If you want and idea of how big Nacht is, imagine the wolves from Warcraft that the Orcs were riding.
Puppy was eating her dinner when Mammon came in the kitchen with an annoyed expression.
"Who are we going to be bleeding dry of their money?" she asked.
"You've somehow been selected as a Champion for some idiotic tournament for the fools in England. Despite the fact you've never attended their schools or even signed anything that they could get their claws on."
For security purposes, Puppy never signed anything that wasn't on a tablet for exactly this reason.
With the right medium or tool, any magical could pull this sort of stunt.
"Wait, what? Please tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means," she practically begged.
"Unfortunately I've looked through the 'official' copy of the magical contract associated with the artifact in question. They only put in the age restriction this year, so the goblet does not recognize it as part of the contract. If you want to avoid losing your magic or your life, you'll have to participate. Fortunately nothing specifies you have to do more than show up for the three tasks and the ball. I refuse to give up my internet access just to pander to their delusions of grandeur," said Mammon flatly.
"Or, and this is just me being a troll, we go there and make them regret bringing us and you can rob them blind through high stakes poker to pay for the satellite connection so you can keep the internet," said Puppy grinning evilly.
"Go on."
"Well correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Belphegor from a magical lineage and attending the same classes I am for magic?"
Mammon was silent, before a slow and evil grin appeared on their face.
"We would need to take precautions. These people are notorious for inbreeding, and despite the reparations I've claimed from them they are dead set on reclaiming you. Better to insure that we don't have to come and discreetly kill off an entire family later," said Mammon.
"How?"
"Betrothal contract."
Belphegor who was walking in at that moment to get breakfast, paused and looked at them both.
"Who?"
"You two. An easily breakable contract...by only you two or your next of kin...will keep the idiots from trying to latch onto you and give us more work."
Belphegor eyed Puppy with an odd look. At least she thought he did. Hard to tell with the bangs covering half his face.
"I could do worse," he announced, before rummaging for food.
"Hands off the pop tarts or else!" she called out. Then what he said caught up to her. "Wait, what?"
"I am a Prince. Betrothal contracts aren't that uncommon and again, I could do worse," said Belphegor flatly.
Puppy's face turned a solid red color.
"It's only to insure that you don't end up accidentally contracted to marry one of those inbred hicks," said Mammon.
"And if Xanxus doesn't like it?"
"There's a reason why we're using the next-of-kin clause. He's the closest to you that's still alive. If he had a problem with it, then he can break it and no one else."
Puppy relaxed at that. It wasn't that she couldn't stand Belphegor...they were best friends and most of their arguing was the light and playful kind...but she wasn't remotely ready to consider marriage.
She barely found either gender interesting enough to date!
It didn't take long for the trio to find themselves in Squalo's office.
"So let me get this straight. The Puppy got picked for this...tournament...without actually being in the castle and because of how the contract was written there's no way for her to get out of it."
"The contract is ironclad, and only in extreme cases will the role of 'champion' be overturned."
"Extreme as in..."
"The only reason they stopped the tournament originally was because of the death toll. There is only one case in which a champion was removed from the tournament and that was because of conflicting magical signatures."
"...Why do I have a feeling that's not an option for her?" asked Squalo.
"The only way to cause a conflicting signature in a witch is for them to be pregnant. I don't know about you, but I don't want the Boss to kill us because his sister got knocked up at fourteen just to get out of a ridiculous tournament she could probably win," deadpanned Mammon.
Squalo choked.
"Alright, how long is this going to take?" he asked, changing the subject.
"There's three tasks and a mandatory ball. Nothing in the rules states she has to stay there during the entire year, and there's a small village thirty miles from the school. It would be child's play to arrange for us to take over a house as a base of operations," said Mammon.
"Voi. Bikes are cheap, and both brats know how to drive. You can take missions in between these...tasks... from England," said Squalo.
Thirty miles wouldn't take more than an hour at most to drive, especially with off-road bikes.
"I heard the words 'mandatory ball'," said Luss.
"Apparently the Puppy is being roped into some shitty tournament and part of the requirements is to open a ball at Yule," said Squalo.
Luss squealed.
"We are going to make you look fabulous darling!"
"The Shitty Prince is going with her," continued Squalo, enjoying the pissed off vibe from the brat.
Luss squealed even louder. And then Mammon decided to twist the knife on them both even further.
"I'm writing up a betrothal contract between the two of them that the Boss can break when he is back. Since he's Belphegor's legal guardian and the next-of-kin for the Puppy, it means that we won't have to deal with the idiots trying to rope the two of them into staying," said Mammon.
Luss about swooned from delight.
"You two are going as the Prince and Princess of this ball, darlings~!"
"I hate you both so much," Bel told Squalo and Mammon. He hated shopping. Especially clothes shopping with Luss.
Two days later...
Puppy inspected the newly renovated home with distaste. She hated England. At least she didn't have to give up her internet connection.
It was supposed to be an almost normal Hogwarts lunch. At least, it was until the sound of something making an unholy racket occurred outside, followed by loud yelling in what sounded a lot like French.
Quite a few students looked at the Beauxbatons girls...most of whom looked appalled and shocked.
Without much warning, the Great Hall doors slammed open, revealing a rider on some strange metal contraption that those of normal origins immediately recognized as a bike. An off-road one, to be specific, painted in blood red with silver crowns.
Behind it was a massive wolf with a girl in a red hood riding it shouting at the driver of the bike, who had a creepy grin on his face.
The boy shouted something back in Russian.
"Mu. Both of you shut up. I'll buy more pop tarts later," said a figure sitting astride the wolf.
The girl calmed down, but didn't get off the wolf.
"Excuse me, but what in the blazes is going on here?" demanded McGonagall, her voice furious.
The third figure (it was impossible to tell if they were male or female) got off the wolf and calmly walked around it.
"The Italian Ministry informed us of the fact that my apprentice was selected for your...tournament. And that attendance is mandatory," said the figure.
"And you are?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"I am Mammon, the personal teacher of Lady Potter. This is her betrothed, Prince Belphegor, who came for moral support," said Mammon bluntly.
Dumbledore paused.
"Where is Lady Potter?" he asked carefully.
The girl had claimed her titles on her fourteenth birthday, a full year early. She was also in the process of having her N.E.W.T.s evaluated.
Mammon helped the girl on the wolf down, and she threw back her red hood. It was a blood red with two crosses made of silver pinning her cloak to her outfit. Her hair was a deep black with red tints and her eyes were a red color that made him cringe. Her face was youthful, but full of something he was hard to place.
The thing that struck him the most was that the familiar lighting bolt scar was missing. As in it was completely gone.
The girl held herself like an adult, and there was a steel in her that told him it would not be in his best interest to argue at the moment.
"Perhaps we should take this discussion somewhere a bit more private."
"An empty classroom will suffice. From what I understand, this castle boasts of many such rooms as the curriculum was whittled down to the bare minimum of magical training," said Mammon.
Dumbledore took the veiled jibe at the standards of the castle with ease. This person had basically announced they found the education provided by the school to be inadequate for their apprentice. It also meant he would have to do some serious groveling or compromises if he even remotely wanted the girl to stay in the school.
He was more concerned about this betrothed. There were very few magical royalty left and even fewer fit the description of this prince. And those that did, only one would be in the right age range.
He had a very, very bad feeling this "Prince Belphegor" was in fact the missing prince of a small magical nation in Slovenia, one that recent had a rather bloody incident involving the younger twin son of the king.
A boy that went missing after nearly murdering his older brother, the heir.
Sirius would have to be warned. The last thing their Savior needed was to be betrothed to a murderous psychopath like that boy! As the Head of the Black family and her godfather, he could have the contract reviewed and possibly broken.
Puppy was staying next to Nacht with the very unhappy woman with the stern expression approached her.
"I'm afraid you'll have to remove your...pet...from the great hall. We do not allow wolves as acceptable pets inside this castle."
She said nothing, but pulled out a translated copy of the paperwork Mammon had filed along with the betrothal agreement.
Professor McGongall took the papers and scanned them. Her frown became more pronounced.
"I see. My apologies, but please keep your familiar from causing a disruption during classes," she replied.
When tested by the Italian Ministry, they found Puppy had a very strong familiar bond with Nacht. Ergo she could legally take him into magical enclaves...or schools...and they couldn't do a thing about it so long as she had him under control.
She was so going to abuse that to keep the English far, far from her.
Belphegor grinned, standing next to her.
Sirius was overjoyed. His goddaughter had returned to England, he was free and clear from the lies that had left him in a hell hole for twelve years, and the Headmaster had given him permission to come to the castle to meet her.
Remus would come, but he was recovering from a particularly rough full moon.
What he found when he got there threw him for quite a loop.
His pup was with a boy wearing a crown and arguing in a foreign language over some pastry, while a third person (he couldn't tell the gender) sat reading what he clearly identified as the financial section of the London Times.
The third figure (who the Headmaster had warned him was his pup's magical teacher) looked right at him and frowned.
Sirius went up to meet the headmaster, but the feeling of that person's gaze stuck with him.
His pup seemed happy enough, even if the company she kept was odd.
"You called me in, Professor?" said Sirius.
"Ah, Sirius! Have a seat dear boy. And you know you can call me Albus."
What followed was mostly speculation and conjecture, but considering the reason WHY he had been falsely imprisoned without a damn trial for twelve years, Sirius was taking the information with more grains of salt than the headmaster would have liked.
"Let me get this straight. There is no official record of a Mammon Esper with the Italian Ministry, the betrothal contract that was filed two days before they came to England was set with a next-of-kin clause that does not specify who it is, and there is no listed residence for my goddaughter or anything concrete save for the records of her tests. And you called me here why exactly?" he asked.
Several facts didn't add up, and after being declared a free man Sirius had the rose tinted glasses ripped from him permanently. Besides, he was a Black. He had a lot of potential information the headmaster couldn't touch without getting busted for no matter how careful he was.
"I wish for your assistance in ascertaining whether or not the betrothal should stick. As her next-of-kin and as her magically bound godfather, you have jurisdiction over such contracts."
Ah, so that was his game. He wanted to nix the betrothal for some reason, and possibly secure a reason to keep her here. It was bad enough she openly declined an invitation to the school, this was all about politics and saving face.
She might end up with Draco, her cousin, or possibly one of the Weasley boys as a 'payment' to the family for the loss of their youngest daughter two years ago or for serving him.
Let it never be said he didn't develop a sense of paranoia after having his name cleared, especially considering who he grew up with. Walburga was a crazy bitch, but his father Orion knew how to play the game and play it well.
He would find out for himself how the girl felt about the matter and what her home life was like before he made any moves.
Besides, he had information Dumbledore didn't...like the fact that Lily Evans wasn't her mother, but her adopted mother. It wasn't exactly something they ever planned on sharing, because there were very clear laws about bastards and very few of them were nice.
His Pup went straight for Hogsmeade with her group.
It was of little surprise when her teacher rented a secure room in the Three Broomsticks, or that they secured the area further the moment the door closed behind him.
Though he had to admit, as distractions went to throw someone off balance, she was exceptionally good at it.
"Why do you look like a longer haired version of the one who played the main bad guy off Air Force One?" she asked confused, with a distinct Italian accent.
Sirius blinked, before a slow grin formed on his face.
"I dabbled in acting. If you think that's weird, you should have seen what Moony acted in before that night. I have no idea how the hell he landed that role as the spoiled king in Dragonheart."
She perked up at that.
"I love that movie!"
"Of course you would, principessa," said the blond kid with the crown.
"I take it that the old man wishes to interfere in things not his business?" asked the robed person.
Sirius eyed them all warily before deciding to test something he suspected since Dumbledore couldn't get any information. If he lacked the sources to find out where his pup was, then chances were that she wasn't part of the 'normal' society.
"Omerta?" he asked carefully. To anyone else it would be a nonsense word, but considering the way they all straightened up in a split second after he uttered it, he knew his guess was spot on.
"Civilian or Familigia?" asked the robed one just as carefully.
"Civilian with ties to the Familigia. Not like we used them much recently, but we were trained in how to contact them for old favors," said Sirius.
"Which family?"
"Vongola, mostly, though the last contact we had was with the Bovino family. One of my uncles helped to...acquire...certain time traveling artifacts before they were busted. The Ministry never recovered them, and my uncle committed suicide before they could get the information on which Familigia they sold them to."
Well that certainly explained how the hell the Bovino family made the Ten Year Bazooka and why no one was able to recreate it despite trying. Even Verde was stumped on how the thing was made.
The group relaxed slightly.
Before Sirius could ask any...ahem...serious questions, Mammon suddenly lashed out with their Mist and captured an innocent looking beetle.
"What species is that?" asked Belphegor, only interested in passing.
"Not a natural one, I can tell you that much," said Mammon darkly.
"Animagus?" said Sirius. He looked closer at the 'eyes' of the beetle, and recognition hit. "Ha! So that's how she's been doing it!"
"Explain," said Mammon.
"Rita Skeeter. I'd recognize those horrible glasses anywhere. No one has ever figured out how she's been getting such blackmail on everyone for all these years, but who noticed insects?"
She must be an unregistered animagus like him.
"I sense an opportunity to prove whether or not you're trustworthy, Black," said Mammon suddenly.
"Oh dear... Mammon has that 'I'm about to make a lot of money and blackmail' tone again," said Puppy in a sing-song voice.
"Shishishi..." laughed Belphegor.