CHAPTER 9:

THE FIRST TASK

Neo peered at the letter in her hand, frowning. It had come from an unexpected source, and she had to wonder at the motives of the one who sent it. After all, Roman had taught her to be suspicious of those who had seemingly altruistic motives. Some people she knew how to trust, but this person was an unknown quantity.

Dear Neopolitan,

In all this time since you've come back, I haven't been able to speak with you once. Well, conversations may be a bit one-sided, given your affliction. In any case, I decided to reach out to you on a matter of considerable concern. Namely, what we face in the First Task.

Hagrid, the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, asked me to come with him on a covert night's stroll. He brought along with him the headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madam Maxime, with whom he's smitten. Proudly showed off dragons in an enclosure. Hagrid's enamoured with the damned things, but it seems that we're to face dragons in the First Task somehow. On my way back to the castle, I nearly got caught by Karkaroff, who was sneaking around.

I decided that, even if you don't remember me, my sister, I would help you out. Father didn't seem pleased about learning about your miraculous reappearance, but blood is thicker than water, even if your appearance is very unconventional. I was told that Uncle Moony is training you. He was an excellent DADA teacher, and as he specialises in Dark creatures (part of it due to his own affliction, no doubt), he may help you there.

I identified the dragons as the following: a Swedish Short-Snout, a Welsh Green, a Chinese Fireball, a Norwegian Ridgeback, and a Hungarian Horntail. I'd suggest you research accordingly. I have my own strategy, and I'll leave you to formulate yours. I'll be interested in watching what you do, sister.

Yours sincerely,

Charles Potter

Moony peered over her shoulder at the letter, and frowned. "I wonder why he did this."

Neo reached for the Coyote Caper, putting the letter down as she did so. Yes. I wonder why too. One of Roman's key rules for business is ALWAYS look a gift horse in the mouth. But why do you say this, Moony?

"I've had intermittent contact with Charles and my former friends over the years. I had more when I taught DADA at Hogwarts. Charles is…well, there's something about him that is spoiled, and yet doing good things in spite of that. And yet, he had my inner wolf's hackles up the entire time. I brought my concerns to Dumbledore, but he waved off my concerns. Joked about how I was getting to be like Mad-Eye."

It's not paranoia if they are out to get you, Neo showed on her sign. He's not revealing this out of the goodness of his heart. He's doing me a favour. And the thing about favours is that they incur debts. He wants something from me.

"You really think so?"

I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me otherwise.

"Well, Charles is right. I do know a lot about Dark creatures, and while dragons are technically not Dark, they are also dangerous. Hagrid's enamoured with them. There was an incident in Charles' first year when Hagrid hatched a Norwegian Ridgeback in his hut. A hut that was partly built from wood. In any case, while facing a dragon would probably require a universal strategy, each breed is different enough to need some tweaks. Were there ever Grimm like that on Remnant?"

Not that I know of, though there were legends of dragon-like Grimm, Neo said, sidestepping the issue. She knew Cinder Fall intended to summon one of those very beings to Beacon.

"Well, what about your friend on the Scroll? Penny?"

Moony recoiled from the glare in Neo's eyes. That. Is. NOT. My. Friend. It worked for the very people trying to capture us. It was just a military robot who thought itself alive.

"If you think you are alive, then what's the difference?" Moony asked. "If she was military, maybe she knows how to combat creatures like that. Your fighting style is very different to ours, and she might be better able to teach you. I can teach you spells and strategies, but she might be able to help you in ways I can't. And we've only got a couple of days…"

The fact that time was of the essence was the only reason why Neo took the Scroll off the crude charger, and took it out of the cottage after a couple of hours' thought. She activated it, and Penny's face appeared once more. "Sal-u-tations!"

Quiet, you, Neo showed on her Coyote Caper. Now, I don't like you, and given my allegiances back home, I'm sure the feeling is mutual. But I'm facing a dragon in a couple of days, and as much as it galls me to admit it, I need help. It's not a Grimm, but it will easily be as dangerous.

For a time, Penny was silent. Neo was even a little worried that she wouldn't help. Eventually, though, Penny said, "I need information on these dragons. And if you're worried that I will talk to Mr Lupin…I won't. I just…want people to talk to. I want friends. If I'm lucky, my other copies will eventually be recombined in Atlas…and they will get to be with Ruby and my other friends again. But I won't. Please, just…talk to me. That's all I want…"

And so, here she was, in the tent a couple of days later. The Coyote Caper was considered too much of an addition to her wand for this Task, so the wand was removed and the sign was taken away. The Pernicious Parasol would be kept aside. But she could use a Summoning Charm to get them both. She'd given the Scroll to Luna, so that Penny could watch the goings-on, and even record video, particularly of her brother and herself.

So, according to Bagman, she was supposed to retrieve a golden egg from the nest of a dragon. And, according to the enchanted figurine in her hand, a Hungarian Horntail. Worst case scenario.

But she was going to show these sheep that a wolf walked amongst them. Before she had the Coyote Caper taken away, she had asked Bagman whether she would have points taken off for killing the dragon. He had laughed at that, and told her that she wouldn't, though he also said she wouldn't be able to kill a dragon.

Still, what Charles did was disturbing. She felt his scrutiny on her intensely. He was sizing her up, and more and more, she felt ill at ease around him. It was a bit like being around Cinder, she thought, or that one time she and Roman communicated with Salem. Something that had her instincts screaming more and more.

Soon, too soon, it was her turn. And she walked out. She saw the sperm donor and the mutt looking down at her. She could tell by their expressions that they hoped she would become the next meal of this Hungarian Horntail. Well, a reckoning was coming for them. And this would be the first sign of their oncoming demise. Like how the light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train.

She didn't waste any time. As she bowed sardonically to the audience, she cast an Accio. Then, music started up. She knew Penny was playing it, and she knew that song. More appropriate for that belligerent blonde bimbo Yang Xiao Long…but it was still a kickarse song, she had to admit. In fact, having kicked Yang's arse, she had the right to claim her song by right of conquest (maybe she should have stolen the girl's blonde locks instead of trying to slit her throat at the time: that would have been funnier). And as she faced down the dragon, she smirked, even as the Pernicious Parasol and the Coyote Caper came into her hands. She was going to give the herd a show.

Come at me,

And you'll see

I'm more than meets the eye.

You think that

You'll break me?

You're gonna find in time…

Neo began pumping Aura into her legs, running directly at the dragon. Just as it began breathing fire at her, she held up the Pernicious Parasol, and grinned. The umbrella was designed to withstand Fire Dust, poison from Grimm…the material, despite looking like lace, needed a plasma torch to cut through. Dragonfire was a doddle…

You're standing too close to a flame that's burning

Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July.

Sending out your army but you still can't win.

Listen up silly boy, 'cause I'm gonna tell you why…

The moment the dragon stopped, Neo pointed the Coyote Caper at its mouth and fired off a Blasting Hex. Not that it would do too much damage, given that dragons breathed fire in a sort of semi-controlled explosive reaction anyway, but it would certainly do something. Besides, she wanted to play around with her new toy…

I burn!

Can't hold me now,

You got nothing that can stop me!

I burn!

Swing all you want,

Like a fever I'll take you down!

The dragon, even as it choked, slashed at her with a clawed foot. She used her Semblance, a glass image shattering in her place even as she leapt onto the foot and stabbed down hard with the sword of the Pernicious Parasol with a vicious grin. Designed to pierce the exoskeletons of Grim or armour, it went through the dragon's scales like the proverbial hot knife through butter. She opened up a nasty wound on the dragon's foot, and her quick reflexes and Semblance saved her from the inevitable retaliation. She Apparated onto its back as the song continued.

Reign supreme?

In your dreams!

You'll never make me bow.

Kick my ass?

I'm world class,

And Super Saiyan now!

The dragon's tail arched back impressively, stabbing back almost like the scorpion tail of that psychotic Faunus Tyrian. She leapt over it, using her momentum as she somersaulted in the air to cut the tip off the tail with the Pernicious Parasol, before adding insult to injury with Sectumsempra curses. The dragon's hide may be resistant to spells, but the exposed meat was another matter entirely.

You're starting up a fight that you just can't finish,

Watch the little hearts as they scrape you off the floor,

Bringing out your rockets, well shoot them out baby,

High as you can, but I'm the one who's gonna soar…

Well, as much as I've enjoyed this dance, it's time to end, Neo thought, before the dragon tried to shake her off. She leapt off, and danced around its frenzied attacks. Seriously, she had to exert herself more to fight off Yang. That was a fun workout. She managed to find the golden egg, and snatched it, throwing it across the arena, as it would be too difficult to carry that and her pair of weapons simultaneously. The dragon managed to catch her with its tail while she was distracted, but thanks to her Aura, she only got a bruise from being painfully flung into the wall. But she now had decided enough was enough. She raced over to the dragon, dancing around its attacks as she prepared for the coup de grace…

I burn!

Can't hold me now,

You got nothing that can stop me!

I burn!

Swing all you want,

Like a fever I'll take you down!

It doesn't have to be this way,

Let's kiss and make up and you'll learn

You can fight your life away

I get what I want so don't bother and just watch me burn!

As the dragon roared in fury against her, Neo fired off one last Sectumsempra, going the same way that Blasting Hex did: down its throat. Almost instantly, blood gushed from the wound inside its throat, spilling out of its mouth…and down its throat, drowning it alive in its own lifeblood.

Beyond the sounds of the dragon choking to death on its own blood, there was silence in the arena. She looked up at the audience gathered there, before she folded the Coyote Caper away and put it next to her Pernicious Parasol, holding them both a little awkwardly. Then, she gave an exaggerated bow, smirking all the while in a way that said Don't Fuck With Me. It was directed at two in the audience in particular.

Then, as the dragon gagged its last, she daintily strutted over, her heels clacking on the floor of the arena, before she picked up the golden egg with her free arm, and then strutted out of the arena. This, she knew, had made quite the impression on the sheeple of Magical Britain. After all, she had just killed a dragon on her own, and made it seem easy (even though it was still quite an effort).

She also knew that the sperm donor and the mutt would be shitting themselves. And she wanted them to. She wanted them to feel the fear that she had felt when they cast her through the Veil. She wanted them to know that she had come back, faster, better, and stronger. And soon, they would find out death would be a release from a punishment long overdue, and with a long time ending…

Charles watched her approach, and smiled to himself. Maybe she might prove useful after all. She was dangerous, but all the same, she was potentially useful. And to his knowledge, her vendetta was against those fools James Potter and Sirius Black.

Well, he would use her, and, depending, he would either have her by his side, or discard her like the broken, dangerous thing she was. But he couldn't tolerate her if she had any similar ambitions to his own. Ever since that day when her magic was drained into him, something else came along for the ride. Something that fused with something else in his head. Something that he became, under the skin.

But soon, the time was coming when he could shed the mien of Charles Potter like a snake shedding its skin. He would be the saviour of Magical Britain, too, from the dangers of the Muggles. Oh, he wasn't going to wipe them out like he originally intended, but he was going to exploit the everloving fuck out of them. And he wasn't going to tolerate the ambitions of his original, not at all.

Beneath the skin of Charles Potter, Tom Marvolo Riddle, or at least two merged Horcruxes of him, watched, and waited…

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Neo kicked arse. Was there any doubt? Nope. Plus, the beginning of, if not a friendship, then a camaraderie between Neo and Penny. And just remember, if you think Neo was being too sadistic towards the dragon…well, newsflash, SHE IS SADISTIC! She doesn't care that she's killed a nesting dragon. She only cares that she killed something that wanted to kill her.

Also, the reveal you've been waiting for. This was something I've been meaning to do in a WBWL fic for a while, and many readers picked up on the hints. Long story short, when Neo got her magic drained into Charles, the Horcrux went along for the ride, and because he was only young, the two Horcruxes, fused together, basically took him over. He managed to fool the Sorting Hat, barely, because he is a master Occlumens.

Incidentally, the lyrics come from I Burn by Jeff and Casey Williams. Obviously, I don't own the song or the lyrics.

Oh, and finally, I did a related challenge in the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf where a female Harry becomes a RWBY character, if you guys are interested. It's called From Shadows, and as you may have guessed, has female Harry become Blake Belladonna. If you're interested, give it a look.

EDIT: I should have said I CREATED the challenge, not doing the challenge.

Review-answering time! Gabriel Herrol: I'd like to think that Roman had a reason for being the way he did in canon beyond 'I'm fucking evil, LOL'. His rant against Ruby before getting nommed by a Grimm seemed to come from somewhere. Roman is still an evil guy (he happily blows up most of Atlas' fleet), but his teaming up with Cinder is explicitly stated by him to be out of self-preservation than any following of Salem's ideology. On the other hand, I wanted to make him human enough to have standards and a capacity for love, even if it's only for a substitute sibling like Neo. Your idea also has merit, and I will consider it.

PikaMew1288: Please pay attention. She does still have her magic. That was just James and Sirius' misconception. It recovered after their ritual, thanks to the Horcrux getting in the way.

No numbered annotations this time.