The welcome feast seemed normal. The squat woman in pink robes who sat at the DADA professor position at the head table didn't give anybody a good feeling, but most ignored her as much as possible.
They couldn't ignore her when she interrupted the headmaster while he was still talking to the student body after the meal. Her behaviour and her tone were bothering him much more than her words. It became evident to both Harry and Hermione that the pink toad, as some called her, should be removed from Hogwarts as soon as possible.
Harry lifted his eyes to the Hufflepuff table and met Susan's eyes. He tried to convey in very small gestures that he wanted them to meet immediately when allowed to leave the hall. Judging by her slight nod, she understood.
As soon as the students started leaving the table, a house elf popped near the Potters. "Didi will show you to your new lodging, Lord and Lady Potter."
Harry crouched to be closer to its height. "We need to first do some other things, if you don't mind. Can we call you when we're ready?"
Didi seemed surprised at the politeness. "Call Didi or Dobby when you're ready."
Harry wanted to ask about Dobby, but Didi vanished as soon as she finished talking.
Susan was already waiting for them near the door when they left the Great Hall. "I should help the first-year students to the dorms right now, but I asked Hannah to cover for me. This is more important," she said as a greeting.
"Where can we talk privately?" Harry asked.
Susan smiled. "I know an appropriate room. It is a bit out of the way and has no paintings. Some spells will make it as private as possible."
"Paintings?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Yes. The portraits can move from frame to frame, as you already know, and they can even move to otherwise non-magical paintings, hide there and eavesdrop. That's one of the headmaster's ways to know what's going on in the school. Hogwarts house-elves can also be used to spy, but it looks like Dumbledore isn't using them, or hasn't done so until now," Susan explained.
"How do you know about that?" Hermione asked.
"When living with the head of the DMLE, one learns quite a bit," Susan answered.
She stopped near a tapestry and looked around to make sure nobody noticed them. She then urged the Potters silently and they all moved behind the tapestry, finding a nicely lit corridor. Susan opened the door to one of the rooms there.
When they were all inside it, she cast some spells on the door and on the walls. Noticing Hermione's questioning look, she explained, "Locking and silencing charms. You already know such charms, but I used the more powerful ones Auntie taught me, so that not even Dumbledore would be able to penetrate them unnoticed."
"You're going to teach them to us?" Hermione's question sounded more like a command.
"Of course I will. We're partners in this, for now."
Harry noticed the weird phrasing but had no time to ask about it, as Hermione moved to the main topic. "How are we going to remove that menace?"
"We first need to claim our position as owners. We don't need to do it publicly, though. It's enough to make it known to the headmaster, for now, although it won't stay a secret for long, that's sure."
"Then, when should we tell the headmaster?" Hermione asked.
Susan had her answer ready. "We could even do it now, if it's alright with you. Your positions make you exempt from curfew and I'm a prefect, so it's also alright."
Harry wasn't ready. "But how shall we present ourselves? We can't just go in and say, 'Hi, we're the owners. We need to approve all major decisions in school.' It won't go well, I'm sure."
"And you may not count if you're not emancipated, I fear," Hermione added.
Susan smiled. "I got my position as Lady Hufflepuff soon after my twelfth birthday, since such old houses have no age restrictions. I believe Harry should have gotten his lordship at that age too. Legal maturity has nothing to do with that,"
Harry sighed. It was another matter that Dumbledore should have told him but hadn't.
Susan didn't hesitate. "I suggest we make our rings visible before we go into his office and show the rings before saying anything. I also suggest we stay wide apart from each other while there and when we leave, so that he won't be able to cast any spell on all of us at once to 'make us behave', as adults like to say."
Harry nodded. "That's very good thinking. The more I learn about that old man, the less I feel I can trust him."
Susan smiled. "You sound like my aunt when talking about him."
She then turned serious. "Do you know where to go?"
Harry nodded. "I've been there more times than I like. Let's go now, before we become too tired."
–..–
When they approached the gargoyle guarding the stairs to the headmaster's office, Harry suddenly remembered that he didn't know the current password. Hermione sensed his mood.
"As the owners, we need no passwords. The gargoyle should recognize us."
Indeed, as soon as they were about two paces away, the Gargoyle jumped aside, revealing the entrance. Harry still said, "Thank you," before following the two girls in.
"We should now reveal our rings," Susan reminded them.
They stopped for a moment in front of the stairs. Harry made his Gryffindor and Slytherin rings visible. Hermione made her Ravenclaw ring visible and Susan revealed her Hufflepuff ring. They then mounted the stairs.
They found the door to the headmaster's office open. Dumbledore's voice sounded, "Please come in and close the door."
Without even talking ahead about it, they walked in cautiously. Hermione came first, walking to the right side of the door as soon as she passed it. Harry walked a pace behind her, moving to the left, and Susan followed two paces behind, shifting to the right. They also held their wands non-threateningly, as if they just had no place to put them. In a way, it was true — none of them had a wand holster of any sort.
Dumbledore seemed to not notice or ignore their cautious entrance. "To what do I owe this late visit?" he asked, sounding tired but not in a bad mood.
Harry replied, since he had two of the four lordships and as they agreed on the way. "We thought it was right for you to know that the heirs of the four founders are present and are claiming ownership."
He put his hand on the table, showing the two rings and the girls did the same, one on each side of him.
Dumbledore didn't seem too surprised. "I knew about your lordships since you claimed your positions in the Wizengamot. I was unaware of you three coming together. Now, is there a reason that you hurried here instead of going to bed?"
Harry sighed. "A very good reason, or actually — a bad one. Umbridge."
Dumbledore sighed. "I wouldn't have chosen her for that position or any other, but the Minister insisted and I had no other candidate for the position."
"And why is that?" Hermione asked. She had her suspicions already. After all, the alleged curse on the position was no secret.
"The last four professors in that role didn't finish the term and there are a lot of rumours," the old man said dismissively.
"Have you done anything to disprove the rumours about some curse on the position?" Hermione insisted.
"I told everybody that the rumour was untrue. It didn't help."
She chuckled mirthlessly. "Without facts, it's just one man's opinion. The right way would be to ask the unspeakables to check the school for curses or hire a team of curse breakers. You've done neither, so why should anybody accept your opinion? Have you, at least, scanned the school yourself?"
"I'm too busy to spend time on rumours!" he answered indignantly.
"That means that you keep too many jobs. Isn't each of your jobs considered a full-time one? You can't possibly hold all three and do well in any. Resign two and keep the one you're most interested in." Hermione sounded much more mature than her age.
The old man didn't like the idea. "It's not that bad, and I have Minerva to help me."
"Then let her handle the school by herself and keep to your politics, far from here," Hermione said just as authoritatively.
Dumbledore grimaced. He knew she was right, of course, but he needed all three positions to direct the magical world the way he considered the best. He knew others didn't see it that way, but he had never minded others.
Susan spoke now. Moving as far to the right as she could. "It's no longer your decision, Mr Dumbledore. We have no say about your political positions, but the headmaster position requires your full dedication, so you can decide. You can either keep your position here and resign from any other position, or resign from your position at Hogwarts and do whatever you like elsewhere. Even then, I would suggest sticking to one position only."
It was Harry's turn to speak. "We don't expect your answer immediately, but we'd like to have it before dinner tomorrow. Until then, please make sure that all the teachers have appropriate credentials and know how to behave in class."
Hermione smiled at him, already far to his left. "Is there any other urgent subject you'd like to discuss with us now?"
Dumbledore shook his head in disbelief. He'd never expected to be confronted that way and by mere children, except that they were really the owners. He knew he should tread carefully or lose all his powers at school, at least. He looked at them one by one, noticing for the first time how wide apart they stood and how none looked directly into his eyes. Did they know about his Legilimency or about the other spells he used when persuasion failed him? How could they? Wasn't he prudent enough in his actions?
"I'll give you a reply tomorrow. I believe it's already too late to discuss anything else." With some luck, he'd be able to cast on them while they leave.
They all said, "Goodnight, Headmaster," but their eyes stayed alertly on him.
"Ladies first," Harry said pleasantly.
Susan smiled and turned to the door. She turned her gaze back inside as soon as she was on the other side.
Hermione started moving only after Susan was almost at the door. She also turned to look back as soon as she reached the door.
Harry then turned, making sure not to obstruct the view, and walked after them, closing the door behind him.
Dumbledore was left thinking. 'They know something and they don't trust me. Will I even be able to move my plans forward with them as my superiors? Hermione is extremely smart, and it looks like the binds have no effect, and Harry is becoming just as smart. And Susan… I can't do anything to her, considering her aunt. Oh, why is fate hating me?!'
–..–
The three teens stopped at the bottom of the stairs and made their rings invisible again. While their position as owners would not stay a secret for long, the rings were too eye-catching and could attract attention of the worst kind.
"What do you think he'll choose?" Susan asked.
"He'll first try to delay his answer, as is his habit. I don't think he would resign from Hogwarts, though. For some reason, he feels that he needs to control me as much as possible. Leaving Hogwarts would not allow this. He'll still try to delay whatever action we ask for as long as possible. We should leave him no leash," Harry said.
"He was very disappointed that we were so cautious when there. I'm sure he wanted to use some spells on us, but with the three of us watching him attentively, he simply couldn't, not stealthily, at least," Susan said.
Hermione was more practical. "I suggest we meet again after we get our timetables. I want the three of us present in the first DADA lesson for our year. As Lord and Ladies, our presence at lessons is optional, so it would not cause any problem if we miss another lesson."
Harry put his hand on her forehead in mock concern. "Are you feeling well, dear? You suggested skipping a lesson! It's not like you at all!"
She moved his hand away in mock annoyance. "I'd rather skip one lesson than have to skip too many for the whole term. The sooner we get a proper DADA teacher, the better."
She then seemed to have remembered something. "Oh, as for the alleged curse — I suggest we handle it ourselves, or Dumbledore will procrastinate for another year or decade. We can shoulder the expense, and I suspect it can even pay for itself and leave some profit too. We'll talk about that tomorrow, though."
Susan left them a moment later.
Harry called, "Didi!"
The house elf appeared and led them to a door, not far from the Gryffindor dorms, where they found a very nice suite for a couple. They didn't pay it much attention, though. They only thanked Didi and then went to bed. Despite their tiredness, they still enjoyed two peaks each before succumbing to sleep.