The sun had already set when Megumin trudged out to Hagrid's hut, burdened with her adventuring gear. Despite her best efforts, Darkness, Hermione, and Ron had all declined to come participate in what she had pitched as "an epic quest." Mostly because none of them had a detention on that particular evening.
Instead of knocking like a reasonable person, Megumin simply barged into Hagrid's hut. After all, it was very hard to knock heroically, but kicking in doors was a hero's SOP.
"Evenin' Megs," Hagrid said, smiling at Megumin and holding up a steaming kettle. "Want a cuppa before we get started?"
Instead of answering the question, Megumin glared at the other occupant of the hut. "What is SHE doing here?"
"Um, I-I got a d-detention too," Yunyun said, trying to hide behind her mug.
"Oh? Have you finally decided to ditch your NPC house and become a real protagonist?" Megumin demanded.
"Um, no, I-I like it in Hufflepuff, e-even if I have friends in Gryffindor...everyone is nice, um, but…" Yunyun swallowed and looked at Hagrid.
"But she was stayin' out late and I gave her a detention, see," Hagrid explained. "So she's gonna help us tonight."
"Hmph. As long as the NPC doesn't slow me down," Megumin grumbled.
Hagrid gave Megumin a puzzled look, then glanced at Yunyun who was sniffling and trying to hide her tears. "What's an NPC?
"Nothing," Yunyun muttered, hastily wiping away her tears. She managed a smile at Megumin. "Um, let's go."
"Yes! Let us plumb the depths of the forest! What sort of monsters shall we hunt, and what sort of loot shall we obtain?" Megumin demanded.
Hagrid sighed and got up from his chair, picking up his crossbow from by the fireplace to Megumin's delight. "We're not killin' anything."
"Then why do you arm yourself so?" Megumin pointed out.
"'Cause iffin I don't have it somethin' is likely to try teh eat one o' yeh. Here, Fang."
A massive shaggy form rose up from near the fireplace, and loomed over Megumin.
"A monster!" Megumin gasped, and attempted to bring her ten foot pole around to defend herself. "Have at thee, you vile-"
A wet, sloppy tongue began to happily lick Megumin's face, much to her disgust. "Get off of me!"
"Fang is a nice doggy," Yunyun said happily, and took a bit of meat left over from supper out of her pocket and passed it to the dog, who quickly made it disappear.
"How do you know? He looks vicious," Megumin protested.
"B-because I came to visit Hagrid, and he let me pet Fang."
"Don't spoil him, the ruddy coward is bad enough already," Hagrid said, though he smiled and affectionately rubbed Fang's head. "Right, come on then. Got to check on the unicorns. Something's had them spooked since a couple of weeks before term started."
That got Megumin's interest. "Is it a vile demon of some sort?"
"Nah, you didn't arrive til the 1st," Hagrid said, chuckling to himself as he strolled towards the woods.
"Yes! I am indeed a powerful demon, but some other foe must have disturbed the creatures!" Megumin hurried up to Hagrid, her backpack bouncing up and down and clattering as she went.
"What all do yeh have in there, anyways?" Hagrid asked as he led them into the trees.
"W-well, probably some rope, and rations for three days, a-and a way to make fire, and perhaps some alchemical concoctions…" Yunyun guessed.
"I have my herbicide," Megumin said proudly. "Snape gave me a point to Gryffindor for it!"
"Didn't he also take five for nearly poisoning that poor Weasley boy?" Hagrid asked.
"Yes, but the fact that I got a point proves my superiority as a potion brewer!" Megumin bragged.
"Don't bloody well know what yeh'd use the herbicide on in the forest, but don't be killin' off the plants. Centaurs won't like that," Hagrid opined.
"Hmph. At least I am prepared," Megumin eyed Yunyun. "You seem woefully under equipped."
"I-I brought my wand!" Yunyun said, holding hers up. "A-and my pocket knife, and my torch, and matches, and a compass!"
"Why do you need a torch?" Megumin asked suspiciously.
"W-well, some monsters are weak to light, and, um, if we get lost, w-we can use it to signal for help," Yunyun explained.
"I hear there are werewolves, so I stole a silver knife from the potions room," Megumin explained, holding up the potions tool.
Hagrid missed half a step and stumbled, then whirled on Megumin. "Yeh did what?!"
"I also have a vial of acid I made in case we run across any trolls," Megumin explained. "It's all in the monster manual."
"Oh hell. Snape's gonna have a ruddy cow about this," Hagrid groaned. "Look, there's no werewolves in the forest. And I don't know why yeh'd need acid to deal with a troll. Look, we're just checking on the unicorns."
"Yes, but you have to worry about the random encounters," Megumin explained patiently.
When Yunyun nodded seriously in agreement, Hagrid began to wonder if he was mad or they were.
The answer of course was that while Yunyun might have been the sanest Crimson Demon ever born, that bar was so low to the ground that it was a tripping hazard.
"Just don't go pickin' a fight with anythin' in the forest," Hagrid sighed. "The headmaster wouldn't allow anything that wasn't friendly enough to live in here."
"B-but I thought the forest was here so that w-we could practice our combat magic," Yunyun asked, sounding perplexed.
Hagrid blinked at her. "Yeh know, I just realized the two o' yeh are related."
"Hmph. Are we going to go fight unicorns or not?" Megumin demanded.
"We're not going to FIGHT the unicorns, we're going to check the herd and I was thinkin' o' letting yeh pet one if it allowed, but now I think maybe that's a bad idea," Hagrid said, sounding more than a little upset.
"W-we won't hurt the unicorns," Yunyun promised. "R-right, Megumin? They are good aligned…"
"Yes, fine. I am a maiden, virtuous and pure, and will consent to meeting the unicorn." She paused for a moment, then asked in a wistful tone, "Are they very beautiful?"
"From what I recall," Hagrid said with a shrug. "Won't let me see 'em no more. Got to wear a blindfold most times."
Both girls made appreciative cooing noises, and the mollified Hagrid led them deeper into the forest.
They had not gone more than a quarter mile or so when Fang began to whine and limp, looking for all the world as though he had injured himself.
"Eh? What is it boy?" Hagrid asked, looking around. "What do yeh smell?"
"A monster approaches!" Megumin said eagerly, and she raised her staff as Yunyun took out her wand.
"It's not a bloody monster," Hagrid sighed. "Here, Fang."
The dog eagerly hid behind Hagrid, and a moment later, the pounding of hooves could be heard. Hagrid took his crossbow off his shoulder, but rested it on the ground without nocking a bolt.
"Is it the unicorns?" Megumin asked eagerly.
"Nah. Put the pole down, and keep that wand hidden. It's the centaurs," Hagrid ordered.
Thankfully, Megumin and Yunyun complied, and soon they pointed. "There they are!"
"What? Yeh can see them?" Hagrid asked, puzzled as he squinted into the darkness.
"Y-yes, the lead one is a c-chestnut color with black hair," Yunyun said.
"Oi, Magorian, is that you?" Hagrid called.
"It is I, Hagrid," a deep voice answered, and a moment later a centaur stepped into the pool of light cast from the lanturn that Hagrid carried. "What is this that you bring to our forest?"
"Behold!" Megumin shouted, and jumped in front of Magorian as the other centaurs emerged from the trees. "I am Megumin! Foremost Genius of the Crimson Demon Clan!"
"A-and I am Yunyun, um, F-foremost Friend of the C-Crimson Demon Clan," Yunyun echoed, posing herself, much to Hagrid's mortification.
"We come to this forest to cleanse it of the evil that troubles the unicorn herd!" Megumin elaborated. "The land cries out for justice, and the Crimson Demon Clan heeds its plees!"
Magorian frowned, looking down at the two girls with a troubled expression. "You have heard already of the blood that has been spilled this night? We learned of it less than an hour ago, and came to tell Hagrid. But what manner of beings are you?"
"They're students, can't yeh tell?" Hagrid asked, stepping forward. "But what's this about blood spilling?"
"Students? So, Hogwarts now accepts those not of the blood of Merlin?" Magorian asked. "Where do you come from, Megumin and Yunyun of the Crimson Demon Clan?"
"S-Surrey," Yunyun said at the same time Megumin said, "Another world, sent here by a mysterious power to cast down the evil of Lord Voldemort!"
"Ah. Then it was you the stars spoke of. Tell me, do you know of this new constellation that has appeared in the heavens, and of which two have fallen to earth?" Magorian asked.
"YES! THE STARS THEMSELVES BEAR WITNESS TO MY LEGEND, AND FORETELL OF MY GLORY!" Megumin proclaimed.
"W-we're just here to make friends," Yunyun added hastily. "W-would you like to be my friend, M-Mr. Magorian?"
The centaur leaned back, blinking in surprise as red eyes glowed up at him. But the expression on Yunyun's face was so earnest that he slowly relaxed. He knelt down on his fetlocks, peering into Yunyun's face. "You offer us the hand of friendship? What of the humans?"
"Um, well, s-some of them are our friends too," Yunyun explained. She smiled up at Hagrid. "I-I'm making lots of friends, l-like Hagrid. I-I'd like to be your f-friend too. Um, if t-that's OK."
"We offer first the hand of friendship, but to those who would become our foes, beware!" Megumin said, swirling her cloak about herself dramatically.
"Look, this is nice and all, but what is this about blood being spilled? What happened?" Hagrid demanded.
Magorian looked up, then back down at Yunyun. Gravely, he extended a hand. "I accept your offer of Friendship, Yunyun of the Crimson Demon Clan. I speak for only my herd, but for our part, we gaze upon the stars you come under with great interest. It is time the humans were taught a lesson."
"Y-yes! How to be f-friends!" Yunyun said eagerly.
Magorian only grunted, then got back up and addressed Hagrid. "A unicorn was found slain. The body is yet warm, and we drove off the thing that attacked it. It was a dark thing though, and if we had not had the full herd together, I fear we would not have prevailed so easily."
"Ah bloody hell," Hagrid sighed. He glanced at Megumin and Yunyun. "Right. You two go with Fang back to the hut. I'll count this as your detention."
"What!? But we have to accompany you to-" Megumin began, but Hagrid cut her off.
"I ain't dense enough to take two kids to somethin' that can kill a unicorn and makes a full herd o' centaurs worried enough teh come to me for help. You two head back. And no tricks. I'm countin' on yeh, Yunyun."
With that, Hagrid shouldered his crossbow and strode off with the centaurs, leaving the two girls with Fang the Cowardly Dog.
Megumin eyed Yunyun. "Well?"
"W-well what?" Yunyun asked, frowning at Megumin. "C-come on. Let's find the m-monster and kill it."
Megumin grinned, her teeth barred in excitement. "Ha! And here I thought you would want to obey the adult and scurry back home!"
"Hiropon is a unicorn wand," Yunyun said quietly, taking her wand out and gripping it tightly. "He's my friend. And I won't let anything hurt my friends."
"Plus, this is sure to have some exciting loot!" Megumin said eagerly. "Come, Fang! Let us venture forth!"
Fang seemed extremely reluctant to go with the two girls, whining and limping in the direction of home, before turning and catching up with them. After all, Fang didn't want to be left alone in the woods at night without some protection.
Despite the near total darkness of the night, Megumin and Yunyun made their way through the trees easily, picking their path as though it were a sunny afternoon. Their eyes glowed softly in the darkness, allowing them to see better even than any natural creature. After all, they were Crimson Demons.
They had not gone far before Fang began to whine even more, balking at going forward.
"Look up in the trees," Megumin said, pointing. "I see webs."
"Giant spiders?" Yunyun guessed, peering up at the dark branches. Large nets of webbing could be seen, along with dark patches where insects, birds, squirrels, and even a deer could be seen entangled in the webs.
"Yes. They should be easy enough to kill," Megumin cackled.
They did not go much further before a spider about the size of a house cat began to lower itself towards the girls. The creature seemed to think they couldn't see it, as normal human children lost in the forest would have been easy prey. It never had time to realize it's error, as Megumin gave it a single good crack with her 10 foot pole, ending the creature's existence in a blow.
"Ha! First blood is mine!" Megumin hooted.
Yunyun stuck her tongue out, aiming her wand up at a large array of webbing, where a yet larger spider watched them. "Diffendo!"
The spider and web divided neatly in half, tumbling out of the tree. Yunyun smiled happily, going over to examine the web for any potential loot. She prodded the webbing with the toe of her trainer, but was disappointed.
"No fair," Megumin complained. "They haven't even given me my wand back yet!"
"Um, s-sorry. B-but I did want to try that spell...We haven't learned it yet, b-but it seemed really easy…"
"Hmph."
For the next few minutes, the two girls happily squashed, smashed, spelled, and generally terrorized the spider population. They didn't find much, but both of them rather gleefully wreaked havoc. Gentle soul though Yunyun might typically be, she had a rather large distaste for spiders, and when her blood was up her race's general enthusiasm for destructive spellwork emerged.
"Hey, where's Fang?" Yunyun asked once they had largely cleared out the grove. This had proven to be a somewhat isolated pocket of giant spiders, fortunately for the two girls who were by no means ready for the truly terrifying varieties that infested the Forbidden Forest.
Megumin looked around, frowning. Fang had been keeping rather close to the two Crimson Demons, trusting in them to keep him safe. Now, however, he had vanished, as he had sensed the evil that was approaching. As she searched, Megumin soon spotted a dark robed figure moving towards them.
"Ah ha! The final boss approaches!" Megumin cried, raising her ichor spattered pole. "Prepare yourself for destruction, fool!"
The approaching creature paused in its efforts to sneak up on the girls, flitting from tree to tree in the shadows. It moved oddly, with stiff, jerky movements, as though it were stepping backwards. "So. You sense me, do you, Potter?"
"I mean, you're not really trying to hide all that much," Megumin pointed out. "You're just standing behind that tree, and you're wider than it is."
"Are you the one who killed the unicorn?" Yunyun demanded. "That's not nice! Unicorns are good creatures!"
"You I do not care about, mudblood," the figure hissed. "But I will happily-"
"NO ONE INSULTS YUNYUN!" Megumin roared, and charged, swinging the pole with all her might.
She caught her foe completely unawares, and it wasn't until the last instant that he hissed, "Protego!"
The pole rebounded off of the shield with a magical discharge of energy, and sent Megumin cartwheeling through the air to land with a clatter of gear and a spray of fallen leaves.
"No! Diffendo!" Yunyun wailed. However, her own spell splattered harmlessly against the shield charm, not even overly disturbing the protective barrier.
"You think to challenge me with a simple first year charm, girl?" the stranger chuckled, his voice horrible and raspy. "Let me show you how it is done. Sectumsempra!"
Before the spell could strike Yunyun, she raised her own wand and, copying the motion she had seen the stranger use, shouted, "Protego!"
A shield flickered to life about Yunyun, and the enemy's spell slashed into it. If Yunyun had been more experienced, the spell would have been reflected back at the caster. However, her own charm was weak, and shattered at the blow. It did, however, save her life, and the only injury she suffered was a cut on her calf. Still, she cried out, collapsing at the sudden injury.
"What? How could you- that is not a spell you should know!" Her opponent hissed.
"TASTE VENGEANCE!" Megumin roared, swinging her pole again, and learning why in actual combat you shout your witty one liners AFTER you attack.
This time, the stranger responded with, "Confrego!"
Thankfully, his jerky movements and startlement at the ferocity of his opponent's assault caused the spell's aim to be slightly off. Instead of blowing Megumin to smithereens, the earth beside her detonated, and she was flung through the air, landing with a painful thud beside Yunyun.
"M-Megumin!" Yunyun wailed, scrambling over to her cousin. "A-are you-?"
Groaning, Megumin sat up, but she was now obviously injured, one side of her body burned, and blood pouring from a shallow gash on her scalp.
"I tire of this. It is fortunate we met this night, Potter. You, I shall take. But the mudblood I do not need," the stranger hissed as he jerked forward.
"No! Protego!" Yunyun conjured up another shield, this one slightly better than the first, but still weak. Her hand snaked toward Megumin's, and the other girl gripped hers. "You can't have her! She's my best friend!"
"And I won't let you hurt Yunyun!" Megumin snarled, and flung a vial from her backpack at the stranger.
However, the potion was deflected off the shield, and the man sneered at Megumin. "Fool. You cannot hope to overcome-"
As the stranger spoke, there was a tinkling sound, and a moment later, a loud groaning. The stranger looked up just as a great tree toppled towards him. If his face could have been seen, it likely would have borne a look of comical disbelief. The tree slammed into him, wrenching his shoulder out of the socket and sending him spinning to the ground.
"I win again!" Megumin gasped, slumping down.
"Was...was that your herbicide?" Yunyun asked, peering at the tree trunk. Its trunk was eaten through and rapidly dissolving, as the foliage around the tree withered and died.
"That or the acid. Though probably the herbicide. I could only get vinegar," Megumin explained, sounding rather disoriented from flat on her back.
"THIS ENDS NOW!"
Both girls screamed and clutched at one another as the stranger rose on a gust of wind. "YOU FOOLISH CHILDREN CANNOT HOPE TO-"
Before the stranger could engage in the time honored tradition of villains everywhere (much to Megumin's approval), a horn sounded, followed by a flurry of arrows.
With a snarl of rage, the stranger shot up into the sky on a trail of smoke, vanishing from sight.
Megumin and Yunyun could only blink as an entire herd of centaurs, led by a roaring Hagrid, stampeded out of the trees.
"It is escaping!" Magorian cried.
"Damn that thing, the girls are hurt!" Hagrid shouted. "I thought I told you two to- never mind!"
Hagrid scooped both girls up in his arms, then made a mad dash back to the castle, bowling over several trees in his single minded mission to get his charges to safety and aid.
A short while later, after the attentions of Madame Pomfrey, Megumin and Yunyun found themselves in two beds next to one another in the infirmary. The adults had not yet interrogated them, as they were apparently waiting for the headmaster and their heads of house to be roused and arrive.
"Um, Megumin?" Yunyun whispered. "Are, um...are you OK?"
"Yes," Megumin answered, in similarly hushed tones. She rolled over to look at Yunyun, looking frustrated. "Are...are you OK, Yunyun?"
"Yes. I just...I thought we were going to die," Yunyun admitted.
"We would have been fine if I'd had my wand," Megumin grumbled. "I would have defeated him."
Yunyun didn't say anything, biting her lip and fussing with her sheets.
"You...you saved us, back there," Megumin finally admitted. "Thank you."
"I...anything for a friend…" Yunyun said, flushing.
"Hmph." Megumin sat up, wincing slightly. "I don't think we are friends."
Yunyun's expression fell, tears filling her eyes.
"We're more like sisters," Megumin went on. "Which is like being a rival and friend all in-"
But she could not continue, as the weeping Yunyun had jumped out of her own bed and was hugging Megumin.
Reluctantly, Megumin returned the embrace, fighting back tears of her own. "You don't have to make such a big deal about it."
"You...you never said we were s-sisters before," Yunyun hiccuped, wiping at her nose and smiling, her eyes glowing brightly with passion and delight.
"Well, I think it better encapsulates our relationship. Besides we've lived together since we were babies and we are related so it's basically true," Megumin grumbled.
"I...yes. I think I'd live having a sister even better than a friend," Yunyun said quietly, and snuggled up to Megumin, hugging her tightly.
Megumin was still too frightened from their encounter to complain overly much, which was why when the curtain was flung aside, Dumbledore, Sprout, and McGonagall found the two girls snoring softly in one another's arms.
"Let them rest," Dumbledore sighed, tugging the curtain shut again. He stepped back, removing his bright pink nightcap and scratching at his head for a moment before returning it. "In retrospect, perhaps it was unwise to have Hagrid take them into the forest for a detention."
"I thought it would bring them closer!" Sprout cried, her hands fluttering up and down like startled doves. "A scary walk in the dark woods together, the perfect thing for quarreling cousins to get over their little spat!"
"I myself thought they would be safe enough with Hagrid. He knows those woods better than anyone else," McGonagall said, sinking into a chair and rubbing at her temples.
"The Forbidden Forest shall have to be truly forbidden now," Dumbledore said, putting his hands behind his back and pacing back and forth, his bunny slippers making soft squeaking sounds as he did so.
"Whatever that was, it killed a unicorn. That is no easy feat," Sprout muttered, now smoothing out her own nightgown nervously.
"No. But somehow those two held it off," McGonagall agreed. She shook her head. "Headmaster, I do not normally say such things, but...something is queer about Megumin."
"About Yunyun too," Sprout agreed. "She's, well...something's off about her. I've had shy students and homesick ones before, but her...I don't know. Half the time she can't even talk to the other girls in her dorm. But then we start working with the plants...Albus, she's better in the greenhouse than some of my NEWT level students.."
"We knew that Miss Potter was exceptional. Is it any surprise that her cousin is as well?" Dumbledore asked, pausing in his pacing. "I do wonder who told them about their mother's little club. Lily never did grow out of her melodramatic phase."
"Do you think she and James...did something?" McGonagall asked. "They both started to go on about weird clans and cults."
"I shall have to look into it. But regardless, they are two little girls, and our students. We must ensure they are protected. Even from themselves," Dumbledore said firmly. "We shall have to keep them closer in hand."
Sprout shook her head. "I'll say. How those two girls fought off whatever that thing was...I've heard of hags or the occasional powerful vampire trapping one. To have one of those in our forest...Well. Hagrid shall see to it."
"Let us hope so. But I shall look to our own defenses as well. There are those who would seek Miss Potter's blood for who she is, and what she did," Dumbledore said softly. "I shall speak with those girls in the morning."
"What will we do with them?" McGonagall asked, sounding exasperated.
"I think no further detention is merited, though they shall be restricted to the castle itself for a fortnight. By then whatever killed the unicorn should be dealt with," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I wonder though."
He walked over to a cabinet, taking out Yunyun's wand. "Prior Incantato."
Soft mist floated from the wand, forming into one barrier, then another.
"A shield charm?!" Sprout gasped. "TWO Shield charms? How on earth- did she learn that just from reading a book?!"
"Interesting. Very interesting indeed," Dumbledore murmured. "Well. I shall look forward to my talk with Miss Dursley it seems. That is a tricky bit of magic. Tricky indeed for a young witch."
"Albus…" McGonagall said, sounding worried. "I told you that those muggles seemed odd back when we left Miss Potter with the Dursleys. Do you think…?"
"I make no assumptions," Dumbledore said, tucking Yunyun's wand away. "For now, I think we simply have two very eccentric, very talented young witches in our care. Good night, Minerva, Pomona. Thank you for taking care of our young ladies so dutifully."
The two heads of house murmured acquiescence, but as they left, stayed together, talking in hushed tones. For his part, Dumbledore removed his cap, then settled into a nearby chair, and in a few moments, was snoring softly.