Scarlet hadn’t had the chance to present her proposal to Professor Dumbledore because he was out of Hogwarts, busy with something outside the school.
“Well, in the original timeline, nothing really happens around this period, like, if I’m not mistaken,” Alexis said, now officially registered to access Scarlet’s training room. She’d been enlisted as an officially member of the Weasley twins’ game-developing team, earning herself a place beside Fred and George’s workspace in Scarlet’s room.
Fred and George were currently preoccupied with expanding their business selling the Rainbow Quill – the custom-made quill Scarlet had commissioned. Apparently, it had become wildly popular, especially among girls and women, and orders kept rolling in. Following Scarlet’s advice, the twins started small, distributing pamphlets for orders and registering their workshop and patents to secure their rights. They’d earned a decent sum from this first batch of orders, bringing them one step closer to their dream of owning a joke shop.
With their focus shifted to quill production, Fred and George had little time for learning game development; they’d set up their experiments in Scarlet’s room, where there was more space to work in case any magical accidents happen, while using their dorm as a manufacturing base. However, game development remained a high priority for them, so they’d sent Alexis to Scarlet’s room to help with the prep work.
Now, Alexis sat beside Scarlet, helping fill in gaps in her understanding of the original storyline whenever she could remember something. She wasn’t a genius with a photographic memory of the entire Harry Potter series, but she recalled the most important and significant events - enough to be useful to Scarlet.
“Also, Hagrid wasn’t supposed to breed the dragon, like, this early,” Alexis noted. The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary had already retrieved the hatched dragon a few days ago, and Ron’s brother, Charlie, had even paid a visit during the process. Alexis tried her best to recount the first book’s key events, ticking them off on her fingers as she went:
“Harry, Ron, and Hermione become, like total BFF after the troll incident, then Harry totally won the Quidditch match...At Christmas, Harry got his dad’s invisibility cloak and saw that weird mirror...What else? Oh, the second Quidditch match, where Harry overheard Snape talking to Quirrell, which made him think Snape was trying to steal the stone. Then Hagrid tried to hatch the dragon egg, which Quirrell used to trick him into spilling the beans on how to get past Fluffy...I can’t remember what came first or if it happened before the Easter holiday. And, wait - did they even have an Easter holiday in the first book? Anyway...Oh! They got detention for helping smuggle the dragon to Charlie’s colleague, who came to collect it, and then they saw dead unicorns in the forest. I can’t remember if they met the centaurs here, but I think they did?”
Scarlet pondered for a moment. “Guess I’ve interfered with the story more than I expected.”
Alexis looked at her, puzzled. “How?”
“I invited all the Weasley boys to my house for Christmas.”
“What?!” Alexis leapt from her seat. “So Harry was, like, all alone at Hogwarts for Christmas? You can’t be serious!”
“I’m serious. And Harry went home with Sirius, his godfather.”
“WHAT?!” Alexis’s eyes widened in shock. “I thought Sirius was still locked up in Azkaban!”
“Not anymore, because I turned Peter Pettigrew in.”
“Peter Pettigrew?! But how...” Alexis was utterly stunned. Scarlet shot her a narrowed look, clearly displeased. Alexis, feeling the weight of that gaze, racked her brain for an answer but couldn’t come up with anything after a few minutes.
Scarlet sighed. “Think outside the box, Alexis. Who am I?”
“You’re Scarlet Hong. A novelist,” Alexis replied somewhat wryly.
“And?”
“You’re currently a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, and like, most students here totally dig you.”
“...Not exactly what I was aiming for, but fine. And?”
“...You’ve decided to hunt the Horcruxes?”
“And why do I dare to do that?”
“Because you were a caster in your previous life, and you’re bonding with Scáthach, the Queen of the death realm...Oh!”
“And now you ‘oh’.” Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Took you long enough.”
“The magic bestowed upon you must have totally linked with death, and death is always tied to soul,” Alexis said, everything finally clicking into place. “You must have, like, sensed something off about the rat’s soul and figured out it wasn’t really a rat. You’ve investigated, and found out it was Peter Pettigrew!”
Scarlet nodded, “Exactly. Alexis, you’ve got to stop thinking inside the box. I can handle most surprises, but accidents happened. We're up against one of the greatest villains in the story, someone who’s caused countless deaths in the original storyline. As much as I’ll try to protect you, I can’t always guarantee I’m be there. You need to adapt quickly to that reality.”
Alexis fell silent, clearly contemplating for a while before finally saying, “How about I bond with King Arthur, like you bonded with Scáthach?”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“...”
Scarlet didn’t say a word. Instead, she smacked Alexis on the head with the notebook she’d been scribbling in.
“Okay, okay! I know it sounds dumb, but it’s a good suggestion, right?” Alexis offered an awkward thumbs-up while rubbing the spot where Scarlet had smacked her, smiling sheepishly to soften Scarlet’s mood.
Scarlet sighed, exasperated. “I bonded with a legendary figure because that’s my area of expertise. It’s foreign to you, and it’s not something you can master in a short period. I’ve spent nearly three decades in my previous life, plus almost another decade in this one, to reach this level. And you think you can catch up to me just like that?”
Alexis bit her lip, regret flashing across her face. “Sorry, Scarlet. I’m not good at thinking through complicated stuff.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Scarlet patted her shoulder. “But don’t try to copy me. You have your own strengths.”
“...Game-making?” Alexis asked, bewildered. “How’s game-making supposed to help with hunting Horcruxes?”
“I don’t know,” Scarlet replied with a shrug. “That’s for you to figure out. Forge your own path - one where you can soar higher than anyone else.”
Alexis paused, then straighten her posture and gave Scarlet a deep, formal Japanese bow. “Thank you, Akahime-sensei. I will study your advice carefully and present my best self.”
“...Just shut up. I’m nobody’s sensei,” Scarlet muttered.
The school days passed calmly, just as Scarlet had anticipated. Of course, students continued causing mischief here and there. She would occasionally hear Professor McGonagall shouting detentions at students, witness the dramas of teenage romances – students falling in love or breaking up, some even jinxing their exes for cheating. Cauldrons exploded in Potions class, and more than one student ended up in the hospital wing for a week after eating something questionable from Herbology...
Meanwhile, Fred and George had finally finished their quill orders and were now working on their first game. Alexis, still contemplating how her game-making skills could help her advance, quietly worked beside them.
As Easter holiday approached, Scarlet found it increasingly difficult to meet with Professor Dumbledore. He was always busy, and when he was free, her own schedule seemed to clash with his.
Finally, Easter holiday arrived, and Scarlet was packing to head home.
Through a series of owl posts, she had been discussing the soul recovery ritual with Mrs. Longbottom and had now finalised her plan. There were no records in the knowledge passing down from the Queen of the death realm on how to heal a cracked soul – unsurprisingly, given that the Queen dealt with death, not medicine. Scarlet had to combine her own knowledge from her previous life with what she’d learned from the Queen to craft a ritual specifically for the recovery of Neville’s parents. If successful, it could potentially save all the patients in that ward. She hoped, more than anything, that it would work.
Just as she was about to head to breakfast, Fred and George burst into her training room. Each grabbed one of her hands and dramatically knelt before her, as if they were knights awaiting orders, much to the shock of Alexis, who followed behind.
“Milady! We beg your grace for our most humble request!”
“For this Easter holiday is our golden opportunity to seek further knowledge of the unknown!”
“...What?” Scarlet was confused.
Alexis faceplamed. “They want to spend Easter break at your house so they can play video games.”
“Not to play, you misguided damsel!” Fred protested.
“To further our studies and craft the greatest creation known to wizard-kind!” George added, full of mock chivalry.
Alexis turned to Scarlet, explaining their plea. “They’ve bought into the idea of creating a magic version of a MOBA game and D&D TRPG. They think it’ll be, like, a total hit.”
Scarlet thought back to the caster interns, who often played games on their phones even during missions. She nodded. “I agree, it could definitely be popular, but developing it would take time, wouldn’t it?”
“And we haven’t even figured out how to make something simple, like Snake or Tetris, using runes!” Alexis sighed, rolling her eyes.
“Those are boring! We should start with something like Super Mario,” Fred retorted, sounding pouty.
Alexis facepalming again. “Look, you don’t cast Lumos Maxima before you know how to cast Lumos, right? So why would you try to make Super Mario before you’ve figured out something simpler, like Snake or Tetris?”
The twins exchanged a glance, then shrugged simultaneously. “Because we can cast Lumos Maxima without knowing how to cast Lumos?”
“...” Alexis took a deep breath before muttering through gritted teeth, “Sometimes I really hate geniuses.”
Ignored her frustration, the twins turned their best puppy-eyes toward Scarlet. “Pleeeese, Milady of the Red House, our long-lost honorary sister, allow us to accompany you for Easter!”
Scarlet couldn’t help but chuckle before straightening her expression. “Well, you’re both welcome at my house, of course. However...” She paused, cutting of their cheers. “I might not be able to entertain you the whole time. My schedule is packed for the entire Easter holiday. Will you be alright keeping yourselves occupied?”
“Of course we will.”
“You can count on us!”
No, I suspect you two would cause chaos beyond my wildest imagination, Scarlet mused wryly. Her mind flashed back to the prank Fred and George had pulled just a few days ago. Mud pods had been scattered all over the hallway, leading to a group of naughty students joyfully splashing in the mess, while Mr. Filch was absolutely livid. Another detention for the twins. If she wasn’t around, she feared her house might end up submerged in mud ponds...And the thought of Meiko facing off against the Weasley twins - Jutsushi vs wizards – was not something she wanted to witness.
“Alexis, I’m putting you in charge of looking after the boys,” Scarlet said, shooting her a pointed glared. “I trust you can handle it.”
“...Sure? As long as your house ain’t somethin’ completely bizarre,” Alexis nodded with slight hesitation, wondering what kind of magical tricks a caster’s house might hold, suspecting it could be something as mysterious as Hogwarts.
“It’s just an ordinary household,” Scarlet replied, before pausing and adding, “Think of the kind of mansion you’d see in anime – a wealthy family’s home in real life, an isekai version.”
“You’re rich?” Alexis blurted out, eyes wide. Then, quickly shifting to a more concerned tone, she asked, “Do you, like, have a butler?”
“Sort of. I think him more as my manager.”
“Great, a female Batman,” Alexis whispered to herself, though the whole room clearly heard her. “Should’ve figured it out when I noticed you always have backup plans, and all those gadgets and information.”
“...My dad’s still alive.” Scarlet deadpanned.
“Fanfics. Makes sense.” Alexis sighed, then added, “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
“Great. I’ll leave the room to you guys. I’m starving,” Scarlet waved them off, heading out to get breakfast.
As Alexis turned back to the twins, she noticed the gleam of excitement in their eyes. “...What?”
“You two have gotten awfully close all of a sudden.” Fred said, rubbing his chin.
“What could be the reason for that?” George added, mirroring his brother.
“Could it be some sort of secret?”
The two mischievous, handsome redheads advanced toward Alexis with a menacing grin, causing her to take a step back. “May we humbly inquire as to the reason behind it?”
“...Um, have you guys ever watched the Batman series?”