Ruby Rose sighed. Another test, and most likely another low grade. Another patronizing look from Weiss. Another "you'll-do-better-next-time" speech from Yang. Another sleepless night of studying in an attempt to make it up. Another round of the same tiring and confusing cycle that was her math class.

Ruby stared glumly at the paper in her hands that was due in Professor Cobalt's class tomorrow afternoon. The halls of Beacon were empty, with the time being so close to curfew, but the caped girl didn't notice.

Ruby didn't notice the man until she had nearly run into him. Her heart jumped against her ribs, silver eyes widening. "Professor Ozpin!"

The Headmaster had a faint amused smirk on his lips. "Miss Rose."

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and its dark and i-" Ruby stammered.

Ozpin chuckled. "Don't worry, Miss Rose, no harm done. I must say though, you do seem quite far from your dorm room."

"Oh, yeah... I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going..." Ruby said forlornly.

"Well you might want to start heading back. Curfew is close," Ozpin remarked. He smiled, leaning casually on his cane. "You wouldn't want to end up like Miss Belladonna, would you?"

Ruby laughed lightly. Blake had gotten detention too many times to count for breaking curfew by losing track of time while reading in the library. A few times, Blake had even been dragged back to Team RWBY's dorm room by her shirt collar by the librarian, who wanted nothing more than to just go home and sleep.

Ruby smiled glancing away. "I totally didn't forget what time curfew is," She said, rolling her eyes.

Ozpin glanced at his watch. "In... ten minutes."

Ruby's heart dropped. Shed never get back to the dorm in time, even with her semblance! She was on the complete opposite side of the immense campus! She sighed.

"What's that paper for?" Ozpin asked.

Ruby glanced at the 'test'. "Oh, it's a paper in Cobalt's."

"Yours?"

"Yeah I was having some trouble with it," the young girl admitted.

"Why not ask Professor Cobalt?" Ozpin inquired.

"I don't want her to think i can't do it. She thinks i can do better, and i want to show her i can."

"Well," Ozpin said, shooting her a sympathetic look, "I know for a fact Professor Goodwitch is in her office and won't be leaving for at least another hour. She excelled in all her math classes. Maybe she can help you."

"G-Goodwitch?" Ruby asked nervously. The stern, blonde professor was one of the last people she wanted to ask for help. It wasn't that Ruby didn't like the professor, it was just that she was completely terrifying.

"Mm hm. I was just there. Tell her I sent you."

"Th-thank you, Professor," Ruby said as he began to walk down the dark hallway. "Wait! Professor Ozpin?"

Ozpin turned. "Yes, Miss Rose?"

"Is what Professor Peach says true?"

"And what does Professor Peach say?" Ozpin asked.

"That you and Professor Goodwitch..." Ruby trailed off awkwardly, trusting the Headmaster could fill in the blank.

"Goodnight, Miss Rose." Without another word, Ozpin turned away and continued down the hall.

If it weren't so dark, Ruby might have sworn he smiled.

Glynda Goodwitch glared at the Scroll, typing out tomorrow's lesson, grumbling to herself. "Damn Ozpin... thinks he can just waltz right in here... say whatever her wants... start more rumors... well, it could have been worse, I suppose... he could have kissed me..." Glynda's voice took on a softer, more thoughtful tone. "...not that I would have minded..." She shook her head. "Gah what am I thinking?" she demanded. She kept typing in silence, green eyes narrowed. She sighed. "Maybe..." She glared. "No don't think that. Strictly business, that's all it is. Strictly business," she reassured herself firmly.

She sighed, setting the Scroll down. She opened a drawer, pulling out a worn, old-fashioned photo album. She turned expertly to the first page, decorated with a group picture. Glynda smiled softly at the young, carefree faces. She turned the page to a picture of four, the opposite page holding four pictures. One of the three was two dark haired girls, one of a blonde haired girl and a girl with silver eyes, another of a group of four, and one of a boy and a girl. Glynda's fingertips traced the last picture, smiling wistfully. "Strictly business," she breathed.

"Uh, Professor Goodwitch?" a hesitant voice asked.

Glynda looked up, quickly turning the page back to the group picture, desperately hoping the late-night visitor hadn't been standing there long enough to hear the words the woman had muttered.

It was Ruby Rose.

Glynda checked the time. "It's after curfew."

"P-Professor Ozpin sent me."

Of course he did. Anything to make her job harder.

"He said you could help me with this..." Ruby said, reluctantly holding up a piece of paper.

Glynda told Ruby to come in and took the page from the hooded girl.

"Math?" Glynda asked. "Ozpin sent you here—after curfew-for math homework?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Ruby said quickly.

Glynda scanned the page, pushing her glasses. "Hm."

Ruby ducked her head. Here it goes, the "but-it's-so-simple" routine. Before the woman could start, Ruby piped up, "I know it's probably really simple, I've heard it before. It just doesn't make any sense! For almost a month, I haven't asked for help because a team leader shouldn't need it, but it's..." Ruby sighed.

Glynda nodded understandingly. "It's either this or fail the class," she finished. One of her own teammates had faced the same problem, years ago.

"Yeah..." Ruby agreed shortly, her voice sad.

"Very well." Glynda nodded to a chair near the opposite wall. "Get the chair."

"Yes, Professor." Ruby hurriedly fetched the seat, pulling it up beside Glynda's as the Huntress lay the paper down on the desk, studying it thoughtfully.

"No, Miss Rose, this math is not simple if you don't know the basics, and would it be incorrect of me to assume that is the case?" Glynda asked.

Ruby nodded faintly, her thoughts far away from math and her eyes on Glynda's desk.

Glynda narrowed her eyes at the destracted girl, pushing up her glasses. "Miss Rose, you came for help. I strongly suggest you pay attention," she snapped. I could be in bed right now, she grumbled silently, though she was well aware she'd most likely be working here in her classroom rather than sleeping in her room at Beacon.

Without answering the agitated woman, Ruby looked curiously at the sight before her. "Who are they?" she asked, pointing.

Glynda's green eyes widened. She hadn't put the photo album away!

The page was still open to the group picture.

Gently, Ruby lifted up the book from under the math paper, studying the picture with awe-stricken silver eyes. "Is that you?"

Resisting the urge to yank the book, which was full of personal and private aspects of the stern woman's past, Glynda looked at the student that Ruby's finger indicated.

She nodded. "That's me."

Ruby looked at her. "How old were you?"

Glynda studied the picture. "I believe I had just turned eighteen, or I would have been soon."

"Who are the rest of the people?" Ruby asked curiously.

Taking a breath, trying to relax, Glynda began to point out the faces. Some of the names were familiar to the young girl, and she threw in comments every now and then.

"That's the General? He looks so different!"

"Jake Line… that's the Deputy Headmistress at Kronos in Atlas, right? You two were friends?"

"Ozpin doesn't look any different."

"Oobleck and Port were on a team together? So that's why Oobleck puts up with him."

"Is that…"

Glynda looked up at Ruby. The girl's silver eyes were glued to the face of a young woman with her team. The woman had short dark hair and silver eyes, looking very much like Ruby herself.

"Is that my mother?"

Glynda nodded slowly. "You resemble her greatly." Then the woman turned the page to the pictures she had been reminiscing over when Ruby had entered the room. "There's the entire team."

"Who are they all?" Ruby asked curiously.

"The boy on the left is Qrow Branwen, the girls are his sister Raven and her partner Summer, and the last boy is Taiyang." Glynda smiled fondly at the picture. "Team STRQ."

"Stark…" Ruby repeated. "My mother led the team?"

"Yes."

Ruby's gaze drifted to the picture on the right. "Those were your teammates?"

Glynda nodded, smiling. "Ozpin and I, as well as the Bridge twins, Ryder and Necron. Necron took all the pictures in here," she explained, lightly tapping the photo album.

Ruby looked back at the pictures on the left. She smiled softly. "You were close to my mother?" she asked, looking at the second picture, showing young Glynda and Summer, both smiling brightly.

"Not as close as she and her partner," Glynda admitted, "but yes, we were."

Ruby paused. "Do you miss her?" the hooded girl asked quietly.

"I do," Glynda said in a soft voice. "We took her loss..." she exhaled. "...hard. Especially Ozpin."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Ozpin and Summer trained together often. He considered her one of his closest friends."

"Did he love her?"

The question caught Glynda by surprise, and for the first time in years Glynda found herself asking the same thing. "No. They were friends. Nothing more."

She nodded, satisfied with the answer. "He loved you though, didn't he?" Ruby asked, eyeing the last picture. Ozpin had his arm slung around Glynda's shoulder as the latter was trying to read. Ozpin had been laughing at the irritated but faintly amused look Glynda had shot him.

"No," Glynda replied shortly. "Then and now, our relationship has been strictly business." A small voice in the back of Glynda's mind pointed out that going out of his way to make her blush and kissing her at the most inconvenient times didn't fall into the category strictly business, but Glynda ignored that logic.

"Professor Peach doesn't think so," Ruby commented lightly.

"Professor Peach doesn't know what she's talking about," Glynda snapped.

"Professor?" she asked tentatively.

"Hm?"

"Do you think..." she started. "Could I have one? Of my mother?"

Glynda smiled. Silently, she reached over and slipped the picture of Summer and Raven out of its slot. She turned a few pages and pulled out one of the Team pictures of Team STRQ. Lastly, she found one of Summer all alone. She held them out to the smiling student. "Here. I have plenty. Necron took more pictures than any of us knew what to do with."

Ruby beamed. "Thank you," she breathed, eyes glued to the pictures.

"You're welcome, Miss Rose. Now you should be getting to bed."

"But the math-!" Ruby began to protest.

"I'll explain to Professor Cobalt that you were working with me and you can be given another day," Glynda said dismissively.

Ruby smiled brightly. "Thank you, Professor. See you in class tomorrow," she said, rising, taking her paper one hand and her pictures in the other hand, waving as she left the classroom.

Glynda smiled at the young girl, closing the album and hiding back at the bottom of the drawer, deciding Ruby wasn't the only one who needed to get to bed.

Ruby slowly made her way through the halls, smiling faintly at the pictures in her hands. By the time she looked up, she had found that she had unconsciously led herself to her dorm room. She pulled out her Scroll, slid it through the slot, and opened the door.

Something strong and warm barreled into her, crushing the young girl against itself. All the air in Ruby's lungs was expelled as her arms were pinned to her sides.

"Ruby!" she heard a familiar voice cry. The thing that had clutched her so tightly held her out at arm's length, not lessening its grip. "Where have you been?" Ruby found herself looking into her older sister Yang's concerned lilac eyes. "I was so worried..." the blonde breathed, pulling Ruby into another bear hug.

"Sorry Yang," Ruby choked out, gasping for breath. "I was with Professor Goodwitch."

"Goodwitch? Why? Did she give you detention?" she demanded hurriedly, looking Ruby in the eyes.

Taking a deep breath of air, Ruby shook her head. "No."

"I was about to come looking for you. It's almost midnight," Yang said.

Ruby checked the clock on the desk in the middle of the room. Her sister was right. Ruby had spent nearly an hour with Glynda, looking at old pictures. "Sorry, sis," Ruby apologized.

Yang sighed. "Just text me next time, Rubes."

"Of course, Yangie. Can I go to bed now?"

Yang sighed. "Yeah," she breathed.

Ruby lightly hugged her sister around the shoulders, stretching up on her tiptoes to reach. "Night, Yang!"

"Goodnight, Ruby."

Ruby changed into her pajamas quickly as Yang got into bed. Ruby tucked her precious pictures safely under her pillow with a last loving look and crawled into bed. Withing minutes she was snoring softly, but Yang was still wide awake, watching the ceiling silently. She lay like that for almost half an hour before standing to find something to occupy herself. She looked out the window at the broken moon for a moment, before something on the ground caught her eyes.

Yang bent to retrieve it, holding it into the moonlight so she could see it. It was a paper, and the sight made her gasp and nearly drop it.

It was a picture of two young women, one with red hair and silver eyes, the other with black hair and red eyes, laughing with their arms slung playfully around each other.

One of them Yang recognized from fuzzy and painful memories as Summer Rose.

The other one though...

Yang knew her.

That woman... the one with the shining red eyes...

It was the woman she had asked Junior to look for...

The woman with Summer...

Was her mother.

A/N: Quick note-the name "Professor Cobalt" does not belong to me, it belongs to SoloRogueStudios from their story The Marvelous Misadventures of Ozpin and Glynda. It's one of my favorites. If any of you ship OzGlyn, check it out (just watch the rating).