While there was little doubt that the Headmaster was a great wizard, the greasy haired potions master nevertheless occasionally felt that perhaps age was finally catching up with Dumbledore.
The continuing persistence to believe that the students of Gryffindor and Slytherins could finally adopt a more friendly rivalry with each other if they were constantly being forced to attend the same classes.
The fact that he never used his power, be it magical or political, to put an end to the idiotic corruption that continued to fester in the Ministry despite the 8 years of peace that had followed the defeat of the Dark Lord.
And perhaps the clearest sign that he was slowly falling into senility, his preference for passwords that only a child, and a Muggle child at that, would use.
"Cookie dough ice cream".
Keeping his attention forward as the gargoyle moved to allow him entry, Snape walked briskly into the Headmaster's office with a slightly robotic tone to his voice.
"You summoned me Headmaster"?
Doing his best to keep his irritation to a minimum, the Head of Slytherin House found his scowl morphing into a small frown as he noticed that Dumbledore was wearing an expression that he had rarely seen during the past 8 years.
Barely disguised fear.
"Severus. Have a seat. What I have to say will be...difficult to hear".
Choosing to remain standing, something that he knew would not offend the older wizard since they both knew he always preferred to be standing for their conversations, Snape's expression gained a slightly more dismissive tinge to it as Dumbledore proceeded to explain the cause for this meeting.
"An hour ago, I received an urgent message from Arabella".
Though he knew he would likely receive a reprimand for his reaction, the sallow skinned potions master couldn't contain himself.
"The Squib you have to watch over Potter? What has that brat done now to warrant such attention"?
As expected, his words earned a disproving frown from the bearded wizard. But instead of receiving a scolding for his views towards the late James Potter's spawn, Snape was treated to a sight that made him pity the aged wizard.
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS"?
Deciding it was best to remain silent, both to avoid drawing the attention of the enraged looking Scotswoman and to discover the reason why Dumbledore was looking even more defeated than before, the former Death Eater could only watch as the Headmaster tried to placate his furious looking colleague"
"Minevera I...".
But as expected, this had the opposite effect.
"DONT YOU MINERVERA ME ALBUS DUMBLEDORE. I WARNED YOU THEY WERE THE WORST SORT OF MUGGLES IMAGINABLE. AND NOW...AND NOW...".
Seeing that his colleague was currently at a loss for words, Snape decided to risk earning her ire by drawing the attention of a defeated looking Dumbledore.
"What exactly is she talking about Headmaster"?
Briefly glancing at the Scottish Animagus to see if she would answer his question, Snape found his attention firmly focused on his superior as he heard the Headmaster's softly spoken answer.
"The Dursleys are dead".
For the first time in years, Snape wasn't unable to keep maintain his usually composed expression.
"Wha...how? I thought the wards would have prevented..".
"The wards only protected that...family...from non magical threats to their well being. Not from muggle threats. Nor did it protect Lily and James's child from...".
It was only thanks to the reminder that the brat only inherited half of his genetic material from his father that the Head of Slytherin House found the encouragement to voice his concern.
"From what Minevera"?
From the ashen expression of both the Headmaster and his deputy, Snape knew he would regret asking.
And he was soon proven correct.
"They abused him Severus. Those...animals...abused the child of James and Lily".
It was only thanks to his mastery of Occlumency that the former Death Eater managed to retain control of his emotions as he all but growled out his response.
"Where is the...boy now"?
Snape wasn't sure which was worse.
The fact that Dumbledore was currently wearing an expression of helplessness. Or the fact that his former transfiguration teacher lacked any emotion in her voice as she answered his question.
"We don't know".
At this, there was only one response Snape could give.
"What"?
Those his question was simple, the answers that could be used were not.
Which was why he wasn't surprised by the next statement made by the only man the Dark Lord ever feared.
"Which is precisely why I called for you Severus".
...
Keeping his tone casual in order to conceal his anxiety, Moxxie offered a welcoming smile towards his young ward as he enquired after his day.
"So Harry, how was your first magic lesson"?
The lack of a clear, enthusiastic answer was enough to cause both Imps to frown in concern.
"It was...not quite what I expected".
Knowing that being subtle was not one of her husband's strong points, especially when he was upset, Millie flashed the currently frowning Harry an encouraging smile.
"How come sweetie"?
To her relief, Harry answered her question without hesitation.
"Well...for starters Mr. Stolas asked me a lot of question about the Star Wars film series. And after he had made sure that my knowledge wasn't 'tainted by the new trilogy', he had me do something...odd".
Doing his best to control his eye twitching as he heard that last part, Moxxie, managed to keep his voice calm as he asked the relevant question.
"What do you mean by odd Kiddo"?
Preparing for the worst, though in truth he had been doing that since Harry had attracted the interest of the Goetic Prince of Hell, the bowtie wearing Imp released a sigh of relief as he heard the Wizard in training's answer.
"Well, after I couldn't do more than make my finger glow for a few minutes, or making an eraser levitate barely a centimeter above my desk, he said something about needing the proper medium for me to use since my core wasn't big enough. So we spent the last part of our lesson looking at trees and looking at pictures from something that looked like a butcher shop".
Thinking that he no longer had anything to worry about, though he was a tad concerned about the nature of the bloody images that Stolas was showing the kid, Moxxie's expression changed from anxious to supportive.
"Oh. Well I suppose that's ok then. Did you at least find it interesting"?
At this question, Harry could only offer an enthusiastic nod.
"Uhuh. Via even said that once I got to her level, I could maybe enchant our weapons into something more powerful"
Though touched that Harry was already offering to use his magic to help them out, an offer which momentarily caused her to daydream about the type of damage she could do with a magically powered weapon, Millie quickly brought herself back to reality as she allowed her curiosity to direct her next question.
"Whose Via Sweetie"?
Upon seeing Harry's smile, it took all of her self restraint to keep herself from frowning as he gave her his answer.
"She's Mr. Stolas's daughter. She was a little...scary at first. But she's super smart, and is actually kinda funny. Though I could tell that Mr. Stolas and Blitz were a bit...embarrassed about some of her jokes. By the way, what does a 'piece on the side' mean"?
Chuckling nervously at this rather innocent question, the dark haired Imp decided to do what all parents did when confront with mature questions from young children.
Avoid the question.
"We'll...tell you when your older Sweetie. But still glad you had a good time. Don't suppose you know when your next lesson is scheduled for"?
At this Harry could only nod his head.
"Sometime next week I think. Would have been tomorrow, but Via's mom was rather angry when she learned that her husband was inviting...plebeians into their home".
Frowning in concern since they hadn't expected Harry to encounter the elitist attitudes of Hell's ruling class at this point in time, Moxxie managed to keep his tone light as he dismissed the scrawny human.
"Uh...huh. Well on the plus side we have tons of fun things to do before then. But for now, why don't you go wash up and get ready for dinner".
And bless his little heart, Harry was completely oblivious to the tension his words had inadvertently caused.
'Okay".
Waiting until he heard the running of the bathroom sink, Moxxie turned towards his frowning spouse with a look of carefully guarded concern.
"Soooo...we gonna talk this or.."?
"We're gonna speed up his training Moxx".
And like the hen pecked husband so many people accused of being, the bowtie wearing Imp could only nod his head in acceptance.
...
Despite the fact that her status afforded her a lifestyle that was miles above anything most denizens of Hell could achieve, there was sadly still something that money and magic couldn't create.
Immunity from constantly arguing parents.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU"?
"Now Stella there's no need to be upset".
"UPSET? NOT ONLY DID YOU LET YOUR IMP MISTRESS INTO OUR HOME, BUT YOU'VE AGREED TO TEACH SOME NEWLY DAMMNED SOUL THE SAME LESSONS AS OUR DAUGHTER. HAVE YOU COMPLELTY LOST YOUR MIND"?
At this argument, Octavia's beaked mouth turned into a slight frown since in all honesty she didn't actually mind having the human attend her lessons.
Yes he was a bit quiet, and at least 6 years younger than her judging by his appearance.
But he didn't appear to be the least bit interested in her status. He didn't appear to be a dimwit. And at least seemed to find her sense of humor amusing despite the fact that he was still too young to understand the nature of her mockery.
However, while her mother was firmly against anything that could potentially threaten their standing with the rest of Hell's upper class, her father had a more open mindset.
Though that did not mean that he couldn't also play the game of politics.
"Well...I suppose from a certain point of view it looks that way. But I assure you that despite appearances, I have actually managed to secure our family's future".
Pink eyes narrowing as she tried to decipher how training a 5 year old in the mystical arts could accomplish this, especially since his first lessons had started off by quoting the GOOD Star Wars films, Octavia was unsurprised by her mother's skepticism.
"Oh really? You think the other princes, or Lucifer himself, will be impressed with your so called charity work? Everyone's already mocking the Devil's daughter for her idiotic schemes despite the fact that she has one of the more powerful Overlords helping her out. So tell me Stolas, how will taking on a human student, one whose presence will no doubt lower our own daughter's progress, secure our position in Hell"?
Her father's answer was unexpected.
"Because Stella, not only is my newest student a magical Prophecy Child, but his body currently houses a portion of the soul that was bound to come down here anyway. I would think that would be enough to convince even our most vocal rivals to support our actions".
It didn't take much imagination to picture her mother's thoughtful expression as she considered this potentially useful piece of information.
"Hmmm...I suppose. But it would depend on which prophecy the child is connected too".
And while her father's tone lacked the overly gloating quality that most of Hell's elite used when informing others of their superior position, the teenaged Owl Demon could nevertheless detect a hint of smugness in her father's tone as he answered the question.
"Oohhh, just the standard hero defeating a dark lord prophecy. Though I cannot understand why the light sided factions of magical of Britain chose to hide their future savior in an abusive environment instead of being raised in a place where he could be loved and appreciated for who he is. The risks of the child turning against the world he is supposed to save is somewhat greater if he doesn't receive love and acceptance during his formative years".
Eyes narrowing as she finally understood why Harry had been at the same time both slightly withdrawn and yet enthusiastic about his lessons, for being raised in an abusive environment would have caused him to be desperate for approval while at the same time hesitant to provide an excuse for punishment, Octavia could only scoff in disgust as her mother was convinced of the validity of this argument.
"Its possible they have some safe guards being prepared to ensure that doesn't happen. But since the child will be both raised and trained in Hell, I suppose that the chances of him going 'dark' are all but assured".
"Exactly! So you see, not only have I have ensured that Hell is in a position to thwart yet another Divine attempt to claim that the light will always triumph over the dark".
Rolling her eyes at her father's attempts to justify his actions, though in truth the thought of sticking it to those genocidal halo wearers was rather pleasing even if she lacked the same level of concern for her fellow Hell dwellers as Lucifer's daughter, Octavia found a small smile grace her beaked lips as she heard her mother's verdict.
"Alright. So long as he doesn't hold our daughter back, you can keep teaching him".
Of course her father couldn't help but point out that he didn't necessarily need his wife's permission to do anything.
"I was going to do that anyway Stella, but thank you for your support".
Of course her mother wasn't going to let him have the last word.
"Just make sure that his minder isn't that Imp lover of yours. Its bad enough that you disgrace yourself by sleeping with one of the lower orders. But to continually flaunt it is even worse".
Rolling her eye's at her mother's reasoning, for to her the act of sleeping with someone of lower status was a far greater crime than cheating on one's spouse, Octavia released a long suffering sigh as her father once again proved that he shared a more open mind when it came to his choice of lovers.
"Now your just being irrational. Just because last time I invited Blitzy to sleep in our bed doesn't mean that..".
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? YOU FUCKED THAT IMP IN OUR BED"?
"It was unexpected. I didn't have time to find a motel".
"A MOTEL? LIKE A FUCKING PLEBIAN"?
And while she wished it was otherwise, this was a normal morning for her now.
...
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
As promised, here is my Christmas gift to everyone who has encouraged me to keep up with this amusing and heartwarming concept of a story.
And for those who have watched, and re-watched the 2nd episode of Helluva Boss since it came out earlier this month, the last few lines of dialogue will indicate what I have planned for the next chapter.
But to ensure you all know what I'm referring to, next chapter...WE'RE GOING TO LOO LOO LAND! XD. Not just because it will be fun to write, but also because it gives the chance for Harry to deepen his bond with the characters.
Not to address some of the comments that have been made to me regarding pairings.
At this point in time, Harry will NOT be paired with either Octavia or Loona due to the fact that he is 8 years old, and they are 17 and (gonna say 18-19) respectively. Might, MIGHT change once he is 16 due to it being Hell, but that isn't for a while. For the time being, Octavia is just going to be a cool older friend, while Loona is more like a protective/cool older sister (though I will explain why she treats him nicely rather than shit soon).
Dont think I need to address Stolas and Stella's argument regarding the training of the Boy Who Lived since its pretty straight forward.
And that's it for now.
Please review. No flames.
And Happy Holidays.