Veronica thought for a moment.
"Can we give them at least a little bit?" She asked, glaring over at her sisters.
You gave her a look, and Ron sighed.
"Let's go…" She said sadly.
Ruby was not a drunkard. She had always been quite firm on that fact whenever her alcohol consumption was brought up.
She was just… a bit more capable of holding her alcohol than others, given her giant biology. That simply meant she drank more.
It was everyone else's fault, honestly, for being such lightweights.
Hagrid sighed, resting her forehead on the bar at the Leaky Cauldron. That's what her mother used to say, at the very least.
Hagrid grumbled, only slightly buzzed, and lifted her head, fishing out her coin pouch, alongside, accidentally, a fistful of the other random items that had been in her pocket, and reaching inside to withdraw a few more Sickles.
Sliding them over to the bartender, the woman smiled at her as she took them.
.
------------->
.
"Another round, Rubes?" She said, knowingly. Already pouring the glass, she continued. "You know, I'm glad. During the school year, you usually vanish entirely, so it's good to see you, even if it's just a few days before the start. You're my best customer, after all~" She finished, sliding the glass down the table.
Ruby caught it, glaring a bit.
"Shut up, Rose." She grumbled before lifting it up and down the oversized tanker of whisky. As much as she disliked the teasing, Rose had been kind to her over the years. The most telling part of that kindness came in her custom mug for the Tavern.
Rose only charged her regular prices, even though she filled up Ruby's much larger glass with nearly twice the alcohol of others.
The white-haired woman just smiled, moving on to the next customer, while Hagrid busied herself with looking down at the variety of random items that had emerged from the depths of her coat.
A scraplet, which she crushed promptly before it could get to the nearby stirring spoon, a couple more sickles, enough for one more round, a couple of old notes and bills and-
Hagrid swallowed, as she slowly reached down and lifted the image of her parents from the table.
.
----------->
.
Seeing Dad smile and wave at her, his hand on Mum's leg, was both uplifting and heartbreaking. Da' really had been the life of their family. The glue. When he passed away, they'd just… fallen apart.
Mum had returned to the homelands, and Ruby had stayed behind… It hadn't been a pretty separation. Now, years later, she hasn't spoken to her mother once… Sure, she received letters, but Ruby…
She couldn't help but feel it was Mum's fault. Sometimes she couldn't help but feel it was her own. She swallowed, staring at the smiling figure of her father for only a few more seconds, before tucking it away into her pocket once more.
She'd… She'd do something.
Maybe, write to Mom. A small note. If she felt like it. Maybe.
Swallowing heavily, she took another drink, the burn fortifying her.
Rose came back around, grinning. There was a distinctly more sympathetic view, though, in the way she smiled.
"Another failure?"
Ruby sighed.
The half-giantess had been going on blind dates for the past few months and, well…
She flinched at the memory of the date earlier today, if you could even still call it that. Ruby had shown up in her best outfit-
.
--------------->
.
-hell, she'd even had Minerva help her with her hair, but the man she was supposed to meet.
Hagrid gulped, holding back tears at the memory of him screaming and literally running away.
"Yeesh, that bad?" Rose asked, wincing.
Ruby nodded morosely.
The bartender refilled her cup.
"On me. You'll get a man one day, girl. That little shit's an idiot. Why, if I wasn't married, I'd have had that big tongue of yours between my-"
"I get it!" Ruby yelped, looking around. "I get it, thank you, Rose." Her voice carried a silent plea for her to stop talking.
They were in public, and Rose had a husband.
But…
She did appreciate the thought, really.
The white-haired woman laughed melodically.
"Well, you tell me if you ever wanna test it out. I'm sure we can figure something out." She said, sending one last gentle tease at Hagrid before a more pensive look came over her face. "You know… I have an idea that might help your mental, make you more likely to catch yourself a man, and you'll be helping the hubby and me out." She said in a low tone.
Hagrid slowly perked up. At this point she'd do anything.
Seeing her attention was caught, Rose smiled.
"How do you feel about babysitting?"
Hagrid paused, blinked, and then paused again.
"What?"
Rose grinned wider.
"The Hubby and I were thinking about going on a little anniversary trip to the States. I heard that a portal back home had opened up. But we haven't found anyone to watch the girls yet. Normally, during work hours, Hubby's the stay-at-home parent, but with no one at home…" She trailed off. "They might destroy the building." She finished.
"And this would make it easier for me to get a boyfriend?" Ruby asked, unsure.
Rose nodded.
"Absolutely. Men love a woman with experience with children. It's like honey to them." She said, smiling in the same way Ruby recalled the used-broom salesmen did when she purchased hers for Hogwarts. "It's a surefire way to make you more attractive…"
"I- for how long? And would they be alright at Hogwarts?"
"Oh, I'm sure you could find a place for them, and it would only be for, say… a few months. Five or six, maybe. We'd pay too."
Hagrid hesitated. She was relatively certain she was being scammed but-
Her thighs clenched together.
…It was worth it.
"I'll do it." She said.
Rose nodded.
"Let me just confirm it with Hubby first."
Rose turned to the side.
"Hey, you cool with Ruby watching the girls?"
Ruby turned to look at Rose's husband, sitting just a bit further down the bar, with a faraway look in his eyes. At her words, he straightened a bit, a spark of hope entering his eyes.
"…Really?" he asked.
Rose nodded.
"God, please, yes." He said at last.
Rose snickered before leaning in.
"Don't tell 'im, but Justice, Azzy, Pandy, and I are all preggers again already. We're saving the surprise for the trip."
"Congratulations."
Rose nodded happily before turning.
"Anyways, let me get the girls for you."
She looked towards the stairs.
"Oi! Cerb's, get down here!"
There came a rush of nine different, identical-looking, white hairs girls down the staircase. Rose glared.
"Not all of you, just the kids."
Three of them dispersed, and Rose glared harder.
Another three slumped before vanishing as well, leaving the last three.
.
------------->
.
"""Yes, Mum?""" They asked in unison.
Rose explained the situation, and as one they turned towards the still slightly drunk Ruby, who was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake.
And then they pounced.
-x-X-x-
You and Veronica turned towards your classmates, wands at the ready.
The room was already chaos, and it had become even more so in the brief time you took to rescue the redheaded Witch.
Harry had, evidently, decided that given the size of the room, the presence of enemies, and the direness of the situation, this was a good time to try out some of her more… interesting spells.
She'd already gone through a few, if the current carnage was any indication.
Part of the floor had been ripped up, forming into large, walking golems that slammed their fists down at the two nimble figures dashing about.
And they were moving. It looked almost like something out of a movie, the way they dodged the large golems' attacks with backflips and twirls, their hair flying wildly behind them as they moved.
And that wasn't the only thing happening, as the two golems fought, streams of colored light fired from a small stone bunker Harry had erected. You didn't actually know the spell she'd used to make that one, but evidently it was working. There was only a small slit, through which she could angle her wand in the defense, and there seemed to be a continuous stream of spells spilling from it.
The two Dog Girls tried to dodge all of them, but occasionally, a combination of the physical and magical attacks would overwhelm them, and spells would splash against their naked bodies.
The effects were varied, ranging from frankly horrifying; one time the other girl had been flung back, pustules and boils springing up over her form, while others were more mundane, for example, a length of rope tying around them.
What was even more intimidating, though, was the speed by which the dog girls seemed to shake off the effects; almost consistently, the spells would wash away from their bodies, draining like water, and they'd be up again in seconds, and jumping around just as energetic as before.
That wasn't to say, either, that they had no offense. Indeed, occasionally, the girls themselves would slip through, landing a devastating strike against one of the golems, or against Harry's fortifications, that would blast away soil and stone, leaving gaping holes that would slowly start to fill.
Frankly, Harry's combat prowess was more impressive than it was surprising. The girl had a habit of… creatively using spells. McGonagall had actually pulled her to the side several times after class, when Harry had asked questions like 'How difficult was it to transfigure the air in a person's lungs into sand?' and 'Could you transfigure people into chocolate, and then eat them to hide the evidence?'
Honestly, you were rather thankful that she wasn't trying some of her more… creative interpretations.
The thought of taking a stray spell that one of the girls had dodged made you shudder.
Still, it was already rather violent, and Harry, seemingly in reaction to her initial efforts proving fruitless, was escalating the intensity and violence of her spells, as shown by one flying wide, past everyone, and slamming into the Dog Girl who had been enamored by the stick you'd charmed.
The Bombarda slammed into the two, throwing the white-haired girl back, and destroying both the stick and the enchantment that had been placed on it.
She stood, looking confused, before shaking her head as if flinging away water, and turned back towards the commotion in the center of the room.
The noise seemed enough to distract her from Veronica and you, but it still drew her over to Harry, and now there were three fighting Harry's golems and spells. The added number seemed to put your friend on the back foot, though, as they began wearing away at her minions.
.
------------->
.
You wondered, idly, where Winnie and Georgia had hidden. You'd have to find them later.
Not willing to let Harry be overwhelmed, though, you turned towards Veronica, who'd just finished her sandwich and was somehow looking not only full, but also as if the food had actually healed some of her cuts and bruises. She had her eyes closed, as if trying to calm down. You did your best not to be distracted by her exposed… assets.
.
---------->
.
She really looked good in those new dress pants she'd found.
What was she, some type of video game character?
"You ready?"
The red-haired girl blinked, turning towards the direction you were facing and seeming to notice the situation for the first time. The laughter of the three monster girls, you weren't quite sure what kind yet, filled the air.
"Is that…" She trailed off, squinting. "Harry?"
You nodded.
"Yup. We'll talk more about what exactly-" you gestured to the room as a whole, for lack of anything better to say, "-this all is about, but first we should really deal with them."
And just like, the generously chested redhead nodded, suddenly all business as she focused in on the conflict.
"What's the plan?"
"Well…" You squinted at the three. They were, honestly, oddly coordinated. Scarily so.
The way they flowed past each other, dodged on que, and even positioned themselves for their sister(?) to bounce off of, gaining more height and speed, was frankly supernatural in more than the usual sense.
There was something going on there; you could feel it… it was as if the answer was just hiding in the back of your mind, refusing to come to the front…
Still, you needed to do something, even if you didn't have all the information. From what you could see, though, the best option was clear.
"Divide and conquer." You said, easily. "We need to stop them from working together, and then we need to tie them up, or something similar…" You trailed off.
The Incarcerous charm was the first thing that came to mind, but from your observations, you'd already seen it fail.
If you wanted this to work, then you would likely have to go creative.
Veronica sighed, stepping up next to you, wand at the ready.
"Sometimes I hate my sisters." She bemoaned. You couldn't help but hum in agreement.
They always got you all into the wildest of things.
-x-X-x-
You squinted, examining the group closer. Despite their clear skill and physical prowess, they seemed…
"Haha!"
"Missed me!"
"Ow! You stepped on my tail!"
"I wanna throw the stone guy!"
…Not entirely mature.
To say the least.
Even as they were fighting, and the spells Harry was throwing were not nice spells, the three white-haired dog-girls seemed to find some amusement in the battle, even as they were tossed around and subjected to increasingly violent effects.
They laughed, yelled, and squealed as they jumped around both the Golems and Harry's steadily weakening fortress.
Could you take advantage of that….
Well, obviously. The question was whether this would even work.
You turned to Veronica, who was staring with a look of vague bewilderment. Feeling your gaze, she met your eyes, and you could see the confusion swimming in them as she also watched the honestly bizarre sight.
"…What even are they?" She asked, looking to you for the answer.
Unfortunately, you didn't have an easy one for her. You still weren't entirely sure yourself, although…
You eyed the mixture of dog ears and spaded tails, a suspicion beginning to form as you watched.
You may have an idea soon…
"I don't know, yet." You answered. "But it doesn't matter. We need to help Harry. I have an…" Plan? No. "I have an idea, but I need you to move around the side and get ready to run and help Harry. I don't know how much longer she can keep this up."
Harry was strong, that was certain, and combat magic had always been her speciality, but this- This was more than you'd been expecting already. To maintain the golems while still casting spells had to be taking both a tremendous amount of focus and stamina, both of which you weren't certain she had much more of after such an extended period of continuous casting.
"What are you going to do?" Veronica asked, a worried look on her face as she eyed you. You were reminded of the fact that despite common conceptions, she wasn't as daft as some people thought her to be. "You can't fight all three of them at once."
She was, unfortunately, correct. Physically or even magically, you weren't capable of beating them.
Maybe if you had more time to research spells and knew exactly what they were, you would be able to craft something, or figure out some type of method or attack angle that would be the silver bullet to this situation, but-
You really didn't have the time to do that now. So, plan B.
"I've got a plan." You said, doing your best to smile reassuringly.
Veronica, bless her heart, smiled back, nervously, before creeping along the edges of the mess, towards Harry. You sent another look around for the Twins, but with them nowhere in sight, you sighed before stepping up.
"HEEEEYY!" You called, holding your want to your throat in a silent Sonorus charm, your voice multiplied and echoed so it rang through the room loudly.
Loud enough that it caused all three Dog girls, who had just finished dismantling the last golem, to flinch before, as one, turning to you.
You chuckled nervously at the attention.
"Hey." You said, much quieter.
At your cry, all three of them turned towards you. It was… disconcerting to have all of their attention on you. Still, you had a plan.
Behind them, you could see Veronica flinch at your call and send a bug-eyed look towards you, stepping forward as if to help.
You did your best to give her a look that clearly communicated the 'Absolutely not help Harry' that you were desperate to say.
She seemed to get the message, instead backing away to head towards the Fortress, which had stopped firing spells and had gone worriedly silent.
You wanted to run over and check on Harry, but first-
"A guy."
"It is a guy!"
"Like dad!"
"Only mom's won't beat us up if we-"
"We could-"
"Do you think they'd notice if we put him in the closet? We could feed him and everything!"
"Like the Gerbil?"
"Yeah!"
"We killed the Gerbil."
"Damn…"
"We can try again!"
As they spoke, words fast-paced and cheerful, they crept forward. You didn't want them to simply begin attacking. Once they did, it would be hard to get a word in edge-wise, so you had to speak quickly and fast.
"Wait!"
They paused, only momentarily. That was good enough, honestly. It showed they at least gave some heed to your words.
"Before we start tearing each other to shreds over nothing, can I ask a question?"
The three glanced at each other.
"Sure." One said.
Step One. Butter your targets.
"I couldn't help but notice, but- you three. You're pretty damn strong." You said, watching as the three preened under the compliment. "On top of that, you've got-" What would three human-shaped monster girls find nice to be complimented about?
Probably the same as regular girls, huh.
"-nice bodies. I can tell you take care of yourselves." You tried.
They blinked vacantly, in sync.
"What?"
"Our Dad takes care of us."
"And sometimes Ms. Ruby."
Oh dear.
They were idiots.
"…I mean, you're sexy."
"Oh!"
"Ohhhh."
"Why didn't you say that from the start?"
They all giggled to each other, blushing slightly, at your words, while you idly wondered how many brain cells there were between the three of them.
"I was truly-" You were going to say awestruck, but thought better of it, "-stunned by your beauty."
"Oh, you."
"We do have that effect."
"I'm hungry."
You squinted.
It was time for the finishing blow.
"But I couldn't help but wonder, really…" I trailed off purposefully, and the three leaned forward. "No… I shouldn't say."
They narrowed their eyes, and you pretended to crack under the pressure.
"Well, I was just wondering… Which one of you was the strongest?"
A simultaneous blink, and then your eceived your answers.
All three of them.
"Me."
"'Tis I!"
"That's easy, it's my sisters."
They all froze and turned to each other.
From there…
Your plan worked perfectly.
"What do you mean it's you?"
"I was the one who got to train with Dad."
"We all did, stupid!"
"Uh, guys, I'm still hungry, and I feel like this isn't the best use of our time."
"It's me!"
"No!"
Two of them tackled each other, and the third sighed, giving you a look that told you she knew exactly what you were doing. You tried your best be neutral, even as an evil smile came across her face.
"Winner gets to fuck the human!" She yelled before diving in, as the noise doubled. Across the room, Harry, who was being partially carried by Veronica, screeched and seemed ready to dive in herself.
The one who'd yelled gave you a grin before seeming to give in and diving into the pile of fists, teeth, and fur herself.
It was almost like a cartoon, watching the three wrestle and roughhouse.
You… weren't expecting them to get that far.
You also hadn't expected to be the… prize.
Ruminating on that, you carefully inched around the roaming ball of three fighting dog-girls and headed towards Veronica and Harry.
-x-X-x-
Crossing the room, you met up with Veronica and the limping but in one-piece Harry.
.
------------->
.
The shorter girl's hair was disheveled, and she was breathing heavily. The white shirt she'd worn, a loose shirt she mostly used for pajamas, was soaked with sweat, and thus slightly transparent.
She was also glaring heavily at the ball of the fighting white-haired dog-girls.
It was very clear that Harry was not prepared for this type of exertion, if what you could see poking through her shirt was any indicator. On top of that, the shoulder of the shirt had slipped down, revealing a bit more of her chest than she was normally comfortable with.
Not that the girl seemed to notice. Her eyes were locked on you, even as she had trouble walking; the sheer drain from casting so much magic in such a short period of time forced her to rely on Veronica to stand.
"Herman…" She panted out. "Are you alright?"
You nodded.
"Yeah, are you? That was…" You tried to find the words to fit what you just saw. "Impressive." You settled on at last.
She cracked a small smile, shifting herself more upright in a movement that did very unfortunate, or fortunate, depending on your point of view, things to her neckline.
"I've been practicing." She said, blushing.
"I could tell; you'll have to teach me later."
You both smiled at each other, and there was more of a moment of silence before Veronica's eyes slowly traveled down between the two of you, and then to Harry's chest.
More specifically, to something you didn't notice, too caught up in your appreciation for Harry's abilities.
"Blimey, Harry. You're tits out."
It was almost as if there was a record scratch that went through the room.
Harry looked down, slowly.
.
------------->
.
"Oh."
Her voice was small.
She looked back up, meeting your eyes.
"H-Herman, I can explain!" She stuttered out, eyes wide and face red. "I-I'm not a girl- It's not-" She seemed to freeze, trying to figure out something to say, before finally breaking, relaxing her shoulders with a defeated look on her face.
"Fine. It's true. I'm sorry, Herman, but… I've been lying to you."
She has?
"I'm not, actually, a boy." She fixed her top as she spoke, and shifted nervously. "This entire time, I've been a girl. I've been hiding my gender since birth at the direction of Headmaster Dumbledore, to better hide me from the Death Eaters, and… a few other reasons." She blushed, grabbing her arm. She looked near tears, and this was clearly a large revelation for her. But-
"Harry… did you think I didn't know you were female? I've known since I met you…" You trailed off, frankly confused and bewildered.
Harry's eyes widened, and she seemed utterly stunned. Her mouth opened and closed several times, nothing coming out.
You continued.
"I thought you kn-"
"Done!"
You blinked at the interruption before turning to your side.
.
------------->
.
"I'm the strongest. That means I get my prize, right?" She asked, happily, eying your crotch with a hungry expression. Behind her were the passed-out forms of her two sisters, sprawled across the room.
-x-X-x-