Major changes

POV Minerva

McGonagall had never been so busy, worried and happy at the same time.

Being Deputy Headmistress was already a huge workload for her, given that Dumbledore tended to drop much of his duties for random periods of time and only did the minimal and most important paperwork that required her signature expressly.

Now that she had become the temporary headmistress, she realized how much work she actually did for him over the years, as only half an inch of paperwork added to the usual tower of documents in front of her. You could say that all of the director's administrative work was being done by her instead of the director himself, with no chance of making a mistake.

So what was the point of having the most powerful white wizard of the moment sitting here? She wondered once again.

Dumbledore was collecting a generous paycheck as headmaster of Hogwarts in exchange for...what exactly was he doing?

He hadn't heard from the old wizard, so he must be on one of his high-danger escapades to find traces of Tom, his last obsession before he kicked the bucket.

On the other hand, the new owner of Hogwarts, Mr. Soisen Galegold Evans Valriss Aulus, had been contributing as the headmaster never did to the school.

Despite all the lessons Dumbledore gave as DADA teacher at the school for the last fifty years before retiring and handing over to the younger generation, coincidentally after the curse cast by Tom on the post, there wasn't much more action from the old man other than keeping the school board in check and in line so that he wouldn't overstep his bounds.

Other than that, he accepted budget cuts and absurd legislation as if it didn't go with him, and then she was the one who had to find a way to get those things done.

Soisen instead modernized and upgraded the most fundamental facilities (with the exception of the plumbing which required more major renovation work and would wait until summer to send in the house elves) in less than a few months.

No one had problems with the naughty stairs anymore, the school food using the same ingredients became more appetizing and varied, the rusty equipment in some classrooms was decisively thrown in the trash and replaced by a modern and more accurate version, the school's defenses were multiplied and many dilapidated classrooms or corridors were renovated and cleaned of pests that even she didn't know they had.

By Merlin's underpants, he even set up a system of organization and categories for the Library, which made Mrs. Pince swoon with excitement!

Looking at what they had now and backwards, I could only feel deep shame at the lack of awareness over the last millennium where they hardly changed anything unless it broke, the solution to which in that case was usually to simply get another identical copy before forgetting about it.

It was as if Hogwarts was having a long super deluxe session at a VIP SPA after centuries of not caring for itself in the slightest, except to keep functioning and alive.

The students may not have felt it, but the professors felt the change in the atmosphere of the castle, as if the place was livelier and happier. The castle gardens were greener, the gears in the clock tower stopped squeaking, and the castle windows were so pristine that if it weren't for some of the stained glass, you wouldn't even notice the glass was there.

But the biggest shock for her was that after the renovations, all the teachers discovered that several students' grades, homework and productivity skyrocketed and their attitude towards their lessons became more enthusiastic or focused.

It was as if the castle was rubbing off its good mood on the students, to encourage and encourage learning with the new facilities.

If there was one piece of bad news to report, it was that the plan Snape proposed to her and the other teachers ran into serious problems due to rumors of the dark lord's return.

To be more precise, the plan was completely paralyzed.

His intention was to invite foreign teachers during Soisen's sixth year to teach new subjects as an alternative extra and to keep him busy, but from among the qualified teachers, there were none willing to come to Britain when at any moment a dark lord may jump in and hinder his situation.

And McGonagall was not willing to have another Lockhart come into the school.

She rubbed her forehead in anguish and looked at the Lemon Drops next to her with contemplation as she was working in the Headmaster's office, but after a few seconds, she decided not to take any and pause to sip some black tea and relax as she cast a spell to silence the previous Headmasters frames, who had become overzealous in giving their opinions on her experience despite asking them politely several times to be quiet.

He just wasn't that enthusiastic about the candy!

-Albus, next year I'll make sure you do your part..." muttered McGonagall, squinting as she looked out the window sipping some tea.

...On a distant beach in Tahiti...

A tan-skinned waitress with a necklace of colorful flowers was handing a pina colada cocktail to the old man in front of her with a flirtatious smile and a mischievous wink, when she saw him suddenly wince.

-Are you all right, sir? -She asked worriedly in her native language, believing that perhaps she was stimulating him too much with her usual theatrical actions to keep the customers happy.

-No, that's not necessary," the old man rose from the shaded lounger, "I think... I'm getting hungry. May I see today's menu?

-Of course, sir. I'll bring it right away, just wait a moment, please." Seeing that the old man didn't seem to be holding back any pain or trembling, she sighed in relief that it was a false alarm before walking away to fetch what she was asked for.

-I wonder who's talking about me..." Dumbledore muttered for a moment before leaning back, "Anyway, I can't worry and waste this vacation that the Prime Minister managed to "grant" me, it wouldn't be considerate to do so.

...Back to Soisen...

-I didn't expect it to be so complicated," he sighed tiredly as he looked around and rubbed his wrists in exhaustion.

He was inside the Galegold house, more specifically, in what had become his personal room after some more complicated modifications than he had expected, including a small blood ritual so that only he, his descendants and guests could enter it in the future when he has them.

He had become too used to this mode and didn't want to create a private area in one of the unused classrooms in the castle, he felt more comfortable doing it here and he wouldn't be so lonely except if he decided to come for a summer visit.

But at least he now had somewhere else to stay if he wanted to!

In short, the seventh floor room was still usable for others, but he had his room copy almost all the functions. That is, now he only needed to think of something if he needed it and the room would do its best to accommodate him within the limits it had.

He gave it a try by asking for a king size bed and there was no problem, though for some reason, Silvia blushed and tapped him on the shoulder before running out of the place, leaving Soisen with a big question mark over his head.

Should she have tried asking for a craft workshop or something?