she heard this one.

‘Well,’ she thought, ‘I guess I could—’

---

“—lead the charge!” Phelan said with some animation. “It’s one troll, it couldn’t possibly kill all of us.”

“Oh, it could and would, if you’re all first years,” Nymphadora Black chimed in languidly from where she lounged on a pile of cushions sampling a few choice bottles of Firewhiskey, with Rumpy dutifully refilling her tumbler every time she got close to emptying it. Having little to do on the day before New Years’ Eve, she’d agreed to chaperone the “Matou Housewarming”, so long as she was well plied with food and drink. Most wizarding families, after all, were not quite comfortable with children engaging in unsupervised revels, and as an Auror Trainee and the heiress of House Black, she was deemed someone trustworthy by society. That fact alone would drive her to drink, to say nothing of her…engagement to Draco Malfoy, and so she’d gladly taken advantage of the free liquor on offer.

(Which, to be fair, was mostly what bits of her personal stash she’d forgotten to take with her in the first place, so, as far as she was concerned, she had every right to it!)

In contrast to her name, her skin was moon-bright tonight, and her hair fanned out behind her like white-gold strands of liquid light. Such features – those of a Veela – together with a voluptuous figure barely contained in the toga she wore, were enough to draw the eyes of most males, even young boys, but then, she hadn’t wanted to bother with a costume.

After all, she was a bit old to be dressing up as some magical creature, even if it was fun to see what the children of today got up to in their entertainments.

“If you were third years,” she continued, “maybe you’d have a chance. But first years, just off the boat? You have none.”

This stopped the earl’s son cold, given that Miss Black’s expertise in facing magical creatures was something he could not dismiss.

“…I stand corrected,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“If we can’t overwhelm it with numbers, then we need a plan a plan of some sort, yes?” Nigel brought up, with the others slowly nodding.

“We could always attack it anyway,” Ron argued, his voice quiet, even if his fists were still clenched. “Try to distract it so someone can get to the other door. Get the others out.”

“We could,” Amber agreed, “but I don’t think Iris is all that self-sacrificing.” When the others looked at her, she went on to explain. “Don’t you remember what we had Iris say to the others on the train? Something about how she wanted to see a world where people were always moving forward? We can’t see anything if we’re dead.”

Phelan grunted.

“…that’s…that’s a point,” he admitted with a sigh. “So what, you want to other people to fight for Iris? They think of her as the Girl-Who-Lived – the heroine who slew the Dark Lord when she was one, and who has been who knows where since. Probably abroad honing her magic, or something.”

Nevermind that in truth, Iris had been raised by her Muggle relatives, and kept ignorant about the world of magic and her place in it, with the strange incidents which happened to her – her hair always growing back to a certain length, finding herself on top of buildings, talking to snakes, making flowers bloom early – being dismissed as mere oddities.

That didn’t matter.

What mattered was what people believed and expected.

“….no, they shouldn’t fight for Iris,” Shinji said slowly. “They should fight alongside her. People want to be heroes, right? To fight alongside those they respect and admire? To make a difference? So give them a chance to be heroes. Ask the ones who can cast spells to attack the troll and lure it towards the locked door. Have Iris lead the other group – the helpless group – away from the troll, towards the door in the distance.” He smiled slightly. “With any luck, if they can get the troll to charge – and jump out of the way – the door will be open, and they’ll all be safe.” And then his expression grew grim. “And if not, well…”

“That’s…” Nigel made a pained expression. “I don’t like it, but…”

“This is basically the trolley problem, but from a different point of view,” Natsumi mused aloud, resting her chin on her open palm. “With us playing a character who, above all else, wants keep up the lie that she’s a master of strange magic.”

“…um, when you put it that way,” Shinji mumbled, feeling slightly uncomfortable, since he’d been the one to lead the conversation in the past. “I just didn’t want other people to feel bad, that’s all. I mean, if they already think she’s a hero, won’t they be embarrassed if they realize she’s just an orphan who knows next to nothing about…witchcraft?”

Pansy sniffed.

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand wanting to look good, but there are limits,” the dark-haired Slytherin grumbled.

“Oh, and what are yours?” Luna Lovegood questioned from her perch on the arm of the couch, her silvery eyes gazing at Pansy with an intense sort of curiosity, with Pansy being taken aback by the direct question. Her concession to the party’s theme had been an odd hat with a Snallygaster – a bird-reptile hybrid – wound around it.

The others – Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs, or children yet to come to Hogwarts (with the exception of Selina, who had effectively been elevated to the leadership of the Slytherin first years when she’d cowed Malfoy) – all looked at her as well, waiting to see how she’d respond.

“Letting your pride and ambition hurt people unnecessarily,” she answered, looking away. “I mean, you can’t keep from hurting people. That’s just how life is. Gryffindors like to play hero. Ravenclaws like to have all the answers. Hufflepuffs…” she paused. “Actually, I don’t know that much about how Hufflepuffs think, except that most of you think friendship is magic or something.”

“Hey!” Ernie protested, before looking at Natsumi and Shinji, a bit sheepishly. “I mean, friends are great, but magic is magic, you know?”

“Heh, if you say so, Macmillan,” Pansy noted, with a wry twist of her lips. “But Slytherins know we don’t have all the answers, and that we aren’t heroes. We’re just people, trying to be more tomorrow than we are today.” She shook her head. “If you ever let yourself forget that deep down, you’re just trying to turn a lie into truth, you...”

“—you become like Malfoy?” Ron suggested, happy to take a dig at the notorious – and thankfully absent – fallen Slytherin.

“…I…yes,” Pansy conceded, shooting the Weasley boy an amused look. “You heard what happened to him, then?”

“Why he always bows his head to ‘Lady Selina’ and always says yes to whatever she says, no matter how outrageous?” Ron questioned, with Pansy nodding. “Yeah. Not sure why though. Does he fancy her or something?”

“Ha! No, that’s not it,” the dark-haired Slytherin murmured, lowering her voice to a faux-whisper. “You want to know?”

“…well, yeah.”

“He lost a bet.”

“A bet?” Ron repeated. “What – why…?”

“He forgot that he was only human, and he lost everything. All that he has left now is his word. That’s why he won’t oppose her – if he goes back on what he promised, he’ll have nothing left.”

“Oh. It was like that,” Luna murmured, tilting her head. “What an interesting House.”

“Want to join us?” Pansy asked slyly. “You seem like you’d be full of surprises. Maybe you could be good at this ‘joint storytelling’ thing too, what with all the things you write in the Quibbler.”

“So…are we going to keep talking about unrelated things, or are we finally going to get Iris a house?” Phelan interrupted, not really liking how the conversation kept going off onto weird tangents. “We either die heroically and end up in Gryffindor, or sacrifice other people and end up in Slytherin or Ravenclaw, right?”

“Excuse you,” Cho countered heatedly. “Just because we don’t want to die horrible deaths doesn’t mean we’re want to hurt other people.”

“It’s just a hypothetical,” Natsumi interjected, her fingers toying with a certain metal cylinder. “Let’s not throw accusations at people here.”

“Because you’d resemble one of those remarks?” Amber questioned, with the Japanese girl giving her a playful swat to the shoulder. “But fine, let’s go with Matou’s plan. It’s not the worst one I’ve ever heard.”

“Heh, such wholesome praise,” Selina quipped, her lips curving into a smirk. “But yes, I agree that it’s workable. Any objections?” She looked around, but no one spoke up. “Seeing none, let’s move on.”

---

‘I see…a bit of cleverness there, playing on people’s trust and feelings, I see,’ the Hat noted. ‘I think I have an idea of where you might end up. Still, I’m not completely certain, so if you don’t mind just one or two more questions to clear things up…?’

‘Let’s get this over with already,’ Iris sighed inside her mind. ‘Ask what you will.’

‘As you will. Platypuses or platypi?”

---

“Platypodes,” Nigel replied, rolling his eyes. “Fond of trick questions are you, Lady Selina?”

“No more than the average girl.”

---

‘Then one last question. Imagine that you are facing a dark wizard in an underground room, trying to keep him from stealing an artifact that will revive his fallen master.’

---

“Finally!” Phelan stated, half a sigh, half a laugh. “Something which sounds like part of a proper adventure.”

“But why would a first year be facing a dark wizard?” Pansy questioned. “Isn’t that what Aurors are for? Or Dumbledore?”

“Well, the Hat didn’t say when we were facing the wizard.”

“Hm. Go on then.”

---

‘You have no wand, as your foe has taken it from you, after losing his own. Angered, he wishes to show you just what he is capable of, and so he sends a spell at you – a sickly green thing, like the Killing Curse. You try to dodge, but it follows you, looping back around. What do you do?’

‘What does the room look like?’ Iris asked, thinking quickly.

‘A large cavern deep beneath a fortress, held up by several support pillars. In the center of the room, there is a great mirror on a rotating platform, in which the artifact is hidden. He stands between you and the one exit of the room.’

---

“I say we charge at him. Close in and rip the wand out of his hand,” Phelan said. “If we took one wand away from him, we can take the other.”

“With a Killing Curse tracking you?” Natsumi asked skeptically. “I somehow don’t think that will work. Even if you took his wand, you’d still be hit.”

“You have a better idea, Nats?”

“Well, we have to stop the spell from following us, or we’re dead,” the Japanese girl remarked. “Maybe we could duck behind a pillar at the very last moment, so it hits that instead of us?”

Nigel looked thoughtful.

“Ah, so use his arrogance against him. Taunt him into using his spell again and again, until he brings down the ceiling on both of you?” the Ravenclaw asked, raising an eyebrow. “I could see it working. Assuming he doesn’t just decide to use something more direct and kill you.”

“If he was going to do that, he would have,” Amber commented, tilting her head. “What about that mirror? Can we use it somehow, do you think? Maybe get the curse to bounce off of it back towards him?”

“Risky,” Natsumi noted. “If it really is a homing curse though, that wouldn’t work. It would just come right back towards us after it bounced.”

“…right,” Amber realized, shaking her head. “Matou, what do you think?”

“The pillars. If we can bring them down, and the ceiling, we’ll crush the artifact he wants,” the Japanese boy said decisively.

“He’ll probably escape, since he’s closer to the exit than we are,” Pansy pointed out. “Is that really fine?”

“We’ll stop him from getting what he’s after. He won’t be able to resurrect his Master,” Shinji shot back. “I think that counts as winning, don’t you?”

“I agree. Let’s go with Nats’ plan,” Phelan affirmed. “Huh. I think that’s the first time we’ve agreed on anything, Suzuki. I suppose miracles do happen.”

“Probably all you’re due in this lifetime.”

“…you know, for a Hufflepuff, you can be right nasty sometimes,” the earl’s son quipped.

“And what happened to a knight always showing courtesy to ladies?” Natsumi countered. “For someone always chasing the ideals of chivalry, you aren’t very nice to me.”

“Well, that would imply that you were actually a lady, wouldn’t it?”

“And here I thought it was your sister who cared most about people’s positions in society.”

---

‘Ah. Cunning. You do not choose reckless courage or half-hearted survival. You wish to define victory on your own terms.’

‘Yes. And I don’t believe in a no-win scenario,’ Iris replied in her mind. ‘Anything else, or have you made up your mind?’

‘With all that, the choice is clear, I think. You are best suited to the House that seeks to carve its own destiny. The house whose members do not accept the rules or authority of others, who are seen as ambitious, but whose ambition is but the means to an end. Congratulations, Miss Potter, for you are a SLYTHERIN!’

---

“YES!” Pansy exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air in a most unladylike outburst as Phelan just threw up his hands.

“Can you at least tell us how the other Sortings went?” the earl’s son grumbled. “Any big surprises? Malfoy in Hufflepuff or something?”

“Well, naturally, Draco is a Slytherin, like his father before him. Tracey Davis & Daphne Greengrass are Ravenclaws. The Patil twins are Hufflepuffs, along with Terry Boot. Hermione Granger and Susan Bones are Gryffindors.”

“...and let me guess, Sokaris is a Ravenclaw?” Shinji asked wryly.

“Naturally.”

“Any other notables?” Amber questioned.

“One by the name of Lily Moon,” Selina replied. “You’ll meet her shortly.”

“Lily Moon?” Amber echoed, tilting her head. “I don’t recognize the name.”

“Neither do I, and I like to think I know most people worth knowing,” Pansy quipped, shaking her head. “Which makes me think she’s not a Hogwarts student.”

“She isn’t…yet,” the bespectacled blonde commented. “Though perhaps you’d recognize the name if I called her Liliana Spencer-Moon?”

“Spencer-Moon?” Hannah Abbott echoed, seeming uncertain of where she might have heard the name. “Like the former Minister?”

“Is she related to the Spencer family?” Amber questioned, seeming intrigued by this detail. “Like Sir Winston and Princess Diana?”

“Yes, and yes,” Selina confirmed. “She is the only grand-daughter of Leonard Spencer-Moon, who was Minister of Magic during the close of the Great Wizarding War. And as a Spencer, she is indeed related to Winston Spencer-Churchill, and of course, the Princess of Wales.”

“Huh. Consider me interested,” Amber noted. “Will we get a chance to play as her for a bit?”

“Would you like to?”

“…we’ve bollocksed up Potter’s part in this little quest of ours, so why not someone else?” Ron huffed. “Yes. Better than…ugh…flirting with Malfoy again. That was…ugh…”

“Well, after a break then, shall we? I think Matou owes us a tour of his charming home,” Selina murmured, smiling brightly at Shinji. “And a slice or two of pizza, was it? With some pop to go with it?”

“Pizza?” Ron echoed. “What’s that?”

“Only the greatest food in the world,” Phelan said heartily. “You’ll love it.”

“Anything else we should know before we go, so we can think as we eat?” Natsumi questioned. “Any changes to the Hogwarts staff? New classes? That sort of thing?”

“Well, I suppose the most relevant bit is that the Potions Master won’t be Professor Slughorn, but one Lord Severus Black, the consort to Lady Andromeda, the Charms Instructor and Healer,” Selina shared, with Nymphadora mouthing ‘Lord Severus Black’ incredulously. “Their young children, Alberio Rigel Black and Alkaid Merak Black, are often found around the castle. They live there, you see.”

“Small children? At Hogwarts?” Ernie asked, blinking. “Younger than first years?”

“Yes. The Care of Magical Instructor is Remus Lupin, who those of you who don’t sleep through history might remember from your reading books,” she continued, glancing at Shinji, who flushed violently. “Arthur Weasley is the Muggle Studies Professor. And Gilderoy Lockhart, Britain’s greatest adventurer, will be teaching History of Magic, with the help of his apprentice and fiancée, the lovely Nymphadora Black.”

“Wait what,” the aforementioned heiress of House Black spoke up. “I’m whose fiancée?”

“In this continuity, Lockhart’s,” Selina said earnestly. “You two planned to elope, but your stepfather discovered your plans and rather…insisted at wandpoint that you have a year of supervised training before he would allow Lockhart to take you on some…unsupervised adventure around the world.”

“Ha! Well, at least I don’t sound bored,” the Auror trainee allowed. “Lockhart, huh? Read his books, but never really talked to the man. Why not?” Seeing that she’d agreed, attention turned from her back to things like food or drink or conversation, and so everyone missed the next few words from her lips, murmured as they were. “Beats the pants off the fiancé I have now…”

---

Previous vote is still open.

Where will Shinji spend his summer? (choose one)

[1] In Mahoutokoro, with Miyuki-senpai and Natsumi
[1] In France with Selina and her family
[1] In Fuyuki, where he can check in with Tohsaka and others
[ ] In Britain, spending time with Phelan and Ernie

[Nanao-kun]

[X] In Mahoutokoro, with Miyuki-senpai and Natsumi

[Daiki]

[x] In Mahoutokoro, with Miyuki-senpai and Natsumi

Probably the most sensitive option at this point since it could lock out Miyuki if not picked.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] In Mahoutokoro, with Miyuki-senpai and Natsumi

---

As it happens, there are only three spots available for the Mahoutokoro trip, two of which already taken up by Miyuki and Natsumi. Both Shinji and Amber are interested in the remaining spot, with Amber being not only a Japanophile (as Shinji is learning), but the oldest friend of the others. Perhaps he should give up his spot for her sake, and do something else instead?

Will Shinji let her go in his place, choosing another option?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No

[Skull Leader]

[X] Yes

While I would love a summer of Mahotokoro, especially with Sempai and Natsumi, I don't feel like its a have to go location to score points with them or to get super close with them. Honestly I am willing for Shinji to go and do something else if it will make Amber and Natsumi happy. And I am sure that Miyuki will appreciate Shinji's sacrifice here. The Puff move is let your friends have fun first since they are three people that were friends for years but have been someone trying to reconnect.

A route to any one girl does not always require you to spam every choice of spending time with them. Sometimes you have to make sure they are happy with your choices and that you support the people they care most about. IE Amber going, makes her happy which in turn will make Nats happy. Which in turn makes Miyuki happy.

I think Shinji is going to take a hit to the three girls if he chooses to go; not that he can't dig himself out of hole created during the summer. Shinji is good enough friends with them that I suspect that they share some of their new skills with Shinji anyway as long as Shinji has something that he shares with them when they get back.

Now where Shinji would go instead is another whole thing. But no route option is useless and there are skills to hone and people to meet in all of them.

[skulkidcachi90]

[X] Yes

Because I want to go to Fuyuki (Miyuki is gonna make a visit to Shinji if he spend vations in home) or spend the vacations with MY BOY Ernie.

Also I can see you people wanting to open another skilltree if we go to Mahoutokoro.

[alfheimwanderer]

I suppose since this is an important choice, I should explain a bit about what each offers...

Mahoutokoro - an intro to some of the Japanese arts, as well as survival training and dueling practice; potential familiar

France - a bonus to occlumency and cooking (plus social skills!); possibility to unlock Animagus form

Fuyuki - bonus to soul magic and curses (thanks to access to the Matou Library)

Britain - bonus to sword skills / hand to hand combat, greater knowledge of Wizarding Britain, relationship+ with youths of Britain

[Daiki]

[x] No

Probably a turning point to have Miyuki remaining a present figure instead of an occasional presence (ala Shirou in main route). Since she will have to make her decision about whether stay for her family's sake or go back to Britain, not going pretty much means Shinji will be left with an empty seat when it comes to moral support, one which I'm not sure Amber is ready to fill yet.

Being around for Natsumi's first visit of Japan likely would be an important moment for their friendship too.

blabla

The fact that Shinji would step back in order to allow girls who are already close (and go back years) to spend the summer together doesn't sit as a valid point to me. As he previously noted, Amber, Natsumi and Miyuki had more time together and thus enjoy an intimacy that is enough to remind him that he is not part of the close circle. They do not need to reconnect as much as Shinji needs to strengthen his bonds.

And when his closest friends go on a trip together, one which he could take part in, it would be strange to refuse to go. Even if it would be a nice trip for Amber, it would not be as beneficial on the long term. If Miyuki sticks around, there will be more opportunities for her to interact with everyone, meanwhile if Shinji doesn't go, and she stays in Japan, it will become a rarer occurrence for all concerned. (Not that simply going guarantees that she will remain in Britain, but simply closing the opportunity in order to score some points seems short sighted to me)

Anyway, in case Shinji ends up playing gentleman with Amber, I will likely vote to go with Selina. Want to see and know more of the character, as well as getting some occlumency and boost his charisma (one of his two voted stats).

Rather afraid of what Shinji will do to Sakura when he sees her so I'll pass on going home this year. Don't want to piss off Zouken again. (The bonuses look really good but we don't want to strain the family relationship - or take the risk to until Shinji can more or less keep himself in check)

[alfheimwanderer]

Will Shinji let her go in his place, choosing another option? [x] Yes

---

Chapter 34. Lords of Swinverrucas, part 2

As the owner of the cottage in which the party was being hosted, Matou Shinji found himself flitting about the various rooms, seeing to his guests during the intermission in the evening’s entertainment, making sure they were all getting enough to eat, were mingling and talking (with no one just standing in a corner and nursing a mug of hot cocoa), and otherwise were enjoying themselves.

‘Not that I could have done any of this without help.’

Natsumi had helped him come up with the theme for the housewarming party, encouraged him to make it a potluck so that everyone could share some of their favorite foods, and worked with him to figure out how many people could actually fit comfortably in the cottage.

Amber had sent out the invitations, asked if Miss Black would be willing to be the chaperone for the evening, and coordinated logistics with the guests, making sure that everyone knew what time to be there, how much food they should bring for the potluck, and how they should be dressed.

And of course, Selina had agreed to manage the evening’s entertainment, a collaborative storytelling event. When she’d proposed it, Shinji had been more than a little skeptical, but when she’d mentioned that an adventurer’s deadliest weapon was their mind, with anyone who wanted to be great needing to examine possibilities from different angles – with Nymphadora Black backing her up by mentioning that Auror training had involved these sorts of roleplays, he’d dropped his objections.

‘Come to think of it, this isn’t that different from Quirrell’s challenges, only without a fancy magical book to immerse us physically in a scenario.’

As it turned out though, people didn’t need a completely realistic setting or the aid of an artifact to treat something as if it was real.

The…intense discussions that had transpired over the last couple of hours had proven that much, with everyone having different views on how to shape the future of a character that had never existed to begin with.

Iris Potter, the so-called Girl-Who-Lived.

‘Things would be very different if there’d been a Boy-Who-Lived, or a Girl-Who-Lived,’ the boy thought to himself, wondering how accurate the world that Selina had crafted actually was. Granted, he was sure it was far more so than anything he could come up with, since he wasn’t exactly a great scholar of history himself, and so probably wouldn’t be any good at coming up with the backstory to a scenario. ‘Though really, I blame Binns for that.’

The ghost may have been a professor for a good number of years, but length of tenure was hardly a good metric for measuring his performance as a teacher.

‘Who knows, maybe Binns will vanish next year, and we’ll have Lockhart or…someone,’ he mused. Someone who could actually keep a class awake. Or at least, keep him awake? Even someone like Aozaki Touko would do. Either way, he was glad that he wasn’t the one making up the fictional history of the new world.

Or so he told himself as he made his way over to Cho Chang and Nigel Wroxton, who alone of the guests, had not dispersed about the house for food, to chat with the other guests, or to tour the publicly accessible area.

“Hey there,” Shinji said, giving the two Ravenclaws a warm smile as he approached. But his expression faltered as he noted that Nigel had his eyes closed, with his breathing somewhat ragged, and Cho bent over the older boy and rubbing his back.

The Chinese girl looked up and gave him a wan smile as he drew near.

“Hey,” she greeted him, her voice soft and somewhat worn. “Did you need something, Matou?”

Shinji swallowed, having not expected to see something like this. “Um…is he alright?” he asked, feeling almost obligated to do so. “Do you need anything?”

“Some water would be nice,” Cho replied, glancing over at Nigel worriedly. “Nigel is…the session was a bit intense for him. Especially when it came to the Sorting.” She looked back at Shinji. “It’s our first time doing this sort of thing, and things were a bit…much.”

“Ah…sorry,” Shinji said sheepishly. “Let me get some water.”

He walked over to the tray of cold glasses on a table by the wall and retrieved two.

“Here,” he murmured, handing one to Cho.

The Chinese girl smiled slightly as she took the glass and handed it to Nigel, whose fingers closed around it slowly.

“Huh?” Nigel said, opening his eyes at last. “Oh. Water. Thanks.”

It was almost painful watching the older boy struggle to bring the glass to his lips, his hands shaking as if from some great exertion. There were several false starts, with Shinji biting his lip each time the other failed, before the stricken youth eventually managed to take a drink at last.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Nigel half-whispered, his voice hoarse. “I’m not on death’s door anymore, but exerting myself too much or for too long is still…” He swallowed, wincing. “Exhausting.” He smiled ruefully. “That, and I can’t eat most of the things here. Too much grease.”

“Oh.” Shinji’s expression was pained as he considered the other boy. “I, ah…I didn’t think about your circumstances.”

Between the pizza Amber had ordered, the fried chicken and cake he’d had prepared, the roast turkey, the sausages, the puddings, and the okonomiyaki (well, modan-yaki, since it was being served with a layer of yakisoba) that Rumpy was making at the main table, there weren’t many things that were low in oil.

Or…

“I think there might be some soup, if you’d like?” he offered, feeling more than a little like he’d failed at something. “Or, if you want, I could bring over a self-heating cauldron and some ingredients, and you two can enjoy some hot pot?”

“Hot pot would be good. Can you eat that, Nigel?” Cho asked, with the stricken youth nodding.

“Hot pot…I don’t think I’ve ever had that,” the older boy reflected. “What is it?”

“Um…you keep a pot of soup stock boiling at the table, and you cook things in it – meat, vegetables, things like that,” the Chinese girl explained, with the Ravenclaw boy smiling slightly.

“…I think I can eat that,” the British boy remarked as he looked up at Shinji. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

“No. None at all,” the Japanese boy said with a nod. “You’re my guests. The least I can do is make sure you’re comfortable.”

“Thanks, Matou,” Nigel murmured, before sitting back once more. “For what it’s worth, it’s been fun so far. Thanks for inviting me.”

“And for having me,” Cho added, her lips quirking slightly. “I had my doubts when Miss Moore said that we’d be doing a simulation, but it turned out better than I expected.” She chuckled, recalling something from early on that evening. “Imagining someone like Draco Malfoy acting like a love-sick puppy was kind of funny.”

“Heh.” Shinji found himself smiling just a hint himself, as those early events in the story had been rather amusing in ways that he’d never seen coming. ‘But then, who would have expected that Draco, beyond just wanting to be Iris’ friend, would escort her around Diagon Alley and pay for her purchases.’ “That whole bit about Hagrid having killed someone was odd though.”

“They do say giants are dangerous, so I wouldn’t be surprised…” Nigel mused, though he leaned forward, seeming to recall something. “Though won’t he be a student next year? As a third year, since that’s what he was when he was expelled?”

Cho blinked.

“I’m going to be in classes with him next year?” the girl asked, visibly recoiling from the very notion. “That’s…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “…unexpected,” she muttered.

“I can see how it might be disturbing, though I think the only person he was accused of killing was Myrtle, and I’m pretty sure the new investigation found that she died because of the basilisk that used to be in the Chamber of Secrets,” Shinji replied, with Nigel blinking slowly at that. “That’s why they let him start school again.”

“Oh,” Cho said. “Do you think he’ll be put back in his old House, or will he be Sorted again?”

Shinji frowned.

“I never really thought about that,” he grunted, now wondering to himself if the half-giant would be living in the dormitories, or if he’d still be living in his cottage. “We’ll see, I suppose.” The boy smiled half-heartedly. “I’ll go get Rumpy to bring you something to eat.”

---

While the boy had hoped that people would enjoy the food – and Natsumi had thought it would be charming to have a house-elf be making okonomiyaki for everyone – Shinji honestly hadn’t been sure that the food would be to everyone’s taste, given that British food certainly hadn’t been to his liking at the Welcome Feast.

‘But maybe I shouldn’t have worried,’ he mused as he walked into the dining room to find most of his guests seated around the table, oohing and ahhing over the new culinary delights they were being exposed to, though perhaps some of that was just how an elf stuffed inside a Yeti plush was showing off by cooking several of the savory pancakes at once. ‘The British did conquer the world in search of better tasting food, right?’
Selina had told him so, and he had no reason to disbelieve her, really, since any culture which prized pumpkin juice to such a degree was clearly a primitive backwater in need of good civilization.

Or so he told himself as he waited for the house-elf to finish the current batch of pancakes before pulling him aside and telling him about Nigel’s special dietary needs.

“Yes, Rumpy being happy to help!” the strange creature said, snapping off a salute as it scuttled away to the kitchen on all fours.

‘…I know I should be used to this by now, but maybe I should look into a replacement.’

“Ah, Matou, hullo,” Luna Lovegood greeted him, with the bird-reptile hybrid on her hat waving its wings and dipping its head.

“Hullo, Luna,” Shinji replied warmly, as he glanced about the table and noticed a few conspicuous absences. “Are Phelan, Ernie, and Selina not joining us for dinner?” Natsumi, he knew, had taken Marten out for a walk, with Amber joining them, but the others… ‘Wait, there’s one more person missing too.’ It was one of his fellow Hufflepuffs, he knew – Ernie’s guest for the evening – but he honestly hadn’t been very good about remembering people outside his inner circle. “Justin?” he hazarded, hoping that he’d gotten the name right.

“Oh, I’m here!” a voice spoke up from what was seemingly thin air, with the boy from the east looking over to see a drumstick rising into the air, with something taking a bite out of it.

“What the…where?” Shinji asked, taken aback by the sight of fried chicken seeming to devour itself.

“Ah, right, sorry,” the voice spoke again, with a rather serious-looking face, and the head it was attached to appearing in mid-air. “Heh, forgot I was wearing this.”

“Who, wicked. Is that…an invisibility cloak?” Ron Weasley questioned, having paused in his sampling of the many culinary delights on the table at the sudden commotion. “Where’d you get one?”

“My parents gave me some pocket money for Christmas, so I went to Diagon Alley,” Justin Finch-Fletchy replied brightly. “After I gave them a copy of Journeys with Jinns, they were all for me getting the right tools to become a wizard-adventurer.”

“…and just what are you supposed to be?” Shinji’s voice was perhaps a put out, but he didn’t consider it particularly good form for someone to show up at a party and not even talk to other people. “A boggart?”

“No, a demiguise,” the other Hufflepuff said earnestly. “One of those monkey-like things from the Far East which can turn invisible.”

“Demiguise hair is used to make invisibility cloaks,” Luna Lovegood chimed in, having just set down a slice of pepperoni pizza.

Shinji blinked, as the creature was unfamiliar to him, despite allegedly being from the far east.

“Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one,” he said aloud, to which Ron Weasley shot back that of course he hadn’t – they were invisible. “That’s not what I meant, Ronald, and you know it. “

“Well, it’s what you said.”

The boy from the east closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten.

“Perhaps it was. I’ll be more careful in the future,” he replied tonelessly as he opened his eyes again. “And what about the others?”

“Ernie Macmillan had something serious he wanted to talk about with Miss Moore,” Luna related, with the boy shooting her a grateful smile for the information. The smile froze as she continued though. “As for Phelan, he went to keep Miss Black company. Something about standing in for the house elf.”

“Keep…Miss Black…company?” the Japanese boy repeated, as a nightmare vision of the earl’s son getting utterly smashed and doing something unspeakable to the house – or to one of the other guests – appeared in his mind. ‘No. No. No. That won’t happen. Miss Black is the chaperone tonight. She’s an Auror Trainee. She wouldn’t do something like give alcohol to a minor.’

At least, he dearly hoped so, because the prospect of Phelan going even more out of control than he usually was…

‘Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen,’ he told himself, banishing the premonition of disaster from his mind. ‘It won’t. It won’t.’

“Well, never mind that,” Shinji said after a few moments, turning his attention back to his guest, and the guests of his guests, some of which seemed a bit ill at ease, since they didn’t know him too well, yet were enjoying the hospitality of his house. “How is everyone doing tonight? Is everything to your liking?”

“Y-yeah. T-thanks for asking,” Neville Longbottom stammered, unable to meet the Japanese boy’s half-fevered gaze. “A-and, uh, thanks for inviting me.”

Left unspoken was the fact that the awkward boy wasn’t often invited to social gatherings, since he was hardly the most sociable person about. Even if one was just considering things at Hogwarts, he wasn’t exactly picked for group activities or such, at least in anything not related to Herbology.

“But of course, Longbottom,” the boy from the east replied. “We know each other well enough, don’t we? Besides, you and your girlfriend certainly do add a bit of color to the room,” he added, noting how the stodgy Gryffindor was wearing a mantle inset with many shards of colored glass, with a helmet studded with the same. Hannah Abbott’s robes, by contrast, seemed to have been dipped in green, with delicate, vine-like filigree in green gold running up and down, and two long leaves woven into her hair. “A fire crab and a bowtruckle, was it?”

“S/he’s not my boy/girlfriend!” the two replied with reddened faces in perfect sync, making Ronald Weasley snigger, and their blushes only deepen.

“Um, that is, yes, I’m a bowtruckle!” Hannah exclaimed, smiling brightly at the Japanese boy. “Are you supposed to be a one too?” she asked, gesturing at his cloak of vines and his crown of branches. “You don’t look…quite green enough.”

“Ah, no – I’m a kodama, a tree spirit from Japan,” Shinji corrected her, with a twinge of amusement. “They’re not as well-known as kitsune or tanuki – foxes or raccoon-dogs – but they’re pretty special anyway. Still, your costume is my…third favorite of the night?”

“Oh, then which is your first?” Neville asked curiously, wondering what kind of costume Matou preferred.

“Hers,” the boy from the east remarked, nodding over at Ginny Weasley, whose robes seemed woven of multi-colored scales, with iridescent scale-like patterns painted on her arms, a scaled mask that accentuated the shape of her eyes, and two somewhat crumpled antlers sprouting delicately from her mane of flowing red hair. “I never thought to see a kirin in my lifetime! As lovely as I imagined, too!”
Hearing his words, Ginny’s cheeks darkened dramatically, till they matched the color of her hair.

“Actually, she’s a Crumple-Horned Snorkack,” Luna said matter of factly, glancing between her friend and the party’s host. “But, what’s a kirin?”

“Hm? And I was sure…” Shinji mumbled, shaking his head. “Well, a kirin is magical creature said to appear with the imminent birth or death of a great sage or a wise ruler,” he explained, before an impish smile crossed his lips. “Which probably explains why no one has seen one in a very long time.”

Ginny, giggled a bit at this, a sound which Shinji found to be quite pretty, like the tinkling of bells.

“Rare and beautiful creatures, even seeing them is said to bring fortune to anyone who sees them, and I think the legends true, as I am fortunate to have you at my party, Miss Weasley,” Shinji said with a roguish smile, causing the petite redhead’s flush to deepen, while Ron shot him a withering glare. “But, I’d consider myself even more fortunate if you graced us with the sound of your voice after the break, as you haven’t added much to the story we weave.”

“…I’ll try…” Ginny said softly, her voice barely audible, with the Japanese boy smiling warmly at her.

“Please do. You have a lovely voice, one that should be shared with the world, much like this excellent costume.” The boy paused, tilting his head. “Wherever did you come with the idea to dress as a ki—uh, Crumple-Horned Snorkack.”

Ginny just pointed at Luna, with Shinji raising an eyebrow as he turned to her.

“It was originally mine,” the moon-bright girl murmured in her sing-song tones. “The Crumple-Horned Snorkack is my favorite magical creature, after all. Mother saw one once before I was born, after all.”

“Oh?” Somehow, Miss Lovegood didn’t exactly resemble what he would think of as a sage, yet he didn’t think the fact that what she called a Crumple-Horned Snorkack was essentially a kirin was coincidence either. This bore looking into. Later. “And you lent her yours?”

“That explains a lot,” Ronald Weasley muttered, “Was wondering why Loony had the less whacky costume between her and Gin.”

“Hey, don’t call her Loony!” Ginny growled, looking up at her bother – brother. “Besides, this is a nice costume. Unlike that big…yellow, bird thing you’re wearing.”

“You take that back!” Ron said, raising his voice. “Fred and George worked hard on this for me.”

“And you think they didn’t do anything weird to it? Maybe have you turn into a bird at midnight?”

Ronald Weasley grew very quiet – and very thoughtful – after that.

“…hey, Matou, want to trade costumes?” he offered with what bits of dignity he had left.

Shinji took about two seconds to consider how to phrase what he was about to say gracefully but failed.

“You know, Weasley, I think you pull off the big yellow bird better than I do,” the boy from the east replied gravely, with Ron just grumbling about how no one appreciated the history of Quidditch. “Other than your costume, are you liking the entertainment?”

“Well, I didn’t really want to make Iris act like she wants to snog Malfoy’s face off,” the redhead commented sullenly. “And I don’t really want to play a Slytherin either. Especially one who just listens to Malfoy’s drivel about good families, idolizes Lockhart, and…yeah. It might have started ok, but…it got weird.”

“You want to play as someone else?” Shinji probed, feeling a bit sympathetic to Ron’s plight. It wasn’t his fault that Cho, Natsumi, and Amber had basically taken over many of the choices, deciding that they may as well levy a pretty girl’s privileges. “This Liliana girl Selina mentioned?”

Ron made a face.

“She sounds like she’d be even worse than Potter,” he growled. “A Minister’s granddaughter and a Noble, like the Blacks? I’d rather play as Malfoy. At least he’s…”

“A guy?”

“YES!” Ron exclaimed, sounding utter relieved, yet repulsed as he continued. “He’s a right prat, but he’s a lot less scary than some…girls.” He paused, his smile becoming somewhat…vicious. “Even if we did put that Granger girl in her place.”

“I-I’m not sure if making her run away is a good thing,” Neville opined. “Even if you don’t like Granger for some reason—”

“—because SHE TRIED TO KILL ME—”

“—this Granger hasn’t done the things the real one has,” the heavyset Gryffindor stated. “You shouldn’t hate someone for things they’ve never done.”

“But…its Granger. How can she not do those things when she’s already done them?!”

“Granger…in a story,” Hannah Abbott commented, finding herself a little frightened of Ron’s outburst. “A Granger whose only crime was to be annoying in how much she was fawning over Iris up until we sent her running.”

“Yeah. Some of what Iris said was a bit much…” Neville agreed.

Privately, Shinji didn’t think that he’d made Iris say anything too strange on the train, given that he’d mostly been advocating the standard magus view that only a society that moved forward, that embraced the truth had meaning, and that all else was secondary, be it morals, ethics, or the law. Since the group had decided to portray Iris as a powerful practitioner of the magical arts (or to make her pass herself off as one), he’d added in little tidbits here and there.

Bits about how without ambition, there was no future. Without the courage to accept change, and defy stagnation, one would never gain…true wisdom. As such, obstacles should be eliminated, with those who did not struggle, who do not seek to transcend being…purged.

In retrospect, perhaps it was not so surprising that Granger would have found this talk disturbing, after all. What was surprising was how a version of Sialim Sokaris had entered during Iris’ magus-like speech, proceeding to argue another perspective. According to her, it was the very mediocrity of society that allowed social structures and order to be maintained, that created a framework in which the brilliant could work – and if there were no rules, than mankind would meet its end.

Iris had bluntly asked who the interloper – an obvious nobody – was, with Sokaris introducing herself as the ward of Nicholas Flamel, who had arranged for her to study at Hogwarts under the tutelage of Lord Severus Black, the world-famous Potioneer.

…following that revelation, most of the group’s attempts to build good relations with future Slytherins had been for naught, as with the exception of Draco, most of those in the compartment were far more interested in the knowledge possessed by one who studied Alchemy.

“Well…you might be right,” Shinji admitted, shaking his head. “Let’s try to do our best with Liliana and Draco then, hm?”

There was a chorus of yeses, with the boy from the east heading off shortly after to seek Selina and ask when she wanted to start again.

…and, yes, to make sure Phelan hadn’t done anything outrageous.

Again.

---

“So, just so you know, due to Liliana having a bit more experience at this whole magic thing than Iris, you won’t be doing something as simple as choosing a class for her to focus on and one to…put less effort into,” the young game master explained, once everyone was gathered again in the large salon. “For her, she looks at magic in terms of domains.”

“Domains…?” Pansy echoed. “Explain.”

“Domains like Knowledge, Charm, Creation, Destruction, Balance – each of which affect multiple subject areas,” Selina elaborated. “Something like Creation, for instance, will give a bonus to Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbology, while giving a disadvantage to Defense. Knowledge will increase her knowledge in most non-practical disciplines. Destruction, well…charms and defense, mostly, with a malus to creation-related disciplines. Balance is just neutral.”

“Ah. That’s an odd way to look at things,” Shinji remarked.

“Isn’t every way?”

“Well, true,” the Japanese boy admitted. “In that case…maybe Creation?”

“I would have thought destruction,” Natsumi murmured, somewhat surprised.

“Or maybe Charm?” Amber ribbed. “You could use a bit more of it yourself, Matou.”

“Let’s take this to a vote then, shall we?” Selina suggested, with a slim minority settling on Creation.

“We need someone for Iris to copy homework off of!” Ron explained, with Pansy just rolling her eyes with a long-suffering sigh.

“…yeah, you wouldn’t last a day in Slytherin.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Prat.”

---

After being sorted into Slytherin, much the joy of that house and the horror of the others, Iris found herself at a bit of a loss as she walked over the seat Draco had saved for her. It didn’t escape her that most of the other people she’d sat with on the train had gone elsewhere – mostly to Ravenclaw, for whatever reason.

“Glad you’re with us,” Draco said warmly. “With the Hat taking so long to Sort you, I almost thought you were going to go off and get put into Hufflepuff or something.”

---

“Hey!” Ernie interrupted. “What do you mean by that?”

Selina sighed.

“Don’t take it personally, and remember, these aren’t my thoughts. They’re Draco’s.”

“…right.”

---

The reason for the others joining Ravenclaw became clear shortly afterwards, with Sialim Sokaris being Sorted into that House.

‘They must have known she was going there,’ Iris realized, trying – and failing – to hide her disappointment that whatever pull she had among the students of Hogwarts, it wasn’t enough to beat out Flamel’s ward, whoever Flamel was.

She couldn’t exactly ask either, not without revealing her ignorance of the magical world, if Flamel happened to be at all important.

“Hmph. Dangle a hint about of forbidden knowledge in front of people and they forget who they are,” Draco murmured, shaking his head. “Just because she’s Flamel’s ward doesn’t mean she’ll teach you how to make a Philosopher’s Stone.”

“No, but you don’t need a Philosopher’s Stone to impress Professor Slughorn, by all accounts,” a voice spoke up from Iris’ other side, with the Girl-Who-Lived turning slowly to see a striking green-eyed blonde. “Sometimes the ones most successful in their ambitions are the ones who are not afraid to venture far afield.”

“And sometimes, you do best when you remember what you already have, instead of chasing an impossible dream,” Draco countered, raising an eyebrow. “Moon, was it?”

“If you want to be informal, then yes,” the other girl responded, her voice taking on an aristocratic tone. “But I think you, Mister Malfoy, would better recognize my pedigree if I call myself Liliana Spencer-Moon.”

“Spencer…like the former Minister?” Malfoy asked sharply.

“Exactly so,” Liliana replied with a thin smile, as she turned to the Girl-Who-Lived. “And I know who you are of course, Miss Potter.”

“You and everyone else at Hogwarts, it seems,” Iris quipped, to which Liliana just tossed her hair.

“Yes, though unlike most of them, I’m not especially impressed by rumors and speculation about past deeds,” the blonde commented wryly. “I hear enough of them when I spend time around people from the International Confederation.”

Draco’s eyes bulged at this minor name drop, and he swallowed.

“You, uh, know many people there?”

“My grandfather raised me, so I’ve spent a good deal of time getting to know his colleagues,” Liliana noted diffidently. “And you? I hear there is always a Malfoy close to the Minister, so do you know many people in the Ministry?”

“Yes?” Draco hazarded, but at a look, just sighed. “No, except for Lord Black. He’s my godfather you know.”

“Ah yes, Lord Black – I have heard…stories about him,” the blonde commented.

“Good ones, I hope.”

“Among others,” the girl quipped, before turning her attention to the red-head sitting beside her. “And you, Iris?”

“Yes, of course,” the Girl-Who-Lived replied immediately. “I’m on good terms with Mister Malfoy. And a few others.”

There was a beat, as Liliana just looked at her, before nodding.

“Of course you are,” she allowed grandly, noting out of the corner of her eye that the Sortings had just finished. “And will you be taking any of the extracurriculars? Some of them seem quite promising.”

---

“Extracurriculars?” Shinji echoed. “But Iris is a first year. What would she know about these things?”

“Watch and learn, Matou.”

---

“Well, my father would like me to take How to Make Friends and Influence People, which conveniently is being put on by our Head of House,” Draco offered, wanting to impress both Iris and Liliana with what he knew. “He’s a family friend, but he also knows a good many people in Britain, so his connections would be invaluable.”

“I see,” the former Minister’s grand-daughter noted. “I would think that Moon, Mood, and Medicine sounds more interesting.”

“I don’t see myself becoming a Healer in the future,” the Malfoy scion said stiffly. “And as I recall, it is better to have a better understanding of Astronomy before taking it. Third-year, at least if you are not my young cousins.”

“Ah, little Alberio and Alkaid?”

“…you know their names.” Draco blinked, slightly disconcerted.

“I may have written to your godfather before coming here,” Liliana told him, before turning to Iris. “And what about you? What course strikes your fancy?”

“What were the options again?” Iris inquired a tad sheepishly. “I admit that I didn’t really pay attention to the extra classes. I had other things on my mind, you see.”

“In that case, let me enlighten you,” Liliana said expansively. “Among the classes on offer are Adventuring 101, taught by Lady Nymphadora Black, Magical Art, taught by Professor Vector, the Dramatic Arts, taught by Gilderoy Lockhart, Frog Choir, taught by Filius Flitwick, Home Economics, taught by Lord Black, the aforementioned How to Make Friends and Influence People, Occlumency and You, taught by Professor Quirrell, and Moon, Mood, and Medicine, taught by Lady Andromeda Black and Remus Lupin.” The blonde smiled just a hint. “And while they all sound interesting, we can only choose one.”

“So why did you two choose what you did?” seemed the obvious follow-up to that.

“My father would like me to better acquainted wither with Slughorn or with one of my…relatives,” Draco sniffed. “Not that I think that Home Economics will be of much worth, since that’s what a House Elf is for. That, and Lord Black used me to determine what a Pureblood could stand to learn, so I know most of the material already. And while Adventuring sounds interesting, my cousin is something of the rebel of the family, and my father would prefer I not associate with her.

“As for me,” Liliana stated, “learning about how the moon affects medicine and magic from both a noted witch and a werewolf sounds interesting.”

“A werewolf, huh?”

“Yes, Remus Lupin was one of your father’s friends,” Draco noted, shaking his head. “Though with that name, you’d think his parents were tempting fate.”

“No more than yours,” Liliana quipped. “Best beware of dragons, Malfoy, for you are crunchy and go well with catsup.”

“…catsup?”

“…a dipping sauce.”

Truthfully, Iris was uncertain what would fit her best, but…

“I think I’ll choose Home Economics,” she said after some thought, prompting Draco to look at her strangely. “I like cooking,” she explained. “I’ve been doing it for years, and would like to see what a skilled potioneer thinks of the subject.”

She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to learn much from the others, as they would no doubt expect her to know things she had no way of knowing, since she hadn’t actually grown up in the wizarding world, but if this was cooking…yes, she thought she could excel.

“Well, um, I see,” Draco grunted. “Ah, I may not like the course much, but ah, I would be happy to help you with any assignments. Or to try out any dishes you may make…just to make sure they meet with the approval of my godfather, you see?”

“Riiight,” Liliana drawled. “And you wouldn’t dream of bragging of enjoying home-cooked meals made by the Girl-Who-Lived, hm?”

“...of course I wouldn’t. I’m just helping a fellow student.”

“Mhm.”

“Really.”

“Suuure.”

“Confound it, why don’t you believe me?”

“Because you’re not particularly believable when you’re face is that red, Mister Malfoy.”

---

Where will he go instead?

[ ] France with Selina and her family
[ ] Fuyuki, where he can check in with Tohsaka and others
[ ] Stay Britain, spending time with Phelan and Ernie

And should Selina continue the Adventures of Iris Potter at Hogwarts?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No

[skulkidcachi90]

[ ] Fuyuki, where he can check in with Tohsaka and others

Fuyuki give us the focus in Curses and soul Magic that I want.

France give us the focus in Potions and Transmutation than I want too.

For first time its a Win or Win to me.

[ ] No.
I don't like this sidequest.

[Skull Leader]

[X] France with Selina and her family

You know there is a third option there Skulkid that not so win-win for you, unless you also like Sword Adventure Time with Phelan.

[Desann]

[x] France with Selina and her family

[x] Yes

[skulkidcachi90]

Well to seal the deal.
Change my vote to:
[x] France with Selina and her family


Hope guys you give me the chance of go Family route the next year.