I know I know, months too late for Christmas. It's alright though. Here in Canada it's freezing anyways. I mean that literally, we currently have snow. In May.

Harry woke early the day they were to head to America. So far he had loved Hogwarts. Despite the extra workload and responsibilities, he never felt better prepared and healthy in his life. That, and he actually had some family, his sort of ancestor Nevan. The demoness had taken a liking to him, and trained him in the use of the powers he had inherited from her. Though, his bats looked more like sharp winged butterflies...

They were going to leave for America today, and finally see Capulet town, which was a town within Knight City. He heard Vegas was hot most of the year, and that the lights never shut off. But Dante was not going to bring them into the city, not until they were legally considered adults in North America at 18. Though technically a 17 they would be legal in Britain, but there were differences everywhere. Dante had described the little town his shop resided in, and warned that some very moody females may stop by and start insulting the white haired male. They were to just stay out of it, since he was used to their abusing natures.

They were all packed, and the international portkey would leave from Diagon Alley, so they had to head down to Hogsmeade and floo to the Leaky Cauldron, then enter the Alley, then make their way to the portkey office near Gringotts. They met in the entrance hall dragging their trunks with them, wearing light clothes in preparation for they hot weather of the desert. Dante helped them get their bags into the thestral pulled carriage and then they were off. It took about twenty minutes because the carriage had to go through heavy snow, but they piled into the Three Broomsticks and took the floo as soon as they could.

The alley itself was a nightmare. And Tom greeting Harry meant they were swarmed by people wanting to see the Boy-Who-Lived. Dante scared them off and ushered them to the portkey office, remembering the way from his arrival in London. There, they had some paperwork to fill out, received passports and visa for the States in case muggles came knocking, and waited half an hour before they were finally allowed to go. Dante had to make sure he held his box of Devil Arms tightly, and everyone else linked arms through the handles of their bags and grabbed the portkey.

"Ready? Portkey departs in a minute." Dante asked.

"I hate these things." Harry muttered, Blaise chuckled.

"Nah, I'm good. I really would have appreciated it if we took a muggle plane." Theodore agreed with Harry.

"The return trip then." Dante didn't bother hiding his amusement.

The portkey activated, and the very same hook behind the naval feeling that Harry despised was felt.

They landed after what felt like an hour, in all actuality it was only a few minutes. They landed in a portkey station in the heart of Vegas, Dante quickly dragged them out to a bus stop that would go directly to Knight City, from there they'd catch another going to the other side of the city, dreary, quiet Capulet town. The bus arrived after fifteen minutes, which they spent teasing each other while also marveling at how alive the city was. They also gathered that alcohol flowed quite freely here, which they shrugged off. Dante had warned them after all.

Girls hit on them in the bus, and Dante's cool, aloof personality ensured he had plenty of fans. A smirk showed the boys he was enjoying the attention somewhat. Harry flirted back, Nevan's influence. But he made sure to only flirt only with those who were their age, sending anyone too young or too old packing. He straight up called one thirty year old a pedophile, I mean, seriously. He was half their age.

Draco's cold mask worked much like Virgil's. Look from afar, ladies. But this hot one won't even spare you a second of his time. Blaise merely soaked up the attention, and Theo flat out ignored them with his nose in a book. Luckily for them, it seemed they were the only ones headed for Knight City, which meant the bus was empty once they hit the open road to the desert.

In the distance, Dante pointed out a very small looking town, which he said was Knife City, a darker, more deadly area not far from Knight City. It was a gambling area, and heavy with crime. He warned that a few drunkards would get on, and some criminals, so it was best to lock and shrink their bags to put away in the tightly zipped breast pockets. Then move to the front the next time the bus stopped.

True to his words, some very shady looking men did get on, eyeing the pretty boys with leering gazes, Dante cleared his throat, recognizing the well known sexual offender Gareth Filks, whom he'd beaten into the ground during bar fights many times before. That sent the men scampering off the bus, they'd catch the next one, or many they wouldn't catch one at all. Dante smirked at his accomplishment. "Old friend of yours, Anthony?" Blaise asked.

"Bar fights, beat those guys into submission multiple times before. Believe me, you don't want them around whatsoever, sex offenders the lot of them." Dante answered, the boys shivered, now understanding the looks the men had been giving them. Not that they wouldn't be able to kick their asses themselves, but who wants to be looked at like that?

It took them another hour to reach Knight City. Which was teaming with hard workers, the city itself looked very old. People bustled around on foot or bikes, in dresses and work wear. Repairs were being done to one storefront and a bakery was operating not too far off from where they had to get off. They went in to get some food, the kind old woman inside cooed over them before giving them some cookies for free. She also told Dante that Freddy missed his daily visit, to which Dante grinned. "You can phone ahead I'll be there in a few days." Dante assured.

They left and waited for the next bus, which was smaller, but looked more spacious inside. The seats were more comfortable despite the bus being older as well. When they finally arrived in front of Freddy's Diner, which they recognized from Dante's and the woman's talk back on the other side of the city, they noticed that Capulet town was seriously tiny. through it was on a waterfront, some lake or another.

"That huge body of water isn't the ocean is it?" Theodore asked, confused.

"Nah, some lake, don't remember the name of it. I'll take you swimming sometime, the beach is just past those cliffs. Surprised you didn't notice it sooner on the drive, then again, you were all half asleep. My shop isn't too far from here, unless you want to eat first since we are right here at the diner?"

"Let's eat, then we can take a walk around after dropping everything off." Harry suggested.

"Sounds good." The three other boys agreed.

"Alright then. I'll introduce you. You'll probably see these two people often. The man behind the counter is Freddy, he owns the diner. The girl rocking the roller skates is Cindy. She's the server. Hey! Freddy, I took on some apprentices. This is Harry, Draco, Blaise, and Theo." Dante announced, everyone in the diner looked at the familiar man.

"You training new mercenaries? How odd, especially since you've been gone since September. Your usual?" Freddy greeted.

"Yeah, and...let's get an extra pizza, a vanilla sundae, and chocolate sundae, another strawberry, and...hmm...Blaise will probably dig into a raspberry sundae. I'll be paying." Dante announced, Freddy and Cindy looked at him in shock.

"No tab?"

"No tab." Dante confirmed.

The boys looked at Dante with confusion. Cindy saw this. "Dante's business, despite the fact he's good at what he does, is often very slow and not well paying...especially since Patty left. He always got things on tabs, which he paid every once in a while once he got a good job. He'd wire it to the tabs directly, see." Cindy explained.

"Yeah, we've seen it once. He's currently employed at our school as a stand in teacher, the Headmaster is really cruel to him actually." Draco confirmed.

"Still don't like attacking first Dante? Then again, your attitude certainly does you no favors. You eating in or heading out?"

"We'll eat here. My shop is currently not suitable to be in...very dusty." Dante sighed.

"I'll bet. At least the aura of the place scared off any wannabe hooligans yeah? Still don't understand how it can feel so...dark." Cindy chirped, then skated off to a table that was calling her over.

"Well then boys, Freddy has a pretty good kitchen, so eat well yeah?" Dante muttered, sitting down in his usual booth by the front window.

Harry sat beside him, while the others sat across from them. Their bags were piled on the seat beside Dante. "Why do they call you by your middle name?" Theo asked quietly.

"I'll explain back at the shop." Dante responded, Cindy rolled up with their food.

They dug in, the bread rolls they'd had at the bakery were only so filling. Harry enjoyed the strawberry sundae the most though, Dante merely hid a smirk. So it was a demonic thing then? Strawberries...he wondered what's so special about them. The pizza was new as well, they'd seen Dante eat it before at Hogwarts, though he quickly stopped, declaring that the cooks just couldn't make a decent pizza. (Harry was sure the house elves were still beating themselves up for that.)

Afterwards, they picked up their bags and strolled down the streets of Capulet Town, the park they came across had a statue in the middle. A knight riding a horse. "Ah, I see you've spotted the statue of the Dark Knight, no one knows his name, well...no one here."

"More mystery?" Theo sighed, taking a good look at the features of the statue.

If you ignored some of the demonic features, it looked like Anthony. How curious. "It reminds me of you, somehow." Blaise commented as they got closer, and more features were visible.

"Does it now? You aren't the first to say that...you'll understand once I've explained things back at the shop." Dante muttered.

They finally came across a run down looking building, the wood panels were grey, but the unlit sign that read Devil May Cry was unmistakable, Dante had mentioned this was the name of his shop, after all. In the back it looked like a car was under a large cover, Dante sighed at seeing it untouched, apparently he quite liked whatever vehicle was under that tarp. They went in to the rickety, dreary building, and the first thing that drew their attention was the trophies, band instruments, old style jukebox, and the pool table. There was a spot where a desk obviously used to be (as that was currently in his classroom at Hogwarts).

It was dusty, obviously not used for a while. So a quick few spells had that fixed, and they were led upstairs to the bedrooms. There were three large rooms upstairs and a bathroom off each, probably because they used to just be office rooms before the upstairs was converted into a flat. The boys would be sharing the bedroom down the hall from the master bedroom, seeing as the smallest one was for Nero and Kyrie when they came over in a few days for Yule/Christmas.

They all took a cool shower and changed into shorts and t-shirts, Dante was in his attire before Hogwarts, with his coat having tapering edges, but he hung the coat on the back of the couch. He had the boys help him rearrange some of the furniture, moving the pool table to where his desk had been, and bringing out a large table out for the gathering. Chairs were set out and the Devil Arms were placed on the wall behind the pool table, where they were obviously happy at being back in the familiar energy of the place.

Now that the boys thought about it, the presence around the place was demonic, probably runoff energy from the weapons when they weren't in use, seeing as even devil souls needed to release energy. In this form, it was harmless, if not just a bit intimidating. They sat down at the large table with tea (Dante with a much wanted beer), and waited for the white haired man to speak. "So, you've heard me be called Dante, the statue resembles me, and my taint is obviously more than just a taint, otherwise your changes would not have been so drastic. You've all come to these conclusions, I know it. Now, the tale is long, and it starts with a well known legend around communities involved with the demonic entities. The legend of the Dark Knight, Sparda."

"Your dad? I thought he was just a hunter like you?" Draco interrupted.

"Not exactly...


They were all silent after the explanation. Dante had left to the outside, the clinks and clatters coming from the back signaled he was doing some repairs to his car. His life was a mess (that was the general consensus), and the fact that Harry was the grandson of Nevan, a devil, succubus class, that was now the guitar that rested upon the wall. How that story fit into the timeline would remain a mystery, no doubt. But it did explain why Harry's grandmother had never been around, only Lily's stepmother, Petunia's mother. No wonder Petunia never liked Harry, they had the same patriarchal lineage but not the same matriarchal lineage. Lily was always the more beautiful and powerful of the two, held a certain allure, charm, grace. A fury that was calm before a storm, and when it hit...well...you did not want to be on the receiving end of it. these traits were very much clear in Harry. And Harry's more demonic form seemed more natural, but he kept it more human when they went outside for some air.

Dante had shown them his more half breed form, the sharp claws, elongated canines, glowing red eyes, white skin, and his aura had been totally different. But it somehow suited him better, it was just more natural. Their taints from his blood and magic practically sung when he let his true form be known, but they currently had much to think over.

Would another devil or demon rise up to take Mundus' place? Dante had said devils were still fighting to take the top place, and minions were taking the opportunity to try and unseal their masters, last he'd heard. He may even need to go down to the Underworld and take down a few from their pedestals while they were still sealed, to avoid future hassle.

Harry's thoughts consisted of ways to become better than he was currently. He'd not stop studying over the holidays, and he knew that Dante would keep their physical strength up as well.

Blaise took it in stride, it made more sense that his half-lies, but he had history to. Everyone did. The wizarding world would add more problems for Dante to deal with, even if he could very easily take them out.

Draco and Theo merely accepted it for what it was, no use in dwelling on the past.

The boys just sat in silence until Harry suggested they try out the pool table. While Blaise showed Theo and Draco how to set up, Harry wandered over to the old jukebox. You could see the evidence of the former beatings the machine had, but no doubt that man, Morrison, had fixed it up time and time again. He selected a random track, not surprisingly it was rock music of some kind, and then swayed over to the pool table. He chose a cue stick he liked best and they decided on the beginning order.

Dante came back into the shop close to the end of their game, gave a smirk, and sat down on the couch. "Nero and Kyrie will be here within 48 hours. I expect you to be settled in and to pay attention to my lecture on Fortuna tomorrow. After which, we will celebrate the holidays, your parents and close family will be coming to see you. Sorry Harry, it seems all you'll be getting is letters thanks to the old coot. Afterwards I expect you all to prepare for after the break, seeing as things will speed up before the Life Skills exam. Then the entire class moves into the basics of what I've begun teaching you in detail. Demonology. The history and easy take-down tactics for them, you however, will be separated from them for advanced lessons. We all understood?" He was in a better mood it seemed.

"Yes Dante." They chorused, right as Harry won the game. Dejected groans rose from the other three teens.


Nero and Kyrie were not what they had been expecting. Nero was an abrasive young adult while Kyrie was a very gentle soul. To say there was an endless amount of jokes about the human Catholic holiday was an understatement, but the boys were enraptured by Nero's tales of Fortuna. "From before he became too far gone, Credo was definitely a good man. He protected and adored Kyrie, a great warrior for the Order of the Sword, he just was unable to say no to the Priest who'd probably absorbed demonic energy over many years, longer than Dante even. The man was old." Nero grudgingly admitted.

"Though Dante could have handled that incident a bit better, an assassination in the middle of mass?" Draco joked.

The red wearing man smirked. "Well, it was the only time he was open and vulnerable, I'd been stalking the guy for days. Plus, I got to destroy that damn statue, the worship of my father, Nero's grandfather, was really just fucking creepy." Dante muttered.

Nero gave a tight lipped smile, Kyrie just shook her head. "So, planning on heading to the beach anytime soon?" Nero asked, switching topics.

"Yeah, tomorrow." Blaise answered.

"That's sweet, I heard your families will be arriving here as well" Kyrie added.

"Yes, we don't get to see them often. A swim in the morning and then a Christmas dinner as a large group sounded like a good plan." Theo explained.

"Great, so who's on the guest list?" Nero asked.

"Draco's parents, the Lord Lucius and Lady Narcissa Malfoy. Theo's parents, the Lord Thomas and Lady Cecilia Nott. Blaise's mother, Lady Moira Zabini. Harry's godparents, his parents are deceased, Remus Lupin and Lord Sirius Black, Morrison, and us." Dante listed.

"Quite a few, we'll need to expand this table and move some of the other things into the back room." Nero muttered, looking around.

"You'll need more festive decorations to." Kyrie chirped.

"Great then, you two can help out. We'll leave the pool table out, and the jukebox, I think there are some more festive records in the back, we'll get started after we've finished eating breakfast." Dante finished.

Nero gave him an exasperated look.


Hours later, the shop was clean, decorations in place, the kitchen was stocked and the jukebox had repairs done to it. The boys settled for a game of pool while Nero and Kyrie went off to have some time to themselves. Leaving Dante bored, never a good thing. He briefly considered what he was going to do the next day when they all arrived, but figured that the time would sort itself out. He'd already set out an appropriate outfit, and there was the fact that anything that needed a few hours to make was already being prepared, like marinades and sauces, the fruits, veggies, cheeses and such had already been cut up, they just needed to be plated and presented the next day.

The cake would be baked fresh the next day, but the dry ingredients had already been mixed together and set aside, and the icing would be made while the cake baked. Little chocolates would be melted down for dipping fruit into the next day as well. Tomorrow would be busy, but the season would make the kids happy. That's what mattered. No Dumbledore, Demons or Voldemort to worry about, just fun times.

Of course, the boys were so engrossed in their game they hadn't noticed Nero and Kyrie come back in with gift bags, so that's where they went off to. Get to know the kids, ask subtle questions about the parents, then get appropriate gifts. Sneaky brats. The red clad half-devil picked the newspaper up and searched the news for it, the Daily Prophet was a trash rag, but the columns not written by Skeeter sometimes held somewhat important news. Of course, the fact that Umbridge was being further promoted and was next in line to be Headmistress of Hogwarts was concerning, that was too far. He looked up at the boys, best not to disturb them just yet.

Then there was something odd with Harry's aura, the shifting seemed to be teetering between dark and light. He remembered necromancers, was Harry a prospect? He wasn't going to lose an apprentice was he? He was progressing well, the kid was quick on his feet, sharp mind, observant, cunning, and he was friendly with Nevan, which meant he had the seductive qualities to do certain types of undercover work as well. Theo was close to figuring out the incantation he needs to call for a familiar, or multiple. Every summoner was different, it took training and meditation, searching through your own core, to figure out the incantation. He had about half of it, in broken bits and pieces. He suspected that by late April he'd be almost done. Blaise was becoming more proficient in his strength and speed, wielding the heavy weapons still took a bit out of him, but the kid could handle it just fine. Draco was quick, his flexibility was increasing, he was more willing to work in a team and he had the makings of the magic aspect for being a blade dancer. Now if only they could find the right kind of sword for him as he moved up in skill. Daggers would good for beginners, but he needed a broader arsenal.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind. Holidays first, then the training aspect.


Water splashed onto his back, the giggling of the four teens behind him were every indication he needed as to who splashed him. Nero and Kyrie were basking in the sun, and they'd have to pack up soon to finish preparing for the dinner later in the day. He turned around and pushed his own wave at the teens, who fought back. Half an hour later the two young adults joined them in the water so the teens targeted the young white haired man. Kyrie just floated nearby smiling at the scene. "I want kids, it would be nice having this around all the time." Kyrie sighed wistfully.

"World isn't ready yet, the kid ain't ready yet. You know you aren't. But soon, you'll make great parents. You both just need a bit more time to settle." Dante assured her, she smiled brightly.

Nero was finally tackled entirely by the teens, so he went down and was doing his best to wrestle the four down with him. Eventually though, they had to get out to start cooking and arranging things. Guests would arrive in about six hours, so it was best to leave now to make sure the roast was cooking properly, and they had a cake to bake as well.

So once they had packed up they showered when they got back and started to cook. The table cloth was set out and the best china set out into the places. The outfits set out were being re-cleaned and ironed by Kyrie, while Nero was out chopping wood for the fireplace. The roast in the crock pot still needed a few hours, but the cake could be put in the oven, which would be followed by a baked pasta dish and garlic bread. On the stove he had the pasta boiling, and the sauce heating, along with fresh gravy on the third burner. Harry was preparing the icing for the cake and Theo was deciding on the best arrangement of the dishes and how everything should be presented. Draco was arranging the fruits onto skewers and arranging them like flowers, then vegetables were arranged in a laid out round dish surrounding the hummus and ranch dressing. Harry threw together a quick salad, then those finished dishes were wrapped and put in the fridge to keep fresh. Theo had drawn out the best arrangement for the table, so they'd follow that soon.

Once the meat was done Dante sliced it and put it neatly onto the platter, then put roasted potatoes and carrots around them, covered them, and put them on a heated surface to keep warm. The cake was cooling and would soon be ready to be leveled. Harry had made a chocolate pudding to be served as well, so that was currently setting in the fridge.

As soon as the food was all fully prepared, they checked the time, a few minutes until guests arrived. So they set all the dishes on the counter in cool and warm spots, cleaned up, and left to clean up and get dressed. Nero lit the fire and had to rush off since the fire flared green signalling arrivals through the floo network. Dante was dressed first, in a simple red button up and black dress pants. The others followed in similar outfits, though Kyrie was in a simple cream coloured dress, and Nero's shirt was navy blue. Harry in dark purple, Draco in silver, Theo in green and Blaise in a warm cinnamon color.

Remus and Sirius came through first, Remus in a beige robe and Sirius in a stylish black one. Then the Malfoys and the Notts, last was Lady Zabini. Once everyone was seated Harry and Dante carried the dishes out to their appropriate places, all except the fruits and dessert, everyone was more than happy to dig in once Nero sat down. He'd set the jukebox at a low volume and put in a random Christmas track. The boys were evidently enjoying seeing their families again, and they were interested in Dante's nephew and the woman that his nephew was courting. The jovial atmosphere was one of the best ones he'd seen in a long time. His last happy Christmas like this had been the one before Mundus ruined everything, that was a very long time ago.

No use dwelling on depressing topics, right now, things were just too happy for that.