Hermione sat alone in the mid afternoon sun filtering through the library window sending a glare on to the page she was reading. She subtly shifted her head to block the magnifying light before it had a chance to burn the book.
You never knew with magic.
She was currently reading a text from a researcher by the name of Marvolo Gaunt and his treatise on linking magic to particle physics; 'Atoms; Are Muggles Dangerously close to breaking the Statute of Secrecy?' It blended particle physics with magical theory, as recommended by Professor Quirrel, when suddenly the book was plucked out of her hand.
"Hey!" She huffed in indignation, almost disbelief that here in the sanctity of the library she could be disturbed to such a degree, this was her sanctuary!
"Gaunt…" Her nemesis' voice was low as she almost collapsed into the other chair, almost knocking over the pile of books in the process. Ibuki held the book at arms length by the top of spine reading the title with a tilted head.
Hermione lunged across the table and snatched the book back. "Yes, the author of this treatise is Marvolo Gaunt, why do you care who wrote it?"
Her rival leaned back and wrapped her hands around the back of her head with a smug grin, "Because I'm reasonably certain he was the equivalent to a rural bogan seventy beers down on one of his good days, except instead of alcohol and bad decisions, he got blind on his family being the last line of Slytheryn. Pretty sure someone published it under his name for a giggle."
Hermione blinked, unsure of the word bogan. "Nevermind… I am quite certain you are making baseless accusations based on a name you have never heard before," Hermione took the raised eyebrow and the subtle smirk from the horned girl as her being right.
"So I know you well enough that you clearly aren't here to study, what do you want?"
Instead of answering right away, Ibuki took the gourd attached to a chain on her hip and took a swig from it before tipping her head back and wrapped the bottom of it with her fist, producing a hollow thunk. As she tilted her head back further to look inside with a frown on her face, Ibuki finally responded.
"You're probably onto owl level Defence, right?"
"If you are referring to fifth level studies, it's referred to as our oh doubleyou el, Ordinary Wizarding Levels,"
"As I said, you're probably on to owl level Defence, have Basilisks come up yet?" She continued as she put the gourd back onto a clasp on her hip, "I was wondering if their death eyes stay active after you rip them out,"
Hermionie tilted her head in confusion at the question that was quite bizarre for what she had come to know from her Nemesis. "As flattering as your presumed assumption of my academic progress is, no I am not that far in, and no, I have not studied Basilisks other than read over 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'." Hermione took a moment to consider the last part of what Ibuki said. "Why do you need to know about their eyes?"
"Damn, there goes that idea..." Suika muttered, her voice trailing as she pushed the chair back and turned towards the window. "Can't risk myself being dumb enough to open my eyes…"
Before Hermione could demand answers from the horned girl, Suika leapt onto the windowsill with agility and grace that betrayed the casually belligerent behaviour she exhibited previously.
"Not again…" Hermione snapped as she got to her feet, the chair scraping the hardwood floor behind her. "Suika, why do you ask?!"
The oni just cackled as she fell through the air.
Hermione sighed and returned to her seat. She scribbled a reminder to look up archived newspapers about the Gaunt family before setting the treatise aside to continue with her studies for the week's upcoming tests.
—-------------------------------------------------------
Severus leaned back in his chair and glanced down at his mug that he swirled the amber liquid- apple juice, a woefully inadequate substitute for the Firewhisky that had mysteriously vanished from his quarters. Yet again.
Heads would roll.
The ornate grandfather clock in the corner ticked away faithfully, a quick glance advised him that there were only five minutes remaining.
The sound of pewter being polished by the dunderh… individuals, to put it politely, was almost enough to make the disgust he felt for the previous month leave but it just didn't quite scratch that itch like it normally did.
From his perch, he could see that once again, one of the putrid cauldrons that had been set out for his charges remained completely untouched due to their repeated absence.
His contemplation was shattered as a loud boom resounded through the room. Severus' gaze snapped towards the door as it slammed open and Ibuki stepped down from the kick she had given it.
She was about to walk through when the door bounced back and shut itself prompting a loud thunk as flesh met oak followed by muttered cursing.
The door opened once more and the girl walked in, much more cautiously as she waved at him.
A grating screeching noise sounded as her horns raked the wooden doorframe, sending Severus' teeth into a gnashing grind.
"Hey Professor Snape, sorry I'm late for detention, do you know how much I could sell a basi-"
"Out,"
The horned girl froze mid step as she registered Snape's proclamation. "That's a bit harsh, I just wanted to know how muc-"
"Out!" Severus snarled, "You no longer need to pretend you desire to grace us with your presence in detention anymore since you clearly seem to think that you are exempt from the rules of this establishment," Severus snapped as he rose to his feet and pointed to the door she had just walked through. "Leave immediately and take a failing grade for this semester,"
Severus was expecting to achieve some form of panicked reaction from the girl but he was sorely disappointed.
The girl had the audacity to look confused, he watched her eyes glance around the room, and then towards the empty seat with an unscrubbed cauldron before her eyes enlightened with recognition.
"Oh…" She muttered before turning back to him with a completely innocent grin. "Yeah, that's pretty fair actually, ah well. See you in about three months then,"
Severus glared at the menace, his finger remaining pointed at the door, slightly confused at the mention of three months considering that the holidays were only two weeks, but nethertheless, he was going to speak with the Headmaster about having this cretin removed from the curriculum.
It was at that point, a loud beeping noise, not dissimilar to a muggle fire alarm sounded and Snape almost raised his eyebrows slightly in a show of absolute cunning and triumph.
He ignored the cackling as he raced from the classroom. He would have his thief's head on a pike.
—---------------------------------------------------------
There was a palpable miasma of nervousness throughout the room as Quirinus read out the roll from his seat at the desk as he surveyed the students that had gathered. Beside him, a towering stack of Winter Test papers loomed, each stack charmed together for a one hour slog of everything they had learned since the start of the term.
Admittedly they didn't hold a candle to the NEWT student's multi-hour slog, but it was the thought that counted.
"Her-mione Gr-ranger?"
"Present."
"Daphene Greengr-rass."
"Yes sir,"
"Gregory Goyle."
"Here,"
"Wayne H-h-hopkins?"
"yeah…"
"O-of course Suik-ka is miss-sing," Quirinus rolled his eyes theatrically at the class as he read over the roll call. It had been four and a half months and the creature that was clearly some form of Japanese troll offspring had not once turned up for his classes.
He wasn't sure how his colleagues and the students had remained oblivious, it seemed as though they all thought the horns were some form of conjured fashion statement.
That tangent aside, he probably should have brought it up with her head of house but whenever he considered it, his lack of care seemed to disperse into a haze of indifference. Odd, that.
"Megan Jo-"
"Oi!" An irritated voice cut through the room and roll call. Quirinus jerked his head up to stare in shock at the orange haired troll spawn that he had never once seen in his classroom lounging next to the open window. He didn't recall seeing her walk in…
"M-m-m-miss Ibuk-ki?" He asked, genuinely shocked that she was there.
"V-v-v-Mr Quirrel," Ibuki responded, clearly mocking his stutter, looking almost bored. His eye twitched at the clear lack of respect when she had the audacity to lean back and prop her muddy shoes on top of the table. The other Gryffindor students seemed to view the situation as though it was natural while the Ravenclaws seemed to be looking at the oni girl as though it was a completely new phenomenon.
He vaguely recalled this was the only class the two houses shared.
"I am quit-te ast-t-tound-ded to see you he-he–ere," He said in a clipped voice with honesty, although it barely masked his irritation.
"Just needed to ask a hypothetical question, Mr Quirrel,"
"As y-your profess-sor, I must a-a-advise you to refer to me as suc-ch," Quirrel's eye twitched.
"Eh, you haven't taught me jack sh-quat, so I don't reckon the title is warranted. Admittedly that's on my side so I think this is the part where I should probably offer a sincere apology,"
Quirrel stared at the girl's disrespect but grit his teeth into a forced smile. "Wh-while I accept y-your apology, Miss Ibuki, unf-fortunately, th-th-there are thr-three and a h-half months' w-worth of c-c-courses y-you have m-missed out on th-that we w-will b-be testing t-t-today. And wh-while I h-have b-b-been lenient w-with the l-leave of absence y-you h-have t-taken, I am un-unable to extend th-the s-same c-courtesy to t-today's t-test,"
"I don't really care about that," she said with a casual wave. "I was mostly hoping to ask you, since I am not on speaking terms with Professor Snape, let's hypothetically say I wanted to kill a fifty meter basilisk and am looking to harvest its parts to buy out a pub; how much physical trauma can their scales take?"
"What?" Quirinus managed, mouth agape as he stared in confusion. Vaguely out of the corner of his eye he noticed Granger staring daggers at the girl.
"You know, Basilisk scales," Suika grinned, showing too many teeth, a few of them more akin to fangs. "Big snake, you die if you look it in the eyes, likes damp and dilapidated places, such as under a castle. Hypothetically, how fast would you need to swing it by the tail and smash its head into the wall several dozen times before they start to chip?"
Beneath his turban, he felt the stirring of his lord but he remained in his slumber.
"Th-that's a r-ridiculous question, M-miss Ibuki. B-basilisks are r-rare, and th-their physiology isn't p-part of this c-curriculum. Wh-why would you—"
"Bugger, thought you might know someone who had dealt with them." Suika muttered as she got to her feet and started walking to the door. "At the very least, do you know any good ways to protect yourself from the death stare?"
"I b-believ-ve that-t-t's en-enough of th-th-that Miss Ibuk-k–k-ki, please sit down. We h-have tests t-to get on w-w-with. P-p-perhaps you're one of th-those clever s-sorts who only g-graces us for the t-tests? Or sh-should I d-d-dare to think even l-less of your… d-dedication?"
With her hand on the already open door, Suika looked back and forth between Quirinus and the corridor as if questioning his intelligence. "I don't care for tests… well your tests atleast… I've already got Defence sorted, seya!"
Quirinus inwardly seethed at the blatant disrespect and the words to dock a thousand points from her and march her straight to the deputy headmistress to have her reprimanded or even expelled when…
Quirinus breathed out his frustration and felt a calm wash over him and all of his worries and frustrations with the oni dispersed. With a shrug and a wave of his wand, the tests floated to the students desks, "You m-may beg-gin,"
It wasn't his problem.
