Hunting For Dragons (And Friends)
"Do we have to go right now?" Luffy whined, dragging his feet to the common room.
"Yes!" Sabo said impatiently. He was already waiting for his brothers at the bottom of the stairs, tapping his foot on the carpeted floor.
"But 'Bo," Ace groaned, running a hand through the rat's nest known as his hair, "it is six a.m.!"
"Come on! Let's explore the school!"
"Can't we do that later?" Luffy whined, "Lemme sleep! Sabo's so mean-"
"We can look for dragons," Sabo pulled his trump card.
"Come on Ace! Exploration is on!!" Luffy suddenly shrieked, exhaustion completely forgotten as he started running down the stairs.
Sabo was smirking evilly. Ace glared at his blonde brother, but he wasn't really upset. He wanted to see if there was anything cool in this place too. Although he doubts dragons would be here. Maybe he could visit the kitchens, the kitchens were usually open for anyone back in Grandline.
The three of them left through the portrait hole - Luffy shouting a 'good morning' at the startled Fat Lady - and they pranced off. Luffy touched and examined every single thing he came across; he greeted and poked the paintings, climbed walls, pressed his face against windows, barged in and out of classrooms, you name it he's done it. Ace half-heartedly told Luffy to stop messing with things once or twice, but quickly gave up as he was still out of it from being up too early. Sabo merely watched his little brother create chaos and ignored the older ones complaints. Occasionally, he would pause and tap at a wall with his wand, or stare at it for a solid few seconds with a thoughtful look, but then shrug and walk away.
Luffy was having fun, but things quickly got boring. The paintings all got either annoyed that they were woken up or pleasantly surprised at his existence. One of them talked about how they never thought Grandline was a real school, which was stupid so Luffy left quickly. Every classroom looked the same, even if there were small differences they were still too similar. In Grandline, every teacher got a class for themselves, and every teacher was vastly different, so every class looked different. Here, everything was so boring and plain!
And worst of all, there weren't any dragons! What stupid castle school is this?!
"Sabo," Luffy huffed, "There aren't any dragons!"
"Well, I might have figured out something more interesting than dragons," Sabo mused.
The black-haired brothers stopped walking. They only just realized the blonde was a few doors behind them, staring at a wall with great interest. They quickly scrambled back and stood next to him. They blinked at their brother simultaneously, waiting for him to continue.
"There's an Unplottable room in this place," Sabo said.
The brothers started picking their noses and asked: "What's that?"
"A room that can't be recorded on maps and such," Sabo explained patiently, "Not even by magical means. There's usually a specific mechanism to unlock them, and it's usually something dumb or simple."
"Where is it?" Ace demanded.
"Right in front of us," Sabo replied, "Ya can only feel some lingering traces with Observation Haki, but not enough to know it's there."
Luffy laughed. "Gee, you're amazing, 'Bo!" he exclaimed, looking excited. Their brother had studied and expanded his magic and Haki powers greatly, ruthlessly training since day one. All three of them were powerful, but Sabo's magical capabilities always exceeded the other two's. It's why he had more of a connection with his wand and studies than them. It was also probably the fact that he didn't have the wandless powers like they did. He felt like he had to be at an equal advantage with them.
"Can we open it up?" Ace asked, also thrilled with the discovery.
At that, Sabo's expression dropped to one of deep frustration. "That's the thing. I don't think we can. I can't think of any way that might open up this damn room!"
The three of them stared at the wall in deep thought - or, at least Sabo and Ace were thinking. Luffy was just glaring at the wall, as if just that might make it open up. He really wants the door to open, there might be dragons in there! Or something cooler, though he couldn't think of anything cooler than dragons at the moment.
After what felt like centuries, Luffy stopped glaring. This was boring. He looked to the left and started walking that way. He did not notice his arm stretching behind him until it was tugged harshly and he nearly fell backwards. He turned and pouted at Ace, who was grasping Luffy's wrist while glaring at him. The message in his eyes were : 'You come back right now before you accidentally blow up the entire castle.' Luffy sighed started walking back when he heard a muffled but loud gasp behind him.
He turned back and stared. There was nobody there. He immediately expanded his Observation Haki, and sensed two people standing close together, shuffling away from them silently. They seemed to be huddled underneath some sort of cloak. There were slight pinpricks of fear and shock in them. Luffy reached to them and pulled the cloak off.
There were two boys, both frozen in place from the sudden reveal. One of them was a blonde, who was staring at him with wide eyes. He seemed to be sweating. The other was the James look-a-like. He wasn't as scared as the other one, but his eyes were glued to Luffy's still stretching arm. He was staring at it sharply, as if simply staring at it will make it disappear from existence.
The silence stretched for a few seconds before Luffy grinned widely. "Yo! My name is Luffy! Who're you?"
The James look-a-like blinked, taken aback from his warm welcome. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, not saying anything.
"Uh.." the blonde stuttered, "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. This is Albus Potter." He gestured to his friend. "We- erm- didn't mean to intrude... on whatever you were doing. Sorry."
Ace seemed to find it safe enough to speak up. "That's fine," he replied, grinning. "By the way, d'you know where the kitchens are? We're starving."
"They're back downstairs, near the dungeons," Albus suddenly spoke up, "There's this painting of a fruit bowl there. If you tickle the pear, the painting turns to a door. That's the kitchens."
"Thanks!" Luffy said, giving him a bright smile. He started running towards the nearest stairs, Ace following close behind him, when both of them were stopped by strong hands clasping their shoulders.
"Be patient, brothers," Sabo said, being the one to make them stand in place. He turned his eyes to Albus and Scorpius, giving an easy-going grin. His eyes were sharper than mountain peaks. "May we ask some questions first?"
Albus scowled. "Fine," he said.
"What is this room here?" Sabo asked immediately, pointing at the wall.
"Can't say," Albus answered in similar fashion, "Hogwarts secret." Luffy tilted his head. He seemed oddly defensive.
Sabo's smile didn't drop. "I see," he hummed, "Ah, well. Can you tell us where the kitchens are?"
"Down near the dungeons," Albus replied, "There's this painting of a fruit bowl. If you tickle the pear, it turns to a door handle. That's the kitchen entrance."
"Thank you very much!" the three brothers chorused, and turned to the nearest staircase and started running. Luffy didn't know why Sabo had suddenly given up and asked for the kitchens, but it didn't matter. He was starving!
"Hey," Ace said suddenly, "Why'd you guys think Albus was so... like that?"
Luffy and Sabo shrugged. "Could be 'cause we're Gryffindors," the blonde brother replied, "Did you see their uniforms? They're Slytherins. Gryffindors and Slytherins are apparently enemies or something."
"That's stupid," Luffy said, "Why do people think that?"
"You read my mind," Sabo sighed, "And I've read up on why. The two founders, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, hated each other, so naturally their disciplines should also hate each other." His voice was heavy with sarcasm in the final bit of his sentence.
"That's stupid!" Luffy repeated, sounding more upset. He had nearly forgotten about the food until his stomach rumbled loudly.
The skidded through the halls, laughing and joking with one another. Soon, they reached the painting of a fruit bowl and stopped. Luffy had never smelled so much food in one place! Ace did exactly as Albus told them; tickled the pair and turned the handle. They wowed and oohed and walked inside immediately.
The room was oddly lit. The walls were lined with pots and pans and so many ovens that the warmth in the room rivalled one of a volcano. There were four long tables, positioned in the same way as the house tables. There was one large campfire where in the wall opposite of them.
And scurrying around, carrying plates upon plates of food, were little elves.
That's what Luffy first thought they were. They had long ears like elves, and they were tiny. But then he saw their long noses, big eyes, and old skin. They were elves, but not the types in fairy tales. They were wrinkled and hunchbacked, and all working their asses on making the food.
All of that was registered in the back of his mind. In the front, however, he started sniffing the air greedily and skipped into the room.
A little elf stood in front of them and curtsied. "Hello! I am Diddy. How may Diddy help you?" the elf said. Their voice was high-pitched and shrilly.
"Hi! I'm Luffy and we want food!" he exclaimed, "Can we have some meat?"
"Of course!" Suddenly the three students were surrounded by platters of different cooked meats; the smell of smoked hams, steaks, and fowl wafted through the air and into their system.
The three of them grabbed anything they could and ate viciously, like always. The platters were put on a table nearby, and the students sat and continued eating. Sabo looked around, and swallowed his food before talking.
"Is it alright if we ask a few questions?" he said. After Diddy's nod of confirmation, he asked "Sorry if this seems rude, but what exactly are you? I've never seen people like you before. Also, why do you work here? Do you like it?"
"We are House Elves, sir!" Diddy replied cheerily, "We are workers who are created to serve the wizards! We clean the castle, cleans bedrooms, make food! We have done this for thousands of years, and we will not stop! As for why, we serve any Headmaster or Headmistress in the school! It is out lifelong duty to cook and clean for everyone in the castle."
Sabo had his eyebrows raised by the end of the speech, and the other brothers had slowed down their eating to listen. They exchanged looks, thinking the same thing. It sounded an awful lot like slavery... but if they were happy to do it, what can they say? They decided not to comment on it, even though they really wanted to.
"Alright," Sabo sighed, changing the subject, "one more thing. Can you tell us about the Unplottable room on the third floor?"
"Ah!" she exclaimed, "The Room of Requirement! It is a place that can turn into any room you wish!"
"Ooh," Luffy perked up, eyes shining, "Does it have dragons?!"
"I do not know, sir," Diddy replied. "But it can have absolutely anything! So maybe yes, there are dragons!"
Luffy whipped his head to his brothers, eyes wide with permission that he didn't need to ask for. The other two were already braced for his puppy eyes, but what they don't realize it that no matter how many years pass by, those eyes will forever be effective on them and only them.
"Fine," Ace finally burst out, "Diddy, how do we get the room to open?"
"It is simple, sir," she complied, "You have to walk past it three times while deeply thinking about what you want to find. It only works for one person. If someone else is already in the room, what they had wished to appear will appear for you too, unless they do not want anyone outside to join them."
The three brothers listened intently to what she was saying, so focused on her words that they even left the food on the table, forgotten. Immediately after she finished, they grabbed whatever food was left, shoved it in their mouths, and ran out. Luffy was bouncing with excitement yet again.
There were now some students walking along the halls, rushing either to the cafeteria or their classes. The brothers ignored then and bulldozed through the small crowds. Sabo seemed the most excited; his grin was so wide it looked a little maniacal, but he was happy, and that's all that mattered. The fact that the student body appeared also meant that classes will begin soon...
Who cares! They're having fun right now! Fuck education!
They reached the wall to the room just as the bell rang. The few students who were late started running off to their classes, not giving them a single glance in their haste. Luffy grinned at his brothers, who grinned back at him.
After some silent bantering, Luffy and Ace were asked to stay a bit further away as lookout for Sabo to do whatever needed to be done to get the door open. Luffy scratched the back of his head as he stared down the empty hall. There was a lesson of some sort going on in the next room. Luffy was listening as a male voice spoke about how to kill vampires (who would want to do that? Luffy thought vampires were cool!) when Sabo called him and Ace back.
And there it was, a normal looking oakwood door which wasn't there just moments ago, looming in front of them. Without waiting for his brothers, Luffy slammed it open, walked in, and paused.
It was a room with everything in it. Objects, both broken and not, were towering in humongous piles, reaching the tall ceiling; broken brooms, weird potions with the contents still inside, slippers, wild wigs, everything. The room itself looked like a cathedral, with white, clean walls and tall, translucent windows. There was so much of everything that Luffy felt cramped in. His brothers followed him, closing the door behind them.
Ace let out a low whistle. "What a junkyard. Is that... a bomb making kit?"
Indeed, there was a bomb making kit. It looked unopened. Ace slowly picked it up and tucked it underneath his robes. The other two didn't bother to stop him.
"Let's look around," Sabo said, and the three of them dashed away in separate directions. Luffy to the left, Sabo to the right, and Ace straight.
The strawhatted boy skipped around piles of junk, humming to himself. He grabbed some things: a small, bronze statue; a long stick that was probably magical staff; a hypogriff keychain. Honestly he was having the best time of his life. He also got some things for his friends; a sharp knife-like dagger for Sanji, a cute pair of glasses shaped like strawberries for Nami, a guitar pick for Brook, and many more random and cool things for the others. His friends weren't there, he would give the gifts after he comes back! He also found a sack for himself and, after dumping out the junk inside, filled it with the trinkets he had collected.
After about fifteen minutes of walking and looting, Luffy heard two voices arguing in the distance. After a few seconds of thinking he recognized one of them as the James-lookalike... what was his name again? Anyways, because he was curious, Luffy tiptoed a bit in their direction, until he heard their voices clearer. He was standing near the edge of a pile of mkre objects. If he looked to the side, he would see them. He instead stayed hidden and listened:
"...isn't really safe, is it?" the voice Luffy didn't recognize said.
"Come on, Scorpius, it's just a harmless prank!" James-lookalike argued, "It has already been a day and nothing interesting has happened, other than talking to those new students."
"Yeah," the second voice suddenly sounded thoughtful. "Hey, you think any of them would even bother going to classes? They all look older than the normal school age. You saw them st the entrance ceremony."
"Probably," the other laughed, "Although some of them seem dumb as hell! You know that noirette with the straw hat? He looked like a pure idiot, alright-"
"I don't think you should insult my little brother like that." a voice suddenly said.
It was Ace, and he was somewhere near the two students. Luffy peeked around the place he was hiding and saw him sitting on top of a large wardrobe. The other two students were a few feet away, sitting and playing a game of cards- or they were. The cards were now in disarray, as if they had jumped and mixed them up. They were staring at Ace as if he were the Grim.
Ace grinned at the two of them, probably thinking their fear was funny. He jumped down, and Albus' face contorted to a snarl.
"What do you want?" he hissed, "How the fuck did you get here?"
"We asked the House Elves about this place, and they were happy to tell us," Ace replied easily, "Although I didn't think you two would be here. Ya come here often?"
Albus and Scorpius frowned. Luffy decided now was the time to appear and walked up to hid brother. The other two immediately snapped their heads in his direction, looking ready to fight, but Ace grinned and threw his arm around his little brother.
"Hey, Lu," Ace asked, "How much did ya hear?"
"I heard that they called me dumb," Luffy replied cheerily.
"Want to beat their asses?" the older asked, as casually as asking for the weather.
"No, they're good people." Luffy exclaimed. "Besides, it takes more than that for me to not like someone! You know this."
"I know," Ace said, ruffling Luffy's hair, "Just makin' sure!"
"'Beat our asses'?" Albus quoted. He sounded a bit winded for some odd reason. "Were you willing to fight because I called your brother stupid?"
Ace stared at Albus, eyes sharp in a way that always made the enemy kneel in fright and made his brothers feel the most comforting warmth. It was a shielding protectiveness and the sort of kindness that Luffy had managed to out in to every single person he has met.
"Damn straight he was," Sabo suddenly joined in, dropping down from wherever he was hiding. "I would do the same."
"We don't know how it works for you," the blonde continued, voice cold, but anyone who knew him would hear the warmth underneath, "but in our family, anyone giving my brothers any insult deserve a good beatdown. Anyone who dislikes my brothers will get back my hatred tenfold. Anyone who hurts my family deserves fate worse than death."
"Luffy is our little brother, and if he had let us, we could've easily fought you for insulting him." Ace said, giving Albus and Scorpius a grin. "But our little brother is also the nicest, and we're good older brothers who listen, so you're in luck. I won't hurt you, only because he said not to."
Silence stretched out after that speech. Scorpius looked slightly awed at the show of devotion and brotherhood. Albus, Luffy noted, looked oddly conflicted about something. He also looked a bit sad. If Albus and James were truly brothers, then they might not have the best relationship. It made Luffy sad just by thinking about it.
Luffy suddenly pouted. "I could've beat them up myself, y'know," he told his brothers.
Ace's grin turned teasing. "And what, accidentally curse yourself and turn into a slug? Don't think so."
"That was one time! And I turned Zoro into a slug, not myself!"
The two older ones crowed with laughter while Luffy huffed in annoyance. His brothers were so mean! He turned to the Hogwarts students and gave them a grin.
"Hey! Let's be friends!"
Scorpius blinked owlishly at him. "Your brothers threatened us, and you want us as our friends." It wasn't a question.
"Shishishi! Ignore them! They always like scaring people who don't know them. I mean, they do have the power to hurt people, but hey, everyone does! You just gotta know how. Anyways, that's them threatening you. I'm not. So let's be friends!"
Scorpius' lips tilted upwards, and Albus' shoulders subconsciously untensed. It was difficult to stay wary around someone like Luffy.
"Fine," Scorpius spoke again, and Albus didn't protest, "but can you tell us what spell you used to make your arm stretch like back then?"
"Oh that wasn't a spell, that's—"
Ace interrupted with a loud noise of protest. Luffy turned to his brother, confused. The freckled man gestured at Luffy, made a slashing motion at his neck, and then pointed at Sabo and himself. Luffy tilted his head, confused. Sabo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"It was a spelling accident in his childhood," he lied to the two Hogwarts students, who were watching the exchange with blank faces. "Our uh... father liked experimenting with spells, and one thing led to another. We never found out how to reverse the affects, so Lu just... stretches, now."
"I'm a rubberman!" the younger boy said cheerily, and stretched his cheek to inhumane length as if to prove it. Albus looked freaked out while Scorpius looked amazed.
Immediately, Scorpius launched a bunch of questions — "What type of rubber are you?" "How far do you stretch?" "Are your organs also rubber?" — and Luffy answered them all — "I never thought of that..." "Very, but I could rip off a limb if I'm not careful! Shishishishi!" "Probably! I mean, my bones are rubbery when I want them to be."
Soon enough, the group started towards the exit. As Luffy answered even more of Scorpius' questions, he thought about the look on Albus' face. He had looked so lonely. Luffy didn't like that. He knew loneliness like an old friend. He was alone until the age of seven, and sure, Makino was good company, but he still wanted friends of his age. Then he had gotten Ace and Sabo, and things were better. He didn't like anyone else being alone. If Albus was James' brother, then Luffy needed to talk to the older one and get him to help—
Luffy fell on his face.
It wasn't because he had tripped. The whole room started shaking violently. Objects started falling off their piles; plushies, rolls of parchment, Luffy barely avoided a bowling ball from smashing his skull in. Everyone was unsteady on their feet: Ace and Sabo were clinging to each other, Albus was holding onto one of those huge beach umbrellas that was stuck in place by a slab of concrete. Scorpius had fallen on his ass. Luffy tried to get up, but the room shook more and he slipped again. He yelped and grabbed onto Sabo, who immediately helped him up and clutched him tightly.
"What the fuck?" Ace said loudly over the shaking. Everyone looked panicked. Luffy looked around sharply, looking for quick routes to the exit. His eyes landed on the windows again, and he suddenly remembered.
And his mind exploded with the realization that he made.
"OHHH!" he yelled, "THAT'S WHY THIS PLACE IS FAMILIAR!"
"Luffy," Sabo screeched, "Luffy, what the fuck do you mean!? Do you know where we are?!"
"Yep!" Luffy laughed.
Before he could say anything else, the shaking stopped. Slowly, a shadow loomed over the five of them. They turned to gaze at the tall man behind them. The Hogwarts students stared, fear painted onto their faces. The three brothers all grinned, and Luffy whooped loudly.
"Hi, Old Man Whitebeard!" Luffy cheered.