The Heir of the Western Lands

Chapter 1

Author's notes: Well, here we are for the next chapter. The answer to this Fan fiction was about as timid as The Greek Kunoichi when it started, but hey, a prologue is a prologue no matter how long and detailed it is written. Now we have Sesshomaru's reunion with his daughter. Did you know that Rirī was the Japanese translation of Lily? Pretty neat no? ;) Well, let's get this show on the road!

Last update: May 23, 2017.

Sesshomaru was not an easy man to impress. He was always in perfect control of his emotions. He knew instinctively when intimidate or concede. When the humans finally managed to unite Japan in one country with one ruler, he had been one of the first Taiyoukai (Demon lord) to bend the knee in front of the Emperor. He was powerful, immensely so even, but even he could fell against superior numbers. He had made a pact with the humans for the good of his species and he never regretted it. The miko (Shinto Priestess) that his foolish little brother was so enamoured with had show him with her books from her time what could happen.

Higurashi Kagome showed him that he wouldn't even make history if he didn't act. So, yes, he told his fellow Demon Lords to bend the knee and to work to bring their existence to secrecy, much like the Wizards of today. But every ounce of training could not prepare him to suddenly meet his grown up daughter who was missing since she was a babe-in-arms! Letting accidentally go of his glamours that made him pass for human, his neatly cut black hair turned a very long to the point of falling to his calves, silvery white color, his facial markings appeared, his claws and fangs visible once more and his youki was detectable for anybody sensible to that type of energy.

The pretty young woman who could only be his daughter under a human guise had the same reaction. Her demonic markings appeared, claws and fangs popped, her eyes stayed the same color but the pupil became vertical and her hair a shade darker. Not to forget their pointed ears, similar but not the same as the ancient Elves of old. She was looking so much like her late mother! But before he could at least take his beloved daughter into his arms, the Human wizard decided to act. Having never seen Youkais before, you could forgive him for his rash reaction. With reflexes that denied his advancing age, Dumbledore cast two Stunners one after the other to what became of his ex-student and one of his Japanese contact named Takahashi Ichimaru. (In Japan, they use the family name first, then your proper name)

Not much was known of the mysteries in Japan, even after opening their borders to outside trade and commerce, they were always tight lipped about their magical fauna and flora and they only agreed to offer the standardized OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) and NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test) in their magical schools thirty years ago and that was after incalculable number of years of bitching from the ICW (International Confederation of Wizards) Yes, they did business to the International level with mundane things, but for an outsider it was very hard to obtain magical goods of Japanese origins.

Both Youkais dodged the Stunners easily even if they were distracted. With all their enhanced senses and superhuman physique, it was quite easy in fact. Sesshomaru did it automatically. Lily had to put some thoughts into it, but it was very quick nonetheless. Both Inu Youkais dodged for a while. The Headmaster was fighting to incapacitate and both supernatural beings were still in shock from the impromptu reunion. But the shock wore fast and Sesshomaru had enough presence to set his golden gaze on the Headmaster and order him firmly after batting away with a wave of the hand an overpowered Stunner.

"Dumbledore-san, stop."

Sesshomaru's order was headed and he was rewarded by the wide eyed stares from the aging wizard and his daughter. Albus couldn't fathom how the simple order of such a man could make him stop without magic involved and Lily, in that form, could feel the colossal power slumbering inside who her senses where telling her was her biological father and it was urging her to bare her throat and submit, she resisted the urging with not so much of a problem, but could not meet the man's eyes, as much as she tried. She wasn't exactly sure of what species they were.

She could shift back and forth since she was twelve, but even with all her research, she never found out anything. To see a man that looked like her and smelled like her, it was clear that there was more hidden in the world than the wizards and the magical creatures. The man, her father, held a soft look toward her, but shifted back his attention towards the still flatfooted headmaster. He said

"Dumbledore-san, I would prefer if we could talk this out like civilized beings. I assure you that I am not on this dark upstart's payroll, what was his name? Ah yes Tom Riddle. Needless to say, there is more hidden in the world than the Wizarding communities and the magicals creatures. There are beings far older than the modern human race. My species is one of them. I am unsure of your knowledge about the Shinto pantheon, Buddhism and what was passing as truth in the Warring states era and before but considered myths today, but those tales of supernatural animals, of demons and a multitude of creatures, are true. I am an Inu Youkai or in English, it would be a Dog Demon."

Sesshomaru made pause to let Dumbledore swallow the truth and to reapply his human disguise. The Dog General was not concerned about his secrets so much as he didn't want the hassle of stopping attacks after attacks if somebody else could barge on them. With a pointed glance at his daughter, she too resumed her human appearance. And was it something weird. They didn't even know each other and already she was easily ordered! And she had never been a submissive woman, quite the contrary, she had a fiery temper. Just ask James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, she had hexed them quite often to reduce their egos, more Sirius and James' than Remus and Peter's, but nobody could deny that she was the boss.

Now, the man who was her Sire made her obey with only a look? It was unreal! Albus Dumbledore was not much educated in the muggle eastern religions and myths. He knew the basics that came known to the west with Japan's borders opening to international trade with the Meiji era beginning fifteen years before his time, but not much more than that. The existence of supernatural creatures, gods and demons was something hard to swallow. To think that Wizard kind was not the top dog was something hard to believe, but why would the humans still be afraid of the dark if not for unconsciously knowing there was far worse once upon a time?

The man before him must have centuries of life and he didn't look a day past forty! He could now understand the human disguise, to slip unnoticed into society. Not unlike how wizards slipped into secrecy, but the Spiritual World must have put some kind of veil on them years before the International Statute of Secrecy came to be. As if Sesshomaru was reading his thoughts, he said

"I was the first one of my kind to bend the knee in front of the emperor once the warring states era came to end in the 16th century. We, Youkais, made a pact with the humans to come to Japan's defenses against anything supernatural coming from outside our borders and fade from the common people minds in exchange for a right to live without persecution and with a limited right of self governance. My example is what saved many of our brethren, but not everybody was wise enough to bend the knee in front of a human leader. Some land gods faded too, by lack of faithful followers. Damn, I apologize, seeing..."

The lord lost his speech. It was too much. His mate and daughter's disappearances shook him badly, all these years looking for them in vain, not knowing if they are dead or alive. And then, doing business with his English contact and finding his missing daughter. His mind was reeling. He turned his disguised brown eyes to Albus and asked

"Please, can we reschedule? I...you saw this young woman's transformation...She is kin...My wife and baby daughter went missing eighteen years ago, escaping a civil war in my lands..."

Albus was too shocked by the revelation of the existence of real supernatural beings whose powers had nothing to do with Wizarding magic to protest much. After a sincere apology and Oath on his magic to keep it quiet until something more permanent could be arranged, Sesshomaru and Rirī/Lily left the Headmaster's office. The younger of the two youkais took her father with her in the maze that was Hogwarts Castle to a place where they could talk in peace. When they were inside an abandoned classroom somewhere on the fourth floor, Sesshomaru observed her summoning a wooden stick from a hidden holster on her right arm and with sharp movements, he could fell her power flowing through the stick, a wand if his guess was right and cast a few human spells.

When Lily was assured that they wouldn't be disturbed, even if it was summer and class wasn't in session, she sheathed back her wand inside the holster and turned her weary green eyes toward the stranger who wasn't one. She wasn't exactly sure what to say. What can you do when the man who sired her finally come out of the woodwork? She knew he didn't abandon her. From what her parents told her, they had found her biological mother bleeding to death at a park near their house as they were taking a stroll to have a moment together, giving her everything to protect her baby from the frigid cold of winter.

Her father told her that Emiko, her biological mother, was barely able to speak English and since he could speak Japanese, she explained to him that she had fled a civil war and had been gravely wounded in escaping, protecting her baby from those who wanted to kill her to deal a blow on her biological father. She had woven some kind of enchantments to make her look human, age like a human and use her powers like a human witch. To respect her dying wishes, Michael and Rose had adopted her. She did retell all she knew to her father and she could see he was very shocked by what happened.

Sesshomaru sat silent a while, but he retook his aplomb and asked softly

"Were you treated well? Did they raised you with love?"

Lily had a kind smile and said

"Yes, they did their best. My mom is still alive, but my dad passed away, fighting. Fifteen Wizards attacked the family house; he killed them all by himself, letting my mother escape. She managed to get out of there unharmed, he did not. He died of his wounds in the hospital, last year. If he had been younger, he would have likely survived. It was thanks to his training as a soldier in the Royal Navy that he managed to took them all down. Now, because of that I have a bounty of my head, and also because I dared to be better in school than those inbreed idiots. Since the beginning, in those bigots' eyes, I'm nothing more than an uppity mudblood!"

Lily had spat literally the last word in anger. She went to explain in more details the war, but Sesshomaru raised his hand to stop her and said

"I am quite well versed into each side of the conflict, beloved daughter. I am sorry for your loss; he seemed to be a good man to take in a baby who wasn't his and love her as it was. He passed away with honor; it is not common that a non magical Human is able to vanquish fifteen magical Humans by his lonesome these days. He must have been a very good soldier. Continue your tale, please, but what name did they called you?"

Again, with the same soft, affectionate but with an undertone of command tone of voice. Her biological father was the leader of his people; he must be used to give orders and he must also be made of a very strong character to be able to recuperate so quickly after such an emotional blow. God knows that it not been for her Occlumency she would be a mess. She did comply though

"They translated my birth name into English. But, well...it's awkward...I'm married now...I was Lily Evans, now it's Lily Potter."

That one threw Sesshomaru's mind out for a loop. He could deal with his baby girl all grown up, but married? Married as in sexually active?! By the Gods...Putting his face in his palm, he gave his newly found daughter a baleful glare that she returned with a mocking crooked smile. The same smile every daughter who had grown up sent to their fathers who wished to saw them still only as their little girls and not as a grown up woman that means "Deal with it." She described more of her childhood and her teenager years.

Her efforts to find out what she was, but with the only clues of a father being a high born Lord and stomping a rebellion/civil war somewhere in Japan and clearly not Human, they couldn't really search for him or use the medias. Most of the Supernatural was hidden, even from the Magicals. It was not an International law, but more like a Code of Conduct adopted by everybody for their very own survival. Those who strayed too far from those guidelines like lesser Demons and brainless Onis (some sort of Ogres) were hunted and put down mercilessly.

They talked a good long while, speaking of their lives. When the subject came back to her husband and his family, Lily answered

"He is from an old line that has been established in Britain for centuries. There are branches of the family in a few other countries, but with the low births rate of the Purebloods after so many years of inbreeding to supposedly keep the blood pure,

You could literally hear the disgust in her voice at that word

The family in this country is on the decline. The Potter family doesn't believe in that Blood purity and Supremacy nonsense, but many of the family perished in World War II and in the Vietnam War. There is also the shrinking of the gene pool to deal with. James, my husband, is an only child and his parents aren't spring chickens any longer. They are in their sixties. Dorea Potter nee Black, James' mother, is quite dangerous with a wand though. "

When Sesshomaru asked why they were fighting in what was a civil war about Blood purity of all things and what the Government was doing about it, he got a lengthy diatribe that make him believe that things were not going well into the more liberal individuals' favour.

"Many of the Pureblood families of the United Kingdom are related to each other one way or another. We have obtained scientific proof that inbreeding is what produces Squibs, children born from magical families who didn't inherit the gift of magic, but the Ministry of Magic is so paranoid about anything Muggle related that they refused to hear anything about it. The Pureblood supremacists are very well connected since they are mainly from the old families and they use those connections in the Government to stalemate any progress that don't enter in their worldview.

The Wizengamot is Wizarding Britain's high court of law. It predates the Ministry of Magic itself, dating back to the days of the medieval Wizards' Council. We have more or less fifty seats and most are filled with Lords. Even if they are not all Pureblood supremacists, many are supportive of Riddle's goals to keep the power in house so to speak."

Sesshomaru hummed at that. The political situation was more explosive that he first thought. But he couldn't do anything about it on the political front, since he didn't have the influence in Britain. If it were in the East or even in France, he would have been heard, but not in isolationist, Pureblood, I don't need allies, Magical Britain. Magical. That's it! Turning his eyes towards his daughter, he said

"You seemed invested in this war. I will not have you back down; your biological mother would come back from the netherworld to tan my hide if I did. But now that I found you Rirī, I will do my utmost to keep you safe. Believe me when I say this, the only creature strong enough to fight on par with me to this day would be this legendary vampire I heard about from Wallachia, if he was still on this plane of existence. I assume that your husband knows that you are not human?"

At her nod, he continued

"Explain to him that you are a Dog demon, a supernatural creature from the Far East and that your biological father found you and will train you in the use of your Demonic powers. Do be sure to explain him that we are not creatures of sins from the bible of the Christians though. You surely fight like a Human witch; you use your powers like a one. Without the wand, you are vulnerable though. It is time to learn to fight like a Youkai and use your powers as a Youkai. You are the princess of the Western Provinces of Japan. You are the only daughter of the Dog General, the Inu No Taisho, and this Sesshomaru will not let you die on him before your time.

Then, when you are learning your birthright and how to not be vulnerable without your wand, I will forge connections with the Mundane society. If this Magical society is incapable or unwilling of dealing with a bunch of rich terrorists, it is time they relearned exactly why they bended the knee to the King of these Isles in the past. The regular Humans are not so easily dismissed when the sleeping giant is awoken. If I cannot speak with the right people, I will make contact with the Faes or the Celt Gods. Someone in those people can surely contact the right people in the British Parliament. "

Lily couldn't believe how she missed such a way to resolve this war! The others countries couldn't get involved without being asked or attacked. You-Know-Who was very careful into not letting his minions made a mess elsewhere, so far it was Britain's problem. The ICW wouldn't get involved if the International laws weren't breached. The Magical side of things had their hands tied but on the Mundane or Supernatural side...yes, if things cleared up, she wouldn't be so afraid to start a family with her husband. James and she were a bit too young for starting a family so soon in their marriage, in her opinion.

Lily was a woman who likes to have her options open; it was why she refused a magical binding marriage, in case things wouldn't work so well once the 'honeymoon" phase was over, at least they could get a divorce. James wasn't really happy about that, but she only needed to give him the hooded eyes and show a bit of skin and he was putty in her hands. She was also quite pleased to be reunited with her biological father. She may not necessary grow to love him like she had loved and still love Michael Evans, but she could make room into her heart for him. And the training to use her gifts in the ways of her ancestors would be a nice bonus.

She always had a thirst of knowledge. It was only her fiery temper and her iron wills that got her into the House of the Lions. When Sesshomaru asked how he could contact her, the answer he got made him raise an eyebrow in surprise

"An owl? How does having a nocturnal bird help in sending messages? Do you not have modern appliances? Since I did not anticipate meeting you again and was here only for a few days, I booked a room into a hotel downtown. I can give you a business card of the hotel, their phone number is on it and I will write my room number. I will have to make arrangements for a more permanent residence if I am to help put this insane Warlock to the ground."

Lily went to explain that technology didn't work with magic and she got a scoff from her father for that answer. He explained

"Child, I've been doing magic since I was but a pup. The only good thing that came with this Human wizard teaching my adversaries how to mold their Youki in a simulacrum of Human magic was that I picked up the trick too. All my residences around the Globe are equipped with all the latest technology and as long as the magic is not cast on the electronics, everything works like a charm. Install a phone line in your house and everything will be fine so long as you don't use magic on it."

Lily looked at him with uncertainty. Well, he had centuries of experiences, so of course he would know better than the biased authors of the books she had read on the subject and with the Ministry's stand on those matters, well they weren't about to admit being inferiors in any way to the muggles. She took the business card offered and would contact him soon and then she had to leave. She was only supposed to report to Albus about her researches to find a way to remove the Taboo influence and undetectable portkey. She wasn't sure on one hundred per cent about the Taboo, but she had found a way to make portkeys that could not be traced and could bypass any wards.

Probably it was her Youki acting differently than Human magic, now that she knew her species. An Inu Youkai, a Dog Demon in English. She was a Supernatural creature able to use an extra convincing human disguise. It was unreal. It was luck that the more humanoid Youkais had the same reproductive abilities than the Humans, or it would have been impossible to deal with her menstrual cycle.

Needless to say that Sesshomaru was not unaffected. Now he could finally move on. His scouts had detected the Youki residues that a powerful Youkai left when buried in Mother Earth in Sherwood Forest, near Nottinghamshire, so he finally knew where his beloved mate was brought to her final rest. And then, he met his estranged daughter. How he had wanted to weep and to hold her against him, but no, it was already taxing with so many emotions. In the past, many humans had called his kind monsters or as Inuyasha said once "Unfeeling egotistic bastards". The problem was not the fact that they weren't capable of emotions.

A Youkai was not Human, so their species was anathema to the Ningens, (Humans in Japanese) but that didn't means that they weren't resenting emotions. It was more muted; toned down between cold logic and animal instincts they had to master. A Youkai who was overly emotional wouldn't have survived very long in the distant past. And without those animal instincts, one could be taken by surprise with the pack mentality or those pups wanting to challenge the Alpha male for bragging rights and prestige. Sesshomaru was almost a thousand years old; it would take more than a young pup of twenty springs with some interesting skills to take him down.

Lily undid all her privacy charms and guided her father to the doors of the castle. They walked the grounds together in reflexive silence up to the Iron Grids at the entrance of the castle grounds. Once outside, Lily had a small smile for her father and after a wave of the hand, she spun on a quarter of turn on herself and vanished with a little pop of displaced air. Hmm, so that was the Wizarding way of teleportation? Interesting ability. He would get somebody to teach him the trick and if he could tweak the energy to be a bit more Demonic than Human in nature, it would allow them, by them he meant him and his kin, to slip through the wards designed to block teleportation.

With the way the raids conducted by the Death Eaters were going, he wasn't going to let a fluke take away what he only just gained back. When he was sure that nobody was around, he channelled some youki at the tip of his fingers, pressed them into the first tree he came across and opened a portal leading to a deserted alley in London. From there he could call a cab to get a ride to his motel. Once he stepped through, the portal closed on itself with no traces that a rip in the space-time fabric had been there a few seconds ago.

Lily arrived back in her secret apparition point in Godric's Hollow. Very cautious since the war had heated up, she had warded to the best of her capacities an abandoned propriety. It was in fact an abandoned farm. The previous owners had moved to London to enjoy their retirement when they grew too old and too frail to be far from the hospitals and to take care of the farm. The couple was childless and the farm couldn't be sold before they absolutely had to move, so it stayed more or less abandoned with a sign planted in the ground that read "For Sale". From there she transfigured back her conservative jumper to a modern t-shirt molding her chest attractively but not too much and her work pants changed back to Bermuda shorts cut in from a pair of old jeans.

Her sport shoes stayed the same. Seriously, she was alright dressing more conservative when she had things to do to Hogwarts, but even if she was a trained Witch, she had grown like a Muggle and thus wasn't scandalized by showing some skin. It's not like she was walking in a bikini or only in her underwear. Bloody Victorians. James almost had a heart attack when they started dating outside the magical community with her outfits! Though she was feeling pretty good about herself when she gave him a nosebleed the other day when she showed him her new nightie. She had bought it during their honeymoon in San Francisco, in that new and promising store, Victoria's Secret.

She was soon home and after answering the security question, she was ushered into their home. Dorea and Charlus had offered them to stay with them into Potter Manor due to the old and powerful wards, but the newlyweds liked to have a place of their own, thus bought a nice little cottage to live with. Barring friends dropping in unexpected, but they had wards to warn them, they could do whatever they wanted. The fact that James really liked the fact that he could make love with his kinky wife anywhere in the house without being caught, interrupted or God forbid; worrying about being too loud had nothing to do with it. No, nothing at all. *Roll the eyes to the sky and whistle innocently.*

What, why are you looking at us like that? There are many things people say about red heads. You just have to ask and find out if said red head is open to said idea. After seven years of school and almost one of marriage, he had learned tact and what would make him sleep on the couch. Sirius laughed at him and called him henpecked, that comment in Lily's hearing distance earned the Black Scion a full day locked into his animagus form and magical fleas. The second time Sirius brought out the subject of her menstrual cycle; she simply threatened him of bringing him to a vet to be castrated.

Needless to say, Sirius Black also learned tact and what to say and not to say in her presence. After relaxing a while and ordering her thoughts, Lily explained everything to her husband about her trip to the castle. James was quite stunned. The Shinto and Celt Gods were real? The Supernatural creatures out of Ancient Japan lore were real and in hiding in similar way than the Wizards? His biological father-in-law was the leader of his people and a Dog Demon? Lily was also a Dog Demon? Talk about a night of revelations! Of course he was interested to meet the man, you don't met a man older than Dumbledore everyday and if his wife could learn to use magic in another way, all the better for her!

But what was worthy of awe was the fact that this man could make his Lily-flower submit! He knew that she had strong Alpha tendencies and with his Animagus form being a stag, he could feel her predator's aura. Heck, her Alpha spirit was so strong that she could stay with Remus on the nights of the full moon and she had Moony domesticated like a pet dog! She could make him sit, shake the paw, lie down and even play fetch! Did you ever saw a wild werewolf playing fetch? Of course it was something he liked to hold over his buddy's head, but the ragging was always in jest. He would never willingly hurt one of his best friends. But to come back to his wife's father. It was surreal!

Oh well, you live only once, so if the guy could pass the security check ups and was not a stuck up prick like most of his fellow Purebloods, he was willing to extend a hand in friendship. James Potter wouldn't know it, but the fact that he was willing to accept Sesshomaru in his life would literally prevent his family of being broken. It was an historic moment, where he would swallow his pride and ask for help after the second time his wife and he managed to fight Voldemort to a draw and escape. The training would be harsh, his pride would be annihilated but he would come out a stronger and better person.

The fact was proven when Lily and him were attacked a third time by Voldemort, they managed to wound him badly and made him retreat before the finishing blow! The Potters and the Longbottoms had done what was though impossible, defied Voldemort three times and came out alive to tell the tale!