Chapter 19: 1-9: Surveillance

Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.

A/N: I've added a paragraph to the last scene of the previous chapter that hopefully makes things make more sense.

As he watched the first Potions class on Monday morning - Gryffindor/Slytherin first-years - Albus didn't know whether to be pleased by Professor Umino's honesty and concern for his students or saddened at the truth in his report. When he saw Lucius Malfoy's son preparing to toss a toad liver into Harry Potter's cauldron, he settled on outraged at Severus's encouragement of such behavior among his Slytherins. A casual flick of his wand halted the offending organ in midair, and Albus watched the shock pass over both student and teacher's faces before removing the Cloak of Invisibility and stepping into view.

"Fifty points from Slytherin for endangering fellow students, Mr. Malfoy," he said with none of his usual warmth, "and one week's detention with Mr. Filch." The boy's head had whipped around at Albus's unexpected words, and he was now staring up at the Headmaster with shock tinged with apprehension and a bit of awe. Meeting the young Slytherin's gaze, Albus asked, "And where did you get the idea for such a dangerous prank?" That prompt, combined with a gentle Legilimency probe, showed him a flash of a tutoring session the previous day in which Severus had 'casually' commented on the fact that adding rat liver at this stage of today's potion would cause it to boil over violently, ruining the batch and possibly scalding the brewer.

"Class is dismissed." Three ice-cold words coming from their normally jovial Headmaster had the students quickly packing their possessions and departing the room, some having the presence of mind to extinguish the flames below their cauldrons first. Albus dealt with the rest of the burners with a wave of his wand, and waited for the room to empty of children.

He hated allowing the children to see him like this. Albus Dumbledore wore many faces: The kindly grandfather figure, the wise professor, the elder statesman - all of these were preferable to the face of the seasoned warrior of the Light, the only man Tom Riddle ever openly feared. It pained him beyond words that a number of first-year students now clearly shared at least a bit of that fear. While Tom may have reveled in others' fear, Albus loathed it; fear divided people, engendering hatred and violence instead of understanding, and causing no end of death, destruction, and pain. He had seen first-hand the terrible damage fear could do, and ever since then had worked to promote understanding and forgiveness in order to help prevent fear from taking hold. That Severus's actions had caused him to spread fear instead of fighting it was yet another sin to lay at the man's feet.

Once the door had shut behind the last of the departing first-years, Albus made his way to stand beside the toad liver, still suspended in midair. As he walked, he made sure to apply several locking and privacy charms to the classroom door. Clearly recognizing his employer's intent, Severus rounded his desk and came forward to meet him before the hovering ingredient.

"Before you begin to complain about my harshness with Mr. Malfoy, perhaps you should take a closer look at precisely what he chose to throw into his classmate's potion." Albus's tone was light, almost casual, and only someone accustomed to reading his moods could have detected the underlying hint of steel. Severus's habitual scowl deepened at Albus's words, but he did as he was bid, before his already sallow complexion paled further. "Indeed. It would appear that when instructing young Draco, you neglected to indicate that using the liver of a poisonous creature such as a toad would, in addition to the effects you stated, release a cloud of toxic vapors that could cause permanent sterility in those inhaling them." This too was delivered in the same bland tone one would hear from the Headmaster at a typical staff meeting. He knew that Severus wasn't fooled; the Potions Professor was tense as a coiled spring, clearly aware of Albus's ire and awaiting its expression.

"Over the past decade, ever since you returned to Hogwarts to head your old House," Dumbledore continued, maintaining his calm through the application of considerable willpower, "Minerva, Filius, and Pomona have each brought reports to me of outrageous behavior by their new counterpart. Knowing the tendency of children to embellish and exaggerate their tales, particularly when coupled with Hogwarts' vibrant rumor mill, I reassured them that rumors and tales were what was reaching them. After all, you yourself confirmed this when I asked you, and I understood you to be seeking redemption for your... youthful indiscretions. I had every confidence that you would rise above the darkness in your past to become an exemplary teacher, sharing your knowledge of and passion for Potions with a new generation of students. Considering your experiences, both at home and here at Hogwarts, I was certain that you would be the last teacher to countenance bullying or abuse among students."

"Yet, on Friday evening, two members of staff came to speak with me. It seems that one of them managed to do similarly to myself, and observed your classes that day without your knowledge. Their report of your behavior was so horrendous, so outrageous, that I had to believe it was more overblown rumor... until I witnessed their memories. Even watching in the memories of an adult, I still could not be certain; I still wanted to believe that it was all just some misunderstanding, that the man I had so vociferously defended these past ten years would not so grievously betray my trust. Thus, we come to my presence here today," the Headmaster said, his voice beginning to rise, "wherein I found that not only were your colleague's observations accurate, not only have you been bullying and abusing many of your students, but you have actually encouraged such behavior by students of Slytherin."

To his credit, Severus at least made no futile attempt to deny Albus's accusation, clearly knowing he was caught. He could not deny; nor could he defend, for his actions were indefensible. The only options left to the irascible man were therefore either to submit or to attack. Unsurprisingly, he chose the latter.

"I can only assume that Minerva took the lead in this complaining, as she so often does. Who was the other, then? Flitwick I could see having the skills to enter my classroom undetected, though it's Sprout that always seems to feel the need to coddle her precious little badgers. Merlin forbid anyone administer a bit of discipline to any of the little dunderheads. Regardless, it is no business of theirs how I conduct my lessons, unless we are suddenly to be critiquing each others' work? You know as well as I do that a firm hand is needed to keep the brats in line and showing proper respect..."

"Your definition of 'in line' would seem to need some adjustment," Albus interrupted, "judging by that toad liver. Tell me, how do you think Augusta Longbottom would have reacted if your godson had rendered her grandson sterile and forever ended the Longbottom family line? Lucius may have a silver tongue, and some skill at the Dark Arts, but Augusta is a formidable witch, and she would have been out for blood. Throw in causing similar damage to the last heir of the Potter line, a national hero, and I suspect both you and Lucius would be lucky to escape with your lives; even young Draco might find his bodyguards replaced with Dementors!"

"Potter," Severus spat with a hateful sneer, "it always comes back to precious, perfect, Potter. Just like his father, he struts around the castle, expecting us all to bow down before his greatness. Everyone else is so desperate to lionize the arrogant brat; well I'd rather make sure the little hero doesn't get a swelled head."

The Headmaster's frown deepened. "I do not know which student you have been watching, Severus, but in my observations there seems to be very little of James in Harry. I have seen far more of Lily - you do recall the woman you professed to love, and upon whose grave you swore to protect her son? - and occasional glimpses of Fleamont or Euphemia. No, if any child in this class behaves in a way resembling your schoolyard nemesis, it is not Harry Potter." At this, he turned to the floating liver. "The closest analog to a young James Potter is, I would say, in the house of snakes. I seem to recall a report from Horace in 1971 about giving detention to a pair of Gryffindor first-years for attempting to throw rat livers into the potions of a particular Slytherin classmate. Judging by your face, you remember the incident as well."

It was clear that the potions master was still busy swimming an Egyptian river; a more forceful approach would be required. "Rather than overcoming the trials of your youth, it would appear that you have embraced them, allowing your hatred to fester and turn you into a bully. Worse, you are a grown man bullying children." Albus steeled himself, hating the wound he knew his next words would inflict, but feeling it was at this point the only hope of making the man see sense. "Just like your father."

Severus's face went chalk-white, before flushing redder than Albus had ever seen before. His voice came out as a dangerous hiss. "How dare you-"

"I dare because it is the truth!" The Grand Sorcerer bellowed angrily, all pretense of civility dropped, as jars of ingredients around the room briefly began to rattle in place from the force of his flaring magic. "You have bullied and abused three quarters of your students, while encouraging the remaining quarter to follow suit and aiding their efforts. You have endangered the children in your care with your willful disregard for common safety protocols. You have undermined discipline across the entire school by deepening the animosity between the Houses, and we are quite fortunate that none of the students save possibly the Weasley twins have noticed that your favoritism has rendered House Points all but irrelevant. I cannot guess how many promising students you have driven away from the subject of Potions with your behavior, how many dreams you have destroyed, how many future Healers and Aurors you have denied a country that will desperately need them should Lord Voldemort return. It is almost without question that you have worsened lives, probably ruined lives, and quite possibly cost lives, all because you cling to your hatred of a man that died a decade ago for his actions as a child. No more."

"Effective immediately, you will teach all of your students properly, fairly, and impartially. You will not belittle them. You will not denigrate them. You will not abuse nor endanger them. You will seek to impart the knowledge of Potions to all students to the best of your ability."

"You will administer discipline without regard for house or heritage. No longer will you punish Gryffindors for imagined infractions, nor reward Slytherins for trivialities. If a Slytherin student misbehaves, you will punish them appropriately. You will make it clear to your House that the behavior you have abetted and encouraged these past ten years will no longer be permitted. By all means, be strict in your administration of discipline, but be equally strict to all students."

"I understand that you need to retain your connections to your former comrades, and I am certain that they will question the sudden change. My recommendation would be to tell them the truth - that I had been unaware of your actions, and upon becoming aware, demanded that you modify your behavior. Tell them also that I have threatened dire consequences should your prior actions continue. This will also be true," Albus's voice was barely above a whisper, but as cold and hard and menacing as a dagger at one's throat, "because if I find that you have continued to harm and endanger your students, Hogwarts, and Wizarding Britain by your actions, I will withdraw all of the protection I have granted you. I will conclude that the good you can do as a spy is outweighed by the harm you are causing in your role as a supposed teacher. I will publicly share all I know about your actions during the last war. Being sacked from Hogwarts will be the least of your concerns."

"Your classes for the remainder of this week are canceled, and all detentions assigned to you will be handled by other professors for the same period. Use this time to determine your course of action going forward, and hopefully to prepare for your revised teaching methods." With these parting comments, Albus turned, cancelling the Hover Charm on the liver with a small use of wandless magic and allowing it to drop to the floor with a small splat before drawing his wand to cancel the silencing and locking charms placed on the classroom door on his way out.

˄

-――――===ͽ ˂ O ˃ ͼ===――――-

˅

Iruka found himself to have a trio of very apt and determined pupils. While it was still quite early, all three were beginning to show some results from both their training and their counseling.

Neville Longbottom had shown the most rapid benefit. Between the abrupt end to the professor's invective and the application of some basic calming exercises from the meditation training (at which Neville was clearly outpacing the other two), his Potions work had improved dramatically. He still made mistakes, due mostly to forgetfulness and lack of confidence, but his love of Herbology meant that these mistakes exclusively involved animal or mineral ingredients. It also helped that there were now far fewer attempts to sabotage his work by staff or student. His improved focus was also beginning to help his practical work in Charms, although Transfiguration was still something of a struggle with its reliance on clear visualization. Neville's general lack of fitness, however, left him still struggling to catch up to his peers in the physical portions of Iruka's training.

While Hermione Granger was avidly absorbing every bit of theoretical and historical knowledge Iruka imparted, her highly active mind was still proving a hindrance in achieving a meditative state. It was far from an unusual problem, and Iruka knew that once that hurdle was overcome, the later steps would likely prove far easier to accomplish for the girl with such an ordered mind. Neither Hermione nor her professors had reported any improvements in her learning rate, but she had clearly taken Iruka's admonitions about her overzealousness to heart, and more than one staff member had expressed their gratitude that she was now confining herself to a more reasonable length of essays. The shift from regurgitation to synthesis would take longer, but Iruka suspected that it would end up bearing fruit in her practical work. Where Hermione was showing the greatest immediate benefit, though, was in her social life: By backing off on her aggressive overachieving, her relations with her dormmates had apparently begun to warm slightly. Meanwhile, she had begun tentatively reaching out to the two shy boys with whom she shared Iruka's training, and already he could see the three lonely children forming a bond of friendship.

The greatest difficulty Harry Potter was encountering through his training was actually in maintaining the friendship he had developed with Ronald Weasley at the start of term. Harry's desire to take extra lessons, combined with his developing bonds with Hermione and Neville, left the youngest Weasley boy feeling marginalized and neglected. Meanwhile, Ronald's behavior on Halloween had not impressed his 'best mate'; his hurtful words towards a classmate (and now Harry's friend) verged a little too close to bullying for the tastes of someone that had himself been a victim of it far too often, and the insincerity of the boy's apology that night combined with his attitude since made it clear that he still didn't consider those words unwarranted. The two hadn't broken their friendship off, but there was clearly an element of tension now that hadn't been there before.

Of course, by spending more time in the company of Hermione and Neville, and less with the more lackadaisical Ronald, that led to Harry putting more effort into his schoolwork, and his marks bore this out. He already had a remarkable intuitive aptitude for practical magic, especially Charms and Defense, but was now beginning to pick up a bit more of the theoretical side of things. As far as the physical component of Iruka's training went, Harry's cruel upbringing actually showed some small benefit, as he turned out to possess quite a bit of speed, agility, and endurance in his wiry frame. While Hermione and Neville worked to bring up their stamina and balance, Harry's regimen focused more on building some strength to round out his abilities. Iruka was still worried about the boy's short stature and slight build, but was still trying to convince Harry to go to Madam Pomfrey for a full checkup.

Rather than working to improve his focus and memory as Neville was doing, or quieting an unending stream of thoughts like Hermione, his meditation training revolved around gaining better control over his emotions. It was a work in progress, and Iruka wished that he could get a professional therapist to give his student the help he really needed, but he knew that Harry wasn't ready to trust a strange adult so readily. Besides, Wizarding Britain had an unfortunate lack of mental health experts, and it would likely break a number of laws to bring a non-magical therapist to Hogwarts (he was under no illusions that he could get Harry off school grounds that often without drawing attention from the press, which would not be good).

All in all, each of Iruka's students was making more than satisfactory progress.

-――――===ͽ Δ ͼ===――――-

Albus was less satisfied by his progress in surveilling Professor Umino. After the portrait network had reported three students (including Harry Potter) regularly meeting with the Adjunct Professor in private, the Headmaster had quickly placed a well-hidden listening charm in the man's office where the meetings were held. He had listened to a long discussion with Neville Longbottom on a variety of innocuous but sometimes rather personal topics, combined with what sounded like a form of rudimentary Occlumency lesson, before concluding that the long duration and personal nature of such meetings left him with neither the time nor the inclination to constantly monitor them. Consequently, he transferred the output of the charm to his office's portrait of Dilys Derwent, who he trusted would relay any relevant or concerning observations to him. Her reports since them had been that the meetings contained no inappropriate behavior, but that the topics of discussion were often of such nature that she felt her Healer's Oaths compelled her to keep them in confidence. Knowing that his predecessor's character was beyond reproach, Albus allowed her to remain the monitor of the meetings in spite of his desire for more information.

The Headmaster's efforts were also frustrated with regards to the times when the visiting Seals teacher gathered with all three first-years. Oh, he knew where they went; the portrait of Phyllida Spore had described the Room of Requirement (one of the true hidden wonders of Hogwarts, and something he would have to show Filius and Minerva at some point). He had even, on a day when Professor Umino was away from the school, managed to open the version of the room used by the four via the simple method of asking for the same manifestation they visited. It was clearly a training or exercise area of some kind, a fact made clear by the two sets of shower/locker rooms by the entrance, but the arrangement of the room left Albus somewhat baffled as to the precise nature of the exercises for which it was intended. His best guess was that they were related in some way to the man's extraordinary mobility. Irritatingly, it would seem that the 'requirements' used to generate that particular room included privacy, as the monitoring charms Albus had placed during his visit cut off abruptly at the group's next gathering. Attempting to observe the meetings in person seemed too risky at present, given how quickly the Adjunct Professor had detected Alastor at their first interview. At least his monitors outside the Room still worked, but all he could gather was that the trio left together, in a tired but satisfied mood he'd often seen among Quidditch players after practices.

Now the venerable wizard was left to ponder precisely what Iruka Umino's plans were. It put him somewhat at ease to confirm once more with Dilys that nothing she had overheard suggested anything suspicious, inappropriate, or nefarious, but still he worried. Professor Umino might be an unusually weak wizard, but should he turn hostile, his speed and agility would make him an elusive target in a duel. Were his students to gain similar abilities, they could prove quite formidable in the years to come, as all three were above average in their magical strength. Particularly concerning in such a scenario would be young Harry, marked as Tom Riddle's equal... Albus started in his chair. Could this training be Harry's prophesied power? While the Leader of the Light still felt that love would play that critical role, he could not afford to discount out of hand any possibility that presented itself.

Regardless, in spite of his slightly clandestine activities, Professor Umino's motives still appeared to be benevolent. Though Dilys still refused to divulge any details of the conversations she overheard, she expressed a strong approval for the foreign Professor, stating that she suspected these meetings would benefit the students greatly in time, though she also seemed to have become slightly less fond of Albus. He put this last down to having such demands put on her time and being required to eavesdrop on private conversations. Discussion with the children's other teachers indicated that all three had shown noticeable, if not dramatic, improvements in their schoolwork, and all three seemed to share a growing bond of friendship.

Once again, the Headmaster's confidence in Iruka Umino's character seemed to be growing alongside his list of questions about the man...

A/N: I'll be posting chapters each Sunday this month, since it lets me drop in-story Christmas on Christmas Eve. Chances are, that'll be the last time events in-story line up with the real-world calendar. On the current posting schedule, summer hols will come up in April. Fair warning, next chapter's a touch short.

Sorry to those that were hoping to see Snape sacked, but His Greasiness is going to be sticking around. He's too useful for Dumbles to toss him out without at least trying to get him to behave. On the plus side, I hope it's now apparent that this Dumbledore is not Mr. Fanon "we have to constantly forgive everyone for everything and never punish them" - he much prefers the soft touch, but is willing to be strict when needed.

To guest reviewer "Unifier": Iruka only reached out to the students he could clearly tell needed his help, which was limited to cases within his Sealing classes. Given the small sample size (and the fact that his students aren't anything like a representative sample) I don't consider it too implausible that only Harry and Neville had bad home lives. He hadn't intended to include Hermione, just talk to her (or have McG do so), but then she saw him using his ninja skills so he decided to add her to the group. I don't expect child abuse would be super-common among Purebloods, simply because most of them have so few children that they usually tend to treat them as the treasures they are; Darker families like the Blacks, Gaunts, Carrows, etc. are more likely, but at the same time their children are less likely to attend Iruka's classes. On top of that, I'm using the not-uncommon fanon of Snape looking out for abused Slytherin students (while being a total hypocrite and abusing students from the other Houses). I may, however, look back through and see if I can't add in a mention of Iruka trying to reach out to one or two other (older) students but getting turned away.

Fic Recommendation: "Wish Carefully" by Ten Toes - A one-shot (albeit a long one) from Lucius Malfoy's perspective, set after the Death Eaters got exactly what they thought they wanted. As the title implies, it didn't go quite the way they expected...

Posted 10 December, 2017

Updated 1 December 2019: Character-specific dividers