74 Ch74. Hogwarts after holidays

Hogwarts started again and Hadrian met up with giddy Dora and happy Susan on the train. Hadrian had a plan for little Susan. That he did! And it will commence in the following months. He was finally sure he could trust the girl.

Narcissa gave him a neat overview of her opinions about him from her conversation with the girl during the Ministry Ball. Hadrian had to sheepishly smile when he heard it.

Obsessed.

Loyal.

Trustworthy.

Shy.

That was Narcissa's words from her perspective as Mind Arts master. It really took a weight from Hadrian's shoulders as he was now sure he could actively depend on the girl.

His eyes strayed to Dora and he sighed. He trusted Dora. Especially now.

Narcissa trained the girl for days in Occlumency. Every day, Dora was leaving Grimmauld Place with a horror-stricken expression, making Hadrian curious about the method Narcissa used to teach the girl. It clearly worked as Bella said that she is not able to rummage in Dora's head. For Dumbledore's passive probes, that was enough.

Hadrian's problem with Dora was more of her new status. She was engaged to him. While Dora knew nobody was to know, Hadrian was sure she would try to get some... concessions from him. Dora was too wild not to. He only hoped she would behave in front of Susan...

Thankfully, the trip back to Hogwarts was peaceful.

...

They arrived and badgers instantly greeted them. The chatter about the holidays began.

Hadrian barely stayed calm as Dora's hand instantly found his and her fingers interwoven with his under the table. She didn't even indicate that anything is wrong, yet... she was clearly gushing happiness at the touch.

"So... Susan, I heard you had a long chat with Narcissa Malfoy at the Ball." Dora smiled playfully at Susan.

"How did you... ah. Your mother." Susan pouted. "Yes. Mrs. Malfoy is, contrary to the expectations. a very lovely woman." Susan nodded and every badger in immediate surroundings stilled.

Susan looked around when she perceived the quiet around her and found her housemates gaping at what she just said.

"Don't look at me! It's the truth." She exclaimed, barely noticing Dora's snickers as she covered her mouth with her free hand.

"Yes, yes. Our cute little Sue would not try to deceive us, now, would she?" Dora teased and Susan started blushing.

"No, no, she would not. She is a good girl, right?" Hadrian joined, making Susan even redder.

"You two... stop bullying her." A Hufflepuff prefect rebuked them. "She may puff due to it."

The table burst into laughter as Susan groaned in exasperation, dropping her head on the table.

That was when the door flew open and Dumbledore in his purple starry robe entered. His back was straight, his eyes regally set forward and his chin raised. A long white locks of his hair were being dragged through the floor as they were longer than his body. His front was covered in a massive white beard, reaching his ankles!

It was visible the man was smug and felt self-important.

Dumbledore had a time of his life. And it was totally not because he was still a bit high from hair-growth potions! Nope. He was completely and utterly in control of his act-, auch... He almost tripped on his beard.

Where was he? Ah, yes. He was completely and utterly in con-...

The students looked as their Headmaster fought his long beard, trying to walk regally towards his seat but even his most eager admirers were deadpanning at him as he was tripping on his beard every two steps while stroking the upper part of his beard, trying to appear calm and collected.

He finally reached his seat after five minutes of stumbling across the Great Hall... That gotta be some kind of record.

"How come he has a beard? He was completely hair-free last time I saw him!" Susan asked in a whisper.

"Hair-growth potions." Hadrian shrugged.

"Oh? That makes sense actually. The side-effects contain self-importance, obsession with hair, and drop in situational awareness." Dora explained and then snickered. "But to actually see all three at once. Just how many of them did the man drink?"

"Thirty." Hadrian grinned. "He bought them from a Potion Shop owned by Blacks."

"Oh... neat. You must have earned quite a bit." Susan sweetly smiled.

"Well, they may or may not add a few... uh. You know. Just look at him." Hadrian resisted the urge to start laughing as Dumbledore started twirling a thick strand of his hair on his finger with an ecstatic expression.

"You are evil." Susan accused him.

"Me?" Hadrian pointed at himself. "You saw nothing! Watch this."

Both Dora and Susan perked up as Hadrian whispered.

"Fawkes."

The bird didn't appear. They agreed that when Hadrian calls him, he would discretely peek at the situation and act accordingly. But Hadrian was only allowed to ask for help in most dire circumstances!

And as expected, blissfully unaware Dumbledore was playing with his hair when an orange flash appeared in front of him, almost giving him a heart stroke.

Fawkes flamed, sending tendrils of fire straight at Dumbledore's hair as they burned. This time the fire was extremely controlled as Fawkes was not as angry anymore and only Dumbledore's hair was affected.

The Professors gaped as the Headmaster lost his hair again. They didn't want to take care of him more than they had to! These last days were excruciating for them! They could swear that Dumbledore was worse than a child!

The students? They laughed.

Dumbledore was again well-shaven as he looked forward with a head-tilt, not comprehending what just happened.

His hand slowly reached to his chin and looked for his beard. It tried to grip the facial hair that just wasn't there. The more it failed, the more distressed his expression became. With a loud crack, Dumbledore disappeared, only a loud...

"My beeeeeaaaaard!"

Could be heard after him.

Fawkes too flashed away with a smugly satisfied trill.

"Where did he go?" Susan asked.

"Dunno, probably flying around with Rowena." Hadrian answered uncaringly.

"I meant Dumbledore."

"Ah, maybe overdose on the hair-growth potion again? Oh, I can already see his money filling my pockets!" Hadrian lightly answered as he was buttering his bread.

Completely ignoring the deadpan looks of Dora and Susan.

"You... really are evil." Susan snickered. "I like it."