Rachael wasn't happy.

That much was clear to Harry as he looked at the way she kept her arms crossed and her face turned away from him as he sat in her room like he regularly did.

She was like this because of two reason, one he had told her that he wouldn't be able to contact through anything but letters because the school he was going to be going to didn't have any phones or reception for a mobile… not that he had one anyway, and two, because he hadn't seen her on his birthday due to Hagrid taking him to Diagon Alley.

And boy was he tempted to just tell her the truth.

The fact that he didn't care about the 'Ministry Of Magic' and their 'Statute Of Secrecy' meant that he would be more than willing to break every bone in anyone they sent to 'deal' with her if they ever found out.

The problem was that he didn't want her involved in the supernatural aspects of his life due to the inherent danger associated with them.

After all, he may be capable of protecting her from the wizards but he knew that he had things far more dangerous than them to deal with… Matador had shown him that without any room for argument.

And so he didn't tell her that he was going to a school that taught real life magic, that he was probably going to outperform everyone there due to the fact that he was a demon and therefore capable of feeling the flow of magic and how it worked in the world around him.

And he definitely kept quiet about the Goblins, given her frustration with that game they had given up on months ago, he could see her declaring war on the wizarding bank out of pure spite.

The fact that they had nothing to do with the game probably wouldn't matter to her.

He blinked at that thought, what was there to say that they didn't have anything to do with the game? They did seem rather business savvy after all… which led his mind to think of certain businessmen that were at the cutting edge of technology and just how much money each made off their computer companies.

He found that he wouldn't be surprised if either one was either a front man for, or a goblin in disguise.

Personally, he was hoping for the goblin in disguise angle.

"So, I take it you're still not speaking to me?" he asked as he turned his attention back to his first ever friend.

Just thinking of that made him feel a pang of guilt at the thought that he was keeping her out of most of his life despite the fact that she was the only human he was actually close to.

Silence was his answer.

Letting out a sigh, he tried to think of a way to mend their relationship, then again, the rift was being created by the fact that they were going to different high schools and wouldn't be able to see each other for nine months of the year… which also meant that he wouldn't be able to help her with her homework…

Harry found himself having a minor epiphany as he sat there with the girl, that while he would be limited in what he could do at night, he could very well use some of that time to learn a mundane curriculum.

Sure he would also hang around with Jiao, Moana and Elisheva… maybe even Titania if he could find somewhere for Peaseblossom to set up a terminal safe from tampering by curious students and concerned adults.

The fact that Elisheva said she knew somewhere that was perfect had made the boy curious until she had stated that Tom Marvolo Riddle had gone to Hogwarts and had been doing quite a lot before he crossed the line and did something unforgiveable.

When he asked, he had gotten a short explanation on things the human's apparently called Horcruxes but that demons tended to call, 'partial phylacteries'.

Who knew that the demons were more read up on D&D than the wizards.

Though that didn't change the fact that he wasn't particularly happy with the statement from her that there was a giant snake that could kill with a glance lurking around this secret room.

That didn't change the fact that she also told him that it tended to be trapped in the mouth of a statue unless a certain password was recited to it.

It didn't really make him feel any better about the existence of a giant snake that could kill just by making eye contact with it.

Not that he was scared of it, if there was one thing he knew it was that there was always a way around something, it was just a matter of finding that method of bypassing whatever defence an enemy had.

Just like how he was certain he would eventually find a way around the Hitoshura's invulnerability, it was just a case of finding that method.

So dealing with a monster that could kill with a glance, he would just have to find a way of bypassing the need to see it.

Or maybe he'd just find a mirror and have it look at itself, that was supposed to work with Cockatrices after all.

Though he found the thought of getting a pet Weasel was tempting as well… that is, provided it didn't try to eat Jiao.

"Come on Rachael, my parents signed me up to this school before I was even born," he said, the fact was that they practically had signed him up due to the fact that he was technically a wizard.

And once again he was greeted by silence.

"Fine, I guess I'll just go back into London to finish getting my supplies," he decided as he pushed himself from his seated position.

Sure he still had nearly a month to get his wand but he decided it was probably best for him to get it out of the way and given how Rachael wasn't prepared to speak to him out of the fact that she was still angry with him for not seeing her on his birthday… even if he had told her that someone from the faculty had come over to assist him in finding his school supplies.

"You're going into London?" and now she decided to start speaking to him.

"So you're finally talking to me again?" he asked with amusement in his tone.

The pouting glare he received in response nearly had him laughing at how ridiculous it looked.

"Fine, fine, yes I'm going into London, do you want anything?" he asked her, only to find himself frowning at her request.

"Can I go with you?" if he wasn't going to be going to Diagon Alley then he would happily take her but the fact was that he was going to be going into the wizarding world again and he didn't want to get her involved.

But at the same time he didn't want to upset her anymore than he already had.

"Rachael, my school is a very secretive one," he decided to tell her the truth, "even the shops for the supplies don't like people who aren't connected to the school showing up."

He could easily see that she was close to teas, the fact that he was making excuses to say no probably made her feel like he simply didn't want to spend any more time with her.

"But if you want to go then we can go… provided you don't want to see anything to do with my new school," he admitted, earning a blank stare off the young girl.

"Are you serious about your school?" she asked, so he nodded, "it sounds like some sort of secret society… like underground superheroes or mages."

"Mages," he decided to admit bluntly knowing that it wouldn't be taken seriously, earning a small laugh from the human.

"It would be funny if they were real," he found himself feeling further depression at the fact that he was probably keeping her ignorant of the truth, if there was anyone that would be capable of appreciating the existence of magic, it would be Rachael.

And once again, he felt the temptation to just ignore his concerns and tell her about the fact that he was both a wizard and a demon… the fact that one of her favourite superheroes was Etrigan probably meant that she wouldn't care that he was a demon, it would probably just make her think he was even more awesome than she already thought he was.

His silence however was obviously picked up on by the 'muggle'.

"Wait, you're serious?" he cringed, he sometimes forgot that despite her age, despite the fact that she was the same age as he was, she was sharp, probably due to the sheer number of things she had seen and watched aimed at older audiences.

"Nope," he quickly stated, earning a smirk off the girl.

"You said that way too quickly," and he cringed again, "can you show me?"

He noted the expectant look on her face and found himself once again trying to resist the urge to get her involved in everything… but this time, this time she was already under the impression that he was hiding something and was looking at him expectantly.

And so with a click of his fingers, he caved in to her will.

"{Well, so much for hiding magic from her,}" Harry found himself sighing as he listened to the soft chirping that came from his first demon companion, understanding every noise she made like he did with nearly all languages.

"You… you have a fairy?" he found himself smirking slightly at the flabbergasted expression that adorned his first friends face.

"She's a Hua Po actually," he corrected her, "a Chinese nature spirit born of a tree where at least three people were hung."

"Uh… that doesn't sound nice," the hesitation in Rachael's voice was perfectly clear, then again, she probably understood that what he said meant the cute little fairy was in fact born of death, "so does every mage have something like that?"

"Uh… well, they call themselves witches and wizards and wave wands about," he decided to explain to her, honestly he preferred the term mage, probably because he felt it sounded less outdated than the terms they used, "and no, most don't have a demon under their employ."

Silence reigned after that statement, and Harry soon found himself looking at his first friend as she looked at him as if he was stupid.

"You call that a demon?" the sheer incredulousness of her statement made him wonder if his explanation on what demons actually were would get through to her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he once again let out a sigh as Jiao decided to take offense to his first friend's bluntness… and in English instead of whatever chirp like language she was using before.

"I… it talks?" the only human of the group managed to squeak out in surprise at the mere fact that the little red Jirae she had thought couldn't talk proved it could.

"Of course I can, only a small number of demons can't speak nearly every language fluently," the tiny girl stated with a glare.

"Bu… but how can a fairy be a demon?" she seemed almost speechless at the mere fact that the being before her was a demon.

"The same way an angel can," Harry decided to admit, earning another blank look off the girl, "as far as things that transcend reality are concerned, the term 'demon' is just a classification for them all… it's the clans that really tell you about them."

The blank stare he received told him that she hadn't managed to figure out what he was saying… or that she thought it was stupid, this time he really couldn't tell.

"Okay, ignoring the fact your little friend is supposed to be a demon," Rachael started, "why do you have one in the first place if most wizards don't?"

"Because I ran into a demon when I was younger and it turned me into one," he decided to just state it as bluntly as he could, the fact was that if Rachael had managed to realise that there was more to him than he told her, then he was going to tell her everything.

"You're a demon?" he nodded, earning a scrutinising gaze off the girl, "since when?"

"Since before I met you," his admission seemed to make her eyes narrow even further.

"Are you going to try and convince me to sell my soul?" he almost snorted at her question.

"Only if you want to," he laughed out, though he quickly took on a more thoughtful expression, "actually, now that you mention it… hey, Jiao, what would happen if Rachael sold her soul to me?"

"{She would become your slave after death}" he frowned at the way she said it in her native tongue, a language that no human would be capable of understanding.

"And what do you mean by slave?" he specifically chose to speak in English so that Rachael would understand that he wasn't trying to hide anything from her.

The fact that she looked shocked by what he said proved to him that it really was something he'd rather she hear herself.

"You do realise that I stopped speaking English so she wouldn't be capable of identifying what we were saying right?" Jiao for her part sounded rather annoyed by that decision.

"Yes, but I want Rachael to know what we're talking about," he admitted with a deadpanned expression adorning his face.

"Wait, what was that about being a slave?" Harry simply shrugged in response.

"That if you sell your soul to a demon, then after you die, you will become that demons slave… though most tend to just eat the souls since they taste pretty good," the Hua Po stated with amusement, earning wide eyes off the other girl.

"And what do you mean about the slave part?" the black haired boy asked again, earning a sigh off the smallest of the group.

"Given how close you are to that girl," the bigger of the females in the room seemed to bristle at being referred to in such a dismissive manner, "then it'll probably mean very little."

"Huh?" both of the younger individuals couldn't stop themselves from simply blurting out in confusion.

"Well, being a demons slave means that you are only allowed as much free will as they allow you," the red skinned Jirae stated calmly, "and given how much you hate denying free will and how close you are to that girl, it'll probably just guarantee her continued existence after death."

Harry for his part simply stared at his first demon companion, wondering why she refused to refer to his first friend by name before finally just giving up on trying to understand her.

"So if I did sell my soul to him, it wouldn't be too bad for me?" Harry simply turned to face his first friend with surprise on his face.

"Wait, Rachael, you can't seriously be thinking about it?" he asked, earning a sideward's glance from her.

"That depends if you could give me what I want," he suddenly found himself curious, he had no idea what she would want but was willing to listen to her, "… I want magic and to go to the same school you are."

He simply found himself frozen at that statement but was about to tell her that he couldn't when Jiao cut him off.

"That should be easy enough," he looked at her in shock, "I know you've never made a contract before, it's always been the ones selling their souls to you that formed it after all… but the fact is that a demon can do things they normally can't if they create a contract."

"So you're saying I could make her a witch?" he received a nod in response, "but what about the whole Hogwarts letter thing?"

"Well, you already have the type of magic she has so it should be easy to get her body to create its own, as for the letter, that should be easy to adjust, it will probably only affect a handful of people so altering it shouldn't create too many ripples in history," she explained to him, "so do you want to create the contract? Your instincts should tell you how to make it."

Harry for his part acknowledged that last part, he could feel his instincts telling him what to do to create the contract after all.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked the human he was closest to, earning a small grin from the girl.

"You haven't tried screwing me over before so I guess I'll trust you to not do it now," the smile she gave him was surprisingly mirthful and he found himself once again realising just why he cared about her.

Because like him she didn't care about labels.

XXX XXX XXXX

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore leaned back in his chair thinking on a certain boy.

Harry Potter had shown himself to be completely different to what he had expected, the fact that the boy was calm and confident, bordering on arrogant if he was honest, was not what he had expected from him living with the Dursley's.

The fact that the boy had amber eyes and set the Goblins on edge was only further proof of the fact that something had happened to him.

He knew that Hagrid had fallen for the contacts explanation but he knew that the Goblins wouldn't be fooled by something like that, they were far too magically sensitive for such a thing to make a difference to them.

So the question was quite simply 'what had happened to him?'

Then he felt it.

A distortion.

Something was trying to rewrite his memories, distort what he knew and implant new information in his head.

It wouldn't work.

Not because of his skill, he could tell that the distortion wasn't simple magic, but because of a contract he had made when he was younger.

"Someone has signed a demon's contract," he muttered as he wondered who had signed a demonic contract and what changes it would make, "I suppose I should once again thank you for the contract Fawkes."

The phoenix that rested on a perch near his desk preened under his gratitude.

XXX XXX XXX

Harry had to admit, forming the contract had been surprisingly easy, the fact that afterwards she had definitely possessed magic and a Hogwarts letter only further reinforced the fact that it had been successful.

And then almost immediately a professor had arrived.

The young demon had quickly dismissed Jiao before Rachael's mother could see her and in the end, Harry had gotten a lift to Diagon Alley with his first friend, her parents and one Professor Minerva McGonagall.

"I apologize for the lateness of my arrival but it has been a busy year as far as muggleborns are concerned," the strict looking transfiguration professor apologized yet again, though given how haggard she looked, they had quickly accepted her excuse of being too busy to arrive earlier.

The looks on everyones faces as they first witnessed Diagon Alley let him know that his initial impression had probably been too tainted by his experience in the vortex world to be a good indicator of how most people reacted.

"Yo, Professor McGonagall?" he decided to ask her a question Hagrid had failed to do so, though the look of disapproval on her face made it clear she wasn't expecting to deal with an extra passenger that clearly had a better idea of what the magical world was like, "why is the entrance hidden when the pub is as well?"

The way her expression seemed to soften at that made it clear that it was a question she fully understood.

"I once asked the same question," she admitted, "the reason is to give muggleborns a more impactful first impression of the alley itself."

Now that made sense to him, he had thought it was something to do with secrecy but then again, given how poor of a first impression the pub would be, it did make perfect sense that they would want to give a better second impression of the wizarding world.

"So it's all to do with trying to overwhelm us?" Rachael's father asked with narrowed eyes.

"Unfortunately yes," the teacher admitted, "since the wizarding society is as small as it is, the Ministry of Magic decided that they need to try and keep as many muggleborns as possible and that giving a good impression of the Alley is one of the more efficient ways of doing so… I will admit that there are better ways but I'm sure you know what politicians are like."

The cringe that came over the oldest male of the group was clear to everyone, apparently he was fully aware of just what she meant.

"Well, I believe it is time to go and get your money exchanged at Gringotts," that statement from the teacher got a reaction from the two adults.

"You mean you don't take cards?" the oldest man asked with surprise clear in his tone.

"Electronics don't work properly around high concentrations of magic," Harry decided to supply, "though small amounts of magic don't have much of an impact on them."

"We'll have to find a cash machine," it was clear that unlike her husband, Rachael's mother was already resigned to the fact that they probably wouldn't change their daughters mind.

"Or I could just buy it all as a thank you for being so good to me," Harry decided to cut it, earning looks off the three that weren't of the magical world.

"Harry, I doubt this shopping trip can be paid for with pocket change," the woman that raised his first friend said with a shake of her head.

"I know, but I just found out yesterday that my father was from a long line of wizards… and a multi-millionaire with me as the only heir," he admitted calmly, earning stares off the two adults and a look of shock from the other child.

"Even though that may be true," the fact that the teacher admitted that it was true seemed to make the two adults blink in surprise that he was actually being honest, "it is probably best if you aren't too frivolous with your finances."

"Yeah, I know that but it doesn't change the fact that paying for my best friends school stuff isn't going to put too much of a dent into them," he decided to simply call her his best friend because if he was perfectly honest, she was his best human friend and now that there was going to be no more hiding, she probably would become his overall best friend once again.

He was also rather happy at the fact that he had told her about the wizarding worlds prejudice against non-humans, so she probably wouldn't tell anyone about the fact he was a demon.

"Very well, then I suppose we can go to Gringotts and make a withdrawal from your family vault," and with that the strict looking professor proceeded to lead them through the alley and towards the wizarding bank once again.

"Harry… you didn't tell me you were rich," he found himself shrugging at his human friend's statement.

"Like I said, I only found out yesterday and on top of that, only a witch or wizard should know that," he admitted easily, earning a pout from his long time friend though she said no more on the subject.

Eventually though, they finally made it to the main entrance of Gringotts wizarding bank, where upon Harry quickly picked out a familiar face among the tellers and went to the Goblin while the three that were born muggles stared in shock at the non-humans.

"Yo, Ironhide right?" he called out to the familiar face earning a raised eyebrow off the Goblin.

"I'm surprised you recognise me, most wizards never bother to remember who we are," the short man at a ledger stated calmly.

"I'd like to make another withdrawal please," he asked, earning a blank stare off the Goblin that dealt with him the previous day, "it's for my friend over there," he explained gesturing to the others in the entrance.

"I see… Ripsnout!" and with that call, another goblin arrived, "please take mister Potter to his vault, I trust he has remembered to bring his key?"

"Yep," and with that he placed his hand in his jacket before pulling his key out of his extra-dimensional space and showing it to the goblins.

"Please follow me," it was clear that Ironhide had explained his situation to the other goblins given how none of them were paying any extra attention to him now… however he found himself letting out a sigh of exasperation at the last thing he heard before leaving the hall.

"GOBLIN'S!" he just knew Rachael was going to accuse them of making that game.

XXX XXX XXX

"Cheer up Rachael, just because it was the Tengu responsible for it doesn't mean you didn't get a good yell," Harry said while trying to suppress a laugh.

To think that it was Tengu and not Goblin's that were responsible for financing most Japanese Technological advances in entertainment.

Apparently the two species had developed a bit of a rivalry after globalisation, with the Goblins financing the start of Microsoft and Apple.

He had to admit, he was impressed they managed to keep their existence a secret despite that.

"Anyway, here's one hundred Galleons, that should be about five hundred pounds," he said as he gave the gold to the shell shocked family, "if you have any left over, feel free to spend it on anything else you want, I've got to go to Ollivanders to give him the materials for my wand."

"Wait, you need to supply your own materials for a wand?" the oldest man in the group asked in shock, earning a shake of the demon's head.

"No, I'm just getting myself a custom wand, there are plenty of premade ones," he admitted, earning a sigh of relief from the older male.

"Anyway, I'll see you when you get to your wand," he said before setting off towards the wand shop.

It was just as dingy as it was the previous day.

"Hey old man, what did I tell you about sneaking up on people?" he asked upon entering the store, making the old man walk out in front of him.

"I suppose that's what I get for trying to sneak up on a demon," the man didn't seem too fazed by the knowledge that he wasn't human, then again, he had clearly possessed a lot of experience in dealing with non-human's so he probably realised that every individual was different.

"Anyway, I got the materials," and with that, he pulled out the block of Magnolia wood and the jar containing two fine hairs, "think you can make a wand out of them?"

"Provided they don't react too violently together, then yes," the wand maker admitted as he took the materials, "though I do have a request to make of you for payment."

Harry found his eyes narrowing at that.

"The hair of a demon is something I don't normally have access to, I was hoping you would be willing to donate a couple for me to make a few new wands with," that made sense as far as he was concerned, as a wand crafter, it was obvious the man would want access to rare core materials.

"Alright then, I guess I can accept that," honestly he would be more nervous about giving parts of his body away if he hadn't already learned that binding demons required power… lots of power and that pieces of the demon didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

"Well then, I'll take my payment after we've prepared your wand for you then," and with that the older man started the process of crafting the wand that would work for him.

XXX XXX XXX

It was nearly two hours later that Harry gave up three hairs in exchange for the wand.

"I would like to ask you mister Potter, outside of the Magnolia wood, what were the other materials you gave me?" Ollivander definitely seemed curious as to the source of the two hairs, "they were of conflicting natures, they should've neutralized each other's influence but instead they seemed to harmonize… can you explain why that is?"

"Well, the black hair was from what is essentially a Succubus while the blonde was from an Angel," he admitted earning wide eyes off the man, "and they probably work together because they both sold their souls to me."

The blank expression that adorned the older man's face told him that what he said sounded stupid.

"I suppose it would make sense though I find it hard to believe that an angel would sell its soul to a demon," the man admitted, earning a shrug in response.

"I know," the younger of the two admitted before the door opened and the four he had left earlier came in.

"Hey Harry!" Rachael practically shouted, "we got ice-cream… did you know they did hot-dog flavour ice-cream?"

"No, though I did have lamb flavoured ice-cream yesterday," he admitted, earning a small laugh from the girl.

"Anyway, Mister Potter," Ollivander decided to cut in, "I can tell you that your wand will specialize in inanimate to animate Transfigurations, as well as the healing arts, light arts, mind arts and… the dark arts."

"What do you mean by 'light arts'?" was the only thing he could ask.

"Charms that repel dark creatures," the older man explained easily, earning a nod off the boy, "now, give it a swish."

And with a single swish, Harry was greeted by an image in red, of a familiar worm like creature with thin limbs, except there was more to it than he was familiar with on the magatama. Four wings, one set of feathered, bird like wings, another of leathery, bat like wings, both erupting from its back, while the normally mandible like head that the worm normally possessed was instead replaced by a magnolia flower.

"You know… I like that image," he admitted with a smirk as he decided it suited him perfectly.

"Now young miss, I suspect you came here for your first wand as well," and with that, the old man quickly refocused his attention on the young demon's human friend, ready to find the perfect wand for her.