Chapter 8: First Day

Sleep was not easy for them the first night officially at the Castle. They all bid each other goodnight, as they did not want to risk getting in trouble already before classes could start. Hermione and Ginny wanted to ask Lucy questions, but it was by the unfamiliar dull look on her face that they refrained to do so. It was the complete opposite of when she saw Natsu.

Lucy repeatedly told herself she was not comparing current Rogue to what she saw inside the castle. It was not the same person. So that's what worried her further. She could only hope he was okay. That night, she ended up grabbing the gold and burgundy curtain around her bed and closed it around it. Without a thought, she reached for her keys and held them tightly to her chest, the only comfort that could put her to sleep.

The comfort of her keys was able to provide her with an overall good night sleep, and although the worry was still on the back of her head, she was excited for her first day of classes. Back when she was a young kid, her father had always provided her with private tutors, so she never had the opportunity to go to a classroom setting and such.

She did all of her morning routine after figuring out where the bathroom was and came down from her room with Hermione and Ginny.

Ron and Harry were already there in the common room, both sporting a very amused look on their faces as they kept watching both Sting and Natsu tugging at their ties.

"Man, I can't breathe on these things!" Natsu complained loudly as he made a face.

Harry tried to look sympathetic, "It isn't that bad."

Sting glared, "Says you! You're used to wearing so many clothes. This is ridiculous."

Lucy laughed, "You both look miserable. Let's go to breakfast already. The professor is supposed to give us our timetables today," she made a face as she stopped, "I don't think I'm looking forward to the amount of work we are going to have to turn in."

Hermione smiled, "It's okay, I can help you with whatever you need!"

"Oh my Lucy! Gryffindor colors do suit you well!" Fred said as him and his twin made their way out of their rooms. George put an arm around her shoulders, "Oh pretty lad, I bet it is much annoyance meddling with this bunch," he pointedly looked at his younger brother, "You should surround yourself with better company!"

"Why are you talking like that?" Ron said confused.

She laughed at his antics, "And is that supposed to be you?"

Fred flung his arm from the other side, "Actually that'd be me!"

Ginny glared at her brothers, "Stop harassing the poor girl and let's go eat already. I can hear those two's stomachs already."

"Is your hair really that color?" Luna Lovegood asked in her usual calm cool tone as she walked through the halls towards the Great Hall for breakfast right next to the two new transfers in her house. Both girls had taken a quick liking to her as they ate their dinner last night, so Wendy only found it natural to walk with Luna to breakfast.

Wendy nodded with a huge smile on her face, "It is! You guys don't see shades like this often here?"

Luna had a thoughtful look on her face, "You would have to do an incantation in order to have a different hair color. I've heard muggles change their hair color by buying some sort of product from the store."

"Who do you usually eat breakfast with?" Yukino politely asked the pretty blond.

Luna shook her head, "No one. I tend to eat alone. Gives me an opportunity to research more about nargles."

"Why do you eat alone?" Wendy asked, wondering how such a nice person could eat alone. She enjoyed her conversations with her, and from the looks of it, Yukino did too.

"Because everyone thinks she's a freak, isn't that right Looney?" a snide voice said from behind them. Wendy's eyes narrowed alongside Yukino as they were face to face with the platinum blond that had spoken to Laxus, Cobra, and Gajeel during dinner the night before.

Yukino saw Luna's eyes down and she glared at him, "That was extremely rude of you."

The boy snorted while his two friends that were behind him, tall and pudgy, started to laugh.

"Whatever Ravenclaw. You girls are new and need to learn your damn place."

"And what place is that Malfoy?" Laxus casually asked as he neared the group. Cobra and Gajeel were with him, both of them sporting amused looks on their faces by the way Draco's face paled. He tried to act cool as he talked to the taller man.

"Well, that the Slytherin house is clearly the most superior out of all the houses here at Hogwarts," he said, his tone nervous and fast as he motioned his two friends to leave quickly. Gajeel rolled his eyes dramatically and looked at Wendy, "You could've sent him flying."

She gave him a look, "Do I really want to be the center of attention?"

Gajeel smirked as the small girl was being a bit of a smart ass. Laxus glared the moment Cobra shrugged his shoulders and was about to say something, "Don't give her any ideas."

He then glanced down at Luna, who was staring at them with a serene thoughtful look on her face. Yukino noticed and wrapped an arm around the shorter girl, "Don't pay attention to Malfoy. You don't have to eat alone anymore."

Wendy nodded excitedly, "We'll be your friends!"

Gajeel started walking again towards the Hall, "I'm out of here. Too much sweetness is going to give me diabetes or something."

Cobra gave him a look as he followed him, "You ate like four pies last night…"

Once the men left, Luna turned to look at her new friends, "You guys are an interesting bunch."

Wendy laughed nervously as she remembered all the brawl fights, "You have no idea."

It was no surprise to them that once in the Great Hall, over at the Gryffindor table, both Sting and Natsu were already eating. Laxus looked over their way, the only one catching an eye of being Lucy who was trying her hardest to not yell at Natsu for table manners. Wendy muffled her laugh with her hand as her and the other two girls went and sat at their table.

Hermione shook her head as she saw Natsu eat, "I literally have no idea how you can eat so much."

Harry immediately agreed, "And still have your muscles," he thought back to last night when the two new students changed into their pajamas. They were practically ripped as well.

Ron snorted, "What about Gajeel, Erik, and Laxus? It's insane."

Lucy kept her mouth shut as she almost let it slip that Laxus was actually bigger than what he appeared to be. Natsu tried to reply to them, however he had too much food in his mouth that they could not make out what he was trying. Lucy shook her head when she suddenly perked up once Professor McGonagall walked up to their table and handed them their timetables.

"So many classes," Lucy said as she skimmed through the schedule.

The Professor nodded at her, "That is correct, and this," she handed each of the new students a packet, "Is the curriculum with dates for all of you to be caught up to your year. You must be done with the first year curriculum requirements by Halloween."

Natsu and Sting made a face and Lucy smiled at the Professor, "We will make sure everything is turned in."

She nodded at her, "That's the kind of attitude I expect. I will see you all in class after breakfast."

Lucy noticed as McGonagall went over to the Ravenclaw table and handed the packets to Yukino and Wendy. She snorted slightly when she saw the professor heading over to the Slytherin, as the elderly woman spoke more, she could see the dread on the three slayers as they bitterly looked at everything.

The rest of the day went smoothly. The Fiore group had agreed to meet up at the library during their break before dinner to start going over their first year package. Sting, Natsu, and Gajeel refused to do so right away, but after some arguing and threatening words from Lucy and Laxus, the three grumpy men got to work.

The strange group kept getting glances and curious whispers within the other houses that spotted them at the library. Never in the history of Hogwarts had they ever seen Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor working together. They just needed a Hufflepuff into the mix for the world to be over.

Wendy seemed to be able to get through the readings without an issue. Lucy could only blame it on the fact that the girl naturally had a knack for books thanks to Grandeeny. As much as she wanted to focus, sometimes it was difficult to do so as Natsu would consistently ask her questions as he was lost. Sting wouldn't say anything, but she caught him peeking over at Natsu's messy writing a couple of times.

When they noticed students packing their things, Sting and Natsu immediately put their stuff away into their bags.

He kept poking Lucy for her to hurry, "Come on! Dinner is gonna start!"

Lucy smacked his hand away, "Stop it! Your finger hurts!"

Yukino giggled, "We should leave before the librarian kicks us out. She's been giving us dirty looks the whole time."

"Well it's because these three don't know how to fucking whisper," Laxus said with an eye roll as they started to walk out.

Gajeel glared, "Shove it. I've never liked school. Or learning for that matter. Metallicana had a hard time with me as a kid."

Cobra raised an eyebrow as he stopped picking up his things for a moment, "That's an understatement."

Lucy snorted as she passed by Laxus who was holding the door open for them as they were walking out, "I don't understand how you're going to do it with Levy then. She basically breathes books."

Gajeel glared at her as he tried to shake off the blush that wanted to spread on his cheeks. Cobra almost said something, but decided not to comment.

The group of them made their way to the Great Hall when suddenly, they bumped into Umbridge. The short woman was smiling sweetly, her gaze more set on Cobra and Laxus.

She stopped in front of them and continued to smile, "Are you students enjoying Hogwarts so far? I can't imagine that your school had the programs we do, or half as big."

Oh that pink toad had a snide attitude alright.

Lucy gained some courage and used all the years of teaching from her father and private teachers to be a proper lady. She stepped slightly forward and did a small curtsy at the woman, "Yes we are professor," she started, with her voice polite and proper, "Our school cannot even come close to the exceptional level that Hogwarts has to offer. We are extremely lucky to be here, especially in the presence of someone so respected by the Ministry of Magic. I am looking forward to your class this Thursday professor."

Umbridge seemed to gloat at the words of the young woman and her smile grew, "I am looking forward to it Ms. Heartfilia. All of you go ahead to the Great Hall." And she walked away, her head up higher than before as the arrogance was practically leaking off of her.

Once the woman was out of earshot, Laxus whistled.

"Not bad blondie," he said impressively, "You probably should've been in Slytherin. Oh—by the way. You're going to hate her class."

Sting was confused, "Why do you say that? I read that Defense Against the Dark Arts is actually combative and you use your wand to learn offensive and defensive spells."

Sting saw the look Cobra, Natsu, Laxus, and Gajeel gave him and quickly defended himself, "It sounded interesting and looked it up!"

Cobra put his hands in his pockets as they continued, "We had her class today. It was fucking hell."

Natsu gave him a weird look, "What happened? You get hexed?"

Laxus shook his head, "We didn't even take out our wands. She went on a speech about how the Ministry is concerned about what the school is teaching and wants us to read books instead. The further I read, the more I realize there's no intention for anyone to take out their wands during that class."

"The twins made it more interesting," Cobra said with a small smirk. He was coming to like the two red-headed twins. Their minds were filled with pranks that he was highly interested on.

Gajeel made a face instantly, "How are the students supposed to defend themselves then?"

Yukino shook her head, "It's like the ministry is afraid of the school. Or of Dumbledore. To go to such extents to not use wands?"

Cobra smirked, "Bingo. The Ministry feels Dumbledore has too much power."

"You know," Lucy said as she turned to look at him, "Sometimes I forget what you can do."

Wendy agreed, "Same here!"

Cobra snorted, "I rather listen to you all morons than Umbridge. She's a fucking nutcase."

Some waved to each other as they separated to go to their respective tables as they entered the hall. Hours of studying made them hungry.

Hermione instantly ambushed the Gryffindor group the moment they sat at the table. She asked them about their curriculum that they had to turn in and even offered to review them before the due date. However, as she looked at the list, she noticed that they all had to go to a flying broom lesson.

"Nope," Natsu instantly said when Hermione brought it up, "No way!"

"You fly with Happy," Sting said, "Shouldn't you be fine?"

Natsu's eyes opened so big as he was clearly offended by what Sting said, "Happy is my friend! He's not a mode of transportation."

Lucy snorted as she drank her juice, "Unless we find something for all six of you, I guess me, Wendy, and Yukino are the only ones that will pass."

She felt quite smug on that. To think the dragon slayers couldn't possibly pass a lesson because it involved their biggest weakness was ridiculous.

Neville, who was sitting next to Ron, couldn't help but hear what she said, "How come six of you can't ride them?"

"Because we are dr—OUCH LUCY!" Natsu instantly exclaimed the moment she stepped on his foot.

Sting sighed as he ignored Natsu's cries, "We all share the unfortunate thing of motion sickness. Vehicles make us sick."

"It'll rain vomit if we get on the brooms…" Natsu commented as he rubbed his food, pouting at Lucy.

At the Slytherin table, Laxus pushed away his half eaten plate, "I can't fucking eat anymore. Why did he have to say that out loud?"

Gajeel didn't say anything as he was eyeballing the metal fork on his hand. Cobra's eyes widened and reached over and snatched it away from him, "Don't think about it."

Laxus rolled his eyes, but his attention was diverted when he saw Snape approaching them.

"The Headmaster wishes to speak with you at his office after dinner."

Laxus raised an eyebrow at the other man but slowly nodded. Snape sneered at him, and with a quick motion of his cloak, he retrieved back to the teacher's table. Gajeel caught the look Snape gave Laxus, but before he could ask what Laxus did to the older man, he was interrupted by a nosy weasel.

"Why does the Headmaster want to speak to you?"

Laxus didn't say anything as he drank his juice. Malfoy kept waiting for an answer, but all he was getting was silence from the other blond.

"You better not be getting any house points taken from us. That's all I got to say."

Laxus rolled his eyes, but his curiosity peaked when he saw Snape approaching Wendy and then Lucy. From what it seemed like, the master wanted to see them as well.

He only hoped it wasn't anything ridiculous. It was bad enough Natsu ruined his dinner, he didn't need his entire night ruined.

Wendy was in awe as she walked into the Headmaster's office, taking in everything vividly. Lucy was so distracted, that she had tripped on her own two feet. Laxus snorted as he sat down just as Dumbledore came in, a gentle smile on his face.

"I think I may have figured out a solution for your training request Mr. Dreyar," he started as he opened up a drawer and pulled out a map. Curiously, the three of them approached the desk as he pointed.

"Hogwarts is here and the Forbidden Forest is here. A little more east, about five miles, there is a big enough clearing that should be far enough from the school for all of you to train. I know you're more concerned about training with your own magical abilities than training with wands. This is the safest spot I could find for you. The Forbidden Forest is dangerous after all. I send you deeper in, you wouldn't be training but fighting other creatures."

Lucy shuddered at the thought.

"But how will we get there?" Wendy said as she stared at the map. There were no roads or paths that could indicate one.

Lucy placed a thoughtful finger on her chin, "I could have Virgo create a tunnel. I would just need the route and I'm sure she could do it."

Dumbledore nodded as he rolled the map and gave it to her, "You keep this then. Just let me know what days you all decide to train, that way I can think of something to cover the lot of you so Umbridge doesn't grow suspicious."

"You are going at great lengths to help us," Laxus casually said, "Is it really out of the goodness of your heart or because of what I said last night?"

Dumbledore chuckled as he stared at the blond. Oh indeed, behind the calm demeanor in those gray eyes, he could see the young man ready to jump.

"I would be a fool if I lied. It's both. I trust your word that you will protect the children. In return, I'll do anything in my power to help you."

"Just like you did with Rogue huh?"

Lucy turned sharply and hissed, "Laxus enough."

"Which reminds me," Wendy politely cut in hopes to diminish the tension that was slowly developing in the air, "I tried going into the forbidden section at the library but the librarian didn't let me. Would it be possible for us to get a permit of some sorts?"

He smiled, "Of course. You'll have access to that section tomorrow. That will be all for tonight."

As they left, Laxus motioned with his head at the map that Lucy was holding, "Get Virgo to get on that right away. The sooner we have access to it, the better. Reaching the clearing can be the warm up."

Lucy groaned out loud, "And I thought Capricorn was a pain to train with."

Laxus smirked at her, "You don't know what you're in for."

The room held an eerie and cold feel the moment he set foot in it. It always gave him the creeps coming here, but alas, that was one of his duties as a Death Eater. It was important for him and his family name to continue to have a great relationship with the Dark Lord, especially with having him back.

However, he would be a fool if he wasn't curious but worried at the sudden transfer students that his son wrote him about. Draco never sent in a letter with such urgency and especially right at the start of the term.

He had looked up the records of the students, but everything seemed in order.

Or so he thought.

When he entered the dark dining room, his shoes echoing against the dark marble floor, Voldemort sat at the head of the table, his terrifying pet snake Nagini comfortably curled on the floor, her head raised as the Dark Lord petted her gently.

Those were the only times Lucius Malfoy would ever see him being gentle.

"Lucius," Voldemort said in his calm voice with a small hiss, "What brings you here today?"

Lucius raised the folder he carried, "I came to bring you this my lord. I thought you might find it with interest."

Narcissa, his own wife who had been standing behind the Dark Lord, walked forward. Her low high heels clicking being the only noise in the room. Her pale hands grabbed the folder and quickly turned around and handed it to Voldemort while bowing her head.

The Dark Wizard read the letter carefully.

"Hmm… interesting… and they come from another school?"

Lucius nodded, "Yes. Draco is slightly suspicious since he's never heard of the school until now. I cannot say that I argue with him as I haven't either. But as you can see, the paperwork for the school is in order from what I was able to get at The Ministry."

"It is slightly suspicious," Voldemort admitted, "Have your boy continue watching them. I want to know more about these students… and their school."

In the furthest corner of the dining room up in the ceiling, Rogue wanted to curse. It seemed that Voldemort found them a lot faster than he thought. However, it seemed that there were no mentions of him as Voldemort murmured to himself the names of the students. It could only mean that Dumbledore did not register him, which was good.

If that kid Malfoy knew there was another supposed student that he's yet to see, it would cause more complications.

He had been lucky hearing those Death Eaters speak of Voldemort, their Dark Lord, as well as Malfoy. Rogue was smart, and he knew if he found Malfoy's whereabouts, he would find Voldemort's.

He's never consistently stayed in his shadow form as long as he had. So he was using all of his own mental ability to maintain the form. He knew there was one way for him to communicate, as the shadows could speak, but he could only hope Gajeel would figure it out on his own.

For now, all he could do was continue watching from the darkest corners from afar.

Yukino hated to admit it, but she was cold. Although it was barely September, she wasn't used to the random temperatures that England tended to have. Laxus immediately called in a meeting, and all of them were standing outside in the courtyard before it was time to head to their dormitories. She kept tugging at her robe, but even then, she wasn't getting as much heat as she would like. Sting noticed her slight shivering and removed his own robe and placed it on her shoulders.

She looked at him in shock and he gave her a small smile, "It's the least I could do."

Her eyes shone as she knew what he meant. The cocky twin dragon slayer was clearly apologetic, and although his words were not coming out, his actions spoke louder than words.

She gave him a radiant smile, "Thank you."

Natsu finally addressed the situation, "So what did the old man want?"

Lucy grinned as she waved the map in front of them, "He gave us this. A map to a location where we should be able to train. However, it can't be all of us at once. We would have to pick groups and let him know so he can create a cover story for us. And also," she looked at Yukino, "We should have access to the forbidden section of the library and start researching a way back home."

Gajeel crossed his arms, "About damn time the old man did something. I'm getting sick of pretending to be the same age as every single kid in there."

Laxus put his hands in his pockets, "We need to find out more about Voldemort before he finds about us."

"I'm sure Rogue will figure something out!" Wendy said encouragingly. She was aware that everyone was not happy with Rogue's decision, but herself and everyone needed to be optimistic.

Cobra snorted from his spot leaning against the wall by the corridor in the courtyard where they were at, "Sorry to break it to ya, but little Draco sent his daddy an urgent letter about us. His father is a Death Eater."

Lucy's eyes widened, "We literally just started school today! Also, Harry did mention that he was there last year when Voldemort came back."

"Bingo. Draco was frantic and loud as hell with his thoughts. I was in our dorm last night and I could hear him from the common room. He's suspicious of our magic school. "

"This is so complicated," Yukino whispered softly.

"So what," Gajeel grudgingly said, "We just wait until they come to us?"

"I say we go to him," Natsu said with a wave of his fist, "Get this thing over in one blow!"

"I don't know Natsu," Wendy responded hesitantly, "From everything I've heard, he's a lot worse than Hades."

"And look how that turned out," Gajeel added in, "Light-bulb over here had to save your ass and even then, it was still hard."

"We are just going to have to wait," Laxus said, clearly choosing to ignore Gajeel's nickname to him, "We at least have now a place to train at. That's the biggest thing for us. They are clueless about us and they will continue to do so until it's necessary."

His eyes found Lucy's form since she was extremely quiet, "What is it?"

She looked up and bit her lip, "Just the fact that we have to wait until he does a move or until Rogue somehow finds a way to communicate. I don't feel comfortable with it."

"None of us do," Sting said, "But it's the only strategy we have."

Cobra's head perked up, "Let's pick this up tomorrow. A prefect is coming."

The rest of the week went by without much excitement. However, it wasn't until they finally had Defense Against the Dark Arts that things finally started to get interesting. Lucy could only grimace at how right Cobra and Laxus had been.

She was sitting next to Hermione as Umbridge was going over the wizarding test, O.W.L.S. and on and on about the ministry's concern about the 'low' qualifications in previous years.

Hermione raised her hand, a very confused look on her face, "So we won't be doing any magic?"

Umbridge smiled widely, "It won't be necessary."

A loud snort was heard from the back of the class, "What a load of bullshit."

Lucy's head instantly smacked against the desk.

Umbridge's heels were clicking as she neared the back of the classroom, "What was that Mr. Redfox?"

"What's the point of this class then?" he asked. His tone was loud and brash as he waited for her to answer.

"The Ministry of Magic does not deem it necessary for students to learn such combative forms of magic."

"Why not?" He argued back, "Anyone could get attacked in this room and no one would have a clue on what to do."

She laughed lightly as she started to walk away, "Really? Who would attack a room full of children? That is absurd!"

"How about Voldemort?"

The moment Harry spoke and said the Dark Wizard's name, a hushed silence fell in the classroom. It was heavy, and that's what made Lucy raise her head from the table to look at him. Umbridge slowly turned around, her smile strained as her eyes turned cold as she looked at him.

"What was that Mr. Potter?"

"I think you heard him Professor," Lucy said interjected. Umbridge gave her a pitiful look, "Look, you haven't been in the school the years prior so you and the rest of the transfers may not be aware that Mr. Potter has a tendency to spread lies."

"How am I lying?" Harry said as his voice broke, "He is back. He killed Cedric—"

"What happened to Cedric was an unfortunate accident!" Her voice went into a higher nervous pitch instantly.

"It seems that you're the one that's afraid to see the truth Professor," Lucy said again, "You're right, we haven't been here for long. Why would Harry lie? He has no reason to. There's a dark wizard on the loose and you don't want students to defend themselves?"

"ENOUGH! Detention for you and Mr. Potter!"

Natsu's eyes widened and he almost got up from his seat in a defensive nature towards Lucy, "Hold up! Why are they getting detention?"

"For spreading pure lies!" She screeched as her tone sounded more desperate, "He is NOT back!"

Sting's lip curled into a snarl, "That's not fair—"

"What is wrong with you?" Gajeel growled from the back again.

"ENOUGH!" She screamed, her high voice echoing in the now hushed room, "Anyone that speaks again will receive detention and will not go to Hogsmead for the rest of the year!"

Ron, who was sitting behind Sting and Natsu, gripped their robes and pulled them back on their seat. Gajeel huffed loudly but didn't say anything. Lucy found herself shaking and only calmed down when Hermione placed a hand on top of hers under the table.

The remainder of the class was tense, suffocating, and every student rushed out of the classroom once it was over.

The moment they stepped out, Lucy sighed heavily and put a hand on her chest, "Oh crap. I wanted to slap her."

"I cannot believe you spoke to her like that," Hermione said, "Now she's going to have it out for you."

"Well I couldn't stay quiet. She was making Harry look like a liar and a fool in front of everyone," Lucy defended as she looked at her.

"But now you have detention," Ron said, "That's going to go on your record."

"The record can be shoved up her ass for all I care. I stood up for something that isn't fair and that's all that matters to me. I've gone through worse." She snapped at him, and without another word, she stormed off.

Sting looked at Natsu, "You're not going after her?"

The pink haired man shook his head, "I've known her long enough to know that when she's in a mood, it's better to let her cool off."

Gajeel snorted, "My money was on her to claw the toad's eyes out."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Of course it was."

Lucy had skipped dinner and it had left an unsettling feel in Laxus' stomach through the whole time. It wasn't until Gajeel told him what happened during class, that he finally understood. He had known through others how the whole thing with Phantom Lord had gone down. He had heard it from Mira eventually, how Lucy had stood up to her father. Laxus could see the small glimpse of guilt from Gajeel for what he had done for her.

He glanced over at the Gryffindor table to see the evident sour mood both Sting and Natsu were in.

He couldn't even bring himself to do any research when Yukino brought several books from the forbidden section with Wendy next to her. They had put their regular school work aside just to specifically research anything about portals and parallel universes, but he couldn't focus because Lucy was currently in detention with Umbridge alongside Harry. Hermione offered to help, and Ron had tagged along because he was bored, however he grew more bored as he watched them.

Wendy was surprised to see Gajeel picking up a book and going through it. Although she looked twelve, she was mature for her age and she had a sinking feeling Gajeel was desperately searching for the one clue that would get him back to Levy and Lily.

It wasn't until they were kicked out of the library as it was time to go to bed and they were walking the corridors, that Cobra snapped his head up and turned around.

"What is it?" Gajeel asked him as he was next to him as they were walking. The others stopped as well.

Cobra carefully looked between Laxus, to the corridor.

"Lucy is coming back with Harry. This is about to go to shit."

Laxus heard him clearly, and just as he was about to ask what he meant, his eyes widened the moment he smelt Lucy's blood. Natsu wasn't faring any better and his usual carefree demeanor was completely gone.

When Lucy came into view and she saw the looks on Laxus' and Natsu's face as she got closer to them, she instantly paled and hid her right hand, "H-hey guys. How did the research go?"

Natsu was the first one to go up to her, "Why do I smell your blood?"

Harry looked beyond confused, "How can you?"

"Dragon slayer trait," Yukino quickly said as she looked at her friend in concern.

Lucy bit her lip and without looking at them, she brought out her hand and held it up. Her eyes started to tear up the moment she heard the gasps.

Now your hand looks better! I will not tolerate my students having some sort of gang symbol on them. You two may leave now.

Where her pretty pink Fairy Tail emblem was on the back of her hand, there were dry streaks of blood. Words were written on them, I will not defend liars. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and she gasped as it read, I will not tell lies.

"You must tell the Headmaster!" She quickly said, horrified that such barbaric methods had been used on students.

Harry shook his head as he put his hand in his pocket, "Dumbledore already has a lot on his plate."

"Don't give two shits, he's not the one that's going to hear me," Laxus snarled as he took off into the direction of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, with Natsu following right behind him. Ron couldn't explain it, but he was feeling the hairs on the back of his back standing and felt hot all of a sudden.

"Why is it so hot in here?"

The other three male dragon slayers immediately went to stop the other two that were already storming off.

Cobra was the first one to get in front of Laxus, "Don't do it. You're going to fuck this whole thing over."

Laxus glared at him but didn't say anything. He was the one closest to his height and was able to not break eye contact.

Gajeel grabbed a hold of Natsu's arm, "Salamander, stop! Fucking think—" Natsu immediately threw him off of him, sending him to a wall.

It instantly cracked.

The Golden Trio's eyes were wide in shock at the sudden display of strength. Gajeel immediately got up and went up to him again like if nothing happened, "You can't pull the same shit you did with Sabertooth!"

"Look what she did to her!" he snarled. Harry could've sworn he saw smoke out of his mouth.

"We get it!" Sting quickly said, "But you setting her whole office on fire isn't going to solve anything!"

He looked between the two temperamental dragons, "We could have the whole Ministry of Magic down on us. You go in there and do what Fairy Tail does best, our chances of going home are gone."

Natsu seemed to be the only one listening as he started to take deep breaths. Which was rather surprising. But the words of their chances of getting home becoming zero if they went and attacked the pink woman, seemed to snap him out of it. He couldn't leave Happy alone. He wanted to see his best friend again.

The only one that wasn't budging was Laxus as he was still in a staring contest with Cobra.

Wendy wanted to heal both Harry and Lucy, but Hermione said that it was important for them to have proof so no one would believe they made it up. Without a second thought she looked at Lucy, "Go stop Laxus."

Lucy looked at her confused, "What?"

"Just trust me!"

The blond hesitantly took the advice and with her now covered hand (Thanks to Yukino's handkerchief) she walked up to Laxus. She regained the courage she had that day and stood in between Cobra and Laxus and looked up at him.

"Sparky?"

His furious gaze landed on hers and she nervously swallowed.

"Don't do it. We will report her."

His nose twitched as he glared at her damaged hand. She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, but she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, in hopes that his internal battle would fade away and he would go back to thinking clearly.

Her scent filled his being, pushing away the scent of her blood out of his mind for just a second. It was tense for a couple of seconds, but her hopes were fulfilled as she felt him relaxing on her embrace. Just as he was about to say something, a stern voice caught the attention of all of them.

"What is going on here? And can somebody explain the crack on the wall?"

That voice generally terrified the Golden Trio more than Snape's did.