I still don't like this site for not letting me put more than four characters. Yes, for anyone who reads it on this site, I'm going to complain about that every chapter, because it pisses me off. :)
No one knows what to make of the transfer students.
They're inseparable. They're friendly enough (mostly), but they stick together, which makes sense, except for the fact that Philip is always bickering with either Fallon or Yuliy, yet the four of them never seem to split up over it. They can almost always be seen hanging out in the courtyards or the hallway, or around the room of the new Ancient Runes professor, whom they seem to know quite well. Sometimes, they'll be hanging out in their respective common rooms, usually Gryffindor, since two of them are in that House.
They're like stepping stones, each one year apart from the next. Dorothea's oldest, followed by Fallon, then Yuliy, then Philip, covering seventh to fourth year. Despite the year difference, they still apparently study together in the library and do homework together.
Another thing that people quickly realize is that these kids are good.
By the first week, the whole school is already whispering about these foreign students. Fallon is apparently a genius at Charms, and Dorothea actually got a smile out of McGonagall on the first day in Transfiguration. Philip is younger, but apparently just as good as his friends, outshining literally everyone in Arithmancy with the calculator in his head.
As for Yuliy, Ryouko was lucky enough to have Defense as her second class on the first day, which is one that Slytherin shares with Gryffindor (after an utterly mind-numbing History lesson, unfortunately). Their new Defense professor this year is leaning against the blackboard waiting for them while they file into class, murmuring to themselves in speculation. Ryouko is pleased when she manages to snag the seat right behind Yuliy. He wears a short ponytail, she notices absently.
She opens her mouth and reaches out to tap his shoulder to introduce herself, maybe ask him where he's from, or about his hobbies or something, when the bell rings. Professor Hideomi Iba straightens up, and she retracts her hand reluctantly.
With a flick of his wand, the door shuts. Yuliy's shoulders tense.
Iba clears his throat. Without warning, he barks, "Wands out!"
Most people reach into their pockets quickly, caught off-guard by the order, but as Ryouko draws her cherry wand, she notices that Yuliy already has his ready in a tight grip.
Iba's slate eyes gleam. "Three points for a quick draw, Mr. Jirov." He doesn't even consult the attendance list. Does he already know everyone's names and faces? "And those of you that are reaching into your bags, I won't take points off this time, but I expect you to have your wands on hand at all times from here on out. You're all witches and wizards, after all. Alright, stand up."
They do so eagerly. Practical lessons are always better in a subject like this.
With an easy wave of his wand, Iba sends all the desks to line up at the sides of the room. "So, who'd like to do a practice demonstration? Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
Crickets chirp. Ryouko's hand trembles by her side as she contemplates raising it, darting glances at Yuliy. She wets her lips, preparing to volunteer-
"How about you, Mr. Jirov?"
Half disappointed, half relieved, Ryouko retreats with Makie and Shino to the sides of the room, barely noticing their teasing looks, and the class leaves Yuliy Jirov standing in the middle of the room, opposite from Iba, who quickly erects minor duelling wards with ease of practice. The professor gives Yuliy the first move, and the fifth year raises his wand to eye level.
Something intense burns like blue fire behind his eyes. It's almost familiar...He looks how Ryouko feels when she's hunting down that speck of gold on the Quidditch pitch—predatory, with no intention of losing.
Without warning, a Stunner flies at Iba, who snaps his wand up to shield. The speed of their movements and the CRACK of the Stunner hitting the shield startles everyone, making some people jump. The most astonishing thing is that Yuliy's lips didn't move at all—nor do they as the duel continues.
Ryouko watches in awe. Nonverbal casting is something that none of them have even thought about yet. That's sixth year stuff. How is he doing it so easily?
He gets overpowered soon, but puts up more than a decent fight for a fifth year against their professor. Rumor has it that Iba is a senior Auror in the Corps. He looks a little young to be a senior Auror, but the ease with which he handled Yuliy's spells makes it more believable.
"That was excellent. Fifteen points to Gryffindor," Iba praises.
Yuliy takes the compliment with nothing more than a nod, accepting his wand back quickly after being disarmed. He retreats to the side of the classroom and comes to stand right next to Ryouko, who tenses. Her gaze lingers a little too long, and as he starts to turn to look at her, she quickly turns to face front again and hopes that he can't see her blushing to the roots of her hair.
"Now, the spell that Mr. Jirov opened up with was the Stunning Spell, incantation Stupefy. It's a staple spell in many Aurors' arsenal, and one that you should have in yours as well. Let's practice the wand motion first…"
Ryouko is itching to talk to Yuliy the whole time, but between practicing the spell and helping Makie and Shino with it too, she doesn't get the chance. Giving them some flimsy excuse of having to look something up in the library, she hurries out the door after Yuliy, who drifted out the door first, quick and nimble.
"Y-Yuliy!" she calls, drawing some attention from passersby.
He turns, pausing in the middle of the hallway. Ryouko blushes again, confronted with the intense, icy blue of his gaze, and he quirks an eyebrow, clearly waiting for her to speak.
"How did you get so good at duelling?" she blurts out all in one breath. "I mean, we don't even start nonverbal incantations until sixth year, and—and you managed to hold your own against an actual professor, and an Auror!"
He blinks slowly at her, and she wonders briefly if he even heard her. Then he draws breath to reply, lips parting-
"Oi, Yuliy!"
They both turn to see the blond, Philip, striding down the hall, his bookbag bouncing carelessly against his leg with each step. He gives Ryouko a passing look of mild curiosity before turning his attention to Yuliy.
"The others are waiting in the professor's room," he says impatiently. "We're all waiting on you, y'know."
Yuliy nods shortly, and Philip brushes past them, hands tucked behind his head. Yuliy goes to follow, then stops and looks back at Ryouko.
"Practice," is all he says before heading after Philip, leaving her standing in the hall.
She realizes it's the first time she's heard him speak so far. He didn't utter a single word in class.
Makie and Shino pounce as soon as she returns to the common room. "So?!" they demand, eyes shining gleefully.
Ryouko blushes again, twisting her fingers together. "U-um...well...he has a nice voice?"
She's determined to hear it again. Later, she manages to pester Makie and Shino into practicing the Stunning Spell some more in an empty classroom, determined to get it right.
o0o0o
"Hey, you've made a name for yourself already, huh?" Fallon teases as soon as Yuliy walks in the door.
"How did you already hear about that?" He drops his bag haphazardly on one of the desks and sits down. "And what was I supposed to do, let him crush me?" Philip lied when he said everyone was waiting, apparently; Dorothea isn't even here yet.
"I thought you were all about keeping a low profile," Philip snickers, tossing his bag down next to one of the chairs across from Fallon. The burly redhead pulls out a pack of playing cards, and Yuliy internally groans.
"I didn't know nonverbal magic was going to be so outstanding," Yuliy mutters irritably, slouching down into his seat. "At least I didn't try to keep fighting after he disarmed me."
"You really think you would've won?" Philip asks disbelievingly as Fallon begins to build their card house—except the cards are all Exploding Snap cards, and the two of them have never built their dream mansion once.
"No," Yuliy admits. "I wouldn't have beaten him. I don't practice my wandless magic enough to actually duel with it. It's just to buy time and get my wand back."
"Perhaps that's something you can work on while we're here," Willard comments, not looking up from his book behind his desk.
Yuliy nods to himself. "Oh yeah...what's OWL? Both McGonagall and Iba talked about it a bit."
"The O-W-L's are a set of examinations at the end of fifth year," Willard explains. "It's a cumulative exam covering everything you've learned from first to fifth year. Your grades determine whether or not you'll continue taking the class in sixth and seventh year, although if your grades are good enough, you can choose which ones to take. From there, your grades in the NEWTs, which are another set of cumulative exams at the end of seventh year, determine your career opportunities."
"So that's why everyone keeps talking about them," Yuliy murmurs to himself absently.
"Indeed. Dorothea and Fallon had to take alternate versions of the OWLs to place into their NEWT courses for this year."
"Which sucked," Fallon grumbles. "The tests took forever." The tip of his tongue protrudes from his mouth as he slowly lowers one of the cards down.
"Hey, you don't get to complain," Philip argues, jabbing a finger at him. "You and Dorothea don't have to stay up until midnight every Wednesday to climb all the way up the Astronomy Tower to stargaze!"
"It was still a waste of time," the redhead complains. "We're only going to be here for a year."
"Well, you never know," the professor comments idly, and Yuliy glances at him in surprise.
"What do you m-"
The door opens quickly, revealing Dorothea's lithe frame. "Hey, ev-"
BOOM!
The Exploding Snap cards, well, explode. Far from being alarmed, Philip and Fallon just groan in exasperation. At this point, it would be surprising if they were surprised.
"That one was totally your fault," Philip grouses.
"What? That was Dorothea's fault for distracting me!"
"Hey, don't get me involved," she protests, walking up the aisle with a cat-like grin. "How are classes so far, Yuliy?"
He slouches further down in his seat. "Fine."
She snickers affectionately, one hand on her hip. "That bad already?" she asks sympathetically, sitting down in the seat next to him. She seems to be in a good mood, so he can only assume the day has been going well for her.
"I didn't know they hadn't covered nonverbal spells," he complains.
Dorothea leans back in her seat with a grin. "I'm remembering that time when me and Fallon met you as a little ten-year-old and you were all like, 'Wait, you can't do magic without a wand? What kind of witch and wizard are you guys?'"
"Wh—I wasn't-"
"I know," she laughs. He would never do or say something like that. "I was just teasing you. Don't worry about it. There are already enough rumors flying around about us, what's one more? And plus, you don't have to worry about slipping up and doing it later, since everyone knows already."
He cracks a small smile, slightly heartened by that idea.
"And if you're that worried about developing a reputation, well, you have Potions on Friday," she reminds him in a sing-song voice with a wink, and his good mood dissipates immediately. The older girl bursts into laughter at his expression. Yuliy has never been good with Potions (which is strange, because it's a lot like cooking, and he does all the campfire cooking for the team).
They don't even blink at the next explosion, nor the bickering that follows. All in a day's work.
o0o0o
The Potions Master of Hogwarts is the most biased jerk there ever was, and everyone knows it.
Which is why Ryouko makes sure to snag the seat next to Yuliy. "Hi," she greets with a small smile.
His gaze flickers to her. "Hello," he responds quietly.
"Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier," she says cheerfully, determined not to be put off by his reticence. "I'm Ryouko. It's nice to meet you."
He blinks twice at her, thin fingers drumming softly on the desk. "Yuliy. Likewise."
"Um…" She can feel Makie and Shino staring at her from behind her. "Just so you know, the professor really doesn't like Gryffindors...He'll look for any excuse to dock points."
A grimace passes over his face briefly before it fades back into a passive visage. "Thanks for the warning."
She figures he'll probably be fine, though. If he has even a fraction of the skill he clearly possesses when it comes to Defense, he can probably pass under the professor's radar with minimal trouble.
The problem is that he doesn't.
Ryouko winces when he accidentally stirs the potion too much, and it starts to fizz for the fourth time today. In his haste to grab his wand, he knocks his knife to the ground, where it skitters under his desk. He tries to reach for it, but it mysteriously flies out of his reach.
Angrily, Ryouko whips her head around to see a few Slytherin boys snickering in the adjacent aisle, one of them holding the knife that Yuliy dropped. Her hand creeps towards her own wand...but the professor might use the opportunity to make a scapegoat out of one of her Gryffindor classmates, probably Yuliy.
Without a word, Yuliy ignores the Slytherin boys and flicks his wand at the dried roots. Instantly, they begin dicing themselves up into neat, proportional chunks without a word.
He seems to sense her surprise and explains quietly, "I did most of the cooking for us."
Even more surprised that the reserved boy shared something about himself, she doesn't notice their professor creeping closer until he's practically breathing down their necks.
"Showing off, are we?" he remarks disdainfully, and they both whirl around. "Five points from Gryffindor. Just because you're new here doesn't make you special, Mr. Jirov."
Ryouko clenches her fists angrily at the poor excuse, but her potion suddenly demands her attention, and she's forced to let it go as their professor strides away, not even bothering to hide his smug expression.
Yuliy huffs quietly, but he doesn't seem to care much. Although, she thinks she hears him mutter under his breath something about Philip biting his head off later.
At the end of class, in the hustle and bustle of everyone packing up and clearing away ingredients and cleaning up their workspace, Yuliy flicks his wand over at the Slytherin boys who stole his knife. A blur of silver flies across the room, and if not for Ryouko's Seeker eye, she wouldn't have seen it before Yuliy tucks the knife away in a simple sheath on his belt like nothing happened.
Her curiosity jumps yet again. What kind of a wizard carries an actual knife on his person?
To her disappointment, Yuliy disappears out the door as soon as the bell rings. But she smirks smugly when one of the boys looks around and realizes that his stolen prize is gone. For good measure, she whispers a spell to nudge his textbook onto the floor, where he'll probably step on it. It's petty, and useless in the long run, but worth it.
Shino dots the last period on the roll of parchment and leans back in her seat with a sigh of contentment. "Finally! Thanks for all the help, Miss Potions Master!" They make sure to keep their voices down, though. Madam Pince has the hearing of an owl, and the temperament of a goblin.
Ryouko half grins, half grimaces. "You're welcome. But ugh, that guy is such a jerk sometimes." Suffice it to say, Yuliy might not have cared about the points unfairly taken, but she still does.
Makie shrugs sympathetically. "I mean, what can you do, right? Hey, can you look over mine too?"
They trade papers, Makie's Potions essay for Ryouko's Ancient Runes. Makie's family runs a museum that specializes in ancient scriptures and the like, so she grew up with the stuff.
Meanwhile, Shino gets out some random scrap rubbish for them to practice Vanishing, which they touched on in Transfiguration already.
"Try imagining it," Shino advises while Ryouko struggles. "McGonagall says Vanishing disperses magic, so it's more than just making the thing go away."
Ryouko chews her lip and raises her wand again. "Evanesco."
An old, raggedy quill poofs away, but leaving the feather shaft, and they both sigh.
"Sorry, I'm not good at explaining things," Shino says apologetically. She's a whiz at practical work, but not so much at explaining the theory.
"It's fine," Ryouko reassures her, standing up. "I'm gonna go see if I can find a book on it. Be right back."
The problem with the Hogwarts library is that it's too extensive. While searching for a book on Vanishing, Ryouko spots a leather-bound book titled something about advanced theories of arithmancy, another one of her classes. She reads about thirty pages of it before realizing that she's been standing there for several minutes, her neck is getting sore, and she's still no closer to her intended goal than when she started.
Several minutes, something piques her interest for the fifth time. This time, though, it's something she hears, and she creeps closer to the open area of the library, where desks and chairs are set up for students to study and work.
"...so bad at this, I swear," someone's voice says in exasperation. It sounds vaguely familiar…
A deeper voice laughs cheerfully. "Don't be like that! That's why we help each other!"
"Don't touch my hair!"
Then Ryouko hears a voice she recognizes as Dorothea's, to her surprise.
"Hey, keep it down, or we'll get kicked out. We're not in the professor's room-"
"Can't we just go there instead?" mumbles a quieter voice—Yuliy!
"No," Dorothea answers dryly, "or else these two are going to get distracted, and it's much quieter here without all the explosions."
Ryouko blinks. Explosions?
She hears Yuliy sigh. "Speaking of getting distracted…"
Philip heaves a sigh of his own. "Can't you guys help him with Potions? Why do I have to do it?" he complains, and Yuliy lets out an irritable huff.
"Hey, we have our own work to do," says the deeper voice—Fallon, probably. "I'm gonna go look up some stuff. Anyone want me to bring something back?"
"I'll come with you, actually," Dorothea says, followed by some shuffling, and then receding footsteps.
Ryouko takes a deep breath. Now or never. It would've been better if Dorothea hadn't left, because she doesn't know Philip, but she'll take what she can get.
She peeks around the corner. Philip, the blond, is rocking mindlessly on the back legs of his chair, one foot propped up against the table leg; meanwhile, Yuliy has a half-written essay in front of him, and is doodling on what is probably supposed to be a notes page.
"Hi, Yuliy," she blurts out, drawing the two boys' attention immediately.
Philip stares at her in blatant curiosity, and Yuliy blinks slowly. "Hi…" She wonders briefly if he remembers her name at all.
"Who're you?" Philip asks bluntly, though not rudely.
"I'm Ryouko. I sit next to Yuliy in Potions."
"Oh, great," he declares, letting his chair thunk back onto all four legs. "You can help this guy with Potions, then, right? He's kinda hopeless."
Yuliy glares at Philip, and Ryouko's not sure which side to take. Philip could stand to be a little nicer about his criticism...but it's not entirely unfounded.
"Sure," Ryouko agrees, "but I'd really appreciate some help with Vanishing spells. I just can't seem to get them right, and we have an essay due next week."
Philip smirks, tucking his hands behind his head. "You're just like Dorothea. A favor for a favor. You're a Slytherin too, right?"
"And proud of it," she says, lifting her chin with a smile.
"Well, Dorothea's the best at Transfiguration. None of us can match her." The respect for his friend is evident in his voice. Ryouko wonders how they got to know each other, as varied in age, background, and talents as they are. "But she won't be back for a while. She's half Ravenclaw—set her loose in a library, and you won't see a hair of her for days if she had her way."
Ryouko smiles in amusement, already fond of the way they speak so familiarly of each other, though it puts her on edge when Philip rocks his chair onto its back legs again with a grin.
"Yuliy's not half bad at Transfiguration, though," he says flippantly. "Better than he is at Potions, at any rate. Not that that says much."
Yuliy glares. Without warning, the chair topples backwards, leaving Philip scrambling on the floor, squawking indignantly.
"Did you do that?!"
Yuliy's expression is the picture of blank innocence. "Do what?"
From the side, Ryouko can see him quickly stowing his wand away under his robes.
"So…" Ryouko watches as Philip rights himself, taking excessive care to straighten his hair before propping the chair up. "Mind if I bring my friends? They're pretty smart too."
Which is how they find themselves levitating over extra chairs for them all. Dorothea and Fallon come back to see that the group has almost doubled in size, but they greet Ryouko and her friends with smiles. The three Slytherin girls are extraordinarily pleased that Dorothea even remembers their names.
Yuliy is actually pretty good at Transfiguration, although he's about as good at explaining it in concise words as Shino is. Dorothea is much better at both the subject and explaining it, and she even Conjures perfect little birds for Ryouko to practice. The fifth year nearly cheers before she remembers they're still in the library when she finally manages to Vanish a robin.
And it turns out Yuliy is a Herbology genius and can really get talking about the subject, able to identify a hundred and one plants by their pictures alone as well as their magical properties, if applicable, plus how to care for some of them, when their flowers bloom, what kinds of reagents can be harvested-
"Your nerd is showing," Philip snarks at him as he finishes explaining some of the uses of bubotuber pus, and Yuliy rolls his bright blue eyes, though he doesn't seem as irritated.
"How do you know all of that?" she asks in amazement.
A tiny, pleased smile flickers at the corner of his mouth, and her face instantly feels like someone just used an Incendio spell (and probably looks red enough for it too, if her friends' sly and amused expressions are anything to go by).
It's a bit of a tight fit around the table with all of them, but the strange and friendly transfer students don't seem to mind, even when it comes to Makie and Shino's endless questions. Ryouko is shoulder-to-shoulder with Yuliy, so it's not like she's complaining.
Yup, Iba is the Defense professor XD Because why not. And I decided to make the Potions professor a jerk, like Snape was in canon, because making life hard for our favorite werewolf boy is fun. :)
My idea for this crossover AU is that the Jaegers still hunt vampires like they did in canon, just with wands instead of guns and crossbows. Vampires presumably have magic too, which complicates the hunting process, requiring more in-depth skills along with a strategic mind. Like, I can imagine them having to work through wards, casting Anti-Disapparition jinxes, etc. So they're all really good at Defense, and they have their own specialty subjects as well. Because of the danger involved with their job, they would naturally be more well-versed with certain subjects than most kids their age. They're not good at everything (they probably suck at Astronomy, because I bet there's not much time for stargazing lessons while hunting vampires), but they're pretty good.
Also, I didn't want Ryouko to seem shallow by ignoring her friends in favor of chasing after Yuliy, so I tried to bring them up often as a fixture in Ryouko's life at Hogwarts. In the anime, it doesn't matter because it appears that the only setting she sees them in is school, but since she lives at Hogwarts with Makie and Shino (their names are canon, by the way), I didn't want to just exclude them.
If anyone has suggestions/feedback for future chapters or whatever, feel free to comment/review! :)