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bafflement · 1 year

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Deaged Oz AU - Talking things out can end in violence. [The Haven fight]

"I still think you should stay behind, Oz. If we're right and Leo is working for Salem... if one of her people see you, as you are right now? It could end very, very badly."

"He killed huntsmen and huntresses, Qrow. You showed me the missing stats. I can't just stay here and not... not ask. Not know why he did this. If he did this. He might not have done, he might still be my friend."

"Oh, Oz... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, but there are reports of a man with him that match Hazel Rainart's description. Besides, only the headmasters are meant to know where individual missions are located, you know that, nobody else could have given their locations away like that. Nobody else could have caused those deaths, you know that, don't you?"

Oz moaned, clutching at his head. He knew, alright, there wasn't any other explanation... but there had to be, Leo was his friend, he knew what Salem was, surely he'd never work with her? But... Hazel? Oscar, next to him, lay one hand on his shoulder. "If he's your friend, there'll be a reason for this. If he isn't, well, we'll deal with that, too. It'll be okay, Oz, but..."

"But we need to stop them from getting to the relic." Oz sounded hollow, but determined. "I need to be there. Maybe... Qrow? If he thinks you're the leader then he might not be able to warn Salem?"

"Still got any of that dye left, pocket sized?" Oz groaned, but rifled through his things until he could find the packet. At least his hair was still sort of pink, so washing it out again probably wouldn't make a great deal of difference. He slipped Long Memory back into the wooden shaft he'd made to hide it, then looked at the top, considering. Hazel may well not recognise the hilt, but Leo would be another matter entirely.

"Any idea how to further disguise this? Or do I just... use the sheath as a walking stick and keep my cane somewhere else? I... you're right, that they will target me specifically but at the same time, if they don't then they may hurt the others."

"Professor, we can look after ourselves. But you're just a little boy right now. We can't afford to lose you."

"Oz... how are you with other weapons, these days? I know you're used to your cane but under the circumstances I'm sure we could find a temporary stopgap?"

"It rather depends on the weapon. Why, what did you have in mind?" Oz sounded doubtful, though.

"Let me deal with that. Go, change your hair, that's the most recognisable part of you right now."

Oz nodded, reluctantly, and went to do just that. When he emerged, hair dark red once more, Qrow handed him a slim hilt. Blinking, he stared down at it, intrigued.

"Qrow? Where did this come from?" It was an elegant rapier, but he was pretty certain that he'd never seen it before.

"I have my ways, pocket sized. Now, are we ready to go?"

Oz strapped Long Memory carefully to the inside of his coat, testing the rapier for any obvious flaws before picking up the sheath. Leaning on it to test that too, he nodded once. It would do, it had to.

"Where is everybody?" Oz asked softly as they neared Leo's office.

"He suspended classes, if he's doing what I think he is then at least he isn't endangering the kids?" Qrow sounded angry, but the smile he shot Oz, though brief, was still warm.

"He has to be working with her, then..."

Yang split off from the group, heading towards the vault and Raven. Oz looked like he wanted to go with her, but he knew he needed answers from Leo first. Yang was a good huntress, well trained. He had to have faith that she would be okay.

Leo looked up as Qrow and the others entered, blinking at the two young boys.

"I... Qrow? Classes aren't currently in session and, even if they were, those two children look too young to attend. What... what is this?" His voice shook and Oz's eyes narrowed slightly. He'd never heard Leo sound this nervous before, or this like he was hiding something.

"What did you do, Leo. All the missing hunters, Hazel Rainart? Are you working with Salem?"

"You... you don't understand." Leo stuttered, glancing at Oscar and Oz again in what almost looked like concern. "With Ozpin dead... we have to work with her! If I don't, she'll destroy Haven just like she did Beacon. That's why classes aren't in session. You bought children here, Qrow."

Mercury and Emerald stood to the sides, watching it all play out, waiting for their chance to act. Their presence made the numbers more even, and Oz felt worried. They'd known of Leo and Hazel, but the others made things more complicated. Hazel took several shards of dust and rammed them into his bare arms in preperation, seeming to get even larger as he did so, even more menacing.

"Yeah, well. You bought Salem and her people here, you know what will happen if she gets the relic. You know what you're risking, Leo. And you have made your choice. Kids?"

Oscar's axe was out and pointed at Leo. Oz however stood frozen, staring at the man he thought was his friend, horrified. Nora moved between them, hammer in hand as Ren crouched with his daggers and Jaune stood ready with his sword. Across the room, the others pulled their weapons, too. Oz, seeing the others, snapped out of the haze and drew the rapier, though he still looked sick. Leo's eyes narrowed slightly at the look on the boy's face before desperation made him throw himself into the fight. Mercury and Emerald moved to fight them, though they appeared to just ignore the two boys. Maybe it was out of contempt for their young ages, but either way, at least it left them free to do what they needed to do. Hazel moved, too, though he seemed to be targeting Qrow and the older teens exclusively, leaving Oscar and Oz alone to fight Leo.

Oz swore to himself, knowing that if he used his semblance, Leo might recognise it. But, without it, everybody might die and that was not an acceptable outcome. As Oscar slashed at Lionheart with his axe, Oz blurred, ramming the sword into his aura again and again, snarling something in a language old enough that nobody else could work out what he was saying. Leo fell back under the sudden onslaught, looking at his with a new respect.

"You'll just get killed, child..."

"How could you, Leo? You know what Salem is..."

"... do I know you, boy?"

"No. I don't think you ever really did." He kept fighting, Leo's Aura fizzling and sparking as it was slowly worn down. Leo, in turn, only got one good hit in, the fact that Oz was so much smaller than normal seeming to give him the advantage. Scrambling away as his aura broke, Leo started to run, leaving the boys breathless behind him, staring at each other. Hazel followed him, leaving the others to fight Mercury and Emerald.

"Why did you let that boy beat you? Are you that weak?"

"He's good. Too good. I'm not certain what he is, but that's not a normal child."

Hazel's eyes narrowed as he left Leo alone, stalking back to the fight.

"We need to find out where he's going..."

Oscar blinked as Hazel walked back into the room, barely a minute had passed. Hazel stared at the two boys, seeming to weigh them against something in his mind.

"Hey, guys?" Ruby interrupted behind them. "A little help, here?"

"Or maybe not..."

"WEISS!" Ozpin yelled, panic in his voice, as he saw her lying on the ground, Jaune crouched over her. In his panic, he'd called her by her first name, he'd need to apologise for that later. He ran towards them, looking terrified.

"I won't fight you, children." Hazel stated, seeming to come to a decision. "You're too young to get involved in this."

"You're fighting our friends." Oscar yelled. "We can't just let you hurt them."

"Then so be it. You won't get another warning."

He went on the attack again, as Nora raised her hammer, fury on her face and Oz readied the borrowed sword. He was getting tired, though. The fight against Leo had taken a lot out of him. Weiss rose to her feet unsteadily, but her sword was level with Hazel, too.

They managed to get several more hits in, Oz blurring again as his semblance took hold, but Hazel just shrugged them off. His immunity to pain was starting to become a real problem, but surely they had to be wearing him down, right?

There was an explosion outside and Hazel, glancing back at those he'd been fighting, ran outside to find out what was going on. Those who had been fighting them looked at each other, all of them seemingly exhausted from the effort. Mercury and Emerald were still standing but they didn't look to be in very good shape, either.

Outside there was the sound of helicopters, a bright search beam flashing through the hole in the wall. Hazel ran back inside again, glancing at the others, new shards in his arms.

"Just give up, already, you can't win against all of us!"

"Cinder will get the relic, she'll come back for us, I know it!" Emerald's voice sounded fearful, though.

The lift sounded, but the person on it with the relic wasn't Cinder. It was Yang. Cinder was nowhere to be seen and, despairing, Emerald and Mercury gave up. Hazel, however, did not. Hoisting Emerald into his arms, he ran back out of the hole, Mercury in hot pursuit.

In his hiding place, Leo was confronted by Salem's Seer. Stuttering, he tried to justify himself to her, but to no avail. Although he told her of the boys who had fought him, without the knowledge of who Oz really was, he couldn't share the information. The ruse had worked, albeit at a heavy price. He died there, unable to escape and sobbing for his life. In the end, he got everything he deserved.

Outside the ruined room the others stood in, a familiar voice came wafting through the door. But, if that was Blake, then how had she gotten here. What about the White Fang?

They all walked outside to take a look, Oz leaning heavily on the sheath. His limp was worse now, though it was probably sheer exhaustion. Blake flung herself at her team-mates, as behind her her parents exchanged glances and Sun Wukong grinned.

"Blake! You're okay. You're back!"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Sorry I left like that, but at least the White Fang are all dealt with now?" She blinked at the two boys she didn't know, though, looking puzzled.

"Hi, I'm Blake. Who are you two?"

"That's a... long story." Yang said, laughter in her tone as she handed the lamp to Oz. He juggled things awkwardly for a second before compromising by hooking the handle over his temporary cane. Huh, his hands were shaking. That wasn't good.. He stared at the relic for a second in consideration before sighing.

"We cannot just put it back. They broke in once, they could do so again and there's no way of knowing if they could be able to convince the Spring Maiden to help again. This needs to get to Atlas. Or maybe Shade, it needs to be safe. Atlas might be the better option, however."

"Seriously, who are you? Because you sound really familiar."

Oz sighed. "Hello again, Miss Belladonna." He handed the rapier back to Qrow with a flourish. Or tried to, Qrow didn't take it.

"Eh, keep it for now, pocket sized, you never know if you'll need a weapon that isn't... that one."

Blake was staring at the small, red headed boy. He didn't look familiar, but for a second he'd almost sounded like... "Professor Ozpin?"

Oz nodded, exhaustion in every line of his body, swaying on his feet. Qrow caught him as he fell, Ghira and Kali Belladonna exchanging shocked glances behind the group.

Even if Blake didn't understand what was happening, they had a pretty good idea. This? This changed everything.

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franklcngbcttoms · 6 months

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–––– is that TAYLOR ZAKHAR PEREZ? no, its actually FRANK LONGBOTTOM! according to HIS file, they are an TWENTY-FOUR year old FORMER RAVENCLAW. they reside FULL TIME in scotland because they are working AGAINST lord voldemort and they believe in the LIGHT. that explains why they are so AMBITIOUS and PERCEPTIVE. but i’ve found that they can also be DETACHED and PRIDEFUL, so i guess people can’t be all good! they always reminded me of READING GLASSES THAT HAD A CERTAIN CHARM, EXPECTATIONS THAT WERE TOO MUCH OF A BURDEN FOR ONE MAN TO CARRY, KINDNESS THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED. i heard from albus dumbledore that they are currently working as AN AUROR/ DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS TEACHER. i don’t know about you, but i’m excited to see what their story holds!

FULL NAME:

Franklin Ramon Longbottom

PRONOUNS:

he/him/his

DATE OF BIRTH:

September 20th

Frank’s a virgo -- Virgo’s are infamous for being loyal, hardworking, analytical, practical and kind and these are all positive traits that Frank encompassed. They are also known to be over critical of themselves and others as well as being ‘all work and no play’. The balance was essentially Frank struggled with, though he has his life in order -- from the outside looking in, he was the golden boy -- but that balance, that need for him to be okay and have everything be exceptional all the time - something his parents had a hand in. Virgo’s are attentive and they are known to have a deep sense of humanity and I think that’s something that Frank values -- he’s never one to sit back and stay hushed at the sight of injustice.

FAMILY HISTORY:

Augusta Catalina Longbottom and Mateo Daniel Longbottom were not the worst parents - truly, he knew that as far as pureblooded families went, he hadn't really gotten hit with tragic start. As the only son - and truly, he wondered if that was a blessing or a curse - he had felt the pressure at a young age. He had shown sides of his magic fairly early on, and merlin knew how hard he had to work at his grades to avoid a gloomy holiday/summer break.

Constantly riddled with needing to achieve more, because however will he measure up to the great Mateo Longbottom, exceptional Auror - currently seated with the Wizengamot, it was a legacy that Frank never asked for but it became his burden as soon as he could understand what it all meant. He loved his parents - he really did but in moments of clarity as he grew up, he could see how unhealthy their relationship with each other let alone theres as a family could be.

CURRENT EVENTS:

he had been told that it was only a matter of time - he took urgency for granted - he lived for danger, he was confident in who he was and perhaps that worked when it was only himself he had to worry about -- one injured partner later, an injury that was caused by his own carelessness and Frank found himself willingly on desk duty. it wasn't that they didn't try to get him back out there - but he was lost -- and he'd rather not let his fear cause more harm than good.

it's not that he was in denial about the current state of his career - what good was an auror that couldn't go out in the field. so he didn't hesitate when a teaching spot opened up at Hogwarts - of course he told Headmaster Dumbledore it was interim. just something new he had wanted to try out, as if a break was enough to sate the fear - you can find Frank teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at the moment

SEXUALITY

For Frank, intimacy and attraction were one of the same. He could appreciate beauty, but for him to be attracted or drawn to someone -- it was more about the individual than their appearance. Frank is pansexual -- it’s more about him loving their personality and mind.

WAND

Frank’s wand is 7 ¾ in length, it’s a wand that is sturdy an in his earlier years it was hard to wield it until he actually put his mind and effort into mastering the spells correctly and wielding the wand the way that it should be wielded. When Frank had arrived to Ollivander’s shop ready to meet the wand that would be his companion throughout his life, he never thought that he would end up with a wand that was composed of Alder. The young boy eager to be ready had read up on what he was looking for, he often thought that he’d end up with a wand made up of Birch but he was bounded to the wand whose wood was seen as inauspicious.

But the wood itself was not enough to drive him away, the core was the curious bit to him, for something so unstable it needed a counteragent to provide balance and that element was doxy wings. Doxy wings was an unstable core usually but matched with Alder, it would prove to be a stable wand but wands of this nature was usually wielded by those who practice the dark arts. The core of his wand was doxy wings and though his father had been initially worried considering that those creatures were unmanageable and mean spirited he truly believed that it was what the wizard does with the wand is what counted. Frank had never been so happy and at comfort with any other wand, his actions were the ones that defined him, not the core of his wand and he knew that he would do great things with this wand and prove that a Gryffindor could wield it just as well as a Slytherin without giving into the temptation of darkness.

FOUR CHARACTERISTICS:

[+ve]

Loyal – For as long as Frank could remember – his mother had always told him about the importance of family, and how we always had to be loyal to those we love. It was one of the greatest acts of love and support. His father however always taught him that loyalty was a two-way street – If he were to expect it from another, he should be sure that he could provide the same level of unwavering loyalty. It was not something given out of convenience and though it was a symbol of love, it was also a symbol of respect. If you had the luxury of calling Frank a friend – he’d go to the ends of the world for you. He loved his friends and family with all he had, it was in his nature to provide in halves -- he was either there or he wasn’t.

Adaptive – Ever since he was a young boy -- he craved change, he understood the importance of stability and security, but the need for new perspective -- new talents, new skills and his dream job -- it all required flexibility. He thrived in his environment regardless of what challenge was thrown his way. Frank learned at a young age that he had to change to succeed. When Frank decided he wanted a career in Magical Law Enforcement -- following in his father’s path, he knew that his life was not going to be static. To succeed in that world, he needed to constantly move – reinvent himself, he needed to be the best version of himself and be able to be flexible. He dabbled in many things -- explored his interests, tested out what worked for him.

[-ve]

Calculative – Nearly every move Frank made in his life had a purpose. He didn’t just act on his whims and though he had one thing that was his heart’s desire and could possibly lead to his happiness; it wasn’t something that he made a habit of. He had come this far because of well thought out moves and he’d continue to succeed because he played the game to win.

Intolerant – It wasn’t that Frank wasn’t patient, he truly was -- he was just not completely capable of stomaching idiocy and ignorance. He was intolerant of nonsense – they weren’t toddlers, as a prefect he had a responsibility to maintain the rules and ensure the safety of his peers, yet somehow quite often he felt like a glorified babysitter. Frank wasn’t one to bite his tongue and made a point out of being vocal on the matter.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

EX-PARTNER - this could be his last partner on the job, the one he watched get injured because of his own carelessness, or it could be someone he's worked with in the past. someone who would know him fairly well - this would be his work family.

BETROTHED - the Longbottoms are many things - traditional is certainly one of them. His parents would have given him till his twenty third to find someone of his choosing and Frank had done nothing but dive headfirst into his work at any chance -- so they set him up, Frank might currently be reluctant but up until having to step away from his Auror duties, he never had the time - now things are looking a bit different -- (totally open to a different kind of plot here)

DISLIKE - he might not have enemies just yet, but someone he thoroughly dislikes and perhaps this could be because of school or work -- but something (we can plot out) led to them hitting a sore spot

FRIENDSHIPS - we love a good platonic relationships, as much as he loves his parents, he doesn't always get alone with them let alone see much of himself in them -- his friends would be his family of choice

HEADCANON 001 - AMORENTIA

He might not openly admit it but Frank is quite fond of lavender, it’s a smell that reminds him of his mother. Augusta Longbottom was not the most affectionate of women, she was quite bold and blunt but when it came to her son, she never failed to give him the best hugs. It was something that he adored as a child, lavender was the scent that he always associated with his mother.

He was also quite fond of the smell the sea exhibits, it was a tangy fresh scent that he’d encounter whenever he took his morning walks during the summer. They resided near a shoreline and it was a smell that always had a way of waking him up.

He also enjoyed the earthly scent he inhaled whenever he took a walk on the outskirts of the forbidden forest

HEADCANON 002- VICES/QUIRKS

Vices: Frank isn’t one to enjoy the stench that came with smoking, he found it to be a terrible habit but he does in fact enjoy a drink every now and then.

Fears: Frank wasn’t too fond of spiders. He couldn’t stand the sight of them, if he was a foot within one, you will see him screaming and running in the opposite direction. He also has an irrational fear that the great squid will entrap him and suffocate him to death, he wasn’t too fond of taking a dip in the Black Lake.

Habits/quirks: Frank lived to pace. Whenever something was troubling him, you’d find him wearing out the floor with his pacing. Aside from pacing, messing about with his hair would probably be the only thing that would sooth him. Even if his hair looked perfectly fine, you’d often fine Frank running a hand through.

#{ history written by the victors; introduction. }

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rist-ix · 2 years

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If Bloom were to become queen and ever be convinced by Valtor that the company of light and faragona were responsible for Domino's fall wether thru indecisive action or deliberate inaction due to jealousy and envy, what do you think her response would be.

That’s a lot of biiiiig what-ifs wrapped in one question hold on a second.

There would have to be a LOT of plot armory context for the company of light to betray two of their own members, and two heads of state and interplanetary politicians on top of that. If there had been such a conspiracy, the fic would have to a very distinct AU with a full on villains-in-charge situation, which would change the tone of Bloom's previous Alfea experiences quite heavily. Because while Griffin certainly is no stranger to betrayal (and we don’t know about her exact reasoning for that) and Faragonda has a knack for secrets, neither of them shows much personal ambition or some kind of nationalist thinking that would make them envy Bloom's parents.

If there were some kind of scheme going on, I think it would be of a more personal nature.

But. I just noticed you said “convinced” not “revealed” so all that previous context is basically just proof of my lacking reading comprehension. Ignore that!

Okay so if Bloom were Queen, there's still the matter of what planet. Are we talking Queen of Domino? Or Queen consort of Eraklyon?

In the latter case she'd be surrounded by a new culture, new people, and advisors she does not know or trust. She'd have in-laws who would not like her and/or can’t look at her because of their own failures regarding Domino. Bloom would essentially be isolated and under a lot of pressure, something that is easy to exploit for someone like Valtor. If he already has her trust, all the better; if not, now is the prime time to gain it because she has no support system outside of Sky (who would obviously do a great job at that :| right? :| ) Should Valtor want to make her doubt her mentors, he'd simply have to point at Erendor. Show her some proof of his betrayal, point her in the direction of that ruined city from the movie (Avram I think?) and poof: Bloom's paranoia and vengeful nature have a field day together. It wouldn’t take a lot to make the company of light seem complicit, and he's been able to sell harder lies before.

In that case, Bloom's reaction would probably be political. A foreign court doesn’t leave many options for outbursts, her position is fragile and most likely important to Valtor, so he'd make sure to talk her out of a violent revenge arc. She'd be vicious tho, and would have Valtor's political expertise behind her. A subtle smear campaign, cut funding, the headmasters' loss of their position sooner or later, she could get them on trial for endangering students and wouldn’t even have to involve herself directly.

As queen of Domino, we assume the planet has been revived minus her family, who would be able to refute Valtor's accusation. It would also mean a lot of pressure and isolation, but her position would be set in stone. She's the sole surviving member of the royal family, sole surviving daughter of two war heroes, guardian of the Dragon Flame, and quite literally the reason her people are breathing. She'd be adored, if not outright religiously worshipped, and there would be practically no one in her immediate surroundings who would oppose her. If Valtor convinced her under these circumstances, with her wielding absolute power over her planet, that Faragonda, Griffin and Saladin are the reason her parents aren’t here to witness all this? oh they dead hon

Bloom would go ballistic, confront them, probably either kill them in a rage or drag them into prison herself, because obviously no one else will get her justice.

Her people would be surprised but easily convinced — that's their hero, their savor up there after all, the infant princess turned warrior queen, and if she wants a little violence she's either justified or can have it, as a treat — and if any other governments opposed her… well, what would they really do? Declare war on Domino, Risen Again? Over a few teachers that may or may not have been uncomfortably involved anyway?

It would make for an interesting conflict with the Winx for sure, because they'd still firmly trust Faragonda.

#asks #winx club #winx bloom #winx valtor

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wellpresseddaisy · 2 years

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Those Cunning Folk

Part 4

Cadwaladr walked up to the house, having waited until the small child weeding went to the back garden. No need to appear out of nowhere and frighten everyone if he could avoid it. The whole place gave him the chills, though, with each house so similar. That sort of fancy he put down to an already too busy morning. He'd been to Buckingham House and Gringotts before he even laid foot in Surrey, and that was after waiting over an hour to get across the border. He'd put poor Mrs. Harris at Buckingham House into such a pelter with his announcement that he intended to bring the Viscount directly that he knew he'd need to slip something extra into everyone's pay packets that week. She'd been harassing housemaids and chivvying footmen when he left, the whole place a welter of holland covers and did they have any flowers to cut at this point and he's eleven ma'am he won't care for flowers I should check the nursery for suitable games and see to a substantial sort of tea if I were giving orders.

He waved a hand as he passed over the dirt on the walk and it tidied itself back into the planter bed.

He knocked crisply on the front door and waited. After a moment a very thin and very blonde woman opened it a crack.

"Yes?" She asked impatiently, taking in his unexceptionable suit with a gimlet eye.

"I'm here to speak to Mrs. Dursley regarding Mr. Potter. My name is Du, Cadwaladr Du." He began.

"Well, say your piece." She demanded.

"Madam, I doubt you want every neighbor to hear me say that you could be held liable for receiving a kidnap victim." Might as well go in whole hog.

She turned an unbecoming pale, her cheeks tinged with a high color.

"Get in." Mrs. Dursley held the door open only wide enough for him to squeeze in before shutting it sharply. "How dare you?" She demanded as soon as the latch clicked.

Cadwaladr took little notice of her ire and instead moved into…the front room? He'd no idea what you might call it, being more used to drawing rooms and morning rooms and sitting rooms. In any case, he sat at the edge of the sofa lest he ended sucked into the upholstery and stared her down until she sat.

"I did wish to begin more pleasantly." He removed his gloves and set them on his knee. "But you gave me little choice. Mr. Potter ought never have come into your guardianship. He is a child of my house, and as such he will be taken into my custody."

"Which house is this?" Mrs. Dursley asked, mouth pursed.

"In England, House Black, Mrs. Dursley, through both his godfather and his great grandmother."

"Headmaster Dumbledore said he was to remain here until his seventeenth birthday to keep him safe." She bit out, clearly unwilling.

"Headmaster Dumbledore does not control House Black, madam, and he never shall. Mr. Potter is, by right and by magic, my ward. You have, I fear, been wretchedly imposed upon. It cannot be easy raising a strongly magical child when one has close neighbors." A smidgen of understanding went a long way, although he found her thoroughly odious.

"We've done our best. You said we could be in legal trouble?" She fidgeted with her apron.

"Only if I wish to make trouble for you, ma'am. I most heartily don't." Lie. "I would like to collect Mr. Potter and have him in his new home today, though. The more time I have to introduce him to our way of doing things before school the better."

"Your way." The woman spat. "I'll call him in. You can take him and his owl immediately."

"We'll use this room for only a few moments, I'm sure, and then be off." Only a few moments because if he had to sit in this offense against taste for more than another five minutes he couldn't be held accountable for his actions. "Did you wish to see proof of my claim?"

"I don't care to, no. I'll call him in." And she went.

What kind of wretched, hideous, unfeeling…he didn't think there was a word strong enough to describe Mrs. Dursley, honestly. He could be anyone. The back door banged and he couldn't hold back a twitch. That a magical child would be subjected to a house that rejected the very essence of him repulsed him to the core. They were, he reflected, amazingly lucky they didn't have an Obscurus situation. The back door banged again and a moment later a small boy stumbled into the room, obviously shoved from the hallway

Cadwaladr just watched him quietly for a moment, letting the boy eye him as well.

Harry saw an obviously tall man of indeterminate age with the dark hair and the silvery eyes of the Black Family. His eyes, though, Harry decided, looked like he smiled a great deal.

"Hello Mr. Potter. I'm Cadwaladr Du." He began.

"Aunt Petunia said you were taking me away. Are you?" He set his jaw and waited for an answer.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Legally, I'm your guardian. You ought never have been sent here." Best to stick to the absolute truth. He could speculate, but it wouldn't help the child before him.

"Then why would I be here at all?" He clenched his hands by his sides.

"I don't know Mr. --"

"Please just call me Harry!" It burst out before he could stop himself.

"Of course, Harry. I didn't want to presume. I don't know why you're here or why the family wasn't notified when your parents were killed. We should have been. Your great uncle Arcturus would have loved you." Well, probably. Arcturus had been a funny sort, but he'd liked children.

"Could we go, sir?" Harry asked after a minute of silence. "Aunt Petunia said she wanted me gone before Dudley or Uncle Vernon got home."

"Shall we gather your things?" Cadwaladr stood and held out a hand to Harry.

The look he received in return could have curdled milk. Good to know the boy still possessed some spirit.

"I beg pardon, Harry. I raised my younger siblings and sometimes I forget that people are old enough to dispense with hand holding. You wouldn't believe the look I got off my brother, who just turned twenty-five, when I did the same to him. Pure instinct, I assure you."

Harry thawed slightly and led the way from the front room. He was, Cadwaladr thought, a bit sensitive about his size. Which…had they denied the boy food or was he naturally small? There were Du cousins taller than Harry who were age eight or nine. He resembled the English Blacks most strongly, and Cadwaladr thought perhaps Regulus hadn't been precisely tall. And maybe he'd grow with good food and proper exercise and an environment where he was wanted.

The room Harry showed him was depressing in the extreme. Broken down furniture, a dirty carpet and dingy walls (of obvious long-standing vintage), and broken toys filled the small room. Even the ventilation seemed inadequate. A large cage sat on the desk with a sleeping snowy owl inside and a cheap school trunk stood open on the floor next to it.

"Pack everything you'd like to take as you won't be returning." He ordered gently.

"Ever?" Harry asked, shoveling things into the trunk.

"Ever." Cadwaladr promised

He did not wince watching Harry. Given the state of his clothes (sizes too big, patched, and oddly gray), he couldn't blame the boy for cramming it in with so little care. Harry, to his credit, neatly folded his school robes and placed them on top of everything else.

He grabbed a ratty bag from the floor and asked, "Should we take Hedwig, sir? Or will she know the way?"

"We'll wake her and send her ahead. She'll have a perch in your room, you know, or she can make use of the owlery. I just need to give her a frank so she can get through the exchange." Cadw smiled down at Harry. "You can call me Uncle Cadw, you know. I don't think I could survive being called sir for the next years. I'd keep looking over my shoulder for my father or my eldest brother."

That got him a shy smile. "Thank you. I didn't know what…"

"We've been left in a bit of a quandary, haven't we? No worries, Harry, we'll find our way right." Cadw promised. "Now, shall we send Hedwig to the exchange and get ourselves to London?"

"What's the Exchange?" Harry clicked his tongue softly to wake Hedwig. "Hedwig, could you wake up? We're leaving."

She woke immediately, perky and dancing on her perch.

"What an intelligent owl she is." Flattery could get one most places, Cadwaladr found. Hedwig preened.

"Now this, my lad," he held up a wax seal. "This is the Black Frank. It gives Hedwig the right to go through the Exchange, which is where post owls cross over between worlds, without needing to pay a toll."

"Between worlds?" Harry asked, frowning. "But Diagon is in London, right?"

"We'll stop at a bookstore, Harry. I think there have been a few books published lately that will explain a bit better than I can." He tapped Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage, shrinking the two. "We can read them together, if you'd like."

He tied a little pouch to Hedwig's leg and put the seal inside.

"To Buckingham House, please, Hedwig, once you're through. I think you'll enjoy the hunting in the park." Hedwig chirruped, stopped only to preen Harry's hair, and was out the window, winging away to London.

Harry, when he tried to hand over the shrunken trunk and cage, demurred.

"My pockets," he explained sheepishly. "They're all holes."

"Then I'll carry them in mine. We'll make sure you're properly outfitted, Harry. Now, have you got everything?"

Harry nodded.

"Would you like to say goodbye to your Aunt?"

"She told me to just go. She didn't want to see me again."

"Right." If he were a vindictive man, Petunia Dursley would be a creature as odious as her personality. "Well, I'm sure we wish these people exactly what they deserve from the world."

Harry snorted, pressing his lips together, and followed his new guardian down the stairs and out of the house. He never had to go back. Not ever. He had a feeling that if anyone tried, they'd be sent packing. His new uncle seemed easy enough to get on with, but Harry knew that sort. They had limits.

"I hope you don't mind that we're going to be supremely boring and take the train to London? I booked us first class tickets, so it shouldn't be too uncomfortable a journey."

"I've never traveled first class before." Harry admitted.

"Even on this side, it's a bit nicer. We'll stop and get you a bite to eat at the station. Once we make London, we need to go to Gringotts. They were terribly put out not to have talked to you. Now, if you'll take my hand and hold tight, we'll do something called apparating. You'll feel a bit squeezed, like you're going through a tube, and then we'll be at the train station. You do need to hold on tight, though."

Harry nodded and swallowed thickly. He hadn't experienced any magical travel yet and this sounded awful. He took the offered hand and held tight, squeezing his eyes shut. The world squeezed in around him, and he really did feel like he was being sucked through a straw. When the feeling stopped, he opened his eyes. They were around back of the usually bustling station.

He found himself supplied with sandwiches and and tea (and a book) and ushered into a seat at one of the big tables in the carriage in short order. Cadwaladr sat opposite and picked up one of the newspapers, unfolding it and running an eye down the headlines.

#those cunning folk #hp the season/the ton au #hp the season au #hp society/the ton

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bluerosewritings · 3 years

Text

Every Rose Has Its Thorns | Overblot!Riddle x Reader

You charged through the rose maze, cursing how loud your footsteps were. You'd heard Heartslabyul students talk about how insanely hard it was to even get halfway through the maze, but you never thought it would be this bad. Why, out of everything you could have done, did you think it would be a good idea to run into here?

Everything had gone so wrong. All you'd wanted was to help Ace and Deuce get out of their punishment - and if solving that with a duel meant helping the other students, great! There's no way it could end up worse than what happened in the Dwarf Mines, right?

You envied your past self's innocence.

In a weird way, you blamed yourself. If you hadn't opened your mouth, Riddle wouldn't have retaliated, so Ace wouldn't have decked his dorm leader in the face, someone wouldn't have thrown that egg at Riddle, Riddle wouldn't have freaked out and started beheading everyone, and he wouldn't have turned into... that. With that... thing hovering behind him like some sort of cruel puppeteer, looking way too familiar to whatever had tried to hurt you and your friends in the Dwarf Mines. Had you always been this unlucky?

Crowley had barely been able to say a thing before Riddle had cast Off With Your Head on the headmaster, then on Trey, Cater, and whatever poor souls that hadn't yet escaped Heartslabyul, tying them up with rose bush roots. Once again, you'd been the only one without a collar - maybe it was because of your lack of magic, maybe it was because you were from another world, you didn't know. You didn't hang around to find out - once Grim's yells at you to hurry up and get out of there snapped you out of your horrified trance, you bolted. Unfortunately, Riddle had noticed your sudden departure and chased after you, screaming your name.

You'd ducked into the Rose Maze hoping to shake him off. You wished you hadn't - all that you'd accomplished was getting yourself lost. Riddle's voiced seemed to be getting closer and closer by the minute, too.

"(y/n)!" Speak of the devil. The sudden shock of his voice nearly made you trip. "Come out this instant! Do you want your punishment to be even more severe!?"

Shaking off his words (or were you literally shaking?), you turned the corner. There seemed to be more and more roses as you went on - maybe a sign you were nearing the exit? Hoping so, you followed the blood-red flowers.

"(y/n)! I'm saying this for your own benefit! Tell me where you are, now! (y/n)!"

The leaves seemed to be disappearing under the red petals. A war between the two pieces of nature, two things that should be living in harmony instead being tainted by greed and ruining their peace. You had to be nearly out.

"(y/n)!!"

There were barely any leaves left now.

One last turn. One last turn and you should be--

Stuck. The roses didn't lead to the end of the maze at all. They led to the center of it.

A statue of the Queen of Hearts, like the one in the school among the other Great Seven, seemed to mock you with her smug expression. Now that you got a good look at her, she looked eerily similar to the specter haunting Riddle. Of course she did.

"So this is where you've been."

You turned so fast you fell over. Your mind couldn't even register the pain from your new cuts as you stared up in terror at the twisted form of Riddle. The boy himself seemed to be conflicted on whether to look at you with sympathy or smirk.

He settled on disappointment. "If you'd have just answered me earlier, you wouldn't be in such a sad state now, would you? Good grief."

Though he approached you at a normal pace, even that was enough to send a shiver down your spine. Desperately you tried to push yourself off the ground. Only it didn't work - you looked down to see yourself literally rooted to the floor. Following the root's path, you saw they were coming from the two rose bushes levitating by Riddle's side. No surprise there.

Out of options, you looked up at this new version of Riddle looming over you. Trying not to let your fear show, you glared at him. The look only caused Riddle's eyebrow to twitch before his emotions exploded forth.

"Don't look at your Queen that way! Change your expression immediately!"

"W-Why should I?"

"You...!" Blood rushed to Riddle's face. "Ever since I met you, everything you've done...! Causing a disturbance at the entrance ceremony, encouraging Ace and Deuce's idiotic behaviour, even managing to turn Cater and Trey against me...! I should despise every single part of you! So why...!?"

Before you could ask what he meant, the rose roots shot their way up your back, repositioning themselves so they pushed you upwards. You had no time to react - not that you could do much, your hands were still restricted, now bound together - as Riddle tangled his fingers in your hair and forced his lips on yours.

It took you a second to process what he was doing. Once you realised, you begun trying to wriggle your way out of his grip. Unfortunately, this only annoyed Riddle further - he tugged at your hair, causing you to yelp. Riddle took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Any cries of protest went ignored.

You weren't sure how long the kiss lasted, but when Riddle finally pulled away you wasted no time gasping for air. There was a metallic taste invading your mouth. Your first thought was that it was blood but you couldn't raise your hand to check.

Riddle kept your foreheads touching, his hand still in your hair to keep you from moving away. You thought you were the only one that was dealing with a lack of air, but it seemed that Riddle's power up couldn't keep him from panting.

"Why...?" Riddle looked you in the eyes. The dark intensity scared you. It was a mix of anger, regret, confusion... and something else that somehow scared you even more.

"Why did I have to fall for someone like you...?"

Love.

Somehow the ferocity of the first kiss hadn't made it click for you. Now, however, the rush of fear gave you the strength to fling your head back and crash it onto Riddle's.

Only your foreheads were connected but it was enough. Riddle yelled in pain and let go of you. You fell on to the floor but were quick to get up as the pain was distracting Riddle from his control spell.

"(y/n)...! HOW DARE YOU!?"

You make it to the other side of the Queen of Hearts statue before roots burst out of the ground and latch on to your ankles. Caught mid-run, the sudden stop causes your to fall face-forward onto the floor. More roots appear to take advantage of the opportunity, latching themselves around you, binding you to the ground.

You couldn't turn your head, but you could feel Riddle approaching, glaring at your back. You weren't sure what was worse; the foreboding sense of darkness from Riddle's stares or the crushing feeling from the roots.

By the time Riddle was standing in front of you, black dots were decorating your vision. Tears were dripping out your eyes as you were unable to stop them. The unknown anxiety from what Riddle would do made breathing even harder. Riddle gritted his teeth, still nursing his head.

"Why do you insist on being so disobedient!?" Riddle growled. "Is it just because it's me!? You have no problem listening to those first-year ruler breakers! Is it them? Did they influence you? It has to be! It's their fault!"

"No...!" You croaked out.

Every word Riddle spoke caused the roots to become tighter. The tears fell even harder as you gasped for air like a fish out of water.

"No? Look at yourself!" Riddle scoffed. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd just followed my rules! I should have approached you from the start... I should've seen what leaving you alone would do. Damn it!"

"Pl...ease...!" You could barely make out Riddle's words. A dull ringing was going off in your ears, making it hard for you to focus.

"You had so much potential, right from the beginning, even if the mirror said you were magic-less, I saw it!" Riddle continued to scold himself, unaware of your desperation. "I should've told Crowley to place you in Heartslabyul, where I could've kept you on the right track... instead you had to become a rule-breaker! Why!?"

"I'm... sorry...!" You cried out.

The words caught Riddle's ears. He finally turned to you, realising what he'd caused. Gears turned in his head before he finally spoke.

"You're sorry, what?" He tried.

"I... I'm sorry, my Queen...! Riddle...!"

Instantly, the pressure was released. The sudden rush of oxygen to your lungs made you choke. Even though the roots were off you, you stayed laying on the ground, not wanting to push Riddle into doing that again.

"(y/n)." You looked up. "Come here."

Riddle stiffly opened his arms, as if embarrassed by the act. You hesitated, unsure if it was a trap. Riddle frowned.

"(y/n). Come here, now."

Out of options, you slowly pushed yourself off the floor. You still hadn't completely recovered, so you more stumbled than walked into Riddle's arms. It didn't seem to matter - the second you hit his chest, his arms wrapped around you, holding you tight against him. The similarity to what had happened not long ago earlier caused you to tremble. Riddle didn't seem to notice.

"Thank goodness." Riddle sighed in relief, burying his face into the crook of your neck. "You're not too far gone... you just need to properly learn the rules... that's a relief..."

The smile you felt caused your skin to crawl. Riddle began tracing kisses up your neck, across your jawline then connecting your lips again.

The kiss was softer this time, a chaste one that would've made your heart race if the situation wasn't so, so wrong. Even so, the fear of angering whatever you were kissing made you lightly press back. The monster in Riddle's form pulled back slowly, a child-like smile on its face.

One hand came away from your waist and ghosted against your neck. It sighed before you felt a wisp of magic circling your neck. While you couldn't see it, you felt the new accessory adorning your neck - a black choker with a red heart outlined with gold at the front; with no clasp to take it off.

Riddle hummed in approval, happy at the sight. He wasn't as pleased when he saw the look in your eyes - a poorly concealed fear at what he'd done. He sighed, giving you a quick kiss before leaning you into his neck now instead. He raked his fingers through your hair in a soothing manner.

"I'm doing this for your benefit." He explained. "It's my fault for letting you hang around bad influences, but it's okay now. I'll make things right for you. You'll be following the rules perfectly in no time."

Riddle placed a kiss on your forehead and leaned next to your ear. He pressed a finger against the heart of your choker.

"You will, or it's off with your head."

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #riddle rosehearts x you #overblot

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professorsnape394 · 3 years

Text

The Potions Master’s Apprentice

Chapter Eighteen: Faith

A/N: This is the Eighteenth part to my fanfiction ‘The Potions Master’s Apprentice (Severus Snape x OC)’. Chapters 1-18 can also be found already uploaded on Wattpad under the same name. Feel free to leave requests in my inbox for anything Snape related you want me to write. Leave a comment below or send me a message if you wish to be added to my tag list.

Pairing: Severus Snape x OC (Dumbledore’s Granddaughter)

Summary: A talented young witch is employed as an apprentice professor at Hogwarts, but who will she be working under? Severus Snape is not best pleased with his new responsibility of taking on an apprentice, however she is relentless to create a friendship between them. Will she be successful? Or might the friendship just go a little two far? With the eyes of her grandfather constantly watching over them, an attempt at a relationship might not be in the cards for Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Word Count: 4199

Warnings: n/a

Credits to Gif Creator

The rapping of knuckles against the old oak door echoed throughout the potions master's office. Breaking through the thick silence that had engulfed the room, a wave of anxiety washed over Severus Snape.

"Can I not go one day without you bothering me, Miss Dumbledore." Snape complained, trying to hide slight crack of nervousness in his voice.

"Sadly, Severus, it is not your beloved Miss Dumbledore." A thick Bulgarian accent announced.

Admittedly disappointed by the unveiling of his visitor, Severus lowered himself back down into his chair, not willing to make an effort for anyone but his apprentice.

"Why are you here, Igor. You should have learned your lesson by now to leave me alone." He said, rubbing his eyes back into focus and running a hand through his hair lazily.

"I have something you'll want to hear." Karkaroff divulged mysteriously, plopping himself down on the chair across from the professor.

"I do not imagine anything you have to say is of any interest to me."

"Then lucky for you Snape, I won't be the one talking."

Unbothered by the man's deliberate awkwardness, Severus allowed him to ramble on, too exhausted to argue with him.

With a flick of his wand and a small puff off smoke, the space between the two men began to whirl and spin, slowly forming a picture-like image in the air, the scene beginning to unfold. Revealing a staff room full of unusually dressed professors, the focus turned to a small cluster of teachers gathered in the centre of the room. Recognising both Igor Karkaroff and Aria Dumbledore sitting side by side on the old couch, Snape grew suspicious of the man's intentions.

"Why are you showing me this?" Severus asked, unsure of whether he wanted to see what was about to happen.

"Just listen." The Durmstrang headmaster hissed.

"How do I feel about Snape?" Aria wondered, the scene enclosing in on her.

"He's... curious. He has the capacity for love and friendship just like the rest of us, yet he chooses to be mean-spirited."

"I don't want to hear this." Snape declared, turning his eyes away from the woman.

"You must." Igor demanded.

"...he can be mean and arrogant and cruel. And despite it all I try my best to show him kindness, but where does that get me? He calls me out in front of practically the whole school? That was so fucking humiliating, and I'm just supposed to forgive him? I think it's safe to say I'd live a happy life if I were to never see that man again."

Severus felt his heart drop in his chest, unable to process what he had just heard. Slowly a sharp ringing in his ears grew louder and louder, deafening him to the scene before him, as well as the reality in which he existed. He refused to believe the woman he cared so much about, the woman who had demanded to be his friend, had lied about everything. Did she truly hate him beneath her annoyingly cheerful demeanour, was it all a façade?

He wanted to insist Karkaroff had fabricated the whole thing, but he knew exactly what spell he had cast, there was no way he could have faked it.

A deep rage grew within the man, an anger he had not felt in a number of decades. Severus Snape prided himself on having a monotone disposition, void of all emotion. But that familiar feeling of being betrayed by someone he trusted brought forward a plethora of pent up emotions, namely anger and frustration.

A wide, devilish grin spread across Karkaroff's face, satisfied by his colleague's reaction.

"You see now what she is truly like, Severus. You see now that she was playing you all along. That girl pretends to be your friend to keep her job, not because she likes you." Igor laughed maliciously. "You and I both know what is coming, and when it does, Dumbledore is prepared to replace you. Even he knows where your true loyalties lie. Do not be fooled into thinking the Dumbledore's are your friends. They use you for their own advantage, but the second you are no longer useful, or you become a threat to them, you'll be taken down by any means necessary."

"You're lying." Snape tried to convince himself, refusing to meet the professors gaze. "You're scared of what he will do to you if he returns. You need an alliance with someone on the inside."

"He has returned, you must feel it just as I do." The ex-deatheater practically screamed.

"I will not be manipulated by you Igor. This changes nothing, the girl was nothing but a distraction."

"We both know that isn't true." He sniggered, attempting once last time to convince Snape. "Do you know what she said to me, the last time I was in this office? She told me she could never be with a man like you, she told me your actions were unforgivable. I can prove that as well if you don't believe me."

"Get out, Igor. Just leave." Severus exhaled, starting to pace slowly behind his desk. He knew Karkaroff was trying to manipulate him, he was not stupid enough to fall for that. But proof does not lie, and the facts remain. Everything he was saying true, there was no denying it.

With a short bow, Igor danced out of the room. Completely satisfied with the havoc he'd reeked. He'd successfully toyed with what little emotions the great dungeon bat had left. And who's to say what can happen when Severus Snape's feelings get hurt?

Hoot. Hoot.

The bird bleated as it swooped through the open window.

"Another letter for the pile?" Aria sighed to herself. "Will he ever stop?"

Whoo.

It purred in response.

The witch couldn't help but laugh at the coincidence.

"You know exactly who." She giggled, plucking the envelope from the creatures beak, and throwing it on the ever growing pile.

"I just wish he would give me some time to think, you know?" She asked turning back to the barn owl, only to witness it taking off, disappearing into the distance.

Look at me. I'm talking to a bird. She thought with a roll of her eyes. I need to get some sleep.

Catching a glimpse of herself reflection of the window, Aria decided she needed to freshen herself up with a little pamper time, finishing the day off with a very long and well deserved nap.

Dumping almost a whole bottle of bubble bath into the tub, topping with springs of lavender and dried chamomile, Aria plunged herself deep into the warm water.

Relaxing for approximately 2.5 seconds, the woman flew out of the bath, her naked body sopping with bubbles, dripping puddles of water as she explored her quarters impatiently.

"Why can I never find any of my books when I need them most!" She groaned, shivering from the sudden change in temperature as goose bumps formed all over her arms and legs.

Letting out a single yelp of excitement, Aria grabbed the first book she laid eyes on and dived back into her tub.

"Pride and Prejudice, of course." She mumbled, thinking back to that night Severus visited her quarters.

As she read and her mind wandered, Aria found herself making unconscious comparisons between the infamous, brooding Mr. Darcy, and her stern, yet lovable Potions mentor, Severus Snape. They were both mildly rude and arrogant, determined to never show their true emotions, but deep down it was quite possible that they loved more fiercely than anyone ever could.

Elizabeth Bennet enchanted Darcy mind, body and soul. If only there were someone brave enough to do the same to Professor Snape. Aria thought, as she allowed herself to drift off to sleep in the water.

Hours later a thunderously loud 'Bang' frightened Aria awake.

Although not positively sure of how much later it was, she could be certain a decent sleep was had given the icy temperature of the water.

Aria allowed herself a moment to come to, bracing herself against the cold, her was body aching from the ceramic constraints of the tub.

A series of bangs came this time, chapping very loudly on her chamber door. Who ever it was was clearly extremely impatient, forcing her to hurry herself up.

Wrapping herself in nothing but a white cotton towel, the witch slid her way through her rooms to the door. Clearly she wasn't even awake enough to remember where she was, and that answering her door half naked wasn't exactly professional.

Bang. Bang. BANG.

The knocks reverberated through her body, sending shivers down her spine.

Gingerly she opened the door, revealing a more than pissed off Severus Snape.

"Severus." She yawned. "What's wrong?"

"Don't act dumb with me, girl. I am not falling for this act any longer." He snapped.

"What act, Severus? Why are you here?"

"Just tell me why?" He seethed. "Why did go to so much trouble trying to convince me to be your friend, only to confess to Karkaroff, as well as the rest of the Hogwarts staff, your true feelings. Why couldn't you just leave me alone."

"Severus listen, I think we need to talk about this in private. Please come in."

"So you can try and seduce me again? I don't think so. Jesus, look at the state of you, are you really that desperate to entice me? What's next, showing up to dinner completely naked? You really are just as I thought." The potions master growled, his pitch back eyes looking her up and down.

"Severus stop" Aria begged. "I thought we had moved past all this."

"So did I. But considering you have deemed me as "unforgivable" then there doesn't appear to be much point in trying to redeem myself, does there?"

"But you're only going to make everything worse. Let me explain myself, please."

"There is nothing to explain, I shall be putting in a formal request for the headmaster to employ a separate tutor for your apprenticeship in the morning, so you never have to see me again."

The professor stormed off, just as quickly as he had arrived, achieving exactly what he had come to do; humiliate Aria Dumbledore.

Desperate to apologise for her cruel words, Aria made to follow Severus to his classroom.

Forgetting her attire, or rather lack of, she was soon reminded of it when a crowd of Slytherin students erupted in a fit laughter with its fair share of cat-calls and whistles. Clearly they had emerged from their common room to investigate the noise, but stayed for the show of the two arguing potions professors.

"Nice legs, Miss." One of the older boys called, sending a wink in her direction.

Shit. She mumbled under her breath, rushing back to her quarters to change.

Hair still dripping wet, Aria shoved it into a bun on top of her head and pulled on some shorts and an oversized t-shirt, before hunting down the potions master.

"Severus, open the door." She called, upon initially finding it to be locked.

He didn't even bother to reply.

Fine. She thought. I'll do it myself.

"Alohomora." The lock burst apart, allowing the door to slowly creep open, revealing a dishevelled and distressed professor sitting at his desk.

"Severus, please." She whispered softly, realising he had clearly come down from his short outburst of rage.

"Get out." He commanded, though he didn't make any effort to remove his head from his hands.

"Let's talk about this." The woman pleaded, pulling a chair up next to the man. "Let me explain everything."

Snape stirred from his position the closer she came, until finally he was able to look her in the eye.

"Go on." He droned. His eyes red and blood shot, whether it was from lack of sleep or tears was unclear.

"You know more than anyone that Karkaroff cannot be trusted-"

"Don't try and lie to me, Miss Dumbledore. I saw the whole thing with my own eyes." Snape snapped.

"Will you let me finish. I'm not lying to you, Severus." Aria promised. "I said what I said because I didn't want them to know the truth, Karkaroff especially. I don't know what his problem is but I know he's up to something and it involves you. You really think I'd answer any question he asked me truthfully. You're my friend, Severus, I care about you, and that man is a snake for trying to turn us against each other."

"Why should I believe you. I've barely known you a few months, I've known Igor decades."

"That is precisely why you should believe me. He's not your friend, Severus. If he was he'd be able to see the real you; the man behind the mask." She urged, begging for his trust.

Reaching out her hand to take his, Aria stroked a thumb over the cold and calloused hand of her friend.

"And who might that be?" Severus questioned in return, feeling slightly nervous under her touch, but not enough to want to pull away.

"A man." She stated simply. "Not a beast, as you and many others may presume. A good, and decent man. Perhaps he's a even a little bit scared, of what I'm not entirely sure yet. But I will find out one day, if you'll allow me, that is. Let me be your friend, Severus. Let me see what you hide from everyone else. And I promise, I'll be there for you when it matters most."

Her sweet soft tones encapsulated Severus. He had become so lost in her words and her touch that without realising he found himself falling for her speech wholeheartedly. He even risked settling his remaining hand upon hers, clasping her delicate fist between his palms.

"Well then I suppose an apology is in order. I believe I may have acted rather rash and unprofessional."

"There's really no need. You reacted just as you should have to the things you heard. I would have done the same thing in your circumstance." Aria admitted, removing her hand from his, as she made to stand up. "Though there is one thing you could do to make it up to me." She suggested.

"Dare I even ask?" Severus joked.

"I want to know what Karkaroff's after. Tell me how you know him. Why does he care so much about your life?"

Snape practically laughed in response.

"We may be friends now, Miss Dumbledore, but I'm afraid that information is rather personal. And I am not convinced we are quite at that stage in our friendship, just yet."

"I respect that." She shrugged, knowing he wasn't about to give in that easily. "I suppose that just means we'll have to get to know each other a bit more." She smiled almost ear to ear at the prospect.

"What do you have planned for your lesson today, Professor Dumbledore?" Severus queried, finally using the woman's rightful professional title.

"Ooooh 'Professor' now, am I?" She smirked, sashaying in front of her co-worker, balancing a handful of potion ingredients in her arms.

"I suppose that is your given title after all, I might as well start using it."

"Hmmm I'm not sure. I think it make's me sound too much like my grandfather. I'm not sure I could pull of the beard quite as well, what do you think?" She giggled, holding her long hair in front of her chin, imitating the old wizard playfully before clumsily dropping another dozen bottles on the table.

Severus tried his hardest to conceal his smile, busying himself with paper work, but however hard he tried he could not hide it from Aria. Every so often she managed to catch him off guard, with a silly joke, or a quick witted comment, in those rare times he allowed himself a glimmer of emotion she always managed to notice. Most of the time Severus found himself smiling at the woman for no reason other than she was simply smiling too.

Finally turning her attention away from the potions master, Aria finished setting up her table full of small bottles and vials.

"We're going to play a game." She announced cheerfully spinning on her heel.

"A game?" Severus asked, unable to stop himself turning his nose up at her idea.

"Yes. It's like a test, but more fun." She persuaded, sensing his judgement.

"And what, might I ask, is wrong with a traditional test." He queried bitterly.

"The students need motivation, Severus. The word 'test' makes people nervous. With nervousness comes panic, and with panic comes mistakes. Fear is not an accurate motivator, however competition is. The students will be less inclined to make mistakes, if they are rewarded for their efforts." The apprentice hypothesised.

"And this reward is?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Severus fought the urge to roll his eyes, but allowed her to do her thing uninterrupted.

Since their little 'heart to heart' that night in Snape's office the two professors were finding working with each other a lot more amiable. Severus had given Aria a little more free reign with her portion of the lessons, which in turn, allowed her to respect Severus' strict theoretical practices without causing too many interruptions. The pair had almost started to enjoy working together.

Student by student the class trickled in, each of them intrigued by the new set up of the class room.

"Everyone please take your seats, do not touch the table at the front of the room, class will begin momentarily." Miss Dumbledore announced.

A moment of panic set in as Aria scrambled around Snape's desk, looking for her list of possible potions. This may not have been her first time teaching solo, but it was, however, her opportunity to prove her practices are successful in front of her mentor, Severus Snape. The man in question could see the fear in her eyes, and that she was desperate to impress.

"Here." He mouthed, handing her the piece of parchment. "Relax."

Brushing fingers, as she took the parchment from him, Aria grinned.

"Thank you." She whispered, once again turning to face the class, now with a little more confidence.

"Now today, as you may have guessed, we are going to do something a little different. Professor Snape and I have chosen to take this opportunity to allow you, our promising young N.E.W.Ts students, to show off your skill set to the best of your ability's. On this table in front of me you will find a select variety of potions ingredients that correspond to a number of potions all very much within your capability, your task is to complete one of these potions within the allotted time, at the end of which, a winner will be selected by us."

"What do we win then, professor?" One eager student asked.

"A potion of their choice." She declared, impulsively.

A murmer of chatter instantly broke out among the class, intrigued at the prospect of winning such a thing.

"That all sounds very exciting, Miss Dumbledore." Snape cut in, unwilling to take a backseat quite so easily. "However, sadly as an apprentice professor you are not permitted to take anything from my stores to use so frivolously. The prize will have to be decided at a later time."

Unsurprisingly the students weren't too pleased with Snape's intervention causing for a series of disappointed groans and heckles.

"Then I shall make it myself." Aria concluded.

Another bout of cheers erupted.

"Collect your ingredients, light up your cauldrons, your time starts now!"

Immediately the students jumped from their seats, swarming the table to get what they needed. The professors moved away from the crowd, giving the class a moment to get started.

"Miss Dumbledore, this is not a wise decision." Severus spoke in hushed tones. "I understand entirely the prize of a potion chosen by you, but to give them a choice could be extremely dangerous, think of the chaos that will ensue."

"How about you have a little faith in them for once. Trust that they will make the right decision."

Looking down on the woman, Severus couldn't help but trust she would be right.

"I have faith in you. Not in them." He made clear.

Severus made to walk away, leaving Aria to relish in her small victory, until he was suddenly pulled back by the young woman's hand in his. Not saying a word, Aria Dumbledore gave him an appreciative squeeze, before releasing him back to his desk.

The first hour of the classes passed by effortlessly, the students worked quietly and Severus found no reason to complain. All in all, Aria was quite pleased with how her lesson was going.

That was until...

"Oh shiiiiit."

"Language Mr. Lawrence." Severus warned, briefly looking up from his marking.

"Right, sorry sir. But what the fuck am I supposed to do when this thing starts bubbling like crazy." He freaked out, completely ignoring the potions master's warning.

"What?" Aria gasped, only just becoming aware of the situation.

"Yeah like this thing looks likes 'bout to blow, to be honest with you." The seventh year Hufflepuff boy informed nonchalantly.

"Step away from that cauldron students, quickly!" Aria ordered, ushering them to the sides of the classroom. "You were attempting a wit-sharpening potion, is that correct?"

"Yup."

"I'm afraid there's no saving it now, Mr. Lawrence, the best we can hope for is that it does not turn to acid and burn through bench."

"Out of my way." Severus huffed impatiently, forcing his way through the crowd of students that had formed around the cauldron.

"Pass me that root of ginger" Snape demanded, positioning himself in front of the ever growing cauldron of bubbling green liquid. Aria obeyed hastily, as the professor performed what she could only describe as a miracle on this horrifying concoction. "Some more newt spleens." He requested, holding out a hand expectantly, while the other gripped onto his wand, casting an enchantment over the potion.

The potions master continued adding a bit of this and a dash of that to the potion, all ingredients Aria Dumbledore would never have considered to associate with this particular brew. Jars of herbs, spices and animal parts were passed through the classroom in order to reach Professor Snape who continuously stirred the potion, muttering all sorts of charms and spells.

However skilled Aria had assumed she was at the art of potion making, it was made clear to her that she was no match for Severus' skills, brewing potions was second nature to him now. Within minutes he had achieved what Aria Dumbledore had deemed impossible, and thus the potion was brought back to it's natural state.

"Severus..." The apprentice gawped. "That was amazing."

"That was nothing." He replied curtly, removing himself from the scene. "Everybody back to work, this is not an excuse to slack off."

Still in awe at the pure artistry she had witnessed, Aria trotted sheepishly back to the front of the class.

Blissfully unaware of the pure talent they had just seen, the students continued on with their work. The Hufflepuff boy did not even have the decency to thank his professor for salvaging the mess he called a potion, let alone be grateful he never received a detention, or deduction of house points.

"What are you staring at, Miss Dumbledore, is there no better way you can spend your time?"

"I'm sorry Severus, but that display was just... brilliant." She beamed.

"Like I said, it was nothing. It comes with the job, I refuse to have any of those delinquents burn through my entire store cupboard because they cannot brew a simple potion, a year below their level no less."

"Well, at least we know who definitely won't be winning anyway." Aria giggled.

"The most we can hope for from that boy is that he manages to finish his potion, god knows he'll need it."

Playfully slapping Snape on the arm for his cheek, the witch perched herself on the edge of the professor's desk, attempting a quick sketch on a scrap piece of parchment, while the students begun to finish off their potions.

"Professor Snape, the winner?" Aria asked, turning to her colleague for a verdict once all of the potions had been completed.

"You want me to choose?" Severus replied, skeptical of her offer.

"Of course. I don't think it would be fair of me to do it, considering I've been giving all of them tips this lesson."

"Very well." He droned, stepping forth to analyse the contents of the cauldrons.

"This one." He announced, pointing a single finger to the cauldron of a young Slytherin witch. "Given that it was the only potion brewed to complete perfection, there is no other possible candidate. I suggest the rest of you get studying before your N.E.W.T's exams, at the rate you lot are going, none of you besides Miss Johnstone here is likely to pass." Snape scolded.

"Well then, congratulations Miss Johnstone, you are the winner of a potion of your choice. See me after lessons tomorrow and let me know your decision."

The girl practically beamed with pride, expecting nothing less than first place.

"Class dismissed."

Taglist:

@ayamenimthiriel @lizlil

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thewidowsghost · 3 years

Text

Daughter of the Sea - Chapter 3

Percy's POV

Confession time: I ditch Grover as soon as we get to the bus terminal.

I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover is kinda freaking me out, looking at me like I am a dead man, muttering, "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be the sixth grade?"

Whenever he gets upset, Grover's bladder acts up, so I'm not surprised when, as soon as we get off the bus, he makes me promise to wait for him, then makes a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I get my suitcase, slip outside, and catch the first taxi uptown.

"East One-hundred-and-forth and First," I tell the driver.

A word about my mother, before you meet her.

Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break she ever got was meeting mine and (Y/n)'s dad.

We didn't have any memories of him, just this warm sort of glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. Our mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad; she has no pictures.

See, they weren't married. She told us he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.

Lost at sea, my mom had told us. Not dead. Lost at sea.

She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me and my twin on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.

Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along...well, when I came home is a good example.

I walk into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe is in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blares ESPN. Chips and beer cans are strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking, he says around his cigar, "So, you're home."

"Where's Mom and (Y/n)?" I wonder aloud.

"Your mom's working," he says. "You got any cash?"

That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?

"I don't have any cash," I toll him.

"Here," comes a voice, holding out a ten to the man.

Instantly, a smile sneaks its way onto my face.

"Hey, Perc," my twin sister says with a smile.

(Y/n)'s POV

I grab my brother's suitcase and carry it into his room; I set it down on the bed.

"You wanna come sit in my room?" I ask and Percy nods, a smile still on his face.

I lead the way to my room and when I open the door, Percy sinks into my desk chair.

"Percy?" comes our mom's voice.

She opens my bedroom door.

Our mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Percy or Gabe.

"Oh, Percy," she hugs her son tightly. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas.

Percy's POV

Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.

We sit together on the edge of (Y/n)'s bed. While I attack the blueberry sour strings, (Y/n) stealing a few pieces of candy from the bag, Mom runs her hand through my hair and demands to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She doesn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She doesn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right? The whole time, (Y/n)'s eyes were sparkling with amusement.

I tell Mom she is smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her and (Y/n).

From the other room, Gabe yells, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"

I grit my teeth.

My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.

For her sake, I try to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I tell her I'm not too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convince myself. I start choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly doesn't seem so bad.

Until that trip to the museum...

"What?" my mom asks. Her and my sister's eyes tug at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"

"No, Mom."

I feel back for lying. I want to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I think it'd sound stupid.

Mom purses her lips. Both she and (Y/n) could tell I was holding back, but neither push me.

(Y/n)'s POV

"I have a surprise for both of you," Mom says. "We're going to the beach."

Percy's eyes widen. "Montauk?"

"Three nights - same cabin."

"When?" I ask excitedly.

Mom smiles. "As soon as I get changed."

I can't believe it. Mom, Percy, and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.

Gabe appears in my doorway and growls, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"

"I've got it," I offer, rising from the bed and walking out into the kitchen to make the dip for Mom.

An hour later, we are ready to leave.

Gabe takes a break from his poker game long enough to watch me and Percy lug Mom's bags to the car. He keeps griping and groaning about losing her cooking - and most importantly, his '78 Camaro - for the whole weekend.

"Not a scratch on this car, you two," he warns us as I load the last bag. "Not one little scratch."

Like we'd be the ones driving. We're twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame us.

We get into the Camero, me in the passenger's seat, and Percy in the back.

Our rental cabin is on the south shore, way out at the tip of the Long Island. It is a little pastel box with faded curtains, half-sunken into the dunes. There is always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea is too cold to swim in.

Percy and I love the place.

We'd been going there since Percy and I were babies. Our mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place she'd met mine and Percy's dad.

As we get closer to Montauk, Mom seems to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turning the color of the sea.

We arrive at the cabin, open all the cabin windows, and go through our usual cleaning routine. We walk on the beach, feed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and much on jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.

I guess I should explain the blue food.

See, Gabe had once told Mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a small thing at the time. But ever since, Mom had gone out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This - alone with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano - was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like Percy.

When it gets dark, we make a fire. We roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom tells us stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She tells us about the books she wanted to write when she gets enough money to quit the candy shop.

Finally, it seems that Percy gets the nerve to ask about what was always on our minds when we come to Montauk - our father. Mom's eyes go all misty. I figure that she was going to tell us the same things she always said, but neither Percy and I ever got tired of hearing them.

"He was kind, Percy," Mom says. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, two. You have his black hair, you know, Percy, and you both have his green eyes."

Mom fishes a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy, (Y/n). He would be so proud."

Percy's POV

I wondered how she could say that. What's so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of the school for the sixth time in six years.

"How old were we?" I ask. "I mean . . . when he left?"

Mom watches the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."

"But...he knew us as a baby."

"No, honey. He knew I was expecting twins, but he never saw you two. He had to leave before you were born."

I try to square that with the fact I seem to remember . . . something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.

(Y/n) and I had always assumed that he had known us as babies. Mom had never said it outright, but still, we'd always felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen us . . .

I realize I feel angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resent him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry Mom. He'd left us, and now we are stuck with Smelly Gable.

"Are you sending me away again?" I ask her. "To another boarding school."

She pulls a marshmallow from the fire.

"I don't know, honey." Mom's voice is heavy. "I think . . . I think we'll have to do something."

"Because you don't want me around?" I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth. (Y/n) bows her head, looking at the ground and Mom's eyes well with tears.

Mom takes my hand and squeezes it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I - I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."

Her words remind me of what Mr. Brunner had said - that it was best for me to leave Yancy.

"Because I'm not normal," I say.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe.

"Safe from what?"

She meets my eyes, and a flood of memories comes back to me - all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me and (Y/n), some of which we'd tried to forget.

During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked us on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed (Y/n) when she'd told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.

Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.

In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.

I know I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I can't make myself tell her. I have a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I don't want that.

"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom says. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you two. And I just...I just can't stand to do it."

(Y/n)'s POV

"Our father wanted us to go to a special school?" I ask, a little confused.

"Not a school," she says softly. "A summer camp."

My head starts spinning. Why would my dad - who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me and Percy be born - talk about a summer camp?

"I'm sorry, (Y/n)," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you two to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."

"For good?" Percy asks. "But if it's only a summer camp.

Mom turns towards the fire, and I know from her expression that if either of us ask her any more questions, she would start to cry.

I have a weird, vivid dream. It is storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse, and a golden eagle are trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swoops down and slashes the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse rears up and kicks at the eagle's wings. As they fight, the ground rumbles and a monstrous voice chuckles somewhere and beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

I run towards them, knowing I have to stop them from killing each other, but I am running in slow motion. I know I am too late. I see the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I scream, No!

I wake with a start.

Outside, it really is storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There is no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

With the next thunderclap, my mom and Percy wake. Mom sits up, eyes wide, and says, "Hurricane."

I know that's crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seems to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I hear a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that makes my hair stand on end.

Percy's POV

Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice - someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.

My mother springs out of bed in her nightgown and throws open the lock.

Grover stands framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he isn't . . . he isn't exactly Grover.

"Searching all night," he gasps. "What were you thinking?"

My mother looks at me in terror - not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.

"Percy," she says, having to shout to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

I am frozen, looking at Grover. I can't understand what I'm seeing, and I see (Y/n) looking at my friend.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yells. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"

I am too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I am too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover doesn't have pants on - and where his legs should be . . . where his legs should be . . .

Mom looks at me sternly and talks in a tone she'd never used before, and (Y/n) flinches: "Percy. Tell me now!"

I stammer something about the old ladies at the fruit stand and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stares at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.

She grabs her purse, tosses me and (Y/n) our rain jackets, and says, "Get the car. All three of you. Go!"

Grover runs for the Camero - but he isn't running, exactly. He is trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs makes sense to me. I understand how he can run so fast and still limp when he walks.

Because where his feet should be, there are no feet. There are cloven hooves.

Word Count: 3041 words

#percy jackson x sister reader #percy jackson and the olympians reader insert #female reader #fem reader #reader insert

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godessofbucky · 2 years

Text

Human Capacity Part 2

"And you are...?" Carline trailed off with and eyebrow raised

"I'm the-"

"Actually, don't answer that, I want it to be a surprise!" She interrupted, before turning to Dumbledore.

"That reminds me, my mum wanted to know if we could arrange something to where I could have my own night quarters, she doesn't think that I can keep to myself in the night..." She said sheepishly while bouncing back and forth slightly while looking down and picking at her nails.

"Well, that depends, do you think you can keep to yourself? I don't want your stay here to keep you from making friends, you'll need them in the future." Dumbledore say while he eyes Carline.

Her eyes buck wide open before snapping her head up.

"I don't think my sleeping space defines wether or not I get friends and are you sure you should be sidestepping my mother? It wouldn't end well." She responded, inspecting him with a slight squint all the while hoping that he'd agree with her mother, it would be so much simpler.

He stood up and walked to the front of his desk before taking a lean on it.

"Well, from what I know I am the headmaster here, but if you decide to abide by your mother's wishes, I would understand, I too experienced how... persuasive she can be." He lingered on as he looked from the top rim of his glasses.

The three of them stared at her for what seemed like hours as she began to muster up a sentence.

"I-I'd rather be alone, it's been a long trip and I don't want to wake anyone up, or else I'd really not make any friends." She tried to joke at the end, but the stern face of Dumbledore and the Greasy-haired teacher made her slouch within herself.

At the end, a house elf by the name of 'Floppy' led her to the portrait where it began to question her, but swung open at the sight of the house elf. She noted to herself 'Elves have an influence' as she was let upstairs to the girls corridor and turned a right before stopping at a wall.

"The entrance is right here madam Prittish." Floppy croaked as they passed her a key.

"Please don't call me that, Miss Carline is fine, and what entrance?" She questioned as the Floppy's eyes went wide.

"Floppy meant no disrespect, floppy will punish themselves now!" Floppy exclaimed as they took the key they had in their hand and started wacking their forehead with the big copper key.

"Please, please stop! Don't do that, you did nothing wrong!" Carline whisper-shouted as she kneeled to stop the abuse going any further.

"Floppy did a terrible thing, Floppy didn't mean to..." Floppy sadly said as the flopped to the ground with tears in their eyes.

"Now, now, if you didn't know why would it be your fault? You didn't know and I informed you, so you should understand now, okay?" She softly spoke as she took the key away from Floppy.

"Understand?" "I get it" Floppy responded as they wobbled back onto their feet.

"Good. Now, could you show me how I open the door please?" She said as she got back up, bending back slowly as her back ached.

"Yes Ma'am, you take the key, push it into the wall and twist it counterclockwise three times." Floppy explained.

"Okay, thank you, have a great night Floppy!" She happily whispered as Floppy waddled and cascaded downstairs, out of sight.

She follows the instructions as she takes the key and lets it sink into the wall, she watches in amazement as it sinks in just like her fork when she is eating pancakes, or actors in the theatre entertainments that sunk in the mysterious quicksand. She turned it three times counterclockwise and it felt like smooth butter before making up a door.

She took out the key and stepped inside, revealing her luggage and she stripped of her clothes and stepped inside of her shower, before scrubbing off the harsh thing that is her reality now, scrubbing so hard she didn't stop until she felt stinging and saw dots protruding from her copper alike reddish brown skin. The flesh making dots in the water and the scolding from her mother already in her head.

She sat down in the shower while the water bounced off her skin, as she thought of the times she spent with her father and how he betrayed her in one of the worst and selfish ways possible.

'It's okay to cry little girl, you know what you daddy did too, you know what your mama went through, you gotta let it out'

The tears barely made a mark as the steam and droplets fought them off off her face as she got up to finish washing off and the rest of her feelings for him as she left them in the drainer...

Or so she thought

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asyeralovelies · 3 years

Text

ICARUS - percy jackson x oc (chapter one)

word count: 3,909

trigger warnings: gory description (mrs dodds) , implied physical abuse

a/n: lmao i posted this on wattpad first (@/asyeralovely) so you guys can check it out there too. also on ao3, same user as my wattpad.

"My, my..." Dittany celeste murmured as she looked around Yancy Academy, a private school in upstate new york. Her satyr friend, Grover Underwood, and her mentor at Camp Half-Blood, Chiron, or tío as she liked to call him, had asked for someone to help in picking up a demigod in the school. Apparently, it was so hard to get the half-blood that they needed another one from camp.

Well, Dittany wasn't really "just another one at camp."

The dark haired girl had been left at camp borders when she was a mere one year old, the only information of her mother she had was that the woman's last name was "Celeste."

Honestly, she didn't know what to feel about the woman. Did she leave her there to train early at camp to learn to protect herself? Did her mother simply not want a child and left her there to fend for herself? The daughter of Hephaestus had no clue.

The only other long-timers at a young age in camp was Annabeth Chase, another friend of hers. The daughter of Athena had been there since she was seven.

Dittany snapped her fingers, willing the mist, a veil that covers up the Greek Myths world in mortal eyes, to make her seem like another student in Yancy Academy. She had learned that trick when she was ten, after six years of pestering her tío.

As she walked casually around the halls of the private school, her mind went through notes about the new demigod. His name was Percy Jackson, a boy with black hair and green eyes. He was in sixth grade and seemed to have attracted a very dangerous monster, because Grover had been panicking when he Iris-Messaged her about the situation.

Finally, the girl caught sight of a certain curly haired satyr talking to who she assumed to be Percy Jackson and stalked towards them. She snapped her fingers again, willing the mist to make it seem she was already friends with the two. Well, to Percy. Grover already knew her, without the mist.

The green eyed boy met her own dark eyes and he grinned as if they really did know each other, as if the scars on her face were a natural sight, and Dittany grinned back, acting her role.

"Hey, Perce," she said enthusiastically, using the first nickname that came to mind. She sent a subtle nod to Grover, who gave her a quick thumbs up. "You two having fun without me? After all we've been through!"

Percy rolled his eyes and smiled fondly at her. "Shut up, An. Grover was just saying something about being worried for the field trip tomorrow." He looked at her with a raised eye brow, like he was saying, "can you believe him?"

Dittany was a great actress. "What? You afraid our teacher's gonna turn into a monster and slash us to bits?" she asked Grover, mirth in her eyes. The satyr narrowed his own eyes at her, clearly too worried to laugh in amusement.

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm just.." he couldn't seem to find an excuse for his nerves.

"Just?" said Dittany amusedly.

"Whatever." he grumbled.

Dittany only smiled teasingly at him.

"I'm going to kill her," Percy mumbled. Nancy Bobofit, a red haired girl with kleptomania and freckles that seemed spray painted with crushed Cheetos, had been throwing wads of her sandwich into Grover's curly brown hair.

Dittany knew Percy wouldn't do that, because according to Grover, the demigod was on probation and had been threatened by the headmaster himself with death by in-school suspension if anything remotely strange happened.

See, from what she had gathered with observations in one day, the boy had ADHD and dyslexia, like most demigods. Dittany didn't have dyslexia, meaning she could read perfectly fine, but she could still read Greek. In truth, she didn't know how that worked, but she didn't question it.

"It's okay. I like peanut butter." Grover said. Being thrown at your hair, Dittany mused. Hope you're not serious.

Grover dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.

"That's it." Percy snapped, standing up, but Dittany pulled him down by his shirt.

"You're already on probation, Mr Jackson," the girl air quoted the last part. "Anything remotely shitty happens and you're out of here." then she smirked. "Wouldn't want to leave your two best friends in the whole world, would you?"

That shut him up.

When Dittany willed the mist, she made it so Percy thought she had been here since day one and only had Grover for a friend. The daughter of the forges had noticed that the only things keeping Percy from straight up leaving was because of his friends who would be all alone without him and his mom who would be disappointed that he just gave up.

Sally Jackson was a nice woman, from last night when Dittany had Iris-Messaged her. She informed the mother that she was also going to keep watch on Percy, since the situation was getting desperate with the really powerful monster. But Dittany had assured her things would be fine when Sally started panicking about the statement.

But today, Dittany's senses were on high alert.

She knew immediately that Mrs Dodds, the other chaperone for the field trip, was their monster. From the way her eyes had widened when she caught sight of Dittany, who had not been there before, and seeing the students just pass by her like she had been there all along. From the way the monster had glared at her, like she was silently asking, "how dare you interfere!?"

She had glared back at the woman. The students saw it as "what're you gonna do about it?" because in their mist memories, the dark haired girl liked to stir trouble. The "what're you gonna do about it?" glare really meant that she was challenging the monster.

Ever since Dittany had left for a quest with Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes and a mutual friend with Annabeth, about two years ago, the twelve years old wasn't so terrified of monsters. Well, she never was, really, but she got to see the real world. She knew what it was like to fight monsters in life or death situations and not just for practice.

She remembered the days very well.

Luke had been offered a quest by his father. Well, not personally, but according to tío, Hermes wanted Luke to go to the garden of the Hesperides and get a golden apple like Heracles had once done.

Luke immediately took it, consulting the oracle.

He had went back down the attic ladder looking confused. He had said the oracle required him to bring only one other person along with him.

The Hermes boy had asked Dittany because she was the most skilled person in combat at camp, partly because of staying the longest there and partly because she trained relentlessly to spite her unknown mother for leaving her at the borders by herself.

They had travelled to San Francisco together, stopping every once and a while for take out food or fighting monsters.

When they were outside the garden, just about to enter, Luke had told her the prophecy.

SEEK THE LAND WHERE THE GREEKS ARE FORBIDDEN,

FOLLOW THE TRAIL OF THE HERO OF TWELVE LABORS,

ENTER THE ONCE SO BEAUTIFUL GARDEN,

FAIL TO PROCEED WHAT SHOULD BE DONE BY SCAR'S FORCE,

TAKE ONE COMPANION OR YOU'RE DOOMED FOR DEATH,

A DISTRACTION, AN ILLUSION, WILL FALL FOR THE THEFT

TAKE A CHANCE WITH FATE IN A HERO'S TRUE END

THE GAMBLE OF HERMES, A GAME OF PRETEND

Unlike Luke, Dittany caught a meaning to it. Well, the first part, at least. The demigods were never allowed in San Francisco unless for a quest because, apparently, it's where they're most likely to get killed off. They were doing one of the labors of Heracles. They were about to enter the garden of the Hesperides.

She didn't understand anything from the second part except that Luke needed one companion or he'd die and Hermes apparently had a gamble going on.

When they entered the garden, at first, Dittany didn't understand why it was only "once beautiful." It was mesmerizing, reminding her of those religious bible stories about the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve used to live before their sin. But the longer they looked around, she felt like a part of the place was missing. Like a song cover with missing lyrics. It could still be beautiful, but it just wasn't right without those missing parts.

Then they approached the hundred headed dragon, Luke warning her to stay put before he called signal so they could both have a role. Luke would distract while Dittany would go for the apple.

The whole time with the ordeal, Dittany felt like she was being watched.

In the end, Luke ended up with a scar running from above his eyebrow down to his jaw. Dittany had to step in the distraction to save him from the dragon's other claws that were going for a second strike and got Dittany's face and shoulder instead. It looked like three knife slashes on her face going diagonally and a scar from her shoulder to the small of her back.

They failed to steal a golden apple, but Dittany felt like they were meant to fail.

They came back with heavy injuries because of going back to camp and facing more monsters while they were already scarred. From then on tío banned quests, not wanting anymore heavy injuries.

Luke had felt like he ruined chances for everyone, but Dittany assured him that he didn't. She told him she should have kept with the plan because Luke could protect himself, but then Luke told her that he would have died without her.

Luke told her he also felt like his father was making fun of him for thinking he could do it, and Dittany silently agreed. But she didn't voice out her thoughts. She just hugged him and told him that one day, someone would clear for the camp and quests would be allowed again. Someday, things would get better.

But both Luke Castellan and Dittany Celeste knew that things only ever get worse for demigods.

Annabeth had taken it to herself to cheer up both of them, saying corny jokes that were so bad they were funny and reading random facts about architecture to distract them.

In the present, Dittany found herself smiling sadly. Luke was better now, and so was she, but sometimes the girl would find the sandy haired boy looking grim and trying to stop the tears.

She knew the boy wanted to make his father proud, prove that he was a hero, but instead he had failed. Dittany would walk up to him, sit on the seat next to him and make his head fall to her lap so that he could cry. She would never ask, because she already knew. She didn't whisper comforting words, because someone's presence and knowing they're there for you was enough.

Sometimes Annabeth would join them and would just tell silly stories where she describes the places in the story.

They would pretend they were a normal mortal family where Luke was their father who was overwhelmed with work and needed comfort and Annabeth would be the one to tell him about her day while Dittany made snacks. A normal, happy mortal family.

Dittany found herself following Mr Brunner— aka Chiron or tío— as he led the museum tour. Tío already knew she was there, and he played his part of acting like she always had been.

He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding the class through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.

It blew Dittany's mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand to three thousand years. What, with the gods' tempers and tendencies to destroy things? Wow.

He gathered them around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling them how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about their age. He told them about the carvings on the sides.

Dittany noticed Percy was trying to listen to what he had to say— she didn't really need to now— because it was kind of interesting for him, but everybody around was talking, and every time he told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs Dodds, would give him the evil eye.

Dittany would back him up discreetly by smirking at Mrs Dodds and playing with her sword's hilt that stuck out of her sheath, right at her waist, and was disguised as some chain belt in the mist. But the monster saw right through that mist and only settled for keeping away from her while keeping eyes on her weapon and on Percy.

Tío kept talking about Greek funeral art.

Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and before Dittany or Grover could stop him, Percy whirled around to face the redhead and said, "Will you shut up?"

Dittany had a feeling he had said that louder than he meant to. She silently watched him in pity as his face reddened from his own realization.

The group of kids laughed, tío stopped his story.

"Mr Jackson," he said, effectively adding more attention to the embarrassed boy, and making Dittany want to face palm at the centaur. "did you have a comment?"

"No, sir." Percy said, looking down to hide his face.

"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"

Damn it, tío, Dittany thought, but her lips were pursed.

Percy looked up with a face of recognition. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?" he said with uncertainty. Dittany looked away and curled her lip in disgust, remembering about reading the "myth."

"Yes," Chiron said, not sounding very impressed. The Celeste girl rolled her eyes. "And he did this because. . ."

"Well, Kronos was the king god and— " Dittany turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised, forgetting that he still didn't know he was a demigod yet and didn't think the Greek Myths were worth the read.

He caught her gaze and cleared his throat. "Titan. Titan.. Lord." he corrected himself.

Dittany nodded, looking away again.

He continued, "And... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"

"Eww!" said one of the girls behind Percy and Dittany, making the latter roll her eyes and smirk. She, too, was disgusted when she first read the story, but then she joked around about it just to annoy campers.

"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," Percy continued, "and the gods won."

Some snickers from the group.

Behind them, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"And why, Mr Jackson," tío said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"Busted," Grover and Dittany snickered.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair. Grover only smirked and looked away and Dittany stuck her tongue out childishly.

At least Nancy got packed, too. Tío was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.

Percy thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Chiron looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.

Grover, Dittany and Percy were about to follow when Chiron said, "Mr Jackson."

Dittany internally face palmed, having been used to her tío's dramatic tendencies.

Meanwhile, Percy knew that was coming.

Dittany turned to Chiron with an are-you-fucking-serious-right-now look before heading outside with Grover.

When they reached the fountain, they started talking.

"Ten drachmas that tío'll be ominous again and confuse Percy," Dittany immediately said. Grover replied, "Twelve that he actually gives him a clue."

The scarred girl rolled her eyes, muttering with a smirk, "Yeah, right."

They sat in silence after that, waiting for the boy in question to come outside.

Dittany zoned out, staring at the water. She realized she looked like a stereotypical skater girl with a grey sleeved shirt under a black tee. Her ripped denim jeans were just a quick in-the-moment choice that Silena Beauregard, a close friend and her older half-brother's crush, would have not approved of. The sapphire eyed teen would have chosen black jeans to match the "aesthetic" or whatever the hell it was. Dittany just wanted something to wear.

The she caught sight of Percy approaching her and Grover. He sat down between them with a brooding look.

"Detention?" Grover asked.

"Nah," Percy said, but he still looked grim. "Not from Brunner. I just wished he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean— I'm not a genius."

Grover didn't say anything for a while, and when he opened his mouth, Percy thought the boy was going to give some deep philosophical comment to make him feel better, but instead he said, "Can I have your apple?"

The raven haired boy didn't have much of an appetite, so he let him take it.

Dittany saw Percy look to the road with a longing expression, and she did, too. But her reason was the want to get hit by a car, feeling restless at just sitting. At least she'd have a reason to be still. She was hit by a moving vehicle! Of course she can't move right now!

As she mused the thought, Nancy Bobofit was suddenly in front of them, or maybe the Celeste girl just didn't notice the redhead approaching.

The bitch had the audacity to dump her lunch in Grover's lap, and Dittany felt her hands prick and warm up, like a flame about to ignite, but she quickly calmed herself. No one knew about that power. She wasn't going to let the secret out anytime soon.

Percy wasn't so calm.

Dittany swore the fountain's water had suddenly lurched forward, grabbed Nancy, and pulled her in the fountain.

Poseidon, Dittany thought immediately. You three gonna do this in order, she silently asked the three gods, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Thunder rumbled and the earth slightly shook beneath her feet. She rolled her eyes.

She was referring to Thalia Grace being the first child of a broken oath, and Percy now being the second. All she had to do was wait for a Hades child and it'd be a complete set. Thunder rumbled again, and the earth shook, but specifically only under her.

How terrifying, she thought sarcastically.

She was splashed by the fountain's water in the back, but her clothes were quickly made dry so Poseidon seemed innocent. She discreetly flipped off the god.

With her interactions with the three gods, she had missed Mrs Dodds taking Percy away and Grover looking at her with an exasperated look, like he knew exactly what she was doing.

When the brunette finally noticed that Percy Jackson, apparently the son of Poseidon, was gone, she looked to Grover with an eyebrow raised. He only shook his head worriedly.

She stood up and ran to her tío who was watching the museum doors worriedly. He took out a pen and looked ready to follow inside when he spotted Dittany.

Chiron handed her the pen and nodded, emphasizing she could get there quicker.

Dittany took it and ran up to the entrance, swinging the doors open and just in time as Mrs Dodds was ready to slash Percy to bits.

A fury!?, she thought furiously, hopefully sending her thoughts to the god of the underworld. How petty can you get, Hades?, she huffed.

"Percy, catch!" she yelled and tossed the pen in the air, the said boy whipping around to meet her dark eyes and catching the pen, watching it turn into a double edged celestial bronze sword.

Dittany would have taken out her own weapon to help, since a fury wasn't usually killed at first try, if Percy hadn't immediately sliced through the monster.

The girl's eyes widened but she didn't stay, immediately running out. She had a feeling Chiron would want Percy to think it was all just an illusion, so she immediately went back to the fountain with Grover, sending a quick thumbs up to her mentor.

She took the face towel Grover offered to dry her sweat, partly from running and partly from seeing the fury.

She sent a look to her tío, silently asking him if she should will the mist again to make up some new teacher, but he shook his head. He had it handled.

A few moments later, Percy came out of the museum looking dazed. It had already started raining, and Dittany was soaking while Grover hogged the only cover.

Percy said something to Nancy, and the girl looked at him like he was mad before scoffing and walking away. Then he walked over to Dittany and Grover.

"An," he immediately looked to Dittany. "Where's Mrs Dodds?" He wanted to know if this was a dream or not.

As was said earlier, Dittany was a great actress.

"Perce," she said slowly, emphasizing that she was trying to see signs if he was going insane. "Who the hell is that?"

Percy looked desperate.

"Mrs Dodds!" he exclaimed. "Our pre-algebra teacher!"

Dittany looked at him in concern. "Percy," she started. "We never had a teacher named Mrs Dodds."

Percy looked to Grover.

The raven haired boy would have believed it was all an illusion if Grover hadn't looked around nervously, like preparing to make an excuse, and said, "She's right, Perce. Are you okay?" in the most unconvincing voice ever.

Dittany mentally face palmed.

Percy looked to Dittany. "But.. You gave me the pen, only it wasn't a pen, it was a sword, and—" he raised his hand, which was holding a normal ball point pen. He looked at it with wide eyes suddenly, like it wasn't a pen the previous moment.

Dittany let her eyes widen, too, but to say, "Hey! That's mine!" in a playfully accusing tone. "Well, I only borrowed it from Mr Brunner.. But still!"

She snatched the pen from him, but the boy was still in shock.

The dark eyed girl ran to Chiron, quickly giving him the pen. She glanced back at Percy who looked to be in a crisis.

"What monster?" her tío silently asked.

"Kindly one." Dittany said simply.

Chiron heaved a breath and the demigod only shrugged.

"Could be worse, honestly."

And... she jinxed it.

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howlingday · 4 years

Text

REAPING OF ATLAS 2/3

RWBY Characters Are Created And Owned By Rooster Teeth And Monty Oum.

Team REAPS And All Original Characters In It's Universe Are Created And Owned By @dark-chocolate-fudge-sweetracer

"Are you sure they're okay? Acacia may have recovered physically, but emotionally and mentally-"

"They're fine, Professor Goodwitch," Arishna said in an irritable tone, "I know you love those kids, but I honestly think you're spoiling them too much. If you need someone to spoil-"

"Enough!" Glynda barked. Arishna loved it when she got stern and professional. It made her feel... What's the word? "I will not put those children into harm's way while they are still recovering. As for you, I suggest you take a cold shower every morning if you're going to be speaking so casually on the phone while in Atlas Academy. James may be strict, but he's even more so with inappropriate behavior under his guidance."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. It might be fun."

"Arishna..."

"Glynda, listen, if something does happen to those kids, you will be the first to hear it from me. I promise." A sigh on the other end was all Glynda could muster. "I love you."

"...I love you, too, Arishna. And if you need to tell someone before me, I understand. But I refuse to hear it from anyone else. Good day, Professor Dawn."

"And good night, Glynda." Arishna blew a kiss into the screen and hung up. She then heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm really sorry, Glyndie."

Arishna dialed another number into her scroll, and when it was answered, she spoke first. "Hey, it's me."

Prism took a deep breath as she entered the arena. It reminded her of Beacon, but with a few slight differences. Instead of Professor Goodwitch monitoring the sparring matches, it was a tall cyborg with a beard. Instead of numerous random classmates in the bleachers, it was her friends. Instead of Yang Xiao Long taunting and teasing her as she stood at side of the arena, it was an excessively boasting dog-faunus.

"Feel free to drop out at any time. I know I can be a handful from what my opponents tell me." Martow gloated with a sneer.

"What? The training dummies?" Marrow growled at her remark. Okay, scratch that. This will be the exact same as fighting Xiao Long.

"Are you ready?" Headmaster Ironwood called from above. When he saw neither competitor raise their hand, he nodded. "Begin!"

Marrow made the first move, throwing his boomerang, Fetch, at Prism. Prism reached into her bag and pulled out a few spheres. Once she had them in hand, she summoned a hardlight shield with her free hand. The boomerang bounced back into Marrow's hands, but the specialist had already closed the gap. He began swinging Fetch at the barrier, hoping his sword could cut through.

Prism ran around the barrier and threw a sphere at Marrow. Marrow blocked the ball with Fetch, but found himself soaked in water.

"What? Did you think it was a stink-bomb?" Prism asked. "How childish do you think I am?"

Marrow responded by shifting Fetch into a rifle and began firing on Prism. She dove to the side, summoning a hardlight barrier, then rolled another sphere towards Marrow. The specialist jumped away as it rolled towards him, and blasted it with Fetch. He then gripped his nose at the foul odor exploding from the globe.

"Yeah, that's right! I do have a stink-bomb!" Prism gloated as she closed the gap between them. She began swinging at him with her chakram, and he was forced to go on the defensive with Fetch in it's rifle form, as he needed both hands to shift it into a boomerang and one hand was preoccupied covering his nose.

Marrow kicked Prism away and pointed at her with Fetch. "Stay!"

Prism was stuck in place as Marrow lowered his weapon and walked over and snatched the remaining orb from her hand. "Too bad, kid! I warned you guys I was on another level, but you didn't listen." He tossed the ball into the air and caught it. "You got some fancy tech, but it won't always save you. Maybe if spent less time hiding behind these toys, you might learn that-!"

"Unidentified print has been detected and scanned for 1-0 seconds."

Marrow looked around confused. "Who said that?"

"Initiating self-destruct sequence of cryo-core."

The little orb in Marrow's palm hissed as it released a super cold gas into the air, freezing itself to his palm. As Marrow shook it around, Prism slowly regained her movement. His clothes, soaked from the splash of her first device, iced over until he was trapped in his own clothing.

Prism reached over and pressed a finger to the globe. "Prometheus." The gas ceased and the orb shut itself once more.

"Self-destruct sequence deactivated."

"Next time," Prism reeled back and allowed her gauntlet to build up power, "don't touch my things!" She launched her fist forward and punched Marrow in his mouth. The dog was sent crashing to the ground.

Headmaster Ironwood raised his hand. "I've seen enough. I declare Prism Asagiri the victor in this bout. However, don't let Marrow's advice fall on deaf ears. You may one day find yourself in a position where your technology may fail you."

"Says the guy whose pet Paladin almost killed us." Prism scoffed and muttered under her breath.

"And Marrow, once again, your boastful attitude and underestimation of your opponent led to your loss in this round. Perhaps I should have Specialist Bree take you under her wing in how a specialist should act?"

"Damn it, Wags!" Harriet cursed, "Once again, you lost and I have to pay for it!"

Prism climbed the steps and found her seat next to Acacia. As Sandy passed her on her way down, they high-fived and Prism wished her good luck. Prism decided now was a good time to gloat.

"Did you see my babies and I out there? We kicked some serious butt!"

A chuckle behind her caught her off-guard. Specialist Bree sat behind her with her arms crossed. "Don't get so cocky, kid. Marrow may be a specialist, but he only just joined us. He's more bark than bite. Honestly, I should be thanking you for knocking him down a peg. He's been getting too big for his britches, if you ask me."

"And if you ask me, you should treat your teammates with a little more respect." Elm scolded. "Especially someone more junior than yourself!"

"Besides, if I remember correctly, there was a rather skittish Harriet Bree once who was so excited for her first day, she forgot to wear pants to her briefing!" Clover laughed with Elm as Harriet blushed and avoided looking at her teammates. "But enough about that. Besides, it looks like Vine's match is about to begin.

Vine stood perfectly still with his eyes closed and his palms touching in meditation. Sandy didn't know how to wake him up, or whatever it is you do to get someone out of meditation. Was he waiting for Ironwood? What was she supposed to do?

"So-"

"You are quick to act and quite impatient." Sandy nearly jumped as her opponent finally spoke. "The outcome of a battle can be determined by only the first move. If you move first, you declare your strategy to your opponent, making it easy to counter. But if you choose to counter, your opponent may be too fast for you to react."

"Uh, I guess." Sandy replied. Did he want to chat before the fight started? Why?

"And what do you think will happen if you win?"

"Well, I guess I just go back to my seat and wait for everyone to be done."

"What if that's not the case? What if you only manage to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? What if you must be sent to the medical wing?" When Sandy had no answer, Vine continued. "Tell me," Vine offered his hand as he spoke, "what is the purpose of Huntsmen and Huntresses?"

"Uh, to kill Grimm, right?"

"Why is that?"

"Uh, well, if we don't, the Grimm will kill everyone and destroy everything."

"And if we kill the Grimm, and eradicate them for good, what then?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we no longer Huntsmen? Do we disband now that the threat of Grimm is eradicated?"

"Well, no-" Sandy paused. "I mean-" She paused again. As she pondered, Vine turned around and walked back up the steps. "Hey!" Sandy chased after him. "Where are you going?!"

"I see no reason for us to fight." Vine explained. "Therefore, I forfeit."

"But-"

"Vine Zeki has forfeited the match. Therefore, Sandy Mithril is the victor!" Headmaster Ironwood boomed from above. "All contestants, please return to your seats!"

Sandy was left standing dumbstruck, then slunked her way back up to her seat, where she slumped into her chair.

"Hey, you okay?" Reizo asked. No response.

"Look on the bright side," Echidna smiled, "at least you won without breaking a sweat!" Unfortunately, her words of encouragement only yielded a groan of disapproval.

"Don't beat yourself up, kid." Elm said "Vine isn't the kind of guy to fight for the sake of fighting. He'd rather talk things out than duke it out." Her gaze shifted from Sandy to Acacia. "Don't go thinking I'm the same, though. You'll actually be giving it your all against me!" She then made her way down the stairs toward the arena.

Acacia gulped.

Acacia made her way down the steps to the arena. She stopped on the final step and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "You're gonna be fine," she told herself, "it's just a practice round. They just want to see where you are in your training. It's not going to be like last time with the Paladin." After one last calming breath, Acacia stepped into the arena.

"There you are!" Elm exclaimed. "I was worried you got cold feet. You good to fight?"

Acacia gave a cocky smile as she scoffed. "You kidding? I'm good as good gets!"

Elm smiled at that. "That's great to hear! Now let's see you back it up!"

"Are you ready?" General Ironwood called from above.

"Always ready, sir!" Elm called back, tightening her grip on Timber.

"Then let us..." General Ironwood kept the long pause for dramatic effect, then exclaimed, "Begin!"

Acacia rushed forward with her tonfas and swung at Elm, who blocked with Timber's shaft. Acacia swung three more times, then ducked and weaved to Elm's side, getting in a good few hits, before jumping back to avoid a retaliating swing.

Acacia jumped forward to continue her assault, but Elm was dodging this time, instead of blocking. Was she trying to put space between them? Acacia didn't let up on her swings, but was so focused on Elm's front that she wasn't paying attention to behind her, as Elm moved Timber to her other hand behind her back. Elm swung low and tripped Acacia, causing her to fall on her back.

Acacia was a little dazed, but still too slow to recover. Elm planted a boot on Acacia's stomach and used Roots to pin her down. Elm shifted Timber to it's rocket launcher mode and pointed down at the trapped girl. She'd probably struggle a little before giving up and calling the match.

But she didn't.

When Elm looked down, she was shocked by what she saw. Acacia was struggling, yes, but less like, "Oh no, I'm pinned," and more like a rabbit caught in a rope trap. Acacia was scrambling, tears flowing out of her eyes and down her cheeks like a river. She began punching Elm's as hard as she could, grunting in desperation. She was helpless.

"Hey, kid?" Acacia looked up to see her opponent wearing a look of concern on her face. "You good?"

Acacia calmed down a little bit, realizing the boot wasn't as heavy as the Paladin's. Her breathing became less rapid, and finally gave a calming breath. She then chuckled. "I guess I lose, huh?"

Elm chuckled with her. "Yeah, I guess so!" Elm removed Roots and stepped off of Acacia and offered her a hand. "You wanna try again?"

Acacia sighed. "No. Not yet." She walked back towards the steps, up to her seat. "You win."

"Acacia Evergreen has forfeited the match! The victor is Elm Ederne!" General Ironwood roared from above. "Both contestants, please return to your seats."

Acacia sighed as she sat next to Prism. That was disappointing. Nothing quite like a panic attack during a sparring match to kill your shot at graduating early.

"Hey, you okay?" Acacia opened her eyes to see her entire team swarmed around her. Echidna was holding her left hand, while Prism held her right, with Sandy standing in front of her and Reizo kneeling next to her. Acacia's face flushed at all this attention she was getting.

"Uh, I-!"

"Children, please! Give Acacia some space!" Everyone stepped away as Reizo's mother glared at her new students. Acacia shivered. She hadn't seen a glare like hers since Professor Goodwitch. This professor, however, softened her expression to one fitting for a mother such as hers as she spoke gently. "Are you okay, dear?"

"Uh, yeah, I just-"

"Oh, will you quit coddling them!" Acacia almost got whiplash after turning her head so quickly. Specialist Ederne sat down next to Acacia where Echidna once was. When did that happen? "The kid's fine; just had a little scare, that's all. Right, kid?" She finished with a wink towards her.

"Yeah, I'm, uh... I'm good."

"See? She's fine. Besides, if she wasn't, Vine would be more than happy to do some meditating with her after her classes. Ain't that right, Vine?" Vine wasn't paying attention. In fact, he looked like he was meditating just so he didn't have to respond. "See?"

Acacia cleared her throat. "Yeah. I'll, uh, I'll hold you guys to it."

"Great! Now it's time for Harriet's match! You're gonna love this. She might be the most hot-headed, but she's also the most talented of us, too." Specialist Ederne leaned down to whisper. "Uh, but don't tell her I said that."

Echidna and Harriet made it to their places in the arena at the same time. They didn't take their eyes off of each other once they saw their opponent at the bottom of their stairs.

"Feel free to drop out at any time, princess." Specialist Bree teased. Echidna knew her foe wouldn't hold anything back, so neither should she. "I can tell you're scared. I bet your heart is thumping in that dainty little chest of yours."

Echidna scoffed at the claim. Talking back to her would just distract her. She simply took her stance with her staff in front of her.

"Not gonna talk, huh? Alright! I can respect that." Specialist Bree donned Fast Knuckles and took a boxing stance, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I'm ready when you are!"

Ironwood waited a moment, seeing the combatants were already taking stances. "Begin!"

Specialist Bree launched herself at Echidna, and kicked at her staff. Echidna gripped her staff tightly and used the force of the kick to spin herself, using her momentum to swing her staff as she spun and attempted to strike her opponent's head. Specialist Bree ducked with a cocky smirk, however, and swung her legs out to catch Echidna in the legs. Echidna jumped, however, with a cocky smirk of her own, as a wave of water crashed into Specialist Bree, sending her rolling along the floor.

"Where the hell-?!" Specialist Bree saw Echidna removing her gloves to reveal fins.

"I can use my aura to create water and manipulate it." Echidna explained as water rolled off her fins in small droplets. "I was waiting for a chance to show this off to my team before starting school, so I guess now is as good a time as any." Echidna then put her hand up to her lips. "Oh! But I'm getting ahead of myself! Do you need a towel?"

Specialist Bree growled and punched the floor, cracking it a little. "No, but you're gonna need an ice pack when I'm done with you!"

Echidna split her staff in two as she readied herself for another frontal assault. She must have blinked because Specialist Bree was suddenly gone!

"Heads up, kid!" Echidna jumped back and looked up as Specialist Bree came down like a comet, shattering the flooring of the arena. But there was no time for her to rest as Specialist Bree disappeared again. A blur out of the corner of her left eye forced her to spin to left, just in time to catch Specialist Bree launching at her again. Echidna tried to dodge, but was caught in the shoulder by a foot from the specialist. This victory for the specialist was short lived as Echidna was able to grip her ankle with a claw from one end on her baton.

Echidna yanked on the chain attached and forced Specialist Bree to the ground with a splash. She looked around and noticed the space they were fighting in had become a large puddle of water. Echidna held out her hands in front of her and flattened her palms upwards, then slowly raised her hands up.

Specialist Bree kicked her leg back, but found there was enough slack in the chain to not bother Echidna. "Damn it!"

"Enough!" Ironwood barked from above. "Harriet Bree is the victor of this bout." With those words, Echidna gasped as she fell to her knees. "I feel I don't need to explain the importance of aura conservation, do I, Miss Bluewaters?" Echidna breathed heavily, feeling drained from her trick. Her plan was sound, she thought, but she had no idea how much aura it required.

"Hey, you need a hand?" Echidna looked up to see Specialist Bree offering her hand. She took it, but found it uneasy to stand. "Woah! Easy now!" Specialist Bree moved Echidna's hand over her shoulders as they walked up the steps. "Not bad, kid! But try not to burn yourself out next time."

Echidna sighed. "Thanks."

Echidna yawned as she settled into her seat. She hadn't expended that much aura since that Beringel mission. She looked to her left and saw Reizo's mother watching the arena with intensity. It made sense to Echidna, since her son (currently daughter) was now up to bat. Reizo was their leader, and for good reason as she understood. He wasn't as smart as Prism, nor as spirited as Sandy, or as tough as Acacia, and certainly wasn't as socially graceful as herself, but Reizo had something that made him different from the others.

"Up next is Clover. Ten Lien says the kid won't last a minute!" Specialist Amin boasted.

"I'll take you on that bet!" Specialist Bree exclaimed. "No way Clover will lose against someone so green!"

"50 Lien that the kid makes it to 10 minutes." Specialist Ederne pitched in.

"I'm certain Clover wouldn't approve of wanton gambling." Specialist Zeku opined.

"Come on, Reizo," Echidna wearily thought as she closed her eyes, "prove them wrong."

"It's not too late to back out, you know." Specialist Ebi reasoned. "We can just have you start all over again. There's no shame in going back to square one."

"Will my friends be with me?" Reizo asked as she gripped her katana's pommel.

"Well, we can't guarantee anything. I've seen at least one of them ready for the next level."

"Then my answer is no." Reizo drew her sword from it's sheath. "It's either all of us, or none of us."

"Okay, but I tried." Specialist Ebi submitted with a shrug. He then waved to above them. "Hey, we're ready down here!"

General Ironwood nodded. "Then let the final battle begin!"

Reizo wasted no time as she charged with her blade up and at her side. She swung with one hand, but missed entirely as Specialist Ebi leaned back. Reizo recovered by swinging back the other way at a diagonal angle, but the specialist leader simply stepped back. Reizo decided on a new approach and thrusted her katana into her opponent.

Her mother gasped at the direct hit to his chest. Reizo pressed forward and pushed him back. Specialist Ebi laughed as he flicked his badge.

"Not bad, kid," he exclaimed, "if I weren't so lucky, I'd have to get an early retirement!" He then reached for his weapon at his side. "But now that I know you're going for the kill," Specialist Ebi extended Kingfisher, "I don't need to hold back, do I?"

Reizo began her charge again, but the specialist leader launched the hook from Kingfisher out and snagged her sleeve. He reeled in the hook with a tug, forcing Reizo into a spin. After steadying herself, Reizo looked forward in time to see Specialist Ebi throwing a punch at her. She twisted her body to avoid him and swung up at his exposed arm, but Kingfisher's rod had caught the blow and knocked the sword to the side.

'Time for a new plan.' Reizo thought as she sheathed her katana, inserting a lightning and a fire dust coin into the blade's coin slots before it was fully in. She then attempted to goad her opponent closer with a taunting of her free hand. He just smiled and obliged by walking forward, unafraid of her. When he was within feet of her, Reizo drew her blade as quickly as she could, catching Kingfisher in her path. Flames roared and electricity crackled as she pressed forward into her foe. Specialist Ebi simply pushed her back and tugged on his reel. Was it upside down?

Reizo was sent to the ground on her back. She tried to get up, but the specialist leader was already on top of her, with a boot on her wrist and forcing her to let go of her katana.

"You done?" Specialist Ebi asked. Reizo blew her hair out of her face.

"Yeah. I'm done."

"You have all performed admirably. You have proven that your skills have not diminished since the Fall." Ironwood paced before the students with the Ace-Ops standing behind him. "However, it should be noted that you all still have a ways to go before you can become fully licensed Huntsmen. As such, I have decided, if you will allow me, to enroll all of you into Atlas Academy as third year students."

The five glanced at each other, each taking their time to silently judge the expressions of the other. Once Reizo recieved a nod from the other girls, she stood up and cleared her throat. "All of us, headmaster?"

"Yes." Ironwood answered immediately. "I feel you children have more that proved yourselves beyond the capabilities of first year students of Beacon, and with only one more year of proper education, I see no issue with you five becoming Huntsmen."

Reizo looked back to her team, whom all smiled back at her. Reizo nodded and faced the Headmaster once more. "Yes, Headmaster Ironwood. We'll do you proud!"

"Excellent!" Ironwood smiled. "Then allow me to once again welcome you to Atlas." He then turned to speak with Reizo's mother. "Professor Yamato. If you would be so kind, please escort our new students to their dorms."

"Of course, Headmaster." Reizo's mother extended her arm towards the exit as she spoke to her new students. "If you will follow me, I will escort you to your dorm rooms, where you can all get settled in."

Ironwood smiled as he watched his new students leave, taking their first steps towards serving their community, and making humanity better as a whole. A buzz on his scroll interrupted his thoughts. He reached down and looked at the screen, sighing as he read the contact. What did Cordovin want this time?

"Ah! Sweet comfort!" Prism sighed as she sunk into the bliss of her new mattress, sighing contentedly after a three hour "detour" to the dorm room, in which Reizo's mother took the liberty of explaining not only the hundreds of different rooms and their uses, but the history of Atlas Academy as well. This heaven was interrupted by Echidna grabbing her leg.

"Hey! We were going to vote on who slept in what bed!"

"And I vote for this bed. All in favor? Aye! All oppose?"

"Nay!" Echidna shouted.

"The motion remains unchanged. It's my bed." Prism heaved a sigh of delight. "I love democracy."

As the two argued, Acacia and Sandy looked over the new uniforms, already in their closets. Acacia felt the interior, the wool scratching against her palm, and then the surface, which felt like cotton. Acacia smiled, glad to know Atlas was mindful of both it's freezing temperatures and high altitude, neither of which made the pit viper poltergeist feel comfortable. Damn her reptilian traits!

"Ugh! Do they only have steel gray?" Sandy complained. "At least Beacon's uniforms had style."

"I'm sure they have smoke gray in stock if you'd like," Acacia joked, "or if you'd prefer, I'm sure they can get you a very, very, very light black, or a very, very, very, very, very, very dark white." Sandy and Acacia giggled at the jest.

Reizo steeped out of the bathroom, wearing a towel around her torso. She stood for a moment, watching her team. Prism was annoying Echidna, Acacia and Sandy were laughing and making jokes, and she felt left out. It really was just like Beacon.

Reizo walked to her bag, which she assumed were brought up by Atlas staff while she was fighting for the amusement of her new, stoic overlord. She hummed in thought as she got dressed. Third year students, but not graduates?

Was he not entertained?

A knock on the door broke her thoughts. "Just a second!" Reizo called as she put on her new uniform. Wool? What kind of sadist makes a scratchy wool uniform?!

Another knock followed. Once Reizo was dressed, Acacia answered the door, as she was the closest. Behind the door was Professor Yamato stood in the doorway, smiling and waving.

"Good afternoon, everyone! I hope you have all settled in now." The in-fighting over one of the bunks informed her of the contrary. "Ah, I see. Is there a problem I can resolve?"

Before Reizo could speak, a new, yet familiar voice spoke on her behalf.

"Ah, it's fine, Mrs. Y! These kids are just that close, y'know?" The infighting stopped as all five students rushed into the hallway to meet the voice of their former professor, Arishna Dawn. "Yo! Remember me?"

"It's Professor Goodwitch's girlfriend!" Sandy cried. An icy chill ran through Professor Dawn as her fellow professor gave her a wary glance.

"Oh, really?" Professor Mom inquired. "So you had faculty romantically involved with one another at Beacon, eh?"

"Well, I mean, it started before-"

"No, she was a Teacher's Assistant when we started." Echidna explained. "She only became a professor just before the Vytal Festival."

"Oh, so not only was it a romantic relationship, but a case of fraternization as well?" Professor Dawn scrambled for an explanation as she squirmed in place under the judging eyes of her superior. "My, my! The things Beacon got away with when I'm not watching."

"No, you got it all wrong!" Professor Dawn shouted with eyes shut. It became silent. That wasn't a good sign. She opened an eye and was petrified by the steely gaze of her senior.

"Oh? Then please, do explain how your relationship with a supervisory faculty member began."

"Well,not now, here, in front of the students!" Professor Dawn excused.

"Very well." Professor Dawn sighed in relief at her senior's decision. "Students, please excuse us. I must speak with Professor Dawn in private. Reizo, I expect to see your team in class at 7 AM tomorrow!"

"Yes, mom! Er, I mean, Ma'am!"

"Just Professor is fine." She then turned and walked away, dragging Professor Dawn by the collar. "Now, about this fraternization..."

"Help me!" Professor Dawn cried.

Reizo almost felt bad for her. Almost, but not enough to save her from her mother.

A week had passed for Team REAPS much like Beacon. The first two days crawled, but by the third day, they finally got the hang of it. The fourth day couldn't have ended fast enough because it was Friday.

Prism practically blasted from one class to the other like she was shot out of a cannon (and in one class, she did), and she inhaled her lunch. Literally. She had a vacuum device connected between her mouth and her plate, and she had the blades pull her food into them and sent the slush and mush of food products into her mouth.

Acacia and Sandy said it was the most amazing thing they'd ever seen.

Echidna held back the urge to vomit by a hair.

Reizo just sat there.

The day winded down from there, and at the final bell, Prism ran to her room and packed her bag for an overnight trip. Juice, snacks, a change of clothes, a spare lug nut and wrench set, oil. Y'know, the essentials.

"You have your scroll?" Acacia asked.

"Yup!" Prism answered.

"Is it charged?" Sandy inquired.

"Mhm!"

"Did you call ahead to the... Polyester guy?" Reizo asked, half for comfort, half for clarity.

"Doctor Pietro Polendina, and yes!" Prism huffed. "He sent me his address and told me he would be expecting me."

"You aren't going to cause trouble?" Echidna interrogated.

"Guys, I said I would be fine! You're just being worrywarts for nothing!" Prism whined, then followed up with a hug. "But thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

"Call us when you're on your way back, okay?" Reizo said.

"Or if you get into trouble." Echidna added.

Prism smiled. "I will. Don't be a stranger!" Prism left, shaking at the thought of meeting a brilliant mind like Doctor Polendina. How lucky was she?

'What a dump!' Prism thought as she stood before a run-down building. She checked her scroll again to make sure this was indeed the right place. Yeah, it matched. It also matched a public service amount she watched at Beginner school about walking home alone.

Prism cautiously approached the door and rapped her knuckle against it twice, then jumped a few feet back. A television screen flared to life, but the feed was scrambled and all Prism could see was static.

"Yes?" A voice inquired. It didn't sound like the doctor, but then again, the screen has a bad case of static. Was it age or weather? Since Mantle relied on subterranean dust lines running under buildings and street curbs, Prism thought the former was more likely. "And you are?"

Prism cleared her throat. "Prism Asagiri, from Atlas? I spoke earlier this week to Doctor Polendina and I was told to come to this address by him. Is he there?"

"Oh, yes. Give me a moment." The screen went dead and Prism took another step back. If it was a creep, she'd run. If it was some Grim in disguise, she'd kill it, then run. She made more plans in her head as the door unlocked. The doors opened, revealing a silhouette of something large, but not tall, standing on four, inhuman legs. "Ms. Asagiri?" A familiar voice called.

Prism gulped. "Yes?" The creature stepped out of the doors, the street lights revealing not a Grimm, but a dark-skinned, heavy-set, elderly man with a gray, bushy beard in a green sweater-vest. He was sitting in a large, iron seat with spider legs. "Doctor Polendina?"

"Please, call me Pietro." He said. "Come in, I don't want you catching your death of cold out here!"

Never judge a book by it's cover. That was a lesson Prism was taught time and time again. What's that; a shiny ball? Nope, it's a sub-sonic shotgun! Let me guess; a Grimm with fins? Nope, they're glider wings! Okay, I got it, it's an abandoned building with deviants of every variety inside, right? Three strikes, bud, because this is actually a super-science lab!

Prism walked around in awe as Doct- Pietro gave her a tour of his lab. Well, not so much a tour as him trying to explain things like funding, research grants, and doctoral dissertations, only for Prism to interrupt by gasping shouting, "What's that?!" every ten minutes. She would then apologize and ask that he continue.

But a new voice interrupted them this time.

"Doctor? Are you well? Sporadic gasping is often a symptom of illnesses such as-"

"Whoa!" Prism jumped. "What was that?!"

"Oh, that's that little passion project I was telling you about." Pietro answered. "You remember the Fall of Beacon, correct?"

"I tend to have recurring nightmares of it now and then, yes." Prism said plainly.

Pietro was silent for a moment. "...Yes. Er, apologies for bringing up bad memories."

"Oh, it's no problem! Go on!"

"Well, of the many casualties, including civilians, Huntsmen, students, White Fang, and so on, one of my creations was also grievously damaged."

"Which one was it? Was it the Atlesian flagship? The Knights? The Paladins?"

"No, no. Nothing so violent. In fact, quite the contrary: she was my greatest creation because of her learning ability, not her combat capabilities."

"Wait, you don't mean-" Pietro pressed a button a nearby shelf, and a prototype for a new car seat belt, and the counter it was sitting on, spun into the wall, and out came a red-haired girl's head, surrounded by other body parts. "Penny?!"

"Sal-u-tations, Friend Prism!" Penny cheered. "I hope you are finding Atlas well!"

"Oh, good! You know each other." Pietro sighed in relief. "That will save some time."

"But, how?! I saw-! We all saw-!" With each failed sentence, Prism gestured wildly with her arms at Penny. Pietro chuckled.

"Allow me to explain."

"So, that's it, huh? Penny is stuck as a head until she gets a new source of aura?" Prism summed up. "Not surprising, since she barely had aura left from her pieces."

"Not exactly. It's not a new source she needs, but a conduit and a new body to contain it. Unfortunately, Ironwood and his researchers need all the funding they can get, and I can forget about asking the SDC. Too may questions and too few morals to understand my answers."

"So she needs a new body, huh?" Prism asked with a smile. "Say, I never got to show you my babies, huh?"

"Your babies?" Pietro eyed her warily as he asked.

"Yup, like this!" Prism proceeded to pull out six massive, in-tact blueprints for her new weapon designs. She then pulled out two, massive swords, then an obscenely large hammer. "Uh, do you get it, or should I stop and actually explain?"

"Uh, I feel an explanation would suffice. Is this your semblance?"

"Oh, no! This is my semblance!" Prism clapped her hands together, then pulled them apart, creating and expanding a small barrier of hard-light between her palms. "I can create flat, hard-light structures with my semblance. Once I started developing my semblance, I decided to figure out the physics of it and started inventing devices powered by it."

"I see. So, you intend to create a conduit and body using hard-light technology?"

"Something like that, but first, I have to ask you something." Prism shot him a smile. "Do you mind if I build something in here? Just to make it easier for us to work together."

Pietro smiled. That was all the answer she needed.

Reizo laid back in her bed, reading over the new strategies she came up with. Her match against the Specialist Leader was sobering, to say the least. She had bested opponents without Copy before, but never one of this caliber. She needed to get stronger.

She closed her eyes and thought back to the day before, and the lesson the professor was giving. "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link." Who was the weakest link? She felt like garbage for even thinking it, but it was a thought every leader had. Or, that's the excuse she gave herself.

Prism was the first fight, and the best result yet. But, like the General Headmaster said, it was less her own skill and more so the incompetence of her opponent. Either way, Prism still performed admirably.

Sandy's "fight" was also an interesting event. Sandy "fought" without lifting a finger. She "fought" an opponent with more combat experience. In the end, she lost her "fight". One thing that was clear, though, was that a Huntsman was more than just a warrior. A Huntsman was also a negotiator and, at times, a political tool, an ideal or standard to be upheld, idolized, and viewed by non-Huntsmen. Reizo sighed.

She hated politics.

Speaking of politics, though, Echidna, the daughter of "the better White Fang" (her words), crossed her mind. Her fight was incredible. An excellent use of her semblance and weapon. She really gave Specialist Bree a run for her money. But she still lost because of her using too much aura. Aura training was important, as well as physical training. If only there were a way to use her semblance without expending so much aura. Maybe if she already had water around her, instead of creating it from her body?

Reizo then thought of her final teammate, Acacia. She fought hard, but the battle was over the second she was pinned. Acacia was still recovering, it seems. Not surprising, since you don't just get over almost dying under six tons of heavy metal in a single night. It still presented a problem, since being pinned is not an anomaly in a fight.

Reizo sighed and shook her head. She got up and walked into the bathroom. She shut the door and made her way to do her business. Business? Ha! That was a good one. Like this would fly in an office job. She chuckled at the idea.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, really." Reizo answered. "I was just thinking about-" Reizo's words died on her lips. Standing in front of her, just ten feet away, was Prism, with grease on her face and a smile on her lips. She looked up to see the teleporter attached to the ceiling.

"About what?" Prism asked, walking over to the sink to wash her hands of the grime accumulated on them.

"How did you get in here?!" Reizo screeched.

"Teleporter. Duh! Remember?" Prism answered as she turned towards the towels.

"Why in the bathroom?!" Reizo was red in the face earlier before, but now it felt like it was on fire with rage.

"Because," Prism began, turning towards her throne-bound leader, "there wasn't any... room... in our..." Prism's face became red, and she turned away covering her eyes. "Damn it, not again!"

Reizo looked down and saw she, or now he, had changed once again. He sighed as he stood up, pulled up his skirt, flushed, and made his way to wash his hands. "Feel free to leave when ever you'd like."

Prism didn't need to be told twice as she bolted from the room. Reizo dried his hands and stepped out next, seeing Echidna, Sandy, and Acacia staring at him wide-eyed.

"What?"

Acacia whistled. "Nice legs!"

#rwby #rwby oc #reizo yamato #echidna bluewaters #acacia evergreen #prism asagiri #sandy mithril #james ironwood #evangeline yamato #arishna dawn #clover ebi #harriet bree #elm ederne #vine zeki #marrow amin

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