Chapter 2

The professors of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry sat in the lounge on the third floor, talk was quiet and curiosity abounded among them. They'd all heard, at first from Minerva, about the new addition to their numbers that would be arriving soon. Speculation had run rampant about the mystery of the new position the woman would fill, as they all had already been introduced to the new Defense professor. Minerva had been tight lipped about the whole subject, merely stating that Dumbledore had seen the need for the position and that he had chosen the one who was to fill it with the utmost care.

They had all been called to the meeting to receive answers to their questions, and to hopefully meet the one who would reside with them for the foreseeable future. All they were waiting on now were the Headmaster, Deputy Headmistress, and the new addition.

Quirrell shifted in his seat anxiously as the talk around him stuttered and died as the minutes stretched on, his fingers tapping nervously on the arm of the plush chair he was seated in. From across the half circle black eyes fluttered behind a curtain of equally dark hair, the movement of Quirrell's fingers attracting Snape's attention like that of a mouse to a snake. The professor seemed to barely move but now faced the man wearing royal purple robes, his features twisting into a mask of disdain as he lifted a brow at the younger man, prepared to say something scathing but never having the chance to do more than open his mouth before the door to the lounge opened.

In walked the previously absent heads of the school, followed by a person who had to lower their head to fit through the door into the room. All professors turned their attention to the three, eyebrows lifting and incredulous expressions fitting to their faces when they managed a good look at the woman standing to the Headmaster's right. The first thing all of them noticed was the fact that she stood a few heads higher than their colleague, another was that she seemed to be wearing armor and swords.

"I apologize for the wait, there was a matter of baggage that needed to be moved to the right rooms before we could attend the meeting." Dumbledore smiled genially at the staff and then strode to the center of the room, turning and facing his fellow professors. "Now the meeting shall start, firstly with an introduction of our newest member and the position she will take in our school," he half turned to the woman who had taken a spot near to the door. Close to the other professors but still far enough away to be cast in shadow from the fire at her back. "Lady Rinmaru comes from a little known place that, for her own reasons, the location of which will not be divulged. She is to take an entirely new chair in our school as a guidance counselor for the children who may need it." He continued, returning to facing his old friends and employees.

Snape noticed McGonagall's leery half eye being thrown towards the figure in the corner, he squirrelled the information away for later.

"Would you like to say anything to your new peers, Milady?" Dumbledore asked, glancing to the mysterious woman.

Rinmaru shifted in her spot by the door, her nostrils flaring as she glanced around the room. Golden eyes glinting as she took several steps towards the wizened figure she nodded only once before turning and staring down at the humans in their chairs looking back up at her. She could smell the curiosity, and indeed some slight contempt from one, as she was finally bathed in the light of the fire. A few chairs creaked as a few of the professors either leaned towards or away from her when they noticed her inhuman features.

"I am not what yours call a giant, neither am I half of one." She began, knowing from observations and her own research that usually the only things in this alien land her height or larger were the brutes. Her statement cleared some confusion but seemed to make more in its wake. "If there are any questions about myself, you may ask, I will not tolerate any racism towards myself or the ward I have brought along that is not in attendance at the moment." She glanced around, noticing the one with black eyes and hair staring back at her, her nostrils flared once again picking up the tang of unpleasant spices and dead things lingering around his figure.

"What are you, if you're not related to giants?" A short woman wearing a hat with leaves in it asked in the silence that had descended after Rinmaru's statement.

"Dog TaiYoukai, daughter of Sesshomaru the Dog DaiYoukai, whelped by Maiyumaru the Dog TaiYoukai." She answered, blinking slowly as a crowd of confused faces stared up at her at her answer. A breath left her as she realized she would have to explain further, "a Youkai is a demon, monster, spirit… whichever term you prefer." She elaborated.

"You're a ghost?" another with asked, looking fearful behind huge bottle cap glasses.

"No, I am a living being," Rinmaru frowned at the question.

"Why are you wearing makeup?" a younger witch asked, raising a brow.

"These are my markings, I was born with them. My sire has an additional one upon his brow of a crescent moon as he is the Lord of the western lands." Rinmaru glanced at the witch, taking in her long dark hair and slightly pudgy figure. There were a lot of witches and wizards with this rounder form, she could not really hold it against them as there were quite a few Youkai that were rounder than they should be.

"What is the armor for? Are you expecting an attack here?" this question came from came from the once with the unpleasant expression on his face.

Rinmaru felt a prickle of irritation, but she took a deep breath and calmed herself, "where I am from I am the heiress of my father's lands, I was trained from a very young age to defend myself and fight off attackers. I am challenged on a constant basis, for my life or for my title as heiress of my father's lands. I wear the armor to protects myself from attacks, as most of my adversaries will not be honorable in a match."

When it looked as if the questions would continue, she felt a small bit of irritation, and resignation, before glancing at her old friend. Dumbledore seemed to understand the wordless request as he waved his wand and a small stool morphed out of a book that had been lying on the seat of a chintz armchair.

This was going to be a long night, she knew, and was honestly glad that she had not picked up more of her father's traits. He would not have even answered the first question, much less sat to explain various things about their breed and lifestyle to the ningen in the room with her.

….

When Rinmaru first saw the children she would be guiding for the next several years she would passively deny that she was disappointed, or that a headache had sprouted behind her right eye. The boy that Dumbledore had asked her to actively watch out for was very small, looked like a small wind would bowl him over, and honestly she was unimpressed. Not just with him, the whole of the student body was rather small and weak looking.

She was biased, however, as she had dealt with children, of demons before. The young from her species were all sturdy, not overly so but more so than the children, of ningen apparently.

She noticed quite a few of the older ones looking her way curiously, here and there were groups whispering to each other while casting glances her direction. Their obviousness was amusing to her, and she resisted the urge to stare and smirk to let them know that they had been caught out.

As the elder witch McGonagall came and went, bringing first children and then a hat, Rinmaru focused on the event they called sorting. She could hear the whispers the hat made to the young ones, but decided not to listen in on them. There was nothing of interest being said, beyond the hat telling each child what their greatest mental strengths were, rather what their mental strengths of this moment were. Who was to say that the children would not change in later years? It was a rather unfair system, she was not there to judge on that, though, and simply decided to bring the subject up to Dumbledore later. He could possibly explain the system to her at a later date.

After all of the youngest were placed Dumbledore stood and made a speech, welcoming the new students, telling the rules, and introducing the two new members of the staff. Besides Rinmaru there was a small man in black robes, a purple turban topping his head. The man waved, seemingly nervous, the smell of garlic and other herbs clinging heavily to his figure made it difficult to discern his true scent. It was quite disturbing to her nose, she had decided beforehand to spend as little time in his presence to keep from punishing her olfactory senses. When Dumbledore mentioned Rinmaru's name and her new station among the staff a few students looked puzzled, more than a few nodded in understanding, and some small portion looked relieved.

She inclined her head to the crowd, wondering lightly if the ones who were relieved would be coming to visit her small office in the near future. Something told her the answer was yes.

"It was shortly after I defeated Grindelwald, when I met her. I had been studying a new way to apparate, one that wouldn't leave the user with the feeling of being pushed through a small tube. That fell through, however when I did try I somehow, through whatever means, journeyed across a dimension."

McGonagall looked startled, opening her mouth to ask, but Dumbledore lifted his hands and she shut it.

"I do not know how, I only know that when I landed I was in a mysterious land, night where it had been day, and with no sign of developed life to be seen." Dumbledore looked a little chagrined, "I also was in far worse shape than when I had started out. That trip left me feeling far more fatigued, and hollow, in a way I have never felt since. It got better the more I did it, thank Merlin, the Lady Rinmaru has a different way to travel across."

He leveled a flat look at his deputy headmaster, "she almost killed me when she stumbled across me. I am thankful that she did not, and after a day or two of trying to determine the language she spoke I was able to cast the appropriate spell on myself to communicate with her and the others."

"Others? There are more like her?" McGonagall asked before she could stop herself.

Dumbledore smiled, "many more, though she is part of a small family, what she calls a pack, that numbers eight." He folded his hands together with a contemplative expression. "Though that is further along in my tale," he stated after a short silence, "when I appeared in her land I landed not far from a group of creatures that were quiet ghastly. Both in appearance and demeanor. She had been traveling and happened upon us all before they were able to put me in a pot and eat me. Though she later stated that she had not had plans on saving me, a human in their world was a very rare occurrence."

I'm sorry… don't kill me? I did mention before that updates would be sparse. I hope this dates you all for a little while. Been working on it for a good bit. Still not satisfied with it but I figured better than nothing.

I know I leave you wanting, but I left myself that way as well so there you go.