Thank you so much for your patience everyone. My work hours have finally stabilized and I have settled into my new apartment (and it's much closer to my night job so I have more time to write). Enjoy the chapter.
So originally I was going to have Blake read the entire series but QrowxBar told me why that was a bad idea so I've got a rotation in place now. Thanks QrowxBar!
Special thanks to my beta AuthorA97.
"The next chapter is 'The Keeper of the Keys'." Blake informed them. She squinted at the page, rubbing her eyes.
"That sounds like the name of the housekeeper." Weiss reasoned. She watched Blake rub her eyes. Concerned, she leaned over. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Blake replied. She looked at the book before rubbing her eyes again. "My eyes are just tired."
"Let one of us take over." Pyrrha offered.
"Oh! Let Yang read! Let Yang read!" Ruby asked. "She's really good at telling stories!"
Yang grinned. She was pretty good. As they grew up, she and their dad worked hard to tell the best stories for Ruby. Yang vaguely remembered stories from Summer- with her mom gone, Yang wanted Ruby to have the same moments that Yang did.
The group all agreed to let Yang read. Yang took the book from Blake. The two partners smiled as Yang sat by her side.
Another BOOM resonated throughout the whole shack.
"Do you have to yell that?" Jaune asked, rubbing his ear.
Yang grinned. "It was in caps, so...yeah."
Dudley jerked awake sleepily asking where the cannon was.
Everyone giggled at that. A few outright laughed. Ruby laughed the loudest, as Yang just did such a good job and just like how Yang did it when they were kids.
Vernon and Petunia came down the stairs. Vernon was armed with a rifle. Apparently, that's what that package was.
"He's shooting them already? That Vernon is getting desperate." Jaune said fearfully. The other young Hunters and Huntresses agreed with him. Usually it was dangerous for non-trained professionals to join a fight- that's why teams RWBY and JNPR were even attending Beacon. For this other culture, it can't have been that different.
Finally, there was a loud SMASH and the door fell from its hinges landing on the floor.
"By the Brothers, how strong is this guy?" Yang asked. If she wanted to do this, Yang would have needed to use her Semblance AND her gauntlets.
A giant of a man entered the humble shack. His face was covered with a lot of hair and a tangled beard but you could still make out two warm black eyes under all that.
"Oh my Brothers, is that-?" Weiss asked.
"HAGRID!" The Rose-Xiao-Long sisters shouted happily.
Team JNPR watched on, confused.
"He's from the first chapter." Blake explained.
"He's brought Harry to the Dursley's in the first place." Weiss added.
"How 'giant' is 'giant'?" Nora wondered.
"The book didn't say, but he's really tall!" Ruby replied. She clapped, excited. "Ooohhh the Dursleys don't stand a chance against him!"
Yang chuckled. "This is gonna be good! He's rifle isn't gonna do anything."
The giant made his way inside, putting the door back in its frame as he did so. He asked the group for a cup of tea while making his way over to the couch telling Dudley to move. The boy did so in a hurry, hiding behind his mother, who was hiding behind her husband.
Nora laughed, falling on Ren's side as she held her stomach. "Not even two minutes in, and he's freaking out!" She burst out laughing again. Ren gave a small smile too, the corners of his eyes crinkled as he laughed with Nora.
"At least this Hagrid is somewhat polite." Pyrrha added.
The giant then addressed Harry pointing out that he was only a baby when the giant last saw him. He notes that Harry takes a lot after his dad but he has his mother's eyes.
Ruby smiled, fondly. She recalled all the times people said that about her. Given that all she knew about Summer Rose came from those stories, Ruby craved hearing anything. She especially loved hearing all the ways she reminded people of Summer. It meant that Ruby was a lot like Summer even without knowing her, that Ruby and Summer were deeply connected. (Though she would like to be a bit more like her dad, just so everyone would stop thinking Qrow was her father).
Vernon then spoke up demanding that the stranger leave. The giant just told Vernon to shut up, taking the rifle out of the man's hands, easily bending it into a knot, and threw it to a corner.
"We told you guys, Hagrid is tough!" Yang cheered.
"Either that, or that rifle is poor quality." Weiss countered.
Jaune sat up, grinning wide. "It's still really cool that he just tied it up like that."
"How did it not go off?" Pyrrha wondered, concerned.
The giant then went back to Harry, wishing him a happy birthday and even saying he has something for the boy though he thinks he might have sat on it at some point. He hands a slightly squashed box to Harry who takes it with shaky hands. Inside was a birthday cake.
"Harry's first birthday cake!" Ruby and Nora cheered.
"...his first?" Weiss asked, realizing it herself. Wow. Even the Schnees gave Weiss birthday cakes. Sure they were usually made by Klein, or bought from a bakery in Atlas, but they would still get them all cakes.
"Eleven years old, and he's never had a birthday cake." Jaune shook his head.
Ren frowned, equally frustrated. Even though his village was destroyed while he was young, Ren and Nora still got the chance to celebrate birthdays. "Shouldn't have taken him that long to get one."
Harry tried to thank the giant but instead, he asked who the man was.
"Harry, don't be rude." Weiss scolded.
"Gee, it's like he wasn't raised properly by loving parents." Yang countered, glaring at the Schnee heiress. Weiss turned up her nose.
"We are the only ones who know this is Hagrid. Hagrid hasn't even introduced himself." Pyrrha noted. "Is that not considered rude?"
"Well so is pointing a gun at a stranger's face." Nora added.
The giant smiles and introduces himself as Hagrid, explaining that he's the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.
"So the chapter title was referring to him." Pyrrha realized.
"But what's Hogwarts?" Weiss wondered. "They never said what was in the letters."
"If the Dursleys hate it, it must be something nice." Blake said.
Nora gasped. "It's a super secret spy club! That's why they sent the letters with birds!"
Ren patted her head. "I doubt it, but good try." Nora beamed.
Hagrid then shook Harry's hand (or rather his whole arm).
Everyone chuckled at that.
Hagrid then went over to the fireplace and scoffed at the shriveled chip bags. His whole body covered the fireplace so they couldn't see what he was doing but when he stepped back there was a roaring fire.
"Woah!"
"How did he do that?" Blake wondered.
"Is it not his Semblance?" Pyrrha asked.
"No. Remember, they don't have those in their world." Jaune reminded her. Pyrrha nodded.
"But what is it?" Weiss asked.
"Shush! Yang will tell us in a second!" Ruby told the group.
Hagrid sat down on the sofa (which sank under his weight) and started to pull all sorts of things from his coat. Such as a kettle, some sausage, a teapot and matching cups, a poker, and a bottle of what seemed to be alcohol that Hagrid took a swig from and started cooking the sausages.
"Ugh." Nora groaned. "Now I'm getting hungry."
"You'd just had three helpings of dinner." Ren scolded.
"I could go for four!"
Dudley looked at them greedily but Vernon tells him not to touch the food.
"It's someone else's food. He shouldn't be taking it anyway." Jaune, who grew up with a big family, remembered the many meals while keeping his food on his plate.
"He doesn't even need it." Ruby replied. "He's probably been eating five dinners. It's Harry who should be having them."
Hagrid chuckled saying that Vernon's 'puddin' of a son' doesn't need any more fattening.
Everyone giggled at that. Yang made it sound so cool, putting on a deeper voice for Hagrid and speaking with his unique accent. It made his lines even better.
Hagrid gave the sausages to Harry who was more than happy to take them. He ate silently for a few moments but after noticing that no one was saying anything Harry asked again about Hagrid. Hagrid reintroduces himself and says that of course, Harry knows all about Hogwarts.
"Awkward." Ruby piped up.
"Hagrid's gonna have a lot of explaining to do." Yang agreed.
"Hopefully AFTER he punishes the Dursleys for not telling Harry." Nora cackled.
"Only Vernon and Petunia." Pyrrha corrected. "Dudley shouldn't be punished since he's also in the dark. If anything, he should be punished for his treatment of Harry."
Harry responds that he doesn't know and apologizes when Hagrid seems shocked. Hagrid rounds on the Dursleys saying that they're the ones that should be sorry. While he knew Harry wasn't getting his letters he should have expected the boy to know about Hogwarts asking him if he wondered where his parents 'learned it all?
"It's a school!" Weiss exclaimed. "Hogwarts is a school for this secret culture. People with abilities just like Harry!"
"So it's just like Beacon. Ooh, that's so cool." Ruby squealed.
"Maybe we can actually get a name for these powers then." Ren speculated.
"We should let Yang finish it, then, shouldn't we?" Pyrrha suggested.
When Harry expressed confusion Hagrid became furious and shouted at the Dursleys about how Harry didn't know anything, which Harry took the wrong way. Harry said he did well in school.
"I mean...taken out of context it does sound harsh." Jaune agreed. He remembered some of his old examiners saying Jaune wouldn't make it far into being a Hunter, as he was. While Jaune was poorer in the practical fighting aspects, he still knew a lot and had the heart for the job. Maybe the same would be true for Harry.
Harry told him as such but Hagrid waved him off telling him that he was talking about the world Hagrid came from. The one Harry belongs to. The one his parents were in.
Everyone was listening with bated breath. Even Yang sounded breathless as she kept reading.
Harry kept getting confused. Hagrid kept yelling at the Dursleys before turning to Harry stating that his parents and Harry himself were famous.
"He's famous? But he's only a child. He doesn't even know that culture exists! How can he have fame there?" Pyrrha understood the many demands of fame. She had her own cereal after all. It came with many scroll calls with agents and PR people. You weren't just famous without knowing it.
"It could be that Voldemort character." Blake suggested.
"Oh yeah! He disappeared after he failed to kill Harry. Maybe Harry did something." Yang reasoned.
"As a baby?" Jaune argued.
When Hagrid finally noticed that Harry didn't know what he was Vernon got his courage back, forbidding Hagrid from telling Harry anything.
Everyone at the mental image of Vernon trying to win a fight against the giant Hagrid.
"Oh please. Hagrid could easily take you on." Yang said.
"Harry deserves to know the truth. Legal guardians or not, they don't have any right to keep it from him." Ren stated.
Hagrid lectured the Dursley, saying that he saw Dumbledore leave the letter for Harry all those years ago and they've been keeping it from him. Harry kept asking what he was talking about and Vernon shouted at Hagrid not to say anything but it sounded like he was begging at this point.
Everyone held their breath. This was it. The moment of truth.
Hagrid just waved them off and finally told Harry what was kept from him for years. Harry Potter was in fact...a wizard.
"What?" Yang gasped. The rest of the teens took a minute to adjust to that answer.
"A wizard?" Ruby asked. "As in..."
"Magic." Yang finished with a laugh. "These people can do magic."
Weiss shook her head. "That can't be! Surely if Harry could do magic, he would've noticed by now!"
"That is true." Ren agreed. "He would've noticed small things, would he not?"
"Well...did that earlier chapter not say that he'd done some incredible things?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yeah he did talk to a snake- and shrunk that ugly shirt!" Ruby recalled.
"He grew back his hair when Petunia shaved it off!" Yang added.
"Wow!" Nora gasped, cheering. "This is so cool!"
"Well Hagrid's there now." Jaune noted. "He'd be able to provide more details for Harry."
"Also unlocking magic may not be so different from unlocking our semblances." Pyrrha stated. "It took a while for me to figure mine out."
"I had to be struck by lightning a couple of times to figure out mine." Nora added.
"Took me a few weeks too." Blake said.
"Less talk about semblances, more talk about magic!" Ruby demanded pointing at the book in Yang's hands.
Harry was in disbelief over what Hagrid had said but Hagrid ensured that that was the case and decided to prove it by finally giving Harry his letter.
"About time!" Nora yelled.
Harry anxiously took the yellowish envelope with shaking hands. (The address was once again accurate on his whereabouts.) The letter was headed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Hey, you were right, Weiss. It is a school, just like Beacon." Ruby reminded her. Weiss smiled.
The letter also noted the Headmaster of the school who was named Albus Dumbledore.
"Hey, you guys mentioned him before right? He was one of the other ones who dropped Harry off?" Jaune asked team RWBY.
The girls nodded their heads with Blake adding, "The third one was one of the professors named McGonagall."
The letter informed Harry that he was accepted into Hogwarts and that this envelope includes a list of all the school items he will need. Term begins the first of September and they expected an 'owl' no later than the end of July.
"Wait, an owl?" Ren asked. "How would that owl even know where to go?"
"Hang on a second, the first chapter mentioned a lot of owls flying during daylight." Yang remembered.
"That's right, they must have been spreading the messages." Ruby deduced.
"They must be magical owls then." Pyrrha figured.
"Is it even possible for birds to be magic?" Weiss asked.
"Maybe!" Jaune replied. "I mean, we don't know much about these guys.
Harry asked about the owl bit which reminds Hagrid about something. Hagrid reached into 'another' pocket from his coat and pulled out a living breathing owl along with a quill and a roll of parchment.
"ANIMAL ABUSE!" Nora, Ruby, and Blake shouted.
"A quill and parchment." Noted the confused Jaune. "What's wrong with a pencil and paper? Or even messages on scrolls?"
Pyrrha patted his shoulder. "These wizards seemed incredibly old fashioned."
Hagrid wrote to Dumbledore saying that he's given Harry his letter and was taking him school shopping tomorrow.
"Does this school have a student loan program, or a scholarship?" Weiss wondered. "I get the feeling the Dursleys won't pay for his tuition no matter how much Hagrid threatens them."
"His parents definitely left him something- maybe he's just been too young to get it." Blake said.
"Like a trust." Weiss nodded.
Hagrid then gave the note to the owl and sent the fuzzy creature out into the storm. To him, it seemed normal as though he was talking to someone on the telephone. He then tried to get back to explaining things to Harry but then Vernon regained his courage stating that Harry wasn't going. Hagrid just laughs wanting to see a great big 'muggle' like Vernon even try to stop them.
"What's a 'muggle'?" Ren asked.
"Vernon was called that in the first chapter as well." Blake remembered.
"Hagrid's about to explain." Yang said, having read a little ahead.
At Harry's confusion, Hagrid explained that a Muggle is what Wizards call people without magic.
"Ooohhh." Everyone in the room said.
Vernon then spoke back up, stating that he and Petunia swore that when they took Harry in they would put a stop to all this magic rubbish. Swore that they would stamp it out of him. From this Harry realized that they knew about this all along.
"And what exactly is wrong with being a wizard?" Blake asked furiously.
"These people do seem to go out of their way to stay hidden." Ren noted. "It's possible that the Dursleys aren't alone in their opinions of wizard-kind. If any of them can do the things we've already seen Hagrid do, or Harry, it could scare them. The fear would naturally shift towards anger."
"But why? Those wizards would just be living their lives." Yang snapped.
"Yes! Harry said he couldn't control when these things happened. So why hate him and others for things they couldn't control?" Weiss asked.
"It's just mean, and not fair." Ruby shook her head, disgusted.
"That or they would just harass the wizards to make their lives easier." Pyrrha figured.
Blake thought about their words. She immediately thought of the faunus. The wizards probably faced as much as the faunus. Maybe even worse. That her team and possible friends were saying such kind things, sympathizing with their plight. All the other faunas that Blake knew had said these things were impossible.
It made Blake happy she chose this life instead.
At this Petunia spoke up for the first time. Going on about how her sister just disappeared off to that school and came home during the holidays demonstrating her magic. Meanwhile Petunia only saw her as one thing. A freak. All the while her parents sang Lily's praise.
Yang gripped the book tightly and tears sprouted in her eyes. How could Petunia think like that? Was she really that fearful of her sister's powers? Or was she just jealous?
An arm across her shoulders snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked to see Ruby hug her. Silver eyes shining in understanding.
Yang took a deep breath and rubbed the tears from her eyes. Returning the hug she went back to the book.
Petunia then took a few breaths before continuing. Seems she must have been wanting to get this off of her chest for years. She then continued with when she met James, got married, and had Harry, who of course, inherited his parents' magic.
"Like that isn't obvious." Nora muttered, just as furious as Yang. Ren put an arm around her to comfort her.
Petunia didn't stop there as she said that Lily had gotten herself 'blown up' leaving the Dursleys stuck with Harry.
All the students went quiet at that last part. Horrified at what Petunia just revealed.
"Blown up?" Weiss questioned, wondering just what this Voldemort guy did to Harry's parents.
Yang's anger reached a boiling point by now. Ruby had to take the book away from her to make sure it didn't catch on fire.
"Does Petunia even care that she is gone?" Yang raged, "Or is she just pissed that she's stuck raising her kid? How anyone can talk about the dead like that-"
Ruby touched her shoulder, assuring her.
Yang let out a frustrated growl. She wanted to get loud and angry, to let it all out in a big burst. But she learned better. Her mommy issues could take a back seat here, especially in front of her friends. Petunia wasn't Raven. They weren't even comparable. Not that it mattered anyway, Yang wasn't Raven either.
"Are you going to be okay?" Ruby asked.
Yang nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Ruby." Ruby smiled as she handed the book back.
"Don't worry, Yang. I agree with you!" Jaune replied. "I mean, a person died! My sisters drive me up the wall sometimes but I would be crushed if I lost them the way Petunia lost hers."
"To think that she doesn't even care." Weiss said, not wanting to think about what would happen if she lost Winter. Hell, even losing Whitley would hurt.
"I see another issue." Pyrrha pointed out. Her friends turned to her. "The Dursleys earlier said that Harry's parents died in a car crash."
Everyone gasped.
Yang quickly went back to reading.
Blown up? Harry questioned recalling out loud how the Dursleys kept going on about a car crash. At hearing that, Hagrid joined in on the yelling. Calling it a scandal, when everyone in the wizarding world knows Harry by name. This prompted Harry to ask why that was and what exactly happened.
"Seriously, this book needs to stop stalling and just explain things already." Nora complained, getting impatient with how long this conversation dragged on.
Hagrid then froze. He didn't think he'd have to be the one to tell Harry all this and didn't believe if he was the one to, but somebody has to. He threw a dirty look at the Dursley before warning Harry that he doesn't know everything about what happened that night. Some parts of it are beyond even those in the know.
"Well hey some things are better than nothing." Blake said.
Hagrid then sat down and tried to start with someone, but he had trouble getting the name out.
"Would he be talking about that Voldemort you guys keep mentioning?" Pyrrha asked.
Team RWBY nodded. "One of the other people who dropped Harry off, Professor McGonagall, was frightened to say his name. Dumbledore was comfortable with it though." Weiss told them.
"If that's the case then it would make sense for Hagrid to have trouble as well." Ren noted.
Even though a lot of time has passed, people are still afraid to say this person's name. This wizard was considered the worst of the worst. Harry suggested writing the name down, but Hagrid admits he can't spell it. Finally, he got out the name 'Voldemort'.
For some reason this made a shiver go down everyone's spine when Hagrid finally said it.
Hagrid then went back about twenty years ago as that's when Voldemort started to gather followers. And people did follow him, either out of fear or because they were power-hungry.
The ears behind Blake's bow flattened at that. Nobody noticed, too caught up in what Yang was reading. The White Fang was the same way when it came to recruitment. Blake could imagine Adam's masked face here- especially their last mission together.
Hagrid went on about how tough those times were. No one could trust anyone. Few who stood against him never lived to tell about it. The only place Voldemort didn't touch was Hogwarts because Dumbledore was there.
"If Dumbledore scared him so much, why didn't Dumbledore go try to stop him for good?" Ruby wondered.
"If he worked at a school, maybe he didn't want to leave the students in jeopardy." Pyrrha reasoned.
Hagrid then switched the topic to Harry's parents. Two of the best magic users he's ever known. Voldemort knew that, despite their powers, they would never want to join him. It was possible that he just wanted them out of the way. All Hagrid knows is that Voldemort showed up at their place on Halloween ten years ago, when Harry was just a year old, and-
Everyone bowed their heads, knowing where Hagrid was going with this.
Hagrid took a moment to blow his nose on a handkerchief before going back to the story. Getting out that Voldemort killed them before trying to kill Harry for one reason or another. Then asked Harry if he ever wondered about the scar on his forehead.
"He does, but the Dursleys lied about that too." Nora muttered. She was too depressed by Hagrid's story to be angry.
Hagrid explained that that came from a dark and powerful curse. Which is why Harry is so famous. Voldemort wiped the floor with some of the most powerful witches and wizards out there. Hagrid even named a few.
Ruby clutched Yang's bedsheets in her fists at the list of names. All those lives ruined. All those families that were torn apart. How could someone do that?
But Harry survived an attack at just a year old.
"Then Voldemort must have screwed up somehow." Weiss said. "There's no way Harry defeated him on purpose as a baby."
"But Voldemort didn't even try again? He just gave up and disappeared!" Jaune wondered.
"Probably was embarrassed and went into hiding." Nora giggled with a wave of her arm.
"No, he doesn't seem the type." Blake mumbled knowing how twisted some people can get. "He wouldn't take this lying down."
"Well let's see if Hagrid has any ideas." Yang said holding the book back up to eye level.
As Hagrid finished his story a powerful flashback came to Harry's mind. It was the bright green light he'd remember before. More clearly than ever. And this time, the light was accompanied with a high, cold, and cruel laugh.
At the description of the laughter, Ruby moved closer to Yang. Nora wrapped her arms around Ren. And Pyrrha, who'd seen Jaune grow pale, placed her hand over his and intertwined them. Jaune returned the grip without thinking.
Hagrid revealed to Harry that he took the boy to the Dursleys on Dumbledore's orders. Prompting Vernon to speak up, reminding Harry that those three were still here.
"I've forgotten about them too." Weiss said, wishing Vernon had just stayed quiet.
Vernon agrees that there is something weird about Harry. Figuring it was nothing a good beating couldn't cure.
All the students were vibrating with anger. Several of them wished they could beat Vernon up.
Even going on to saying the world's better off without his parents. But then Hagrid flew up from the couch and pointed a rather old umbrella at Vernon, just daring him to utter another word.
"Oh please Hagrid do it." Nora pleaded.
"Someone please make him stop." Pyrrha said.
Thankfully, Vernon took the threat as it was and quieted down. After Hagrid put his umbrella back in his coat Harry asked what had happened to Voldemort. Although halfway through the question he switched to calling him "You-Know-Who".
"Oh come on Harry. You don't need to go saying that." Nora said.
"He's probably doing it for Hagrid's sake." Ruby offered. "The name may not bother him but it does bother Hagrid."
Nora considered that. She nodded, conceding to Ruby's point.
Hagrid admitted that no one really knows. Voldemort just up and vanished after he failed to kill Harry. One of the biggest mysteries of that night and it's another reason Harry is so famous. Especially considering how powerful he was getting.
"So what could have happened to him?" Blake wondered.
"And if he is still around, where is he now?" Weiss asked.
Rumors were that Voldemort was now dead.
"Doubt it." Ren muttered but was still heard by the others.
Hagrid calls bull on that thinking that he wasn't even human enough to die. He and some others believed that he's just waiting out there. Too weak to carry on. Hagrid also mentions that some of his people came back to their side as if they had come out of some kind of trance.
"Is something like that even possible?" Jaune asked.
"Maybe. The legends and stories about magic spoke a great deal about what one could accomplish. None of them spoke of mind control to such a degree." Pyrrha recalled. "That being said, how magic works here could be very different to how it behaves there. Already we've seen things that we each understand as being impossible for us to do, yet Hagrid and Harry have done with ease. If this Voldemort is willing to use magic to kill, I can believe he would use it for other nefarious purposes."
Blake could agree on that. She recalled the many meetings and rallies for the White Fang alongside Adam. Something about what Pyrrha said made Blake think about it. If Adam could control people to that extent, would he do the same things? Kill more humans, cause more pain and destruction? Blake was sure the answer was yes. However, that was different in terms of getting people on Adam's side. Adam wanted people loyal to the cause to fight- to be willing to give up everything for his cause. That's what he wanted from Blake, after all.
Maybe Voldemort was different. Still, the parallel did nothing to settle Blake's mind. Her ears once again drooped behind her bow.
All Hagrid knows for certain is that something about Harry put a stop to Voldemort and the giant regarded the kid with a proud look. But Harry wasn't so convinced.
A wizard? Him? Someone who has been bullied by his cousin his whole life was able to take down one of the most powerful wizards out there. No way. Not possible.
At this Yang started laughing. "Oh come on, Harry! No one ever says it's as easy as it looks. It probably takes practice." She waved to her gauntlets. "Case in point! Look at these babies. It took training to make it look as good as it does when I fight."
Blake did have to agree. It looked really good when Yang fought with those gauntlets.
"And like I said. Harry most likely didn't even do anything. Voldemort must have screwed up somewhere." Weiss added. "If he really was a crazy killer like Hagrid says, he probably doesn't spend a lot of time thinking things through."
"Or hey, maybe even his parents did something to Harry to protect him before they died." Jaune suggested. Everyone nodded at the possibility. Ruby's silver eyes sparkled as she thought about it.
When Harry voiced his doubts Hagrid gave a chuckle and asked if anything weird ever happened when he was angry or even scared. Harry thought about it and his mind went back to all the unexplainable things that had happened.
When he was chased by Dudley's gang at school he somehow found himself on the roof.
"HA! See? He must have used his magic to teleport." Weiss said in a superior tone.
Ruby groaned. "Okay, Weiss, you're right about that. Can you keep it down? You're interrupting the story!"
Weiss huffed but kept quiet.
Scared of going to school with that awful haircut his aunt gave him, it grew back the next day.
And the snake at the zoo? The glass vanished right after Dudley had pushed him.
"Karma is a bitch and so is Harry." Nora joked to everyone's amusement.
Harry looked back at Hagrid, realizing he was right. But Vernon wasn't finished yet.
Everyone started groaning at the mention of the abusive uncle again.
"Hagrid please, for the love of the Brothers, make him go away." Jaune begged.
Vernon kept insisting that Harry won't go to Hogwarts but Hagrid argued that Harry's name's been down since birth. That he'll be with children of his own kind and that he'll be under the finest headmaster ever which was Dumbledore. To which Vernon yelled that he will not pay some 'crackpot old fool' to teach Harry any magic.
Everyone gave a groan.
"Vernon, just give it up!" Jaune cried out.
"Seriously, he doesn't have a choice in the matter." Weiss said.
"If Harry wants to go then there's no legal way for Vernon to make him stay." Ruby agreed before turning to Yang who was chuckling. "Umm, Sis?"
Yang had read ahead some and it was a good thing cause now she can get her laughter out of the way and read the passage with a straight(ish) face. "That did it." At the other's confusion, she clarified. "Hagrid finally snaps."
This was the final straw as Hagrid brought down his umbrella shouting at the top of his lungs to never insult Dumbledore to his face. He swings the umbrella down, pointing it at Dudley. Dudley started to clamp on his butt, howling in pain and when he turned around, there was a pig's tail poking out of his trousers.
The whole dorm burst out laughing at the mental image.
"Yes! Watch in horror as Hagrid lays a curse on your family. Weep in despair as your own son turns into the very pig you created him to be before your very eyes!" Weiss laughed gleefully before noticing the disturbed looks on her classmates' faces. Awkwardly she clears her throat. "Continue Yang."
With a final roar, Vernon pulled his family into the other room, leaving Harry alone with Hagrid who was looking rather regretful.
"Why would he? That brat totally deserves it." Nora said.
Hagrid muttered that he shouldn't have lost his temper but it didn't matter as the spell didn't properly work anyway. Dudley was supposed to turn into an actual pig. But since he was already so much like one there didn't seem to be much left to do.
Yang had to pause again as she couldn't read with all the tears in her eyes from laughing too much. Her friends weren't doing much better.
Hagrid then asked Harry not to say anything about this as Hagrid's not really allowed to use magic.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Why not?" Pyrrha wondered.
"But he just-" Ren pointed at the book. "-with the-" He started twisting his hands about, trying to explain what he'd heard. "-it was-" He blinked, dumbfounded. "-what?"
Nora patted his shoulder. "Yeah I'm not getting it either."
When Harry prompted Hagrid to admit that he was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year. Even got his wand snapped. But Dumbledore allowed Hagrid to stay there as groundskeeper.
"Hagrid must have somehow fused what was left of his wand with his umbrella." Ren theorized. "If he was able to use it like that. The rules about using magic must be very lax if Hagrid can use it without setting off any alarms."
"Dumbledore might have allowed it." Jaune guessed. "Considering he also gave Hagrid a job despite being expelled." Jaune was really starting to like this mysterious headmaster.
Harry tried to know why Hagrid was expelled but Hagrid just dropped the subject and gave Harry his coat to sleep in so they can be rested for their shopping trip tomorrow.
"That's the end of the chapter." Yang finished closing the book.
"Finally we get to the good stuff." Ruby said cheerfully.
"It'll have to wait till tomorrow though." Blake reminded her.
Ruby, Nora, and Jaune groaned in disappointment.
Ruby then perked back up as she thought about something. "Oh, oh! Can I read the next chapter tomorrow?" She asked.
"Sure." Yang said.
"That's fine with me." Blake said. The others all agreed too.
Team JNPR went back to their dorms as team RWBY got ready for bed, looking forward to tomorrow.
Constructive criticismis welcomed. Flames will be put out by my waterbending powers. Please follow to know when the next chapter comes out. Favorite once it's done and I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay awesome.