A/N. Hey guys! Sorry for the long absence and sorry for this brief chapter I came back with. 😭

As some of you may know, I took a break from writing because I was working on my PhD thesis. Now that one is completed, so I'm easing back in before I start posting Bonds in a few weeks. UNFORTUNATELY, as I went back to write this chapter, I realized that I lost the notepad where I had all my notes for Mudblood! I think I left it at work, anyway I will find it (and even if I don't, I can still continue with the story, don't worry. I made those notes once, I can do it again).

ANYWHO I didn't want to leave you guys hanging any longer, so have this little chapter. It's not much, but it's helping me coming back little by little.

Thank you all for being so patient and supporting with me. ❤️

*

«Water or fire. You can choose, little Y/n.»

«What a lucky girl!»

«Such an honor!»

«Come along now.»

...

«Wait.»

...

«Where's daddy?»

Your eyes snapped open and you gasped raggedly, finally able to breathe. Your lungs felt on fire and your limbs were... numb, stinging.

«Y/n?»

You blinked a couple of times then raised your face.

A wide office with dim lights, mostly the moon beyond the big windows, an ancient desk, books, plants, models of the solar system. Chakra maps, constellations, floral guides and pictures of the human body were covering the walls. The ceiling glowed with a model of the milky way, lazily coiling on itself.

Your gaze wandered around the room before landing on the man leaning beside you.

«Here, drink this-yoi.»

Professor Fushichō offered you a porcelain cup.

You frowned, trying to collect your memories.

What the hell happened? I remember a beautiful woman, the occamy... right, the scan!

As soon as you shifted on the little couch, you realized your clothes were soaked in sweat.

«Take it easy.»

Finally, you took the cup from the professor's hands. Its warmth was welcomed on your idle skin. The colour of the liquid was deep blue.

«It's an Dusk Tea. It'll help release the tension.»

«What happened?»

«The scan had a heavier toll on your body than we expected.»

The new voice almost startled you.

Nico Robin came forward from the shadows of the room.

«Okay, is there anybody else in here?» you asked, looking around.

Marco chuckled.

«No, but the headmaster and the Donquixotes are just outside my office. We can call them, if you wish.»

So this is Prof. Fushichō's office. One of the few I hadn't visited yet.

«It's fine, just tell me what happened. Is it even the same day?» you tiredly grumbled before taking a sip of the concoction.

The flavour was light, with a note of bittersweet aftertaste spreading slowly from the back of your tongue.

«Yes, we finished just a couple of hours ago.» Nico Robin spoke, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of you.

«And? How'd that go?»

The two teachers exchanged a look you didn't like.

«We weren't able to complete the examination.» Robin informed «There seems to be a seal in your mind that we couldn't recognise. You went in physical distress when we tried to bypass it, so we didn't deem it safe to proceed further. Marco took care of you afterwards.»

Your heart started pounding.

«A seal? What does it mean? A curse?»

«No. It sounds more scary than what it is. The other professors and I have seen our share of curses and dark magic, and whatever stopped us tonight looked nothing like it.»

«But you just said you have no idea what that is.»

«True, but now that we've found it, we can find out. Professor Darcule and I will personally research it.»

«How did this seal end up there?»

The witch shook her head.

«We don't know. You had a lot of unusual encounters in your young life. It's possible that, at some point, you came in contact with a peculiar kind of magic. I'm confident we'll know more soon.»

Your eyes fell on the tea.

«So... you're sure I shouldn't be worried?»

Nico Robin observed you. Her words were kind when she spoke again.

«There was nothing wrong with anything else. Whatever this is, it's not affecting your body, nor your magic. Don't lose your sleep on it, Y/n, and let us take care of everything.»

After a moment of hesitation, you took a deep breath.

«Okay.»

You drank half of the tea before properly sitting on the couch.

«May I go back to my dorm now? I feel the urgent need to take a shower.»

Nico Robin smiled.

«Of course.»

«Great. Thank you Prof. Fushichō for fixing me. My debt with the old hag is getting a bit out of control.»

Marco chuckled again.

«No problem-yoi.»

You stood up, fought off the sudden dizziness that came with the action, and walked toward the door.

«Oh, I almost forgot, there was also some protective charm on you.»

Nico Robin's words had you spin on your heels. She smiled at your alarmed expression.

«A rough application, but quite powerful. Whoever cast it must truly care about you.»

You felt your cheeks heating up.

«Huh, yeah, noted.» you murmured before hotfooting out of the office.

As you walked out, you were met with the headmaster and both Prof. Donquixotes.

Wow, I'm a celebrity.

«Oh, Y/n!» Whitebeard rumbled «How are you doing? Did Nico Robin explain the situation?»

«Fine and yes.» you muttered, stopping under his imposing shadow.

«Good. Now you go about with your life, aye? We'll let you know when there's any news.»

«Sure, okay.»

«Come.» Rocinante stepped forward with a reassuring grin «I'll walk you to your dorm.»

Your suspicious gaze trailed over Doflamingo, but the blond only urged you to go with a hint of his head. You sighed internally and followed Corazon down the stairs.

«You're not escorting your precious student back, Donquixote?» Whitebeard asked as they both entered Marco's chambers.

«Fufu, my brother can do that just fine. I'm more interested in listening to what you have to say right now.»

The headmaster grunted, stepping into the office and in front of Marco and Robin.

«Finally showing your true colours, huh? It's not Y/n's safety you care about, you wanna gather information on whatever is inside her.»

The smile disappeared from Doflamingo's face as they both approached the other professors.

«On the contrary. I see no Slytherins in this room. Y/n is one of mine, she's my responsibility. Same goes for Eustass. If you're going to talk about them, I am the one who should be present more than anyone here.»

Whitebeard stared at him for a few seconds before letting go of a resigned breath.

«Very well then.» he turned to the centre of the room «What is it that you can infer about tonight, Nico Robin?»

The witch sat on the couch while Marco reorganised the tools he used to check your vitals before.

«Not much more than what I already said.» she shrugged «We will look into it and hopefully find out soon.»

Whitebeard looked at the host.

«You sure the girl is alright, lad?»

«I didn't find anything out of the ordinary-yoi. If you can get permission from her uncle, we can analyse her blood. I took a sample.»

«Oh, he'll give me permission alright.»

«I'm a little confused about what happened though.» Marco walked around the office to take a seat on the desk «You said there was a seal and a rune? And the rune was good?»

«Yes. The seal has nothing to do with the Celtic rune.» Robin explained «That was a rudimentary cast. Pagan magic can be extremely powerful, but we could have probably bypassed that one easily had we found it before. Or more precisely, it wouldn't have activated at all if Y/n wasn't in danger.»

«You said it's a rune for protection, right?»

«Exactly. Our engagement with the seal was the problem. As we tried to remove it, somehow our magic fields got stuck into its weft, which caused harm to Y/n... when it was clear she wasn't safe, the rune activated and expelled us from her.»

«Is it possible that the seal got damaged?» Whitebeard asked.

«Unlikely. If left alone, it doesn't seem to hurt the girl, so the rune wouldn't perceive it as hostile. Anyway, if we couldn't remove it, I doubt Eustass' rune could.»

«Oh, I don't know.» Doflamingo crossed his arms with a smirk «From where I was standing, the four of you weren't able to do much good, and it was young Eustass who actually protected Y/n.»

Whitebeard turned to Marco.

«Does it have something to do with his blood?»

The blonde crumpled his lips in thought.

«Mmh, I'm not sure. There's not much research on his kind, especially if kept suppressed.»

«I see.» the headmaster shrugged «I'll assign thirty points to Slytherin. If anybody raises questions, send them to me. Nico Robin, I count on you and Professor Dracule. Find out what's with Y/n as soon as possible.»

The witch nodded.

«We will.»

«Donquixote.»

Whitebeard's eyes locked with the Slytherin professor.

«You have a lot of promising younglings under your care. I trust you'll always do what's best for them.»

Doflamingo grinned, his gaze hidden behind the shades.

«Obviously.»

«I've always thought this castle can be really scary in the middle of the night.»

You sighed at Corazon's attempt to make conversation.

The two of you were now walking down one of the long, winding corridors of Hogwarts, illuminated only by the eternal torches on the walls. Most of the paintings were asleep, but the occasional eyes followed you in the dark.

«I guess.»

«You don't think so? The students that venture out at night are quite brave. Troublemakers, sure, but brave.»

«...»

«If I remember correctly, you did it a number of times too, from the very beginning,» he continued with a careless smile «Remember when you first-years got all rounded up in your mission to save the Chimaera? You stole all the brooms and ran away in the middle of the night... who instigated that?»

Ace and Sabo.

«I don't really remember.»

«Well, that was really something!»

The memory had at least the effect of making you smile.

You proceeded in silence for around one minute before Rocinante spoke again.

«Listen, Y/n... I know that it's not my place to say this, but I hope you won't hate Law.»

The sudden change of topic had you turn to the professor with a frown.

«What?»

«Regarding what happened at the Duelling Club.» he continued «I can imagine he's being... rude to you lately. I tried to talk to him, but he can be very stubborn at times.»

You pressed your lips together, eyes returning in front of you.

«Well, yeah, kind of...»

...kind of an understatement.

Corazon shook his head.

«I'm sorry. He's been through a lot, and what happened during your duel shook him. I know it was an accident, of course. I should have prepared him for this eventuality, but I didn't think it would happen. It's quite uncommon even among adult wizards.»

«I don't know how, somehow one of his thoughts, or memories, played into my brain.» you looked at him again, a hint of guilt spreading in your eyes «But I didn't see anything bad! Just... a little girl.»

Rocinante's had a sad smile on his face.

«That was his little sister.»

His little sister...

Everybody knew the Trafalgar family was murdered in its entirety the summer before your first year at Hogwarts. Law was the only survivor of the massacre and the culprits were never found, despite the best aurors working on the case.

It was a big gossip as you started school until a seventh-year kid, Roger something, stopped it with his fists.

You remembered how Law was back then. Aggressive, barely spoke, and whoever tried to approach him shivered looking into those damned eyes. He looked like a walking curse.

«I'm sorry.» you murmured.

«It's not your fault.» Rocinante grinned «You know, I'm grateful that something like this happened with an honest person like you. I know you won't use it against him. Law will learn from it and come out stronger.»

You reached the small flight of stairs carved into stone that led to the Slytherin dungeon.

«Well prof., thank you for walking me.» you gave him a tentative smile «By the way, I do not hate Law. He's just... a little intense sometimes. But I hope he won't hate me either.»

Corazon chuckled and shook his head.

«He won't. I know it may not look like it, but Law is actually a very kind boy. You destabilize him, that's all.»

I do?

«Goodnight, Y/n. I'll see you in class.»