Chapter 6: Running out of time

Two days after the incident with Gajeel, Dumbledore made a quiet appearance in the Order's Headquarters. He made sure that Harry wasn't aware of his being been there for the day by placing several spells inside of Gajeel's room to speak to the other mages. It was his first time meeting Yukino, Sting, and Cobra. The poison slayer immediately had a dislike towards the other man. He did not appreciate the fact he could not hear anything from him at all. It was like hitting a wall.

Dumbledore was friendly, giving warm smiles to the newest even though he wasn't blind to the suspicious looks the marooned haired man was sending at him. Laxus wasn't an idiot however, as he was not falling for the warmth the older man was portraying. It might be genuine, but there was an underlying motive to it. Dumbledore expressed that the best place to continue researching their dilemma would be at Hogwarts. He spoke to them on the latest reports of the Death Eaters, as a muggle tourist boat in London was attacked the day before with several casualties.

It did not sit well with Lucy knowing lives were lost by the Dark Lord's followers, however, she could not blame Laxus as he voiced he wasn't agreeing on going to Hogwarts just yet. After Dumbledore left and Sting voiced that they should just agree already, Laxus mentioned they could not give Dumbledore the leverage the man was looking for. That would be giving him too much power over them, something they could not afford just yet.

After that, Lucy spent most of her time in Sirius' bedroom. She couldn't bring herself to leave the iron slayer alone. Hermione and Ginny would come and spend some time with her, alongside Wendy. The boys would occasionally come up, but wouldn't stay long. Ron was still afraid of the man that was laying perfectly still. Sting and Yukino would come a few times during the day, specially for Lucy to take a shower and eat at an actual table and not on her lap. After the first night that Laxus brought her dinner, with the help of George, they brought two of the couches from the ground floor up to the third floor. He knew she would refuse to leave Gajeel alone at night and he wanted to make sure he was there in case the iron slayer woke up violently. Lucy wasn't sure what to say at his silent gesture of comfort, so she just left it alone.

By the fourth day, Gajeel finally woke up. Sting had been bored, skimming through the Daily Prophet when he heard a groan coming from Gajeel. He placed the paper down but as he went over to him, he was hit right on the face with the iron club. Gajeel was confused, hungry, and with a massive headache. Lucy and Laxus came in the moment Laxus heard a smack on the floor. Lucy's eyes were brimming in tears seeing the temperamental dragon up, slightly pale, but okay otherwise.

Gajeel didn't recognize Laxus right away and snarled, "Get away form her!"

Laxus heard the footsteps of others coming, so he pushed Lucy further in and closed the door, "Will you shut the fuck up!"

It sounded slightly younger, but he knew that voice anywhere. The iron club finally disappeared from the man's hand as he lowered it, "... Laxus?"

There was a knock and a muffled voice, "Guys, everything ok?"

Lucy shouted back, "Yeah Harry, we are good!"

She smiled softly at Gajeel as Sting was finally up from the floor rubbing his cheek, "Sit. We got a lot of things to explain."

They told him everything. From when they disappeared after the dragons to what Dumbledore had asked of them. Gajeel was quick to object to the idea.

"No wizard is going to tell me what to do!"

It took him an extra two days to finally make himself known properly to the wizards and he enjoyed the shocked look on their faces. Thanks to Wendy and Cobra (which he was still having a hard time to believe had saved his life) he was able to heal and with no scars. The wizards weren't sure if they were intimidated by him or they were just actually terrified. Laxus and Erik already seemed dangerous, even though they only could see the younger appearance. Sting was too care free to give them that vibe, but there was something about Gajeel that was wild. They didn't know if it was the long messy black hair or how red his eyes were. That was the biggest attribute that didn't sit well with Harry.

Hermione was the first one to approach the man after introductions had been made. He could smell how nervous she was, but she tried and quickly told him she could teach him anything he needed to know about their world. It instantly reminded him of Levy. He squashed the strange feeling in his heart at the memory of the script mage and grunted out a thank you to Hermione.

The days kept going by until it was just four days away from the start of the term.

Lucy had been restless and had started to shut down completely. Not even Yukino or Laxus could get her to talk anymore about how she felt. Even Gajeel tried but it had been futile. Only one that could hear the worry of the girl was Cobra, that even him of all people started to get concerned. She had one of the most interesting minds and souls he had ever come across. Seeing her lively spirit slowly diminishing was something that was starting to get him on the edge.

Lucy was grateful for everything that the wizards had done for them. She was grateful for the support her friends were showing her. However, nothing could make her nerves go away. The term was about to start and she had hoped that both Natsu and Rogue would show up already so they could help the wizards more. She could not help but think that something horrifying happened to them. Both were strong, so she could not think that.

Right?

The following day, Harry had opened up fully to the Fiore mages. Told them everything Voldemort had done to him. How he had used the body of a professor on his first year, how his second year he came across his spirit version and a Basilisk, his third year finding out the real traitor for the death of his parents, and finally, what he did during the Triwizard Tournament and killed an innocent kid, Cedric. He told them everything about what the Daily Prophet had been publishing through the whole summer about him and how he was worried that once the school year started, that no one was going to believe him.

One thing it was hearing the events of what's happened the past couple of years through Dumbledore, another thing was hearing it from Harry himself. At the end, he was just a fifteen year old kid that got thrown into this destiny and not having much of a choice.

Kingsley, a dark skinned man that worked for the Ministry of Magic, had taken upon himself to create false birth certificates and school transfer papers for all of them. That night, Lucy had called for the Fiore mages to make a decision on the matter since they would need school supplies and robes to fit in.

"I know that they are alive…" Lucy started, "Rogue and Natsu are extremely strong. But I think we should just agree to help. Sirius said he would take care of Rogue and Natsu the moment they would turn up. Harry already explained to us with more detail what's going on and after hearing it from him... I can't say no."

Cobra leaned back on his chair, "The only ones that I can't hear anything from are Snape and Dumbledore. Every single wizard here is beyond terrified of Voldemort and his increase of powers and followers. Not many wizards want to stand up to him and the Ministry of Magic is a complete joke. Although they haven't seen what we are capable of, they really think we can make a difference."

Gajeel grunted, clearly displeased, "We should be focusing on getting back home."

Wendy stared at her hands as she spoke, "What if we can't?"

Sting placed a hand on her head, "Don't think like that. Of course we will."

Yukino's eyes turned softer, "I've been going through every single book Hermione has and not one does it say anything about portals or anything like that."

"Hermione mentioned that the library at Hogwarts has a lot more material and a forbidden section. Dumbledore also said the research would be better at Hogwarts." Laxus said as he stared at the fire with his arms crossed.

Lucy walked up to him and looked at the thoughtful look on his face, "So you agree?"

He gave her a side glance as his eyebrow quirked up, "I don't like the idea of listening to some old geezer on what we need to do and give us orders. We do this, we are doing things our way. I do agree that a group of fifteen year old kids should not be facing shit like this alone."

Lucy nodded, "Harry has gone through enough..."

Cobra remained quiet at that. He knew how much the young boy had suffered. He could relate, after everything he went through when he was a kid. He never thought he could sympathize with someone else until he met Harry.

"But there's the issue of magic," Gajeel quickly interjected, "Them two are the only ones that are holder type. They may be able to use a wand. What about the rest of us?"

"From what I read on one of Hermione's books," Wendy said, "Ollivander is a very talented wizard for wand making. He may be able to do something for us to be able to blend in."

Sting snorted, "Blend in? You have blue hair, he has red eyes and piercings, and this one is missing an eye."

Cobra rolled his eye, "Thanks for that captain obvious."

Yukino looked at Sting, "At least him and Laxus are wearing the charms already, to look younger. Even if Cobra is missing an eye. Gajeel, maybe you should start wearing it too."

Laxus tossed the necklace to Gajeel, who caught it with ease. He wasn't pleased, but put it on without a word. Wendy's eyes were wide, as she had never pictured him with actual eyebrows. Some of his muscle mass was gone and his eyes were no longer red, but a dark brown.

Sting was openly staring. Gajeel growled, "What?"

"You with eyebrows is just weird."

"So everyone agrees that we should tell them we will do it? And just hope that the other two come here soon?" Lucy asked quickly as she did not want the two of them to start fighting.

Over almost the past month, she had gotten to know them better. Specifically Laxus, Cobra, and Sting. Like Laxus said the very first day they arrived on Earth, this was their team now.

A weird team filled with snarky dragon slayers and two celestial mages.

"Let's get this over with," Laxus said as he started walking towards the door, "We need to get supplies if we are doing this. Let's go and tell them."

Everyone was in the dining area preparing to eat with the exception of Snape and Dumbledore, which Laxus was kind of glad about since he preferred speaking with the old man on his own. All of them went into the dining room and stared at the wizards. Ron choked in his drink as he saw Gajeel looking different and the rest openly stared. Laxus glanced at Lucy and gave her a nudge for her to say something.

She sent him a small glare since she was hoping he would be the one to tell the wizards the news.

"So… we have talked… and since the term is just a few days away, we have decided to attend Hogwarts and... Help you against the Dark Lord," She ignored Ron's flinch, "We feel that maybe in the school we will find the information we need to go back home."

Yukino nodded as she added in, "We get two of our own are not here with us yet, but we know they'll be in good hands while we are at Hogwarts and the phoenix brings them here."

"Wait- You want to fight him?" Ginny asked aghast. She was wide eyed as she looked at her friends and her family.

"You seriously think you can stand a chance against him?" Harry bluntly asked. He didn't know what to make of it. They were going to join the cause? When he had wanted to join, Molly had outright refused, making him feel like a child. But there was young Wendy, agreeing to what Lucy had said and no one was batting an eye.

Cobra snorted, "Don't underestimate us kid. This Dark Lord will have to get through dragon slayers to get to anyone at the school."

Lucy cleared her throat while her and Yukino sent him glares. He rolled his eye, "And two celestial wizards."

Laxus saw Harry and Ron giving looks at Wendy, "For the love of God. She only looks twelve, but she's far more powerful than what you think."

Remus chuckled as he clapped his hands together, "Well, I guess we should take you shopping to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

Lucy looked at him and gave him a single nod. Sirius seemed relieved, as he went up to Laxus and started murmuring something to him. Molly couldn't help the worry spread in her as she saw these young people offering their help. She knew this would create an issue with Harry and knew that Dumbledore would be displeased that they shared they would be protecting the school to the kids. Could she really blame them though? There were friendships being created for the small amount they've known each other. In order for this to end, they needed to stand together. She felt deep in her heart that they were not bluffing. She just hoped that it would never come down to it to reveal themselves to the entire school.

The following morning, Lucy couldn't help but feel excited about their upcoming trip. She had a hard time sleeping the previous night, Yukino and Wendy laughing at her for her excitement.

"We may be in another world, but shopping is shopping anywhere!"

When it came down to eat breakfast, Cobra had to hold his head as he muttered, "She's even yelling in her head. Someone please stop her."

Laxus snorted as he continued having a conversation with the Twins.

Once everyone was ready after breakfast, it was decided that only Hermione, besides Remus and Tonks, would take the Fiore group to Diagon Alley. The Twins had loudly complained, and so had Harry and Ron, but Molly was quick to put a stop at their whining.

"They have to focus! All of four of you would just distract them!"

Laxus looked at Sting, Gajeel, and Cobra, "I think I rather deal with them than you three."

Sting gawked at him while Cobra and Gajeel glared. Lucy shook her head, "So how are we getting there?"

Tonks grinned, "We are going over to Molly's house and from there we will use the floo powder to get directly to Diagon Alley. It will still be packed because bunch of wizard parents like leaving things for the last minute."

Wendy looked around sheepishly, "But we don't have any money…"

Remus smiled, "Don't worry about that. Now," he brought out an old shoe, "Why don't you all touch this so we can get going."

Lucy, Wendy, Laxus, and Yukino looked at it weirdly as the four of them already had experience using a portkey. The others had not yet. Sting raised his eyebrow and looked at Yukino.

"What is it?"

But before he could get and answer, she grabbed his hand and pulled him as all of them touched it.

Laxus had not forgotten the feel of it and he still equally hated it.

The only ones that landed on their feet at the Burrow in the living room were Hermione, Remus, and Tonks. Everyone else landed on top of each other.

"GET OFF ME NOW!"

"COBRA THAT'S MY HAIR!"

"Ow! Sting get off!"

"SOMEONE GET YOUR GODDAMN FOOT OFF MY—"

"Whoever is on top of me can you move… I'm little…"

"Lucy… get your boobs off my face!"

"I can't Gajeel is on top—OW THAT WAS MY LEG!"

Hermione stifled a laugh as she saw them struggling to get up, but her eyes widened when all Dragon Slayers grew green and pushed each other out the door to the grass area where sounds of throwing up reached her ears. Yukino and Lucy had disgusted looks on their faces. Laxus did not even throw up the last time they used a portkey.

Tonks look confused, "I really thought it was just Laxus and Wendy."

"They're dragon slayers. They all have motion sickness although I don't know how it's possible."

When they came back, Lucy couldn't help but smirk at the miserable look on the faces of the guys, specially Laxus since he was still trying to put a strong face. He caught her smirking at him and he glared at her. Hermione had gone up to Wendy who seemed teary eyed and put an arm around her shoulder to support her.

Remus held a small cauldron as he motioned to it. He was standing next to the chimney as he looked at them, "This is the floo powder. You have to stand inside the chimney with a handful of this, say your location which will be Diagon Alley, and throw the powder. You'll be engulfed in green flame but it's harmless. Be clear when you say it."

Tonks grabbed a handful and had Wendy get in with her. She grinned at the small girl who was worried on feeling sick again, but Tonks paid it no mind.

"You guys can do two at a time. Relax girl, you'll be okay. DIAGON ALLEY!"

She threw the powder on the floor of the chimney and bright green flames shot up, and suddenly, both girls were gone. Hermione grinned at Yukino and asked her to be her partner. A line had been formed, but since Laxus was still dealing with his headache, he didn't realize Lucy was his partner until they were inside the chimney. She was beyond nervous when it was their turn and she couldn't stop herself and wrapped her arm around his. She was used to flames, as she had known Natsu for a long time, but these were unfamiliar ones.

She took a deep breath as Laxus called out the place and she 'eeped' the moment the flames rose. When she opened her eyes, she was shocked beyond belief they were now standing inside some store. Laxus chuckled at her.

"You can let go now blondie, although I don't mind you clinging to me like that. You did put your boobs on my face earlier."

Lucy blushed and punched him in the arm, "You're such a pervert!"

"You guys should move before someone else comes through," Hermione suggested to them. Lucy was still flushed by his comment but did as Hermione asked. He still had a smirk on his face. It was too easy to rile her up.

Cobra was unnerved by the method of traveling. Gajeel had a scowl on his face, and Sting seemed to have been the only one to genuinely enjoy it.

Once everyone was good to go, they made their way out onto Diagon Alley. The Fiore mages were beyond overwhelmed and amazed with all the different magical shops. Parents with their kids were walking around carrying boxes, bags, brooms, and wands. Remus didn't waste any time and quickly took charge.

"We will go to Ollivander's for your wands," He said as he looked at them, "It'll be where we are most likely going to spend the most time in."

Wendy's chocolate brown eyes wasn't sure where to look at all as they started to walk. There were stuff on the windows everywhere.

However, a moment of sadness enveloped her as she really wished for Carla to see the amazing world she was experiencing. The exceed was a motherly figure to her and it's been difficult dealing with all of this without her by her side.

When they reached Ollivander's, the shop keeper's vibrant blue eyes brighten.

"Oh yes! The transfer students! I have been wondering when you would be coming into my humble store. Ever since Dumbledore mentioned you, I've been anxiously expecting you."

Laxus refrained himself from rolling his eyes. It seemed that Dumbledore had gotten ahead of them.

Ollivander walked around the counter and smiled them. Taking out his wand, he swirled it to make one of the bookshelves disappear before them, leading to another room that even Hermione, Tonks, and Remus were surprised to see. He had them follow him in a line to a circular room. It was dimly lit by the candles, strange patterns on the wooden floor. Lucy squinted her eyes to see a silver box vault in the middle. Ollivander tapped the top of it with his wand, for the others to see it magically unlocking before them.

His voice held excitement as he spoke to them, "Wands like these are rare. I'm not about to have you try the ones out in the front. Your magic is special."

"Did long bearded guy tell him everything he knows?" Gajeel grumbled quietly under his breath. Lucy elbowed his stomach as he was behind her.

Ollivander smiled at all of them, "Now, how about we start with the oldest?"

Sting snorted and nudged Laxus, "Go ahead old man."

The taller blond glared at him as he stepped forward. Hermione's eyebrows scrunched in suspicion. Maybe he was the oldest because of when his birthday was, as majority seemed to be the same age. He held his gaze and head high as Ollivander walked around him.

"Which one is your wand hand?"

Laxus was unsure of what he meant, but he figured he meant his primary hand and held out his right. Ollivander pulled out a small orb from the vault and held it to Laxus.

"I need you to hold this and use your magic on it."

He gave Laxus gently the orb and stepped back. Laxus slowly started to bring out his magical aura as he held the orb.

"More," Ollivander said with wide eyes as he saw the small sparks of lightning dancing around the other man.

He did as he was told and the orb started to glow as the sparks revolved around it. Ollivander went and inspected the orb, adjusting his small reading glasses and smiled.

"Unpredictable, wild, powerful. However, although it's wild, it is tamed. You're in charge of it."

He opened the box carefully that was inside the vault. With thoughtfulness, he pulled out a wand, "This is a thirteen inch wand made of Acacia wood with the core of a thunderbird tail feather. It is powerfully—but difficult to master unless in the right hands. This wood is unusual and various times the wizard that holds it cannot control it. Give it a tap on the orb."

Laxus slightly swallowed as he did so. The wood of the wand felt smooth against his hands. Upon contact with the orb,he felt a strong jolt of lightning coming from his arm onto the wand, connecting with the magic in the orb.

He thought it would take them forever to find wands since their magic was so different, but it seemed that the shopkeeper had everything planned out for them. The man smiled at him and had him go back to the others. Lucy's curiosity got the best of her and went next to Laxus, her wide chocolate brown eyes staring at it.

"Huh. Unpredictable and powerful. It's like it was made for you specifically."

He looked at her and then at the wand, "Sounds like it."

Ollivander motioned Sting to step forward.

He handed Sting the orb carefully and had him do the same thing that Laxus had. The white aura wrapped around the orb beautifully and it glowed. Ollivander went back to the long box that he pulled out and grabbed a wand.

Ollivander smiled, "This is cedar wood and the core it's dragon heartstring. Give it a go."

And suddenly, Sting felt his magic becoming one with the wand the moment he moved it carefully to the orb. He could feel the acceptance of it.

"Those that get chosen by a cedar wand are notoriously known for their strength and loyalty. The wand being paired with the right owner can be a bit frightening to those that threaten the holder of the wand, but it also brings great amount of strength and loyalty to the wielder."

Gajeel couldn't help but smirk slightly at that. The words of the old man took him to the final day of the games, when Sting was ready to battle all five of the Fairy team to get Lector back. Gajeel knew that kid was extremely loyal to his exceed, and now being faced with the fact of all of them working together while they are in this strange world, he knew Sting would be there for anyone.

And so, one by one went to get their wands.

Cobra's wand had surprised Remus and Tonks. It was made out of Applewood, but its core is what they were cautious about. It was made from a horned serpent, powerful and sensitive to the snake's language, parseltongue, and it was capable of warning its owner of danger by emitting a low musical tone. Hermione couldn't help herself and brought up the fact that Voldemort was a parseltongue.

Instead of seeing the Fiore wizards concerned that Cobra had gotten a wand with similarities to the Dark Lord, she saw them rolling their eyes.

"Honestly, not surprised at all." Lucy had said with a shake of her head.

Yukino was given a beautiful wand made out of ebony with unicorn tail hair as its core. Gajeel was been given a pine wand with rouogarou hair as its core. Again, Hermione was surprised to see a sort of dark wand being passed to one of their group, but none of them were batting an eye. She was learning more about them, that even if dark tendencies were in some of their group, it did not matter to them. She was astonished at the amount of trust between them.

The two that took the night however, had been Wendy and Lucy. The younger girl was extremely excited but nervous. She had tripped, but surprisingly it had been Cobra who had caught her before she could face plant on the floor. She thanked him as as she grabbed the orb and Ollivander handed her a wand, none of them were surprised that her wand, made of willow wood with unicorn tail hair, had healing magic. Ollivander went on to explain that usual owners of a wand like that had insecurities about themselves and Wendy couldn't help but agree. She had always felt as the weakest out of all the dragon slayers, seeing herself as only just support. She was proud of her performance on the games against Shelia, but that didn't erase the fact that she had been ambushed by Raven Tail before the games started.

She couldn't even do much damage to a dragon either. But her worries went away when Ollivander told her willow wands always pick those with the greatest potential.

Lucy was beyond nervous since she was the last one to get her wand. She did everything everyone had done but she noticed there was a certain glint on the man's eye as he handed her the last wand, a pear wood wand with phoenix feather as its core. She couldn't help but feel an overwhelming warmth the moment she waved the wand and tapped the orb. Ollivander smiled and explained that pear wands were considered pure, never one to be known to be in the possession of a dark wizard. A pear wand tended to pick those with a warm heart and generous, and Laxus couldn't help it and found himself agreeing.

She was the light of everyone's darkness. Ever since he had seen her again after helping them in Tenrou, there was a growth within her and the impact she had on everyone on the guild was admirable. She forgave him and Gajeel for their wrongs. She forgave Sting for not standing up to Yukino and for the nasty stuff he said about her after Minerva attacked her. She forgave Cobra, who had tried to kill her years ago, and now she all saw them as her equal, just like her spirits. No one was less in her heart and mind.

Everyone left the wand shop with excitement and happiness, the girls gushing over their new wands that would let them participate in some of the classes. Cobra couldn't help but cracked a tiny smile, not a smirk but a smile every now and then. He could hear everyone's excitement that it was influencing his own mood. He looked at the wand again before putting it away, and he couldn't help but miss his partner Cubelios in that moment. He could've sworn he had heard its voice when he was fighting the dragon, but now he would never be sure unless they went back.

They took them to every shop where they needed to get their supplies. Fitting them into robes had been comical for the males, specially Sting who kept complaining it was too many layers of clothes. The girls were overjoyed, Lucy thinking of ways to make the robes more 'cute' since all the colors were in dark tones, but she still loved them.

When it came down to their books, all the males complained loudly at the amount. Remus had informed them that they were going to be doing some extra work to catch up to their class years and told each one what year they would be starting. Although they were mainly going for protection, they needed to be able to blend in and not arise suspicions within the school.

Wendy was the luckiest since she only needed to get caught up with first, second year, and third year, all three known as the 'easiest' years, per Hermione. Although she was not fourteen, she did hold a great maturity that Dumbledore deemed it best for her to start in fourth year. Yukino, Lucy, Gajeel, and Sting would be in fifth year, meaning they needed to catch up with four years of work. Hermione was ecstatic as they would be the same year as her and her friends.

However, the ones that were going to suffer the most were Laxus and Cobra, who had gotten seventh year at Hogwarts. Neither of them liked knowing they would be separated in such ways for classes, specially for Wendy who was going to be taking classes with other fourth years instead with them. Hermione reassured them that she would be fine as long as she wasn't placed in Slytherin, which the likeliness of that happening were slim to none.

The last stop, and it was because of pure curiosity, was the pet shop. There were multiple cats, owls, snakes, and toads. Neither of them were going to get anything, but they still wanted to check out the place. As Gajeel walked around, he stopped the moment he saw a black cat with small ears, painfully reminding him of Panther Lily. Lucy noticed where the iron slayer was staring at and she couldn't help but feel sad for him.

She walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm, "I'm sure he's okay. The dragons disappeared when the gate was destroyed. He's okay."

He swallowed as he saw the small cat playing with his finger, "I finally have my own cat and I get separated from it."

"I can't imagine, but he has Levy," she noticed the way he tensed by hearing her name and she squeezed his arm, "They're going to be fine. They're going to look after each other."

He turned to her and gave her a look, "How are you holding up? You were shutting down. Here I thought you would be tearing the town apart looking for your boyfriend."

Without missing a beat, she smacked him on the back of his head, "He's not my boyfriend. And… I am worried. But I know he's okay. In all honesty, nothing can kill him."

Gajeel rubbed his head and snorted, "Ya got that right."

She was going to say something when she felt someone behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see Laxus.

"Everyone's going to head outside now. They want to go to the pub that's right across the street if you guys want to meet us there once you're done here."

She looked at Gajeel and then at the black cat and smiled at him, "We'll catch up! I can't get lost with Gajeel, his nose will find you guys."

Laxus snorted as Gajeel glared at her. With a nod at her, he turned around and left. Gajeel crossed his arms and was curiously staring at the blonde as she still had her gaze where the lightning dragon had gone off to.

"What's with you and lightbulb?" He bluntly asked. He instantly smirked by the way she jumped and blushed.

"N-nothing! What makes you ask that?" She blinked rapidly.

He snorted, "The way you were staring at his ass as he walked away."

Her blushed deepened and she shrieked, "I was not!"

He covered his ears, "Don't be so goddam loud!"

"Sorry. But nothing is going on. And I mean—even if I wanted something it is highly doubtful!" she started rambling, "Like, how could he pay attention to someone like me in the first place? It's ridiculous. Besides, I'm so sure Mira is worried sick about him! Besides—that is the last thing on my mind right now, having a stupid crush on his highn—" Her eyes widened dramatically as she realized what she had said out loud and to whom.

Gajeel's red eyes widened. He had been teasing her, but she actually had a crush on the blonde?

She shook her head, "Forget I said anything. It's probably because he has been so attentive with me, Wendy, and Yukino that has my head all messed up. Just… don't mention it to anyone. I wouldn't be able to look at him if he found out. It's nothing."

And instead of teasing her how she thought he was going to, he smirked at her.

"It's none of my business anyways so I ain't got nothin' to say to anyone. You're good Bunny Girl."

She beamed at him brightly, relieved to hear those words coming from him.

"We should go back now. We can eat and then we can go back and prepare to our first day soon."

Laxus was impatiently tapping his foot as he glanced at the clock on the wall and glared at the stairs. He looked at the rest of his companions in annoyance.

"How long does it take to fucking get ready? Train leaves in half an hour."

Cobra rolled his eye, "Lucy is helping Hermione with her hair."

Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why couldn't she just summon Cancer to get it over with."

Fifteen minutes later, all five girls came down the stairs. The moment Laxus heard the footsteps, he turned around and was ready to yell at Lucy for making everyone lag, something he had always done to Evergreen too in the past, but stopped as he opened his mouth.

He wasn't sure why he couldn't get the words out. It's not like she was in a revealing dress or wearing a cropped shirt like she tended to do. She was dressed in a short black skirt with white leggings underneath and black boots that were all the way laced up. She was wearing a royal blue princess like vest, which accentuated her curves, on top of a black long sleeve. She had her bags with her and her face was flushed from carrying her stuff down. All of the other girls were dressed casual but extremely pretty, Hermione feeling embarrassed by the way Harry and Ron were staring at her since they had never seen her in a skirt other than the school uniform.

What got him the most was the way her long bangs framed her face and all what was on her head was a royal blue head band.

Usually when someone would stare at her, she would smirk at them and give them a flirtatious wink. However as she felt his eyes on her, she felt shy. She heard a snort and she glared as she noticed it had come from both Cobra and Gajeel.

"Sorry for the lag, but we are ready to go!" She said with a strained smile as she held herself from jumping at the two smirking dragons. Sting got Yukino's suitcase and winked at all the girls.

"Gonna have to keep an eye on all of you," and he winked, getting a blushing Yukino to stumble on her words.

"Stop!"

Remus called out from the living room, "Let's go everyone!"

"What the hell do you mean we have to run into the wall?" Gajeel hissed as he stared at the Golden Trio. The noise was high at the train station, multiple poeple trying to get to their terminals on time.

Hermione shook her head, "You're not running into it. You're running through it."

Harry nodded, "You just go in. You won't smack into it."

Ron snorted, "I don't know mate, don't you remember our second year—"

"Trust us, that's how we get on the train!" Hermione hurriedly said as she stared at her watch. They had ten minutes.

Sting cringed, "Why do we have to get there on a train?"

Cobra slowly nodded, "You would think they had other forms of transportation to get to Hogwarts."

"For the love of God, just go already!" Laxus loudly said and shoved Gajeel with his cart, giving him no choice but to start running and he soon disappeared the moment he came in contact with the wall.

Sting blinked twice and his eyes widened with mischievousness, "Let's go!" and with no warning he grabbed Yukino's hand and dragged the poor woman alongside him. Lucy smiled at that, knowing well that Sting had gotten close to Yukino the past few weeks to make up for his behavior when he didn't defend her in front of their old guild master. It was refreshing seeing his change of attitude.

Once all of them were on the other side, they were completely overwhelmed with the sight of so many students with different colored robes and of different ages moving all over the station to get inside the Hogwarts Express. Lucy noticed the way that Harry's shoulders slumped the moment various students kept giving him strange looks and she could hear the low murmurs from both parents and students. She knew it had to do with what happened to him the year before and what he went through during the summer. Gajeel glared at those he heard loud and clear saying inappropriate things to the young boy, and those that met his gaze would quickly cower. Lucy could still feel the uneasiness from him, so she did the one thing she could do.

She wrapped her arm around his. Harry, surprised, looked at her confused by her sudden action. She gave him a brilliant smile but didn't say anything.

That's when he noticed the glares Gajeel kept sending to others and occasionally Laxus. Maybe 5th year wouldn't be so bad with them around.

When they finally were successful and found an empty cart, Harry's eyes could only widened as he saw all of them trying to fit in it. The guys were pushing each other and cursing at one another. He still was having a hard time believing they would see each other as family by the way they kept threatening each other, mainly the males and Lucy.

Suddenly, the train jerked and all male dragon slayers paled. Gajeel looked at Wendy, "Quick! The Troia spell!"

The small slayer however, was already turning green.

"This can't be happening!"

Cobra put his fist against his mouth and turned around and walked out, "I'm just gonna go to another cart… one of you pukes and I won't be able to hold it in."

And with that, Yukino and Sting followed him. Ginny volunteered to go in their cart in case they had any questions with Ron following along. Harry and Hermione stayed with the others.

"How long is the train ride?" Lucy asked Harry as she tried to ignore the groaning from the others. The only one that wasn't complaining was Laxus, but by the greenish tint on his face, she knew he was dealing with it pretty badly. She had Wendy lay her head on her lap while Gajeel sat next to her, head against the window, same position as Laxus who was across from him.

He sympathetically looked at them, "It's going to be a couple of hours…"

As the train started to make its way to Hogwarts, they all just sat in a comfortable silence. Eventually, Hermione needed to use the bathroom, so she excused herself quietly, not wanting to wake up the three dragon slayers that had forced themselves to sleep through the nausea.

Lucy was running her hands through Wendy's blue locks, "Thank you by the way."

She looked at him, startled by his sudden gratitude, "What for?"

He blushed slightly, "For earlier. It helped knowing that I have support besides Ron and Hermione. You saw the looks. No one believes me that he's back and it's infuriating. Did I fail to mention that Dumbledore had told Hermione and Ron to not write me during the summer in case they mentioned the Order?" he paused for a moment as he took a deep breath, "I just don't want anyone looking at me like I'm crazy anymore."

"We believe you Harry. You don't have to face this alone. We know you're telling the truth."

"How? I mean, you barely know me honestly."

She grinned at him, "Don't worry about it."

Feeling the ground underneath him was like a blessing in disguise. He had never been so drained after just a train ride. But then again, he had never been on a train ride for eight hours straight. It seemed that the others had similar thoughts, as the males stretched and kept taking deep breaths.

He rose his eyebrow as an old tall woman with black robes with a pendant on her neck and a black pointy hat approached him, "Are you Laxus Dreyar?"

He nodded as he extended his hand, "Yes Ma'am."

She felt her lips twitching at the politeness in the man. She hardly came across extremely well behaved teenagers.

"I'm Professor McGonogall. I am here to escort you with the First Years. It is tradition that any new students come through the lake on boats."

Laxus cleared his throat, "Professor, is there another alternative? You see, five of us—"

"Suffer from motion sickness. Yes, I am aware. I have a potion with me that will help the lot of you. Now if you follow me."

She said it a little bit louder, getting the attention of the rest. Lucy grabbed Harry's arm and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

"We'll see you at school!"

The boat ride had been beautiful to say the least. Night time was upon them, the lantern in the boat illuminating the water as it magically moved towards the destination. She looked over at the three slayers with her, smiling as she saw them finally enjoying a form of transportation without puking their brains out or feeling like their heads were splitting into two. Her brown eyes moved back to the lake, noticing how much it resembled glass as they glided right through it. In the distance, a gasp slipped her lips as they could now see with castle up on a hill. It was massive and it seemed that the now moonlight was now helping with its beauty.

"Hopefully the answer to get back home is in there," Gajeel said as he put his hands behind his head and looked at the castle.

Cobra picked at his nails as he was on the boat next to them, "I'm not complaining. The moment we are back home I'll be going back to jail. No rush from my part."

Lucy shot him a look, but realized their two boats were separated from all the first years.

Wendy turned around and looked at Laxus, "So what are our rules for our magic?"

He raised his eyebrow at her. He had been too busy watching the water with his chin resting on his palm, "Huh? Why are you asking me?"

Lucy giggled as she continued to stare at the castle as they got closer, "You kind of became our leader. All of us are going to be looking at you for guidance."

He scoffed, "Pick someone else. I ain't doing it."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, we'll just have Sting speak for us then."

"Never mind," he said quickly as Sting was now offended from the other boat, "Anyways, I guess we are just going to blend in for now. Not show them our magic. I'm sure the students would freak the fuck out anyways. That's the last thing we want."

Gajeel raised his eyebrow, "So not magic at all?"

"I never said that. Not around the students or the rest of the staff. I will talk to Dumbledore about letting us leave campus every now and then to train. We can't be sitting ducks and rely on these magic sticks anyways. We have to be ready for what's to come."

Which they didn't know what they were signing up for the moment they agreed to this. They were bound to face a Dark Lord with his Army, but at what cost? What will it take to get back home?

They agreed to a battle that wasn't even theirs.

Yukino chewed at her lip as they were nearing closer. Sting put a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay."

She turned to him, his bright blue eyes so carefree and open. She knew she could trust him. He was her friend. She nodded as she saw the first boats reaching the small dock at the bottom of a hill, the steep stone steps leading to an entry way of the castle.

Although those in the other boat were not in Fairy Tail, they shared similarities. Cobra had first hand experience with abuse and being made into a follower for a darker cause. Sting and Yukino followed their unpleasant Guild Master. They simply could not turn away from helping them. It wasn't in their nature to do so.

And as the boat came to a halting stop and Laxus helped her off the boat, she did not let go of his hand as her brown eyes stared at the giant castle.

This is it. We are here.