Prologue
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.
AN: Okay, I'm posting this early cause I'm sitting in front of my computer with no class or work and I STILL can;'t seem to finish the next chapter! I'm hoping that by posting this prologue, your reviews will give me some inspiration. Be gentle!
Grimmauld Place, London
November 20th, 1998
Harry sighed as he sat down to eat his dinner alone as had been the norm for the last few months since the Final Battle at Hogwarts.
After the Battle, Harry had thought that things would resolve itself easily. Voldemort was dead as was most of his most dangerous followers. The remaining Death Eaters were scattered or imprisoned and those that were Imperiused were now free. Everything should have simply fallen into place and Harry could have the normal life he'd always craved with Ginny by his side.
However, things didn't end like that. The first thing that didn't go as he planned was Ginny. After the battle, Harry had wanted to reconcile with Ginny and pick up where they left off, something Ginny was more than eager to. At the time, he hadn't understood why Neville was acting so cold to him or why Ginny was so uncomfortable with the latter's presence. You'd think that fighting together against the tyranny at Hogwarts would have brought them closer together.
It turns out that it HAD brought them closer together... as lovers. Harry had only found out when he found Neville and Ginny together in bed, about two articles of underwear away from engaging in intercourse... in the same bed he had been sharing with Ginny for the past month.
Needless to say, Harry had been furious and showed it by beating Neville half to death and banishing Ginny from his presence. Charges had been leveled on him for attacking the heir of an Ancient and Noble House and he had countered with charges of Line Theft on an heir of two Ancient and Noble Houses, Potter and Black.
Line Theft was a serious accusation and even leveling the charges had brought the Longbottom reputation, which had been high due to Neville's actions in the Final Battle, to an all-time low. Only the hasty negotiation of Dowager Longbottom with Harry had gotten him to drop the charges and save Neville from life in Azkaban. Ginny herself was disgraced and had to marry Neville to save face. Last Harry checked, that marriage wasn't as perfect or as good as it seemed in the papers what with Ginny spending more money than she earned and with Neville's reputation so low.
The second thing that didn't go as he hoped had been the Ministry's actions afterward. While they did round up all the Death Eaters and only Harry's actions saved Narcissa Malfoy and her son from Azkaban (nothing Harry said could save old Lucy though and he was pushed through the Veil), they had then turned on him and his friends.
The Ministry had demanded to know how they defeated Voldemort, citing they needed to know for future Dark Lords. Harry had vehemently disagreed, not wanting the knowledge of Horcruxes to become common knowledge. Unfortunately, Hermione agreed with the Ministry, thinking that with a good and responsible government, the knowledge wouldn't be abused. Harry was more cynical than that, not forgetting that most of the Ministry had't been Imperiused and had simply let muggleborns and half-bloods be rounded up like cattle. Ron had wanted to tell them as well, but that was because he wanted more fame for his actions. Due to the covert nature of their mission, no one really knew what they had been doing that year beyond it had something to do with Voldemort's death. There was even some rumors saying they hadn't done anything and had simply been hiding. Ron, not wanting to lose his newly acquired fame, wanted the knowledge to become known so his heroics could come to light.
The end result had been a row between Harry and them beyond anything before that ended in a two on one duel between Harry and them. Nothing Harry told them would change their minds and Harry had finally been fed up and decided that public knowledge of Horcruxes would be disastrous. Copycats would pop up everywhere and they could inadvertently start yet another war. Knowing that, Harry had dueled them, intent on Obliviating them of the knowledge.
The duel had been completely one sided in Harry's favor. In the months after the Final Battle, Harry had felt himself become... stronger. It was almost as if he had passed some sort of trial and something holding back his full potential was released. It wasn't just magically but physically as well. Harry was now strong enough to bend metal in his hand easily and fast enough to almost seem like a blur when he moved. His magic had also changed. Dark magic had become almost instinctual to cast and many times Harry found himself casting spells he didn't remember learning. Harry passed it off as residual memories from the Horcrux that was in his scar but something told him it was something more.
Harry had also found walking out in sunlight... uncomfortable. While he didn't feel any weaker per se, he did find it irritating and light spells made him that much more uncomfortable. He had also found that it was much harder to cast light-oriented spells such as the Patronus. It took much more concentration to cast and somehow seemed weaker than it should be.
Despite that, Harry's skills and abilities had almost tripled if not quadrupled since the Final Battle and it was as easy as breathing to take down both Hermione and Ron. Despite never having cast the Memory Charm before, Harry had been able to successfully cast it on both of them, making sure to erase their knowledge of horcruxes while keeping what happened in the past year intact as much as possible. All they knew was that they had been looking for relics of the Founders that made Voldemort more powerful and that they had destroyed them.
Despite this, a distance had grown between Harry and them due to his actions. He heavily regretted it but knew he had been right when a few days later he saw an interview of Hermione and Ron in the Prophet. It went into great detail regarding what they were doing that year and how it helped defeat Voldemort. Thankfully, his Memory Charm worked and they knew nothing about Horcruxes.
Harry had been livid and argued with them once more. Before they left that night, they had promised not to reveal anything without his consent. Despite them saying they wouldn't until Harry agreed as well, they had went ahead and done it behind his back anyway. This had caused the distance between them to become a chasm.
The Ministry, however, hadn't been content with that and demanded Harry be debriefed under Veritaserum. When Harry used his position as an heir to counteract this, they had turned nasty. They had accused him of being part of a vigilante group with no authorization by the rightful government and working against a legal investigation. They had even gone so far as to subtly threaten him by saying that the order for his arrest had never been rescinded.
By that time, Harry had had enough. He had only wanted a normal life and to be left alone but it seemed that everyone was determined to screw him over. He had retaliated by using his extensive resources to turn the public against the Ministry.
The Potters made their fortune due to the fact that they owned most of the Wizarding world's farmland. It was impossible for wizards to stay hidden if they kept stealing crops from muggles after all. Therefore, the Potters bought up a lot of good land in Scotland and Britain and turned it into farmland for both normal crops (which they sold to the muggle government as well to keep up appearances) and magical plants. This gave them control of 80% of the magical Britain's food supply.
On the other hand, the Blacks got their fortune by controlling the only source of importing foreign ingredients and products. Every way of importing products went through Black channels since they couldn't be portkeyed or Apparated without damaging them. This meant that the Black family controlled the price and availability of any imported good which made up 60% of all available goods on the market. This was the reason that despite the Blacks being a well-known 'dark' family, they had been left alone by the Ministry even at the height of the First War.
Harry had used this to his advantage by tripling the prices of all foodstuffs and placing an pseudo-embargo on Britain by denying the entrance of any and all imported products.
It had only taken three days for the public to realize what was happening and panic followed soon after. Harry took advantage and published an interview in the Quibbler, which had gained a lot of respectability after the War, explaining his reasons. He dramatically explained how he had lost everything; his parents, his godfather (who still hadn't been cleared of the charges of which he was innocent), and almost his life; in order to fight Voldemort and save them only to be treated like a criminal by the Ministry. He explained how they were threatening him with arrest for false charges because he refused to reveal Family Secrets (which was true after a fashion since with Harry being the only one who knew it was technically a Family secret). He even went on to say how he was betrayed by his former friends when they tried to force him to reveal them to the public.
Harry then explained that he had raised the prices of everything since he was afraid he'd have to flee Britain and wanted income for the future. He hadn't wanted to but he had wasted his family's entire fortune fighting Voldemort and he had no other recourse now that the Ministry wanted him arrested. The latter was patently untrue, of course. The Potters alone had enough money to live several lifetimes as kings and still have money left over and that wasn't mentioning the Blacks who hoarded everything, including several items from families who'd mysteriously gone extinct after spending a dinner with them.
Luckily, a hefty donation on Harry's part as well as paying for the damages done by his adventure in Gringotts kept the goblins quiet as to the truth. Harry had even turned over the Sword of Gryffindor despite Griphook breaking his side of the bargain which gained him much approval from the normally scowling race. The Sword had been in Neville's ownership since the Battle but Harry had demanded it returned to him as part of the concessions to not press charges against him for Line Theft.
The interview did what Harry intended and turned the public against the Ministry. Large mobs formed in the Ministry Atrium shouting abuse for how they treated their Savior. In the end, the Ministry capitulated and made a public apology for their actions as well as giving him monetary compensation after clearing Sirius's name.
In a show of humility, Harry gave 50% of the monetary compensation to various charities as well as using 30% of the remaining amount to found several orphanages and charities for muggleborns and half-bloods. He had also given a public apology for his actions and gave a 50% off all Potter foodstuffs and Black imports for two days. The losses from this action didn't even cut into 25% of his surplus and rewarded him by making him the most-loved person in magical Britain.
Harry had learned from his years at Hogwarts and knew that in order to be left in peace, he needed to control how people saw him. As long as he remained in a positive light, he was untouchable even by the Ministry. If he ignored public opinion much like he had in his Hogwarts years, it would only bring more misery to his life. His actions also made sure the Ministry feared acting against him which while reminded him of Voldemort, made sure he lived his life in peace.
The downside was that much of the 'light' faction, now headed by the new Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, thought he was 'going dark' for his actions. Apparently, defending himself and refusing to be their puppet made him dark and they distanced themselves from him, hoping to damage his growing reputation by making people think the same as them. This had the opposite effect, however, as the public thought there was something wrong with them since he no longer publicly associated with them. By the time they realized their mistake it was too late and any attempt to act like nothing had happened would only make it seemed like they had come groveling back to him.
That wasn't to say he had no friends. He had become close friends with the Greengrasses due their alliance in the food industry. While the Potters controlled the farmland, the Greengrasses controlled a lot of the industries which turned the raw food into consumable products. This caused them to run into each other a lot and Harry had found he liked them, especially the beautiful Daphne Greengrass. While Daphne and him didn't think they'd ever fall in love or anything similar, they certainly were in lust with each other and were regular bed partners sometimes joined by Daphne's best friend, Tracey Davis.
He also spent a lot of time with Andromeda Tonks who, despite being at least in her 60s, looked no older than 30 with a body to rival a supermodel. Harry and her spent a lot of time 'mourning' together, making sure to silence the room so baby Teddy didn't overhear her moans and screams of pleasure. Andromeda had been surprised to find Harry was still a virgin despite having dated Ginny 'The Broomstick' Weasley. Apparently, Ginny had a reputation that he was completely unaware of in Hogwarts as being quite easy.
She had claimed that she didn't want the new Black Lord to be easily manipulated and had been the one to 'educate' him in matters of the bedroom. Harry would believe she had done this out of duty if they didn't still fuck each other at every opportunity despite Harry having already passed all his 'lessons'.
Much like Harry and Daphne, they didn't love each other. It was, in a way, a form of mourning and forcing themselves to move on from the ones they'd lost. Neither had any illusions of dating, much less marrying. However, they didn't deny their lust for each other and regularly acted upon it. There was a political side to it. Since Teddy couldn't inherit as the new Lord Black due to his werewolf heritage (which Hermione and Ron stupidly revealed in their interview) and Harry couldn't take more than one wife to separate the titles, the only ones who could inherit would be any child that came from Andromeda's womb.
This quickly became public knowledge and many suitors had appeared at Andromeda's doorstep as early as the day after the interview was published. Andromeda wanted nothing to do with this suitors, knowing they were after the Black fortune and not her either as a woman worth desiring or as a person.
But any child between Harry and Andromeda wouldn't be questioned, the stuck-up way of the wizarding world making sure that any child born of a Noble family, even a bastard, would be treated with respect and considered an heir as long as no proof of magical creature heritage was apparent. Teddy would have been accepted as the Black heir even if everyone knew that Remus was his father since there was no concrete proof. Only Hermione and Ron admitting it on paper gave the Ministry the ability to deny Teddy his heritage.
Therefore, Andromeda and Harry continued liasons also helped create a Black heir to inherit the Lord Black title. This was especially important since if they didn't, Draco would inherit it since the Malfoys lost their Ancient and Noble Status due to Lucius's actions. Harry did not want this since despite having mellowed out since the war, Draco was still as anti-muggleborn as ever. Letting him inherit the Black title would not only lower Harry's own power but also put Draco in a position to once again force anti-muggleborn laws in place. A child of Andromeda's, with her being older than Narcissa and therefore having a much stronger claim to the title, would deny him that.
Andromeda also made sure to teach him that cunning and ambition could be good things in certain circumstances. She taught him politics and how to manipulate people into doing what one wanted. In all the ways that mattered, Harry was truly her protegee in the political arena, something her sister Narcissa quickly realized whenever Harry made his influence apparent in the Winzemagot.
However, nothing either Andromeda or Daphne did changed the fact that while Harry's political influence had grown, his personal life had taken a fall. No amount of sex changed the fact that Andromeda was almost three times his age and therefore, belonged to a different generation than him. They had different likes and had experienced different things meaning they had little in common. Daphne and his liasons were always in secret lest her parents find out and try to force a marriage between them, something neither wanted. Neither loved each other even after months of sexual liasons and both wanted to marry for love, not politics. It was bad enough that Astoria was being married off to Draco for that very same reason, Daphne didn't want the same for her and only her position as heir saved her from that fate.
So despite everything going well for him, Harry admitted to himself that he was lonely.
Harry brought himself out of his thoughts as he finished his dinner, once again thanking Kreacher for the food, something the house-elf preened under.
Seeing the time as 9:14pm but feeling no tiredness, Harry decided to take a walk around Muggle London at night. Harry had no fear of being attacked or mugged, always having a dozen Shield spells woven into all his clothing. Harry's improved physical condition since the Final Battle also extended to his senses and he realized he could hear anyone breathing much less approaching with intent to harm long before they came close enough to cast a spell or attack him physically.
Furthermore, Harry had a weapon other than his wand in the katana that was hanging from his waist on his left side.
That was the final and most perplexing change since the Final Battle. The morning after the Battle, Harry had awoken to find the katana lying next to his sleeping form. The katana was 72cm long with an ornate octagonal bronze guard and a tsuka-ito that seemed to be braided from white and black material. The blade itself featured several intricate ornaments, the most notable of which is a relief of a dragon at the endpoint of the hilt. The scabbard was black, made of traditional lacquered wood, and featured several metallic ornaments on its far end.
He had at first thought it belonged to someone in the dormitory but no one recognized it. Furthermore, whenever someone other than him tried to touch it, it shocked them badly while giving off the feeling that it belonged to no one but Harry. Whenever Harry tried to leave it somewhere it would magically appear at his waist, as if unwilling to be parted from him.
What really confused Harry had been that once Harry stopped bringing attention to it, the memory of the katana seemed to fade from everyone's minds and they ignored its presence at his waist. It unnerved him and the mystery of the blade plagued him until he noticed the symbol at the butt of the hilt.
It was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.
That was when Harry realized that the katana had to be related to them in some way. It was only when he realized that both his Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand were missing that he realized that the katana was some type of merging of the three Hallows. It was confirmed when Harry went to same spot he dropped the Resurrection Stone, something no one but him knew the location of, and found the Stone missing as well. They could have been stolen but the only ones that knew their existence much less their locations other than him were Ron and Hermione and he discreetly confirmed neither had them.
Somehow, the three Hallows had merged to form the katana and it refused to be parted from him probably due to his Master of Death status. He had no idea what this meant or whether it was related to his increase in physical abilities and magical power but since there seemed to be no apparent negative side effects, he dismissed it as irrelevant. Plus, the debacle with the knowledge of Horcruxes told him that letting anyone even get a hint of the katana's possible true nature and symbolic status would only bring more trouble to his life. No doubt the Ministry would try to confiscate it saying it was too dangerous to allow in anyone's hands.
Closing the door to Grimmauld Place behind him, Harry slowly walked down the street heading for the nearby park. Nature always calmed him and the full moon made sure the night was well-illuminated. Harry found it strange that he was more comfortable at night than during the day but passed it off to his childhood trauma at the hands of the Dursleys. Darkness meant his cupboard and its meager safety from his relatives' abuse while light meant the door to his cupboard had been opened which probably meant a beating at his uncle's hands. It wasn't a surprise Harry equated safety with darkness for that fact alone.
As Harry reached the park, he took in the natural sounds of nature around him with a small smile. He'd always enjoyed nature and not even his various exploits into the Forbidden Forest could change that.
Once Harry reached the center of the park, he sat down on an empty bench after casting some discreet Notice-Me-Not charms wandlessly, something else that had changed since the Battle as he wouldn't have been able of that before. The moonlight fell at a perfect angle to illuminate the bench he was sitting on, making him close his eyes as he basked in the feeling of the moonlight which always seemed to make him feel stronger.
Harry was instantly on alert when he opened his eyes only to find the previously empty bench across from him now holding two new occupants.
The two occupants were a man and a woman. The man was young and relatively handsome, looking to be in his early 20's with shoulder length crimson red hair and blue-green eyes. His hair was different from his mother's, being more like blood than the bright red of Lily Potter and Ginny Weasley. The man was wearing an expensive suit with a white dress undershirt that still managed to look casual despite its obvious cost. Harry could sense a barely restrained aura of power coming from him that seemed both familiar yet not for some reason. His aura made Dumbledore seem like a weakling in comparison which put Harry even further on edge.
The woman beside him... the only word for her was gorgeous. The woman looked to be in her early twenties, with silver hair and matching silver eyes, which combined with her near ethereal beauty made him think she had some Veela blood in her. Her hair seemed to flow all the way down to her back and featured a long braid on each side of her face with small blue bows at the ends, while the rest was let down, ending in twin braids. Strangely enough, she was wearing a blue and white French maid outfit with long sleeves and a white maid headband over her head. Other than some red lipstick and some flat shoes, she had no other ornament yet if she stood in the middle of a horde of Veela she'd probably outshine them all.
Her beauty was only matched by the power Harry could sense emanating from her. Even with his new improvements and abilities, Harry had no doubt she could wipe the floor with him with little trouble, her power being only marginally less than the man's.
Most disconcerting of all, however, was that both were looking right at him with a small smile on the man's face despite the Notice-Me-Not charms he had cast over him which should have made that very difficult if not outright impossible. Harry discreetly placed his left hand on the hilt of his katana as he prepared himself for a losing battle if they were hostile.
The man smiled at Harry's look of shock and raised his hands in a show of peace when he saw his actions. "Please, do not be alarmed about our sudden appearance. We mean no harm. We just came looking for a relative of ours and hoped you could help us find them."
Harry narrowed his eyes at the man but sensed no ill intent so reluctantly let his katana go. He doubted it would help much if they attacked anyway.
"Why would you purposely search me out if you're looking for a relative?" asked Harry suspiciously. "I'd think you'd want to go to the Department of Magical Bloodlines at the Ministry for that." He had no doubt they were magical so mentioning the Ministry in front of them wasn't breaking the law.
The man simply smiled while the woman looked on with a neutral look. "I had a feeling you'd be able to help us better." said the man simply. "Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Sirzechs Lu-Gremory and this beautiful woman is my wife, Grayfia Lucifuge."
Harry nodded his head in greeting at the both before speaking. "I am Harry Potter-Black. It's a pleasure to meet you. Now who is the relative you are looking for and why do you think I would be able to help you locate them better than the Ministry?"
Sirzechs smiled knowingly. "Well, your influence would certainly help. Who doesn't know about Harry Potter-Black? However, we think you can help us for a different reason. You see, the relative we are searching for belongs to a family that we believed extinct over eight hundred years ago. So you can imagine our surprise when our family tree showed a survivor. Moreover since the tree didn't show anyone in that spot until six months ago... around the same time as the Final Battle at Hogwarts."
Now Harry understood why they looked for him. As the center point of the battle, he would most likely know everyone involved in it. However, he didn't know anyone who gave birth during the battle as far as he knew so how could it be related to the Battle?
"Do you have any idea who it is? A name or at least a surname?" asked Harry curiously.
The couple exchanged looks before the man spoke once more. "We have an idea as to who it might be. As for surname... that branch of the family had the surname of Peverell."
All the air left Harry's lungs at his declaration. He had heavily researched the Peverell family both when he was researching the Hallows and out of curiosity into his own heritage. The Peverell family had only one surviving line and it had married into the Potter line around seven centuries ago. There were no other remaining Peverells not relating to the Potters and Harry was the last one after their genocide at Voldemort's hands in the First War.
That could only mean that their relative was...
Sirzechs noticed the look on his face and smiled happily. "It seems you recognize the name. Can you help us find our missing relative? We would appreciate it very much."
Harry looked at them suspiciously, not trusting them just yet. "Why are you searching for him? Why is he so important?"
The man laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "You see, my family is a very close-knit one. We consider family very important, only second to knowing everyone related to our bloodline. So the idea that we had a distant relative who's alone and without support..." A flash of anger crossed his face. "... well, it makes us angry at ourselves that we turned our back on someone who may have needed us. If we had known of their existence we would have done everything possible to make them a part of the family."
Harry sensed no lie from the man, and while he was still suspicious, the part of Harry that was angry at the fact that he had family that hadn't appeared till now disappeared. It wasn't their fault that he hadn't appeared in their family tree till now for whatever reason. And if nothing else they'd searched from him the moment they knew of his existence.
For the first time since the Final Battle, Harry did the Gryffindor thing instead of the Slytherin. "The Peverells ended when the last one, a woman, married into the Potter line. And I... I'm the last Potter."
The park was silent at his revelation and Harry narrowed his eyes at them when he saw they hadn't changed expression. "But you knew that, didn't you? That's why you were searching for me specifically."
Sirzechs looked chagrined but nodded his head. "We... suspected. There were circumstances that indicated as such and they were confirmed when we saw you arrive. But we thought it would be hard for you to believe us if we just mailed you saying, 'Hey, we're distant family, want to meet us?'."
Harry snorted at the image of what such a letter would have looked like. No doubt he would have dismissed it as someone trying to get control of his money, something that while still a possibility, seemed unlikely. Despite the casual way the man talked, it was obvious he came from money and hardly needed more. No, it was more likely that what he said was true and he was simply looking for a long-lost relative.
"That's true," said Harry in acceptance of his point. "I probably would have thought you were crazy or wanted my money or something." Harry's eyes narrowed when he caught something he said. "What do you mean, 'it was confirmed when we saw you arrive'?"
Sirzechs then shocked Harry further when his eyes dropped to the katana at his waist. "I recognize that blade from portraits at home. Only the Peverell Clan Head could touch that blade so the moment I saw it, I knew you were my cousin."
Cousin.
It was the first time since the conversation started that either had acknowledged any familiar connection. Harry's tongue stuck in his throat as a torrent of emotions washed over him. Anger. Joy. Sadness. Desperation for a connection. All these things passed through his body at the word.
Despite growing up with the Dursleys, Harry had never known a true familiar connection with someone. Even his relationship with Dudley, much better now than before, was more along the terms of old roommates than true family. When he was younger he had desperately wished for some long-lost family member to come and save him from the Dursleys' treatment. It was that part of him that had latched onto Sirius so quickly after having met him despite having barely known the man.
Even now, having long escaped the Dursleys a part of him desperately wished for a family. It was that part of him that was most hurt when the Weasleys cut him out of their family simply for standing for himself and breaking up with Ginny after she cheated on him. It was that same part of him that desperately hoped Sirzechs was telling the truth.
"I-I," started Harry brokenly before he cleared his throat. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Sirzechs nodded in approval at his reluctance before raising his right hand similar to a salute. "I, Sirzechs Lucifer, swear on my magic and my very being that everything I have said is true and I have no ill intentions toward the man known as Harry James Potter-Black for the foreseeable future."
A flash of light illuminated Sirzechs before fading, showing him unharmed and, from what Harry could sense, still capable of magic.
Harry fell back in shock, overwhelmed by what he had learned in the last 30 minutes. He had relatives. Relatives that cared enough about him despite not even knowing him to search for him the moment they knew he existed.
While Andromeda was technically related to him by blood, they were too different to really connect outside the bedroom. They belonged to different ages and it was too wide a difference to cross. The Malfoys... enough said. Though he wouldn't mind getting to know Narcissa the same way he knew Andromeda. Bitch or not, she was hot.
Harry's mind ran in circles as he tried to think about what to do and the irony that he found all this by walking through a muggle park. "Lucifer?" asked Harry curiously.
"I didn't pick it," Grumbled Sirzechs grumpily, getting an elbow to the gut from his wife who looked at him in admonishment.
Harry couldn't help but crack a grin at the familiar sight, it reminding him of Hermione and Ron once they started dating and before the debacle that separated them. Wanting to think of other things, Harry spoke. "Why did it take you so long to find me? I'm fairly well-known and if nothing else, you could have owled me for a meeting."
Sirzechs exchanged another look with his wife before speaking. "The wards around your current place of residence keep us from contacting you. Let's just say the Blacks and our family have had... disagreements in the past and it caused them to erect wards against our bloodline. You can only enter because you are also a Black by blood. If you weren't, you wouldn't be able to get within 100 feet of the residence unless you were invited much like we cannot unless we are invited."
Harry briefly wondered how bad the conflict between them had been if wards specifically for them were raised before dismissing it. It didn't matter and to be truthful, with the exception of Sirius and Andromeda (and maybe Narcissa) most of them probably deserved it. If they were all like Bellatrix and Sirius's mother then they probably did something to cause his family's ire. Merlin knows he hated enough Blacks as it was.
"Can you... give me some time to think about this?" asked Harry with a plaintive tone. "It's just... too much at once."
Sirzechs nodded and stood up along with his wife. "Very well. But we'd like to speak to you as soon as possible. There was another reason we searched for you so quickly. Our family has... enemies as it were. These enemies would kill you simply for who you are and are fairly powerful. We should speak tomorrow evening if you can and I suggest you head home. You haven't noticed but you were going to have some uninvited guests before we arrived. They left once we arrived but they might be tempted to attack you if you tarry too long."
Harry felt a spark of defiance flare in his chest. "I can take care of myself," said Harry firmly.
Sirzechs smiled as if in fond remembrance. "I'm sure you can. But you are family and I just found you. I can't help but want to protect you. Just because you can take care of yourself doesn't stop me from not wanting you to have to."
There it was. That same constricting feeling from before. This was what it felt to have family. Only Sirius had demonstrated a similar feeling in regards to him. Even the Weasleys, when they considered him family switched from babying him to believing he was the second coming of Dumbledore and could everything by himself. It had been irritating to the extreme.
Harry got up as well before asking. "Why do they want to kill our bloodline? Why are we so special?"
Sirzechs cocked an eyebrow. "Surely you've noticed how we are... stronger than normal humans. Stronger, faster, more powerful. Even our senses are enhanced which is why we were able to speak normally despite being too far for normal people to speak without raising their voices."
Harry blinked and only just realized that they had been standing almost 10 feet away while speaking in normal tones of voice. They had talked almost as if they were standing right next to each other despite it being normally impossible for normal people.
That proved to Harry that they were at the very least related in some way. No one else Harry had met ever showed the same abilities as him. At least no one outside of vampires anyway.
If nothing else, they could explain the source of his abilities. "Here," said Harry as he conjured a piece of paper and wrote the address of Grimmauld Place down. "Here's where I'm staying. It's not far from here. Come by around 5pm and we'll talk."
Sirzechs read the note and showed it to Grayfia before giving it back to Harry who burned it. "We shall be there then."
Nodding his head in acceptance, Harry quickly walked away, now that the man mentioned it he felt several magical signatures around, far enough away that they weren't a threat but close enough that it probably wasn't a coincidence.
Harry quickly Apparated away as soon as he was out of sight of anyone, quickly wanting to get home to sleep and get his head together for tomorrow's meeting.
Back in the park benches, Sirzechs Lucifer and Grayfia Lucifuge stayed where they were standing, looking at where Harry walked away a crack of Apparation showed him having disappeared.
Once they were sure he was gone and safe, Sirzechs lost the small smile on his face and turned serious. "Nice night out for a walk, isn't it Azazel?"
From the shadows near the trees a man appeared. The man Sirzechs called Azazel had the demeanor of a man in his twenties with black hair and golden bangs. Other than that he looked more less normal with the body of one who only works out to keep themselves healthy. The only other thing out of place were the twelve jet-black wings that came out from his back.
"Sirzechs Lucifer," said Azazel neutrally. "Fancy meeting you here."
Sirzechs just returned his look with an even one of his own. "Let's dispense with the small talk. Why are you here and why were you following my cousin?"
Azazel gave a look of innocence that was completely faked. "Your cousin? Why, we had no idea. We simply wanted to get to know the new Lord Black. You do know that the Blacks have a history with us, don't you?"
Grayfia stepped forward with a glare. "Yes, we know that the Blacks, especially the women, had a tendency to spread their legs for you Fallen. However, Harry is a Peverell and therefore a Devil like us. The katana marking him the Head of the Peverell Clan proves this. So we ask again. What are your intentions for our family member?"
"Be warned," said Sirzechs tightly with an edge of anger. "If they are hostile we will defend our family member no matter what the consequences."
Azazel lifted his hands in a show of peace. "No, no, my intentions are strictly honorable. I simply wanted to meet the new Lord Peverell as well. After all, all three factions need him to take up his position for all our sakes."
Sirzechs mouth tightened at Azazel's words. "We didn't come here to place the Burden of the Peverell on him. We came to greet and inform our new family member of his position and help guide him. If he rejects the Burden then that is his choice. No one can force him."
Azazel snorted. "Please. You know as well as I do that he will accept. He's too noble to say no. However much more cunning and sly he has become since the Battle, he is still a Gryffindor at heart. He will do what's right."
"If he does," said Grayfia calmly."It isn't because he's a Gryffindor. It is because he's a Peverell."
Azazel smiled as he walked away. "My point exactly."
Sirzechs stayed silent as they watched Azazel fly away, their minds on the upcoming meeting the next day and the long-reaching consequences of it.
Harry was nervous as he looked at the clock that said it was five minutes till five. He would be meeting with his cousin and his wife any moment now and he was nervous. The Slytherin part of him was calling him foolish for believing someone he met in a muggle park and who had obviously been searching for him for months. However, his gut, the thing that led him through countless battles against things that should have killed him told him to trust the man. Everything he said made sense and furthermore he made a magical oath to prove it. Those things are impossible to trick in any way and proved he had no ill intentions towards him.
He had briefly considered inviting Andromeda along just in case before deciding against it. For better or worse this was a Potter family matter not a Black one. It was something he had to decide alone without her input. He couldn't rely on her for everything.
That and it had just been confirmed today that she was pregnant and they'd had an argument about Harry's place in the child's life. Andromeda wanted to raise it alone and have Harry visit much like he did Teddy so as to lower suspicion of the baby's parentage. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to be a father to his child.
The argument had gone unresolved, mostly because Harry refused to acknowledge her points. He had left in a foul mood and a feeling that Andromeda would eventually get her way. If that was true, he didn't think he'd be able to continue any sort of relationship with the woman, platonic or not. It would hurt too much to be forced to watch from afar and not acknowledge his child as his own.
A knock at the door brought him back to the here and now and he quickly walked to open the door himself, having told Kreacher to stay hidden unless called.
Harry opened the door to find Sirzechs and his wife, Grayfia standing there with small smiles on their faces.
"Good evening, cousin," said Sirzechs with a closed-eye smile. "May we come in?"
Harry couldn't help but smile back at the man and nodded his head. "Yes, please come in."
Sirzechs and Grayfia entered the house while Harry closed the door behind them. He then led them into the sitting room which had luckily been redecorated to let in more light and all the house-elf heads had been removed. It now looked a regular sitting room with a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace and the walls decorated with tasteful red and silver colors.
Sirzechs looked around with a smile while even the normally neutral Grayfia had a look of approval on her face. Apparently, both liked the decorations which gave it a sense of money while still being humble.
Once everyone had sat down, Harry poured them some water after they declining wine and they sat done to talk. There were the normal pleasantries about the weather and the like before they finally got around to the real business.
"Now," said Sirzechs seriously. "You're probably anxious for me to explain more about what we spoke of last night, correct?"
Harry nodded carefully. "Yes, I am. For example, I could somehow sense you were like me even before you pointed it out. It was only afterwards that I realized this but I knew you were like me from the moment I saw you. Is it something to do with our family bloodline?"
Sirzechs took a deep breath and exchanged a slightly nervous look with his wife before speaking. "There's no simple way to explain our bloodline so I'll go out and say it. Our bloodline is not a special ability of our family so much as of our race. To put it bluntly, we are Devils and so are you."
Suddenly, black bat-like wings sprung from Sirzech's and Grayfia's backs, surprising Harry greatly. He jumped up in shock only to almost lose his balance due to an extra weight on his back. He looked at his back only to find similar bat-like wings on his back.
"What? What?! What is this?! Did you just curse me?!" asked Harry angrily, thinking the two before him had cast a partial Transfiguration spell on him to give him his wings.
Sirzechs cocked an eyebrow at him at his words as he hid his wings once more. "No, I did not. Those are your natural wings. You've had them since you became a Devil during the Final Battle."
Harry gave the man a disbelieving look at his words. "I'd think I'd know if I became a Devil. And I certainly didn't have wings afterwards!"
Sirzechs sighed patiently. "That's because you unconsciously hid them, knowing if others saw them you'd be attacked. They only appeared now in reaction to me showing my own wings. If you don't believe me, try to cast an anti-Transfriguration charm on them. See if anything happens."
Harry looked at the couple in annoyance and disbelief, still believing they were having him on but relented and drew his wand. Harry drew more and more annoyed as every canceling charm he cast on the wings on his back failed. Eventually he grew so frustrated that he simply gave up.
Biting his lip in curiosity, Harry hesitantly touched his wings only to shiver as he felt his own touch on his wings. That, more than anything, told him that something was off. Transfigured parts never felt as real as they should. This was because people don't know exactly how it should feel, not having those parts normally, and so the nerves aren't aligned correctly. His wings, however, responded as if they were real and Harry felt not only his touch but the hairs on his wings as his hand glided over them, something not capable even by transfiguration masters like Dumbledore.
Shivering at the feeling, Harry willed his wings to disappear and saw them fade out of visibility. Harry touched where they should be only to feel nothing, the only proof they had been there being his own memory. If they had been a transfiguration, he would still feel the lingering pain on his back once they disappeared. Yet he felt nothing of the sort.
Harry sat back down and looked at the couple before him in a new light. "Devils?"
Sizerchs nodded his head. "Devils. Let me explain. You weren't turned into a Devil like some humans can be and I'll explain that later. No, you were born with the potential to become one. However, to explain this I'll have to go over your family history. Grayfia can explain that better than me."
Grayfia gave her husband an exasperated glance, knowing he was just being lazy but got up to explain anyway.
Grayfia cleared her throat and began her explanation. "I will start with an overview of our patheon's history first. Now…. In the beginning, when Lucifer Fell, he went to the Underworld and, using the blood of a pure demon, turned himself into the first Devil. He then went on to corrupt humans and turned them into Devils as well and so started to create his army. At the same time, Angels who had done things that angered God such as falling into lust or greed and such had Fallen from Grace and became Fallen Angels. From this came the Three Factions: Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils."
Harry nodded, having heard something similar from the few times he went to church on Sundays with the exception of Lucifer using the blood of a pure demon. He'd thought Lucifer was the first demon? Something to ask later.
Seeing he understood, Grayfia continued. "Now these Three Factions eventually went to war with each other. The War went on for thousands of years, taking many casualties from both sides and causing much destruction in the Human World. The War continued for millennia until eventually all three sides realized that continuing would only result in mutual destruction and a cease-fire was formed. However, before the cease-fire came into being, all Four Satans, which were Lucifer and the first Three Devils he created, had been killed."
Grayfia left out the part of God being killed as well, knowing it just might be too much for him to take or accept at this moment in time.
"The War had caused much death amongst Devils and in order to replenish our ranks, we created the Evil Piece system. The Evil Piece System, in short, works by resurrecting recently deceased humans or other creature or by said human or magical creature willingly allowing it, into Devils. The Evil Pieces were created by Ajuka Beelzebub to help replenish the number of Devils after the Great War which had caused the death of countless Devils. While many Devils were able to adapt to the Evil Pieces, many of the Devils belonging to what is now known as the Old Satan faction resisted, believing them to be a disgrace to Devils for reincarnating Humans and other races into Devils. Furthermore, they wished to continue the war against Heaven. After a long and bloody civil war, the Old Satan faction was defeated and new Satans were chosen to rule over the Underworld."
"That is where my last name of Lucifer comes from," interrupted Sirzechs. "My original last name is Gremory which you are also distantly related to. I was the heir but when I was chosen as the Lucifer Satan I had to give up my position as heir and member of the Gremory in order to maintain the neutrality of my position."
Though shell-shocked, Harry still understood what Sirzechs meant. If he was to rule over all Devils then he had to at least maintain the illusion of neutrality or else they'd claim favoritism and another civil war could break out.
Grayfia glared at her husband for the interruption and continued. "The Evil Piece System was based on the game of chess and there are a total of 15 pieces: 1 Queen , 2 Rooks , 2 Bishops , 2 Knights , and 8 Pawns ; that are given to top-class Devils (King ) with a peerage. These pieces are used to reincarnate other beings into Devils and become servants of the top-class Devil. The reincarnation abilities of the Evil Pieces, however, are not absolute as they cannot reincarnate Gods/Buddhas or Dragon Gods into Devils even with a Mutation Piece. The creation of the Evil Pieces eventually lead to the creation of the Rating Game which isn't important right now but we'll explain later."
"Now as to how this relates to you," said Grayfia, getting his attention. "The Peverells were a clan of Devils belonging to the 72 Pillars which is basically 72 pure-blood Devil families. Each family had an area of control as well as something they contributed to the welfare of the Underworld as a whole. The Peverells were no different."
"The Peverells were known as the Guardian Devil Clan. Their job was to watch over Purgatory, also known as the Pit, and make sure no damned soul or demon escapes. Purgatory is where souls that are completely unable to be saved or lack any sort of goodness in them are sent to suffer unspeakable agonies. As part of their position, the Peverells had powers over Death which allowed them to power over the Black Flames of Purgatory, the power to call the souls of the deceased to their location and the power to hide themselves from all forms of sight. Does this seem familiar to you?"
It did and it sent shivers up Harry's spine. Those abilities sounded awfully like the powers of the Hallows and the fact that the Peverells once had all three together scared as much as it confused him. If they had three, how did they die out? And how did they become separated? Were the Hallows ways to copy his family's power or were they something more?
Grayfia seemed to sense his questions as she spoke. "Now we get to your family's fall. The problem with your family's position was that it gained many enemies. Purgatory wasn't just for souls of Christians but for all the Pantheons to send souls that they deemed irredeemable. Some evil gods didn't like this since every soul sent to Purgatory was a soul they lost from their control. Furthermore, the Peverells made sure that every attempt by the evil gods of death to overthrow their pantheon failed since it could cause an imbalance strong enough for damned souls or demons to escape, something they couldn't allow. To make things worse there were many Devil Clans who were jealous of the Peverell's power and wanted them gone so as to take their place. All this meant that the Peverells had many enemies and eventually these enemies banded together."
"Knowing that there was no way to attack the Peverells directly since their power over the Black Flames of Purgatory affected even Gods, they settled on breaking them indirectly. At the time, the Head of the Clan had three son: Antoich, Cadmus and Ignotus. The decision of who became heir wasn't decided on the eldest or the most powerful but rather who was most worthy. In other words, who could resist the allure of the corruption the powers gave them. At the time, it seemed as if the youngest, Ignotus would become heir."
Grayfia frowned as she continued. "However, Ignotus turned out to be too noble. He felt bad about becoming heir and leaving his brothers, who he loved dearly, without their birthright. The enemies of the Peverell family saw this and took advantage. Hades sent Pluto, the leader of the Grin Reapers to Ignotus. Pluto told him that if he brought the family blade to him, he would be able to make it so all three brothers could inherit the family abilities. That katana was more than a mere symbol of the Clan Head. The katana was the medium through which their powers flowed, allowing all clan members to have at least one of the abilities and it allowed the Clan Head to strip an unworthy member of their ability if necessary. The blade also made it so the Clan Head had all three abilities. This was because the katana amplified the latent two abilities so the Head would have all three."
"Ignotus, fool that he was, believed Pluto when he said he'd make all three brothers Clan Head and once his father died and the blade passed to him, he brought it to Pluto."
Grayfia sighed here and gave Harry a sad look who felt he knew what was coming. "Pluto did make all three Clan Head in a way but not the way they had envisioned. Pluto broke the blade into three different objects, each one representing one of the three abilities of the clan. A wand to represent the ability of the Black Flames of Purgatory that were powerful enough to harm even souls, a stone to represent their ability to call the souls of the dead and an Invisibility Cloak that represented their ability to hide from all forms of sight."
"The Deathly Hallows," said Harry in a whisper, gaining a confused look from the couple. Harry quickly explained the legend around the Hallows as well as his own experience with them, gaining understanding looks from both.
"Strange," mused Sirzechs. "It wasn't far from the truth while still hiding the existence of Devils. Ignotus must have turned it into a fairy tale story in order to preserve the history of the family where future generations would find it. Ingenious."
Grayfia nodded. "Indeed. Well anyway, the problem became that with the blade gone, there was no longer a medium through which the other clan members could use their abilities. In short, in one act Ignotus stupidly stripped every clan member of their birthright and left them almost defenseless. His act of compassion had doomed them all."
"Shortly afterwards," said Grayfia in a hushed tone. "Hades attacked, seeking to destroy the Peverells before attacking Olympus to become King of Olympus, which he failed. Without their powers, the Peverells were wiped out almost to a man and for a long time it was believed that none survived. It's obvious now that Ignotus must have used his Cloak to grab the Wand and Stone and flee the destruction into the human world, posing as a wizard to escape detection. He was probably too ashamed for being the cause of his family's destruction to return and simply chose to live out his days as a normal wizard, probably marrying a human while never telling her his true heritage. Who knows how he died? Devils can live for centuries so by all rights he should still be alive. The fact that he didn't means he probably sacrificed himself in order to let his human family's existence remain a secret."
Harry nodded but was still confused. "But that doesn't explain how I became a Devil. The Devil blood must be almost non-existent by now. Why did I turn into one?"
"Ignotus must have put a fail-safe in the Hallows," said Sirzechs thoughtfully. "From what people who knew him said, he was a genius with magic so it wouldn't have been hard to join the three Hallows together again. However, he probably no longer thought himself worthy but knew there might be a time someone worthy from his bloodline would come. The whole Master of Death legend was meant as a lure for the unworthy. If you wanted it for selfish reasons, you'd try to claim them for yourself and prove yourself unworthy. But from what you told me, you never searched for them and in fact purposefully turned your back on them several times. In fact..." Sirzechs had a look of realization. "You denied each Hallow at one point or another. You wished to return the Wand to Dumbledore's tomb once you had it, you threw away the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak you only ever used for others' good not your own gain. In fact, you even gave it for others to use at times. You resisted the allure of each Hallow, proving yourself worthy of all three and allowing Ignotus's spell to bring them together into the Peverell Blade once more."
Harry tried to find a flaw in his reasoning but could find none. Everything fit perfectly and even explained why the Peverell family history in the Department of Magical Bloodlines only started at Ignotus with no cousins or the like. It was strange that a supposed pureblood family like them had no other magical relatives and this explained it. Harry also hadn't sensed any lies from them. That only left one question.
"But I technically reunited the Hallows once I had the Snitch which held the Resurrection Stone," said Harry, trying to find a flaw. "Why didn't I turn into a Devil or the blade appear then?"
"Your mother's protection," said Grayfia simply. "It defended you from all dark influence and while devils aren't evil, they are dark. It must have stopped you from turning until it ran out when Voldemort killed the Horcrux inside you. With the Horcrux gone, the main reason for its existence was gone allowing the protection spell to unravel. Afterwards, it probably waited till you were asleep to initiate the changes."
Harry remembered how the morning after the Battle was when he first felt the improvements of his body. At the time, he'd passed off his great feeling as having finally beaten Voldemort and getting a good night's sleep but it must have been due to the change into a Devil.
"There's one way to be sure," said Sirzechs, getting Harry's attention. "If you are the Clan Head you should have the three abilities. Try to conjure the Black Flames of Purgatory in your hand. Believe me, you'll know if you've done it."
Harry looked skeptical but was willing to hang onto this last thread of hope that he wasn't a Devil. That his life hadn't gotten that much more complicated.
Harry lifted his right hand and focused on his upturned palm. Harry imagined a ball of black flame in his hand which had the power to burn even souls.
At first, nothing happened and Harry's hope that this was all a big misunderstanding rose. Then there was a black spark and a ball of black flame appeared in his hand. It seemed almost alive, much like Fiendfyre and held the grisly promise of pain and suffering to even Gods.
Harry was so surprised that he dropped it but luckily it disappeared once he stopped concentrating on it. The last shred of hope that he wasn't a Devil gone, Harry put his head between his knees in defeat. "So it's true. I really am... a Devil."
A soft hand landed on his shoulder as he looked up into the warm eyes of the kneeling Grayfia Lucifuge.
"Devil does not mean evil," said Grayfia Lucifuge. "That was why we fought the civil war. We had gotten tired of the constant fighting and killing. We just wanted a normal life raising our children in peace. You know all about that, don't you?" Harry nodded, remembering his own desire for a normal life. "Well, we felt the same. We rebelled in order to stop the constant cruelty and nowadays we Devils are more or less like normal humans. We have bad apples but no more than humanity does. More prone to violence yes but we don't go around taking people's souls. We're just normal people with extraordinary abilities in a way."
For some reason, he believed her and it comforted him. While he didn't doubt her ability or how dangerous she was, he got the feeling that she only used her power when necessary. She was like him in that aspect then.
"So what now?" asked Harry quietly.
Sirzechs sighed. "There are three options. One: you forget we exist and go back to your normal life. You'll have to be careful though. The cease-fire between us, the Angel and the Fallen Angel is paper-thin at best. To set an example, it's similar to how a cease-fire between you and Voldemort and his forced would have been like."
Harry winced at the analogy. That basically meant that while everything looked peaceful on the surface, each side would take any chance to kill someone from the other regardless of guilt or innocent.
Sirzechs noticed his wince and nodded. "Yeah. So you'll have to be careful of Fallen Angels and Angels from now on because they won't care that you didn't choose to be a Devil. They'll kill anyway just for being one. I would also suggest moving out of this place. The Blacks had many... interactions with Fallen Angels. I don't doubt that the Fallen have backdoors through the wards in order for them to have their liaisons with certain members without alerting the other residents."
Harry had a look of disgust on his face as he realized what Sirzech meant by liaisons. That explained why so many Blacks had such psychotic tendencies. Even Sirius showed signs of it though it might have become more apparent thanks to Azkaban.
Something occurred to him at that moment. "I'm a Black by blood too. Does that mean I have Fallen Angel blood too?"
Sirzech shrugged. "Probably but I wouldn't worry too much about it. It can probably help you too. It'll mean you'd be more resistant to holy objects and light than normal Devils and maybe even wield it to a certain degree. I wouldn't advertise it though. Devils from the 72 Pillars are as bad as wizard pure-bloods in that they consider anything but a pure Devil beneath them. Your existence would rock the boat enough, no need to add more ammunition."
Harry nodded and sighed. "My other options?"
"Option two:," continued Sirzech. "Is my preferred one. We stay in contact as family and see each other whenever we can but you stay as a part of the Wizarding World. You'd be the Peverell Clan Hean but you'd be based here on Earth instead of the Underworld. It'd mean you'd be out of Underworld politics and mostly safe while still having allies in us when necessary."
"And option three?" asked Harry thoughtfully.
"Option three," said Sirzech reluctantly. "Would be to go with us to live in the Underworld. You'd publicly reveal yourself as the new Peverell Lord with our backing and take your place amongst the 72 pillars with all that entails. I have to warn you that no one has taken your family's job since its fall. That means that the area that once belonged to them has been overrun by demons and similar who have escaped Purgatory and only our pushing them back has kept them in that area. They've even managed to spill over into Earth. The Underworld is almost an analog to Earth except without the seas and the Peverell lands lie in what is known on Earth as the Black Sea. It also includes all the countries and lands that border the Black Sea here on Earth, meaning it's almost 500,000 square miles of land to regain. Furthermore, due to lack of the Peverell Clan to stop them, the demons spilled over to Earth and taken a foothold in a country you know as Drasuvania."
Harry winced at the name of the country. Drasuvania was well known as a war-torn and chaotic country that hasn't known peace in centuries. It used to be a part of the Soviet Union but even then there had been rumors and legends of terrible things in those lands. Many of the tales about Transylvania were in fact from Drasuvania which borders it. Ever since the Soviet Union's collapse and their independence, the government never lasts longer than a fortnight and war is the norm. There were even rumors of demons and dead spirits haunting the land, torturing the dreams of the citizens into insanity. It was considered to be hell on earth.
Guess they were right in more ways than one.
Sirzech nodded at his reaction. "Yeah. To take it back you'd need a powerful force behind you. A peerage can help you in that respect and you might gain the help of former houses that swore loyalty to the Peverells though I wouldn't get my hopes up in that respect. It'd take years to clean up Drasuvania and then the area in the Underworld under your control. This is why I want you take the second option. You're family and I want to stay in contact but I think you've done enough. You don't need to fight a war for a land that you've never even seen just after getting out of another war you didn't even ask to be a part of. But in the end, it's your choice."
Harry stood up and paced as he thought over everything he learned. In short, it could be summarized into three things.
One, he was a Devil. An honest to goodness Devil. How did he feel about that? Honestly, he didn't care one way or another. Was it irritating he was changed into one without his permission by something centuries old? Yeah but there was no use whining about it. Honestly, he'd spent too much of his teenage years brooding about things he couldn't change and he had no plans on returning to doing that.
While it had shortcomings, namely ready-made enemies in Angels and Fallen Angel for no other reason than he was a Devil, he was used to that. People had been trying to kill him from before he could drool for as long as he could remember. It also brought many benefits, namely various abilities, resources and powers that could help him in the coming years. It also gave him a much extended lifespan from what they said which meant more years to enjoy. While he wanted to see his parents he was in no hurry and Andromeda had taught him to enjoy his life.
The sex might have helped in that.
So in short, being a Devil was mostly neutral in his opinion since it wasn't automatically evil or anything and came with benefits to fight these enemies unlike that dumb Prophecy.
Power He Knows Not being love, my ass...
Two, he had family. On this point he had to admit to be happy. Sirzech had only been truthful to him and never sugar-coated anything. He had bluntly told him the truth of his new status once they were in private and hadn't lied about anything. He hadn't tried to convince him it was his duty to return as the Peverell Head and even suggesting not taking it up since it would involve him fighting a campaign where he would, by all accounts, be fighting alone with at most 15 other people he would basically be forcefully conscripting.
Yeah, and he thought things were bad against Voldemort. At least then he had the Order...
…...
…..You know what, on second thought he was probably in a better position now since at least his 'peerage' won't stun his enemy for them to get back up again.
You'd think after the first twenty times they'd learn but nooooo...
Anyway, in Harry's book his new family member scored a solid 8. Truthful, blunt and worried more about his safety and happiness than what someone in his position should probably be doing. Someone in his position should probably be trying to force him to return but instead he's trying to convince him to stay in the Wizarding World. That showed that he actually cared.
The Dursleys would have thrown him to the wolves with a smile on their faces.
Third and most importantly, he was the Peverell Clan Head and this was the sticking point. What he decided to do with it decided which option he'd take.
His Slytherin side, which was formed thanks to Andromeda's teachings, said to take option two. It would be the path of least risk and highest reward. He wouldn't have to start a campaign he would probably have to fight alone. He would have a family who would no doubt be willing to teach him to master his Devil powers. And he'd be in a world where he was already a hero and had a high influence to manipulate things in his favor. Sure, he'd always have to be on guard for Angels and Fallen but then again, he was already that way about Death Eaters and Ministry traps. This just added more people to the list.
However, there was a reason Harry was in Gryffindor. While he had partially chosen Gryffindor over Slytherin in order to not be with Malfoy, he had still chosen it. He had chosen courage over ambition. Chivalry and nobility over cunning.
It was that part of him that formed who he was and helped him make his decision.
Harry turned to his relatives ('Merlin, I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to be able to think of relatives in a positive way,' thought Harry happily) with a determined look.
"I've made my choice."
AN: And there's the prologue!
Right, I hope I got Sirzech's and Grayfia's personalities right. I haven't read a lot of scenes with them and I know Sirzechs is more easy-going but I showed him serious because he's very protective of family. Harry is only like a third cousin twice removed on the Bael side but he's still family. That and him being the Peverell Lord would make it so Sirzechs would probably want to make as good an impression as possible so he'd pull back on his usual slacker attitude.
Just so you know, this is set twelve years before the events of Highschool dxd. I won't show the intervening years beyond a few allusions or explanations and one or two flashbacks but I wanted to give Harry time to not only clean his lands but also create a name for himself and his peerage. His peerage are all mostly OCs from other animes but it won't be all women.
….. well, not ALL women. They'll be three guys. Lol.
And no, Harry won't have a massive harem. He will have a lot of former lovers, it HAS been ten years and I've set the precedent with Andromeda and Daphne, but the harem (which are the permanent members) only number six. Two are highschool dxd characters and the other four are OCs.
Anyway, as always Read and Review!