Chapter 6
A/N: Hey Everyone, finally managed to finish this monster of a chapter. I did not expect it to be this long when I started it. First, I wanted to thank everyone for the amazing response on this story. All the reviews and PMs I've received mean a lot. I also wanted give a quick thanks to Shadowz101 and KizaruBoss1 for letting me bounce ideas off them and of course Thunderbird29 for being my beta.
The last thing before I start the chapter, I am not planning on bashing any characters in this story, but some of them will mistakes throughout the story and may have arguments with Harry. This goes double for Ginny right now, she's currently reeling from learning Harry has a girlfriend and is feeling very jealous. Characters won't act like this forever, they are just reacting in the moment. I only consider things bashing is if all the author does is exaggerate the bad traits of a character and only those traits.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this. Let me know what you think.
I haven't heard back from Thunderbird29 yet about this chapter so I am just going to post it as is with just my own editing since I don't want to keep from you guys any longer. I'll replace the chapter with a new copy once they get back to me with revisions. Nothing plot wise should change in these differing versions.
P.S. When I started this fic I was originally planning on it being just Harry/Rias. At the moment I am still going along with that plan but I have had some ideas about incorporating another girl or two into the pairing. I posted a poll about that on my profile. Let me know there and in the reviews if you like that idea. If I do decide to expand the pairing it, it won't happen till later in the story and will be at most two more girls. The winning option won't decide what I choose but is just to give me an idea of majority opinion. My new idea right now would make it Harry / Rias / Rossweisse / ?.
Harry ever so slowly regained consciousness after a surprisingly dreamless sleep. It was actually the first time he could remember not waking up with his heart hammering from the latest horror his mind had conjured. It was either that or taking an involuntary trip into Voldemort's psyche that usually woke him these days. Now, he wasn't usually one to laze around. Getting up at the crack of dawn to cook his relatives breakfast having conditioned him not to, but for some reason today he felt too comfortable to move. He didn't know what it was, but he felt like he was cuddling something extremely soft and warm in his arms.
He didn't want to move, in fact, he allowed himself the rare luxury of burrowing even closer to this wonderful feeling. As he did so, the object in his arms shifted and let out a small moan. With a big sigh of contentment, he allowed himself to start to fall back into his slumber before suddenly freezing when what he had just heard and felt sunk in.
Ever so slowly Harry cracked open his eyes to a sea of red before him. He was confused for a moment before he realized what exactly he was seeing. Pulling backwards, his suspicion was proven right. With his newly improved eyesight, he was able to take in the fact that his arms were wrapped around the waist of one very naked Rias in all it's glory. Panicking, he retracted his arms quickly, feeling his face heating up as he tried not to look at Rias' absolutely perfect figure.
To his own shock, it seemed Rias had other ideas. Letting out a unconscious sound of disapproval, her own arms suddenly tightened around him and forcibly pulled him back towards her, smashing his face right into her large breasts. Harry struggled for a moment, trying to pull away, but feeling the devil only tighten her grip, he finally gave in. It wasn't that he didn't like his current position, because if his body's own reaction was any indication, he liked it very much. Almost any guy his age would, it was just that he didn't want Rias to think he had taken advantage of her in her sleep.
It was barely over a day since all of this had started, but Harry was still feeling a bit guilty over everything. It was his fault he had trapped Rias into this marriage bond. So far she had taken it surprisingly well. He knew it did help her get out of the prior arrangement she seemed to really despise, but he still felt really bad about it all. It's not like he would have ever had a chance with someone like her otherwise. She was on the same level of beauty as Fleur though he found her crimson locks to be much more appealing than his former fellow champion's silvery blonde hair.
Now trapped in the position that he was, Harry found his arm wrapped around her waist once again. Without even realizing what he was doing at first, he allowed his hand to run lightly across her back. He couldn't really help it, her skin was as soft as velvet to the touch. As his touch trailed lower it eventually hit the swell of her rear, causing him to freeze once again. What was he doing? He had already said he didn't want to take advantage of her, and now he was letting himself feel her up in her sleep! The problem was that it was just so tempting. He struggled with himself for a moment, wanting nothing more than to let his hands continue to drift down and squeeze her supple flesh.
Rias let out a small moan once again breaking him away from his own thoughts, "That feels good."
Snapping his head upwards, unintentionally rubbing his face against her boobs again, Harry locked gazes with Rias' own blue-green eyes.
"I- I didn't mean- I mean-"
"Good morning Harry," she had that same teasing grin on her face. "I wasn't feeling you trying to get away was I? I already told you I needed you as my body pillow to get a good sleep, you wouldn't take that away from me would you?" She pouted.
Nothing had changed in his situation for the last few minutes but for some reason her last comment had him blushing in embarrassment all over again. How could she look so cute and sexy at the same time with one look? He didn't want to admit that he had in fact tried to get away, so he tried changing the subject to something else.
"H-how'd you get in here?" He asked, making sure to keep his eyes locked on her face. "I thought Mrs. Weasley brought you to stay with Ginny and Hermione?"
"She did," Rias shrugged, making certain parts of her body jiggle enticingly, momentarily testing Harry's composure, "but it was easy enough to wait for them to fall asleep and sneak in here."
Harry sighed, "Shouldn't we at least try and respect Ron's family's wishes while we are here?"
Her expression suddenly turned coy, putting him on guard, "Are you sure you really want me too?"
"What? I-" Harry was cut off, surprised by Rias' sudden strength as she twisted in the bed beside him. He wasn't quite sure how she had managed it, but Harry suddenly found himself pinned to the bed on his back with Rias straddling him.
Looking up at the red haired devil above him, Harry found it ironic that the first thought that ran through his head was that she looked like an angel. His breath caught as he looked at her. Her long hair hung beside her face in crimson waves, her full looking lips parted in a sultry grin. Unable to resist any longer, he allowed his gaze to trail downwards over the curves her breasts. She really was impressively endowed. Harry was pretty sure she was on par with, and most likely even out did, Susan Bones who widely accepted as the most busty girl in their year. His hands twitched as he stopped himself from reaching up to give them a squeeze. Despite their size, they were still quite perky, topped little pink nipples standing at attention that, to Harry's own mortification, he couldn't stop imagining taking into his mouth.
Moving on, the next thing to draw his attention was the smooth pale expanse of Rias' stomach. She really did have a slim waist giving her that sought after hourglass figure. Before he could go any further, Rias shifted on top of him. It drew drew an involuntary groan from his mouth as she rubbed up against him. Snapping eyes back to meet hers, Harry was surprised to see her own cheeks slightly flushed. He couldn't help but wonder if despite all her innuendo, maybe she wasn't as experienced as she made it seem.
"It seems you are excited to see me than this morning?"
Realizing immediately that Rias had been able to feel physical proof of his excitment from where she was seated, Harry averted his gaze as his embarrassment grew. Trying to think of something to say to break the sudden silence, both of them jumped when the bedroom door suddenly slammed open. Both of them twisted their heads around to look at who it was.
"Hey mate! Mum said that breakfast will be ready soo-," Ron froze his eyes darting over the two of them.
As the shock wore off, Harry swore, twisting underneath Rias, he knocked her off balance. Wrenching Molly Weasley's hand-knitted quilt that had before lain on top of the bed, he threw it over Rias' exposed body, trying to cover her while shielding her with his own body as well. He wasn't sure why, he barely even knew her himself, yet the idea of another guy looking at her naked body set an ugly feeling bubbling in his chest. It was as if a monster had been suddenly set free, growling as it clawed its way up his chest to attack all those who came near her.
All of this happened in the space of two seconds and before he could say anything himself, Harry heard another voice approaching. "Ron! Don't just barge into his room like that. He could be-"
Coming around the corner, Hermione strode into view, still wearing her pyjamas and with a light scowl on her face as she ripped into their mutual friend. She froze as she took in the clearly naked, if now at least covered, Rias and himself looking slightly dishevelled as he rested on hands and knees on top of her.
"Sorry," she squeaked, her face flushing a deep red. "I- I- I'll just… you know… go…" She trailed off before spinning quickly and scampering away. Turning back to Ron, he caught his best mate still gawking at Rias behind him.
"Ron," Harry found himself growling uncharacteristically.
The youngest male Weasley jumped, "Ya Harry?"
"Would you mind giving us a moment?" He asked with an even tone.
Ron blanched, "Oh right… sure." He bid a hasty retreat only pausing for a second in the doorway to take one more peak Rias' way. A glare from Harry had him quickly closing the door.
A soon as he heard click that signified they were truly alone again, Harry allowed himself to slump back on the bed with a sigh. "Sorry about that."
Rias propped herself on her elbow beside him to meet his gaze, "So am I. Things were just getting interesting before we were interrupted."
"What?" Harry squawked. "I mean… well yes… but I meant about them walking in while you were…" he trailed off motioning towards her body with his hand, a helpless expression on his face.
Rias smirked, "Naked?" He nodded quickly and Rias began to move, climbing out of bed. "It's not that big a deal."
Seeing the sheet fall away, Harry once again averted his eyes. There was the sound for moment other than the rustling of fabric before he felt a soft hand on his face. Letting her pull his head back towards her, he was greeted with the sight of Rias in a pair of jeans and a crop top. From the way it was straining over her chest, he didn't think that the clothes were hers or that the shirt was meant to show off her midriff like that.
"Devil's aren't nearly as modest as humans, but I appreciate the sentiment behind your attempt at shielding me from view. Thank you for the thought." She leaned forward, briefly pressing her lips against his cheek, momentarily driving all thoughts of her clothes out of his mind.
"I… you don't need to thank me… it just…" He trailed off not sure what to say.
Throwing her hair back over her shoulder, Rias smiled at Harry, who still hadn't moved from the bed, "We'll need to talk about our plans sometime soon, but for now we probably shouldn't keep our host waiting. I'll meet you down in the kitchen."
Without another word she slipped out of the room. Harry allowed himself to lay there for another minute, his mind spinning. Things had escalated faster than he'd expected. It wasn't like he hadn't enjoyed it, because he had… very much so, but he felt weird getting so intimate with Rias when she was essentially a stranger still. Because of that, it set his new goal firmly in mind: to get to know Rias Gremory.
Finally pulling himself off the bed, Harry grabbed his wand flicking it towards the window and opening the blinds. He took a moment to look out at the sunny morning before turning back at his trunk. Opening it up, he glanced at the contents, wondering what he was going to wear before once again remembering his new ability. Harry tried to think about what he wanted. After years of wearing Dudley's castoffs, he had always wanted his own clothes, but now that he had literally could wear anything he wanted, he couldn't think of any ideas.
Exiting his room still in his nightwear, he hurried down the stairs to the next landing and entered the bathroom. Doing his business, he washed up before stopping to observe his reflection in the mirror. Out of curiosity, Harry decided to focus on wearing absolutely nothing to see what would happen. Feeling everything shift all around him, Harry glanced in the mirror and was surprised to see that his clothes were completely gone. Even more surprising to him was the small black mark in the middle of his chest, just below his collarbone. It looked almost like a small tattoo. He wasn't quite sure of the mark but he was thought it looked to be the same marking as the one that had been on the resurrection stone. A circle contained within a triangle, all bisected by a vertical line.
"You're looking much better than the last time I saw you, dear." Harry jumped at the sudden voice, pulling his wand and looking around wildly. "No need to be so jumpy." The voice said in a huff, "At least you're finally eating properly I see, even if you haven't been able to tame that hair."
Harry's heart rate slowed as he realized it was just the enchanted mirror. He was never going to get used to those things. Looking himself over more critically he did see what it was talking about now. He'd always been of a slim and wiry build, and his lack of substantial meals from the Dursleys did nothing to help that. Now, though he suddenly hadn't become a bodybuilder, he did look leaner and there was some muscle definition on his body. He wondered how much the Hallows had actually changed him. Other than the obvious physical changes and new powers, he felt different. His thoughts were clearer and his senses felt sharper. Something at the back of his mind was telling him that these changes were only going to get more profound as time went on.
Feeling self conscious, Harry ran his hand through his hair only to watch it spring back into place. Sighing, he gave it up as a bad job before focusing back on what he wanted to wear. With the swirl of cloth around him, Harry found himself suddenly clothed in a pair of jeans and a simple tshirt.
"That's a neat trick." Ignoring the mirror's comments like before, Harry unlocked the door and exited to the landing before starting down stairs.
Nearing the bottom floor, Harry noticed that someone was waiting for him in the shadow of one of the doorways. Somehow he just knew that a few days earlier he would not have been able to notice that. Knowing that he was under the wards around the Burrow placed by not only Bill Weasley, a professional curse breaker, but Albus Dumbledore as well, he didn't think it was anyone who was out to hurt him. Therefore, he continued walking as if nothing was amiss, waiting to see who it was. He was surprised to be met with a serious faced Hermione who grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the living room.
Hermione hurried down the stairs with her cheeks burning and her thoughts a mess. It's not like she hadn't picked up on Harry's girlfriend's blatant implication the day before, but she hadn't expected to see all of it herself. She hadn't even stayed long enough to take in the details but it had been quite obvious that Rias had already stripped and it looked like Harry had been on the way to doing the same.
The night before had been a bit awkward. She still wasn't quite used to having Rias around and the tension between her and Ginny was obvious for all to see. She hadn't understood why Mrs. Weasley would place her in the room with them and it was only now she realized it was probably to try and prevent what she'd just witnessed from happening.
She'd been quick to notice, as they changed for bed, that Rias didn't seem to have any clothes other than that foreign school uniform she'd been wearing. Something Hermione had strangely not questioned until that point. Asking her about it, the crimson haired witch had revealed that it was all she had managed to take with her from Harry's, the rest being destroyed in the attack. Hermione had been able to literally hear Ginny's teeth grinding over the revelation of where Rias had been staying while she offered the girl some of her own spare clothes to borrow.
Watching her try them on had been a real blow to Hermione's self confidence. Just like Fleur, this girls figure was just not fair. Not that she was interested in Harry in a romantic sense, her best friend always feeling more like a close sibling than anything, she just didn't know how she was supposed to compete when there were girls like Rias around. She hoped for Harry's sake, and her own sanity, that Ron wasn't going to be constantly drooling after her the whole time like he did around Fleur. He'd gotten better about the whole thing, but every once in awhile she still caught him staring at the part-veela with a blank expression.
Finally, reaching her destination, Hermione walked into the bedroom and dropped down onto the spare cot Ginny's mother had transfigured for her. Closing her eyes she rubbed her forehead, trying to forget what she'd just seen.
"Are you alright Hermione?" Ginny asked, startling Hermione who hadn't even realized she was still in the room. "You look a little flushed."
She groaned, "You're brother just walked in on Harry and Rias. I tried to stop him but only succeeded in getting an eyeful of them myself…" she trailed off. She wasn't even sure what to say, they hadn't actually been shagging but from what she had seen, they might have been soon. It was actually pretty surprising, with how nervous Harry was around most other girls, she'd figured he'd have been too scared to get that serious with anyone, not that she really wanted to spend time speculating on her friends sex life. She sighed again.
"WHAT?" Ginny's shouted exclamation had Hermione's eyes snapping open immediately. Taking in her face flushed with anger and the white knuckled grip on her wand, she began to regret mentioning the whole event to the youngest Weasley. "That slag! I'll curse her into next week!"
Ginny had turned towards the door and looked to be on the verge of marching out to deliver her own bat-bogeyed sense of justice.
"Ginny," Hermione tried weakly, knowing it probably wouldn't stop the girl. To her surprise, Ginny whipped back around to face her.
"Do you think that's why he's with her?" She demanded.
"What?"
"Because she'll put out?" Ginny pressed.
"I don't know abou-"
"No, you're right." Hermione was starting to wonder if she was even a part of this conversation any more. It was clear Ginny wasn't listening to her. "Harry wouldn't get swayed by something like that."
"Ginny," she tried again, but the girl in question's was staring unfocused over her shoulder.
"Or maybe he would. He is a teenaged boy after all," she muttered.
Hermione just sighed, giving up and letting the room fall into silence.
"Do you really think he's with her for her looks?" Ginny finally asked softly. Her tone of voice was so different from before that Hermione almost didn't react at first. Refocusing on her, Hermione saw that she had sat back down on her bed with her shoulders slumped.
"I don't know," Hermione answered, crossing the space between them and sitting down beside Ginny. "I would say that Harry was conscientious enough to look for something deeper than appearances, but we all saw that trainwreck with Cho last year. His crush didn't survive long once he got to know her."
"So it is just about her looks?" Ginny frowned looking down at herself and cupping her breasts through her shirt.
Hermione had to refrain from rolling her eyes as Ginny's actions. She had unknowingly copied an action she'd seen from Lavender Brown in her dorm all the time. The girl was always examining her appearance in the mirror, especially to see how much cleavage she could get away with showing, when she decided to go after some unsuspecting boy she was in to.
"I know I'm not as developed as Rias, but I have grown over the past year," she huffed in frustration. "I even thought I caught Harry checking me out at the end of last year."
"He may have been, I'm not sure. Harry doesn't discuss stuff like that with me." Hermione tried to reassure her. "You're growing into a beautiful young woman. Never doubt that."
Hermione found it ironic that she, whose two best friends barely even noticed that she was a girl, let alone found her attractive, was the one trying to reassure Ginny, who she knew was quite popular and sought after in her year for her looks. Harry and Ron had definitely noticed her two years earlier, on the night of the Yule Ball, but most days they didn't give her a second glance. It stung slightly, but she was able to push it out of her mind. She valued her intellect much more than her physical appearance.
"Than why is he with her? You said if I wanted a chance with Harry I had to get over my crush and date a few other boys. I've done that! I know the boy who lived was just a fairytale… a dream… it was shattered pretty clearly as I watched him lying there dying from Basilisk poisoning in my first year." Ginny ranted, surprising Hermione with her vehemence.
"I actually avoided Harry for a while after that. Everyone thought my crush had gotten even worse but it was really the opposite. I was disappointed that he didn't meet my expectations. Even worse, I was embarrassed at myself for feeling that disappointment. I knew I should just be thankful he had managed to save my life at all, but it didn't help much."
"I had no idea," Hermione said quietly, trying absorb this new side to her friend. Even she had figured her feelings were still nothing more than a case of hero worship.
The redhead shrugged, "It's not like I have talked about it with anyone. It took me awhile to get myself sorted out about all this. I eventually realized that even though my view of Harry as the Boy-Who-Lived had been shattered, I was still putting a lot of this on him, holding him to a higher standard that I would others. It's not his fault that my mother, as well as many parents in the wizarding world, raised their kids on fantastical stories that Harry sound like the next coming of Merlin."
Her words struck Hermione hard and started clear up a lot of questions she'd held over the years about the magical worlds treatment of her best friend, "I can't imagine what that must have been like, but it does answer a lot of question for me. Even I was amazed when I met Harry at first, and I'd only just read his name in one of the books I'd purchased to learn about the magical world. I'm sure it would have been even harder for those who grew up with it."
Ginny nodded, "That's when I decided to finally take your advice Hermione. I decided to get to know Harry properly, without any preconceived notions in my head. That's where the problem is. I fell for him even harder than I thought possible before. He likes to laze around with my brother alot, hasn't had to work much for his skill on the Quidditch pitch, can have real temper sometimes, and yet despite all that, is one of the most good people I've ever met. He may not be the fairytale prince I imagined, but there is no doubt he is a hero, whether he wants to acknowledge it or not."
Digesting what Ginny had said, Hermione was forced to agree. As much as her friend was an everyday boy, he was also quite special. He may only rarely have been able to match her own skill in magic, but Harry had a different kind of strength. The kind of strength that had allowed him to survive everything life thrown at him so far. That strength, that ability, was not something found commonly in most men.
"You are right about Harry, and I'm glad you were able to discover all of this for yourself, but that doesn't mean anything is for certain. I did say that if you wanted a chance with Harry, you would need to understand these things, but that doesn't mean he would date you for sure. I'm sorry… that's just not how things work."
"I know…" Ginny slumped again for a moment before sitting back up and jumping to her feet, eyes blazing. "It doesn't mean she deserves him though. It's just not fair. Phlegm has already got her hooks all into Bill and now Rias is most likely using her oversized udders to seduce Harry."
Hermione cringed slightly at Ginny's analogy even if she did find herself a bit envious of the girls physique too, "I don't know if-"
"What do they even have in common? Didn't she say she was from China or something."
"Japan," Hermione corrected automatically.
Ginny waved her off, "What do we even know about her? How long has Harry known her?"
"Uhh… I don't know."
Ginny froze, looking at Hermione in shock, "Did I just here the Hermione Granger say she doesn't know?"
Hermione flushed, feeling embarrassed that something so simple still bugged her, "Shut up!"
The youngest Weasley smirked once again at getting a reaction out of her older friend before her face turned serious once again, "But seriously, what do you know about her?"
Realizing she didn't have much to offer, she spoke tentatively, "Like I said she's from Japan originally. Her family taught her a variety of languages from a young age and that's why she can speak english so fluently. Oh! She's a big fan of Japanese anime and manga." At Ginny's confused expression, Hermione hurried on, "Nevermind. Other than that, I guess she met Harry this summer."
"They just met this summer?" Ginny questioned receiving a nod from the bushy haired witch. "And Harry's already jumped in bed with her? How exactly did they meet?"
"They said they met by chance when Harry was out and he offered to show her around."
Ginny's eyes widened, "That doesn't sound like Harry. We both know how slow he is to trust new people properly, and he's always been horrible talking to girls when it comes to anything romance. There's no way he would be suave enough to offer to show a girl around in order to pick them up."
Hermione bit her lip. "I guess you're right. That does seem somewhat out of character," she ventured.
"Are we sure we can trust her? Doesn't it seem a little coincidental that after he escapes from You-Know-Who once again, he's acting strangely and is suddenly dating this girl none of us have ever even heard about before. We all saw Harry less than a month ago. He was all depressed and moody about Sirius yet, he's already acting as if he's fine and is closer to Rias than the rest of us. How can we tell she isn't an undercover Death Eater or something?"
"I doubt that…" her voice sounded uncertain even to her own ears.
Could Rias be a Death Eater? A threat to her best friend? She didn't think so. She seemed nice enough and yet Hermione knew something wasn't right either. Ginny was correct about their story sounding out of character for Harry and he was being a bit evasive, not that he wasn't like that naturally anyway. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but maybe she should keep her eye out just in case. She wouldn't admit that to Ginny though, the girl didn't need any encouragement in her rage against Harry's new girlfriend.
"Well, I don't trust her," Ginny declared, making Hermione want to roll her eyes once again at the statement of the obvious. "So I'll make sure myself that she isn't up to something, and if she really is trying to hurt Harry, than just remember I warned you."
Without another word, the redhead left the room, heading down to breakfast. Getting herself moving a moment later, Hermione began to get dressed almost robotically as she went back over her conversation in her head. She really wanted to keep an open mind but Ginny's accusations wouldn't leave her alone. Even the slightest possibility that Harry was in danger set her on edge. Her best friend always seemed to be in danger.
Death Eaters had seemed like this far off, make believe enemy before their stunt in the Department of Mysteries. She'd known the threat they posed but it had all just been theoretical. Actually fighting them had been different. Their face to face confrontation had left its mark on her, both literally and figuratively. If she allowed herself to think on it too much, it was if she could still feel the burning pain that had encompassed her body when Dolohov had cursed her.
She'd had to take ten potions a day for weeks afterward to make sure there was no lasting damage except for the scar Madam Pomfrey had apologetically told her she'd carry for the rest of her life. At least hers was covered most of the time. It gave her a whole new appreciation for the way Harry dealt with the highly visible lightening bolt permanently carved into his forehead.
The world had changed for Hermione. It wasn't as safe as it had once been. She wasn't as naive anymore to think things were just going to turn out ok on their own. It had not taken her long after that to realize that Harry had lived in this world all along. She didn't know all the details, but she knew it stretched all the way back to growing up with his relatives. She worried that this familiarity he had with living with his life constantly on the line had desensitized him to it. Just look at how often he'd thrown himself in dangers way over the five years she'd known him.
She could tell that there was something going on that she didn't know about. She hated being kept in the dark. It made it feel like her life was out of control and that just increased her worries. Hermione knew she needed to talk to Harry. She needed to get him on his own to get a feel for what was going on. Harry had always been a terrible liar so hopefully he'd either just come out with what he was hiding or at the very least she would get a sense for whether she should be worried about Rias or not. For all she knew she was just letting Ginny's jealous ramblings play on her fears.
A pair of loud hurried footsteps passed by on the staircase outside, and she figured it was Ron finally hurrying down to eat. Finishing her own preparations, Hermione exited the room and started down towards the ground floor at a moderate pace. The usual hustle and bustle of the kitchen assaulted her ears as she drew closer.
Peeking around the corner, she was able to spot Ron already inhaling the food in front of him in his usual hurry. She was surprised to see Rias already there, chatting amicably with Ron's mum. Hermione had been able to tell that Mrs. Weasley had been hoping that Harry would take an interest in her only daughter as well, so she was surprised that they were getting along so well. Rias must have been able to get in her good books somehow.
Behind them, Ginny was doing a particularly bad job at being subtle as she looked back in forth between Rias and her Mother with distaste. Even more shocking to her than the two woman bonding in front of her was the last person in the kitchen. Fleur had been coming by often with Bill since Hermione herself had arrived at the Burrow, but this seemed to be the first time she had come to the Burrow on her own. Observing the blonde beauty, Hermione felt a sinking feeling in her gut. Fleur was watching Rias with a peculiar look on her face. To her, it seemed to be partly inquisitive and partly worried. Whatever Fleur was thinking, this did not alieve her own fears whatsoever.
As much as she herself wasn't the part-Veela's biggest fan, she didn't actively dislike her as Ginny seemed to. She'd actually read up on Veelas a bit during her fourth year, after Harry had confirmed to her from the Wand Weighing Ceremony that Fleur did in fact have some Veela ancestry. It had taken her awhile to get a good picture on the topic since many of the books she found had been obviously biased and written by discriminatory authors, but she did eventually find some more neutrally written ones. Out of everything she had learned, what had surprised her the most was that Veelas supposedly had much sharper magical senses and were even rumoured to have some empathic abilities.
The fact that she was giving Rias a look bordering on suspicion and that she had the abilities to sense something the rest might have missed, cemented her need to speak with her best friend in her mind. Pulling back before she was seen, Hermione retreated to the bottom of the stairs. She glanced around for a moment, before she moved to lean in one of the doorways while she waited. Harry hadn't been in the kitchen so she assumed he was still upstairs getting ready.
Several minutes later, a soft padding alerted Hermione to her friends approach. He'd always been quiet, not stomping around like Ron, but this was something else all together. It was just luck alone that she'd even noticed his approach. Watching him as he rounded the corner and started down the last stretch of stairs.
It hit her all of a sudden that something about Harry looked different. She couldn't place what it was at first, but something about him had changed. It wasn't until he finally reached the ground that the realization hit Hermione. His clothes! They actually fit and looked new. They weren't elaborate or fancy but they suited him well. She doubted the Dursleys would have let him go clothes shopping, and it made for just one more inconsistency to add to the list.
Suddenly unsure on how to approach him, Hermione remained rooted to the spot in indecision until he had moved close enough that she could reach out and touch him if she wanted. Deciding to do just that, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm to stop him from passing by where she was standing.
"We need to talk."
Harry's gaze settled onto her like a physical weight. He hadn't jumped in the slightest at her touch and his expression only held mild curiosity. There wasn't anything unusual about that but for some reason it still unsettled her.
Pushing those thoughts away, she tugged on his arm, pulling him towards the living room. He was surprisingly study in her grasp, and Hermione had the nagging feeling that the only reason she was able to move him was because he let her. It was the same as how he'd caught her the day before when she'd tried to give him a hug. The somewhat scrawny boy she knew wasn't supposed to be that solid.
"Is something the matter Hermione?" Harry questioned, his emerald eyes looking at her in concern. He'd always had a presence to him, it's what had made him such a good leader in the DA the year before, and now, as his attention was focused completely on her, it was what was making her swallow nervously.
"I… I want to know what you are hiding from us?" She did her best not to cringe while she spoke.
Harry looked completely taken aback before, for a very brief second, Hermione saw a flash of worry in his eyes. It disappeared a moment later, but that was enough to convince her that she was onto something.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on Harry! You can't lie to me." He didn't say a word, so Hermione pressed on. "Can we trust Rias? Can you trust her? Who is she really?"
Something in Harry's jaw tightened, "She's my girlfriend."
It was the first time he'd declared it so seriously. Yesterday, he'd seemed somewhat flustered whenever it was mentioned, as if he were embarrassed.
"You just met her Harry and you're already sleeping with her! That's not like you!"
"What? I'm not-" Harry bit off the end of his reply. She could tell he was getting frustrated, the telltale signs of his temper that she knew so well were showing on his face. "This is none of your business Hermione."
Even though she knew it was a ridiculous sentiment, but his last comment hit her like a slap in the face. Harry, Ron, and she had been together for everything for the past five years. They had been her first real friends in her life and they didn't keep major secrets like this from each other, whatever this was. She couldn't bare the thought of losing them.
"I'm just trying to help you Harry. I know something is going on, and I can tell Fleur knows it too. Please let me in!" She begged.
Harry looked absolutely baffled, "Hold on for a second. Fleur? Fleur Delacour? From the Tri-Wizard Tournament? What does she have to do with anything?"
"She's dating Ron's brother Bill, but that doesn't matter," Hermione hurried on. She did not want to get into that right now after realizing that no one had told Harry about Fleur and Bill. She didn't actually know if Fleur knew anything that she didn't either, it was just a baseless assumption on her part so she didn't want to delve into that area any deeper. "All I want is to make sure is that you can trust her. Doesn't it seem suspicious to you that another witch your age just happened to be in your area after supposedly travelling from a foreign country? I didn't want to say this either, but after everything that's happened, are you sure this isn't just some Death Eater trick to get closer to you?"
To Hermione's dismay, his face had just continued to darken as she spoke.
"Hermione," he ground out. "Rias is not a Death Eater. She's the only reason I managed to escape the attack on the Dursleys."
"Oh, right." Hermione was starting feel a bit embarrassed, she'd totally forgotten about that. She then added almost hesitantly, "It could've all been staged to gain your trust?"
"Really?" He deadpanned. "Voldemort was standing a few meters away from me. I don't think he cared about fooling me when Rias could've just handed me over to him. She's the one who sent him flying back through a bloody wall. Do you not trust me when I tell you she is fine."
Hermione's eyes widened as she filed that information away. As far as she knew, very few witches or wizards could claim to ever have even landed a single hit on You-Know-Who.
"Of course I trust you, b-but… I… it just seemed so sudden," Hermione looked down towards her feet, missing the slight softening of Harry's features. Unfortunately for her, what she said next only served to raise his ire once again. "I just thought you might not have been thinking straight while you were grieving for Sirius and wouldn't take the proper precautions. Rias just seemed to pop out of nowhere. You didn't even tell us about her in your letters!"
"Oh so that's what this is about," Harry's tone caught her attention immediately, causing her to look back up at his face instead of her feet, surprised to see the anger clearly written there. "I can only imagine how tough it is to have your friends keep you in the dark during the summer. It must be so hard when letters don't contain any information of importance!"
Hermione winced, thinking back to Harry's explosion on his arrival to Grimmauld Place the year before. "Are you trying to punish us then? Is that why you didn't tell us anything about meeting Rias?"
"I didn't tell you guys because it's none of your business," Harry sighed rubbing his forehead. "If you are really still so caught up with this idea you've got in your head about Rias then ask Dumbledore yourself next time you see him. He knows her, knows her background, and allowed her to come here. You've always believed in him, so that should be enough to settle your worries. As for my relationship with Rias, I say this in the most polite way possible, please butt out."
Without another word, Harry turned and strode out of the room towards the kitchen, while Hermione just stood there in shock. Thinking it all over, she felt a lot less worried about Rias' allegiances, though she couldn't help but feel that confronting Harry like she had, might have been a big mistake.
Harry stewed as he marched towards the kitchen. He cared for Hermione, he really did. She was one of his few close friends, and much like he imagined a sibling would be, but she had really pushed his buttons with that little spectacle. If they were such good friends, shouldn't she have trusted what he was saying? Shouldn't she have trusted his decisions? What had bugged him even more had been the relief in her eyes when he had mentioned about Dumbledore approving of Rias. He may be doing his best to move past everything that had happened between them, but he was still angry about several of the decisions the old wizard had made for him, even if they were done in the best of intentions.
On the other side of things, Harry couldn't help but feel a bit guilty too. He knew Hermione just wanted to help, and while it stung that she so quickly jumped to the conclusion that he was lying to her, she was right. He'd been forced to lie to her even more just now, and it didn't sit well with him even if he knew it was needed for the time being. When things were figured out and had settled down, he could inform his friends of what was going on.
"Oh good morning Harry!" Mrs. Weasley's voice broke him out of her reverie. She was working away in the kitchen preparing breakfast. "I hope you slept well."
He forced a smile, "I did thanks, Mrs. Weasley."
"I've got some breakfast ready if you want to take a seat at the table," nodding at her words, Harry moved to do just that, though he wasn't feeling very hungry at the moment.
"Harry!" A somewhat familiar light and musical voice called his name with a distinct french accent. He was pulled into a hug before he could manage to sit down. Harry stiffened in surprise as a soft and obviously very feminine body pressed into him. "It has been too long! I was so happy to hear you would be here as well."
Pulling back and yet keeping her hands on his shoulders, Harry was met with the sight of a familiar french blonde beauty. "Fleur?"
"Oui! I happy to see you have not forgotten me," she responded in a teasing tone. "I was not sure that you had heard, but Bill and I are to be married. He is very busy at work and so he decided to drop me off here to get to know his family."
While all of this was being said, Harry had made eye contact with Rias over Fleur's shoulder and was worried to see a very annoyed look on her face. As quickly and as subtly as possible, he began extracting himself from Fleur's clutches.
"Congratulations! I had only just heard that you and Bill were seeing each other and wasn't aware you were engaged."
"Merci Harry," Fleur smiled brightly, though he'd detected a hint of a frown at his mention of not hearing about her relationship with Bill earlier. Her eyes flickered briefly around to the different members of the Weasley family present. "We will have to catch up sometime soon."
She stepped back to return to her seat, "Of course."
Meeting Rias' gaze again, he received a smile, as if the look he'd seen earlier had never even existed. Pondering this fact, he jumped in shock when Mrs. Weasley put a plate down in front of him with a small clink. It was absolutely loaded with breakfast foods and Harry wasn't sure he'd be able to finish it. Suppressing a groan, he began to dig in.
"Hermione, dear!" Mrs. Weasley's voice cut in again after a few moments, making Harry tense. "As I was just telling Harry, I made a spot of breakfast. Why don't you grab a seat at the table and I'll prepare you a plate?"
He didn't hear her quiet response, but he caught sight of her hurrying in, head slightly bowed, from the corner of his eye. She took a place across the table and a few seats down. The Weasley matriarch served her a moment later and she began picking at her food, glancing at Harry every few seconds with a sad expression. Much like earlier, it was giving him a conflicted feelings. On one hand, he continued to feel bad for lying to her and the tough stance he'd taken in their argument, while in the other, he wanted to tell her to get a grip of herself. She didn't need to mope around just because they'd had an argument.
To all their surprise, Ron was actually the one to notice something, "Alright there, Hermione?"
The bushy haired Gryffindor twitched in surprise before smiling, "I'm fine Ron. I'm just worried about… err… OWLs. I hope we receive our marks soon."
With academics now the subject of discussion, he could tell Ron's interest in the conversation had faded fast. Harry was sure that her marks were indeed on her mind but he knew it was just an excuse to cover for their recent conversation. He could admit he was a bit curious about he had done as well, but he didn't expect much. Umbridge's reign at Hogwarts had been detrimental to the education of most students. Even the idea of becoming an Auror didn't seem to matter much anymore. Now that he knew what he did, the world seemed like such a bigger place, and he couldn't help but want and explore it. That being said, taking down Voldemort was still his number one priority.
"Merlin's beard, Hermione! It's still summer! What are you worrying about school for?" He went back to stuffing his face a second later, though Harry did manage to hear him mumbling quietly with his mouth full, "You're the last person who needs to worry about her marks."
The girl in question who had looked nearly scandalized at Ron's initial declaration, preened at his mumbled compliment. Her smile faltered however when she noticed Harry observing the both of them and she looked down at her plate once again.
Harry sighed once again. Were they just supposed to tiptoe around each other now? He needed to go clear his head. Looking back back down at his plate, he noticed that he had barely even made it through half of the veritable feast Mrs. Weasley had prepared for him. Forcing the rest of it down, Harry stood and brought his dishes over to the counter.
"Thank you so much for breakfast Mrs. Weasley," she gave him a fond smile as he approached. "I was hoping to show Rias around a bit, so if it's ok with you I was going to take her for a walk around the property?"
The redheaded mother of seven's smile faded and was replaced by a worried look, "I guess that would be ok, but I-"
"Don't worry, we'll keep to the inside of the wards," Harry reassured her.
"Well, let me at least show you how far they reach," she moved to remove her apron when Fleur spoke up again.
"I can show them. I am familiar with Bill's work and he told me that he put up the protections here."
Ron's mum looked even more conflicted than before. It was obvious she was searching for an excuse for them not to take her up on her offer but was failing to come up with something. Harry didn't have any kind of problems with Fleur, but he still remembered the look on Rias face from when she hugged him before, therefore he intervened before things could get out of hand between the two women.
"It's ok both of you. I know where they are… I can feel them."
All ambient noise in the kitchen stopped leaving Harry confused. Seeming to have momentarily forgot her behaviour earlier, Hermione looking at him fully, a shocked look on her face. Mrs. Weasley had a similar expression adorning her face. Ron was looking around, his brow furrowed in confusion. Rias looked completely unsurprised, her big blue-green eyes gazing at him steadily while Fleur had a contemplative look on her face.
"What is it?" He finally asked when no one said anything after a minute.
"You can feel the wards?" Hermione choked out.
"Yea?" He'd just realized earlier that he had always been able to feel them around him, especially at Hogwarts, but had never realized what the feeling was before. Whatever powers becoming Master of Death brought, it had obviously heightened his pre-existing senses, both mundane and magical.
"But it's said that only really experienced Witches and Wizards have the chance of developing that kind of sense for magic," Hermione exclaimed. "It's almost unheard of in someone so young who hasn't even trained for it."
"Oh… ok," he shrugged not really sure what to say about that. His female friend looked ready to burst with questions but was restraining herself admirably. If the conflicted expression, matching that of their host, was any indication, she had just remembered their earlier argument and was again unsure on how to proceed. It didn't bug him much as it helped alleviate the amount of questioning he'd have to undergo.
"That's impressive Harry, but it would probably be better safe than sorry," Mrs. Weasley fretted.
"Like I offered before, I will show them," and then with a quick flash of her white teeth, she had turned, flinging her hair over her shoulder, she glid out the door.
"I guess that's settled then," he turned to Rias, "Would mind accompanying me for a walk Rias?"
The crimson haired devil smiled, "Not at all." She took his hand, allowing him to help her up despite the fact that she was strong enough to obliterate him in a fight. As he did so, he caught sight of Mrs. Weasley leaving the room looking frustrated. He was starting to get the feeling that there were some problems between her and Fleur that he didn't know about.
"Wait! What about Quidditch?" Ron asked, finally distracted from his food. "You haven't flown in a month. Don't you want to play a quick game?"
While going for a fly sounded nice, Harry had more important things on his mind, first of which being getting to sit down and talk to Rias for a while. "Later Ron. I'm going to show Rias around for a bit. We can probably play after."
"Oh ok, well if you wait a moment, Hermione and I can come with you."
Harry grit his teeth. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with his friends, he just needed some time out of there earshot to talk.
"Ron!" Hermione's voice sounded.
"Ow!" The youngest male Weasley complained after the sound of a loud thump. "Bloody hell Hermione, why'd you kick me?"
The brunette just glared at him, then very pointedly moved her eyes onto Harry and Rias and back. "What? I know you don't like Quidditch but you don't have to get so upset about it."
Hermione looked like she was ready to start bashing her head into the table, luckily for her Mrs. Weasley was back before she could start. "Quidditch? Not yet you won't be Ronald." She seemed to notice that Harry was still there. "Sorry Harry, he'll be free in a bit, but Ginny and he have some chores to do first."
There were groans from the two Weasley children present at the table. It was actually because of this that Harry even noticed Ginny was there. His confrontation with Hermione on his mind and then being accosted by Fleur had distracted him enough that he hadn't noticed her.
"That's alright, Mrs. Weasley. Rias and I were going go for our walk first anyway."
"That's right." She glanced at the front door, her lips thinning ever so slightly. "You won't want to keep her waiting." Turning away, Harry just made out her muttering, "Might upset her delicate sensibilities if you do."
Eyes wide at hearing the usually kind and motherly Mrs. Weasley make comments like that, Harry pulled Rias along with him towards the door. He was now certain there was some kind of family drama going on that he didn't know about, and he did not want to get into the middle of it.
Squinting into the sudden bright sunlight, Harry enjoyed the warmth that came with it. Letting his eyes adjust, he noticed a somewhat disgruntled look on Rias' face. "You ok?"
She just mumbled something about "sunlight" which he didn't understand but he brushed it off for now since Rias seemed fine about two seconds later as her own eyes adjusted. Looking around, it was easy to spot Fleur across the yard. Her silvery blonde hair seemed to be shining in the sun and Harry couldn't deny that she cut a striking figure.
Despite knowing exactly where the wards fell, just as he'd told them before, Harry started over towards Fleur hoping to get this all over with. The wards at Hogwarts felt like a heavyweight over the area they protected. They were ancient and seemed to have a sentience of their own. The wards around the Burrow were different. First of all they were newer and despite being comprehensively made, they were much lighter in nature than those at school.
Stopping a few paces away from Fleur, Harry waited for the former Tri-Wizard Champion of Beauxbatons to turn around. After a few moments she did turn to face him and Harry had to fight the urge to take a step back. The friendly atmosphere from before was gone and had been replaced by an intense air of scrutiny. Her gaze flickered away from Harry after a moment and settled on Rias beside him.
"You're not human." It wasn't a question, merely a stated fact. Despite knowing it was the worst thing possible to do in a situation like this, Harry stiffened. Fleur's glanced back at him for only a fraction of a second, but Harry saw the slight twitch in her lips that indicated to him that she took his reaction as confirmation. Cursing himself inside his own head, he tried to think of what to do.
"What gives you that idea?" Rias suddenly asked making Harry jump. "I'm sure the same could be said about you."
Fleur flinched as if the words had been a physical blow, but he could tell when she steeled herself and calmed her emotions.
"You're a devil I presume?"
Rias raised a singular crimson eyebrow, "My my… you're quite observant for a Veela. Have you met one of my kind before?"
"Once. On a trip with with my father a few years ago. I thought your aura seemed similar to the devil I encountered when we were introduced earlier."
"Curious… the real question is however, what are you planning on doing with this information now? You could've just told the Weasley's but you haven't… are you trying to blackmail us" Her eyes drilled onto Fleur.
The blonde met her gaze without blinking for a moment. Harry was getting the feeling that this was some kind of show of dominance, and he really did not want to be apart of it. It was odd to him that Fleur, only four years older than himself, could figure all of this out just by being near Rias, but Dumbledore had done the same, so it wasn't like he thought it was impossible.
He slowly started backing away from the two woman when Fleur finally broke the staring contest, her eyes snapping to him, "You are fine than Harry? You are with her of your free will, n'es pas? She has not tricked you into any agreements?"
Unnerved by the sudden shift in the conversation, Harry only managed to nod his head dumbly.
"Are you questioning my honor, Veela?" An angry voice broke in, snapping Harry's brain back into gear. Rias looked really pissed and a deadly crimson energy was starting form in her hands.
"I am just looking out for Harry!" Her own posture defiant, blue flames burst into existence in her hands and he could see feathers slowly starting to grow into place on her neck. "He saved my sister and so I am going to make sure that he is ok. Even though we do not know each other very well, I consider him a friend."
Harry was oddly touched by her sentiment. He hadn't thought too much about her after her departure at the end of his fourth year, something he was now starting to feel guilty about. He didn't have many friends besides Ron and Hermione, and so if Fleur wanted to be friends, who was he to say no.
"Well Harry is the one who summoned me. I haven't tricked him into anything!"
With the outpouring of power between the two woman before him, all of Harry's senses were screaming at him to run. At the same time, a strange energy seemed to be coiling up inside of him as well. He didn't know what it was, but it seemed to be reacting to the danger around him. What he didn't notice, and neither did the others, was how the shadow he was casting upon the ground seemed to twist and turn upon itself as if ready to lash out.
"How do I know you won't go spreading this around then?" Rias' tone had lightened and the intensity of the energy she was giving off had diminished, though she hadn't dismissed it entirely.
"As long as Harry is safe, and he asks me to, I will keep your secret." Her own transformation began to revert, though like Rias, she kept the blue fire burning in her hands.
"I'm fine Fleur," he finally found his voice, drawing the Blonde's attention towards him. Curious, he met her gaze head on. For a second nothing happened, and then, just as suddenly everything changed. Just like in Dumbledore's office, strange feelings assaulted his mind and visions swam before his eyes.
He saw a little blonde girl running through large fields outside. A grown woman with similar features smiling down watching the girl play. At her side a shorter, slightly rotund man, mirrored her expression. Harry would have said that the man looked out of place beside such a beauty but the obvious love and joy in the couples eyes as they glanced at each other put those thoughts to bed.
The scene shifted again, and this time the little girl looked a few years older. She was standing beside, who Harry assumed to be her mother as she lay on a bed cradling something in her arms. It took him a moment to realize it was baby. The girl he had been watching before was staring down at her little sibling in undisguised awe.
With another major jump through time, Harry watched as the blonde girl, all dressed up in light blue silk robes, moved excitedly up towards a large chateau with a swarm of other children her age. The grounds didn't have the same impact that the ancient castle of Hogwarts had on him, but Beauxbatons did have an elegance to it that Hogwarts lacked.
The next little while was a blur of scenes. He saw the girl having fun with friends, studying hard, and spending time with her family on holidays. This continued on for what seemed like a few years before the visions started to change. In almost no time at all, the young girl he had been following sprouted into the near goddess that he was more familiar with. He could see it as her Veela nature took over and boys started being literally unable to stop drooling over her. He saw as many former friends abandoned her, suddenly feeling threatened by her good looks. He saw the loneliness that set in and how she threw herself into her school work as an attempt to fill the void.
Here's where the weird part started. Harry saw himself from a few years earlier. His hair was as wild as ever, he was short, slim, extremely pale, and a look of abject terror on his face as he was informed that he had to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He saw the the blonde, now a woman, fight her way through very familiar dragons, dive into the black lake, only to watch himself save another familiar blonde girl. He could feel the raw relief and gratitude she must have felt to see her sister ok. Next he saw the haunting dark hedges growing on the Quidditch pitch and the nightmare inducing moment of when he'd portrayed back in front of the stage with Cedric's dead body in his arms.
His view shifted away from Hogwarts. The scenes were starting to come faster and faster. Harry couldn't keep track of what he was seeing, but managed to pick out the now recurring theme of Bill Weasley. The next glimpses were just flickers compared to what he'd already seen, but he saw himself standing beside Bill and Fleur, fighting against some enemy he couldn't see. He wasn't sure how, but Harry just knew that they would be somehow apart of his life going forward. Then just as suddenly as it began, the visions ended and Harry found himself once again looking at a nineteen year old Fleur Delacour facing down his new wife, who just happened to be a devil.
"She's ok Rias. I trust her," he said, seeming to shock both girls into looking at him. Rias met his gaze questioningly but he didn't falter and a moment later she relaxed her stance, allowing the power she'd been building up to dispel away.
"Fine, but if you break Harry's trust…" she let the threat hang in the air before finally and relenting and calling her by name. "Fleur."
The blonde nodded, allowing her flames to go out as she too relaxed her posture, "I would never do so."
Rias scoffed lightly, "We'll see."
Fleur began heading back towards the house, "I will leave you two now to go on your walk."
"What about showing us the wards?" Harry questioned in confusion.
Fleur's face scrunched up cutely in for a second before replying, "You said you could feel them, non? You will be fine. Molly worries too much."
Harry wasn't really sure how to answer that so he just watched as the french witch disappeared into his friends home.
"Should I be worried that you're paying the Veela so much attention? Is our marriage that strained already that you'd resort to adultery?" Rias' voice sounded from behind, making him stiffen.
He wheeled around as quickly as he could, "What? I'm not… I haven't seen Fleur in two years… we're not… we're barely even friends…" he trailed off as he noticed the exaggerated pout on the redhead's face that was slowly twitching up into a grin.
"Oh I see," he huffed before grumbling under his breath, "That's not something to joke about you know."
Rias shrugged, her face still set in a large satisfied looking smile, "So are you taking me on this romantic walk you have planned or are we just going to stand here?"
"Romantic," he yelped before regaining his composure, though his face was tinged pink. "I guess so, let's head this way."
Before he could start moving, Rias had taken one of his arms smiling at him, "Such a gentleman."
Shaking his head, the two started meandering towards his real destination. Making sure to keep inside the protective enchantments as he had promised, Harry lead Rias around the perimeter of the property. He pointed out the field where he had played Quidditch with Ron and his brothers several times. Next, he showed off the small apple orchard and the stream that ran through it. Walking along the babbling water, they soon reached the good sized pond it emptied into. The water was surprisingly clear for a pond. The sunlight sparkled across the water's surface, especially so when one of the many small fish within rose up and disturbed it.
He knew Ron and Ginny liked to go swimming here in the summer but he'd managed to avoid that himself. It was probably pretty childish of him, but he hadn't wanted to reveal that he'd never been taught to swim. The only reason he'd been able to during the second task for the Tri-Wizard Tournament was because he'd ingested that Gillyweed.
Walking over to one of the trees by the edge of the pond, he motioned to the ground as he sat against the trunk. It was firm and strong behind his back as much as the uncut grass beneath his finger was soft. "I figured here was as good a place as any to talk."
"It's lovely," allowing herself to plop down too, Rias leaned back so her head rested on Harry's lap, surprising him. If he'd thought Rias' school uniform was much more revealing than the Hogwarts robes, the clothes Hermione had leant her were even more so.
"W-what are you doing?" Harry stuttered, trying to force himself to look away from the easy view he had of her cleavage.
"Enjoying the view?" That damnable smirk was back on her face. "You seemed to be enjoying it this morning. I could always give you a better look if you'd like."
"I… I…" Harry sighed. It seemed he was going to have to get used to her teasing as it didn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. Her giggles at his reaction only made her chest bounce and jiggle even more. He smacked the back of his head against the tree trunk. "Can't we just be serious for a minute?"
Looking back down he was in time to see her expression calm. "Of course." She pushed herself off his lap, back into a seated position, and settled herself facing him. "Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about first."
Caught a little off guard at how quickly she was able to switch tracks, Harry floundered for a minute. It didn't help that as this was happening, Rias was attempting to straighten her shirt from her few moments on the ground, something that did nothing to draw any attention away from certain parts of her body that Harry couldn't help but find particularly interesting.
"I just wanted to talk about what our plans are going forward," he said. "I told you my story but we never really had a chance to talk more about you. In fact, I barely know anything about you at this point at all. I know we planned to find the Hallows, but we've managed that already, in less than a day I might add, so what do we do next?"
"Well, I'll have to make contact with someone from the underworld soon." She began. "It's been almost forty-eight hours since I left so I'm pretty sure my peerage will be starting to worry soon."
"Peerage?" Harry asked, confused by the unfamiliar word. "What's that?"
Rias' eyes widened, "I didn't really explain anything the other day did I?"
"Not much other than the fact that you're big brother is some kind of Devil King or something," he muttured.
"One of the four Great Satans," Rias correct automatically.
"Right… that," Harry responded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "You didn't say much other than that."
"Hmm… I guess I should start from the beginning then. I'm sure you've realized it already by now, but Devils are not the only thing from myth that is real in this world. We are one of the three main factions, three main factions from the Great War that is."
"The Great War?" Harry gulped. That didn't sound ominous at all.
"Yes, as I was saying, the three factions. Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. Our races have been fighting each other for a millenia. It was during this war that the original Devil Kings, for which our current positions are named after, were killed. I believe I mentioned how the original Lucifer was dead a few days ago."
Harry nodded, his mind already trying to process this new information.
"It was a huge blow to our side, but we weren't the only ones who lost. All three factions took devastating blows and all our races began to teeter on the edge of extinction. For all I know, we would have taken the world with us into oblivion."
Rias had shifted her gaze to the horizon, looking contemplative about her own story, "So this wars still going on? Do we need to be worried about Fallen Angels or whatever?"
Rias' attention had snapped back to Harry, "You should always be worried about Fallen Angels. The war itself is no longer being fought, a ceasefire was brokered years ago, but tensions are still high. The factions try not to interact that much, there's too much bitterness between them."
"Oh… but what does this have to do with that peerage thing you mentioned before?" Harry was actually surprised at how easy it was to accept all of this. He figured it wasn't that hard to believe stuff like that after finding out your were a wizard on your eleventh birthday.
"I'm getting there," she narrowed her eyes towards him. "Anyway, as I was saying, with extinction a real possibility, our focus shifted to preserving our race. Since the fertility rates for Devils is really low, the evil piece system was put into place."
"Evil… pieces?" Harry scrunched up his brow.
"That's right. Evil Pieces. They are essentially a chess set given to a high ranking Devil, who takes the King piece for themselves. They can then use the rest of their pieces to reincarnate humans into Devils. Once they've done that, they are a part of that Devil's peerage and are bound to serve their household."
Harry was not liking the sound of this one bit, "So they're basically slaves then? You take unsuspecting humans, turn them into Devils and keep them as slaves?"
Rias eyes widened at the anger in his tone, "What? No! They aren't slaves! I've only ever reincarnated someone to save their lives or give them a better one."
"And all Devils are as moral as you are?" He wasn't shouting like before, but his quiet question seemed to hold her in place.
"Well… I… no…"
"So they're slaves then…"
"They are not slaves! My peerage is family to me! I'll do anything to protect them!"
"And again I'll ask, do all Devil's treat their peerages like this?" Her silence was answer enough. He took a deep breath, whatever his thoughts he had to give her a chance to explain. "Why don't we try it another way… explain to me why these peerages aren't what I think they are."
Rias, who had looked a bit thrown off by his passionate response finally seemed to get her mind back in order, "Members of a peerage are not slaves! They are required to serve their King as repayment for being turned into a Devil. They are not stuck in tha position forever, if they work hard and manage to elevate their stature within our society enough they can leave the peerage and even be given their own set of Evil Pieces. All of this is as much for their own protection as it is to keep them in check as they get used to their new life."
"That's better," Harry ruminated, "but what about when they are still in service to their 'king'? Do they have any choice in their service?"
"They are bound to follow their orders and if they abandon their peerage, they are labeled a Stray Devil and put to the death."
Harry's fist clenched. That didn't sound like slavery at all! Of course not! He scoffed in his own head. He took a moment to collect himself, having remind himself that it wasn't Rias that set up this messed up system.
"So you have a peerage you said," Harry finally asked.
"I do. Almost all Pure-Blood devils have their own peerage."
Harry groaned, "Please don't tell me all that blood-purity nonsense is common in the Underworld too?"
"Yes it is but, is both similar and dissimilar to the movement you described that is being spearheaded by Voldemort." Rias paused for a moment to think. "Those that have old family lineage hold the most sway in our society and some treat reincarnated Devils as second class citizens, but for the most part they are wanted in the underworld. Voldemort and his followers seem to want to kill all the first generation magic users while we created the Evil Piece system on purpose and need first generation Devils to bolster our population."
"I see," Harry didn't like it much, but it didn't seem like things were as bad as he feared. "Is this why you were so worried about our… you know… marriage? From what you've told me, it doesn't sound like people will take too kindly to you marrying a non-devil."
"Yes… that is a concern I have," she bit her lip. "I told you before that the story of the Deathly Hallows is known even to us. When it comes out that you are the Master of Death, because it will come out eventually, it will probably smooth some things over. You'll probably have to actually start fielding marriage offers when that happens. I'm sure there are several families who are curious about what powers our children will bring."
"Children?" Harry exclaimed. It wasn't that Harry didn't want them at some point, it had always been his dream to start a family one day, but it just still felt so weird to hear Rias talk about it so openly like that. It still felt like this was all a weird dream. At least Rias wasn't unaffected by her comment either, seeing as how a pink tinge had crept onto her face at her words. "You know what? Nevermind… but what do you mean about marriage offers? Won't they all know about our marriage by then?"
"Well…" Rias hesitated. "Polygamy is not uncommon among Devils."
Harry froze, looking at Rias for some sign that she was joking. He didn't see any. Next he shook his head as if trying to clear it of non existent water. He must have heard her wrong…
"That being said," Rias became serious, "don't get any funny ideas! I'm the future Lady Gremory and I won't be cast off so you can grab just anyone into a harem."
"Don't worry," Harry muttered weakly, "I've barely gotten used to one girl, I don't think I'll be looking for another any time soon."
"Good answer," Rias smiled as she cupped his cheek, leaving him feeling flustered.
"Gaping at her for the umpteenth time that day, Harry didn't even have a chance to reply as suddenly a surge of magic nearby wrenched Harry's attention away from Rias' touch. Looking around he finally spotted a large red seal glowing on the ground nearby. The design was familiar, something he'd seen a few times in the past few days. As the humm in the air mounted, Harry was surprised to feel that the wards didn't seem to be reacting at all. It seemed that Bill's protections would do nothing against a Devil who wished to enter.
With a final flash of light, the crimson symbol disappeared leaving a woman behind. Whoever she was, she was incredibly beautiful just like Rias. She had long silver hair, braided on the sides and partially on the back, the ends tied in small blue bows. She looked a few years older than Rias, maybe in her twenties and her body was similarly developed. The strangest part for Harry was the fact that she seemed to be wearing some kind of maid outfit. Looking at her intently, Harry found it just as hard to get a reading off her than it was with Rias. Fleur and Dumbledore had been much easier.
"Grayfia!" Rias exclaimed in surprise pulling back away from Harry quickly.
The silver haired woman observed them both with a blank, if slightly disapproving, expression, before finally settling her gaze solely on Rias.
"Rias." She sighed, "Do you have any idea how hard I've had to work to keep SirZechs focused on his duties when all he's worried about is his little sister?"