The Fifth House: Galegold

The professors went back to their quarters feeling disheartened after finishing their conversation with Soisen about how his House would function for the time being, which was decided to follow the same schedule as the Gryffindor students until the number of students increased in the coming years.

Professor McGonagall felt envious that Galegold had their own private Quidditch pitch to practice on. Not only was it covered, but the weather could be modified to practice in all kinds of conditions!

Professor Flitwick passed by the Ravenclaw common room and paused, contemplating the small library before leaving with a sigh. It wasn't even a tenth of the size of the Galegold library! Perhaps it was empty now, but in a few years, it would be a spectacle worthy of contemplation and study as visitors donated spell books.

Pomona was thrilled with the gardens and orchards. There was so much surface to take advantage of, tools that cared for the plants, and she could even adjust details like temperature, light, and humidity! Then she looked at the small plants here and there in the Hufflepuff common room and felt that they weren't as lush...

Severus glanced at his dark laboratory and narrowed his eyes. The Galegold facilities were not only much more advanced and organized, but the security measures in the laboratory were several layers higher. They could save so much work and effort in capable hands...

Dumbledore left thoughtfully and with a new title on his shoulders, the responsible of Galegold House (temporarily). At least, until he finds a professor who can take on the position for a long time and is capable of fulfilling his duties.

They couldn't give the position to someone like the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who changes every year!

Or a certain Divination professor, who might be scaring the house students with continuous premonitions of sudden death!

This year Soisen was the only member of the house, so it didn't pose any burden for him and Minerva kindly agreed to perform much of the duties on his behalf.

Soisen sighed with relief once everyone left and opened his robe to let out Rada, who had almost fallen asleep waiting so long. She was very excited to see the bright surroundings and the large silver egg, but she behaved. She was a Niffler who understood the value of trade, so she had a whole school to negotiate with shiny things. Soisen took the first room he found in the boys' dormitory and quickly settled in there before changing and going to bed.

He slept comfortably in the bed and woke up early with the idea of going down to breakfast. It was then that he remembered he was at Hogwarts and had to wait for breakfast to be served in the Great Hall.

Or he could visit the kitchens, he just had to find the portrait of the pear and tickle it a bit. Looking at the gear-filled clock on the wall of the common room, he decided to locate the classrooms before going to eat something. After all, this was Hogwarts and getting lost on his first day would be the norm.

...One hour later...

"Is that it?" Soisen was perplexed. "Who said Hogwarts would make you lose your way?"

Every time Soisen had a destination in mind, a few steps ahead, some secret passage would reveal itself to be a shortcut to his goal. Paintings that opened, statues that moved aside, etc.

Was the castle pampering him because of his identity as an heir?

"Thanks, I guess," he said aloud as he turned around, heading to the Great Hall. "A bit early still, but breakfast should be served by now."

And indeed, the large doors were open, and some professors were eating. Almost no students were awake yet, so his arrival earned some additional looks of interest.

"A glass of strawberry juice, some whole grain cereal, a French butter croissant, and a piece of dark chocolate, please," he requested after knocking twice on the table with his knuckles.

A few moments later, the order was in front of him, and he began to eat.

The professors were a bit speechless at this preferential treatment. While the food was always varied, delicious, and charming, the kitchen house-elves usually had some fixed patterns, and even the headmaster accepted the food they offered each day without complaint.

The only time there was any discrepancy was when a hungry student sneaked into the kitchens, but they always served something simple to satisfy them happily.

Since when could students request what they wanted to eat?

What the professors seemed to forget is that the house-elves were not loyal to Dumbledore, but to Hogwarts. And since Soisen was an heir of a founder and even the direct son of one, he had greater authority in their eyes than the headmaster himself.

So preparing a special meal or something outside the usual menu was a great honor and pleasure for them.

While Soisen nibbled on the soft croissant, his new owl flew into the Great Hall and approached him with a paper rolled up in its claws. Soisen gave her some crumbs from his croissant and began to read the Daily Prophet, to which he subscribed when he went to Diagon Alley to stay somewhat up-to-date with the magical world's trends.

Of course, the newspaper was politically controlled and accepted bribes to avoid mentioning that most things were exaggerations and lies, but he could always extract some useful information between the lines. Plus, the headline was interesting.

"A NEW HOUSE EMERGES AT HOGWARTS! WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF GALEGOLD?"

Oh heavens, it seems the news leaked almost as quickly as Ron can stuff food into his mouth. In fact, Soisen suddenly wondered what would have happened if he were in another magic school.

Becoming the male idol of Beauxbatons? There's so much love in the air!

Studying dark magic at Durmstrang? It wouldn't be evil; it's legal there!

Being a magical otaku at Mahoutokoro? I could bring the 2D girls to life!

Wait! What about founding his own magic school? With a futuristic style!

Hogwarts holds the title of the best magic school in Great Britain, quite empty in his opinion, when in fact, it's the only one...

Hmm, in fact, the idea of founding a school might be interesting. His mother founded a school, he can do it too, right?

But in Great Britain? The laws and the local Ministry are too terrible, biased, and narrow-minded; he would need to find a nice place for that.

When summer comes, he should go to Gringotts to request a bloodline test and check the Galegold family's finances and properties. If his memories are correct, he should have a small fortune at his disposal among other things. He should also inspect the castle for a few more days, looking for the hiding places his mother left with some treasures.

"Hello, Hermione," Soisen looked up from the newspaper and saw the young Gryffindor staring at him with dark bags under her eyes. "A bad night of insomnia?"

Mmm, that reminded him that he had to check if there was a potion to cure eyesight. It was a business with potential, and he had an excellent potions master he could consult, not to mention a certain potions book with his personal notes in it, access to a fully equipped laboratory, a pair of redheaded twins who would be delighted to supply him with some ingredients...

Oh, another idea. Games. Perhaps he could turn some Muggle games into a magical version to earn more money. For example...

"Who is Cyrah Galegold?" Hermione asked, interrupting his thoughts as she sat across from him at the table and stared at him intently. "I've spent the morning in the library looking for information about the Galegold family and could barely find a name in a book from 1813."

"That would be my biological mother. As for finding information about my family, you would have astonished me if you had been able to check the entire school library in a single morning," Soisen replied with a shrug as he took a sip of his juice.

He tapped the table twice, and another breakfast identical to his appeared in front of Hermione.

"How did you do that?" she asked pleasantly surprised.

"I'll tell you a secret..." he looked around carefully and leaned in to whisper to her in a low voice so no one else could hear— "Turns out, I'm a wizard!"

Letting Hermione discover the house-elves in the first year? No, thank you.