CHAPTER 3:

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVILS

As it turned out, removing the bindings was ridiculously easy. Ajuka Beelzebub, who turned out to be a handsome, green-haired man, removed them within minutes of arrival, though he cited his ease of doing so to his years of experience (though it was bloody painful, to say the least: Ajuka had cheerfully likened it to ripping off a bandage, to nobody's amusement but his own, though he made some strange remark about a soul fragment in Harry's scar he wanted to analyze). He then gave him a box containing Evil Pieces, and then left the residence that turned out to be Hermione's home in the Underworld.

The Underworld was not what he expected, really. The main difference was the sky, being purple in colour. Then again, it wasn't Hell, which was what he usually equated Devils with. The house he was in could have been a stately home in England, a manor house. And the room they were in was a well-appointed drawing room.

"If you think this is impressive, you should see the main Bael or Gremory estates," Hermione said. "They're practically palaces."

"Wow," Harry said. "It's weird how calm and peaceful this place seems."

"Don't be fooled," Rias said. "Some Stray Devils stick to the Underworld and would gladly attack any Devil they think weak enough to attack. It's strange seeing your hair look like that."

Harry nodded. He'd had dark brown hair, as messy as James Potter's, but it had now, with his bindings undone, gained a blonde streak. He was surprised he didn't have red hair like his mother, but Hermione said that genetic mixtures between Devils and other species was weird.

"So, tell me about yourself, Rias," Harry said. "I mean, Hermione's secrets aside, I pretty much know a lot about her already."

The redhead smiled. "Oh? Well, I'm not sure what there is to say. You're new to this world, so you may not know of the prestige our family name commands, but to tell the truth, I won't say much about that, as I'm sure it'd sound like bragging." Her smile became a little more subdued, even rueful. "In truth…well, I'd like to be known for more than my family name. That's why I go to a human school, in Japan."

"Why Japan?"

"As Hermione told you, I'm a Japanophile. I love manga and anime of all sorts. You do know what those are, right?"

Harry nodded. Dora had introduced him to a few, like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dragonball, and Fullmetal Alchemist. "Do you have a favourite?"

"Well, my particular favourite is not an anime, not yet. It's a visual novel called Fate/Stay Night. I've heard rumours that an anime adaptation is coming soon(1). It's part of the reason I went to school in Japan. Hermione was more of an Anglophile, and wanted to learn more wizarding magic, to increase her arsenal. She's always been the brains of the family. Anyway, while in Japan, I help administer the region around Kuoh with Sona Sitri. To be honest, aside from my Peerage, Hermione, and Sona, I don't really have any friends. Most see me for my family name, and the reputation of my brother. Though given the stories Hermione tells me, I suppose I should be grateful that my brother, at least, loves me."

"And your brother is Lucifer."

"Yes. Keep in mind, that's a title. The Lucifer family still exists, but they're in hiding, as are the other leaders of the Old Satan Faction. The Four Great Satans are also known as the Devil Kings, each with a different purview," Hermione said. "Lucifer is in overall executive command and administration. Leviathan is in charge of foreign affairs. Beelzebub is in charge of R&D. And Asmodeus is in charge of the military. But the Four Great Satans earned their way to their positions, Harry. They are amongst the strongest, if not the strongest, Devils in existence."

"So, if your brother is so powerful, why can't he dissolve this marriage?" Harry asked.

"In a word, politics," Rias said bitterly. "You have to realise that not all Devils are united under the banner of peace. My brother has to maintain a relative amount of neutrality, even if only in appearances. Breaking up the marriage contract may cause another civil war. The best I could hope for was managing to beat Riser in a Rating Game, but even that wouldn't be certain. You see, my father is greedy for more powerful offspring for more prestige. He isn't that bad, but he's fixated on this goal. He wanted a child that combined the Bael Power of Destruction, the Gremory reserves of power, and the Phenex's regenerative ability."

"Uh-huh," Harry said. "And he didn't ask for your opinion?"

"Arranged marriages are actually the norm down here," Hermione said with a sigh. "While not as backwards as Magical Britain in some areas, like where technology is concerned, Devils are still backwards in some areas. And in truth, Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex are blind to the faults of Riser."

"He's far from stupid," Rias said. "He's a good fighter, and he knows how to delegate. His sister, Ravel, is one of his Bishops on his Peerage, but unlike the other members of his Peerage, he doesn't have her there to fulfil his sexual desires. He's not that depraved. No, she helps with his strategies and commanding in the field. Of course, his reliance on the Phenex ability to regenerate means that he has become arrogant. Of the Rating Games he has fought, the only two that he has lost, he threw on purpose as favours to the families involved."

"Rias is technically only due to marry Riser after she has been to university," Akeno added, "but Riser is putting pressure on his father to pressure Lord Gremory to bring the date forward, as he is rather impatient for his trophy wife. The actual marriage date is not in the contract."

"Even if I don't agree to marry you," Harry said, "would Riser try to kill me or something? Does he hate bastard offspring?"

"Probably not," Rias said. "Cambions are not well-liked, true, but Riser would most likely ignore you. Of course, if you did agree to it, that'd be another matter. Harry, I could beg you to marry me, but I'm not an idiot. If it weren't for Hermione, I wouldn't know what you were like, whether you were like Riser. And even then, you don't know me. We only have Hermione as a mutual friend. I hope that you can marry me…but it's not the only way I can be free of this engagement."

"Yeah, I've got that, Rias. I just…if I'm going to go through with this, I want to get to know you. And I'm sure you feel the same way."

The red-haired Devil smiled warmly. "Of course. Besides, even if you don't decide to go through with it, it still means I can be your senpai when it comes to our world."

On Harry's confused look, Hermione clarified, "Senpai is an honorific meaning an immediate superior, usually at school or the workplace, and frequently a mentor. Rias just likes using Japanese terms."

"Okay," Harry said, a little uncertainly. "So…your brother, what's he like?"

"He's a good man, believe it or not. Though he's rather embarrassing in the attention he lavishes on me when we're alone. He'll be accompanied by his wife and Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge. Serafall is…well, have you heard of Sailor Moon? Cardcaptors? Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha?" Rias asked.

"I've heard of the first two, but not that last one."

"Okay, they all belong to a genre of anime called the 'magical girl' genre. She's really into the whole magical girl thing, and even stars in her own show. She looks and acts like a child, but she's actually as old as my brother."

"So, how will they be coming in? Via the front door? Teleportation?"

"The latter. They have permission from the house's ward system. I asked Dumbledore for the same for Bael and Gremory magic teleportation at Hogwarts," Hermione said. Crimson and sky blue light flared nearby. "Speak of the Devils…"

The three people that were revealed were a study in contrasts. The first was a young man who, with impossibly handsome, even beautiful features framed by blood red hair, could only be Rias' brother, though he looked only a few years her senior. He was dressed rather simply in a beautifully tailored suit.

Next to him was a beautiful but rather stern woman in a maid's outfit. Silver hair framed impassive features. She had the air of utter seriousness that made McGonagall look like she lacked discipline.

Finally, there was what looked like a girl in her early to mid-teens, albeit with surprisingly large breasts for her size, dressed in a frilly outfit, and wielding a stave. Dark hair, styled in twin pigtails, framed pretty features that had an air of mischief to her expression.

Harry saw the others standing, and so followed suit. "Harry," Hermione said, "allow me to introduce you to Lord Sirzechs Lucifer, Lady Grayfia Lucifuge, and Lady Serafall Leviathan."

"So formal, Hermione-chan," Serafall, the girl, pouted.

Hermione smirked slightly. "I do it because it annoys you, Lady Serafall. Well, annoys you without making you want to make a good chunk of the Underworld go away."

"You're lucky I like you, Hermione-chan," Serafall said childishly. Well, Harry would soon come to learn she wouldn't do anything but childishly…unless she was truly serious. "Where's Kuro-chan and your other lovely Peerage members?"

"Kuroka's working with Bikou and the Pendragons to investigate the Khaos Brigade we've been hearing about, as you well know. My other Peerage members are staying at Hogwarts for now. Luna says 'hi', by the way."

Sirzechs cleared his throat, though he had an amused smile on his face. "Sorry, Serafall, but we do need to get down to business. Anyway, how do you do, Harry Tonks?"

"Very well…umm, what do I call you?"

"Just Sirzechs will be fine in informal settings like this, I don't stand on convention. To tell the truth, I detest bowing and scraping," the red-haired man said with a chuckle. "There's a difference between familiarity and insolence after all, and I'd prefer to make new friends than enemies."

"Then it's nice to meet you, Sirzechs," Harry said. "So…I presume you know what this is all about?"

"Rias and Hermione have been keeping me abreast of things, yes," Sirzechs said. "Speaking as a concerned brother rather than one of the Devil Kings, I am relieved that there is a possible alternative. Of course it is dependent on many factors. Your consent is of course one of them, but I also have to sell my father on the idea, along with Lord Phenex. While they probably will give their consent if I sell it to them correctly, nothing is definite, as much as my adorable little sister would like it to be."

"To say nothing of Riser, from what they were telling me," Harry said.

Grayfia cleared her throat pointedly. "Yes. Sadly, even if Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex agrees to this, Riser will almost certainly object to this the moment he hears of it. And given what Lord Beelzebub has said about you only now obtaining your Evil Pieces, you do not have long to obtain a Peerage before Riser decides to challenge you to an unofficial Rating Game."

"Or maybe he should awaken his Sacred Gear," Hermione mused. "It's definitely a draconic one, so it could be anything from a Twice Critical all the way up to…"

"How am I supposed to awaken a Sacred Gear, anyway?" Harry interrupted.

"It's simpler than you'd think," Rias said with a smile. "Hermione told me that, last year, you learned the Patronus charm to repel Dementors, correct? When Peter Pettigrew escaped from Azkaban? Generally, you focus, instead of a happy memory, on a sense of power, and summon it. Try focusing it on your arm. Most draconic Sacred Gears start off as a form of gauntlet."

Harry, after a moment, decided, with an attitude of 'what the hell', to do what Hermione suggested. After a moment's concentration, a crimson gauntlet with a green gem embedded in it formed over his arm. He stared at it a moment, and then moved it. "Okay, so…umm, why are you all staring at me like that?"

And indeed, everyone present was gaping at him, save for Grayfia, and her eyes were still wide in her otherwise stoic face. No, not at him, Harry realised, but the gauntlet. "Oh my," Akeno murmured. "That is certainly not a Twice Critical."

"Y Ddraig Goch," Hermione breathed in awe.

"Uhhh…gesundheit?" Harry asked.

Sirzechs began chuckling. "Well, this is interesting. A Phenex Cambion with that Sacred Gear. You lucked out, Harry. Your Sacred Gear is one of the most powerful: the Boosted Gear, one of the Longinuses. Sealed within it is the soul of Y Ddraig Goch, the Welsh Red Dragon, one of the two Heavenly Dragons."

"And…that means what?"

"When it's activated in battle, the Boosted Gear doubles your current strength every ten seconds," Hermione explained. "Physical and magical. Of course, it can only do that up to a point where your body can stand it, so to use the Boosted Gear to its full potential, you'd need to be trained. But…the Boosted Gear may be just what you need…"

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry's found out that he has Ddraig, and has thus won the Sacred Gear lottery. Of course, it doesn't mean he's invincible at all…

1. By stating this, I'm dating this story to 11 years ahead of Potterverse canon, in September 2005. The original Fate/Stay Night visual novel came out in 2004, while the first anime adaptation started airing in January 2006.