A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 542: Canon Side Story: Kunou\'s Adventures Part 1

"Mum!" I squeaked.

"I\'m just asking." She sniffed. "Your brother forgot to bring clean underwear with him, and I had to owl him some."

"Mum, please!" Ron even groaned as Harry chuckled next to him.

"Alright, fine." Mum finally relented. "I\'m just sad to see my baby girl leave!" She pouted.

"I\'ll be fine Mum." I wasn\'t a baby!

She was embarrassing me in front of Harry!

"Since your older brothers snuck off, I\'m counting on you to get Ginny situated, Ron." Mum looked at him and he just huffed and rolled his eyes. "And if I hear some ridiculous story about you wandering away and getting lost, I\'ll tan your hide if something happens to Ginny."

Mum pursed her lips looking at Harry but scowled when she looked at Ron. "Ron dear, people don\'t have tails and ears. If something like what you saw happened, you were probably under some magic. Or Merlin forbid, the twins snuck some fire whiskey in your juice….again."

"Then how come we couldn\'t get inside the platform!? And Harry as the thing the guy gave him!" He pointed at Harry.

"It\'s far from the first time you\'ve ran headfirst into the wrong wall, Ron. And I already looked at that piece of paper, there\'s nothing special about it." Mum deadpanned. "But enough of that, get going, the conductor gave last call. Help your sister find Luna so she can sit with a friend."

Ugh, I didn\'t want to sit with Luna, I wanted to sit with Harry. Or at least, find some….normal people to sit with.

Mum always made me play with Luna even when we were growing up!

The train\'s whistle blew again, and Mum started pushing us. "Hurry up, don\'t be late or you\'re staying home this year!"

"We\'re going Mum, sheesh!" Ron grumbled.

"Have a good school year, Harry." Mum smiled.

"Thank you, Ma\'am." Harry smiled and waved back.

"Come on Ginny, we\'ll show you were the first-year compartment is." Ron grumbled again as we walked to the train.

"Well, well if it isn\'t the youngest Weasley." Someone stepped in front of us. "I forgot about this one, but then again it\'s hard to keep track of all the piglets in a litter."

"Watch it Malfoy!" Ron shouted. "Don\'t you have something better to do, like polishing your nails and adding more gel to your hair?"

He scoffed. "As if you would understand proper grooming, Weasley. Do you even shower?" He covered his nose.

"What do you want, Malfoy? Just come here to strut around like a peacock." Harry quickly defended. "I don\'t see your two boyfriends with you anywhere."

Malfoy scowled. "I just wanted to see the blood traitors and half-blood one last time." He added with a smirk.

"What\'s that supposed to mean, you slimy snake?" Ron huffed.

"Of course you didn\'t hear. It\'s a privileged piece of information for the higher sort." He pulled on his collar, gloating. "You can pass the information onto the mudblood bucktooth friend of yours when you see her. A legendary Dark Witch is teaching at Hogwarts this year." He laughed, turning to walk away. "By the end of the year, there\'s only going to be Purebloods as my father said."

"….what do you think he meant by that, Ron?" Harry asked in a whisper.

"He\'s probably just making up lies. Come on Harry, you know Dumbledore would never hire a dark witch or whatever." Ron shrugged. "Come on, Ginny, this is the first-year compartment, let\'s find Luna real quick."

"It\'s fine, I can find her." I didn\'t want to embarrass me. But noticing Harry was looking at me, I pushed my hair behind my ear, giving him a smile.

"Right, and then you\'ll tell Mum and she\'ll send a howler in the middle of dinner!" Ron grumbled. "There\'s too many compartments." Ron took a deep breath. "Luna!" He shouted.

"Ron!" I covered my face as almost all the compartments opened, and people peeked their heads out.

"Ginny!" I heard Luna as I peeked through my fingers. "Over here Ginny!"

"Come on Ginny." Run pulled my hand and I just groaned even more.

Even Harry was laughing!

"Hey Loon— Luna, Mum said to drop Ginny off with you." Ron nearly shoved me inside her compartment, and he stopped for some reason. "It\'s you!"

"Hello." A voice I never heard answered back.

I peeked over to see….

Were those tails and ears.

"The girl with the tails and ears!"

…Ron don\'t be mean.

"Ron, stop shouting." Harry pushed him inside as I was already nearly shoved inside, and he closed the door behind us.

At least someone has common sense!

"It\'s her, Harry!"

"I can see that, Ron." Harry forced a smile. "Sorry he can be excitable."

"Daddy said people would act weirdly." The girl shrugged.

….what is she?

"What are you?" Ron blurted out.

Merlin, Ron, can\'t you control what you say for a second?

"Ronald Weasley, don\'t be rude." Luna chastised. "I\'m going to write your mother a letter if you can\'t behave."

Ron\'s eye\'s widened. "…I was just asking."

"I\'m a Youkai." She said simply.

"A whatsit?"

"A Youkai." She huffed. "Specifically, I\'m a Kyuubi-no-kitsune, a Nine Tailed Fox."

I had no idea what any of that meant.

She then.....a big….was that a sweet roll? It just suddenly appeared in her hand, and she nibbled on it before pulling half of it off and handing it to Luna.

"Thank you, Kunou!" Luna said happily ignoring everyone in here staring at them both.

"Friends share!" Kunou nodded as if she was reciting something she heard.

"My dad said that too!" Luna smiled. "Ginny, aren\'t you going to join us? And you must be Harry Potter." She looked at Harry. "I heard you once slayed a dragon while you were still in diapers. My dad tried to get an interview with you, but Dumbledore disputed the truth of the books stating that \'An infant is in no way capable of slaying a fire breathing dragon\', but when Daddy asked him how he defeated a Dark Lord that was said to have also killed dragons in the past, he couldn\'t answer."

"….um, hello?" He answered.

Yeah, that\'s how you respond to Luna most of the time.

"Hey, where did you get that?" Ron seemed to ignore everything and pointed at the snack in Kunou\'s hands.

Really, Ron?

"Home." She answered and stuffed the last of it into her mouth, staring at him unblinking as she slowly chewed and swallowed it.

Ron just stared at her with nearly the same look.

She then took out a bottle of water from somewhere and drank it. "Do you want something to drink, Luna?"

"Water would be lovely, Kunou."

She took out another bottle of water and gave it to Luna.

"How – "

"There you guys are, I\'ve been looking everywhere. I feared the worse until I heard Ron\'s shout from the next car over!" The door slammed open and Ron\'s friend Hermione pushed inside. "I swear, you two always –" She stopped and looked at the girl like everyone else. "…..hello?"

"Hello." She answered back, taking out a napkin from somewhere again, and wiping her face before making it disappear.

"How are you doing that?" Hermione looked at her with eyes narrowed.

"Hmm?" Kunou tilted her head.

"You\'re just….making things appear and disappear."

"Magic."

"That – obviously, but how."

"Magic."

"That\'s not an answer!"

"Mione\', come on." Harry tried to calm her down. "This is a first year, uh…."

"I\'m Kunou." She said in monotone. "Kunou Schweinorg."

Hermione tilted her head. "I think I\'ve heard that name before."

"She\'s here from Japan." Luna spoke. "And I\'m Luna Lovegood."

Hermione opened her mouth but closed it again. "I\'m Hermione Granger. What type of Magical creature are you? I thought they didn\'t let Magical Creatures into Hogwarts? Is it a type of magic of your species that lets you make things appear and disappear?"

"You\'re very rude." Kunou frowned.

"Ah…?" Hermione\'s eyes widened. "I-I\'m not rude, I was just asking some questions!" She huffed.

"I thought I heard screeching; I would have thought the mudblood would be crying in the bathroom again."

"Malfoy." Harry hissed.

"Oh, don\'t look at me like that, I was just passing by, it\'s not like I wanted to be near the likes of you all for longer than I needed." He blinked and again, another person went quiet and looked at the strange girl. "It\'s you again, they\'re letting actual animals inside. Wait until I write to my father and tell him that I have to share a school with an animal. Are those even real?" He reached forward and tried to grab one of her tails.

Though, very quickly, the strange girl\'s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and twisted. I barely saw what happened, only that Malfoy was up in the air, flipped upside down and slammed onto the ground outside the cabin.

"Weak." She said sounding kinda bored.

The strange girl, without any expression change, shut the door and locked it.

"…..Merlin." Ron whispered.

"Wicked." Harry grinned.

"….is he going to be alright?" I asked, quietly.

The girl nodded. "I made sure not to break his wrist."

"Y-you can\'t just go around attack people like that….?!" Hermione gaped.

"Daddy said if someone tries to touch me inappropriately, I\'m allowed to." She replied.

"Well, it\'s Malfoy…" She pursed her lips. "But how did you do that?"

"With my hand." The girl said.

"….."

"….."

"Do you want some Juice, Luna?" Kunou said, taking out…was that a gourd?

"Oh, what kind of juice!?" Luna\'s eyes sparkled.

"How are you doing that!?" Hermione practically screamed.

"Magic."

The poor girl silently screamed this time.

"Uh, why don\'t we get going, Hermione." Harry awkwardly put himself between them. "This compartment is for first years, let\'s go find out own." The door opened, and thankfully Malfoy wasn\'t there anymore.

Hermione huffed, stomping her foot. "Fine!"

"Yeah, Malfoy said something about a Dark Witch teaching this year!" Ron started wildly retelling how Malfoy stopped us when we first got on the train as they left the compartment.

"Well, that was strange." Luna commented.

"They\'re weird." Kunou nodded.

…..I don\'t think either of you should be calling other people weird.

"Do you want some Juice?" Kunou offered.

"Uh…..sure?" I hesitantly answered and before I could blink she took out a cup and was pouring….oh it\'s apple juice. "Thank you?"

Kunou smiled. "You\'re welcome!"

Luna also smiled. "Japanese people are very big on manners." She stated.

Is that why she was being weird before?

"Oh, um. I\'m Ginny Weasley." I introduced myself.

"I\'m Kunou Schweinorg!" The girl was much more expressive than before. "Is it your first year too?"

"Y-yes, this is my first year at Hogwarts."

"Ginny and I lived next to each other." Luna stated. "All of her family have been in Gryffindor, what house do you think you\'re going to be in, Kunou?"

"How do they decide?" Kunou asked.

"My brothers told me that they had to wrestle a troll." I said quietly. "But I don\'t believe them."

For some reason Kunou\'s eyes lit up. "We get to fight trolls!?"

"That\'s strange, my daddy told me that we put a magic hat on our heads that reads our minds and tells us where we belong." Luna looked confused.

"That seems silly." I pursed my lips.

"Yeah, that\'s silly." Kunou laughed.

"I should have known, my Dad was trying to trick me." Luna sighed. "I guess it makes more sense that we have to fight a troll to secure our spot in Hogwarts, it is the best school in the world. I\'m not very confident in fighting a troll though."

"You can use my spear." Kunou offered.

"….spear?" I looked at her weirdly until a red spear appeared in her hand and for some reason, I found it hard to breathe and the hairs on my neck stood up.

"Oh, that\'s a pretty shade of red!" Luna clapped her hands. "But I\'ve never held a spear before."

….why do you have a spear?

"Auntie Scáthach said that the spear is the best weapon or someone who doesn\'t know how to use a weapon." Kunou nodded like she was proud of herself for relaying that.

"Hmm, do you think other students brought weapons if we\'re going to fight a troll?" Luna asked.

"If they didn\'t, then they\'re not very smart." Kunou shrugged.

"I couldn\'t disagree." Luna accepted.

What….is wrong with these two?

"Hey Ginny, what do you think your brother meant by a \'Dark Witch\'?" Luna looked at me. "I heard that we have a handful of new teachers at Hogwarts this year."

"Uh…Malfoy said that there\'s a \'Legendary Dark Witch\' teaching this year?" I relayed. "I don\'t know what that\'s supposed to mean though. I think my parents would be more worried if something like that happens."

"Oh, that\'s Auntie Medea." Kunou answered. "Daddy helped her get a job teaching here."

"Medea from the Argonaut?" Luna tilted her head.

"Uh huh." Kunou nodded.

"Oh, that\'s neat." Luna said simply. "I didn\'t know she was still alive."

"Whats….going on?" I looked between them.

"You should really read more books, Ginny." Luna was chastising me for some reason. "Medea of Colchis is famous as being the wife of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. In the stories, she sailed with a bunch of famous people like Hercules."

"Auntie Medea doesn\'t like people mentioning her ex-husband." Kunou responded.

"How…do you even know something like that?"

"I\'ve read a lot of books trying to find references to Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. There are lot of Myths from muggles that reference magical things, so I thought maybe there would be a clue there." Luna sighed. "That\'s how I know about Youkai too! I never did get to meet any when I went to Japan though."

I don\'t even know what\'s going on anymore.

"Huh, Ginny, you seem to have more Wrackspurts than normal."

"What are Wrackspurts?" Kunou asked.

"They\'re these little invisible creatures that float into your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."

"Yeah, she has a lot of wrackspurts." Kunou agreed.

This was going to be a long train ride.

"Do you want some snacks? I have a lot." She held her hands up and floating around her were all kinds of snacks and sweets, I\'ve never seen before.

Maybe it wouldn\'t be so bad.

[***]

"First years ova here. First years, four to a boat!" Was that Hagrid?

Everyone said Hagrid was a half-giant and he was really nice.

"Hagrid!" Kunou threw her hands up and ran at the half- giant, jumping onto his shoulder.

"Ohoh, hello there Kunou." He chuckled, patting her on the head before setting her back on the ground as everyone looked at her with strange looks. "Come along, four to a boat everyone."

Luna just smiled and followed along with Kunou and I…..hesitantly followed too.

There was another girl that was alone and we had an open spot so Hagrid ushered her to join us.

"Wait there, lass." Hagrid looked at Luna. "Why are ya holding a spear?" He scratched his head.

"….it\'s her wand." Kunou lied through her teeth.

"Huh, really?" The Half-Giant looked at her for a moment then shrugged.

The other girl in the boat looked at me as if she wanted an answer, but I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

It didn\'t take long for the boat to start moving across the lake as they headed for Hogwarts. It wasn\'t the first time I saw the school, so I wasn\'t staring at it like all the other kids.

Though the lake was really pretty at night, the way it reflected the stars.

"Is it a race?" Kunou asked as the boats were floating by themselves forward.

Luna\'s eyes widened. "That must be it, Kunou!" She clapped her hands together. "It\'s a race of course."

"Luna, I don\'t think It\'s a race…" I said quietly.

"Are we allowed to use Magic to win?" Kunou asked, her ears twitching.

The other girl was just staring blankly at Kunou\'s tails and ears so I felt like I wasn\'t going to have any help here.

"Well, it is a Magic School, so obviously." Luna replied.

Kunou\'s hands opened up and she was holding pieces of paper between them. They sort of looked like the one that Harry showed Mum earlier…

She threw them out and they hit the water and….the water immediately froze under the other boats.

It wasn\'t immediate, but very quickly the other kids panicked as they stopped moving.

There were cries of confusion, panic and worry among them.

A few of them had the bright idea to climb onto the ice, as awkward as it was, and their boats tipped over.

More than a handful of people fell into the water.

Thankfully the ice broke.

Unfortunately, that was because massive tentacles shot up out of the water grabbing at people!!!!!

"A monster!" Kunou stood up, the boat rocking from the waves the monster was making. "Let\'s go save them!" She hopped off the boat and landed on the ice that was unbroken and started running at it.

"Wait for me!" Luna was much more awkward, but she somehow stood up on the ice, almost falling down a few times before sliding gently along after her…..still holding that spear.

I don\'t know what I should have been surprised about. The giant monster, or the fact that a girl with fox ears and tails was throwing fire at it and Luna was trying to stab it with a spear.

[***]

Sorting Hat POV

I was so excited, it was almost time, my favorite part of ever year! Those bright young faces coming through Hogwart\'s doors for the first time, the magical school opening up before their eyes and the sense of wonder they had!

Oh, I felt it in every strand of magic that made up my being. It was my purpose to sort each and every one of them to the house that best fit them, but I so did enjoy my job.

Of course, my second favorite day of the year was watching the graduation of the students who finally finished out their schooling here, seeing what wonderful Wizards and Witches they became.

So exciting, I prepared my new song as well! I can\'t wait for everyone to hear it, I spent quite a few months on it.

Dumbledore stood up, silencing the crowd of former students and I knew the time was coming.

"Students!" His voice carried across the whole room. "Before we begin with introducing our new staff or talking about the new year, you all know what time it is. Let\'s welcome our first years." He smiled gesturing to the door, and it flung wide open.

His smile was met with a rather dreary atmosphere as Professor McGonagall strode in with a very annoyed look on her face and...why was she holding a spear?

She strode up to Dumbledore and whispered into his ear.

"Oh dear." He spoke, seemingly forgetting that he had cast a spell to let his voice reach everyone in the room. "Ahem, let\'s welcome our first years."

Very quickly, I noticed Professor McGonagall passing the spear off to one of the new teachers….for some reason as the new teacher had a sheepish look, taking it and putting it somewhere out of view.

The atmosphere utterly ruined, the new students came through the door with nearly all of them completely soaking wet, dripping everywhere onto the floor.

"Students, line up and wait for your names to be called then you will sit here and be sorted." Professor McGonagall stepped next to me, announcing the hall.

"What about my song?" I looked at her.

"Sorry Sorting Hat, but unfortunately, we need to quickly finish this sorting due to…..extenuating circumstances."

I heard her mention something about several students sent to the hospital wing under her breath.

"Very well." I sighed in my nonexistent heart.

I suppose such things happen from time to time.

"Martha Fitzgerald." The Professor declared.

A young lady with a nice shade of orange hair and freckles nervously came up and sat down as the Professor put me on top of her head.

Immediately, I saw the reason for every student being drenched.

Oh dear, did someone mistake the Kraken as being a monster? Well, her memories were rather vague.

Let\'s get down to business.

Ah, so innocent and expressive. A Muggle Born, that\'s fine. Let\'s see, very inquisitive, but it\'s shut behind the door of social expectations. A stern mother and father, a rigorous home life, lack of friends.

What she needs is….

"Hufflepuff!"

The great hall broke out in claps as the girl stood up and was moved towards the Hufflepuff table.

She\'ll do good there, making lots of close friends without the weight of overt expectations bringing her down. She\'ll do well on her own and for her own reasons.

"Ernest Patrick!" The Professor called out.

I Barely had to touch his head.

"Gryffindor!"

"Penelope Tidings!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Ruben Hawkins!"

"Slytherin"

"Cole Bradley."

"Slytherin!"

"Alan Saunders."

"Hufflepuff!"

Several in a row were rather easy. Then again, rarely do I have a difficult child to sort. Most children aren\'t so set into a certain mold that makes it difficult to decide where to place them.

"Luna Lovegood!"

Ah, that\'s a name I haven\'t heard in a while. I remember her parents, the lovely people they were.

The young girl sat on the seat and the professor placed me on her head.

….well

"Hello mister Hat." Luna spoke, in her mind of course.

"Hello Miss Lovegood." I replied in her head just as well so no one else could hear. "It\'s not often that students talk back to me." It\'s always fun when I get a witty one.

"I thought I was going to have to fight a troll." She pouted.

I think it\'s more concerning that you are disheartened that fighting a troll is not part of any test. "I\'m afraid that your father had it right." Though it\'s tradition not to spoil the sorting.

But I guess it was fine in the end.

I\'m curious about her little friend that I\'m seeing a lot of here.

"Are you real?" She asked me.

"Are you asking me if I am a real entity or if I\'m a living being, Miss Lovegood?" I was good, but I wasn\'t able to pull every thought from someone\'s mind.

"The first."

"I am on your head, Miss Lovegood."

"Hmm, but maybe you\'re a figment of my imagination?"

"….well, you certainly have a very activate imagination." And I\'m thankful that there are magical contingencies against me having an existential crisis. "In that case, the entire school would be a figment of your imagination, would it not?"

"Hmm, I hadn\'t considered that."

Well, she\'s still a young lady, it\'s fine to let her have her flights of fancy.

"I think a better question is why you thought it was a good idea to run at a kraken with a spear, Miss Lovegood." Just for that I was very tempted to throw her right at Gryffindor.

Complex thoughts are much harder to grasp than memories.

"Of course I had to help my friend. Daddy said that friends help each other." She smiled.

"Did he specifically say that if your friend fights a kraken, you should join her?"

"Yes."

…..well, I\'ll be, I can see the memory of him saying that nearly word for word.

"Though daddy said that I have to do it properly with a harpoon. Do you think he\'ll be mad that I used a spear instead?"

"I see you have a rather inquisitive mind, Miss Lovegood." I ignored her question because I had no honest idea how to answer her. "Not much of a schemer though, even if you have a healthy ambition. Your courage mostly extends to jumping into danger with your friend, which is concerning in its own way. You certainly have a fierce protectiveness and love for friends and family, but your mind is something very unique. Despite everything else, the desire for knowledge – "Albeit for odd reasons. " – is a very predominant trait, therefore, I\'m going to have to say – "

"Ravenclaw!"

I came off her head and she skipped happily over to the Ravenclaw table.

She would do good there….I think.

"Kunou Schweinorg!" The Professor seemed particularly annoyed here.

About half the room hushed. Well, it certainly must be surprising for them, even for me, I\'ve only ever sat on the head of one Youkai once before, and it wasn\'t even a proper sorting, just a visitor from Japan who wanted to experience it.

The young lady with Nine Tails and two furry ears on top of her head strode up to me infront of everyone with a clear nervousness about her.

Yes, a great many people were paying attention to her unique characteristics.

The Professor placed me on her head and I felt like I hit a mental wall.

Well, this is new.

Was it a natural occlumency?

No, it was something else, it was as if there was a solid mental barrier protecting her from me being able to delve into her memories.

"Well, this is certainly something." I could still speak into her mind at least.

"Uh….hello?"

"Hello young lady. Normally, I look into each student\'s head and best sort them based on their characteristics and personality, but I seem to be unable to get into your head."

"I don\'t want you in my head!" She quickly defended herself.

"You don\'t need to worry, I\'m very bound to secrecy. Not even the headmaster is able to get me to tell him what I see inside your head."

"….you promise?"

"I give you a promise as the Sorting Hat, the name bestowed by my creators, the founding four of Hogwarts."

She fidgeted, removing a bracelet from under he sleeve….was that one of Fawkes\'s feathers?

Suddenly, the barrier around her mind vanished I was able to push inside.

I looked through her memories, everything.

...oh my.

I believe I just found God.

Am I capable of having a religious experience? Because I very much believe that is happening.

Do I have a soul?

Gods exist and they will destroy anyone who harms this little girl.

I am both frightened and unsure of how to handle this new information.

"Mister Hat, am I supposed to do something?"

Preferably throw me into the nearest fire.

"….I am unsure of how to sort you, why don\'t you tell me which house you want to go to and give me a good enough reason." I rarely do this but it\'s a rare occurrence that I find myself speechless. "Gryffindor, for the brave, Hufflepuff, for the unity, Ravenclaw for the knowledge – "

"Slytherin!" She declared.

"….dare I ask why?"

"Well, Snakes are almost like dragons, right?" She smiled.

I am much too sober to handle this right now. Am I capable of drinking? I suppose I\'ll be finding out later.

So it better be..

"Slytherin!"

[***]

A/N

First part of Kunou\'s Adventures. I thought it would be fun to do it from perspectives all around Kunou rather than her.

These are canon side stories, so they take the spot of a normal chapter release. I\'ll do them periodically. The second part is up on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.

If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone