NOVEL NEXT 52. Independant Hogwarts
As the conversation between the Members of the Board slowly escalated into a shouting match, Dumbledore, very calmly and leisurely, took out a slightly dusty scroll from his robes and began to read it. When he and Flitwick read it for the first time, both men simply couldn't believe their luck. Of course, who would believe that the solution to most problems at school would be so convenient?
The half-goblin even joked that this scroll was like manna from heaven for all of Hogwarts. And although accepting the "secret" rights and responsibilities of teachers, which were mentioned in the scroll, was associated with certain dangers, all professors were ready to accept them for the sake of greater good.
The light in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed, but it didn't go out. He was strong enough to hold himself together.
It was hard to think that after today everything would be the same as before. Hogwarts will be overwhelmed by changes, some of which will be taken with hostility, but-
"Have we bored you that much, Albus?" Madam Longbottom asked indignantly, finally noticing that Dumbledore hadn't said a word in the last few minutes. "Aren't you interested in the fate of your students?"
The old wizard only laughed in response. "Of course, I am, Augustine. Now more than ever, the safety of the students is most important to me."
Gloomy faces were his answer. He saw it in their movements; they didn't understand why his behavior had changed so much. Well, he wasn't going to keep them in the dark for long.
"Dear members of the Hogwarts' Board of Governors." he began, allowing a hint of sarcasm to creep into his voice, "I am happy to inform you that for twelve hours now I have been under the oath of Vassalage before Hogwarts Castle. With this position, I have received new responsibilities that I must bear."
With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore copied the scroll in his left hand and levitated it for each member of the board to see. He wouldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy the expressions on their faces when they realized his words.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about, Dumbledore?!" Parkinson exploded. "You, being a Vassal to a damn building? Have you finally lost your mind?!"
"Not at all, Lord Parkinson." The old man answered with a bright smile. "Read the scroll. Maybe you'll learn something useful for yourself at least once in your life."
Such impudence left Parkinson in a bad mood. But when Albus Dumbledore advises you to do something with a soft smile, you do it as quickly as possible.
The meeting room went quiet for a minute as everyone read and slowly realized why Dumbledore looked like someone had given him a lifetime supply of Lemon Drops. Amos Diggory muttered everything he had read in shock and disbelief.
"...a magical oath? Autonomy from the Ministry of Magic? Albus, what does all this mean?!"
Obviously, the man was confused. Separation from the Ministry did not threaten anything good... For the Ministry that is, considering what was said in the scroll.
"This means that from now on Hogwarts will be under its own control and no one else's." He grinned, spreading his arms to the sides. "The castle itself accepted me as its Vassal and became my Suzerain, so now, I am only the executor of the will of four brilliant people who laid it in the creation of their Magnum opus.
"You see, from now on, every member of the castle is required to swear an oath of service to the castle for the duration of their work here. From this day on, the castle returns to autonomous operation and is considered independent from the influence of the Ministry, as was outlined in the agreement when the school was created."
Indignant and rather rude words of protest immediately followed his announcement, but Dumbledore did not finish.
"Ah, I almost forgot. In order to remain as a member of the Board, you, dear Ladies and Lords, will have to take the same oath of Vassalage as I did." The old man added happily.
He will most likely be removed from the position of Chief Warlock, and his position of Supreme Mugwump. But Albus was nothing if not a political monster.
For now, he didn't say that the Vault at Gringotts, which housed the school's funds, had finally come under the control of Hogwarts. He wasn't going to bring it up unless he was asked about it. After all, the school has always been funded mainly by its students, with no support from the Ministry.
The dustbags from the Department of Magical Education that controlled Hogwarts' funds before, were just as corrupt as everyone else in that damn Ministry. Albus had no doubt that in two years he could not only renovate the castle and its Wards, but even buy new brooms for flying lessons.
Conversations, arguments and discussions dragged on until almost one in the morning. And in the end, only Dowager Longbottom, Lord Diggory, Lord Brown and Lord Greengrass remained as members of the Board. Everyone else left the room as soon as they heard the full duties of a Hogwarts Vassal and the consequences of not fulfilling them.
Of course, who wanted to risk a magical kick to the soul from a thousand-year-old semi-intelligent Castle?
And the very next day, another scandal was shown on the front page of the Daily Prophet. News of an Independent Hogwarts has reached all over the world and sent waves that will change the future forever.
After that, the rest of the school days were surprisingly routine for Danil. Now that he could study with everyone else, he had a concrete schedule that he could stick to. Add to this his newfound freedom and the absence of the need to hide… Let's just say his days have become more eventful.
Now that he could study with a group, his life became both more complicated and easier. A solid program – although it lowered the rate of progress of his studies – gave him confidence in the basic things that the Professors gave him.
In most subjects, he was at the level of the end of the fourth year in theoretical knowledge, but his spells also remained limited by the complexity of the third year. Of course, he could put more power into them, or add something else to work better in tandem, but serious magic remained inaccessible to him.
Only in Astronomy and Herbology was he at the level of the second year. Just because he wasn't interested in these subjects at all. Although lately, he has started to think about paying more attention to the stars. His mind gave him the idea that they were somehow important in ritualism.
Danil spent his days either in the company of Luna, sitting with her in the same classes, or with students from the third year... The course where Potter, Grager and the Sixth Son of Weasley studied. He still had mixed feelings about the three of them, but in the end, he chose to ignore them and focus on his studies.
Only this golden trinity decided that this arrangement was unpleasant for them. So, one day, when Danil was leaving the Herbology lesson with Luna, three teenagers blocked their way.
Can you guess who it was?
"What do you want, Potter?" Danil asked, stopping in front of a group of friends. Luna stopped with him, but the three did not hear the usual greeting from her.
"Em... Hello, Khromov, Luna." Hermione – oddly enough – began to speak uncertainly. "Can we talk?"
"And what are we doing now? Speak." He briefly threw back.
After hesitating a bit on the spot, Hermione sighed, gathering her thoughts. A few interested students were walking around them, but not enough to stop and listen to their conversation. "I want to apologize. It was because of me that all the trouble happened. I can't make things go back to the way they were before, but what I can do is accept the blame for the whole incident. I'm sorry, Danil, for everything that happened to you because of my actions."
"The blame also lies with me." Harry continued. "By my actions, I have put you in mortal danger. If I didn't– I'm to blame too." He interrupted himself from saying something else.
Ron, who was standing next to his friends, nodded in agreement with their words. The red-haired boy wasn't as guilty as his friends, but that didn't mean he wasn't an accomplice.
Danil blinked in surprise. For some reason, he doubted that anyone of them would come to apologize. They haven't apologized to Snape, after all. And now they came all at once. The only thing that could make their apology more meaningful, that if they brought it up during dinner for everyone to see. But he understood why they didn't. In the eyes of the public, everything that happened was an accident.
"I will accept your apologies. But from now on, I'll ask you to stay away from me." Danil said, looking down at the three teenagers, they looked so small to him. With his height and other limitations, it was simply impossible to talk to someone on the same level. "For your own safety. I doubt I'll be able to give in and not use magic the next time someone looks me in the eye."
Anger at Harry 'inferior creature, useless rabble' for his actions was still bubbling in the monster boy's blood. He didn't want to piss himself off by being around an idiot.
Showing with all his appearance that the conversation was over, Danil put the Moon on his shoulders and walked further towards the castle, leaving all three behind.
"I thought you'd say something to them. Well, for trying to interfere in your life that time." He drawled thoughtfully.
"I've already told them everything they needed to hear the last time," Luna replied without much interest.
"Weren't you friends with them?"
The girl chuckled, placing her palms on Danil's bald head. She watched with a playful smile at everyone who looked at the strange scene before them. No one expected that such a huge and scary cursed monster would carry a little girl on his shoulders.
"Friends? Maybe they considered me their friend, but they never showed that I was their friend. And so, it turns out that I kind of was friends with them, but I kind of wasn't." She shook her head thoughtfully, stretching her hands to the top and guiding them along the branches of the trees that grew on the way to the castle.
Danil didn't ask any more questions. He just decided to give the girl more pudding for dinner.