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The Devil as a Father Chapter 40

Now that the children were safe with them, King Ragnock said he wanted them to try the ceremony, because he was worried that they hadn't remembered this situation after the first ritual. He suspected it was another magic and wouldn't respond to Goblin magic.

They all gathered together and bled into the same silver ritual bowl. Lucifer noticed that Harry's skin was impervious to the Goblin blades, but that he used a small hell-forged blade to cut his hand. He wondered that this young one was taking on his own abilities. "My son," he asked, "May I borrow your blade?"

Harry carefully cleaned the blade by magic and then handed it to his Father. Lucifer cut his own hand and bled into the silver bowl.

The Goblins worked magic and Lucifer felt it trying to touch him and the others. When the ceremony was done, the Goblins looked ill, and Lucifer felt no new knowledge.

With his own intrinsic magic, he made them goblets filled with a draught that would heal them. He didn't like them suffering and failing like that, especially as he could see they were worried about him and the children. With great poise, he handed a goblet to each Goblin and bowed to them as they drank. "I know you suffered to try to break this spell. Keep the goblets as a memento from the House of Lucifer, given in love to those who have tried to heal us."

He saw more light in Goblin eyes and was pleased he could do that much.

He turned to the children. "Little ones, the spell didn't work this time, yet we know you are ours and that we love you. Please forgive me. I shall not rest until I find an answer."

Octy looked at him and then smiled, "Daddy," he said, "It doesn't matter as long as you want to be our Daddy and still love us."

Lucifer felt tears sting his eyes. What a brave and wise little boy his son was.

He picked him up and kissed him. Harry and Chloe were smiling. Trixie hugged Daffodil who hugged her back.

Then suddenly Daffodil cried out, "Daddy, Death is your sister, and only her sword will cut the ties of this spell, for celestial blade breaks celestial magic."

Lucifer thought of the sister he had loved and protected eons ago, who never visited him in memory.

"Very well," he said, "For my family that has already given me such joy, I shall humble myself gladly." He knelt on the floor and folded his hands in prayer, and prayed to his sister, "Forgive this interruption my sister, but I have been attacked by a celestial and they used magic to take away my memory of children I had adopted. If I am too horrible to meet with I understand, and will leave your presence but please free us from this awful memory loss, for the sake of my little ones."

The Goblins all jumped when a short woman suddenly appeared and walked to Lucifer, looking at him with an anxious and rather surprised expression.

Finally she smiled, "Lucifer, we have gotten together since you met Chloe. I'm sorry you don't remember. That ticks me off royally. You even got me this new flaming sword, which is important to breaking the spell."

Lucifer got up and smiled at her, a little shyly.

Then she took out a sword that was flaming and said, "This is going to hurt, Lucee, I'm sorry."

Chloe started to scream, and Lucifer touched her shoulder. "This will be how she breaks the spell. Its celestial magic and it is very hard to break."

The short and cute angel waved the sword over Lucifer, behind and in front of him. He gave a soft, "oh" and then fell to the floor in what seemed a dead faint. Chloe went down with him and cushioned his head in her arms. Harry and Trixie raced the little ones to their Daddy and all struggled to hold him and check him.

Daffodil put one time hand on his cheek and then smiled. "She cut the cords of bad angel's magic, but it takes a while to finish bringing memories back. He'll sleep for a day and then even upon waking each memory will open like a separate flower."

The Angel of Death smiled down at her. "Lucee picked a great family. I'm sorry this is going to be hard for him. Taking the spell off the rest of you will be easy peasey, but I will have to find Amenadiel and KynKyn and make sure they have a place to sleep safely before I fix their memories. Then I will do all of your families."

Chloe held out a hand to her, "Take them to the Lux. We have rooms for them already there, so they have privacy when they need it."

They took Lucifer home, glad they could pop groups and put him to bed. Maze stood guard while her Master and Friend was asleep and unable to waken. Amenadiel and KynKyn also joined him, instead of being in their separate rooms because Maze was nervous having so many vulnerable celestials in her care. Goldie and Aradia also stood guard.

Chloe came into the room with freshly bathed children who jumped on top of the bed and fell asleep with their Daddy. Hermione, Ron and Neville came in with sleeping bags and asked to sleep with here. Maze frowned for a second and then decided having everyone in one room was a good tactic.

Then Mrs. Edwards, Narcissa and Draco came in and requested to stay there. Narcissa made very comfortable beds and mattresses for everyone, while Chloe slept at Lucifer's feet, ready to wake in an instant. Mrs. Edwards said softly, "something is upset and working against this family."

At 2:00 a.m. everyone was asleep except for Maze, Aradia and Goldie. Mrs. Edwards sat up and looked around very thoughtfully.

Suddenly Maze was aware of something attacking the new wards. She braced herself and heard little high voices squealing angrily in the distance. There was a far off shriek and some sense of darkness disappeared before Maze realized it was there. Goldie bugled and disappeared in a pop and Aradia gave a low feral growl and turned into her full Hell-house self. She walked to the door way and stood. Maze stood with her knives in hand.

Finally Aradia relaxed and turned back into a tiny Chihuahua. She jumped into Maze's arms and licked her face. She spoke mentally to both Maze and Mrs. Edwards. "Daddy double fixed the wards and made it so anyone with ill will was attacked. The house-elves we all adopted attacked whoever it was, maybe the bad angel. They are wounded and one, Dobby may die."

"Call them all here," said Maze. She didn't let her allies die.

Soon the living room was filled with tiny limping creatures, who seemed rather pleased with themselves. "We fought to protect our family."

Then Goldie appeared next to one elf who wasn't moving. Maze rushed to him. "Is okay," said the elf. "Tell my Lady Black and her son that I fought for all of you."

Maze immediately took out an intricate box and pulled out a feather which she put over the tiny elf's heart.

It lit up and the elves all stared in shock. "Youse is using angel magic for us?" one said, almost fearfully.

"You are my family too," said Maze, "and you fought hard to protect. That means I do whatever I can to make you well."

The little house-elf fell asleep but they could see his face look healthier, and his breathes which had been a kind of panting, now were normal and deeper. Maze ran a hand over his little head and smiled.

Narcissa came into the room.

"Dobby?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

Maze rose and gave the woman a huge hug. "He fought to protect us and sent the enemy away. I didn't even get to fight. You should be proud of him."

Narcissa went to where Dobby slept, and knelt and touched him affectionately. "Know little ones, that I am proud of all of you for protecting our families. You will always be family to me." Her eyes filled with tears.

Little Dobby who took horrible punishments from Lucius, had a true warrior's heart and had fought to protect them.

Then the elevator opened and Goldie and a very mangled looking cat came in. "Professor MacGonagall, are you all right?"

The cat gave her the sarcastic look that only a cat can achieve and gave an incredibly ticked off "MEOW".

Mentally, Narcissa heard the professor muttering in broad Scotch about stupid creatures trying to get information they didn't deserve.

Now Narcissa and everyone were concerned about the Professor, who had proved herself to Lucifer and been a good friend, but refused to turn back into a human.

Maze now listened to the Cat and said, "Yipes, good thing the children are asleep. Shame on you!"

She giggled. Then she went and got some 40 year old scotch that hadn't been opened and made herself a glass. The professor cat looked up at her and licked her lips delicately. Suddenly she was a woman and she took the glass and smiled at Maze. "Lord Morningstar has excellent taste in alcohol," she said

"Pleased to meet you as a human," said Maze, "Although you are great as a cat. Thank you for helping defend the family."

Professor MacGonagall kicked back the whole glass and smiled with her eyes closed in pleasure. "I was exploring the perimeter, and someone tried to get information from me. Goldie came and flamed them. The man appeared to be Mr. Houston, the bad man that Aradia and Goldie have described in detail. He was possessed by someone celestial, but not just celestial. Is it possible for someone to be partially demonic and partially celestial?" she asked.

"Well," said Maze thoughtfully, "Lucifer is both demonic and celestial. I thought he was the only one."

"Well, whoever it is, they have power, but none of the control that Lucifer has. And the new wards that Lord Morningstar put up frustrated him greatly. He spent all of his energy on trying to break them and then the elves attacked. He'll be licking his wounds for quite a good time. And I feel quite pleased to know I gave him a wee nip on the arse end of his being. He'll no be sitting down comfortably for a good long time."

Maze giggled and poured her another drink. "You're better company than most humans. Dr. Linda rocks, and Chloe is practically a sword sister when she gets going, but I think I'd like to hang with you more often."

Narcissa came to sit with them. "The elves are all good now, and Dobby seems to be just sleeping. They are excited I told them I was proud of them. Could I try your drink?"

Maze grinned and poured her a glass. Narcissa surprised them by taking a good slug and then smiling. "Goes down much smoother than fire whiskey. I like it."

Harry woke up early, and decided to make a really nice breakfast to celebrate having the littles with them.

Professor MacGonagall was asleep in cat form on the kitchen counter and he got her some cream she had liked a lot before. Her nose wiggled adorably and her eyes opened and she purred at him. Harry started making buttermilk biscuits as they were called by the Americans. They were delicious. After that he found fresh strawberries and made muffins too. Looking over his selection he decided on ham steaks, cheese omelets and maybe sausages. Then his Dad appeared and smiled at him.

XXX

Lucifer woke up and thought he was in the middle of an orgy for a moment. He was surrounded by bodies. Then one eye cracked open just a little bit and he realized that Daffodil was holding his little finger with her whole hand. Right, not an orgy. The bed was comfortable and soft, and the air was delicious. He was on Earth with his new family. Amenadiel was sleeping quietly. The room was filled with other beds and sleeping bags, and Harry and Chloe were sleeping at the foot of the bed. He sat up.

He could see KynKyn. Aradia got up in full hell-hound form and wagged her tail gently.

"Did something happen?" he mentally asked his favorite hell-hound.

"Bad angel attacked the wards. The house-elves fought them off, along with the Professor Cat and Goldie. Maze stood guard here with me. Goldie is all pleased because she flamed the bad angel good, and Professor MacGonagall bit their behind really hard."

Well, that sounded good. He was glad the improvements to the wards had held.

"No one was hurt?" he asked.

"Dobby Elf was dying, but Maze used angel feather from KynKyn – he is well all better."

Lucifer was shocked for a moment and then a new feeling of love for his younger sister rose in him. She had given a feather to save anyone. It was so what Lucifer felt an angel should be like, not what they seemed like.

He walked into the bathroom and took a shower. He thought about the time he had broken in to Chloe's apartment and made her breakfast, when she had confronted him wearing only a towel and pointing her service revolver. He towel had fallen off and he was amazed at how beautiful she was. He thought of how Trixie had terrified him at first, reminding him of psychopathic murderers from hell. Then he remembered the day Harry had been found, left for dead and apparently truly dead, dropped like trash into a dumpster to rot.

His eyes filled with tears.

He walked into the kitchen where the same little waif was happily cooking. He walked up to the boy and kissed him. "I remember how I found you, my darling boy. I'm so sorry I forgot you. You are part of my heart."

Harry gasped and then held on to him. "It's okay now, Dad, you saved me and gave me a real family and love. I love you so much."

He wept and held the boy and remembered their adoption and how excited Harry had been to have decent food and not having to do all the chores. "I love you so much, my darling son," he said, still choking on tears and snuggled his brave and intelligent child.

Calmly he helped his son make a killer Morningstar breakfast and smiled at his son as they chopped ingredients, stirred and checked the oven. Chloe came in dressed and ready to help. She looked at Lucifer hopefully and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly, "I don't remember everything but I remember you. My darling Queen, I can't believe I could forget such joy."

"Do you remember the youngest children yet?" she asked. "No, but I remember Harry and I remember KynKyn. Do you remember anything?"

"I don't. Your sister said she would come back later and finish off the spell after we all woke up."

Lucifer nodded his head. "Thank you," he said absently, "I am starting to remember Harry's schooling.

The House of Morningstar was now officially in lockdown. Daddy Lucifer or Dork as he found to his dismay was what his wife called him when feeling affection, was slowly recovering memories, and frankly pretty happy about being surrounded by children and people who cared about him.

The house was also infested by dozens of snarky little house elves who were running a pretty profitable magical cellular phone company. They also obtained groceries, and could provide receipts so Lucifer was glad to have them. He just was surprised to find that the little creatures, who were smaller than Goblins, had the hearts of lions and had fought to near death to protect his family and home. When he told them how proud he was of them, they practically swooned and now had a tendency to grab his leg and hug him while sniffling in gratitude for such a great master. Since they did this any time he was walking anywhere, it tended to make him a bit jumpy.

However, they were sweet little warriors and he wouldn't hurt them for the world. So he walked carefully and was gleeful when he became aware of any of them sneaking in on him. Aradia thought it was fun too.

He had things to do. He remembered rescuing Harry from the school. He also remembered Dumbledore. He thought about things he wanted to do for the children. He and Chloe had been having fun with the children in regular schooling and magic schooling. Harry had started the business with the phones. He had invited all the other children to go into business with him.

He realized his Queen hadn't gone to work. "Are we on vacation?" he asked. She grinned, "No when we found out little ones, I went on as a consultant. I choose my hours and get paid the same."

"Good," he said firmly, "You deserve recognition."

"This way I can pay more attention to our children," Chloe said.

"What are we doing on lessons?" he asked, worrying that he had failed the children some way. She grinned at him. "Darling Dork, you are the best. You made a tremendous lesson plan and got tutors as well. Maze is teaching them self-defense. You taught the children about shadow magic and wards. This is after teaching them runes. Trixie is doing so well with math, that she can do arithomancy and helped develop the magical cell phone."

She looked thoughtful. "Harry has a special project. He has a little restaurant we named, 'Magic Meals' and all the money he earns from the restaurant goes to make food to take to the homeless in Los Angeles. You and he also have a property where you let homeless people live that you and Harry pick to help."

Lucifer smiled. "That's my little boy, always helping people." He decided to watch the lessons and to work on wards for his precious little ones. So he spent the day following the children and asking them what they were learning.

First Harry wanted to show him the garden they had made. It was filled with fresh lovely vegetables, herbs, and also magic plants. This was Neville's domain and he had already done wonderful things there. The beds were all high enough for a child to be able to work them without bending much. Apple trees were fully grown and producing. Harry proudly showed them lemon trees, tangelos, avocado bushes and a fish pond that held lotus flowers. Not only was everything useful, but beautiful. Beautiful little trails meandered and it was like being in a huge manor garden. Lucifer loved it.

Harry and Neville were very excited and Lucifer shared their pleasure. "You did all this?" he asked, astonished. "Dad you helped too," said Harry. "Yes" said Neville. "I'm learning about non-magical plants, and have traced where some of them have become magical."

"Sometime, we should have dinner here," said Lucifer as a family, his eyes took in Neville and smiled, "It's such a beautiful place we just have to enjoy it all."

Neville looked shy and Lucifer put a finger on his nose. "You too are part of this family, and under my protection, but also beloved, young Neville. I can tell you have been a brother to Harry and a blessing to us all. Thank you." The boy looked at him with near worship in his eyes, and Lucifer realized this boy had been the so called black sheep of his family and suffered. He hugged him.

The boys then took him to their corporation, which had a board room for decision making, which had turned into an assembly line where elves made cell phones. The elves were happily making cellphones and Hermione, Ron and Draco were discussing profits and looking at a large computer monitor while Ron was discussing different games that could be developed for the magical cell phone.

"Am I correct, you are developing video games for magical people?" asked Lucifer, charmed at the thought.

"It was Ron's idea. Our profits went up 200% after he did his first one.

"Well done!" said Lucifer happily. "I'm amazed we got such a smart bunch here. When you are done with your work, would you like to get a lesson on warding?"

"Oh yes!" said Hermione. Ron nodded at him. "You helped me before you lost your memory, Sir, and I was aware that our wards were under attack." He looked wistful.

"Well today we will learn to set wards that attack those that seek to harm the family." Lucifer's voice was stern. "It is a great responsibility. It can cause death to enemies, and isn't anything to play with or try to impress people with. Do you understand?" he asked, more gently.

Ron looked up at him solemnly, "Can I use them to protect my family?" he asked, "We don't have a lot of money, and I've been sending some of my proceeds to Dad to help the family. We can't afford big wards."

"That's a wonderful idea," said Lucifer, "We could use it as part of a class project, if you like. I'll ask your Mother."

Ron grinned like the sun coming up in the morning.