The early fall air was crisp and bright in Little Whinging as Tonks stepped out of the fireplace, carrying a bag of greasy egg and bacon sandwiches, as well as one cup of coffee and another of tea.
"Boss, I just got off shift, brought you breakfast and me dinner," she called, absently stepping over the tripwire Moody kept near the fireplace. She looked around at the dark room, and frowned. "Boss? You're not still abed, are you? You're getting lazy in your retirement!"
However, when Moody still didn't respond to Tonks' loud voice, she sighed and set the food down. "Right. So which of the furniture did he transfigure himself into? You know what? I don't bloody well care. I'm having a lovely breakfast, and you can't stop me."
Going over to the icebox, Tonks pulled out some cream, then grabbed a bit of sugar, fixing her cup of coffee and taking a sip. She really shouldn't have any right before she went to bed, but "breakfast" didn't feel right without it.
She was halfway through her sandwich when she set it down. "Boss?"
Something was wrong. Moody should have at least tried to jump her by now. She pulled out her wand, then went tiptoeing through the house. When she got to the entryway and found a trail of blood, she let out a gasp.
"Boss! Alastor! Where are you!?"
A short, frantic search found Moody in his bedroom, collapsed on the floor, unconscious and bleeding. He was badly cut, had burns over his left arm, and his cloak was full of holes.
"Oh hell, boss!" Tonks did some quick healing charms, and Moody let out a moan and woke up.
"Boss, speak to me, it's me, Tonks!"
"You don't look like Nymphadora," Moody groaned, his magical eye slowly rotating to fix on Tonks.
She gave him a flat look. "If you're trying to make me cross, I'm already hacked off. You're badly hurt. Why didn't you try to get to Saint Mungo`s?"
"Won't treat me," Moody groaned.
"Won't treat you!? Look, if you can trust anyone, it's my dad, and- wait." Tonks examined Moody more carefully. Those burns...they looked like electrical burns. And the cuts...they were from razor wire unless she missed her guess. Tonks dropped Moody and stood up, planting her hands on her hips. "Oh bloody hell! You were trying to sneak into the Dursley's again, weren't you!"
"Was going to wake up that fat old fool," Moody weezed, gritting his teeth in pain. "But he put in some new infernal thing. It sprang up, and electrified his garden pool. I tripped, fell into some of that concealed wire, and...well. Best I could do was crawl home before he noticed."
Tonks let out a groan and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "Boss...are you telling me...a muggle defeated you?"
"He shows...Constant...Vigilance…" Moody said, his eyes watering.
"Oh bloody hell, are you going to cry? Seriously?" Tonks demanded, snorting in disgust.
"Never been more proud. 'Cept when you earned your badge," Moody said, wiping at his nose.
"Stop that. I'm going to get some dittany and blood restoratives. Bunch of maniacs, I tell you…"
Moody just smiled, and lay back down. Vernon may have defeated him for now, but he'd find a way. Oh yes. This was going to be an excellent way to spend his retirement after all…
In the weeks leading up to Halloween, the Crimson Demon Clan (sans Yunyun) worked frantically to get as funky as possible. Megumin, Hermione, and Darkness were all rather enjoying themselves, especially as Aqua had made them cute costumes to wear as her backup dancers. Ron didn't mind that he had to be a zombie, but there was another problem.
"Not all of us are geniuses, you know," he groaned as he glared down at their potions homework. "How the bloody hell am I supposed to know why you add ragwort and not willowbark to a Minor Healing Potion?"
"It's very clear in the book," Hermione sniffed. "Just memorize it and you'll be fine."
The four of them were all ensconced in the library, trying to finish their homework in the little time they had left after dance practice and the rest of their classes. Aqua could be rather merciless as a choreographer, even if she was incredibly lax as a Defense Professor. They were still sweaty and sore, and had a mountain of homework to get through.
"No, no, no!" Megumin said, grabbing Ron's homework and crossing out what he had written. "Look, ragwort acts as a cleansing agent, because that's its major magical property. It purifies the wound! Willow bark can act as a pain reliever, that's why it's used in a headache potion. But it also is an anticoagulant!"
"What's an anticoagulant?" Darkness asked, looking up and rubbing at her eyes, which had dark circles under them. She was training extra hard, as while her body was strong, she was still clumsy and awkward and often missed the dance steps.
"It prevents blood from clotting," Hermione explained.
"But...it needs to do that so you get scabs and stuff, right?" Ron asked, scratching at his head.
"Exactly! The potion takes on the magical properties of its ingredients. So, if you want the wound to be magically closed, you need to use a binding agent, not an anticoagulant. That's why you put in the cow's hoof! It's used to make glue," Megumin stated, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"Huh. Guess you're brilliant at more than just blowing up stuff," Ron said with a shrug, and wrote down what Megumin had told him.
"Why doesn't Snape just explain it like that?" Darkness complained, glaring at her own parchment.
Megumin looked up from preening and scowled. "Snape is clearly a harsh mentor who trains his students by berating them and disciplining them, forcing them through anguish and suffering to reach their true hidden potential!"
"I think he's just a rubbish teacher and you're just fond of him because he has a dark and terrible backstory," Hermione giggled.
"Of course! Everyone knows that having an amazing backstory is a true mark of a person's excellent character!" Megumin insisted.
"Yeah, but usually when people say excellent character they mean that someone's a good sort, not that they're someone from a Dungeons and Dragons campaign," Ron sighed. "When's our next session anyway? We haven't played in ages."
"Soon, Yunyun keeps saying she's too busy, and I don't want to have a session without her," Megumin said with a shrug.
"She's been acting really weird lately," Ron mused. "More than usual."
"Yunyun is not weird!" Megumin snapped, slamming the flat of her hand down onto the table hard enough to rattle it and make everyone jump. "She is perfectly normal for a Crimson Demon! She is-"
"Young lady, this is your last warning," Madam Pince hissed, peering over her desk to glare at Megumin. "Either keep quiet, or I am removing you from the library. And before you try and tell me I can't, I'll make Ms. Longbottom do it."
"Darkness would never betray m-"
Further rantings were prevented by Darkness's hand covering Megumin's mouth.
"Yes, Madam Pince. I'll make sure we study quietly, we're almost done," Darkness promised. She glared at Megumin. "Stop trying to bite my finger! It's...inappropriate!"
Darkness took her hand away and Megumin rubbed at her mouth. "I think I chipped a tooth. Your body is unfairly hard."
Darkness blushed and looked down. "I know. I am an ugly, unappealing girl. But I shall marry myself to Justice, and dedicate my body to protecting others."
"You're not that ugly," Hermione said in what was probably an attempt at a conciliatory tone. She nervously licked her lips and tried not to smile, as she was rather conscious of her own buck teeth and frizzy hair.
Unfortunately, Darkness was currently rather horsefaced, as well as still growing and thus she was all arms and legs. She had started to slow down a little in her growth spurt, but she was getting to within a few inches of six feet, and was rather self conscious of that fact.
"Ha! As the heroine, I shall be the most beautiful of all!" Megumin declared, jumping up on the table and posing. "My beauty shall make men weep, and I-"
"SILENCIO!" Madam Pince roared even louder than Megumin. "Ms. Longbottom, remove her and yourself!"
"Don't know why you're all so bothered by it, I'm ugly and it doesn't bother me," Ron commented as walked back to Gryffindor Tower. His utterance earned him looks of abject disdain from all three of his companions, and they collectively and silently decided they were not speaking to Ron, which he didn't notice until halfway through potions the next day when Megumin informed him she wasn't speaking to him, which rather ruined the effort.
Still, Halloween arrived soon enough, and Megumin was rather thrilled to have a chance to perform.
"Yunyun, you're missing out!" Megumin told her when she found her cousin before breakfast. "We're going to totally show those stupid Slytherins that Gryffindor is the best, and Ginny will come back and be our little sister instead of Kazuma's!"
"But I'm n-not in Gryffindor," Yunyun sniffed, turning away from Megumin. "I've got my own f-friends now."
"You do?" Megumin looked around, frowning, but the only other person with them was Luna. "What, her?"
"Yes, I have decided that joining Yunyun is going to be very interesting," Luna said, giving Megumin a dreamy smile. "I am considering transferring to Hufflepuff."
"N-no! You don't h-have to!" Yunyun said, waving her arms frantically. "I-I can be friends with people i-in any house! I-I'm not a bully!"
"Who's bullying you?" Megumin demanded, glaring around at the various sleepy students heading towards breakfast. "I'll blow them up!"
Yunyun gave Megumin an exasperated look, while Luna suddenly stopped in front of both of them, causing both girls to crash into her back.
"Hey, watch it!" Megumin grumbled. Then she noticed that a large group of students were stopped in the entryway to the Great Hall. "What is it? Is Voldemort back already?! I know what I must do! Darkness blacker than black, Crimson redder than-"
"It's not that, stop it!" one of the older Gryffindors said, smacking down Chunchunmaru. "It's the Great Hall! Someone...just look."
Megumin had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the heads of the others, as even most of the first years were taller than she, but eventually she managed to catch a glimpse, and it made her jaw drop.
The entire Great Hall had been decorated for Halloween, from the magical sky above, to the various floating candles that were now jack-o-lanterns of incredible make, to the colony of bats that had taken up residence in the rafters and were flying around the place. The floor was strewn with straw placed just so, and wonderful table clothes were set out in each of the four houses' colors, and embroidered with images of the students dressed in various halloween costumes.
To Megumin's surprise, Chomusuke was sitting atop the high table, dressed in a witches hat and a little black and red robe that for some reason made Megumin feel nostalgic. The small black cat-thing was lapping cream out of a bowl in front of Aqua, who was dressed in a spectacular costume that consisted of a white gown, white ribbons in her hair, and glowing angelic wings sprouting from her back.
"Happy Halloween, everyone!" Aqua called excitedly, waving at the thunderstruck students with a bowstave made of a living branch of rosewood. "I hope all your costumes will look great for tonight! I decorated the Great Hall, what do you think?"
"You did this? On your own?!" one of the seventh years gasped. "But...how?!"
"They don't call me the Goddess of Party Tricks for nothin'!" Aqua bragged. "Come on in! I had special Halloween treats made for everyone!"
Upon hearing the word "treats" Megumin shoved her way through the crowd and hurried up to the table, where she found a variety of pumpkin pasties, omelettes that appeared to be bleeding ketchup, sausages that looked like human fingers, and a variety of other novelty foods. She immediately reached for the pasties, but Darkness was there first and put an omelette in front of her.
"We shall need our strength for the performance today," Darkness stated in a serious tone. "We must eat a healthy breakfast."
"Your teeth are going to rot right out of your head if you keep eating so many sweets," Hermione lectured. "And you don't even remember to floss every night even though I keep reminding you."
"Why don't we just eat both?" Ron asked, reaching for an omelette and some sweets.
"Yes! I must grow large and strong, that evil will fear the great shadow I cast over the land!" Megumin agreed. But she did manage to eat some omelette in addition to her preferred sweets.
"Come, Chomusuke!" Megumin declared after breakfast, taking her familiar from atop the high table and tucking the drowsing cat into her robes. "We must away, to potions!"
As they walked to class, the Gryffindor second years talked amongst themselves and even the Slytherins, remarking on just how incredible the decorations in the Great Hall had been.
"Percy said he'd never seen the place fancied up so much, and Dumbledore usually does a bang up job of it," Ron remarked to Dust.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool last year! I hope there's another troll for us to fight," Dust said wistfully.
"Ron, no fraternizing with the enemy!" Darkness hissed, grabbing him by the collar and jerking him away from Dust.
"Aww, Dust didn't steal Ginny, it was him!" Ron said, scowling at Kazuma.
"You're just jealous that lil' sis likes me best," Kazuma chuckled.
"Just you wait, after tonight, everything will change!" Ron vowed.
"Sure, Weasley. Ginny will realize what a prat you are and take comfort in knowing how much better Kazuma and I can provide for her as the scions of ancient and noble houses that are not impoverished," Draco sneered.
In Potions class, Snape swept through the chatty students, his glares silencing them. "I do not care what day it is: we have class, and you shall learn something this day, despite your best efforts. There shall be no foolishness. Now, let us begin with a Hair Raising Potion, using the ingredients you prepared last week."
Megumin took Chomusuke out of her robes, setting the sleeping cat on the desk in front of them.
"Why'd you bring her?!" Ron hissed. "Snape's going to have a ruddy cow!"
"It's fine, she'll just sleep, that's all she usually does," Megumin said with a shrug. "Now, let's start with-"
"What is that animal doing in my classroom?!" Snape snarled, stalking forward. "Miss Potter, just because you are infamous does not give you the excuse to-"
Chomusuke looked up suddenly and let out a loud meow, her red eyes looking guilelessly up at Snape.
The potions master froze in mid stride, his eyes suddenly widening in shock as he gaped at the cat.
"What? Chomusuke is a very polite cat; she's even helping make the potion," Megumin said, and pointed.
Indeed, Chomusuke had sat up and was breathing fire softly on the cauldron, bringing it up to temperature as Ron added in the rat tails.
"That does not excuse your flagrant violation of the rules!" Snape snarled. "That...that thing...see me after class!"
Then Snape whirled about and started haranguing Lavender Brown, who became so distressed that she accidentally spilled her half finished potion all over herself and Pavarti.
"Sorry, sorry!" Lavender babbled as Snape glowered down at her. "I-I'll clean it up! Purification!"
Once more, Snape was at a loss for words as Lavender's wandless spell turned all the potion mess into pure, clean water. He ended up going back to his desk and sitting there, pretending to work on grading while staring blankly at the parchment in front of him.
"I have finished!" Megumin declared, slamming a potion in front of Snape, jarring him out of his revelry and causing him to twitch in annoyance. "You should give myself and Ron 50 points for how incredible our potion is! I have taken the liberty of adding some static electricity to the potion by rubbing woolen socks together, then zapping the mixture! As you can see, it is of superior quality."
Snape glared up at Megumin and Ron, both of whom's hair was standing straight on end. As Megumin spoke, Chomusuke peeked her head out of Megumin's dark hair, and let out a soft mew, before vanishing back amidst the thick black strands.
"And why did you take the liberty of altering the mixture? Have you not learned the folly of improper brewing yet?" Snape demanded.
"Well, obviously, the potion is based upon two magical principles; fright, which is why you add the rat's tails as most people are frightened of rats, and of the electrical effect that makes your hair stand on end," Megumin said proudly. "I had Ron add a spider Chomusuke caught for us, as he is very scared of them even though spiders are a beginner monster that is easy to grind for XP."
"I just don't bloody well like how many legs they have," Ron grumbled. "I'm fine with snakes and such, but I can't stand the damn spiders."
"As I am afraid of nothing, I was forced to add some static electricity to make a truly excellent potion," Megumin said with a nod. "Thus, our mixture will clearly be the best of all the batches, and I should be rewarded for my scholarly vigor!"
Snape wanted to say something acidic, but he found that he could not. Much as he was loath to admit it, even just to himself, Megumin had struck upon the true magic at the heart of potion making, and understood the synthesis and sympathetic reactions of the ingredients. Anyone could follow a recipe and end up with decent results, but it took a true artist who understood the deeper principlesof potion making to perfect the art.
He glanced over at Granger and Longbottom's potion: it was entirely adequate, and even superior. Granger had clearly followed the recipe to the letter, and even made a few slight alterations in the stirring, heating, and stoppering to capture the essence. But Megumin had practically created her own recipe from understanding the underlying principles, and her`s was far better.
"One...point...to Gryffindor," Snape ground out.
Megumin beamed happily, until he added, "To Weasley. For keeping you from killing yourself or destroying my potions laboratory."
"Huh? I mean, I just did what she-" Megumin stomped on Ron's shoe, causing him to wince and change tack. "I mean, thank you, sir."
"You all have three minutes to finish your potions and get out!" Snape barked, causing the rest of the students to look up in shock. "Except you, Potter. You stay."
"But class isn't over for at least 10 minutes!" Lavender protested. "We've nearly finished this batch, we have to-"
"I can already tell you've got some foreign contaminate in your brew, Miss Brown, and that you will fail," Snape sneered.
"I told you," Parvati sighed. "There's something weird about that water you make with that spell."
"B-but Lady Aqua taught it to me," Lavender sniveled. Then she straightened suddenly. "Well, I know I can get things done, because I get good marks in my other classes! So it's OK for me to give up now. I can't blame myself, it's society's fault! These are the Holy Words of-"
"GET OUT!" Snape thundered. "I will not have any of that utter nonsense in my presence!"
The other students quickly fled, though Ron tried to stick by Megumin's side, and Darkness hovered close to the door while Hermione pretended to be taking extra time to gather her things.
"What I have to say is for Miss Potter and her...familiar...alone. Leave. Or I will be forced to dose you with something suitably vile to make you regret dawdling," Snape ordered.
"I fear none of your vile trickery!" Darkness vowed. "And I will not abandon-"
"She'll be fine, she's Snape's favorite anyway. Come on, I want to brag to the others that I got another point from Snape. That makes two this year after I stopped her from lighting us both on fire last month," Ron said, and dragged the other two girls away despite their reluctance.
Megumin folded her arms and glared up at Snape once they were alone, her defiance somewhat ruined by the shocked expression her upright hair lent her.
"I still made the best potion, and Chomusuke helped! She too is the foremost genius among cats, smarter than any other feline, for she is a true Crimson Demon!"
Snape glared at Megumin, glancing up at her hair, where Chomusuke was still hiding. After a moment of contemplation, he reached out, causing Megumin to squeal as he rooted around in her stiff hair.
"Be silent. I have not the patience for your theatrics today," Snape muttered, at last grabbing Chomusuke and pulling her out by the scruff of her neck. He dropped the cat, floppy black hat and all, onto his desk. There, Chomusuke crawled forward, purring and rubbing herself up against Snape's hand.
"Damnable creature," Snape muttered, but his protests were clearly forced.
"Hmph. Well, she likes you too. Clearly, Chomusuke recognizes that despite your harsh words, you merely mean to be a harsh master that looks out for the child of your Lost Lenore while instructing her in the mystic arts that she might one day redeem your blackened soul."
Snape glared at Megumin, real irritation there now, even as his hand absently began to stroke Chomusuke. That particular pronouncement struck far too close to home. Damn the girl. Why couldn't she treat him with the same fear and hatred that most of the students did? That, at least, he knew how to deal with.
"You're too much like your mother," Snape grumbled, then turned his petting of the cat into taking her into his hands to examine her robe. "Where did you see the make of this? I thought the original destroyed long ago."
"Huh? I didn't make that, Aqua did," Megumin said with a confused frown.
"She is a professor. She is Professor Mizu or Madam Mizu to you," Snape said absently, though clearly his mind was elsewhere. "But how did she…"
"Do you think Aqua knew my mum too?" Megumin asked, her eyes flickering to life.
"Unlikely. She strikes me as being a silly young thing not much older than you students. If I recall correctly, her career as a singer began less than a decade ago, and she claimed to be 16 then," Snape said, setting Chomusuke back down and studying the cat. "Has anyone told you that your familiar is quite odd? Did you give it the bat wings?"
"Chomusuke is a lady! And no, she was born that way. I got her from Wiz's Shop and Sundries," Megumin stated.
"Her? Well, she would truck in such things. Was it Wiz who sold you the creature, was it that damnable Vanir?" Snape demanded, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Vanir was angry because Wiz gave me Chomusuke as a boon, for she clearly recognized me as the hero of legend, and that I would require a familiar as I wrote my deeds on the pages of destiny!" Megumin proclaimed.
"Well, then she is safe enough," Snape said.
Chomusuke suddenly grinned, showing far, far more teeth than any ordinary cat could have possessed. Her tail swished back and forth expectantly as her wings fluttered actually achieved liftoff briefly. Hovering for a moment, she let out noises far too close to human laughter for Snape's comfort.
Snape leaned back, his brows furrowing together. Was he mistaken? He knew Wiz well, and that the woman would never knowingly hurt a living creature. Well, not unless they attempted violence upon someone Wiz deemed an innocent. Even the Dark Lord had learned not to cross her, though she rarely strayed from her shop.
As it turned out, Snape was greatly mistaken. After all, any cat considers itself divine, and while ordinarily prone to sloth, all felines are capable of incredible violence. Chomuske was just the most extraordinary example of such proclivities.
"Hmph. Well, see to it that she does not return to my lab during class. This is no place for pets."
Megumin plucked Chomusuke out of the air, hugging the cat close. "Hmph. Chomusuke is no mere pet. She is my companion and familiar."
With that, Megumin flounced out, putting Chomusuke atop her shoulder. The cat turned back to Snape, and winked. For a moment, he thought he heard a lingering voice;
A most silly rule about pets. After all, I let this one come to entertain you, mortal.
Then they were gone, and Snape shook himself. There was far too much strangeness going on today for his taste. He got up, and went on patrol skulking about the castle. He was not having a repeat of the troll incident this year.