Archive of Our Own

A portal swirled to life, seconds before Team RWBY stepped out onto a grassy field and looked around. Clearly, this wasn't Vacuo. The lack of desert was sort of a dead giveaway, not to mention the large castle ahead. Weiss rubbed the bridge of her nose, wondering if they'd ever find their way back to Remnant. Wherever they were, it was late, though the glow from the nearby castle and the brightly shining moon overhead made it easy to see despite the hour. A very much non-shattered moon.

"This doesn't look like Vacuo," Jaune announced as he stumbled out behind the team of girls, the portal closing in on itself the moment he was through.

"You think?" Even Yang was starting to get annoyed at their universal meandering. "You know, when that Blacksmith lady made us a portal, I sorta thought it would take us home."

"Maybe she's just bad at directions?"

"I don't think that's how portals work, Ruby." Not that Blake was any expert on interdimensional travel, despite all her books. "At least it's calm here."

"I kinda liked the last place," Yang said. "In fact, you might say it was pretty Marvel-ous. Eh?" New universe, same lame Yang jokes. "Y'all are no fun. At least that Doctor Weird guy was nice."

"Strange," Weiss corrected.

"Yeah, he was a little strange," Yang agreed, missing the point. "Easily one of my favorite doctors so far. Way better than Doctor Phone Booth."

"Doctor Who."

"See? Even Weiss can't remember his name." Sometimes, it was hard to tell if Yang was oblivious or just pulling Weiss' chain.

"I actually liked Doctor Who," Weiss objected.

"He tried to shove us all in a tiny box," Yang reminded her. "Who travels in something like that?"

"Maybe it was bigger on the inside?" Ruby tried, always quick to rush to a stranger's defense. "What about Doc Brown? He was funny, and his car was really cool."

"Two seats," Yang countered. "Points for style, but why couldn't it have a back seat?"

"It wasn't so bad." Weiss couldn't quite hide the blush that accompanied her words.

Yang honed in on her embarrassment in an instant. "Of course you'd say that. You didn't have anyone sitting on top of you." Yang had to ride with Blake in her lap, which would've been nice if it wasn't for her sister playing third wheel on top of Blake. "Or maybe you just liked your seat." Jaune and Weiss both dodged her waggling eyebrows. Five portals later, and they still refused to talk about it.

Instead, Jaune raced to change the subject. "At least this place looks pretty normal. Just a big castle."

"Calm down, Mister Knight in Rusted Armor." Formerly rusted.

"He's got a point," Ruby agreed. "We've been to a lot of weird places. At least there's no zombies here."

"Or sparkly vampires."

"Aliens."

"Yeah. What's up with that?" Yang questioned, recalling all the ridiculous places they'd visited in their seemingly endless quest for home. "Why does it seem like every other place was something in space? Like that one place. You know, star something?"

"Gate?" Blake answered. Nerd.

"Trek?" Double nerd, but what did she expect from Weiss?

"Wars?" Okay, Ruby's was cool, at least at first. By the end, she just wanted to get out of there.

"That's my point! Boldly going to a galaxy far, far away or whatever. What's wrong with keeping your feet on the ground?" Instead of, you know, floating around in a lifeless void that would kill you if you so much as cracked a window. "I'll take some random castle over that any day. No ridiculous robots. No strange monsters." Both of which they had back on Remnant, but that was beside the point! "Just a nice, normal castle with normal people."

"And normal knees?"

"Yes! Normal knees!" And normal everything else. Yang could feel herself getting worked up, but she didn't care, even as her eyes flashed red and flames began to spring to life around her hair. "Is it too much to ask for a breather here? For once, let's just enjoy the brief moment of normal knees before something absurd happens."

"Aguamenti!"

"And…there it is," Weiss summarized as Yang toppled over from a hose of water to the face. "So much for normal."

"Ronald!" Weiss followed the impromptu dousing back to a red-haired boy wielding a…stick? A girl with bushy, brown hair stomped up and slapped his hand down. "You can't just go waving your wand around like that."

"Kinky," Yang spluttered, her need to crack a joke sparing her attacker an immediate evisceration.

"I am so sorry about that," the girl said, rushing to help Yang and offering the red and yellow scarf she wore. "Here."

"Thanks," Yang managed as she buried her face in the fabric, wiping it clean before trying to work on her hair. She didn't attack the idiot with a death wish, but if looks could kill, poor Ronald would've been dead a hundred times over. "That how you all welcome people?"

"Her hair was on fire!" Ronald shouted defensively. "They apparated and she burst into flames! What was I supposed to do?"

"They didn't apparate," the girl corrected, ignoring the spontaneous combustion part. "Hogwarts is under an anti-apparition charm, remember? We went over that in first year." She turned back to the new arrivals. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize anyone still used portkeys to get to school."

"Portkeys?" Weiss asked, looking to the rest of her team in confusion. None of them had an answer.

"I haven't seen you at Hogwarts before. Are you first years?" Before anyone could think of a good answer, the girl continued. "What am I saying? Of course you're not first years. Not if you're using a port key to come to school. You must be transfers."

"You could say that," Yang answered for the group.

"Well then, welcome to Hogwarts." Weiss accepted her handshake, followed by a somewhat confused Ruby. "I'm Hermione Granger, and that's Ron. We're both in Gryffindor."

"Griffon door?" Ruby questioned.

"No, not Griffon door. Gryffindor." The subtle difference went over their heads. "Your house?" Still nothing. "Didn't they explain the houses to you at your Sorting Ceremony?"

"Our what?"

"Did you not pay attention to anything in orientation?" Hermione looked annoyed at their apparent failure. "Hogwarts has four houses. Ron and I are in Gryffindor, just like you."

"Me?" Ruby looked behind her, then back to Hermione. "I'm not a Gryffindor. Also, what's a Gryffindor?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then why are you wearing Gryffindor robes?"

"Eh?" Ruby looked down to find her outfit had changed. A long, dark robe had replaced her combat outfit, and while she didn't mind the red in the sleeves and hood, it definitely wasn't her usual attire. In a panic, she reached behind her, relaxing once she found that her cloak still hung there. Whatever strange rules seemed to govern their transfer rightly considered the cloak a part of her.

However, something equally as important was missing.

"Crescent Rose!" Ruby screamed, spinning in a circle like a dog chasing its missing tail.

"Not again," Weiss groaned. It wasn't the first time their weapons had disappeared. Ruby nearly had a heart attack the first time. "They'll come back." Once they found a way off this strange world and back to Remnant. Or at least to a world that allowed their weapons, for whatever reason.

That wasn't good enough for Ruby. "But I want it now!"

Myrtenaster was missing, but you didn't see Weiss panicking about it. She patted her own robes, ignoring the horrible green lining that didn't match her at all. Ruby got red, Yang had her usual yellow, and Blake had landed a dark blue that seemed to suit her. Why couldn't she get blue? Or better yet, white? Green just felt wrong.

Eventually, Weiss found what she was looking for - something solid hidden behind the fabric of her robe. Reaching inside to find a hidden pocket, she pulled out a thin, straight stick with a subtle, ornate pattern at the thicker end. That, at least, solved one mystery. "It's a magic world," she reported.

"Magic?" Ruby perked up, as easily distracted as ever.

Weiss adjusted her grip on what was obviously a wand until it felt more natural. Nothing happened, meaning she probably had to speak whatever counted as magical words to make a spell. Unfortunately, the only ones she knew were silly examples from kid stories, but she figured she might as well give it a try. "Open Sesame." Nothing. "Bibbidi bobbidi boo?" Hey, she was trying her best. "Abracada-"

"No!"

"What? That's the only spell I know."

"Typical Slytherin," Ron commented.

Hermione, looking flustered, pushed her wand hand down. "Maybe we should start with something a little less…"

"Murdery?" Ron filled in.

"Complicated," Hermione answered diplomatically. She reached inside her robe and pulled out a thick book that had clearly seen plenty of use. The words Basic Spells shimmered in golden script on the cover. "Here. This has every spell a junior witch or wizard could possibly need. I suggest you take a look."

"You just carry that around everywhere, do you?" Ron asked as Weiss took the book and began flipping through.

"Where was she keeping it?" Yang questioned before she and Blake came over to join Weiss. Studying wasn't usually her thing, but magical spells sounded a lot more fun than history or math equations.

The girls struggled to read in the low light, so Hermione took Weiss' wand. "Lumos. There, that should help. And of course I keep that with me," Hermione stated, as if having a book of spells tucked in her pocket was the most normal thing in the world. She handed over the glowing wand once more. "You never know when you might need a new spell."

"You're mental, you are."

"Well, some of us prefer to have more options than just Eat Slugs," Hermione said.

"Wait, that's in here?" Yang snatched the book from Weiss' hands and began flipping pages rapidly. After a few seconds of reading, she looked up with a sly grin. "Oh, Jauney. Mind if we use you as a practice dummy?"

"I'll pass." Good choice. Just to be safe, Jaune hurried past the trio of girls to talk to the two locals. "Actually, when Yang said we're not from around here, I think you misunderstood."

"What do you mean?"

Jaune took a deep breath, knowing this would be hard to explain. "We're…there's no easy way to say this. We're from another world."

Ron's eyes widened. "Moon people?"

"There's no such thing," Hermione said, slapping his arm. "Another world? Whatever do you mean?"

They'd had to explain this so many times, but it didn't always end well. Some universes were fine. They already knew about alternate dimensions or universes - whatever they called it - and could accept the idea pretty easily. Others…not so much.

Nearly being burned at the stake for witchcraft wasn't a fun experience.

Figuring an actual witch would probably be a bit more understanding, Jaune decided to just go for it. "We fell into a strange world and got lost. Then, the Blacksmith made us a portal and said it would send us back, but that took us to some weird place where we met a windbreaker."

"Airbender," Weiss corrected, fighting to read while Yang hogged the spellbook.

"Right, airbender." Which had been a cool trick and all, but when you'd seen someone create tornadoes in the Vytal Tournament and faced a maiden, airbending sort of lost its shock factor. "Anyways, they managed to send us to Middle Earth, who sent us to a bunch of magical ponies. After that was a BTS concert, some place with magical monsters kept in balls, a computer game…"

"Don't forget the ogre," Ruby piped up.

"I was getting there," Jaune answered. "The point is, we've been lost for a while and we're just trying to get home to our friends." His team. He hadn't seen Ren and Nora in what felt like a lifetime. Going back in time and becoming the Rusted Knight had been bad enough, but it felt like they'd been trying to get back to their fight against Salem for years since leaving the Ever After. "So if you happen to know a way to send us to another universe…"

"I've never heard of such a spell," Hermione answered, deflating Jaune's hopes. To be fair, they hadn't gotten stuck yet, even in that place with the talking cars. Something always worked out. "But if anyone knows how to get you home, it has to be Professor Dumbledore."

"You guys really like doors, don't you?" Dumbledore. Gryffindor. Hodor. Isildur. Mordor. Wait, he was mixing up universes again. Oh well. "So…where do we find this Humbledoor?"

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione corrected. "He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the most powerful wizard ever. His office-"

"Let me guess. Is it at the top of a giant tower?"

"How'd you know?" Maybe they were getting closer to home after all, because that sounded an awful lot like Ozpin. "We can head there once Harry gets back from Hagrid's."

"Another friend of yours?" Seemed like a safe bet.

The minutes ticked by with mostly small talk while Weiss, Yang, and Blake tried out a few spells. Pretty soon, Blake had a leaf floating in front of her while Yang had opted to try to disarm her with little success. Weiss pointed her wand at her chest and whispered "Engorgio," pouting when nothing happened after the third try. In desperation, she even tried "En-Yang-io," cringing at the word as she said it.

Jaune really hoped this Harry guy hurried up before any of them found something more destructive.

Eventually, a lone figure around Ron and Hermione's age started up the path toward them. "Harry! Over here!"

"I thought I told you two not to wait up for me," Harry said as he got closer, glancing over at the newest members of their party. "Who are they?"

"Moon people," Ron answered.

"They're…not from around here. In fact, they're not from around anywhere." Not anywhere they would know about, at least. "I thought maybe Dumbledore could help get them home."

"We'll ask him in the morning," Harry promised. "We should probably get back to our rooms. It's already late."

"And whose fault would that be?"

"You're the ones who waited for me," Harry pointed out. "Anyway, c'mon everyone. We'll need to let the Head Boy know we have visitors." As they started for the castle, Harry slowed until Blake and the others caught up. "If you want, I can help you with potions."

"Thank you?" Blake wasn't really sure why he'd offered. She looked to Yang, but no help there.

"I was just saying because of the…well, you know." She really didn't. "The…" He reached up pointing a finger up on either side of his head. "The cat ears." One finger twitched as he spoke.

Blake had an urge to show him a different finger. "What about my ears?" Hers flattened against her head as Yang tried to pull her away, swapping places to protect the boy before Blake added a new scar to his forehead.

"Polyjuice potion can be difficult," Harry continued, unaware of the thin ice he was stomping across. "It's easy to get mixed up. Just ask Hermione."

"It was one time!" Hermione protested from further up.

"All I'm saying is that we're here if you need any help in class."

"Thanks, but I think we'll be okay," Yang insisted, more to stop the bleeding than out of gratitude. "We're not planning to stick around for class, so I think we'll manage without the homework."

"Homework!" Harry came to a sudden stop at the word. "I left my homework back at Hagrid's."

"Really, Harry, how can you be so forgetful?" Hermione demanded. "Why would you even take your homework to Hagrid's in the first place? You should've left it in your room when you finished it."

"Because I was finishing it at Hagrid's. Professor Lupin is staying the night there, so I was helping him get settled in and figured I could work on it before I left."

"Not everyone does their homework before dinner," Ron added. Hermione was starting to sound more and more like Weiss.

"Well you should," Hermione threw back in their faces. "Now you march right back down there and get your papers. The last thing we need is Professor Snape keeping you after class again."

"No need," Ron interrupted, pointing back down the hill where a large shape was hurrying up after them. "Looks like Professor Lupin is bringing it for you."

The group waited patiently for the arrival, but as he drew closer, the Remnant group quickly noticed that Professor Lupin wasn't what they expected. For one, he looked a lot hairier than most teachers.

Also, he was running on all fours.

"Beowolf!" A shot rang out as the large wolf jolted and fell to the ground. Everyone turned to see Ruby holding her wand out…only it looked like she'd made a few modifications.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled, stomping over to her leader. "What did you do to your wand?"

"It's also a gun."

"Why do I even bother?"

"Professor!" Harry yelled, running back to the wolf to find it alive but injured. Aiming a wand was a lot harder than a sniper rifle. "We have to get him to Madam Pomfrey."

"Wouldn't Hagrid be better?" Ron asked. "He is a wolf."

"What's all this commotion?" A giant of a man lumbered out from the small hut down the hill and hurried up to join them. "What happened to the professor?"

"I thought he was a Grimm!" Ruby protested, hiding her wand behind her.

"Well he's not," Hermione shot back. "He's a werewolf."

"Aren't those dangerous?"

"Not Remus, no siree," Hagrid promised. "This overgrown pup wouldn't scratch at a flea for fear 'a hurtin' it." Hagrid helped the large creature to its feet - its hind feet. The werewolf gave Ruby what could only be described as a disappointed glare before pressing a large paw to the wound and limping back down the hill, whimpering the whole way. "Don't mind him. Barely a scratch to him in that form. He'll be right as rain by mornin' mark my words."

"I'm sorry about my teammate," Weiss tried, hoping to repair the damage a bit. They still needed help getting home. "Where we come from, there's these creatures we call Grimm that hunt and kill people."

"What do they look like?" Hermione asked, sensing something new to learn.

"Large. Dark fur. Glowing eyes." Two out of three for Professor Lupin. "And not just Beowolves. There's Boarbatusks. Deathstalkers. Nevermore."

"Griffon!"

"I was getting there, Ruby." Weiss barely got the words out before another shot rang out. Something squawked in the distance and began a rapid descent.

"Witherwings!" Hagrid cried out, hurrying into the woods toward where the creature would land.

"Ruby!"

"I'm sorry!" she insisted, though no one was buying it. "It's instinct. I've spent my whole life training to kill Grimm, so when I see something that looks like a Grimm, I shoot first and ask questions later."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Hermione assured Harry, who looked like he wanted to either run off after Hagrid or yell at Ruby. Hermione beat him to it. "As for you, from now on, you don't do anything without asking first. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Weiss. I mean, Hermione." An easy mix-up. Yang needed to make sure she kept the two know-it-alls apart. Them teaming up could spell the doom of everyone. "But can we just talk about how great a shot that was? I just no-scoped a moving target at 500 yards with a stick!" Impressive, but she really needed to read the mood better. "Too soon?"

"Just a bit," Yang answered.

"These Grimm of yours," Harry started, eyes fixed beyond them all. "You said they look like big, dark creatures. Does that include horses?"

"We fought one that looked like a horse a while back," Weiss remembered, even if it had a humanoid half on top.

"Uh oh."

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked, following his gaze to a seemingly open field.

"The Thestrals are out tonight," Harry answered.

"Thestrals? But I thought only those who had seen death could see them." Hermione looked out once more, but she couldn't see anything like what the books described. All she'd ever seen was sketches, and while she wanted to learn more, she could admit to being happy to not be able to see the real deal. The question was, had Ruby? "Has your friend seen anyone she cares about die?"

Weiss and Blake exchanged worried looks.

Well poo. "Stop her!"

Too late. Ruby had vanished, leaving a trail of red petals as she zoomed across the field toward the small cluster of Thestrals that all of Team RWBY could clearly see. Hermione winced, prepared for another gunshot, only for a different sound to split the night.

"They're so cute!" Ruby squealed, coming to a sudden stop in front of one of the adults. It watched her apprehensively, but when Ruby started stroking its beaked face, the creature leaned forward to let her continue. A smaller one trotted around from behind to investigate. "And there's ponies! Who's a good, little, winged abomination. You are! Yes you are! Yang, I want one!"

"No flying death horses for you," Yang answered as only a big sister could.

"But why not? Think about it. How cool would it be to show up to Vacuo riding one of these?" Admittedly, pretty cool, but they weren't about to steal creatures from another universe just to show off back home. "You're no fun."

"At least that's over," Hermione sighed in relief. Her ears were still ringing from earlier. "Now, maybe we should all get back to the castle before anything else- Harry, look out!"

A ghostly form flew straight at them, but instead of going after Harry, it seemed to be zeroing in on Blake, flying right past its usual favorite. Seeing its interest in her partner, Yang smirked and with an "I got this," charged the Geist.

Her fist sailed right through the ethereal creature.

"Expecto Patronum!" As the Geist-like figure got a little too close for comfort, a shining stag charged in front of Yang, chasing the creature away. With a horrid hissing sound, the ghost turned and fled into the woods once more.

"What…the hell?" Yang demanded, short of breath from her brief encounter.

"Dementors." As always, Hermione was quick with an answer. "They were supposed to protect the school, but for some reason, they came after Harry."

"But why did that one ignore me and go after her?" Harry wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "The ministry is meant to control them and make sure they go after criminals, not us."

Blake avoided eye contact.

"Anyways, it's a good thing Harry was here to stop it. If he wasn't, that Dementor might've tried to-"

"Kill me?" Yang guessed.

"Worse. Kiss you."

"Ew. Gross gross gross gross gross." Yang wiped her mouth, just to be safe. "That's messed up."

"You have no idea," Hermione agreed. "The only way to drive them off is a Patronus charm. It's an extremely difficult spell. Even I struggle with it." And if little Miss Know-It-All hadn't mastered it, then what hope did any of them have?

"You mean, like this?" A bright flash of light stunned them all for a second. When it faded, a massive suit of glowing armor stood behind Weiss, more than doubling the short girl's stature. The Arma Gigas knelt before Weiss, stabbing its massive sword into the ground.

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed.

"I've never seen a Patronus that size before," Hermione said.

"That's what she said!"

Hermione, and everyone else, ignored Yang. "How on Earth did you master that spell so quickly?"

"Guess I'm just a natural," Weiss answered, brushing her braid back over her shoulder. She fixed her team with a warning glare before any of them could rat her out.

"Yang!" Ruby crashed into Yang, abandoning her Thestral adoption to rush to her sister's aid. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks to Wonder Boy here."

"Hey! How come he gets a cool nickname?" Jaune's wasn't nearly as flattering.

"Because he didn't throw up on my shoes, Vomit Boy," Yang countered. First impressions were important, and Jaune had failed his in spectacular fashion. Weiss' faux-Patronus faded to nothingness behind her as they argued.

"I should've known you'd be the one making all that noise, Potter." A tall, pale skinned boy with sleek, blond hair and sharp features practically spat the name as he and two lackeys hurried from the castle grounds toward them. "Isn't it past your bedtime? I should turn you lot in for breaking curfew."

"Malfoy," Harry growled. Yang had a feeling the two weren't exactly best friends.

"We're not the only ones out late," Ron pointed out. "You turn us in and you'll be in just as much trouble as us."

"Rules only apply to commoners and filthy mudbloods," Malfoy shot back dismissively. "Out late with your little fanclub, are you?"

"Excuse me!" Weiss stomped up to confront their new antagonist.

Draco tilted his head in confusion. "Do I know you?" The two almost looked like long lost relatives. A little less color to his hair and he would've fit right in at the Schnee dinner table.

"I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

"Former," Blake added with a cough.

"Quiet, you," Weiss hissed before focusing her ire back on a more deserving target. "I'm hardly a commoner, so I will only ask you once to stand aside."

"Dust company? Who would want to buy dust?" Malfoy's laughter was immediately echoed by his two thugs. "Another one of your get rich quick schemes, Weasley? Your family certainly has enough of it to go into business." Ron ducked his head in embarrassment. "As for you…Weiss, was it? You don't want to go making friends with these sort. In fact, why don't I accompany you and your friend back to the castle?"

"Oh brother." Yang rolled her eyes at the leering look Malfoy sent at her. Well, at part of her. "Let me guess. In the morning, you'll show me around the castle after breakfast?"

"I'm a busy man, but I'd happily make time for you."

"Real smooth." When even Ruby wasn't impressed, you knew it wasn't going well.

"Aw, be nice, Ruby. After all, he's being so nice. Such a gentleman" Yang leaned forward, batting her eyes prettily while also giving him the briefest glimpse of a tantalizing view.

Malfoy couldn't resist glancing down - a mistake he wouldn't make twice.

'Stupid Guy!" Yang yelled as she lunged forward, her fist crashing into the idiot's face and launching him backwards. "Hey, I'm pretty good at this magic stuff."

Weiss' palm struck her face. "Stupefy, not Stupid Guy."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

"And you're supposed to use your wand." Weiss held hers up as an example, the tip still shining from Hermione's earlier spell.

"To stab him in the eye?" Yang looked down at her own wand - a lighter wooden color that seemed to be burnt slightly on the end. "That's pretty dark, even for you."

"To cast a spell!" Weiss yelled, waving hers around. She blinked away the spots in her eyes. "How do you turn this thing off?"

"Nox," Hermione provided. Weiss tried it out, looking slightly less furious when it worked.

Malfoy scrambled to his feet, hand over his eye that would almost certainly be a shiner in the morning. Like countless others before him, he hadn't learned his lesson. "Filthy squib!"

"Expecto My Fistum!" Malfoy got his second flying lesson. "Now who's the squid?"

"He said…nevermind." Weiss knew better than to try. Even if she didn't know what a squib was, she had a feeling it wasn't very nice.

This time, Malfoy had the wisdom to hide behind one of his henchmen, who looked none too pleased to be between Yang and her new punching bag. "Wait until my father hears about this."

"Tell him. If he's anything like you, I'll beat his face in too."

"How dare you speak of my family like that." Malfoy pulled his wand, pushing Harry to do the same as he stepped in front of Yang defensively. "I'll make you pay for crossing me."

"Bring it on, you little piece of-"

"Hem hem." Yang flinched, recognizing the telltale interruption of an authority figure, even if the woman clad in bright pink hardly looked the most intimidating as she approached. "Students should not be outside their assigned dormitories at this hour."

"Madam Umbridge!" The way Draco desperately shouted the name made it clear he thought she'd protect him. "She attacked me!"

"Using magic against another student is strictly forbidden," the pink menace didn't even bother asking for Yang's side of the story. "It seems discipline at Hogwarts is severely lacking. I shall ensure the Minister hears of this."

"You hear that?" Draco taunted as he emerged from hiding at last, bolstered by his backup. He should've known better. "That's what you get for-"

"Expel My Armus!"

"Yang!" Ruby whined.

"What? I'm already in trouble. Might as well deserve it." She had a point there.

"Young lady!" Umbridge shouted, horrified by what she'd just seen. "I shall personally oversee your detention myself. Perhaps then you'll realize that rules exist for a reason."

"To be broken?"

"As for the rest of you." Umbridge wheeled on their group, eyes narrowing at the faces she didn't recognize. "For failing to follow curfew, each of you will…will…"

Umbridge trailed off, her eyes wide and focused on Blake. Uncomfortable with the sudden attention, Blake looked around, trying to figure out what was so interesting. When that failed, she asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Umbridge hummed almost dreamily. "I was simply thinking how darling you would look in a plate."

In, not on. The distinction sounded worrisome, even before Ron leaned over to Ruby and whispered, "Her, you can shoot."

"What is the meaning of this?" An ancient man with long, silvery hair hurried out toward them. Weiss could only assume this was the Headmaster Hermione mentioned. He looked almost exactly like she'd expected an ancient, powerful wizard to look like. Much more of the classic magic user vibe than Ozpin had ever sported.

Sure enough, her suspicion was confirmed a moment later. "Professor Dumbledore," Harry greeted as the old man came closer. Like any kid in trouble before him, Harry tried to set the tone before the accusations could come. "We were just showing our visitors inside."

"Visitors?"

Hermione took over from there. "They said they're lost and need help getting back to their home." A home far, far away from here, she didn't add. "I told them you might know what to do."

"The Headmaster is far too busy to give a bunch of students direction," Umbridge complained, clearly intent on taking over.

Dumbledore didn't give her the chance. "Nonsense, Dolores. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." So saying, Dumbledore adjusted his glasses and looked over the five of them. "Hm. Quite lost, indeed. I take it you've been on quite the journey, have you not."

"You don't know the half of it."

"It's not often we get visitors from beyond our world." Their eyes widened at how quickly he figured them out. He beckoned to Jaune. "Come closer." Jaune did as ordered, shifting nervously as Dumbledore studied him closely. He hadn't felt so much like a piece of meat since those single moms back in Atlas spotted the new crossing guard. "Hm. The five of you have been outside your world for years, haven't you?" Jaune nodded. "Quite the extended hiatus."

"Can you send us home?" And not to just another random world.

"I can make a portal for you." Their group cheered, though the celebration died off as Dumbledore added, "However, I cannot guarantee your destination without a proper receiver. You'd be just as likely to land in yet another universe as your own, much like young Mister Mallory so many years ago."

"Who?"

Jaune ignored Yang's question. "So we're just stuck jumping from universe to universe at random until we luck out on our own?" What were the odds of that ever working? There could be millions of universes out there. The odds of finding the right one at random seemed almost impossible.

"More sliding than jumping," Dumbledore specified for some reason. "Fear not. There is a way I can get you back to your world."

"You can?"

"Why didn't you say so?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is possible, but only if I can establish a connection with your home world. So tell me, where are you from? With any luck, I'll be able to contact someone in your world and establish a connection."

"I'm from Ansel," Jaune answered.

"Patch," Ruby added. "It's a little island right outside of Vale. Well, what's left of Vale."

Weiss sighed. "I think he means on a bit of a larger scale, you dolts." Taking over, she offered, "We're from Remnant. Shattered moon. Creatures of Grimm. A reincarnating-"

"Ozma," Dumbledore said, clearly making the connection before Weiss could continue. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"You know him?"

"I know many wizards across the realms, especially those that have been around for so long." And, presumably, Ozma - or Ozpin, Oscar, and whatever other names he'd had over the years - had to be pretty high up there in total years. "Ozma has always been one to toy with powers beyond his control."

"That sounds like him," Jaune grumbled.

"Stand back," Dumbledore instructed, pulling his wand and muttering an incomprehensible incantation as he gently swirled his wand in a circle. Slowly, a shimmering portal came to life before them, though Dumbledore held out his hand for them to wait as he finished and tucked his wand away once more. "If you go through now, there's no guarantee where you'll end up. I've sent a message through to your world. Now, we must wait for Ozma to answer to complete the connection."

"And then we can go home?" Jaune wanted to be certain before getting his hopes up.

"Indeed."

"We're going home!" Ruby cheered, far more optimistic at the first sign of hope they'd seen in years.

"Good riddance," Malfoy snidely commented. "The sooner they leave, the better."

He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. "Obliterate!"

"It's Obliviate," Weiss moaned. Going home would at least mean someone else could deal with Yang's puns.

"I dunno," Ron commented. "After that last one, he might have memory loss either way."

"Thank you." Yang preened under the praise.

"Don't encourage her."

Sadly, it seemed he was still with them. "Are you just going to let her attack me like that?"

Dumbledore looked down on the boy. "I believe, as the kids say, you were asking for that one."

"It'll be nice to get home," Blake said, far calmer sounding but still just as excited as the rest of her team. "No offense, but your world's a little strange."

"Is it, my dear?" Dumbledore questioned. "I think you'll find we have more in common than you realize."

"We do?" Ruby had to ask.

Dumbledore disagreed. "Tell me if any of this sounds familiar. A school with a tower that teaches children to fight against evil, led by a gray-haired wizard with his own secret agenda?"

"That definitely sounds like Ozpin," Jaune agreed.

"It doesn't stop there," Dumbledore promised. "I imagine Ozma has his favorites. Perhaps a group of friends led by a chosen one with their mother's eyes and some hidden power even they don't know much about?"

"Team Ruby," Jaune answered almost instinctively.

"That's not true!" Ruby tried.

"It kinda is, sis," Yang admitted.

"Since when?"

"Really? The food fight?"

"The Paladin chase," Weiss reminded them.

"Unlocking the mission to Mountain Glenn for us," Blake added to the pile of evidence.

"Not to mention the docks, the breach, the White Fang rally…"

"Okay, I get it." Ruby pouted at being called out. "It's not like Team Juniper didn't get special treatment, too."

"Wait, you give us special treatment?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "I may have been a little generous toward Gryffindor over the years."

"I knew it," Malfoy protested, shying away when Yang raised a fist.

"Let's play a game," Dumbledore suggested, focusing on Harry and Ruby. "I'll describe something, and you both tell me what it sounds like." The two leaders nodded in understanding. "A magical, stern, female second-in-command with a heart of gold who is ridiculously overqualified for her position?"

"McGonagall."

"Goodwitch."

"Her name is good witch?" Hermione asked. "Isn't that a little on the nose?"

"Let's try again. A goofy friend with seemingly no skills that's completely oblivious to an incredibly out of his league friend's feelings for him?"

"Ron."

"Jaune."

"Hey!" The two boys protested in unison, which only made it more obvious.

"They even have rhyming names," Yang pointed out. "Oh, let me try! How many siblings do you have?"

"Six," Ron answered.

"Seven." Jaune winced at how close their numbers were.

"This is fun!" Oh no. Yang was hooked. "All sisters?"

"Only one, actually." Thank goodness. A difference at last. "The rest of us are boys."

"Poo." Just like that, Yang threw in the towel. "Back to you, Teach."

"Alright, how about a mysterious, seemingly unstoppable villain whose existence is kept secret from everyone?"

"Voldemort."

"Salem."

Speaking of villains," Dumbledore continued, "Neither of you would know about a group of masked evildoers obsessed with their own genetic superiority, would you?"

"Deatheaters."

"The White Fang." Ruby looked to Blake apologetically before saying, "Wait, Deatheaters? What sort of name is Deatheater?"

"I didn't name them," Harry said in his defense. "That's what they call themselves. And it's not like your guys have actual fangs, do they?"

Ruby looked to Blake, who shrugged and answered, "Some do."

"One more," Dumbledore promised. "Powerful objects created by an immortal being with incredible power that combine into some sort of ultimate MacGuffin?"

"What's a MacGuffin?" Ruby asked.

"Just answer the question."

"You must mean the relics," Ruby assumed correctly.

Harry shook his head, unsure of what Dumbledore was talking about. With an exasperated huff, Hermione stepped up beside him. "He means the Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore nodded. "Honestly, have you never opened a book?"

"Hey, no fair," Yang protested. "How come he got to phone a friend?"

"My point being," Dumbledore continued undeterred, "our worlds have more in common than you think, and always will, as long as one remembers to turn on the light."

"Lumos!" Weiss excitedly proclaimed, her wand glowing again. "I did it!"

Dumbledore stared at her speechless for a second. "I meant that metaphorically."

"Oops. Sorry." Weiss backed away, quietly whispering a "Nox."

"Now then, I believe Ozma has finally responded." Dumbledore's wand was back out in a flash as he turned to the portal once more. "Ahem. Aidem Ziv!" The portal flashed once before receding to a brighter glow than before. "Now, we wait. I asked Ozma to come through first, just to be safe."

Jaune and Team RWBY waited eagerly for a familiar face. It'd been so long. Would Oscar look older now? Had they found the other relics? And what about the war? If Ozma was alive and able to respond, there was a good chance humanity hadn't been defeated, but had they won? Did Vacuo still stand? And what about all those people they evacuated from Atlas?

Time dragged by without so much as a shimmer breaking the smooth face of the portal until Yang couldn't take it anymore. "How long is this going to take?" she demanded.

"Patience, my dear," Dumbledore insisted. "Time works differently between realms. It's quite possible he's already stepped through in his time and we're just waiting to catch up."

"Wait, time is relative?" Weiss asked. "We've been gone for years. Does that mean…"

"It is likely very little time has passed in your own world," Dumbledore answered, knowing where she was going. "I cannot say how long, but I believe you'll find your world much the same as you left it."

Another two minutes passed without anything happening until the face of the portal suddenly started shimmering. A young boy that Ruby instantly recognized stepped through, looking exactly how she remembered him. "Oscar?" Their possessed friend smiled before two more forms stepped out behind him. "Ren?"

The calm boy shook off the heebie-jeebies of interdimensional travel - something they'd long ago become accustomed to - and zeroed in on their group. "Jaune?"

"Ren."

"Nora!" Yep, it was them all right.

"Oh great," Malfoy sneered at the sight of the arrivals. "Now there's more of them."

"Watch it, you," Yang wanted, too excited at the chance to go home to do more than a warning. It was still enough to have Malfoy stumbling backwards with his hands up protectively.

And for some random girl to come running to his aid, shouting, "Draco, are you okay?"

"Pansy!"

Yang's eyes went red in a flash. "What did you just call me?"

"Uh oh."

"BOMBARDA!" Poor Malfoy never stood a chance, somersaulting away at breakneck speed until he slammed into a wall and fell in a crumpled heap, out for the count. The girl rushed to his side, stroking his hair and trying to wake him up. She turned to yell something at Yang, but one look at the glowing-haired terror made her think better of it.

Weiss, on the other hand, had plenty of experience with Yang's temper. "If you're going to attack someone, at least learn how to say the spells properly."

"Actually, that one was right," Hermione informed her. "In fact, it was oddly fitting."

Jaune rushed to his friends, throwing an arm around their shoulders to pull them both in for a hug. Nora returned the favor while Ren simply stood there, content to let it play out. "I can't believe it's really you! I thought I'd never see you guys again."

"Really?" Nora asked. "You haven't been gone that long."

"It felt a lot longer to me," Jaune replied, not even trying to hide the tears.

"Aw, Renny! He really did miss us!"

"Ozma," Dumbledore greeted with a nod. "I see you've found a new host."

Oscar's mouth opened, but it was clearly Ozma in control at the moment. "And I heard you found a few of my missing students."

"I did. You really should take better care of them."

"Funny coming from you. Tell me, do you still have a killer basilisk in your basement?"

"Actually," Harry interjected, "I killed it."

"Before or after it killed one of your classmates this time?" Ozma asked.

"It only petrified a few people," Harry replied.

"Hm. Petrified. I guess he's getting better," Ozma begrudgingly admitted. "But tell me, has he ever put you or your friends in mortal danger for no reason?"

"That's rich," Jaune complained, having finally escaped Nora's bear hug.

"At least I still have a school," Dumbledore shot back.

"That's low, even for you."

Yang stepped between the feuding wizards, waving her hands to break up the fight. "Boys, boys, you're both pretty. Can we go now?"

"But you only just arrived," Dumbledore said. "Why not stay the night? Rest? Ozma and I haven't spoken in years. It would be good to catch up." And antagonize each other further. Still, a nice, long rest did sound nice, especially now that they had a way home. Not to mention a castle might be comfier than the Vacuan desert.

"Shouldn't we be getting back to our own world?" Ruby asked. Even after all this time, she was still committed to the mission.

"As I said, time moves differently here. You've been gone for years, yet your world has barely moved. One more night wouldn't hurt, would it?" He had a good point. "We'll have a feast! And perhaps our frog choir can perform for you as well. Not to mention the Quidditch match in the afternoon."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Ozma said, already steering his group toward the portal. More like he didn't want to be shown up. "After all, you have a school to run."

"Nonsense. I'll give the students the day off. We haven't had any major disasters for a while. They're probably due a holiday." Yep. This place sure sounded like Beacon.

"Please stay," Ron begged, more out of desire for a day off than out of hospitality.

Ozma knew he'd been beaten. "Very well."

"All right!" Yang cheered. "It's time for a par-tay! Time to show these witches what a magical time looks like."

"About this Quidditch match," Nora asked. "Is that some sort of game?"

"It's great," Harry promised. "They fly around on brooms and shoot a Quaffle through the hoops to score, all while dodging the Bludgers that the Beaters are hitting at them. Meanwhile, the Seeker - that's me - goes after the Golden Snitch to end the game. The team with the most points at the end wins." Harry looked like he could go on for hours. "Unfortunately, tomorrow's match is Slytherin versus Hufflepuff, and the Badger's best beater is out with an injury."

Nora looked down at her robes, then looked up with a fiendish smile. "So you're saying there's an opening."

/- - - - - - - - - -/

"I really can't thank you enough for getting my students back to me, Albus." Once Ozma and Dumbledore had gotten their feuding out of their systems, the two men had settled down quite a bit.

"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore insisted, eyes fixed on the Quidditch match. "At Hogwarts, we're always happy to help."

"And that's another Slytherin player down!" the announcer called out as a green-robed figure plummeted to the pitch. "Hufflepuff continues to dominate this match two hundred eighty points to thirty!"

"Sir, I really must protest you allowing this girl's antics to continue," Professor Snape, a dark-haired, brooding type complained from the other side of Dumbledore. "I'd like to still have students left in my House after today."

"You know the rules, Severus. The match can only end when the Golden Snitch is caught or the captains agree to it."

"Our captain is still unconscious thanks to her," Snape pointed out.

"And there goes the Keeper!" The crowd cheered, chanting the name of their new champion. "Hufflepuff scores on the open goal! Slytherin just doesn't have an answer for these Badgers today."

"There's no rule about hitting another player with your broom," Dumbledore reminded him.

"No, but normally our players' brooms aren't giant hammers."

Nora looped up above center field, trailing a line of pink smoke behind her to draw a heart above the pitch. A Bludger zeroed in on her, but before it could hit, she switched Magnihild back to her massive warhammer and smacked it away. The metal ball slammed into the Beater who'd dared aim for her, knocking him clear off his broom and through the wooden pillar beyond.

Why Nora got to keep her weapon where no one else did was a mystery. Yang's theory that even the gods wouldn't dare try and take it from her was looking more and more plausible.

"Slytherin is down to their last two players. Ouch!" The crowd winced as Nora nailed the Chaser, driving him straight into the sand below the hoops he'd tried to hide behind. "Make that one player. Their only hope is for their Seeker to catch the Golden Snitch and end the game."

Nora's head snapped to the side as she spotted her final target. Ruby had a feeling she'd left him for last on purpose, especially after Yang whispered something to her at lunch. The terrifying, pink trail of death followed behind the two Seekers as the pair jostled for position, unaware of the predator closing in on them.

Until Nora called out to them.

Malfoy panicked and abandoned the Snitch, veering off for the safety of the stands in the hopes she'd leave him be. When that failed to slow her pursuit, he dove into the treacherous trench along the outskirts, dodging between beams to shake her. Nora didn't dodge as much as smash her way through, making it clear she would not be denied. He narrowly avoided her at the last moment, flying up and out into open air once more.

Draco looked around frantically for the telltale pink, but she was gone. All he had to do was avoid her until Cedric caught the Snitch, and then he'd be safe.

A shout from the crowd was the only warning he received.

"Found you!" Nora yelled, her voice somehow carrying above the roar of the crowd as her hammer caught Malfoy in the chest, carrying him in a full circle before hurling him to the ground. "Snitches get stitches, and so do bi-"

"Nora." Ren sighed from the stands.

"Sorry, Ren," Nora apologized, even as the crowd went wild. For the first time in history, a team forfeited due to lack of players.

"Perhaps we should go," Ozma offered. "Preferably before Nora hurts anyone else."

"You sure you don't want to stay?" Dumbledore tried. "I can have another team brought in. Maybe Gryffindor." Harry frantically shook his head no. "Very well. Come, then. Let us return you to your world."

"Professor," Weiss started, following alongside the two wizards. "How long will it take us to arrive in Vacuo once we step through the portal?"

"Who's to say?" Dumbledore admitted. "It will seem but an instant to you, but to us, it could be days, weeks, or even years. But no matter how long it takes, it will be worth the wait, so long as we remember what's important."

"What's that?"

"That even when the light is fading and darkness returns, when the world seems unforgiving and even the most brilliant lights cease to burn, there is always hope in the dawning of a new day." They came to a stop before the portal, and as Ozma stepped through ahead of them, Dumbledore made sure to add, "And that, my child, will be a day worth waiting for."