Landis' office was a efficient, sterile place. There were no personal effects, nothing unnecessary, and the dark, sleek furniture bordered that thin divide between streamlined and stark. There had been a portrait on the wall, but Landis had taken it down rather than work under its nosy, gossipsome watch. The walls, not plastered over like many in the castle, were left bare stone; smaller than most professors', confining, it lacked personality and warmth. There were no windows.

Landis rather liked it, but her taste in decor was dubious. A school career in the dungeons changed one's perceptions of "cozy."

Now she sat behind her desk, tapping an uninked quill against requisition forms and trying not to think of why it was so much easier to cross her legs in this gender. She had summoned one of her Slytherins, O'Doherty, for a little chat that was long-overdue. The boy's elf had been a matter of conversation ever since Casey's sorting, or so Landis had been given to understand after her hire. Following her appointment as Head of House she'd kept an eye on the two. It was not so unusual for purebloods to bring along a servant from home; certainly the O'Doherties, who had many elves, could spare one for their heir. Usually these elves joined the Hogwarts household, taking up the laundry, room cleaning, or even cooking of their ward but seldom did they accompany their master so closely as this Dingy.

There were extenuating circumstances, Landis was aware, which was why the boy had been allotted extra coddling. His first three years had resulted in a sickly small frame and oft-occurring bouts of weakness that plagued him while others his age shot up and filled out. Despite his ailments he was supposed to be a quick-witted and cunning boy... who still kept his house elf suspiciously close. He should not need a peon to prop himself up.

Really, that this conversation was happening at all was a compliment to O'Doherty. If Landis hadn't thought him worth the time, she would have left him to his life of dependency and restraint.

Casey had no idea as to why his Head of House had summoned him. What had he done to warrant the need for discipline? There was the ever looming consequences of his Herbology final, but Casey had slugged through the primitive horrors Alistair Grey could dish out with minimal complaint, thus far. Was it the duel with Blossom? That wasn't even a sparring match, and the only person worse off from the confrontation had been Casey himself, with Rose's unexpected unleashment of his namesake.

Nonetheless, all Casey could count on was his first impression. This was the typical dressing prep from Dingy, immaculate and polished attire. The rest would prove to be an exercise in his attempts with Occlumency. Having determined he had done nothing too wrong, it would keep his face neutral should Landis Morgan surprise him.

Casey rapped twice on the office door, than entered. "You requested to see me, Mr. Morgan..."

So much to keeping a controlled face. Casey's eyebrows, harsh lines that they usually were, shot up his forehead. He mulled what he was seeing over. Salazar's Shiny Pate! How had these events lined up? Twice in one week he had come face to face with highly effeminate men![1]

What made the effect worse, the effect of seeing that his Head of House must have gotten an anti-thesis to Casey's gender enchanting amulet, was the fact that there was nothing else in the office to distract him. He wondered how much Landis Morgan had planned the effect. Or if he still employed it during the time he was a she.

1.	Odd One Out

The rap at the door announced Casey's presence as well as his words, though Landis raised her head at the first. O'Doherty took a step or two in and then paused; his eyebrows crawled up his forehead in the brief double-take she had become very familiar with over the past week. As reactions went his was hardly noticeable, except Landis noticed everything.

She arched a single blonde brow at the boy in her doorway, as though to match or mock his own. Her train of thought was rather different from Casey's, however - a vaguely surprised my, he's a well-dressed little bugger.

"Come in, Mr. O'Doherty," she said sharply, uncurling a finger towards the spare chair in front of her desk. If he wasn't going to say anything, certainly neither was she. "Sit."

"I've heard you had some difficulty playing by the rules in Herbology." She considered him for a moment, then continued, her tone even and impossible to read. "Mister Grey tells me you were disrespectful during your tutoring as well." ('Disrespectful' was not the term Alistair had used, but 'egotripping little fucker' wasn't the kind of thing Landis would repeat to the student himself.) "I thought you were smart, Mr. O'Doherty, but this smacks of inattention and insolence. Care to explain your puzzling behavior?"

This was not the issue that she had called Casey here to discuss, but as far as an opener went it was essential. For the first, Landis could really care less, but the greenhouses had already faced enough destruction in the previous year without a Slytherin adding to their losses. The second point, however, was one which she would be careful to drive home: the students at this school would need to recognize Grey's authority if he was to be of any use to Landis.

Blazes, so it was about Herbology. Would any of this ever go away? Casey sat, mind quickly formulating a response. "If Mr. Grey said I was disrespectful, he was disrespectful towards me too. Stereotyping me as a certain kind of student because of one academic issue. Though I suppose it started when I mistook him for a woman. He looks rather like you n--, looks rather effeminate, an honest mistake, though I gather it's unrelated to your current predicament." This must have been why Landis had returned Casey's wand before his afternoon classes via a house elf, instead of in person as Grey had suggested.

It started when he didn't get your name right. But this objection was not a thought to speak aloud.

"I would put forward that I did do what he wanted." Eventually. "I only wanted clarification."

"Ah," Landis said, unable to swallow her smile. Poor Alistair. He really ought to at least cut his hair if he was going to get so offended at the common mistake. "I do hope you didn't.... well, you did, didn't you. Yes, it's unrelated." A delicate cough. Landis was amused. "In the future I would avoid judging on appearances. Mr. Grey is an extremely competent member of the staff. He can be difficult to get along with, but he respects intelligence and ambition. I'm disappointed that you chose to show him neither."

She looked at Casey keenly, without scorn or reproach. "I'm not going to assign you additional punishment. The detention was enough. But I don't want to see this kind of behavior from you again. Reputation is important; I don't think this is the kind you want to earn for yourself."

Another raised eyebrow from Casey. So Grey was at least capable. Smart and difficult to work with like so many Slytherin graduates before: Grey, Landis, and even Snape in his heyday. Slytherin house could be such bollocks at times when it came to the kind of intellect it introduced.

"Any ambition I put forth Grey failed to recognize. Or just didn't care because Herbology wasn't a factor in my plans." And showing him up with the wand must have tied his panties in a knot. Once again Casey was thinking of the visiting Durmstrang delegation. If the rumors were true, by this year Casey would be on the track to one of the three disciplines. They had an entire tract based solely on Spellworks, classes such as Herbology were done minimally and eventually not at all to those students. Times like these Casey almost wished he would have had the clout to attend Durmstrang instead but that lead to a whole chain of issues in this alternate life. Least of all if he could have survived with his weaknesses...

"Indeed, it is becoming not the reputation I hoped for." While not a blaze of glory though blazes had been involved, Casey had hoped for a resolute ultimatum in his favor. To not continue with the subject or have an alternative means to cover it. But there were examination levels in fifth year and Casey was saddled with whoever had been gotten to cover his remedial sessions. He would have preferred hiring his own tutor...but then he honestly didn't know anyone in the field.

Salvaging the mess was taking more effort than Casey had ever realized. There was one thought that floated in his mind. First impressions were terrible things to befoul because mostly everyone stuck to their first impressions of others and of you. It was a two way system, however; if people expected certain things out of Casey, it gave him a mask to do things they didn't expect. This would be how he got out of these circumstances. Somehow.

"Any ambition I put forth Grey failed to recognize. Or just didn't care because Herbology wasn't a factor in my plans."

"Excuses," Landis drawled. "Just act competently next time and this mess will be moot." Such arrogance! And it was true arrogance, not the mere bratty unpleasantness which many young children could muster without effort. She was almost impressed. That was a pureblood Slytherin attitude, right there. It was hard to discipline a mind like that, as shown by Casey's determination to argue against the 'undeserved' judgement. It would be harder still to raise her next point, she suspected. It was not a subject on which she had any particular advice to offer, nor did she have in mind a concrete solution, ultimatum, anything like that. But she would broach the perceived problem, and see what Casey did with it. Even if he reacted vehemently against her words - which was what she expected, given the dependence he'd developed on the creature and a teen's natural disinclination to authority figures taking privileges away - not that she intended to take the elf away, or at least, not unless the bond proved unhealthy -  she could at least get him thinking, perhaps plant some doubt.

In a half-dozen little body cues, Landis dropped some of the formality which necessarily pervaded this meeting. She leaned forward, arms open across the face of the desk rather than tight against her chest - her expression changed, attention shifting - her gaze gentled, some trick of even lashes and an "honest" stare, less confrontational but without giving up the sharp gleam of intellect. It made a small but notable difference in the persona that was Landis Morgan. Not that Landis was normally cold (well, all right, she was about as warm and approachable as a winter coastline), but it made her seem decidingly less... aloof. She was not here for Casey to confide in, and she sacrificed none of her stiff professionalism. However, it was also clear that she no longer had an interest in berating him.

Blunt, or diplomatic? Blunt, or....

"I'm concerned about your closeness with Dingy," she said. "Your dependence on him seems to be growing stronger, rather than weakening as you advance through your years at Hogwarts."

Blunt saved time. The fact that she used the elf's name was a politeness many would not have taken.

"I--pardon?" Casey was caught unawares. This was about Dingy? He had almost said 'excuse me' with a tone that would have earned him ire from Mr. Mrs. Whatever Morgan. Casey composed himself as he thought quickly on the injunction. He was getting to close to Dingy? What an odd statement. In one hand, it was like saying you were too close to your sink. Surreal suggestions. On the other hand, Casey had always secretly looked out for Dingy in spite of the minority that still considered elf abuse funny. It kept him loyal. Well, Dingy had been consistently there through his life. What of it?

"He is useful." Casey said simply. "Mostly I support on him for nursing when managing my allergies. Otherewise there is little else for him to do for me at Hogwarts. He no longer has to cook my meals, the Kitchen crews have adapted to that." And occasionally he and Dingy engaged in target practice. Not actually at the elf. Dingy would send his pot and other targets whizzing through the air when Casey practiced his aim.

"He is also distracting," Landis countered. "Usually personal elves integrate more with the Hogwarts elves." There were elves nearly wedded to their masters - who followed them around constantly, biddable at the owner's every need - used as a personal assistant or glorified message runner. But that was becoming less common, even among the strictest of purebloods, as the treatment of one's servants became synonymous with dirty laundry.

Landis had never much liked such close dynamics between master and elf anyways. They struck her as extremely odd. They seemed, as she attempted to convey to Casey now, to suggest... incompetence.

"I hear he spends a great deal of time with you in the common room," she noted, features schooled into detached, almost reptilian interest. "I would not want you to rely on his company to the exclusion of your housemates. Nor would your schoolwork appreciate the suggestion that you did not work on it alone."

Casey was becoming irked at what his Head of House seemed to be suggesting. Dingy was Casey's and he was getting defensive as if any of his important possessions were in peril.

Integration? Hadn't he just said that Dingy had almost revolutionized the kitchen crew at being more responsive to the dietary needs of the students, by proxy of Casey's own fickle diet? That might be a stretch but more and more through Casey's years at school you were seeing house elves prepare and place vegetarian options and other kinds of substitutes to meals near the very people who liked them. However, the influence was so indirect it was not as if Casey could lay claim to this achievement.

"Well, no one else in the Slytherin Dungeon likes to chat with me, not that anyone has something useful to say." His tone carried indignation but Casey continued to stand straight. "And how in the blazes could a house elf contribute to the content of my schoolwork? All he does is fetch me a book or a pot of ink when my intent is to use my time efficiently. Dingy doesn't write it down and he can't come up with the answers himself! Will I have to start sharing credit with my writing desk for my twenty four inches of History, next, because that is the station where I wrote it?"

Casey's voice became cool again. "I think your sources are placing too much emphasis to what I am sure you would find, in the grand scheme of my full school schedule, is that the moments I utilize Dingy's service are a stunning minority."

"Well, no one else in the Slytherin Dungeon likes to chat with me, not that anyone has something useful to say."

"No?" She gave him a long, cool, unreadable look. "I'm certain there are Slytherins here worthy of your... intellect. Whether you deign to acknowledge their presence is your choice, but I find it hard to believe no one so far has managed to hold your interest quite like your house elf. What a conversationalist he must be."

"The wizarding world is small, and those around you now will be those who surround you in the future. Have you really no thought to forming alliances early, before you leave school? Dingy is convenient, but he will remain loyal. There are more effective uses of your time than spending it all with him."

Casey drew himself up in a right fit of indignation, as if his temper meant anything to Landis. She had no desire to take away his property, and though such withering scorn might work on his peers it did not prompt so much as a flicker in her dispassionate countenance.

"And how in the blazes could a house elf contribute to the content of my schoolwork? All he does is fetch me a book or a pot of ink when my intent is to use my time efficiently. Dingy doesn't write it down and he can't come up with the answers himself! Will I have to start sharing credit with my writing desk for my twenty four inches of History, next, because that is the station where I wrote it?"

"Desks are not sentient," she sighed, unimpressed with his example. "They do not have minds. They are not loyal. They do not have magic, Mr. O'Doherty, do you follow? Do not presume to tell me what I would find in the grand scheme of your full school schedule. I am not expressing concern over the conclusions of one school term but rather the patterns of years, patterns which you do not appear to be breaking. Nor do you seem to possess any desire to build a healthy independence away from your designated nursemaid and play companion. Do you ever intend to stand on your own?"

Hmpf. Casey doubted anyone in the common room would be interested in his specific brand of vigilance. None at peer level, no upperclassmen that disliked his showboating, and certainly not to the younger upstarts like Blossom (who had an idealism Casey once had, he hated being reminded of it) and Wakahisa would probably freak if she knew the full extent of what Casey could do.

"I don't have Dingy around to talk." That would be pathetic. And he did use his time for his purposes, Dingy not always present, not that he was going to reveal the full intent behind some of his schemes. The talk of alliances did catch him off guard. Well, there was his mutual benefit work with Alvis Norling though that was being shot to hell at this point with the boundary broken between them.

"I've looked at alliances outside of the House," Casey said, not mentioning that that his research with Alvis was to remaster runic bound armaments, just because that sounded like just the practice a professor would say 'no' to for how Casey wanted to implement the knowledge.

But if the entirety of this meeting was suggesting that Casey was still dependent on his elf... "I stand plenty well on my own! Don't mistake the things I do need are a limitation. But fine. If nobody likes the sight of an elf that isn't on the Hogwarts crew, you won't see him. I'll show you how I don't need him." His intention to follow through with this dismissal to Dingy was punctuated with a huff.

"Good," said Landis brusquely, wrapping up neatly her opinion on his alliances, loads of conversation mates, and all. "I look forward to seeing your progress." Casey huffed in annoyance, just a child after all. But all children grew up to be something, and with any luck O'Doherty would be one who could stand on his own. Landis had little problem with being disliked by her students, and if he was annoyed with her, if his pride stung, then he would work harder and faster to prove her wrong.

That was the intent, anyways.

"You're dismissed."