CHAPTER 9:

KITH AND KIN

"You know, I'm actually glad D had me taking a direct route here," Harry remarked as Lily gently spoonfed Hermione during breakfast. "I'm not sure I want to have a relatively mature mind in an infant's body."

Believe me, Harry, it's a pain, Hermione said as she swallowed her food. I'm a little jealous of Hiiro. As weak as a Taratect would have been on birth, she wouldn't have been nearly completely helpless. I hate being helpless, especially when people need help. My late parents needed help, my students need help, Kanami needs help, if only to realise Potimas is bad news

"Believe me, I know that feeling all too well," Ariel said as she examined a book while munching on fruit. "When that bastard experimented on me…you wouldn't know it to look at me now, but after he was done with me, I was weak. Very weak. Ugh, Balto…can't you bother me with actually important shit?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Ariel held up the book. "This thing is a paired diary, something your mother created for me. My viceroy, for want of a better term, has the other one, so that he can communicate to me. Balto Phthalo, his name is. I probably give him ulcers. But he is capable and, as far as I can discern, utterly loyal. I'm not sure I can say the same about his younger brother, but he's not treacherous as much as he is a battle-hungry blowhard. I sent word yesterday about finding you two, as well as Lily uncovering her memories. The problem is, Balto seems to think I should be back on the throne."

So why aren't you? Hiiro asked.

"Potimas' activities of late. He created a people-trafficking business out of the blue. Oh, it can't be proven, but it's him. He normally wouldn't sully his hands with something so…mundane. It got me curious. I was already doing some soul-searching with Lily in Sariella when I first heard of this organisation, so I began checking things out. We lucked onto Potimas' minions attacking Hermione's family, as I told you earlier. Thanks to you, we've confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt, at least in my mind, that he's targeting the reincarnations. It may be that this Kanami woman's reincarnation begged her father to help her, but I know Potimas better than almost anyone alive, with the only ones who could know him better being counted on one hand. He'd slaughter the world's population if it meant becoming immortal. In some regards, I'm too much my father's daughter, in immaturity and misanthropy if nothing else. Lily's been helping me be better."

Harry was still uncertain about allying himself with Ariel, but at least she seemed genuinely pleasant when she wasn't showing her hatred for humans. "Incidentally, D contacted us last night. Dropped a smartphone into our room," he said. He and Hiiro then explained what D had revealed to them.

"…That actually makes sense," Ariel mused afterwards. "I heard rumours that the previous Demon Lord and Hero actually teamed up. That suggests they not only heard about D, but decided to try and kill her in revenge. And D may very well be right in that they may have made things worse: she seems like the sort to tell the truth in a twisted way to hurt people, or even the unvarnished truth, depending what would hurt people more. Still, if D has peers or superiors, she would have to cover her tracks somehow."

"What do you mean?"

Think about it, Harry, Hermione said in a familiar exasperated tone. D was pretending to be a normal human, as a student. If she has peers or superiors, they may notice if a student goes missing from the roster. So she may have created a clone of sorts as a substitute, so she can avoid suspicion. I'm trying to think of the female students, but honestly, none of them really fit the profile. You were a gamer, Hiiro, but you had a quiet, stoic personality at the time, nothing that suggested sadistic tendencies. The same goes for Shouko. Mirei Shinohara was something of a bully and a queen bee, but she doesn't quite fit unless she's really been hiding a meaner streak than I thought. Actually, if D was masquerading as a male student, there's definitely one I would pick.

Who? Hiiro asked.

Natsume Kengo.

Hiiro, if she had a nose, would have wrinkled it. Oh, him.

Yeah. Natsume was something of an egomaniac. Not that much, not compared to, say, Draco Malfoy, but he was an entitled little brat who was king of the heap. Hermione sighed, mentally at least.

"Still, that bit about your new form being immortal is intriguing," Ariel remarked. "If Potimas got a hold of you, you'd be in trouble, Hiiro. But just so you know, I have Abyss Magic, so if you decided to turn on me, your immortality wouldn't save you. Hopefully, it won't come to that. Even if you don't directly ally with me, as long as you don't directly oppose me, I'm fine…"


After all was said and done yesterday, Harry hadn't got much time to reconnect with his mother or Hermione. He intend to make up for that today with Hermione at least. So he was cradling the infant form of one of his best friends in his arms, as they spoke.

It was Hell, Harry, what Britain went through, she told him. I haven't told you the details, and honestly, I'm not sure I want to talk about them.

"It's okay. Though honestly, I didn't see you as becoming an English teacher in Japan. Any particular reason for that?"

I wanted to become a teacher, Harry, and I wanted to get away from Britain. Japan's virtually on the other side of the world, and Mahoutokoro actually welcomed me. They also kept me up to speed with Muggle subjects, and a friend of mine suggested Heishin High School. I just didn't think it'd lead to be being blown up and reincarnated on this world.

"Or falling in with a Demon Lord. Hermione…out of everyone here, I trust you the most. I barely know Lily, assuming she is my mother, and I've only known Hiiro for a few days. Can I trust Ariel?"

That's not an easy question to answer Harry, but…I believe so. Ariel is straightforward and frank. She hides little, and is not Machiavellian. Honestly, if she ever attended Hogwarts, she wouldn't be in Slytherin. She'd be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, believe it or not. Don't get me wrong, if she believed the best solution to save Sariel and heal this world would be to wipe out humanity, she would do it. But she is willing to listen to alternatives, and your mother and I have been thinking about them. It's hard work, and slow. We have a number of very rough plans, but nothing definite. If push comes to shove, we can potentially delay the collapse of the world by substituting Sariel with someone else, but that's a last resort. I mean, before resorting to mass murder. I've made it clear I won't be a party to genocide. Going to war with anyone stopping us from saving the world and Sariel, yes. But cold-blooded genocide is another matter. The problem is, Ariel seems to think that the Word of God religion may oppose us, or at least its Pope, Dustin LXI. Still, I am so glad to see you're still alive, Harry.

"Thanks. I'm glad not everyone bought into James Potter's bullshit."

Language, Harry, Hermione chided him. But with you being here…I'm hoping this is a good omen. Hope is in short supply on this world. I can do little as an infant. Even the Skill D left me with is not as good as it sounds: Item Synthesis. I can create any item I have seen and understand the principles of to a certain extent, as long as I have the MP. If I wanted to, I could create a smartphone, but I don't have a large enough MP pool for that. At best… She gestured, and a pencil appeared. I can do more than create a pencil, even with the MP pool I have, but it's how I practise. I need more MP.

"…Must be D's idea of a joke," Harry muttered. "I mean, she turned Shouko into a vampire queen. What, because those bullies called her 'Real Horror Girl'? Anyway, we'll see if we can find a way to level you up. Preferably without getting you into danger…"


They spent some time catching up and reminiscing about Hogwarts before everything got buggered up, before Ariel came to speak with Hermione. Hiiro had gone hunting in the nearby forest, so Harry went to find his mother. She was in a workshop of sorts, carefully examining a pair of mirrors.

She looked up, and smiled, a rather sad thing, considering, but he could understand why. They were virtual strangers to each other, really. And, of course, he was the product of her infidelity, though given how James acted, he couldn't find it in his heart to blame her. "Good morning, Harry. You're lucky, I just finished the tricky parts. I suppose yesterday was a shocking day for both of us."

"Yes…it was. What are you making? Are those communications mirrors? Sirius gave me one before…" He cut himself off.

"…Yes, they are. And believe me, Harry, we will find that old dog. Though I'm not sure if he'll believe James is as malevolent as you've said. He was always one-eyed about James and the other Marauders…until we thought there was a traitor. Hermione told me about what happened to Remus. Like her, he left Britain, married to Andromeda's girl. I believe you've met her, Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Well, she hates her first name, so…"

Lily chuckled. "Yeah. She hated it from the first. I suppose you have a lot of questions, and don't know where to begin?"

"…Well, more than a few. You said you didn't remember me, probably thanks to D, but…why sleep with Güliedistodiez? Why be unfaithful to James Potter? I'm not angry, it's him I'm angry with…well, both James and Güliedistodiez. James used me as a decoy, leaving me with the Dursleys, and from what I heard, Güliedistodiez doesn't stand up to D."

"I see. If you were angry with me, I could understand it, but I'm glad you just want to know why. I don't really have a good answer, though. I was drunk, having had a bad argument with James. We'd just gotten married, but my parents had died, and he made light of it. I met Gülie in a pub. One thing led to another, though I don't remember all of it. But I loved both you and Charlie evenly, and I managed to keep my infidelity secret from James. But on the night before Voldemort attacked, James found out during an argument. He probably confirmed it by an Inheritance Test. Anyway, the next night, Voldemort attacked…and when I used the ritual to save you and Charlie…I soon ended up on this world, hatching from an egg. Irony of ironies, I was a Phoenix, born smack dab in the middle of Demon territory. And it was Ariel who found me and raised me. Even though my memories of being a parent were blocked, I must have had some unconscious desire to be one, for I sort of mothered Ariel. And after what happened to Sariel, well, there was definitely a void in her life that a mother needed to fill. Some of my memories were still present. D only blocked those relating to James Potter and my children. I knew James from school, but not that he had been my husband. I even forgot my name. Then again, in Japanese, Yuri means lily."

Harry nodded. He still felt a little distanced from the woman who claimed to be his mother, but it was understandable. "You know there's no way of knowing for sure you are who you say you are? I mean, for me?"

"No. Especially with D involved. I remember meeting her now, and she is the very definition of a sadistic bitch," Lily said. "In the pantheon of the gods back home, you have the likes of Ishtar, Athena, Hera, sadistic bitches all. But D surpasses every one of them. It hurts me admitting you have no way of telling for sure that I'm really your mother, and not some puppet of D who believes herself to be Lily Evans. But…I believe I am your mother. That will have to do. I wish Hermione speaking of you helped dislodge the memories, but…I guess it wasn't enough."

"Wouldn't she have suspected something?" Harry asked.

"True, but Hermione is cagey, especially thanks to what happened to you. She wouldn't have voiced her suspicions until she was sure. For her, it has been ten years, whereas for you, it has been but a matter of days. She moved on and changed." Lily clicked her tongue. "Right, they're ready. Ariel's got one with Balto for emergencies rather than day-to-day reports, but this one, we're sending to Lord Keren."

"Why, exactly? I presume it's to keep in contact with him, but would he be fine with contacting Ariel?"

"Lord Keren is a pragmatist and a diplomat. He knows better than to assume all Demons to be evil. However, he does also have ties with Potimas. Potimas doesn't have any links to his trafficking organisation that we can expose readily, so we can't exactly gainsay him. It's for emergencies more than anything else. In truth, I think the news you got Hermione about Shouko, about Sophia, it helped reassure her. She's afraid of her students dying in this world, or falling prey to the machinations of others like Potimas, or Pope Dustin."

"…Is Dustin really that bad?"

"He's like Dumbledore, from what I gather. He is an extreme utilitarian. If sacrificing the few ensures the prosperity and safety of the many, then Dustin will do so. And he's specifically focused on humanity. He's not necessarily Ariel's nemesis: I know for a fact that the two of them are actually on surprisingly good terms. But he's done things Ariel cannot forgive. It doesn't help that he's been purging Sariel from the history books, ensuring humanity forgot her sacrifice. Though to be fair, Sariel may be good, but she's an idiot. She's the sort who cannot consider short-term sacrifices for long-term gain. If removing her from the System could save the world, but require sacrifices, then she would fight against being removed. Oh, and you should tell Hiiro, that voice she hears when she levels up herself or her Skills? That's Sariel talking."

Harry wasn't sure what to say next. Aside from the exposition he just received, there was the fact that he didn't quite feel the emotional connection to her that he should have. Maybe it was his doubts about who she really was. Or maybe it was that his only connections to her were photos and a nightmarish memory the Dementors dredged up. They were virtual strangers, and he realised he needed time to reconnect with her. For now, though, he decided to leave.

"…Harry?" As he made to leave, Lily called out to him. Once more, she offered the sad smile. "Firstly, and most importantly, know that I love you more than anything in this world, and I'm glad you are here. Secondly…we'll try to find Sirius. If he went through the Veil, he may have ended up here. I'm going to go searching for him soon. Between Point Me spells and a Patronus, I may be able to find him."

"Assuming he hasn't died in this damned world," Harry said.

"If what you told me is true, he survived over a decade in Azkaban, on top of another few years as a fugitive," Lily said. "He might be thriving…"


Around a certain village near the Mystic Mountains, a large black dog the size of a horse roamed. The inhabitants of this village didn't fear the black dog, a Barghest. It was a protector. Still, when it sneezed rather loudly, one of the inhabitants, a strange, vaguely rodent-like creature called a Goblin, waddled up. "Are you all right, Padfoot?"

The Barghest nodded. I'm fine, Little Oni. I'm fine

But it was a lie he told often, because he knew he was missing much of his memories from his past life. All he knew was, there was someone he needed to get back to. Someone he couldn't remember…

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry has had a discussion with Hermione and Lily. And now, finally, we know where Sirius is. He too has had his memories tampered with.

Anyway, Sirius has been reincarnated as a Barghest, which is basically another supernatural black dog like a Grim. Those who are fans of Fate/Grand Order will doubtlessly have heard of Barghest from that game, aka Fairy Knight Gawain, but Sirius hasn't been genderflipped or hulked out.

Also…Little Oni? So, Sirius has found a substitute godson figure in none other than the Goblin who would become Wrath…

Review-answering time! BlindAsABat95: You're very welcome. Most of the time, when I bash James, it's really more of an extreme extrapolation of his canon bullying character as a Hogwarts student. But I wanted to do something different for this, as I had this idea in mind (taken from how I portrayed Ignotus in D's Hallows) that Ignotus Peverell survived to the modern day, and far from being the virtuous and humble man he's portrayed in in canon, I thought of him as basically being a more cowardly and less murderous version of Yoshikage Kira from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.

He won't kill someone if unnecessary, but he's very unpleasant and very much a moral coward. What morality James Potter had has been snuffed out, by the latest, during his time in hiding with Charles Potter, drowned out by Ignotus' extreme self-interest. I also was inspired by his takeover method being a bit like that of Agent Smith from The Matrix, as well as Skagra from the unfinished Doctor Who story Shada, and Mycroft Ward from the novel The Raw Shark Texts.

Redpanda1224: Some remnants of Araba's Skills and stats remained in his finger.

Lord Corruption: Ariel doesn't know the Animagus transformation yet, but it'd probably be a Queen Taractect. She is basically a Taratect in human shape.

dragon-cloud16: I'm glad I spurred you to read it. I'm reading the light novels, but there's two versions, and the web novels are being published in English too, albeit as eBooks. They have different storylines and a different ending (the final light novel has recently been published in Japan). But yeah. D does have moments of, if not compassion, then a strange bond with Kumoko, probably because she's interesting. I think of D as being perpetually filled with ennui, and she'd do anything, even get attacked, to relieve it. She's also very much someone who would skive off her duties. That was why she was posing as a student.

Ignotus was always afraid of death, but D only compounded that. As for Ariel, she does have a casual side even before merging with the Body Brain, at least in the light novels. When she meets Kumoko for the first time, she jokes that she's Kumoko's grandma, and actually asks Kumoko to stop attacking the Queen Taratect. Ariel takes Kumoko's 'I don't understand you' gestures as a refusal. Of course, in the anime, she simply gibs Kumoko on sight. Ariel, however, was a somewhat solitary and paranoid creature beneath that, so I've handwaved any OOCness down to Lily/Yuri's influence. The two met shortly after Lily's rebirth.

As for who would win between Rimuru Tempest or D…I have no idea. I've only read the first two light novels of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and while I'm enjoying the series, I'm not that familiar with it to know of how powerful Rimuru is at the end of it. AFAIK, though, I'm sure D would curbstomp another OP isekai protagonist, namely Momonga/Ainz Ooal Gown from Overlord. But considering that another deity, the one dubbed 'Meido', can hand D's arse to her, that does mean there are beings capable of hurting D, and D's words in the manga about the classroom explosion imply that the attack actually could have hurt her if it was more focused.

Kingdark: You've no doubt watched only the dub of the anime, and it's absent in the English translation of the novels, but 'Nai wa' is basically Kumoko's catchphrase in Japanese, variously translated to 'No way', or 'Unbelievable'. She usually means it in an exasperated or shocked manner.

No numbered annotations this time.