CHAPTER 10:

DISQUIET

Neo hastily shut the golden egg once the initial shock wore off. If she still had the Coyote Caper in her grasp, it would be showing swear words, and lots of exclamation marks. Moony was wiggling a finger in his ear, trying to get rid of the ringing in them. They were back in Moony's cottage, and she was grateful he lived pretty much in the middle of nowhere, or the neighbours would complain. The only way things could be worse is if they had that bass-heavy music of the sort Junior loved to have in that shithole of a nightclub of his on full volume. That sort of shit was only good for pulping brain cells, so between alcohol, dance 'music', and bad dancing, you could expect your IQ to drop by at least 20% in one of those places.

It would certainly explain a lot about the low capabilities of Junior's goons.

"Well," Moony said, "I think our next task is to drop that egg into a bath."

Neo fumbled for the Coyote Caper, and then held it up with a scowl. Drowning it sounds like a good idea.

"No, no," Moony said, shaking his head. "That's Mermish."

Mermish…so Mermaids, then, Neo thought to herself, not using the Coyote Caper. However, she did use it for a question. Are there Merpeople in the Black Lake?

Moony nodded. "So in all likelihood, the Second Task will take place in there."

Oh goody, she snarked. I've been meaning to pick up my SCUBA diving skills again. Good thing I still have a bikini body too. Oh, wait. It's a cold lake, in Scotland, in winter. I'm not going to be able to show off. Oh fate, why must you be so cruel?!

Moony rolled his eyes at Neo's snark, and said, "I'll go and fill the bath."

As he moved away, Neo reflected on what had happened. The First Task had been appallingly dangerous, and not just for her. She didn't realise it, because she was busy with her own thoughts, but apparently Cedric got pretty badly burned. She had also been berated by Dumbledore for resorting to killing the dragon. She had promptly retorted that it was trying to kill her, that nothing in the rules stated that she had to restrain herself from doing so, and frankly, she had long years of experience killing homicidal creatures.

Of course, she didn't state that her secondary objective was to send a clear message to Potter and Black. Namely, Don't Fuck With Me. Well, it was a message to everyone in Magical Britain who would think of fucking with her, but Potter and Black were first and foremost.

Still, she knew her sperm donor and his partner in crime. They wouldn't let this rest. Sooner or later, they would act out of fear, if nothing else. So, the question was, how to kill them and make it seem like an accident? Or else be able to pin the blame on an unwitting scapegoat?

Snape was a potential scapegoat, but to tell the truth, she had just the tiniest bit of gratitude to him for giving her the spells she used against the dragon, enough to outweigh, for now at least, any ill will towards him. Another supposedly former Death Eater, then? Certainly, there was a few promising candidates. That blonde bitch Draco Malfoy had pissed her off enough times. Maybe she could find a way to frame him? A shame she didn't have Emerald's ability to inflict delusions on people, a bit like the Imperius.

Maybe her brother? No, that wouldn't work out if any of the investigators had an ounce of logic, and while she was mostly sure none of the wizards here in the DMLE had any logic in their skulls, it didn't pay to get careless based on 'mostly sures'. Bagman? Crouch?

Neo suddenly snapped her fingers. Karkaroff! That prick was apparently a former Death Eater himself, one who had only escaped jail by giving up his former comrades. He had a bad attitude, an even worse haircut, and most galling of all, he gave Neo a '2' after she finished the First Task. If that wasn't enough to put him on The List, then nothing else was.

Moony came back into the room shortly afterwards. Dear Moony…he was naïve, really. Well, not quite. He knew how cruel the world could be, but he thought, in his naïveté, that you could help others with the best intentions and still come out on top. Even after being shat on in life: infected by Fenrir Greyback, losing one of his best friends in Lily to Voldemort, being basically treated like shit by those he thought to be his friends…he still had that belief.

She winced as she thought back to Ruby's words. The Little Red Riding Brat was certainly more naïve than Moony. More naïve, more inexperienced…in fact, that made Moony's own attitude…unforgivable? No, not quite the term Neo wanted. It was more irritating than anything else. He was still very much the good and noble Gryffindor, even after everything.

How sickening. The world spat on nobility, pissed on valour, and shat on honour. Being in Gryffindor didn't guarantee goodness, or else her sperm donor and Black wouldn't have been in it.

"Neo?" Moony spoke. "I've filled the bath. Let's put the egg into it…"

Dumbledore was troubled. He had been ever since Rose Potter, now calling herself Neopolitan, had been snatched back to this world. Initially, it had been because it put the lie to James' assertions that the girl had been dead. But now, more and more, he was worried about the girl herself.

He knew what Neopolitan had intended now with that display. She wanted to intimidate her enemies. She had all but toyed with the dragon, shrugging off an attack that could have left her severely injured. It had been a performance for those gathered, one designed to instruct rather than entertain. She had even managed to get music playing.

True, there was nothing in the rules to state or even suggest that killing the dragon was against them…but dragons were expensive creatures, everyone in the wizarding world knew this. And that was without going into the fact that it was a living creature. If it had been a matter of self-defence, that would have been another matter. But Neopolitan's attack, while arguably retribution, had been done as a cold-blooded murder. In fact, Dumbledore was certain that the girl intended to kill the dragon when she first stepped foot into the arena. If she could have killed the dragon so quickly, she would have done it as soon as she could have.

What was more, he recognised the spell she used to kill the dragon: Sectumsempra, a cutting curse of Severus' devising. Severus had somehow taught her that, or at least given her his notes. When Dumbledore confronted him on that, Severus had been singularly unrepentant.

Still, what he saw in Neopolitan was worrying. He had suspected there was something dark within the girl, but after seeing her interact with Hermione and Luna so well, he was willing to overlook it. Then again, the two girls were outcasts, and maybe Neopolitan felt the same way too. It certainly seemed genuine.

Then again, Dumbledore had been wrong about a lot of things lately. What was one more thing?

The only consolation was that, if Neopolitan was a killer, she was not one who did so willy-nilly. That was both reassuring, and yet not. Especially with the Second Task coming up…

Neo pulled her head out from under the bath water, shaking her head like a wet dog, and with much the same effect. Moony looked distinctly unamused. Unfortunately, so too was Neo.

The song that she had just listened to suggested that she needed to seek whoever sang the song. Despite the ambiguity of the wording (she guessed it was written by someone like Bagman), it meant the Merpeople in the Black Lake. They would take something she would sorely miss. She had an hour to get it back, or else, if the wording was accurate, it would be gone forever.

She fought back the angry snarl on her lips with an effort, trying to calm herself with minimal success. So it seemed that she would need to find a way of diving underwater after all.

Picking up the Coyote Caper once more, she looked at Moony, and said, Okay, so I need to find a way of avoiding drowning, hypothermia, and getting molested by the Giant Squid. Firstly, is there anything in the rules banning Muggle equipment?

"Diving equipment?" Moony led them out of the bathroom, and went over to the book he had obtained on the rules. After flicking through them, he shook his head. "There's a ban on Muggle equipment beyond a certain level of sophistication. SCUBA gear probably falls under it. They'd probably let you have a snorkel, and that's it. Well, maybe a drysuit, but that doesn't solve the drowning problem. But there are a few possibilities."

And they are?

"I wouldn't recommend the first: human Transfiguration to allow you to be aquatic, like turning you part-shark. I don't think you're at the right level yet," Moony said.

Hmm, becoming a fish Faunus does have its appeal, but you're right. Any other ideas?

"Fish Faunus…is there even such…? Never mind. Anyway, there's the possibility of a Bubble-Head Charm. That should be easy enough to teach you. It creates a spherical area around your head that supplies you with fresh air on a continuous basis, and like SCUBA equipment, it also supplies it at the right pressure. Not only that, but it also prevents the bends, at least up to a certain depth, but that's only really found in the oceans. But there is a problem in that it can be burst fairly easily, and I know for a fact that there's not just Merpeople in the Black Lake, but also Grindylows and a few other aggressive aquatic creatures."

Like the Giant Squid.

"For Merlin's sake…I hope you are joking about that. The Giant Squid is playful."

Is that what they call it these days?

"…You're just messing with me, aren't you?" Neo just gave him an innocent look that she knew didn't fool him one jot. "Please don't. Anyway, the Bubble-Head Charm is easily burst, and casting it again while you're trying not to drown is understandably difficult. Thirdly, and personally, my favourite, is Gillyweed. It's a Mediterranean plant that, when ingested, temporarily gives you gills and flippers. How long depends on how much you consume. It's safer, but you still only have a limited time before the Gillyweed expires."

Neo raised an eyebrow. So, basically, my options are to turn into a part-fish via a dangerous transformation, to turn into part-fish via a safer, by your standards, transformation, or to put a fragile magical bubble over my head and hope some belligerent barracuda doesn't burst my bubble. Hey, alliteration!

"Well, when you put it like that…I have used Gillyweed myself during my Defence Against the Dark Arts studies while researching aquatic creatures," Moony said. "So it is safe, as long as you're still not too deep underwater when the transformation reverses itself. I can estimate a dose based on your body weight and…let's say an hour and twenty minutes worth of time needed underwater. Of course, that's only part of the problem. There are aggressive aquatic creatures in the Black Lake, as I've mentioned."

Neo pursed her lips. Finally, she went over to her Scroll, and activated it, showing Penny's face. "Sal-u-tations!" the gynoid's disembodied mind greeted.

Neo rolled her eyes, before she held up her Coyote Caper. I need something from you. Did you happen to learn anything about Atlas training in underwater combat?

Penny frowned. "Not exactly. My body was rather too heavy to be close to water sources. I was perfectly waterproof, but I would sink like a stone. Well, unless it was pumice or…"

Your answer was rather vague, Neo said. Do you have anything that may be of use in a low-visibility lake filled with probably the equivalent of small Grimm?

"The only protocol in such a situation tends to be for military personnel to leave the water with expedience, before dropping depth charges, as underwater combat with Grimm is too hazardous for the most part, no matter what their size," Penny said. "I presume that's not an option?"

"I don't think the surviving Merpeople would be happy, no," Moony remarked dryly.

Neo pouted. Shame. I would've loved the proper application of high explosives to my problems. Including underwater ones. I once went dynamite fishing with Roman. That was a good day. We even opened up a fish and chips stall at the Vytal Festival that year the very next day. Ah, good times.

Yes, good times, she thought to herself. But they were gone now, along with Roman. And she'd have to make do here, for now…

CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:

Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I didn't really have any inspiration for it. I originally intended a meeting between Charles and Neo, but I couldn't figure out what they'd have to say, so I revolved it around Neo and Remus investigating the Golden Egg, and Dumbledore brooding. There'll probably be a wait for the next chapter too.

That being said, I'm actually astonished at how many favourites and follows this has, especially compared to my other RWBY stories, Under the Light of the Shattered Moon and Pulvis et Umbra Sumus. Hell, this story has over twice the favourites of either of those. It's certainly got the highest amount of favourites and follows of any of my female Harry stories, though my Hellsing crossover The Uncertainty Principle isn't that far behind it.

Actually, one story idea that's been bouncing around in my head revolves around a Harry/Neo pairing (no threeways or multis). If I can get such a story off the ground, regardless of whether it's set in the Potterverse or on Remnant, would any of you read it?

On a not-unrelated subject, I've also done my first Harry Potter crossover with Rooster Teeth's other famous series, Red vs Blue, called Freelancer, Medic, Mage. If you've ever wanted to see Harry paired with Carolina in an AU of the Recollection Trilogy, then give it a whirl.

Also, I was thinking, who should voice Neo? Yeah, ha ha, funny joke, but really, if she had a mental voice, who would voice her? Off the top of my head, I actually would go for Felecia Angelle, on the strength of her performance as Shalltear Bloodfallen from Overlord. I mean, Shalltear is (most of the time) every bit as assured and cruel as Neo. Plus, they're stylish and have parasols…and can be pretty scary.

Review-answering time! DarkDragon2267: He inadvertently shed two soul pieces into the two Potters when he was vanquished, but the one in Neo got absorbed into Charles during the magic-siphoning ritual.

alyanlestrange: Thanks a lot. Getting into the motivations of Roman and Neo took a bit, as we know little about either. Some of Roman's lines, when you read between the lines, suggest that he was either a Hunter, or else looked up to them, only to be disillusioned somehow. As for Neo, well, she's pretty much a blank slate, and while we know she's a psychopath to some degree (or at least someone who enjoys killing, given that grin she sports just before trying to stab Yang), we know little about her. I drew upon a combination of sources, not just canon and RWBY Chibi (which is where the concept of the Coyote Caper came from), but also her portrayal in RumbleintheDumbles' fics Bad for Business and A Change of Heart (the latter of which I recommended in Chapter 8), and a few others, like Service with a Smile by Coeur Al'Aran.

Sakura Lisel: Basically, Charlie is all Voldemort now, or rather, all Tom. While the soul fragments basically hold themselves together with his soul, there is basically nothing of Charles Potter remaining. Charles Potter's soul keeps Voldemort sane, but that's it.

hakon2feb: Penny would be more likely to be Jarvis than Skynet/Ultron. And Voldemort is pretty much the same as in canon, only less stable. Which isn't saying much. It just means he will be about twice as likely to cast a Cruciatus on someone who annoys him.

HolyKnight5: While that's an interesting thought, Charles-Voldemort is not quite like that. While he won't kill off Muggles, he will enslave and exploit them. It'll be a bit like, to use a fictional example, like the Daleks enslaving people instead of just wiping them out in Doctor Who.

Guest (regarding the lyrics of I Burn): You're quibbling, and Junior has a rocket launcher in the Yellow Trailer that doubles as an oversized club. So Remnant does have rockets, thank you very muchly. Just not space rockets.

Lightskiller: The song is I Burn. A modified version was used towards the end of the Yellow Trailer of RWBY, from about 4 minutes 15 seconds in. The song itself can be found on the soundtrack album of Volume 1 of RWBY in different versions.

No numbered annotations this time.