"Ya-hoo! Summer vacation, finally!" Kurumu cheered.

Harry sat behind her on the bus, chatting with everyone with a peaceful smile. Yukari, as the only one of them who had learned not to molest Harry, was sitting next to him. The young witch was dutifully flipping through a book on muggle science, her eyes glued to the page. Harry doubted she'd heard any of their conversation for the past hour.

Moka attempted to bring her back to reality. "Yukari, you never answered my question earlier. Where would you like to go in the human world?"

Yukari's grip tightened on the pages at the words. A scowl formed on her lips. "Why would I wanna go anywhere in the human world besides the nearest portal back?"

Harry frowned, concern arising at his friend's tone. "Is something wrong?"

Yukari took a deep breath, seemingly steadying herself before replying. "Nothing. I just… I really don't like this place."

Moka nodded sagely. "Yeah, I can understand that. Last time I was here, I was bullied so harshly I was on the edge of a breakdown almost every day. But I guess it really helps when I remember that now I have a ton of friends, so what they think doesn't really matter… plus I could definitely kick their asses." The last part was said in such a sweet voice that it almost negated the dark look on Moka's face.

Harry chuckled nervously. Sometimes he forgot that even with her powers sealed away, Moka was definitely a threat. "Yeah, but maybe keep the ass-kicking to a minimum, guys?"

Yukari stared up at Moka with an idolizing grin. "Yeah, that actually helps a lot! You're so wise, Moka-chan!"

"Oh, no. Moka's created a monster," Kurumu lamented.

Moka nodded, looking far too proud. "Yup! As long as the nasty humans leave her alone, they'll have nothing to worry about. A young lady ought to be fully prepared to defend herself, though. Isn't that right, Mizore?"

Mizore nodded and hummed in agreement. "Freeze the bullies."

Gin and Harry shared a look. Man, they were lucky that these terrifying women liked them.

They made it to their destination in record time due to the Bus Driver's insane driving. The bus skidded to a halt in front of a picturesque hill covered in sunflowers. It looked like a Microsoft background. Everyone got off the bus to take in the breathtaking scenery.

Gin gave Harry a charming smile as he plucked one of the flowers and handed it to him. "It's almost as beautiful as you, Harry-kun," he said in a tone that made Harry question whether he was complimenting him or teasing him.

Kurumu scoffed, though her expression looked more jealous than dismissive. Wish, I'd thought of that, the succubus sulked.

"Alright, everyone! Here it is, the notorious Witch Hill. You need to investigate every inch of it to get the scoop on the disappearances. And if the problem so happens to be a real witch, you'll probably find a way to get attacked anyway, so… have fun!" Ms. Nekonome yelled before hopping back on the bus and leaving them to their own devices.

Gin stared after the departing bus in disbelief. "Did they have to leave me? I'm Club President. I should get to slack off too."

Mizore froze his foot to the ground for the comment. "Stop being lazy, dog boy. We have work to do."

"Says the serial truant!"

"Can't hear you. I'm searching," the yuki-onna replied passively.

"You're literally a few feet away!"

"Your voice grows fainter by the second."

Harry chuckled as he moved further away to search his own portion of the hill. A light tug on his shirt caught his attention.

"Umm, Harry-kun?" Yukari started nervously. "Would you mind if I searched this area with you?"

"Yeah, sure. You know, we really should be grouping up anyway. Good thinking, Yukari. Hey guys, you might want to pair up with a possibly angry yokai hiding in these flowers!"

The others followed his suggestion, and Yukari gave him a grateful smile. Harry patted her on the head, and the two continued to search together for the rest of the afternoon.

As Harry and Yukari searched their side of the hill, they paused at the sound of a scream. Oddly enough, it wasn't coming from the direction of any of their friends. Some idiot human must've come up here searching for the witch and found exactly what they were looking for. Harry threw Yukari a concerned glance. She'd obviously come to the same conclusion. Knowing her, she'd probably reached it faster.

Before Harry could say anything, Yukari grabbed his hand and ran toward the sound of the scream with a determined grimace. "I have to get used to humans at some point, right? Probably be easier to not be threatened by someone after saving their ass."

Yukari still looked very threatened, but Harry admired her resolve. The dynamic duo raced down the hill, following the sound of terrified screams until they found the source. There were two humans. One of them was trying to pull the other out of what looked like a tangle of parasitic vines. Her eyes were disturbingly blank.

Harry hexed the vines around her, and Yukari sent a flurry of tarot cards to fly her out like a gurney. The other girl followed her friend to safety while Harry and Yukari faced off against the plant monsters together. The monsters sprang up one after the other, vicious and hungry. Unfortunately for them, with two magic users working together, they were wiped out in seconds.

The girl on Yukari's makeshift gurney began to stir after the last of the monsters was downed. The other girl teared up and clung to her friend, yelling at her to never worry her like that again.

"I'm sorry, babe. I was stupid. I just didn't want you getting hurt. Next time, we'll just go on a normal vacation in like, Tokyo or something, promise."

The other girl sniffled and nodded, finally letting her go, but still hovering. She looked up at Yukari with overwhelming sincerity and relief. "Thank you so much for saving Aoi-chan."

Yukari blushed a bit. "No problem. I, erm, hope she makes a full recovery."

Then the sound of a mini stampede approaching came from the hill behind them, and Harry tensed, preparing for another round of plant monsters. But the monsters that came into view shortly after were much more familiar.

"Harry-kun! Yukari-chan! There you are!" Moka exclaimed as she gathered her unharmed friends into a relieved embrace.

"We heard all the crashing and came to help, but I can see we weren't needed. And who are these two beautiful ladies?" Gin sent a charming grin at the two human girls.

"This is Aoi, and I'm her girlfriend, Kimiko." Kimiko gave him a warning glare while Aoi tried to calm her ruffled feathers.

Gin snickered at her reaction but quickly turned his attention back to his friends. "You guys don't seem too banged up. What happened?"

"Those girls were attacked by plant monsters, but something's weird here." Yukari stared at the plant monsters' corpses suspiciously. "These monsters aren't native to the human world. In fact. They're more like witches' pets. So if they're here…"

"There's a witch somewhere around here," Harry finished.

Kimiko and Aoi were kind enough to drive them back to town. Luckily enough, Yukari had memorized the address of their hotel. They bid the two humans adieu and ripped into Ms. Nekonome and the Bus Driver, neither of which seemed the least bit repentant for abandoning them on the hill. After their long day of searching and fighting in the summer sun, all of them brought their pillows and blankets to whosever room had the best AC and made a blanket nest on the floor big enough for everyone to fit. No one stirred for the rest of the night.

The next morning, the Newspaper Club got to have a real vacation day in the city. Moka and Kurumu had become a united front in their determination to acquire the latest human fashions, and none of the others could bear to deny them. So they spent the first half of the day being dragged around the shopping district.

"Harry-kun, which one is cuter?"

"Do you think this one matches my eyes?"

"Does this skirt make my butt look big? Of course it does; my butt looks big in everything."

"Should I get the dress or the jacket?"

This went on for hours, and by the end, Harry was seeing patterns in the corner of his eyes.

"Why do I have to carry all of the bags?" Gin groused.

"Because you're stronger. Plus, I have to give fashion advice and follow them around every bloody store in town."

"Wanna switch?"

Harry gave Gin a flat look, and the werewolf huffed. Harry noticed the looks they were getting and walked closer to the girls just in case. The crowd around them had familiar looks all throughout. Men with drool and gleaming eyes stalked their group like prey.

"Wow, they look like models."

"Who are those guys with them?"

"Are they models too?"

"Look at the little witch. Is she cosplaying?"

"They're so hot!"

So far, no one had approached them, but Harry had a feeling that would change as the crowd grew in number. And it did. Several men approached the girls, snapping pictures without asking and cat-calling them as they walked by. Harry waved his wand inconspicuously inside a shopping bag and made their phones break. Gin growled at the cat-callers, keeping even the bravest among them from trying to get closer than 5 meters.

But Gin could only scare the humans. As they passed an alleyway, a veritable wall of crows sprung from the darkness, disorienting them for just a few seconds. A few seconds was all it took for Yukari to go missing.

"Hello, Yukari-chan. I'm Ruby."

Yukari held her wand at the ready as she turned to face this new threat. They were on a roof, surrounded by crows. "Who are you? Why did you take me from my friends?"

"There's no need for violence. We're the same. I'm a witch too. That makes me your ally."

"Yeah, and so are death eaters. Witches fight witches, yokai fight yokai, and humans fight humans. What's your point?" Yukari did not lower her wand. She could tell that this witch was very strong, much stronger than her and maybe even stronger than Harry. But if she could stall long enough for her friends to find her, her strength wouldn't matter. Together, she and her friends could beat anyone.

"Wha- No, you're wrong. Witches should never fight each other. We're all we have in this world where both yokai and humans hate us. I am here to help you."

"I don't need your help, and I've already got friends. Your 'alliance' is useless to me."

Ruby recoiled as if Yukari had struck her. "What friends? Those humans? They wouldn't understand you-"

"They aren't humans."

"What?"

"They aren't humans. One of them's a wizard and the rest are yokai. And even if they were humans, I chose them. Just because you're a witch doesn't mean you're somehow better or you know what's good for me. You don't know a single thing about me! All I've been through with my friends… how much they care for me and how much I care for them… you think all that gets trumped by something as petty as species?!"

The door behind Yukari burst open and the rest of the Newspaper Club spilled onto the roof. "You know," Harry panted, "if you're gonna kidnap someone, maybe don't have the very distinct animals you used to do it hovering above the secondary location."

Ruby seethed at the impudence of this intruder and whipped a razor-sharp feather at him. Harry dodged, gulping slightly as the feathers embedded themselves halfway into the roof. Ruby sent another three in close succession. As Harry dodged two, the third grazed his cheek.

Mizore lashed out immediately at the threat to her beloved, flinging multiple ice kunai at the witch. Only one landed, but it sank into her shoulder with a satisfying squelch. To add insult to injury, Kurumu, who had sneakily flown behind her, kicked the witch in the head, sending her back onto the roof before she could flee. Ruby dropped out of the sky, unconscious before she even touched the roof.

Ruby woke on the bed of a hotel room. She groaned at her pounding headache and throbbing shoulder. Someone gently helped her to sit up and guided a glass of water to her lips. Ruby groggily eased her eyes open to see a woman with… cat ears?

Ruby flinched away from the woman, nearly knocking the glass of water from her hand. The woman pouted.

"Do calm down, Ruby-san. I'm no danger to you. After all, my students wish you no harm. Well, Harry-kun and Yukari-chan wish you no harm, and the others are humoring them."

Ruby did not relax. She could sense a simmering hostility behind this woman's sweet countenance. She did not delude herself into thinking she was safe. This was clearly the enemy camp.

"Ruby-san. You're awake." A soft voice came from the doorway, and Ruby looked up to see Yukari with a tray of food and tea floating in behind her.

"Why didn't you kill me? You've already said that we aren't allies, and I attacked that foul yokai you attached yourself to."

Yukari bristled at the insult. "That 'foul yokai' you refer to is the wizard I told you about, so by your definition, you should've been trying to kidnap him too. Besides, we didn't think it was a good idea to kill our only lead for this story," the young witch huffed.

"He's a wizard? Oh no! I must apologize at once!"

Yukari nearly growled, resembling Gin a bit as she slammed the food tray onto Ruby's bedside table. "That's your problem right there! You only care about witches! Just a few seconds ago, you'd've killed Harry without a second glance! He's the same person he was before. What is wrong with you?"

Ruby huffed. "It's simple. Yokai do nothing but brutalize and torment us witches. They exclude and isolate us, forcing us out into the human world where we have to hide who we are or be killed. And the humans are no better! All they do is pollute and rape the earth, killing her animals and greenery until only cement and smog remain. And they… those damned humans…" Ruby clenched her fists into the sheets, tears beading in her eyes. "They killed my parents with their stupid, polluting death machines. And now they want to tear down our only safe haven. Master will make them pay. She's going to wipe the human blight off our land, and we're going to make a place right there on that sunflower hill for all witches to be safe and happy."

It was then that another made themself known. "And how happy do you think they'll be in their haven built on bodies?" Moka stepped into the room, gracefully ignoring Ruby's vicious glare.

"Why should they care when it's the bodies of their persecutors?"

"Why wouldn't they care when it's the bodies of their neighbors?" Ruby paused. "What about the bodies of their classmates? Their friends? Their teachers? Their coworkers? Their husbands? Their children? Their wives? Their cousins? Their siblings? What's with that look, Ruby-san? Did you forget that witches marry into human families, that muggleborns exist? That you will be making a home for orphans on the bones of their parents?"

Ms. Nekonome's expression hadn't changed from her sweet smile, but Moka could see the vindictive glee on her face as she left them to their "girl talk."

"I cannot believe that I actually have to say this to a grown ass woman, but genocide is wrong, Ruby-san. There are no victors when large groups of people are slaughtered for something they cannot control. I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you and your village of witches would sleep soundly while the blood-rivers dry beneath your beds and the earth screams at the loss of her children. I know you hear her too."

Ruby did not look up at her. Ruby did not move. She stayed frozen, staring at her hands- hands that she had been so eager to dye red with the blood of innocents- until the sun rose. Only when the blinding rays finally reached her bloodshot eyes did she stir. Yukari was gone, but her words were not. They bounced around in her head, driving her mad as she tried to make sense of her world. Could her Master truly have been wrong?

The door did not open again until noon. By that time, Ruby was gone, and a note was sitting in her place. The curtains fluttered in the breeze from the wide-open window. Harry didn't pay it any mind as he picked up the letter. The handwriting was a frenzied rendition of something that was clearly very elegant on a normal day.

I have returned to Sunflower Hill to talk to my Master. What Yukari said to me yesterday was very enlightening, but I'm afraid I'll have to be the one to bring it up with my Master as you would all be killed on sight.

Best wishes, Ruby

Harry hummed. "I guess we can leave the Master to Ruby then. Finally, an easy adventure."

The second the words left his mouth and he turned to leave the room, a tap on the window stopped him. Harry sighed. He'd jinxed it, hadn't he? There, on the windowsill, a frenzied crow flapped about. In its beak, it held a sunflower, an obvious sign. But more worrying than that, one of the petals was stained with blood. Harry didn't have to think too hard on where the blood had come from. Ruby was in danger.

Harry and Yukari worked together to apparate their classmates to Sunflower Hill. There was no time for a bus ride when blood had already been shed. The group raced through the flowers, hoping to spot Ruby or her mysterious Master.

Up ahead, there was a clearing with a log cabin and an old woman standing over a bloody body. "Ruby-san!" Yukari called, alarmed at the state of the witch.

Ruby's Master looked up, a chilling smile on her face. "So you're the wicked little yokai who put those ideas into my dear Ruby's head. You'll have to be punished for that."

"What did you do to her?" Moka demanded, glaring at the elder witch. She thought she'd finally gotten through to Ruby. She couldn't just let her die now.

"Oh, she's not dead if that's what you're worried about. But when she wakes, she will be much more… agreeable, let's say." The witch cackled, and her eyes gleamed wickedly. The grimoire in her hands was covered in a magic so dark it sat on the cover like oil.

Ruby's eyes suddenly opened, but they were glazed, and her face was devoid of emotion.

The witch grinned at their appalled looks. "That's right, you beasts. Ruby is my puppet now. She swore she would help me destroy the humans, and she will fulfill her promise whether she wants to or not." Her voice was like old leather, rough and dark.

"Harry-kun." It was a whisper, so light Harry almost didn't hear it. "Take off my rosary."

Harry nodded. Today, they would need Inner Moka's power, and he was happy to bring her out. Harry hooked his fingers onto the rosary, and it came off just as easily as always. Moka's youki was overwhelming, and the sky turned blood red. When her transformation was complete, Inner Moka stood relaxed but ready, a confident smirk on her face.

"It's been a while since I've fought someone new. I've been getting bored." As always, Inner Moka's demeanor was unaffected and cold, but her eyes burned just like Outer Moka's had. She was mad too, but she, unlike Outer Moka, had the power to put this old hag in her place. And she would, thoroughly.

But the old witch just scoffed. "A vampire." She spat the word like a curse. "Your kind have always thought yourselves superior to everyone else, especially witches. I think it's time someone put you in your place, little girl."

Moka bristled at the hag's use of her favorite saying. If she hadn't already been planning on mauling the old bitch, she definitely was now. Moka charged forward, delivering a swift kick towards her face, but a vine came to her defense. It caught Moka's leg in a steel grip and flung her back. Moka skidded to a stop several yards away, kicking up dust in her wake. She used the dust as cover for another attack. Her foot connected solidly with the witch's chest, sending her ass over chin spiraling several yards before another vine caught her.

The witch spit out a tooth with an enraged glare and began chanting. The air became thick with dark magic. The teens tried to stop her, but the plant soldiers kept them at bay. Energy sparked all around her and her grimoire floated out of her hands, followed by a dark silhouette that looked just like the old witch. Harry could barely breathe as the shade slithered into the book and the ground began to rumble.

Thick vines emerged from the ground and clung to the witch's skin. They started digging in until her veins were vines, her skin poison ivy, and her body encased in a plant soldier ten times bigger than the others. The witch was another creature entirely now. She was a monster made of hate and malice. There was no saving her.

Their enemy was strong. Even Moka wouldn't be able to take her on alone. They got ready for battle. The teens bared claws and wands at the witch, ready to avenge Ruby and protect the humans. Moka continued to bombard the old witch with attacks, and the rest of them kept the soldiers at bay.

No matter how many hits Moka landed, the witch seemed to recover almost instantly. Harry swore she'd had her jaw dislocated at least three times in as many minutes. But just as it seemed there was an opening for Harry to assist Moka, another figure jumped in front of his spell. Ruby.

Harry yelped as his spell caught her in the side and a snapping sound echoed. One of her ribs broke on impact. But her eyes were still glassy. She hadn't even flinched. Whatever dark magic had her mind imprisoned, it was strong. Ruby straightened up, and Harry could see the slight bulge of her misaligned bone through the rip in her clothes.

With Harry distracted, Ruby attacked with none of her usual style. Her slashes were predictable and straight-forward. Harry was almost hit by her first swing, but he quickly began anticipating her movements. If even a broken rib wouldn't shock her into consciousness, Ruby would need a more direct approach. Harry began to attack in earnest. He used more defensive and restricting spells that any of the stronger ones, but they did their job.

Ruby was preoccupied with dodging and attacking. She left big openings in her attacks. Harry took full advantage. He slipped through her wings and put his hands on her head. With his hands firmly grabbing her temples, Harry poured his magic directly into her.

"Legilimens."

Ruby stood stock still as the spell took effect. Harry rooted through her mind, searching for the dark magic leaching at her control. The spell defended itself fiercely, lashing out with the same hate as the witch who planted it. Harry was inexperienced with legilimency, but he was determined to set Ruby free. His magic was all being poured into the spell, wrapping around the spell in order to break it, but the spell was slippery.

The spell evaded his magic, slipping through Harry's grasp at the same time it loosened its hold on Ruby's mind. For a moment, her mind was clear. Just briefly, their minds were connected, and as Ruby stared into his mind, she screamed.

All eyes turned towards Ruby and Harry. Everything seemed to pause. The battlefield was silent, but their minds were chaotic. Ruby's scream shook Harry's focus, and the spell saw its opportunity. Because its caster incorporated soul magic into the spell, it maintained some of her essence, including her slippery nature, ambition, and malice, such were the dangers of black magic. Its original location was compromised, but here was a new host ripe for the taking. The dark magic slid from one mind to the next and both mages fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

If only the dark spell could see what Ruby had. The battle raged on around their unconscious bodies. Harry's friends formed a protective circle around him. They were all unaware of what was taking place inside him.

Inside Harry's mind, the dark spell dug its tendrils in to make a home for its master's commands. It didn't get far. Something far darker wrapped around the spell, devouring it whole. If spells could scream, Harry's mind would've been alight with the shrieks of evil's final moments. But with this meal, the thing inside of Harry grew stronger. Nothing came for free.

In the waking world, Harry's body gave a twitch, and the others were filled with hope for just a moment. That is, until he opened his eyes. Harry's eyes were glowing a menacing Avada Kedavra green and for once, they could actually feel his youki. Harry's aura was just as oppressing as Moka's but much, much darker. Everyone present could tell at a glance that Harry wasn't the one in control anymore. The only question was, who?

One look at Ruby's Master told them it wasn't her, and all the plant monsters that came close to him were torn apart before they could touch him. Harry smirked, and they could feel his bloodlust. This was another player entirely, and no one knew who or when he would attack. They just knew that he would.

They didn't have to wonder for long.

Harry seemingly vanished before popping into existence right in front of the older witch. The magic around him twisted around the pair like a tornado, suffocating Harry's prey and tearing her to shreds. It was brutal. It wasn't Harry.

The Thing Wearing Harry's Skin finished with the old witch and turned his attention to her grimoire. Its sickeningly dark magic seemed to be calling to him. The magic around him seemed to absorb the book's magic until all that was left were a few dried pages scattering in the wind.

Kurumu cautiously approached "Harry."

His head slowly swivelled around to face her. "Ku-ru-mu?" he croaked.

Kurumu allowed herself a sliver of hope. If he remembered her, maybe they could pull him back. Kurumu took a step forward. She just had to-

"NO!" The sudden cry made Kurumu jump. She turned to see who it was. There, in the midst of the soldiers, was Ruby. Her eyes were dilated with fear, and she looked exhausted, but she struggled to sit upright. "Don't go anywhere near him. That's not your friend anymore. Now that the dark magic has fed it, it will take over his very soul. It won't leave anything of your Harry behind!"

"What do you mean? What is it?" Yukari asked.

"It's a horcrux. That thing possessing your friend is a being of pure evil. I promise you, fighting Master would've been better."

The Thing Wearing Harry's Body let out a spine-tingling chuckle. "So you've figured me out? Too bad. I was hoping to have some fun with all your pitiful emotions for my host… before killing you all of course."

Mizore shuddered. "Those words coming from Harry-kun's mouth… it's so wrong."

The Horcrux smirked. "Don't worry. You won't have to suffer through it very long. I was, after all, created when the original me tried to kill this boy. Killing all of you and walking around in his body is just as well isn't it? With you lot gone, he'll lose his will to live and his soul will be that much easier to devour."

"No!" Kurumu cried.

The Horcrux sneered. "If you're that torn up," he pointed Harry's wand at her, "why don't you just die about it." The wand would not cooperate. The magic it had bonded to was not the magic being used now, and the wand, as everyone knows, chose the wizard. The Horcrux growled and snapped the wand, choosing to use its own rampant, spiraling magic instead. The violent, cutting rings of magic shot out at Kurumu.

Gin pulled her out of the way just in time, but the plant monster behind her fell dead on impact. The horcrux gnashed his teeth at the succubus who dared to continue breathing.

"How could I forget? All his friends are just like roaches. So annoyingly difficult to kill."

Moka tried to attack the Horcrux from behind, but he dodged and cast an aguamente at the unwitting vampire. Moka gritted her teeth against the harsh sting of the water. The problem with fighting a friend was he knew all of your weaknesses front to back. And the Horcrux would use them with merciless efficiency.

"Harry-kun, please! You have to fight him from the inside! We need some help out here!" Kurumu pleaded.

"He can't hear you~" the Horcrux sang mockingly. Then it went on the attack. He quickly overpowered them with the daunting combo of magic and youki. Their only saving grace was that he was still getting used to his new body and powers.

The Horcrux dodged their attacks effortlessly, and the attacks they landed were half-hearted because of their unwillingness to hurt their friend. The only one attacking in earnest was Moka, but she couldn't beat him on her own.

"Now he decides to grow some fucking muscle. When Potter comes back, I'm beating his ass too."

The Horcrux's infuriating cocky smirk and effortless dodging was throwing Moka off, and the Horcrux knew it. He continued to taunt her, taking full advantage of her famous pride and using it to pull her along.

"Dammit, Harry, we don't want to hurt you! Give us something in there, will you?" Gin growled.

The Horcrux rolled his eyes. "Honestly, this is starting to get pathetic." The corrosive magic began to spin faster and faster, turning into thick, slicing blades. "It's time for all of you to join Harry dear's parents in the afterlife. Why don't you say hi to Ceddy for me too!" The Horcrux cackled as his magic exploded outward. The one closest to it was Moka, and she wasn't fast enough to get clear of it before it hit. All she could do was flinch away as the blade of volatile magic whipped toward her throat and dug into pale flesh.

Blood spattered into the air. The whipping of lethal green blades stilled. Everything was silent for just a moment, and then two thuds- two bodies. Avada kedavra green eyes followed reddish-brown all the way down as the Horcrux and Ruby collapsed onto blood-stained grass. The Horcrux glared, and Ruby smiled back. The glow of Harry's eyes slowly dimmed as the Horcrux fought to keep control.

"How did-?"

"That spell was attached to my soul. Such things do not leave their victims whole… even when they jump ship. A little blood sacrifice was all it needed," Ruby croaked.

Hate-filled Avada Kedavra green seeped into wide-eyed emerald. Reddish-brown closed as more and more blood seeped out to soak into the land Ruby had lived her entire life loving and serving.

And Moka watched as Ruby's breathing stopped. As the witch who jumped in front of a blow for her stopped breathing. And a single tear trailed down her porcelain cheek.

Harry's eyes locked onto Ruby's still form, unable to tear them away. "No. No no no no nononono! Ruby! Wake up. C'mon, Ruby, please wake up!" Harry shakily crawled towards the bleeding witch and held her too-still hands in his shaking ones. "M-my wand. Where's my wand? I can save her; I just need-"

Harry's eyes caught on two pieces of wood to his right. Two pieces of a broken wand. Just like- hawthorn and dragon heartstring look just like holly and phoenix feather to Harry's scrambled mind, and suddenly he's right back in that court room- No! He can't afford to be hung up on the past now. Not now that Ruby is here and not breathing and he has to help her he HAS TO SAVE RUBY.

Harry felt something inside him. Two somethings. Two somethings both so volatile he had no hope of controlling either of them especially without a focal point. Even trying would be insane. But maybe the two of them together… Harry clutched Ruby's hands in his own, not even a little sure of what he was doing but just desperate enough not to care.

Harry would later describe what he did as just a push. A push of his magic and youki in the direction he needed them to go. It was like he could feel Ruby then, through the connection of their hands. He sucked in a deep breath and from his lips he exhaled rather than spoke the spell, "Medeorum."

Just like any other time Harry performed the spell, there was a soothing yellow light, but it didn't come from a wand. Harry couldn't tell where the glow originated from, but he thought it might've been his chest. What he did know was it flowed down his arms like water and onto Ruby's hands and into the wounds on her arms. The wounds closed, and the yellow light moved on until finally, finally, Ruby started to breathe again.

Harry heaved a sigh of relief as the last of the spell finished its purpose and quickly followed Ruby into unconsciousness.

When Ruby awoke again, she expected it to be in heaven, so the overwhelming amount of white in her range of vision was unsurprising. What was surprising was the weight on her arm in the form of a black-haired wizard. He wasn't the only one in the room, either. The very familiar room, now that she thought about it.

The yuki-onna at her bedside looked up when Ruby began to move and set down her manga. "Oh. You're awake."

Ruby nodded slowly, not sure what to say to this girl she'd never spoken to. Was there even a social precedent to waking up in a hotel room with two people you'd just met and almost sacrificed your life for?

The girl looked down at where Harry's hand was latched to her own with a very strange expression on her face. Ruby almost wanted to pull her hand away, but… Harry looked so tired, and Ruby wouldn't want to risk waking him.

"Um… How am I still alive?"

The yuki-onna slid her eyes from her hands to her face. "Harry-kun saved you." She continued to stare at Ruby. Her gaze was piercing, and Ruby felt oddly vulnerable under its intensity. Finally, the girl spoke again. "Thank you… for saving him too."

The words were barely past her lips before the door was swinging open and Yukari strolled into the room. The little witch looked back and forth between Ruby and the yuki-onna with a peeved expression.

"Mizore-chan, you were supposed to call us when she woke up!"

Mizore looked back at her equally peeved. "I was trying to avoid-" Ruby felt movement at her side, and Harry slowly lifted his head, rubbing at his eye with a sleepy frown. "-that."

Harry blinked his eyes open, and a bright grin lit up his face when he saw Ruby awake. "Ruby, you're awake!" Harry's hand tightened on her own for a brief moment. "I... heard about what you did, that you used the portion of your soul still tied to the Horcrux to bind it." Harry's face pulled into a strained frown. "If it weren't for you I would have-" Harry's throat closed up around the words.

Yukari ran to his side and wrapped her arms around him. "Not you, Harry-kun. That wasn't you."

Harry pulled in a breath. "I owe you more than my life, Ruby. You saved them."

"But you've already saved my life, Harry. You've given me my life, and with my master dead... you've given me my freedom as well. You don't owe me a thing, but maybe we could be friends?"

Harry smiled around his tears. "Yeah, I think that would be nice."