Chapter 21: Breakfast and Letters

Hogwarts Castle, Somewhere in the Scottish Highlands

November 23rd, 1992, 7:00 AM

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Erik wakes up with the alarm going. He tries to move to turn it off, but he can't. There's three magnificent bodies holding him down. He looks at the alarm and concentrates a little, and the thing turns off. Looking down at his chest, Erik sees a sea of blond hair. And over each of his arms, Selena and Joan are taking place.

"Come on girls, time to wake up."

"Hmm…"

"Don't wanna…"

"Five more minutes…"

*sigh*

Letting out a sigh, Erik moves his arms and manages to free them from under Selena and Joan. He then gently moves Leona from over him, to his side. A light blue aura encompasses his body and Erik starts to gently float above the bed. Centuries of experience at getting out of bed without bothering his wives had taught that to him. He floats to the side and touches the floor, canceling the flying spell. Erik looks at the bed and sees that Selena and Joan had moved and hugged Leona in his place. He gives a soft smile and walks to the bathroom. After doing his morning abjurations and taking a good bath, Erik goes back to the room and takes the clothes for the day from the closet. He decided to go with something similar to the last day. A dark blue shirt with buttons, black pants, black shoes and an opened black blazer. Looking at himself in the full body mirror, his reflex looks back at him from top to bottom.

"Looking good to bash some heads. But there's something missing to tell that you are the one giving the orders here."

The reflex says to Erik and taps the blazer at his hearth height. Erik understands and snaps his fingers.

*snap*

Instantly, a Hogwarts' shield appears on the blazer. The mirror reflection looks at it and nods in approval. Then points at his hair.

'Gotta' love these enchanted mirrors.'

*snap*

Erik quickly snaps his finger again and his mohawk-like long hair starts to do itself is his preferred style of braid. The mirror reflex looks at him and nods, going back to behave like a normal mirror. Erik goes to one of the dressing tables and opens a box with half-dozen different wrist watches. Taking a silver one, he wears it and walks to the bed, where his three wives are still sleeping in a bundle with just a bed sheet covering them. With a smirk, he goes to the bed and gives Selena a kiss on the cheek, she smiles contently at the feeling, and just as he 'finished' the kiss, he gives her buttcheek a tight slap.

"Eeep!"

She jumps in the bed and looks at Erik's face with an angry glare, just to see his stupidly handsome face smirking back at her.

"Time to wake up, dear. It's 7:30 now, breakfast starts in thirty minutes. You have to wake up now if you want to be up on time."

*sigh*

Selena sighs at that. But puts out a fake pout the same way. Erik's smirk intensifies and he goes down to the bed again and gives Selena a kiss.

"I will be waiting for you down at the Great Hall."

Erik then walks out of the bedroom, while Selena is getting up from the bed and walking to the bathroom. Walking out of his chambers, Erik calmly walks down the corridor. When arriving at the Great Staircase, he stops by the portrait of a bearded gentleman, and greets him.

"Good morning, Lord Stone."

"Good morning, Lord Ravenclaw. How can I help you this morning?"

"Lord Stone, I want to ask you to keep an eye on the students' behaviour. If something happens, warn one of the four ghosts and ask them to warn me immediately."

The portrait of Lord Stone nods at Erik.

"And please, pass this command to the other portraits."

"It will be done, my Lord."

"Thank you, Lord Stone."

Erik thanks the portrait and starts to go down the stairs. Lord Stone had already disappeared through one of the sides of his frame and was passing on the command. Soon enough, all the portraits of the castle had heard the command. Erik entered the empty Great Hall and walked through the tables, passing by them and arriving at the staff table. He looked at the table, then at the chairs. He focused his look at the golden throne-like chair at the center.

"This will not do… A house elf, please."

*pop*

"How can Mitsy help Lord Ravenclaw?"

With a soft pop, a young female house-elf answered Erik's call. He looked at the house-elf and pointed at the golden throne-like chair.

"Good morning, Mitsy, please remove that abomination from the staff table and put a chair equal to the others in its place."

"Mitsy will do, Lord Ravenclaw."

*snap-pop*

Erik asked Mitsy. After confirming the request, Mitsy snapped its fingers to make the golden abomination disappear, and with a pop disappeared itself. Soon enough another chair identical to the others appeared in the same place. Erik nodded at that and turned to the Ravenclaw table, where a chair with a high back and Ravenclaw's shield on it was still on its head. Walking to it and sitting on the chair, Erik called for the head of the house-elves of the castle.

"Dimpsy."

*pop*

"How Dimpsy can help Lord Ravenclaw?"

"Good morning, Dimpsy. I have some requests, if you don't mind. They don't have a specific order to be followed."

Dimpsy popped at Erik's call, and was ready to listen to his requests.

"I would like to see the accounting book of the school, and I would like something to drink while I read it, preferably black coffee, please."

The house-elf nodded and disappeared with a soft pop.

*pop*

Soon enough, a breakfast set appeared on the table in front of him, with a coffee pot that was emanating a tantalising aroma. Erik started to serve a cup of the black drinkable gold to him. Just as he finished serving, Dimpsy appeared with a soft pop, holding a heavy looking leather bound book in hands, and offered it to him.

*pop*

"Here is the numbers book, Lord Ravenclaw."

"Thank you, Dimpsy."

Erik took the book in his hands, thanked the house-elf and said.

"You can serve breakfast at each table as soon as the students start to arrive."

*pop*

Dimpsy nodded and disappeared with another pop. Erik put the accounting book down at the table and opened it while starting to sip his coffee. He soon had dived deep, analysing the most recents numbers of the castle. And if the changes on his facial expression signified anything, it was that he was not liking what he was reading. After some more reading, he concluded in his thoughts.

'They are robbing the school!'

The Board of Governors was robbing the fund dedicated to the school. They were paying themselves an exorbitant salary that was three times the valor that a Professor with Mastery received.

'Heads will roll very soon.'

Erik concluded in his thoughts. Then he heard steps, and looked at the doors of the Great Hall. The first group of students was arriving. Erik turned back to the accounting book to read more, as the students took their seats and breakfast was served on the respective tables. Erik then retrieved some rolled parchments and a fountain pen from an internal pocket inside his blazer. He stretched the rolls of parchment by the book's side on the table and started to compose a letter to the goblins. The letter basically ordered the freezing of all personal payments being made to the staff and the Board of Governors until second order. As he finished the first letter, he signed it, summoned a dollop of melted red wax by the side of his signature, and willed the school stamp to his hand. The official school stamp appeared on it and Erik quickly pressed it in the soft red wax while infusing the stamp with his magic. The wax quickly dried and now had Hogwarts' shield indented on it. Erik then transmuted one of the blank parchments in an envelope and deposited the written letter inside, sealing it with another dollop of red wax and the magic infused stamp of Hogwarts. Setting the sealed envelope aside after writing the receiver of it, Erik took another blank parchment and started to compose an urgent summons to the members of the school's Board of Governors, setting the meeting to this same day at 8PM, just after school's dinner time, and expressing the obligatory participation together with the reason of the summons: audition of the school's accounts. As he finished the letter, Erik summoned another dollop of red wax and pressed the magic infused scholl stamp on it, not signing this letter. Quickly duplicating the letters and transmuting extra envelopes, Erik started to seal each of the twelve new envelopes individually. Having finished it. Erik closes the account book and looks to his side. Some time while he was writing the second letter, Selena and Joan had joined him on the Ravenclaw table. He gave both of them a smile.

"Good morning, Selena, Joan."

""Good morning.""

He greets them and they greet him back. Selena had chosen a dark blue robe for the day that was embroidered with Ravenclaw's shield on her hearth's height. Joan, in turn, was wearing her traditional armor, without the gauntlets while eating her breakfast. Erik then looked around the Great Hall. The tables were almost full of students eating their breakfast.

"Dimpsy."

*pop*

"How can Dimpsy help Lord Ravenclaw?"

Erik called and the old house-elf appeared by his side with a soft pop. Erik took the stack of sealed letters and passed them to Dimpsy.

"Dimpsy, please take these and give them to the owls. The one with the address is to Gringotts. The other twelve is to each of the members of the Board of Governors. Please address them correctly since I don't know the names of the current members."

Erik first said. He took a sip from his coffee, took the accounting book and gave it to Dimpsy.

"And put the accounting book back in its place, please."

"Dimpsy will arrange everything immediately, Lord Ravenclaw."

*pop*

The old house-elf said, taking the letters and accounting book and disappearing with a pop. Erik then turned to the table and started serving some portions of breakfast to eat.

"Was it bad?"

Selena asked Erik. She had seen his face while he was writing the second letter.

"Yes. The reason that the staff is so small is that the Board of Governors saw that they received triple the amount that a Professor with Mastery got monthly as a salary."

Selena frowned listening to Erik.

"So they are robbing the school?"

"Basically, yes."

Erik said with calm while passing butter in a piece of toasted bread.

"And you summoned them to a meeting tonight?"

Selena asked. Erik calmly took a bite of the bread and slowly chewed. And after swallowing he said.

"Yes, at 8 PM. And some heads will roll."

The rest of the breakfast was eaten in silence between the trio.

Around them, the students were taking part in the most popular activity of the school, even more popular than Quidditch, they were gossiping. The most common ones were the students trading information that they got from their Head of house last night. Other more adventurous ones seemed to already have discovered the new happenings in the castle, like the 'heir's message' being cleaned off the wall in the second floor, or Myrtle's bathroom being 'closed for renovations', or the inaccessible part of seventh floor. The gossip sure travels fast in Hogwarts, just like the rumours.

Finishing his breakfast Erik stands up and puts a hand on Selena's shoulder.

"I will be in the Headmaster's Office checking the documents. Try to talk with Helena about what we found last night."

"I will find and talk to her, don't worry.

Giving a soft squeeze with his hand, Erik smiles at Selena, knowing that it will definitely be a delicate talk between the sisters. Letting go of her shoulder, Erik says.

"Send some breakfast to the 'lazy bun' too, okay?'

Selena nods at that, knowing of whom Erik is talking about. Erik then walks to the staff table to talk with Hagrid.

"Good morning, Hagrid."

"Good morning, Lord Ravenclaw."

Erik greets the big man, and he greets back, almost spilling the tea that he was drinking.

"Give me your keyring with Hogwarts' keys for a moment, please."

Erik asks. Hagrid's heart almost stops at that, imagining that he was going to lose his job. Shaking a little, he reaches for it inside his big and hoarse coat and retrieves the keychain. Still shaking and almost starting to cry, Hagrid gives the keyring to Erik. Erik then takes the keyring and concentrates a little at them and starts to bind some of the detection wards to it. Just as he finishes the binding, he offers the keyring back to the almost crying half-giant.

"Here, it's done."

Erik says. Hagrid looks at the keyring and then looks back to Erik.

"I'm not losing my job?"

He asks incredulously.

"Why would you lose your job?"

Erik asks back.

"I-I just thought…"

"Just thought what? That I was taking the keys to fire you?"

Erik asks, and Hagrid nods his big bearded head and takes the keyring in his hands.

"No, no. I needed the keyring to bind some of the detection wards to it, so the keeper of the keys can know when he needs to open the gates to a visitor, or when and where someone is trespassing in school grounds. The keyring is bound to you too, so no one can take it from you while you are exercising your job. And you can't give it to anyone too without the Headmaster's or his Deputy's authorization."

Erik explains to Hagrid. The big man then put the keyring back into an internal pocket of his coat.

"I am expecting Director Bones for a meeting today at 10AM. Please, receive and escort her to the Headmaster's Office when she arrives."

Erik says to Hagrid.

"I will do it, Lord Ravenclaw. Rest assured."

Hagrid replies while patting his big coat from the outside in the position where the keyring is supposed to be on the inside of the coat.

"I was never worried, Hagrid."

Erik said to the big man. He understood how Hagrid's mind worked. He was a simple man. Give him your trust, and he will give you double of it back.

Turning back from the staff table, Erik waved a 'bye' and walked out of the Great Hall under the looks of the students and some of the staff. His destination now, the Headmaster's Office in the castle's second floor.