A note to readers: This story will feature some minor Umbridge bashing and occasional crack, which is purely intentional. I'm focusing more on Dante and Nero than the adventures of Harry and friends(who wants a retelling of the fifth book?), but they will be included, and have their own scenes. This story will not be featuring a lot of romance, but there may be some small hints at DxN/NxD. Friendship or love, take it whatever way you want(It's subject to change, as I haven't quite decided yet). This takes place a month or so after Devil May Cry 4, and Harry's fifth year.
Another thing: The reason Kyrie and Nero are not together is that I really don't see Nero going off on a magical adventure to Hogwarts without her for an entire year and not be reduced to a love-sick puppy. Enjoy. Hopefully the characters are not too OOC.
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The moment he materialized in front of the beaten down building flashing a bright sign, neon letters spelling DEVIL MAY CRY, Dumbledore realized he had probably gone senile in his old age. Unfortunately for him (and his students) this was his last resort, as anything was better than the toad from the ministry Fudge had undoubtedly planned to worm into his school. As if the trial wasn't enough. He'd considered many other options, all of whom were either unable or too… demonic. Giving a short chuckle at the irony, the great Albus Dumbledore politely knocked on the door. It creaked a little under the pressure, as if it had been pushed to it's limit. Immediately, he started to regret the decision.
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Nero was having a bad day. Not just because of his recent fallout with Kyrie, which Dante didn't seem to know or care about how much it hurt Nero, but because he was stuck watching the shop while the old man was obviously having the time of his life somewhere. Ever since Nero decided to move in with Dante, he'd been turned into the housekeeper. Any job that had come up was taken before he could even blink by one of the others, leaving him bored to death. Then his mind would wander to Kyrie, for whom he had risked his life for, only for her to decide that they'd be better off as friends. He didn't dare tell Dante about that part, since that would earn more than a few laughs… as if Nero needed his self esteem deflated any more.
There was a knock on the door, and Nero was flooded with hope. This was his chance. His shining moment. He dashed to the entrance and swung the door open, only to be met by an obscenely old man that resembled a certain holiday character not only in appearance, but in the way he seemed to radiate a childish joy. It was strange to Nero that he was clothed in robes and a matching hat, carrying nothing but a piece of wood at night. Altogether, he looked like a primary target for demons, yet he had arrived without a scratch.
"Excuse me," Dumbledore greeted, noticing that Nero was not the one he was looking for, "I am Albus Dumbledore. Might you know where the owner of this establishment is?"
Nero could only gape at the how civilized Dumbledore spoke. It was rare to hear someone talk in such a cultured manner in a place like this. When he realized that he was being asked a question, Nero waved him inside.
"Just come in, he should be back soon."
Dumbledore obeyed, seating himself on a couch. Nero sat opposite of him in a chair, meeting his gaze. The sat in an awkward silence, occasionally interrupted by Nero shifting uncomfortably in place. Although Dumbledore was a seemingly pleasant character, he couldn't help wishing for Dante to finish with whatever the hell he was doing.
The sound of footsteps echoing outside the door was pure music to his ears, even if the music wasn't that pretty. At least it meant that Dante was back, the heavy stomping couldn't belong to anyone else but him. The door was kicked open in his usual manner, the fact that it was still in one piece a good sign. Apparently the mission was a success. Dante ignored the visitor for a minute or so, more intently focused on shoving something into a drawer in the desk. Soon his work was finished, leaving Dante to break the silence.
"Customer?" Was all he asked, throwing himself into a seat. Dumbledore was a bit unnerved by the behavior, another tinge of regret flashing through his eyes, but it went unnoticed.
"I am Albus Dumbledore," He said for the second time that night. Hopefully he needn't say it again. Dante seemed to realize what he was, his gaze fixed on the wand in is hand. "I come from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in need of your assistance, Mr. Dante. Our school is short on staff, and considering your heritage, we would take much gratitude if you were to occupy the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Nero had no clue as to what Dumbledore was thinking, as Dante was generally the last person to call in matters of teaching. The man in question was thinking along the same lines, holding back the oncoming laughter. He gave only a brief snort before regaining his composure.
"What's the pay?" Albus had expected the question, and had a response that Dante couldn't refuse.
"I'm prepared to grant you whatever payment you want, name your price."
Nero felt his jaw drop. This guy not only wanted Dante to teach, but would give him whatever payment he wanted? He was crazy, and probably desperate.
"Now we're talking," Dante smirked, not really caring about the smaller details anymore. Dumbledore seemed intent on telling him anyways.
"You'll need to do some reading of course, just to get used to the wizarding world. Oh, and a wand. You won't really need it, but it's best to avoid questions considering your origins. The magical world is quite paranoid as of late, anything could send them into a frenzy."
Nero snapped out of his initial shock, taking in what he'd just heard. Realizing this was the chance he'd been waiting for to get his mind off of Kyrie, his mind was now fully set on joining Dante on his mission.
"Could I come as well? I'm probably too old to pass off as a student, but I could be Dante's assistant or something. Plus, someone needs to keep him from screwing up," The last part was said as more of a joke, but considering the person in question was Dante, he'd need all the help he could get.
Dumbledore considered this, as while he was not familiar with Nero or his reputation, he seemed like a good kid. The arm would attract a few stares, but as long as that was well hidden, he saw nothing wrong with allowing Nero to assist. At least that way they could keep each other company. While he was about to voice this, Dante Voiced a response.
"Whatever kid, but you're not getting any of my pay for this."
Nero would just have to see about that.
Dumbledore, not wanting to spend another minute with the devil hunters, handed Dante a letter, containing contact information, plane(and train) tickets, a list of books that would be available for him to research, a reservation at the Leaky Cauldron, and enough money to purchase two wands. He turned and walked out the door, leaving the two to their own devices. The only thing he could think of as he apparated away, was that he had indeed finally lost it. The Ministry might have found a way to get rid of him yet.
Dante himself was very pleased with his new job, and that it was just the kid following him around and not one of the two women he had the joy of knowing. Or worse - both. He pried opened the envelope, focusing on it's bulky contents. Looks like they were leaving tomorrow. Better tell the kid that.
Nero had other things to think about. If Dante was going to teach, then it was Nero's job to make sure Dante looked and acted the part. First things on his list: get Dante to stop calling him kid, and to shave before he grew a beard that rivaled Dumbledore's. It was going to be a long year.
And this was only the beginning.
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The great city of London was just that - great. Covered in buildings and street after street that almost looked the same, it was a difficult place to navigate. It helped that Dumbledore had provided directions as to the location of the Leaky Cauldron, but in a place that neither devil hunter had been previously, they had gotten lost a few times.
According to Dante, at least. Nero had pretty much lost count after he ran out of fingers.
It was then a relief to see that they had reached their destination, just in time for lunch. Dante had made a beeline for the bar, craving whatever pizza he could get his hands on, leaving Nero to grab a table for them to sit at. It wasn't hard, as the place wasn't too crowded, the only customers keeping to themselves.
Nero was lucky enough to grab a slice before Dante swallowed everything else in record time. Sure, Nero understood that they should get studying as soon as possible, but he took his time eating. Dante tapped his fingers across the table, impatient. Nero considered eating slower, just to piss him off, only to decide that he wasn't that hungry after all. Pushing the leftovers toward the center of the table, the two stood and prepared to leave to Diagon Ally. Any baggage that was previously carried now safely tucked away in their room, the back door of the Leaky Cauldron was pushed open, revealing a brick wall.
Dante retrieved the letter from his pocket, looking it over carefully before tapping a few bricks here and there. After a few tries and grunts of frustration, the bricks finally moved aside to reveal Diagon Ally in all it's wizardly glory.
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Meanwhile, our favorite bearded wizard was in a tight position. Even though he had avoided the catastrophe of having the Ministry toad taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the Ministry proved it wasn't above bribery. They must've offered a large sum to convince professor Grubbly-Plank to remain in retirement, for now they had a new Care of Magical Creatures professor: Dolores Umbridge. He rested in his office, scratching his beard in search of a solution. Perhaps, since it was only Care of Magical Creatures, neither Fudge nor his henchmen could have a great influence on the school. Seeing as the class was held outside, the toad couldn't have much of an excuse to spend time inside the walls of Hogwarts.
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Dante had walked two steps into the robes shop, before turning on his heel and walking out expressionless, grabbing Nero by the arm and ignoring any protests. There was no way, ever, EVER, that Dante would wear something like that. It was degrading, to say the very least. Nero protested that it was necessary to avoid suspicion, yielding no results. They were already halfway down the street when Nero finally gave in, allowing Dante to pull him into the wand shop.
As if they had been expected, Ollivander was waiting at the front desk. Without a word, he grabbed a box from the shelf, plucked out a wand, and handed it to Nero. Dante stood in the corner, ignoring the chair to his right, either watching or thinking to himself while Nero flicked the wand, sending a few books to the floor. Ollivander treated this as normal, and handed him another one.
A few more tries and a left eyebrow later, Nero had found his wand.
"Excellent wand right there, should've known that was the one," Nero glanced at Ollivander, a bit confused, but accepted it. "Dogwood," Ollivander continued, "ten inches, dragon heartstring core, good for transfiguration. A very hard wood," Nero heard a chuckle from the corner, and responded with a quick glare. "and an unusual combination. You should find it to your liking. So, who do we have next?"
Dante came forward and was immediately handed a wand, to which he gave a quick wave. He was disappointed to find nothing happened, before the front desk burst into flames. Ollivander spent the next few minutes attempting to extinguish the fire, then ripped the wand from Dante's hand when he motioned to wave it again. Nero could only sigh.
The next few didn't cause as big a disaster as the first, but it seemed that every wand Dante held set something ablaze. He decided that he liked wizard magic. Nero, on the other hand, wanted to get out of the shop before it was nothing but ash.
Eventually Dante had received a wand that didn't light something on fire, instead showering a fountain of red sparks. Relief stretched across Ollivander's face.
"There we go. Another unusual one. Sequoia, quite durable, nine inches. Core of phoenix feather and excellent for curses. Not that I recommend cursing someone very soon."
Dante responded with a nod of approval, handing Ollivander a few coins. Truthfully, Dante had no clue of how the system of wizard money worked, but that didn't strike him as a problem. Ollivander merely handed him change, keeping an extra Galleon in compensation for the desk. Dante figured he had paid too much, yet the matter was brushed aside as he and Nero left Ollivander's. It was then Nero convinced him to return to Madam Malkin's.
Dante refused to purchase robes for himself, only buying a few black ones for Nero, which Madam Malkin herself seemed to spend a lengthy time hemming. By the end, Nero was grateful Dante hadn't purchased himself a set. They left after paying, strolling to Flourish and Blotts to pick up the books Dumbledore had ordered.
Nero hadn't got a good look at Diagon Alley until then, now taking the time to gaze at the shops. There were a few stores that sparked an interest, such as Quality Quidditch Supplies and Eeylops Owl Emporium, none of which he figured were necessary to visit. It was best to get back to the Leaky Cauldron anyways, they had studying to do.
They entered their room to find that it was small, consisting of a table, a lamp, a dresser with a mirror, and a single bed. Dumbledore had obviously expected one occupant. Choosing to put the matter off for as long as possible, they seated themselves opposite of each other on the bed, looking over the letter. Apparently they had two weeks to memorize as much as possible about the wizard's dark arts and basic magic. They started with a few simple charms.
"So the book says wave it like this," Dante swished his wand around in an obscure pattern, "and say 'Aguamenti,' then water's supposed to shoot out?" Nero nodded, and Dante continued talking. "Lame. I'd like to try that explosion curse, 'Expulso' or something like that. Oh well," Dante preformed the necessary wand movements, before speaking in a careless tone. "Aguamenti."
A jet of water spurted out for a moment until he waved it again, leaving a reasonably sized puddle on the floor, causing Dante to grin - he had gotten it on his first try, after all. Things were going well.
The session had been successful, Dante managing to get each spell easily, eventually experimenting a few on Nero. Nero himself had found an excellent spell to use on Dante: a shaving spell. There went that problem. It was then interrupted by the need for dinner, which they had gone downstairs to get.
The Leaky Cauldron was much fuller then it had been previously, the majority of the tables now occupied. Many of the customers looked young, most likely students at Hogwarts. Dante was grateful to be ignored for once, taking a pizza from the counter and carrying it back to his room without a second glance. No way was Nero getting that bed all to himself.
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The next two weeks passed rather quickly, Dante and Nero both spending late hours into the night studying hard enough to rival the great Hermione. They had been able to barrow an abandoned area near Knockturn Alley to practice more advanced spells(and curses), and got a chance to do some sparring. It was in mutual agreement, and recommendation of Dumbledore, that their weapons remain hidden and unused except for special cases. Dante had taken to storing Rebellion in an old guitar case he's found lying around, Nero hiding his arm by wearing gloves and a long sleeved shirt beneath his usual clothing and new wizard robes. He had also gotten lucky enough to hit Dante with the shaving spell he'd learned. Unfortunately for Dante, Nero had made a mistake with the casting. According to the bartender of the leaky cauldron and several kind witches who worked at St. Mungo's, Dante would be unable to grow any facial hair for at least a few months. There was a chance it was permanent, but after witnessing the murderous look he gave Nero, Dante was assured it would wear off quickly. Nero wasn't able to sleep that night, and refused to turn his back to Dante for the rest of their stay.
At last the two were standing between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross station, once again looking over the letter.
"We're supposed to do WHAT?!"
"Kid, we've already done a lot of weird things in the past two weeks. Just go with it."
Nero reluctantly, under the threat of being left behind, ran at the brick wall standing before him. Trust Dante to make him go first. Clutching the single suitcase in his hand tight enough to break the handle, Nero braced for impact. It never came.
Dante followed behind him, trunk in hand, taking the barrier at a slow walk. The two hunters exchanged glares(mostly Nero, Dante just looked how he usually did), steadily boarding the train and taking a seat in the back carriage. Lucky for them, they were fairly early. Any student on the train had yet to approach the back compartments, the train gradually filling up.
Then, as a few students started to pass by, a single girl opened the compartment door. She clutched a magazine in her arms, and sported a surprised expression. Dante felt she resembled Dumbledore in levels of sanity, the 'out there' look in her unblinking eyes proving just that.
"You two seem a little old to be students…" The girl mused, taking a seat. "Is it alright if I sit here?" At the nod Nero gave her, she began reading the magazine in her hands. Upside down. A slight jerk was made by the train, followed by the steady rhythm of turning wheels. At last they were on the way to Hogwarts.
Another group of students, two boys and a girl, opened the door to the compartment a while later. Apparently the two girls knew each other, as soon there were three more people crowding the room. While the two talked, the boys noticed the white haired occupants seated at the window.
Harry wasn't having the best of days, being left alone with Ginny by his two best friends and then having to deal with the stares of just about every student on the train was bad enough. Now he was sitting in the cabin with two very strange adults he'd never seen before, the one he was next to resting guitar case on his lap. Harry had a distinct feeling that whatever was in the case bore no resemblance to a musical instrument. Neville looked like he'd sensed it as well, making sure he was as far away from the two men as possible. Harry was more curious than afraid, his gaze lingering on the one that sat next to him a bit longer, before his thoughts were interrupted by the man speaking.
"Look, kid, could you stop staring?" Harry felt a pang of embarrassment stretch across his features, before turning away and joining the conversation Neville had started about his newly acquired plant, just in time to witness him stab the plant with a quill.
The sudden burst of green slime took each occupant by surprise, save Dante, who had effectively shielded himself with the guitar case at the last second. Nero hadn't been as lucky, but managed to duck to the side to avoid most of the blast. Ginny soon got rid of the sap with a quick spell, and soon everything was as it had been. Dante and Nero were soon forgotten, even by Harry, as a cart passed by holding a number of sweets. A while later, they were joined by more students. Nero didn't mind so much. Dante wasn't amused.
Dante attempted to tune out the conversation about prefects and magazine reports, only to fail when Hermione acknowledged his and Nero's presence.
"Wow, so you are the new professors? I'm Hermione Granger," She stuck out a hand, which Nero shook and Dante just waved aside. If she minded at all, it did not show. She seemed like she was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the door opening once more. Dante inwardly groaned at this.
Harry greeted the familiar faces of Draco Malfoy and his two henchmen with the usual glare.
"What?" He asked in an aggressive tone, wondering if Malfoy had noticed the teachers sitting in the back of the compartment. Apparently not, as Malfoy responded in his usual confident manner.
"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," Harry sincerely doubted he could get a detention on the train. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand… out… punishments…" Malfoy visibly paled, which was hard considering his normal skin tone, noticing Dante was staring right at him. Like a delinquent caught in the act(which, in a sense, he was), Draco did the one thing he was good at in a situation like this. He ran like hell.
"Looks like the git needs to work on his observational skills," Ron said, breaking the silence. It lightened the mood a bit, the students in the compartment bursting into laughter. Dante and Nero spoke nothing, seeming to focus on something interesting going on outside. It was already dark outside the carriage, leaving the window pitch black. Of course Dante and Nero could see fine, but there wasn't much of a view outside either way. One by one, the students in the compartment changed into their school robes, sporting the colors of red and gold on their ties(with the exception on Luna Lovegood, who was in Ravenclaw), ready to depart as the train came to a stop.
Before anyone else could leave, Dante and Nero were outside of the compartment, heading down the corridor. More than a few heads poked out as they passed by, apparently news traveled fast at Malfoy's hands. Exiting the train as fast as they could, the two hunters took at seat in the very first of the carriages before the mob of students could get to them. The door was slammed shut and secured, drowning out the oncoming flood of sound as students poured out the train in a sea of black robes. Minutes later, the winged horses pulling the carriages began to move, all moving toward the inviting castle known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
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Finally finished with chapter one, nearly 4,000 words later. I wanted to include the Great hall, introduction speech/feast and all that, but I didn't want the chapter to be monstrously long. Feel free to review.