Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.
Author's Note: This is the very lightest of crossovers. Mostly because when I figured out that Walburga was going to summon a demon to make a deal, my brain went "Crowley would annoy her the most". So even though she never gets their name nor does she bother being polite enough to give them the basic courtesy one would a cat on the street, that is who the demon in this fic is supposed to be. You can still read it without knowing anything about Good Omens though, because going "generic demon" works, too.
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A
Individual Challenges: Slytherin MC; Magical MC; Immortal MC; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ship Sails; Red Era; Old Shoes (Y); New Fandom Smell (Y); Omens; Divinity; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y)
House: Slytherin
Assignment No.: Term 13 – Assignment 03
Subject (Task No.): Calligraphy (Task#9: Write about someone wanting or trying for a child.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [615](Incensed); 365 [203](Measure); Herbology Club [1-7](Enemies); Auction [17-4]("When I want something, nothing's getting in my way to get it."); Back to School Shopping [Other Equipment](Choice); Tell a Joke Day [08](Someone Being Disrespectful)
Other MC4A Challenges: Su Bingo [2D](Hail); AU [5D](Angel/Demon); Hunt [Su Items](Book); Chim [Kinzie](Royal Purple); TWT (Crowley)[Task 3](Gray); Fire [Hard](Adventure Writer); Garden [Crossover Galore](Book)
Representation(s): Walburga Black; Crowley (Good Omens)
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Lyre Liar; Most Human Bean; Muck & Slime; Rock of Ages; Head of Perseus; Surprise!; Surprise (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Mother Hen; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Bee Haven; Peddling Pots; Fire Song; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: O3 (Orator; Oath)
Word Count: 1801
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Dealing with a Demon
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Walburga Black was a formidable woman. She had always known what she wanted, and nothing ever came between her and her goals for very long. She was a powerful witch, too. So when she set her sights on her cousin Orion (and the prestige that would come with being his wife), she knew that she would have him, regardless of what their parents had arranged for both of them.
By the time her parents had known about Walburga's plans to bond with Orion, it was already too late to stop her. The deed had been done. Their parents had only two choices: accept the bonding or pass over the current heir to the House of Black.
They had a few other options for an heir, of course—the Blacks were nothing if not prepared for many contingencies—but not even the strongest of lust potions would be able to convince Lycoris or Alphard to bed a woman, Regulus had been rendered infertile by a bout of Pixie Fever as a boy, and her brother Cygnus was not yet graduated from Hogwarts. The current head of the House was not young even if he was not as old as other lords that was his peers. If the last few decades had taught any of them anything it was that death could come in an instant and one must have their Houses' affairs in order.
Of course, that didn't mean that it had been easy to convince Orion to forgive her little trickery. It had taken a few years to find the right combination of things for Orion to get over his squeamishness about the idea of having martial relations with her. She couldn't just use Amortentia either, as the entirety of the Black family had a curse of them which prevented conception while one of the potential parents was under the influence of any love potion. Without being able to produce an heir, Orion would be passed over no matter how much their parents had previously refused to do so.
As it was, she needed to produce at least one male child quickly. Cygnus was already matched with the Rosier heiress. Unlike many pure-blood bloodlines, the Rosiers were known for their fertility and hardy babes. They were not the Prewetts or the Weasleys, but having three or four children were not uncommon for them either.
Which meant that she needed Orion to stop whining like a child and do his duty as her husband.
Fortunately, she was nothing if not adaptable. If Orion would not come to her willingly and she could not use a love potion to make him more receptive to her advances, then Walburga would just find another way of making him accommodate whatever she needed for her plans to be successful. There were more than one way to skin a dragon, after all. One just needed to be a bit creative at times.
She found the ritual in an old book that had the look of the Bones library. The leather was dried and cracked in places and the parchment making up the pages was not in any better shape. Sections of the writing was faded almost completely away while other sections had been deliberately obscured with layers of wards and other spell work. That was the problem with expanding the Black library in the manner they tended to: sometimes the books were resistant to the change in ownership.
To further aggravate her, the writing that was visible was not a proper language. It was not even truly a human language. It was that disgusting concoction that the Bones and the McKinnons jabbered on with like they couldn't be bothered to respect the traditions and language of the British purebloods they were supposed to be. Walburga nearly set tossed the entire book in the fireplace right then, sure that those uneducated beasts could not truly had anything of use to her, but the text yielded its secrets with a simple translation charm.
The rite was simple. The trickiest part was actually laying her hands on fresh eggshell from a phoenix no more than three burnings old. Walburga knew very few sources of anything related to phoenixes. The creatures themselves were elusive enough that humans rarely had the opportunity to connect with them enough to have access to their parts. The Ollivanders had a source for the feathers they used in their wands, but that was hardly interchangeable with eggshells.
But she managed to track down an old ally of Grindelwald who had saved some pieces of shell from a phoenix's first hatching. It wasn't much, but it was enough to do the ritual.
The demon which appeared was disappointing to say the least. Walburga could not tell if the demon was male or female. The way it dressed did nothing to help either as it had paired charcoal trousers with a dark purple blouse and a waistcoat of pale gray. Piercing green eyes swept across the ritual space, pausing ever so slightly on the glyphs on each wall to keep it trapped in the room until it gave her want she wanted. It flicked its ruby red hair over its shoulder as it gave a low hum.
"This is not the sort of dungeon I usually end up at," the demon said as it focused back on her. It smiled at her just as she noticed that its pupils were like those of a snake. Its features were also vaguely reptilian. A strange sigil had been burned or tattooed on its right jaw, close to its hairline. "You've done a good deal of research. You're certainly prepared for something."
"I bind you, foul beast," Walburga told it firmly. It blinked at her as if in surprise. "I command you to—"
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," it interrupted her. This time, Walburga blinked in confusion. The demon gave her a gentle expression that would have been kind if it had not also been annoyingly patronizing. "I'm not the sort of demon who normally do these things. I'm not the type to—" The demon gave another thoughtful hum before continuing. " Oh, let's just say that demon deals are not really my area of expertise. I'm more of a mild mayhem and general chaos sort of demon. I honestly don't know how you ended up summoning me. Must have been a misdial of some sort."
"Be silent, vile creature," Walburga commanded. "Now as I was about to say—"
"Well, that's just rude," the demon interrupted again. Walburga held onto her temper by the edges of her fingernails. Her jaw hurt from how hard she was clenching her teeth together. "There really isn't any need for name-calling. I'm just letting you know that I may not be able to help you. My powers are rather limited under most circumstances."
"All I need is for my husband to sleep with me enough to beget a son," Walburga snapped as she reached the end of her patience. The demon looked a bit surprised but otherwise, it held its tongue. "Preferably two. Surely that is within your abilities?"
"It is," the demon said as if measuring the words as carefully as any potion-maker would ingredients. Its emerald gaze drifted over her in an equally measuring way. "You appear to be an aesthetically pleasing specimen of your kind. What exactly is the issue?"
"He didn't want to marry me," Walburga admitted reluctantly. Some inner sense of caution whispered a warning that this entity would not take kindly to learning she had been the one to trap Orion. "Now that we have wedded, our only choice for children are each other. "When I want something, nothing's getting in my way to get it. And what I want is simple in this case. All I want is two sons. "
"An heir and a spare, eh?" the demon asked. It rubbed its chin with its left hand. Wrapping her mental shields tightly around her mind, she met its gaze full on. Silence grew thick and heavy between them, broken only by the crackle of the braziers lighting the space. "There's something you're not telling me, but I'm not going to press. Mainly because I've got dinner plans."
It gave a taunting grin that showed off a set of snake-like fangs threateningly. Alarmingly, the demon stepped out of the summoning circle as if the binding runes were not even there and began circling the room. Walburga's heart began to pound as it never had in the past, no matter how many duels she had fought or plots she chased.
"That," the demon continued as if Walburga was not suddenly terrified, "and I think this is going to be hilarious. You'll get your two sons, because I'm nothing if not generous, but you'll never have more than that and your husband, whoever the unfortunate soul is, will never love you." The demon tapped one of the painted runes. "This one should have been a touch sharper on the edges. Then it might have held me for at least a few hours. Of course, then you'd have to deal with my angel when he came looking for me after I was late. So it's all for the best, really."
She scoffed despite her fear. The demon rolled its eyes.
"Humans," it said, clearly annoyed now. "Because I'm nice, I'm going to give you a warning that you can listen to or pay the consequences. Treasure your children beyond all measure. If they ever, for even one moment, feel like you do not love them, I will return to the Pit for the specific purpose of tormenting you." Its face was harder than the stones that made up Hogwarts as a snarl twisted its features. "And I will relish every moment of it. Do you understand, mortal? Love them beyond all reason or I will make you regret it."
"Got it," Walburga answered. Best to pretend the dull beast actually had the power over her soul after she died. Maybe once it had been appeased, it would leave her alone. The demon glared at her but seemed to accept that she understood and agreed to what it had declared. She waved her hand in obvious dismissal. "You may go now."
"Oh, I'll enjoy meeting you again," the demon promised before wiggling his fingers at her before disappearing without a trace.
Walburga stomped her foot in frustration. The damn demon didn't even bother casting any magic! She really did have to do everything herself, didn't she?
Oh, well. She was a powerful witch. She would handle it just like she should have from the very start.
And damn any demon who thought they could lay claim to her soul when she had to do all the work herself.