Letter

Dear Malfoy,

I have asked around and there are no Degurechaffs, however you English have a habit of mangling other languages. It is possible you meant Дегтярёв which would be pronounced similarly and is a fairly rare family name in Russia. Currently there are no magical Дегтярёв alive that I could find.

More importantly, this Tanya you have found has a dangerous name. Рома́новы, or as you so crudely wrote it, Romanoff, is the Imperial House of Russia. The dead Imperial House. Murdered to the last during a muggle uprising that overthrew the government and put in place the Communist Government that has been in control of the country every sense.

I have heard that the Communist Government has recently fallen. If true, this Tanya of yours would do well to stay away from any they may attempt to use her as a figurehead for a new Russian Monarchy or wish to kill her to prevent the same.

From,
Karkaroff

—-

Lavender Brown

Bored. Lavender was bored. Her grandparents were so boring and there was nothing to do. Lavender was so bored she actually pulled out one of her school books to read ahead. Woo, the eggheads would be so proud of her. Ugh.

—-

Excerpt From "The Fae Book of Sidhe, Faerie, and Underfolk"

Titania are a peculiar type of Sidhe. Born from the union of a wizard and a High Seelie maiden, the Titania are exempt from many of the ancient treaties between magical society and the Fae. Titania are entirely female and take on a number of physical features from their paternal donator.

As the offspring of a wizard and High Seelie, the Titania are often confused with Changelings. The differences are that changelings, despite their human appearances, are magical creatures. Titania are half breeds with natures similar to their magical creature parent.

In many ways, Titania are most similar to the offspring of Veela (see Magical Avian Species and How to Talk with the Birds and Bees) in that the common magical capabilities and personality traits are inherited and that the Titania must be taught how to behave within polite magical society. See the entry on the previous pages for High Seelie and how to deal with them to know the proper methods of handling Titania as well.

—-

Hermione Granger

Holidays with mum and dad was always an enjoyable time for Hermione. They got away from England and spent time in the countryside or beaches of France. As it was a winter holiday, they were spending time at a vineyard in the north of France. The Champagne region, which was known for producing a sparkling wine, was lightly covered in snow.

The tour they went on explained that thanks to the cold, northern climate, the yeast in the wine casks would go dormant during winter and not awaken again until spring when the weather warmed up again, after having been bottled in special thick glass bottles.

The history of the region and how the wine was all terribly interesting to the young girl, though the sip of the wine she was offered with dinner was not pleasant to her young palette, being very acidic and dry. Her parents chuckled good naturedly at the face Hermione made at the taste and promised they would help her appreciate the taste when she was older.

For now though, Hermione could enjoy the snow of France by curling up next to a window with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and a nice book.

—-

Albus Dumbledore

A wide, short glass holding a large cube of ice and a brown fluid had captured Dumbledore's attention as he watched the liquid move in the glass, clinging to the sides. Whiskey on the rocks was not Dumbledore's preferred libation, but the thoughts Dumbledore was forced to face left him feeling the need for a strong drink.

Closing the book on fairs, there was no doubt in Dumbledore's mind now that Ms. Degurechaff was a fae creature of some description. That left the question of what to do about that.

Currently she was constrained and controlled by the school and its rules, but that was not going to last. She was eventually going to leave and there was no telling what she would do outside of the school. There was no inherent good nature to her, just rules she followed to attempt to hide her nature and blend in with others.

She could be taught goodness and kindness like Hagrid was taught gentleness.

Dumbledore briefly thought back to some of Hagrid's antics over the years. Of doors and chairs being replaced. Hagrid was a very kind and open person, but after fifty years the man still didn't realize his own strength and durability compared to everything around him.

Tanya should be better, right? She was highly intelligent, but Dumbledore would need to be swift on getting her on the right path. She already was gathering those who could be extremely influential to the future of the Wizarding World around herself, positioning them for the future and teaching them to be capable individuals.

Dumbledore drained his glass before opening a drawer in his desk, pulling out a yellowed picture of himself at a much younger age smiling next to another young, attractive man.

Was this some ploy by Gellert or his followers to influence the future of the Wizarding world, or was Ms. Degurechaff acting independently? Was she even actually doing anything wrong, or was he seeing things that weren't there?

Dumbledore sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stared in the direction of the ceiling, eyes not focused on any of the decorations hanging from above.

What was for the greater good in this case? Should he leave things alone and watch as everything played out or should he try directing a chaotically lawful creature into a safe path? It would be so simple to find a way to keep her trapped in one place, but she has not done anything to warrant imprisonment.

Dumbledore looked back at the picture of Gellert, a tear coming to his eye as he watched the way the two young men in the picture embraced each other. With a sigh, the picture was put back into its drawer and Dumbledore filled his glass again.

If this was a plot of Gellert or his followers, it appeared to be a very long term plot that Dumbledore could take his time investigating. In the meantime, a decision needed to be made on how to handle the fae child. Nothing was an option for now, but long term something would need to be done about Ms. Degurechaff.

Nothing.

Dumbledore stood up and strolled to his mirror and looked at himself, a glass of whiskey in hand and a long flowing beard that took decades to grow.

Nothing was what Dumbledore had done for a long time. Nothing with his political or magical power. Out of fear of what he could impose on others should he choose, but still nothing all the same. Dumbledore filled his time with operating a school, educating future generations and trying to direct society into a Greater Good one person at a time.

Nothing was precisely what he wanted Ms. Degurechaff to do, and teaching was a wonderfully rewarding way to do nothing. She already was showing an aptitude and enjoyment in helping her fellow students learn. If Dumbledore could foster that love of educating, he might be able to offer her a job upon graduation and have her cage herself into rules and doing nothing. Nothing with any political might she may develop and nothing with the magical might she already has. Nothing but filling the minds of the future with knowledge that could be used for a brighter tomorrow.

Dumbledore took a seat, a smile on his lips. It would take some work and a bit of political muscle to get someone without any professional experience a teaching position as the Board of Governors disliked hiring individuals who only know what was taught in school, but the Defense Against Dark Arts post has had steadily declining qualifications for filling the seat over the years and seven years was plenty of time for young Ms. Degurechaff to gain some notoriety if the troll incident was any indication.

All Dumbledore needed to do was encourage Ms. Degurechaff to tutor the younger years as she went through her schooling and that should be the final argument for hiring her settled, pointing out she was essentially already doing it and would simply be doing so in an official and paid capacity.

—-

Parvati Patil

The Patil family celebrated the Christmas Season with a trip to the shops followed by a meal at Mr. Patil's Cousin's restaurant just outside of the West End. Parvati spent the first week luxuriating in her bed at home, far away from any roommates that slept far too softly for her comfort. Afterwards, she spent a lot of time with her cousins, catching up on the family gossip and eating some comforting food.

Padma, however, wasn't as happy as Parvati to be home. The more bookish twin appeared to actually be missing the school library and needed to be pulled out of her funk for some fun. Thankfully, there was a hill in the backyard covered in snow and ready for sliding down.

Padma would have a fun winter holiday if Parvati had any say in the matter. And she did.

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Lucius held the letter he received from Karkaroff, staring at the message held within. A possible dead end as far as proving pure blood status, but a possibility of Muggle Royal blood. Lucius knew his family history. Knew who his ancestors built their fortunes with. While the advent of the Statue of Secrecy made dealings with muggles directly an impractical consideration, the Malfoy fortune was still funded by dealings and contracts with muggles from hundreds of years ago that were paying.

This Degurechaff child held no power outside of what she was personally capable of. She was by all measures a peasant to be passed on the street without a second look. And yet… and yet there was still evidence that she might be more than she appears. That her bloodline might still be noble, if not as purely magical as Lucius's own. And that noble blood would demand she take action and reclaim her place in the world.

Tying the Malfoys to a rising star would only see their fortunes grow further and as with the debacle after the last Dark Lord died showed, the Malfoys had the means to break ties when the ship begins to sink and remain in a financially stronger place compared to before Dark Lord's assent.

Lucius felt good about their chances with this one if they could nudge her in the right directions, but it was still too early. Too soon to be certain. Patience would have to be the name of the game. Patience and information.

Reading over the letter again and seeing nothing incriminating that would require the letter be burned, Lucius motioned with his wand and a cabinet in his study opened and an empty file came to him. Sliding the letter in place, Lucius left the office to gather a bit of extra information that should prove to be a steady stream with a bit of proper motivation.

With a crack of apparition, Lucius appeared outside the orphanage. Pulling out his wand, Lucius cast a charm to be unnoticeable to muggles before slashing his wand at the door, silently blowing it open as he strolled inside. Stalking the halls, he made his way to the Abbess's office. Not finding her in the office, Lucius began checking the nearby rooms, quietly opening doors till he found her in bed.

Closing and locking the door behind him, Lucius conjured a chair and took a seat, adjusting himself to give off the perfect impression of being fully in control as he cast silencing charms around the room to give them privacy. Oh how he longed to be able to torture the muggle fool for what she knew and for his own pleasure, but he needed her whole to be useful. Watching her realize how powerless she was before he got to business would still provide a bit of fun.

With a quick reviving charm casting the room in red for a brief moment, the old nun woke up, looking around in startling alertness.

"What are you doing in my room?" she loudly asked, her face twisted in anger.

"You are going to tell me everything I want to know," Lucius said with a confident, menacing smile.

"And why do you think that?" The old lady asked, getting out of bed, and starting to move towards Lucius who responded by pointing his wand at the old hag. The flinch and slow widening of her eyes was delicious.

"Simple. Imperio."