Disclaimer: I have never fought a troll, a nevermore, or masked cultists of any type.
"Happy Hallowe'en, Harry!"
"Oh. Right, happy halloween, Hermione."
Hermione tilted her head. "You don't seem very happy. Is this about your parents...?"
"Oh, I'm not unhappy. Just, travelling with Ruby means I got to see a lot of the world, and Halloween isn't... celebrated everywhere. Not seriously, like here and in America; for me, it's more Ruby's birthday then it is Halloween."
"Oh, today's her birthday?" Hermione folded up her lip awkwardly. "That's... interesting."
Harry gave her a wry smile. "She grew out of the 'free candy on my birthday' phase years ago, don't worry."
"Aha... ha... no, that's not what I'm... " Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly. "No, I just... do you two have anything planned for today, or anything?"
"Well, I haven't had a chance to go shopping for her. Maybe I'll ask professor McGonagall to transfigure something... or help me transfigure something... It's not like she's expecting anything," Harry pointed out. "I mean, the first time I realized it was her birthday I was... five and a half, really, and..."
He trailed off for a moment.
"...Anyway, she's just got a few friends she'll talk to tonight," he finally managed. "Usually, if I get her anything, I give it to her tomorrow. It's a little strange, I know, but it's our strange tradition, you know?"
"How is she going to talk with her friends if she's in Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.
Harry shut his textbook firmly. "So! If it's Halloween, do the classes change up at all?"
"...There's... nothing in the schedule," Hermione replied hesitantly. "I mean, I heard a few of the older students talking about a hallowe'en feast, and there seem to be... a few pumpkins around. Why do you want to know?"
"Just making sure I know what's going on." With a shrug, Harry shelved the book and walked toward the exit. "Well, time to start the day I guess!"
"Er... sure, if you like...?" Hermione looked from him to the book. "What was that all about...?"
"...and prononciation does affect the magic due to the influence of the somatic flow through the magical field of the individual. It's an actually fascinating study of the complexity of layered systems-"
"Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap." One of the other girls glared at Hermione. "You just love the sound of your own voice, don't you?"
"...what?"
"Wave the wand, say the thing, you get flying feathers, and that's not good enough for you? There are books and books and books worth of spells, and I know you know that because you eat books like candy, and you could be practicing them and being somebody worthwhile, but instead it's all 'this works so and so and this and that and blaady bla bla, look at this tree it's an amazing tree gosh let's ignore the entire bloody forest!' Honestly."
Hermione curled in on herself. "I... I just thought..."
"What? That magic would have some sort of... bonus to it if you knew fancy words? Go stick your nose in a book, Granger, the rest of us are going to be busy learning how to be real witches."
Hermione stared at the ground for a moment.
"Um," said Harry. "Uh... aren't you... being kind of harsh?"
"The real world doesn't care how smart you are, all that matters is what you can do. Running her mouth off isn't going to help her." The girl flipped her hair. "The sooner Granger accepts that, the sooner she can grow up."
The bushy-haired girl grabbed her books suddenly and ran down the corridor. Harry bit his lip.
"...Go on, be the hero," the other girl said flatly. "I don't know why you're crushing on her, of all people, but whatever. Maybe you can talk some sense into her, she seems to listen to you."
"Wow. Thanks, I appreciate that, really." Harry rolled his eyes, walking out of the empty classroom. "O...kay. So, if I were an upset eleven year old girl in an old castle that doubled as a magical boarding school, where would I go...?"
He considered for a moment.
"...Wandering the halls is what Ruby did, but she was fifteen. So... running... privacy... bathroom. Closest girl's bathroom would be... near the closest boy's bathroom, I think? Which is... this way!"
"Oooo, is ickle Harrikens up to no good?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Peeves, do you want me to sic Ruby on you?"
The poltergeist laughed. "Snakes without fangs aren't scary, ickle Harry!"
"Look, just do whatever it is you're going to do so I can pretend to be flustered and angry and you can wander off to prank somebody else."
Peeves blinked for a moment, then frowned. "Take the fun out of it, why don't you." He halfheartedly tossed a water balloon onto Harry's head.
"Oh. Boo. Hiss. My perfect do. What a world."
"There's always one party pooper," Peeves grumbled, hovering down the corridor half-heartedly.
Harry shrugged, heading down the corridor. As soon as he came to the door marked 'Witch's Watercloset,' he knocked on it.
"Hermione? Are you in there?"
"Go. Away."
"I'll take that as a maybe. Look, about what that girl said-"
"I don't want to hear it," Hermione's voice said flatly.
"But-"
"It's going to be another stupid 'it's okay to be smart and let's ignore the bullies' speech and, and, and that has never worked!"
"...I mean, fair enough," Harry managed. "Um... uh... look. The halloween feast is starting in a bit, and... I'm going to go down and... I guess I'll save you some cookies?"
"...Biscuits, Harry. They're called biscuits here."
"Right. Just... yeah. So... see you later."
Harry turned around, heading for the great hall, and trying to figure out how to handle the nagging feeling of confusion.
"...so I thought maybe you might have some idea on what to do?"
Ruby sighed. "Honestly my first instinct is to say 'punch that girl in the face' but, since I'm supposed to be a responsible parent, I guess I have to offer a legal alternative. Your main goal, I think, should be countering the damage done. Make sure Hermione knows that what she does matters to somebody, praise her for genuine advancements in her skill... support her against her detractors?"
"So basically be a friend," Harry said flatly.
"It does solve a remarkable amount of problems," Ruby replied. "Not all of them, and not instantly, but constant understanding and encouragement can do wonders."
Ron looked between them uncomfortably. "Should... should I be here for this?"
"What, a sister giving her little brother advice? That's perfectly normal."
"I mean, it's not like I know Hermione that well," he pointed out. "We don't have any classes together."
Ruby glanced down at her plate. "...You can't help everyone, no. But... you should help anyone you can. That's why we're here after all. To make the world better."
"I guess..." Ron shrugged, biting into a sugary pastry. "Maybe if we talk about quidditch or something. She likes quidditch, right?"
Harry waggled his hand. "Eeeeeh... she's good at the numbers, I think. More of a chess girl, in my mind."
"Oh, I'm great at chess. Oh, is she muggleborn? Maybe I can introduce her to wizard's chess, she'd love-"
"TROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL!"
The proclaimer, one turbaned professor Quirrell, rushed into the great hall with panicked eyes.
"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON!"
He looked around, noticing not only the stares of the staff, but of the students.
"Thought you ought to know."
His message delivered, the man collapsed in a dead faint.
"...Right," Ruby said, turning to her right. "Max, I'm still new to magic, how bad is this troll thing?"
Two fifths of the student body started screaming in panic.
"Pretty bad," Maxine confirmed, face pale.
"Okay," Ruby replied, "but pretty bad doesn't tell me what a troll is. There are way too many myths in the non-magical world for me to have a good idea-"
"A one-ton twelve-foot tall man eating troglodyte with low intelligence, spell resistance, and usually a big club."
Dumbledore stood quickly. "Prefects, please escort your housemates to the common rooms. The staff will handle this."
Ruby glanced at the head table for a moment, then sighed. "That is actually... a good call, I think. Harry, you should head back okay where did Harry go?"
"He ran out the door," Ron reported. "I think... Oh bloody hell, Hermione!" He dashed off after the wayward student.
"Ron wait-aaaaaaand you ran off." Ruby groaned. "Great. Now I know how Yang felt all those times. I've got to apologize to her."
"We've got to catch up to them and-"
Ruby stood and caught Maxine by the collar before she could go, her silver eyes trapping her instantly. "You will stay with the rest of the house and tell Gabriel I'm going after a few wayward students. Am I clear?"
"You're-...right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking-"
"Yeah, I have that problem too sometimes." Ruby released her and stood up. "Don't want others making my mistakes though."
"Wait! What if you run into the troll? It's magically resistant, you still don't have a lot of spells mastered-"
"Twelve feet tall, you said?" Crescent Rose swung out and unfolded in Ruby's grip. "I've fought bigger."
She vanished in a burst of rose petals.
Harry was almost to the bathroom when he heard a breathy "Wait! Harry, wait!"
He turned around, raising an eyebrow as Ron Weasley, of all people, turned the corner. "What? What are you-?"
"Harry, mate, just... how the bloody hell are you so fast?"
"Healthy living and Ruby's training?"
"Right, right." Ron took another breath. "I was just thinking that maybe, if you're going to get Hermione, you shouldn't go alone, right?
"What, you think two people are going to have an easier time talking with her than one?"
"No, I mean there's a troll in the castle, and it's dangerous to go alone."
"Which is why," Ruby said as she turned the corner, "the two of you will both be in big trouble after we get Hermione and get you all to the common rooms where you're supposed to be."
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by a terrified scream and an angry roar. Both the boys spun around, eyes wide as they rushed down the corridor-
-outrun by a blur of rose petals zipping between them and down the hall.
"Come on!" Harry whirled around the corner. "We've got to hurry!"
"Right!" Ron was right behind him. "You've got a plan, right?"
"...save Hermione?"
"Right, yes, but how?"
"Um." Harry managed to shrug helplessly while running. "Magic?"
Ron gaped at him. "You don't have a plan?"
"I'm eleven, what do you want?!"
Whatever Ron would have said in reply would remain a mystery for the ages, as they turned through a door into an already devastated bathroom. Ruby was literally running up a wall, shooting small capsules that seemed to explode whenever they made contact with the enraged face of a twelve-foot tall wall of muscle that had apparently earned the name troll. Harry whipped out his wand, looking around wildly-there, a mousy brown mop of hair, cowering in the corner.
"Hermione!"
The troll's eyes rolled toward Harry, and then Ron.
"Um-"
Another explosion had the troll roaring in pain, his club just missing the brief burst of rose petals that Ruby transformed into.
"Ruby's distracting it, right?" Ron pointed with his wand. "We can run in and grab Hermione, then get out of here."
Harry nodded. "I'll go around its left, you go around its right. Okay go!"
The two boys split apart, rushing around the thick legs as they stomped around the cobbles. Harry managed to slide close to the girl first, holding up a hand as Ron reached out and grabbed her arm. "Hermione, you alright there? Good enough to get out of the room at least?"
The girl trembled in Ron's grasp, but managed to look around. "...I'm not hurt... my shoulder is a little roughed up from where I hit the ground, but I think I can make a quick run."
"Right, so..." Harry glanced at his sister, perched on top of what remained of the stalls. "Get ready..."
The troll swung his club at Ruby-
"NOW!"
-and the three children shot just underneath his arm, running for the door.
The sudden motion caught the troll's attention, throwing off his swing just enough to smash the rest of the stalls into splinters. A shout of surprise made Harry look back just in time to see Ruby falling into the rubble and the club coming right at them; without thinking, he shoved the other two out of the way just before it smacked him into the opposite wall. Hermione skidded across the bathroom tile facefirst as the wooden weapon rushed just over her skull; Ron was able to keep enough of his balance to spin around on one heel and fall on his bum facing the monster.
He glanced at the dent in the wall that held a groaning Harry Potter, then at Hermione trying to push herself, then at the troll pulling back his club, then at the wand in his hand.
His hand shot forward and, without really thinking, he cried "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The troll's eyes snapped to him and he swung his club-hand forward.
After a few seconds of unsmashed students, though, the creature realized that the great mass of wood was no longer in his hand, but hanging in midair. He peered at it warily, poking it with a finger, but before he could really think about this startling development the rubble of the bathroom stalls exploded upward.
Ruby took in the entire scene, her gaze lingering briefly on Harry, before glaring up at the troll's confused beady eyes.
Crescent Rose spiralled in her grip, blade resting against the rubble as she put a boot in the reverse heel. Ch-chlink-and she was in the air, already swinging with a wild cry. The troll stumbled as the scythe's blade caught his thick neck, one hand batting at his assailant as she spiralled round and launching her across the room. Even in midair, Ruby kept her cool-Crescent Rose folded her blade up as the woman swapped cartridges, and she hit the wall above the door in a steely-eyed crouch. With a roar of fury she pushed against and sprung forward, finger already on the trigger, and the befuddled troll stared blankly as the rifle muzzle approached his face seconds before a flash of black hit him point blank.
The professors rushed into the room just in time to see Ruby sumersault to a stop, seconds before the monster's unconscious body slammed against the ground.
Harry pushed himself out of the wall with a moan. "I'm alright, if anybody wants to know." He picked his glasses off the ground, peering at them. "Okay, I'm going to need new lenses, but I'm okay. How about you two?"
Hermione stood shakily. "I'm, well, I'm alive. Yes. Nothing serious. Um... nice work with the spell, Ron, that... that was nice."
"What?" Ron blinked, shaking his eyes off Ruby. "Er, yes. Right. Wingardium... that. Yes." He dropped his wand, flinching as the club fell to the ground. "Did, she was like, she was jumping around everywhere-"
"What happened here?" demanded professor McGonagall.
Harry opened his mouth, only to be cut off by a loud metallic thunk. He cringed as Ron and Hermione whirled around, turning slowly to look at a scene he was unfortunately familiar with: Ruby Rose, the rib of her scythe pressed firmly against the ground, one hand on its grip while the other was on her hip. Her red cloak seemed to flutter dangerously as angry silver eyes fixed on the three children.
"Line. Up. Now."
The sternness of Ruby's tone had the three students side-by-side, shoulders straight in seconds. She took look at their stance, nodded, and slung her scythe over her shoulder.
"I am not," she started, "going to lecture you on getting into a dangerous situation. I believe you know now through experience why this was a bad idea. Aside from which, Hermione was not in the great hall when the troll's presence was announced, and it is commendable to seek to save your friends." Her footsteps echoed against the walls as she walked around them. "That said, your handling of the situation once you were in it was dangerously and reprehensibly subpar. Hermione, you not only have a wand but an excellent retention of both magical and nonmagical education. Momentary panic aside, your first duty should have been to get out of here as swiftly as possible and give yourself breathing room to think of a better plan."
"But-"
Within the space of a second Crescent Rose was slammed into the ground inches from Hermione's side. Ruby quirked an eyebrow at the girl's small yelp, before pulling her weapon back.
"...I am willing to forgive this oversight on the grounds that you are, in fact, a child that has not experienced real danger before. The world, however, would not be so compassionate."
"Ysm'm," Hermione squeaked.
"Ronald," Ruby continued, now looking at the suddenly very nervous boy. "Your tactics were quite well constructed and utilized. I do especially appreciate you disarming the troll-that club was frankly the most dangerous thing about the creature."
The boy let out a relieved sigh. "Gee, thanks, it was nothing re-"
"HOWEVER. You failed to take advantage of your action, leaving the club hovering without doing anything. At the very least, you could have picked Hermione off the floor, or rushed out yourself to get help. Had I not moved in immediately afterward, your actions could have amounted to pointlessness, and there could have been three pretty red smears across the tile. Never assume a brief advantage has you in the clear, understood?"
Ron nodded vigorously. "Yes ma'am."
"Which, finally, brings me to you, Harry." Ruby focused her eyes on the final child, who seemed resigned. "Unlike these two, I know I've given you some survival and combat training. Which means you should be able to tell me exactly what you did wrong...?"
"I rushed off without explaining myself, thereby endangering myself," Harry recited tonelessly.
"And?"
"...When I realized Ron was following me, I didn't tell him to go back, thereby endangering him."
"And?"
"...um... I should have coordinated with you as the experienced battlefield tactician?"
"And?"
Harry paused. "...I... have a wand?"
Ruby sighed, pointing at the boy-sized dent in the wall. "Just because you know you can take more of a beating than most people, doesn't mean you should be willing to take a huge strike. Saving your friends is great and all, but it would be infinitely better if you could do it without risking your life unnecessarily."
"Right. But, um, we won, right?"
"No." Ruby swung her scythe forward, embedding its point into the ground so that the blade rose over his shoulder. "I won. I dealt with the threat while keeping you three alive, and the second one would not have been a concern if you had simply told me Hermione was in the bathroom instead of rushing off." She snapped out the magazine, swapping it for another. "You had no idea of what you were facing, and while you are talented I have not given you any training that could have prepared you for this. I'm not concerned about you getting into brawls with idiotic street thugs, but if something bigger comes along-"
She pulled the trigger, ending the troll's family line with a loud retort.
"-leave it to the people with the big guns."
"...Yes ma'am," Harry said, eyes downcast.
Ruby flipped Crescent Rose back over her shoulder, turning to the stunned group of professors, and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds there, I just... you know, raising a kid single, he gets into danger, had to get my lecture on, you know?"
"Er... yes." Professor McGonagall nodded slowly. "Well... that's not exactly what I would have said, but it was... I suppose, reasonable advice..."
A moan from the troll caused a jolt through the group, Hermione and Ron quickly running behind Ruby as she pulled out her scythe again.
"Seriously, how is that thing not dead?" she asked nobody in particular. "I mean I know I'm a little out of practice dealing with big creatures, but I was shooting fire at its face and had my blade around its neck at one point."
"Troll skin is very durable, even without the spell resistance," Professor Snape said dryly. "I have known muggleborn students to describe it as a half-meter thick layer of tightly corded rubber."
"Huh. Good to know. I'll swap out my capsules for actual bullets, go for piercing damage next time. If there is a next time, which I hope-" She gave the professors a very pointed look. "-there won't be."
Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand and led the other professors forward. "We have it from here, miss Rose. Thank you for your assistance, we'll get this creature out of the castle posthaste."
"I hope so. Do you mind if I sit in on your next staff meeting, though? I would like to discuss this whole... thing in more detail."
"That's fair, I suppose. I'll have Pamona talk to you about it tomorrow." McGonagall glanced at the children. "For the moment, I think you all should head to the hospital wing for a checkup."
"Of course." Ruby put a firm hand on Harry's shoulder. "I, ah, do have a previous engagement, but I can drop by there on the way. Come along, everyone."
She led the three children out of the room, walking down the halls at a brisk pace. The trek to the hospital wing was mostly quiet but, as they approached the final turn, Ruby cleared her throat.
"You know, despite all the criticism I leveled at you back there-and it was genuine criticism-I am actually very proud of all of you."
Hermione blinked. "...really?"
"Yes, really. Life's going to throw you crazy curveballs sometimes, and you have to learn to roll with it, adapt, and overcome. The fact that you're still alive, with minimal injuries on top of that, after being in the same room as a troll... you kids have potential." She smiled fondly at them. "Maybe I should see about getting you all some extra training."
The three of them barely had time to process that before Ruby had opened the hospital wing door, shoved them all inside, and shut it with a jaunty wave.
Hermione, very slowly, took a breath. "Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Your sister is terrifying."
Harry smiled. "Yes she is."
Stars twinkled in the lake beside hogwarts, alongside the flickering candlelight from the castle windows and the thick pale curve of the dying moon. The grass shivered with nightlife, insects and amphibians creening out their cries; in the rustling trees of the forbidden forest stranger creatures plied their trade, some hunting others and some watching grim portents. Hogwarts itself seemed stoic enough at first glance but, for those whose eyes were adjusted to the darkness, there was perhaps one strange figure to spot; a mature figure, their legs hanging out a high window as their scarlet cloak billowed softly in the breeze.
The figure pulled out a long shaft with a blade and, with practiced ease, swung it into the brick. She hopped off the window, running circular on the outer wall; at her apex the shaft let loose and released a great burst of black, sending her spiralling skyward. For the briefest of moments she hung, red cape outlined by silver moon, in the middle of the night; then her form dissolved into myriad of petals, raining down upon the castle roof before once more reforming as she crouched on the massive shingles.
A curious bark next to her caught her attention, and she smiled at the interloper. "Oh. Hello Weiss." Her hand reached out, rubbing the snowy owl's head fondly. "What are you doing up so high?"
Weiss leaned back, golden eyes fixing her with a surprisingly stern look.
"Me? Oh, it's a long story. It's my birthday today, you know that?" Ruby smiled sadly. "Twenty six years old. And I... look, Weiss, it's a little personal. Shouldn't you be in the Owlery anyway?"
"Rark," Weiss said flatly.
"...You might want to check on Harry. He's spending the night in the hospital wing."
"Rarrrk?!"
"I'm sure he'll tell you all about it, if you go down to him."
Weiss tilted her head for a moment. Then, with clear reluctance, she opened her wings and glided into the night.
Ruby chuckled. "Well, that's a new one... right, let's get set up." Crescent Rose folded up and rested underneath her cloak; she walked up the roof's incline, boots carefully judging the weight of every step, till she was rested at its crest. Her eyes locked on the moon for a few seconds. Then, with a sigh, she reached into her belt and pulled out a small glass pane.
"...No signal, of course. Hmm... Auric interference warning?" She tilted the object in her hands. "Well, that's new. It's not a serious problem since I'm not... calling anyone soon..."
She shrugged, her fingers tapping the all-too-familiar pattern, and sat cross-legged on the castle's top when a picture of four teenagers appeared.
"...Hey girls. Good to see you again. I've got a lot to catch you up on... I mean, a lot. It's crazy how much can change in a year, right? There's people's rights cropping up everywhere, the video game industry is starting to get to a place where you can recognize it, networks are... well, they don't have scrolls yet, but it's getting there. I think there was a space probe hitting an asteroid a couple of days ago too, I haven't followed that news myself... but you know something else? I found wizards! Actual wizards!"
She giggled a bit. "Yes, Weiss, I know it seems ridiculous. But apparently Harry is actually a natural born wizard, so now we're in this... crazy magic school. He's taking to it pretty well, making friends-Blake, I think you'd like Hermione, she's into books and smart as heck. They're in the same house-Hogwarts, that's the magic school, they put the students into one of four houses, sort of like... an inverse of the Beacon team system. Of course I got put into a different house, because apparently it wouldn't be a good idea to have his mother figure in the same house. Yeah, I know Yang, but you have to admit they have a point. Actually, you'll want to hear this, just a few minutes ago Harry got himself into some really big trouble..."
Her one sided conversation carried on long into the night.
