The Resurrection Relic
Chapter 3: A Soul

"Ruby?" Yang called, moving through the trees in the forest. "Where are you?"

She could faintly hear Taiyang and Qrow in other directions, them having split up to find Ruby.

She stopped when she spotted a red string caught in a bush. On closer inspection it was most definitely from Ruby's cloak. She heard a growl from nearby, and turned to see the Beowulf in the bushes. She leapt forward, crushing its skull beneath her fist in an instant. A second one turned to face her, and she stared it down, her eyes turning a deep red.

"Where is my sister?" she said angrily, not caring the Beowulf was unable to understand her, let alone care. It stared at her for a moment, then turned to the south, ears perking up. A shockwave of power seemed to ripple through the trees, pushing Yang slightly, loosening her grip on the Beowulf. It took one last glance at her before running in the direction of whatever distracted it. Quick glances to the side showed all the other Grimm were moving in that direction at once. What the hell was happening? 'Grimm don't just ignore a target. Think, dammit!' Yang pondered the phenomenon in confusion, moving after the beasts. 'Unless they have a bigger target... but they are only attracted to fear- RUBY!'

Her scroll began ringing.

"What is it? Did you find her?" she asked as she picked up the device.

Taiyang's voice filtered through the speaker. "No sign of her yet. Something weird's going on though. The Grimm are moving abnormally."

"It's like they all heard something at once and moved in that direction." Qrow added. "It's got to be Ruby. I'd bet my hip flask. If not, it's something we should investigate as Huntsmen. Hang on, what's that?!" Yang turned to see a huge silver light that filled her gaze. She felt a feeling of comfort for some reason, and then it faded.

"I'm going to check it out!" Yang said into her scroll before Qrow could continue. "I'm on my way, Ruby!" She blasted through the woods as she followed the Beowulf towards the light.

R_R

The darkness surged forth, a wave of red light and gleaming claws filled the clearing. Across from them was Harry, eyes filled with burning determination, standing over Ruby's collapsed body. He had no wand, no weapon. There was no need for one.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he roared, a veritable wave of energy blasting our from his form. The outline of a massive stag surrounded him, the ends of its horns extending just above the treeline. He heard a gasp of surprise from the fallen girl, and he gestured towards the Grimm before him. The stag charged forward, ripping apart the Grimm. It's ethereal aura seemed to damage them before it even touched them. The outliers survived, but he flicked his wrists to the sides, and rolling blasts of flame took care of them in seconds. A few more outliers decided to arrive, and were met with very precise cutting spells to the throats. After a total of twenty seconds, there were no more enemies. As the threat went away, he heard someone approaching accompanied with the sounds of shotgun blasts.

Harry turned to Ruby, their magical pact informing both of them of their current circumstances. He could make a form to exist in, so long as she powered it with her aura. He would protect her from any threat if it was within his power. The caveat was that his form was limited in strength, requiring more magic as he used more energy. A solution would be to store power up over time, but that was a bridge to cross later. A quick transfiguration and Vulnura Sanentur healed her wounds, but the slices down her back would leave scars. He could not do much more to help, and with her aura being drained from his appearance, they would take much longer to heal.

Ruby turned to the figure next to her, meeting his green eyes head on, blushing slightly. "Thank you." she mumbled out, rising slowly.

"You're welcome." he smiled back, panting slightly. His magical power was limited to the ambient power in the air and what remained of the Dust crystals he had consumed, so he was becoming exhausted. The sounds of combat came closer, and he saw a flash of gold in the distance. "Well, it appears someone has finally come for you, Miss Rose. Until next time..." With his final words, Harry's body dissipated into a wave of particles, absorbing back into the ring on her finger.

Ruby stared at the ring on her hand as it shimmered and vanished. It was definitely still there on her left hand, but it was invisible to the naked eye.

The sound of panting and explosions approached as Yang flew into the clearing, looking at Ruby lying on the floor. "Ruby! Are you okay?!" she said frantically.

Ruby tried sitting up, and her back burned. She fell back with a wince of pain, unable to complete the motion. Yang grabbed her carefully as Ruby felt the sensation of falling down, down, down, and darkness consumed her vision.

Ruby dreamt of...

Monsters in the night.

Burning buildings filled her gaze. Figures running, chasing. Colored lights leaping from point to point. The blaze took the shape of animals. It was as if it was alive, choosing the form of a wolf, then an eagle, all converging towards the untouched structures. A floating skull appeared in the air, a transparent snake curling from its jaw. Ruby could not move. Could not try to help. The scarred lines upon her spine ached. A castle lay dark in the distance, the central tower crumbling. And then she awoke.

And that's it for this chapter.

Some updates on how I'm doing. If you've read my Deus Introductio story where Harry has become Death after obtaining the Deathly Hallows, I have posted a sidestory to that series where Harry takes a vacation to Earth Bet from the Wormverse. If you don't know the crossover, I suggest you go read Worm by Wildbow. It's a very long but very entertaining story.

I also updated Musical Melodies, also a Worm fanfic. I am doing my best to keep updates going, but my summer plans and College leave me with exactly 5 days available from June 16th to August 10th. After that I have a week or two until I go move into College. Once that happens I'll see how often I can write.

Explanation of How Harry's powers work:
He is trapped within the Resurrection Stone, unable to come out on his own. He can 'charge' it like a battery, sustaining him with a physical form of his choice. The amount of time he can hold such a form depends on the power inside of it, what spells he uses in that time, and if he wants to be tangible or not. Being intangible affects his spell casting as well, weakening the spells as he doesn't have a form to use them from. He can use aura to power himself, but doing so will weaken the owner of the aura. Too much use can cripple the aura production in the victim's soul.