Chapter 7
A/N: Got another chapter for you all done. Finally going to see a bit of the Underworld in this one so hopefully you will all like that.
I'd like to thank everyone for completing my poll. Harem won with about double the votes as no harem. This doesn't mean I will be going with that option as I will still make that choice myself later on, but it was just to see what my readers thought about the idea of a harem overall. I'm still leaning towards just a regular Harry/Rias pairing, but I'll see how things go.
As per usual, I'd like to thank Shadowz101 and KizaruBoss1 for letting me bounce ideas off them and of course Thunderbird29 for beta reading as much of this chapter as they had time to. The latter half is self-beta'd so there may be msitakes. Please let me know what you all think in reviews.
"What do you mean you're both leaving?" Harry couldn't help but wince at Mrs. Weasley's shrill tone. He had heard her when she was angry before, most notably in the howler she'd sent Ron in their second year, and whenever the twins had been caught trying to pull off some elaborate prank. Though, it was the first time that he had been on the receiving end of such a tirade, even if it was now being shared with their other guests somewhat, it did nothing to ease his increasing anxiety and irritation.
"Forgive me for interrupting. I believe we haven't been properly introduced yet." The silver haired woman stepped forward and said in a voice devoid of any emotions, "My name is Grayfia. Rias-sama here, is my sister-in-law."
Ron's mum calmed down immediately, belatedly realizing the impression she was making. "I'm sorry, where are my manners. I'm Molly Weasley." Her voice suddenly sounded just a bit to cheery, but Harry did not forget that they were still on thin ice, even if she was trying to be polite. He couldn't help but wonder how his life had gotten so crazy. Glancing at Rias, he saw that her face was stoic, not showing any emotion. That sure did wonders to alleviate his worries.
"As we were saying, a family matter has come up and Rias needs to return home for a short period of time."
Mrs. Weasley smiled a bit dangerously now, "I completely understand. It's unfortunate she has to leave already, but family always comes first."
"Indeed," the Head Maid of the Gremory family replied. Harry was still a little confused why Rias' sister-in-law was a maid for their family when her brother was supposed to be one of the four kings of the underworld but he tried not to think too much about it, if only to save himself from the headache of it.
"I just didn't understand why they were speaking about Harry leaving as well." Mrs. Weasley smiled, "Though, it's fine now. I must have just heard them wrong."
Harry saw Grayfia's eyes flickering over towards him for split second before she responded, "That was because we invited him to come home with us. I'm sure the family would love to meet her… boyfriend."
There was barely a hesitation before she said the last word, but he was able to notice it. Rias had told her that they were married before coming in, not that they got into any details, but he still wasn't sure how to feel about her reaction. He knew that he should probably just count himself lucky for receiving a simple furrowed brow and tightening of her lips as a response.
It was whole lot better than her using her powers to turn him into nothing more than a smear on the ground. However, it didn't change the fact that he'd still been expecting something… more. Following that, she pretty much informed them that they were coming back to the underworld with her in order to sort out this mess. He, with Rias' help, had barely managed to convince her to let him inform the Weasleys that he was leaving first.
At her declaration, Harry finally noticed that Fleur was still in the room and shooting him a questioning look. He could tell she was trying to ascertain if everything was fine, which he felt surprisingly touched by, so he managed a half smile and a nod in her direction. Seeing that, she visibly relaxed.
Of course, his stress levels only continued to rise as he realized that another occupant of the room was drilling holes in his back with her eyes and had witnessed the whole exchange with Fleur, even if he'd originally thought he was being subtle.
Looking over and meeting Hermione's determined eyes, filled with no small amount of anger too, he flinched away, the first one to break eye contact. Harry knew he'd been a bit of an arse earlier. He'd gotten angry at her for not trusting him when he was the one lying. It was just that he knew that as soon as she learned the truth, she'd would've started badgering him with questions that he himself didn't have answers to, subconsciously becoming insensitive towards his feelings. Answers that she wouldn't be able to find in any normal libraries either, making it all the more harder to avoid her since he would become her only source of said information, not a position anyone of sane mind will want to find himself in.
He hadn't even known about the existence of devils for more than forty-eight hours, so it was only common sense to keep it a secret. He hadn't even gotten a chance to have a private conversation with his new wife until recently. It wasn't like he had planned on lying to them forever, he just wanted to get a grip on the situation himself first before leading others on this mad adventure.
It was her accusations against Rias that had gotten him all defensive for some reason. He didn't even know why it had since they barely knew each other. The nail in the coffin though had been when she'd mentioned him not giving out information in his letters. As much as he tried to get past it, the mail blackout he'd experienced the summer before was still a sore point for him in their friendship. The combination of all those factors had been enough to set off his already harried temper.
Seeing the look in her eyes though, Harry knew that she had figured out he'd been lying earlier, she was too smart to not know that something was afoot. He determined that suddenly disappearing off with Rias and Grayfia would look way too suspicious. He knew he'd have to come clean and apologize to Hermione when he got back. He also sort of felt bad that Fleur was probably going to get hounded for sticking up for him while he was gone. He would've tried something to placate her before but didn't believe that Grayfia would take kindly to any more delays. He just hoped that when he did tell them, they'd keep an open mind.
"That sounds very nice but unfortunately with the way things are currently, we can't risk Harry leaving the protections around our property," Harry's mind clicked back into gear as he realized the two women were still talking. To his annoyance, he found it a bit presumptuous of the Weasley Matriarch to making that decision for him.
"I'm going." The room fell silent as all eyes turned towards in surprise making him feel a bit self conscious.
"What? Harry?" Mrs. Weasley looked a bit flustered, as if not expecting him to object. He wasn't sure why she was so surprised, did she not remember how much he spoke out against everyone last year? Her and Sirius had argued about it all summer for Merlin's sake, unless she'd just subconsciously attributed all that to Sirius himself and forgotten he had been involved.
"If you're worried about his safety from this… Voldemort you're dealing with," both Harry and Rias' heads whipped around to look at Grayfia in shock. They hadn't really gotten into who he was earlier, other than his name of course, and Rias herself had hadn't even heard about Voldemort herself until they'd met. They both wondered how Grayfia knew all this. "I can assure you he won't pose a threat. The protections around our family home are… significant. I believe Mr. Potter will be safer outside the country than where we are currently."
"As I said that is quite a generous offer but I don't think it is the best idea at the moment," Mrs. Weasley's politeness was straining and she was looking particularly determined as she glared unknowingly at the wife of a devil king. She turned that gaze on him a moment later, "I know you want to go with your girlfriend Harry, but you really shouldn't be running off on a whim like that. Things are too dangerous in the world right now and all of you are still children."
Harry had to grit his teeth to say something he'd regret. He really didn't want to snap at her, as the Weasley had done a lot for him over the years and he knew she just cared, even if it was a bit smothering. "I thank you for your concern Mrs. Weasley but I know what I'm doing and can make my own decisions. Professor Dumbledore gave me his support on this matter and I know he told you about it too."
"I… well… I'm sure Albus didn't mean…" She struggled to come up with a response, but to his dismay didn't seem to be giving up.
To all their surprise, an accented voice spoke, "Bon. C'est décidé. I hope you have a good trip Harry. Meeting the parents is a big step. Bonne chance!" She gave Harry a quick wink.
This was enough to finally break the passive aggressive attitude Mrs. Weasley seemed to have towards her future daughter-in-law as she turned towards her with a scowl. Realizing what she'd done, Harry once again felt a flare of gratitude for the french witch. It seemed Fleur was serious about wanting to be friends and he'd have to make sure to pay her back later. He wouldn't want to be her having to deal with Mrs. Weasley after this.
Harry turned towards his friends who were also still present. Despite Ron's improvement around Fleur, having a part-veela and two devils in one room seemed a bit much for him, but he was still managing to fight it off enough to be watching Harry in concern. This just served to make Harry feel worse for lying to them but he promised himself he'd come clean soon. Looking at Hermione next, he could tell she was just dying to talk to him now, but he also knew it would be a lot harder to get out of here if they didn't take advantage of their momentary reprieve now, and Harry had a feeling that Grayfia would only let her task be delayed so much before she took more drastic measures.
So feeling like a complete arse Harry waved goodbye to his friends, "See you guys later." Then staring Hermione right in the eye he finished, "I'll catch you guys up when I get back."
He hoped she got what he was trying to say, but he wasn't sure, having turned away after only a moment. ""Bye Mrs. Weasley!" He called as he headed towards the door. Caught off guard by his sudden departure, she just watched leave him in shock.
Outside once again, Harry and Rias fell into step behind Grayfia. Glancing over at Rias, he saw that her controlled expression had fallen away as she bit lip nervously. "Are you alright Rias?"
Eyes widening in surprise, she looked over at him and nodded quickly, "Of course!"
"Things will be alright with your family... right?" Harry asked a bit nervous himself. "You said things would be fine…"
She nodded again much too quickly causing Harry to sigh as his nervousness increased. Feeling the wards approach by the hum in the air, the three of them walked beyond their boundaries before they stopped. Grayfia turned towards them without a word, making Harry sweat for a minute. He had an overwhelming feeling that he did not want to upset this woman.
"We will be traveling directly into your family's manner Rias. You will need to hold onto Mr. Potter if you want him to make the trip intact." He allowed Rias to grab his arm and tried to ignore the ominous underlying meaning to her statement. Without a motion of any kind, a familiar glowing red seal appeared on the ground beneath them, swiftly growing brighter. The last thought he had before the seal flashed and they disappeared from Britain was how he had literally made a deal with a devil and now he was following her back to hell.
Akeno Himejima found herself pacing as she waited for news. She knew, as Rias' Queen, she was being trusted to keep herself together for the sake of the peerage, but she couldn't help but worry. Rias was more than just her King, she was her best friend and the fact that she was missing was eating her up inside. Normally she wouldn't be to worried about Rias, she could easily take care of herself, but even this was unusual for her.
It was finally after twelve hours with no word from her, since she'd disappeared to meet a client, that Akeno started to get truly concerned. That's when she had decided to follow the last destination used with the magic circle in their clubhouse to see what was going on. She had not expected to be confronted by those three magicians, or rather wizards, she'd noticed quickly the wands they had been holding.
She didn't know much about why it had happened but she knew that while devils in general got along fine with magicians, none of the supernatural races interacted much with wizards anymore. When she was a child, her father, Baraqiel, had taken the time to warn her away from interacting with them, informing her how you could usually tell magicians and wizards apart by their use of magic, the latter relying on wandwork. Apart from that she wasn't sure how they differed. He hadn't gone into detail on why it was such a big deal, but she'd heard rumors that wizards were known for being able to subvert others' will to their own. A scary concept all together.
It had been after she'd returned from facing those wizards, luckily without fighting them as she'd been able to sense that the old man seemed incredibly powerful for a human, that she'd decided the situation had warranted her contacting Rias' older brother, Sirzechs. It had taken a while to get through, as it wasn't easy, even for her, since he was one of the four devil Kings, but she'd eventually prevailed. Grayfia had been sent to fetch them and upon their arrival to Gremory Manor in the underworld, Akeno had found herself being questioned about what she knew. Now, a day and a half since she'd last seen her friend, Akeno waited impatiently for any news. Grayfia had left a little while earlier to try and track her down.
The sudden appearance of a magic circle drew the attention of all those in the room. Kiba and Koneko had been sitting on one of the couches while they waited, Sirzechs himself was sitting on one of the others, looking for the most part nonchalant, but Akeno could see a hint of worry in his eyes. Rias' parents were present too, and had been up until now standing in the one corner talking in low voices. There had been a sense of tension in the air, and now with the appearance of the magic circle, it was if it had all broken at once.
With a final flash of light, the circle disappeared and three figures became visible. Two of them she knew, one Grayfia, the other their missing King, while the third was an unknown. He was a pale skinned boy with bright green emerald eyes and messy black hair. He looked to be about their age, though you never could be too sure with devils.
"Rias!" She called as she hurried over, feeling immensely relieved to see she looked ok.
Her crimson haired friend smiled back, "Akeno!" But their reunion was cut short by the arrival of another tall and imposing figure. "Brother?" She asked looking up in shock.
Well… he was tall and imposing until he crouched down to pull his little sister into tight embrace that she began fighting against almost immediately, her face going red. "What are you doing, brother? Stop! It's so embarrassing."
"I was just worried about my little baby sister!" One of the four Devil Kings of the underworld cooed. "I'm allowed to fuss over you a little bit."
Rias, after a minute of struggling managed free her head enough to see over her brother's shoulder.
"AKENO!" She whined before pouting petulantly. "Why did you have to contact my family?"
She couldn't contain her giggles at the sight before her. She knew the reason Rias had even decided to spend most of her time on Earth was less to do with her education as she liked to say, but more to escape her family for a while. It wasn't that she didn't like her family, Akeno knew that the Gremorys were very close to each other, but Rias was under a lot of pressure as the heir to the family. Being the younger sister of the Devil King Lucifer just added to all that. She wanted to escape their shadow and prove she could handle things on her own. It was why she knew Rias would be annoyed that she contacted them, but she'd been gone long enough that she had thought it was the only way.
Out of the corner of her eye, Akeno noticed the boy she didn't know watching the proceedings with some shock. She could understand why. For those who hadn't been around the Gremory family in private, they probably didn't expect the great and powerful Sirzechs to be such a siscon.
"Maybe Akeno wouldn't have become worried enough to feel the need to contact us if you made sure to keep in contact with your peerage instead of vanishing without a trace," Sirzechs admonished. If at all possible Rias face went an even deeper shape red, almost matching her hair.
"Well… I…" She searched for some way to respond and failing to do so. she glanced over at Akeno looking chastised. She could tell her King felt bad about making them all worry.
"And who might our guest be?" Rias' father had joined the small group and was looking at the black haired boy with curiosity.
Jumping slightly at being addressed, he seemed to steel himself before speaking, "My name's Harry, sir. Harry Potter."
Akeno was surprised to hear his British accent. She had no problem understanding him, even though he was obviously speaking english, one of the many perks of being a devil. She didn't recognize the name, and neither did anyone in the room except for Sirzechs.
Eyebrow raised, he shook Harry's proffered hand, "Zeoticus Gremory. Rias' father." He smiled kindly, "It's nice to meet one of Rias' friends. How do you know each other?"
Harry paused, eyes shooting over towards Rias with hint of panic which confused Akeno. Rias had paled ever so slightly too.
"Supposedly Rias here decided to elope sometime since she disappeared," Grayfia's calm voice called out. Akeno froze, her mind trying to comprehend what she'd just heard, but it wasn't making any sense. Rias couldn't have gottten married, she was engaged to Riser, something she knew her best friend was avidly searching for a way to get out of. Why would she try and get married to someone else now?
She'd already worked so hard just to make sure the wedding was pushed off until after she'd completed university on Earth. This was both because it was something she'd wanted to do anyway and because it would give her several more years to figure out an escape. Why would she throw that all away to try and marry someone else she'd just met? Eloping with someone else was supposed to be a last ditch attempt to break the contract. None of this made sense.
There was a beat of silence after Grayfia's announcement, the same time Akeno had used to contemplate her confused thoughts, before multiple and varied exclamations of shock rang through the room. Looking at the boy supposedly married to her King, Akeno observed him more closely, only to be shocked when she realized he wasn't in fact a devil at all. He almost seemed human, if a little different. It was easy to sense a power within him easily ascribed to a magician, but there was something else too. Another power that felt much older and much more potent. Whatever it was, it set her senses on edge, Akeno's fight or flight responses kicking in without her consent.
Shaking her head as if to clear the strange feeling, Akeno refocused on the room, though that uneasy feeling persisted. Zeoticus' face was set in a frown.
"I'd be very interested to hear how that happened, Rias," he looked to his daughter.
Realizing that she was being put on the spot, Rias straightened up and pulled her shoulders back. It was one of the many things she admired about her friend. She could always enter a situation with confidence and take charge. "Harry was my client the night I left Japan. He had gotten ahold of one of my summoning contracts without knowing what it was."
Rias paused causing her father to motion towards her with his hand, "Go on."
"He activated the summoning circle without meaning too… but… due to the manner in which it was activated."
"What do you mean, Rias?" Sirzechs inquired. There was a look on the Devil Kings Akeno couldn't quite place. The others for the most part looked concerned, but that's not she would describe Rias' brother. He was clearly focused on the conversation just as much as the rest of them but he didn't look worried. Akeno almost wanted to say it looked like he knew something the rest of them didn't.
"It was activated with blood." There were a flurry of significant looks shared by all the adults in the room that left Akeno feeling even more worried and confused than before. Rias continued, "It's because of that, when I arrived… it trapped the both of us into a marriage bond."
"How do you know for sure?" The lord of the Gremory clan pressed.
She answered simply, "I can feel it, trust me."
Akeno didn't hear much of the conversation after that. Her sense of unease had just skyrocketed.
'Trapped us in a marriage bond.'
Those words echoed in her head over and over again. Rias had gone from being engaged to one person she hates, with a chance of escape, to already married to a stranger. This wasn't fair to her! Looking back at the boy, it suddenly all clicked. The wizards she'd met when looking for Rias had said they were searching for their student. That meant Harry was not just a magician, he was a wizard. One of the groups of people her father had actually taken the time to warn her off of when she was a child. She didn't like to put much stock in what her father said
The rumors she'd heard came to mind, how dangerous they were supposed to be. She remembered how they'd supposedly developed methods to bend others to their will that other magicians couldn't replicate. That's just what he must have done here! He'd trapped her for himself. He was trying to take her best friend away! The uneasiness she felt gave way to rage. She would protect her friend. Magical contract or not, it couldn't remain in effect if one of them was dead.
Calling upon her magic, she felt her power bubble up inside her. She locked her eyes on her target, unconsciously licking her lips and letting her legs rubbing together. Using her power like this always left her body tingling with pleasure. Her hands crackled with electricity. She pushed those arms outwards, a magic seal appeared in front of her hands. Her target suddenly turned, his eyes widening as he saw her. It too late for anyone else to do anything as holy lightning shot forth hitting the wizard in the chest.
He was blasted backward and landed on the floor his body writhing.
"Akeno!" The shout fell on deaf ears as she launched her attack again. His body arching under the electricity once again. The sight causing her body to buzz nicely. The third time her lightning surged forward, it was intercepted by a glowing red seal. Blinking in confusion, her arms were suddenly forced to the side. "What were you thinking?"
Rias' face swam into view as the pleasurable haze her powers brought on and her own rage died down. "What? I-"
"You've killed him! He may not be a regular human, but no one can survive that much of your power! Why, Akeno?"
Her eyes skirted over to unmoving body on the floor, Sirzechs was striding over towards him as the crimson seal faded away. As he nealt down, it started to dawn on her that he was the one to block her last attack.
"B-but, he enslaved you." She muttered. "I had to set you free." It wasn't making sense. Why was Rias looking upset by all this.
Her King was at a loss for words, "I don't know what to say. It was accident. He was innocent! I... I… I'll deal with you later… just don't do anything else."
She watched as Rias moved towards her brother. Akeno started to feel sick. She'd just killed someone. Someone it seemed her best friend actually cared about. She said it was an accident, Akeno didn't know how. The words 'he was innocent' continued to ring in her head.
"He's alive Rias," Sirzechs voice cut through her thoughts.
"What? How?" Eyes snapping to the boy, Rias hurried over crouching down beside him.
Her own attention consumed by the person her best friend suddenly seemed so close to, Akeno began moving forward as well. Sensing two others mirroring her actions, she paused, her yes flickering over the forms of Kiba and Koneko beside her. They were eyeing her warily, as if preparing to suddenly restrain her if she turned violent again. Rias' peerage was her family, and it hurt to know that those two had lost so much trust in her over only one decision. It was starting to dawn on her how much she'd messed up.
She moved forward tentatively, knowing her fellow members of peerage were still watching her closely. Stopping behind Rias, she finally looked at Harry. Whatever that unnerving feeling she'd got off him before was, now it was gone. All she could think about was how young he looked while unconscious. She knew he was about the same age as Rias and herself but it was hitting her that he really seemed so innocent.
"Look Rias," the Devil King pointed towards Harry's numerous wounds. Akeno had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing it all correctly. The shadow that the boy's body was casting on the ground was writhing around on it's own, streams of darkness snarking around his body to touch where he was hurt. Where that contact was made, the wounds were very slowly closing themselves. "This is not normal for a human, and I've never heard of a sacred gear like this either."
Rias licked her lips nervously, "I... may… have helped him collect the three Deathly Hallows."
All members of the Gremory family seemed to have a collective intake of breath. The rest of Rias' peerage looked around in confusion.
"The Master of Death," Sirzechs murmured, for the first time looking surprised.
Rias nodded. "He already had one without knowing it. I helped him find the other two with a tracking spell using sympathetic magic. He bonded to them, but I wasn't sure what kind of affects it would have on his body…" she gestured to the scene in front of them.
"This changes things," the head of the Gremory family spoke up, standing behind them all.
His daughter looked around at them all, "We'll have time to discuss all this later. I'm going to take Harry to my room and try and speed up his healing."
Scooping him up in her arms, Rias walked across the hall. Akeno followed a few steps, "Rias…"
She spun on the spot, eyeing her friend with a unreadable look, "Akeno." She poke in a monotone voice.
"I… I'm sorry Rias… I thought he was enslaving you… I… I…" Akeno felt tears pooling in her eyes.
Rias sighed, "I can't deal with this right now. Akeno, you tried to kill him. You tried to murder him in our home. I get that you thought you were protecting me, but… we'll talk about this later. I need to take care of my new husband now."
Rias turned heading down one of the long hallways of the mansion, towards where Akeno knew her best friend's bedroom to be. As she walked away, she couldn't help but feel that the structure of their old life was shifting away just as quickly. Things were changing. For better or for worse, she wasn't sure.
As he fell through the darkness, Harry had been in pain. He couldn't remember where he was or how he had gotten here. All he knew was that he hurt. Unable to think clearly, he continued to fall through the nothingness.
After an indiscernible amount of time. Harry finally realized that the agony he was in was lessening ever so slowly. Floating now in the darkness, Harry, still unsure of his current situation, allowed the pain to recede. As it did, he couldn't help but find that he seemed to also be slowly sinking into a comforting warmth. It felt somewhat familiar but he couldn't place it.
As he finally started to come back to full awareness, and as feeling returned to his limbs, Harry cracked open his bleary eyes. The room was dark and he didn't recognize it. Trying to move, he soon realized that was a harder task than he initially thought. That comforting warmth he had been feeling was wrapped all around him and holding him tight. Squirming around, requiring a surprising amount of effort, Harry found himself face to face with what seemed to be his now regular bedfellow.
Rias was blinking her eyes as if just awakening herself, but upon seeing him awake, her expression became completely alert. He'd idly noticed that she was naked once again, but his lingering exhaustion left him to tired to become embarrassed.
"Hi," he said tentatively.
"Harry!" She pulled him in tight, his body becoming flush against hers. Feeling the velvety smoothness of her skin seemingly rubbing up against his whole body, Harry paused.
"Am I naked?"
"We needed full skin on skin contact for optimal healing to take effect," she said matter of factly. Harry took a moment to register this, unsure if she was joking or not, "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," he answered absentmindedly, as he tried to make sense of her earlier statement, "Wait. What do you mean healing? What happened?"
Harry found himself having difficulty remembering how he'd gotten to where he was. All he remembered was planning on heading to the underworld.
Rias didn't say anything right away, prompting Harry to look at her more closely. He was surprised to see the guilty frown she was sporting. It was the first time he'd seen such a look on her face, "Rias?"
The girl in question wouldn't meet his eye, "Akeno, my Queen, attacked you. I'm so sorry Harry. You should have been safe as a guest in my home, well your home now too."
As soon as she said that, the memories came flooding back to him. Arriving in the opulent Gremory Manor, briefly meeting her family, and the beautiful black haired woman who had been staring at him before, only to launch great arches of yellow lighting from her hands moments later. He also remembered the pain, the all consuming, never ending pain it had caused. Looking over himself, even after all that, he was surprised to see no new marks upon his body.
"Why did she do it?" He asked quietly.
Harry wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand he was pissed. This woman had just attacked him out of nowhere, but on the other hand he couldn't help but feel hurt. Being raised with the Dursley's like he had, he'd always had acceptance issues. It was something that he was good at hiding but he was always scared that people wouldn't accept him. His so called relatives never had. It was one of the reasons he was still so surprised that Rias already seemed to care about him after only a few days.
"I… I don't know," Meeting her gaze once again, Harry realized that Rias seemed just as rattled by all this as he was. "I know Akeno can have her sadistic streak, but… but I've never known her to cruel. She said something about protecting me. She thought you had enslaved me…"
Harry flinched, "I kind of did."
"Stop!" Rias exclaimed, startling the young wizard. "It's not your fault. You said you didn't intend for this to happen and I believe you. You didn't enslave me either. We've been bonded together in marriage for life. You could argue that you trapped me in that, but I was already being married off against my will anyway, so really, I still ended up trading up."
Harry nodded, not completely agreeing with her, as he still felt guilty, but he didn't want to argue, he was still too tired. "I see."
"I haven't had a real chance to deal with her yet. I haven't even talked to her, but I refuse to believe she had any malicious intent," Rias paused. "I understand if you hold ill will towards her, but even though I know it's too much to ask, I will ask that you give her a chance to make amends in the future."
"Ok," Harry answered simply.
"I understand, it's just that-" Rias stopped, blinking at him confusion, "What did you just say?"
"Ok," he repeated.
"Ok?" She asked incredulously. "How can you accept that so easily after what she did to you? That's not normal."
Harry shrugged as well as he could in his current position, his arm rubbing up between her bare breasts.
"I will admit, I'm not her biggest fan at the moment, but if she really did it because she thought I was enslaving you, how can I blame her? I would do almost anything if I was trying to save my friends."
Rias still looked shocked, "Don't you have any sense of self preservation at all? Any care about your own life?"
"Of course I do!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm just doing my best to move on from the experience. I know it's easy to say right now. Words are cheap, but I have to try, for everyone's sake. It's not important enough for it to be that big of a deal anyway, my purpose in life has always been to stop Voldemort. The prophecy has ensured that, otherwise my own parents wouldn't have died."
The beautiful crimson haired devil was speechless, "Why would you say that? Of course you're worth it." Harry frowned and Rias took his face in her hands. "You are! Don't take all this the wrong way, I'm not upset that you are willing to try and work things out with Akeno, I'm actually quite glad. I'm just surprised. You're seeming to get over it even faster than I am, and she's my best friend."
Harry sighed, "I'm just trying to do what's right."
"I know you are," he jumped when he felt her hand suddenly move up to running through his hair instead. It was a surprisingly caring gesture from someone he barely knew, but he found it surprisingly comforting. "That is the one thing that came apparent to me when we first met a few days ago. I think it's one of your most admirable traits."
Harry allowed silence to descend upon the room as he thought over her words. He still had a hard time believing it. Just like how he knew how people thought more of him than they should have as the 'Boy-Who-Lived,' he couldn't help but worry that someone like Rias was overestimating him as well, but he didn't want to get into that right then.
"What about your parents? Your brother? How did they take everything?"
Rias hesitated, "They took things ok. They were understandably concerned." She paused again. "I had to tell them about the Deathly Hallows… my father seemed more receptive after that. Otherwise I didn't get to discuss much with them as I was healing you… we need to talk about that at some point actually."
"I see," Harry wasn't exactly pleased that whatever powers he may or may not have affected Zeoticus Gremory's opinion of him, but based off what Rias had told him before, he did understand the man's position. As much as he may not like it, the family he was now tied to through Rias was heavily steeped in politics and his accidental marriage had a big impact on them.
Without meaning to, Harry let out a big yawn, his eyes feeling heavy once again.
"We can talk about this later. Get some rest Harry," she whispered, pulling him closer.
"M'kay," he murmured, sleepiness overtaking him. Without overthinking it, he burrowed his head closer to her soft skin, and breathing in the comforting fruity scent of her crimson hair. Snuggled in comfortably, he mumbled, "So comfy…"
Falling asleep, Harry wouldn't see it, but Rias gave her new husband a tender smile at his words. While not yet 'in love' with him, the Gremory family was known for it's close familial bonds, and that was something she already considered Harry... family. If this situation had to have happened with anyone, she was glad it was with Harry. The inherent goodness he seemed to exude was much more attractive to her than any perverted asshole like Riser ever could have been.
Slowly waking up once again, Harry could tell immediately something was wrong. While the bed he was in was still comfortable, the sheets still soft like silk, and he was still warm, he was not feeling the same type of warmth he had been becoming accustomed to. It didn't take him long to realize what it was.
Rias was gone.
Sitting up immediately, his eyes darted around the darkened room. Before he could fall into a panic, a sound caught his attention.
Knock. Knock.
Someone was knocking at the door. He didn't even get a chance to say a word before the door was being opened and a familiar looking woman with silver hair strode in, her expression blank.
"Grayfia!" Harry nearly squawked. He was never more aware of the fact that he was completely naked except for a single sheet covering his lower half than he was at that moment. The head Gremory maid was an extremely beautiful woman but that didn't do much to help, he was still embarrassed around Rias and she was now supposed to be his wife.
"Sirzechs would like to speak with you and is expecting you in ten minutes."
Without another word, she turned, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Letting out a sigh, Harry allowed himself to fall backwards onto the bed. The fact that he was expected to head to a meeting with Rias' older brother, who also happened to be one of the four Devil Kings, was just a tad intimidating. He wished Rias was here with him.
Forcing him to climb out of bed, Harry looked around the room more properly. Sometime after Grayfia's entrance, she must have turned up the lights. He had been pretty sure before that this was Rias' bedroom, and he was still convinced it was, even if it didn't look how she expected it to. The walls were covered in posters for what he was pretty sure was that anime stuff she had been talking about. The shelves contained volumes upon volumes of some kind of book series, that once he opened one of them, appeared to be similar to a black and white comic book. Since he was able to read it, he didn't even realize it wasn't in english.
Putting it away, Harry focused on his appearance. Willing his cloak, which had been withdrawn for the moment,, to form around him in the shape of a casual button down shirt and pair of jeans, he nodded at his appearance in the mirror. He figured he looked put together well enough for now. If it looked like Grayfia disapproved, he could switch it to something even more formal if needed.
Opening the door, he found the woman in question waiting for him with a stoic expression. "You said Sirzechs wanted to see me?"
She nodded curtly, "I will bring you to him. Follow me."
Trailing after her down may long winding halls, Harry made sure to look around. It was obvious the Manor was quite opulent, showing the wealth and prestige of the Gremory family, yet at the same time it was not overstated. Most things seemed tastefully done. The many twists and turns weren't as confusing as they might be to most people, living in Hogwarts for several years having accustomed him to such buildings.
"So, do you know where Rias is? She wasn't there when I awoke."
"She already put off her duties to tend to your health," Grayfia commented without looking back. "She has gone to deal with her peerage now."
"Ok," Harry wasn't really sure what Grayfia thought of him. He often got the feeling that she disapproved of him, but she seemed that way about most things. She had even spoken to the other family members in that same somewhat detached manner.
They continued walking for a few more minutes before finally stopping outside a large door. Pausing for moment, Grayfia knocked loudly, before pushing said doors open and striding within. As Harry followed her, he took a moment to look around. It was obvious to him that this was some kind of office or study. The walls around him were covered by large bookshelves full old and rare looking tomes while the far wall held two large windows overlooking a surprisingly Earth-looking view. He never would have known he was in the Underworld just by this view alone. Despite all this, the most impressive part of the whole office was the man sitting at a desk in front of said windows.
Sirzechs, the Great Devil King Lucifer had long crimson hair to match his sisters. His face was a bit longer and was obviously more masculine even if it did retain the aristocratic structure that Rias had as well. His eyes were blue but didn't seem to have any hint of green in them. Despite his warm and friendly expression, his eyes were somehow colder showing without a doubt that he was much older than his youthful appearance suggested.
"Ah, Mr. Potter. It's good to see you. Please take a seat." Moving towards the proffered chair, he sat down.
"Its good to meet you as well… uhhh…" Harry hesitated not really sure how to address the Devil King. "You majesty?"
Rias' older brother let out a loud laugh waving away Harry's comment, "There's no need to be so formal. You may call me Sirzechs… or," he paused, "if you'd like… big brother."
Harry's eyes widened so far they threatened to pop right out of his head, "What?"
"Well, we are family after all now. You married my little sister."
"Oh… right." Harry was still having difficulty wrapping his head around that concept. Hearing a strange sound, he looked over his shoulder to see Grayfia clucking her tongue disapprovingly.
"Ah yes, Grayfia. Thank you bringing Harry here- can I call you Harry?" Harry nodded blankly. "Good- thank you for bringing Harry here to see me. You may go about your duties for now."
The silver haired devil nodded, "Very well, but remember that you must return to work later today. You have already lost enough time with this… situation... as it is."
"Grayfia!" He whined, pouting like a child. "Why do you have to be so mean?"
Watching her one eye start to twitch, Harry resisted the urge to duck for cover. What the hell had he gotten himself mixed up in? Was this really one of the four rulers of hell?
Something shot past Harry's head, ruffling his hair. Looking around, he tried to figure it out, but if it hadn't been for Sirzechs frightened yelp, he might not have noticed. A sharp shard of ice was sticking out of the wooden top of his desk, only centimeters away from the devil's hand.
"I was only kidding, Grayfia!" He laughed nervously.
"Idiot," she muttered before ordering, "Behave! I'll be back in a while. Be ready to leave."
Without another a word, she departed the room, shutting the door behind her. Turning back around, Harry's eyes still wide in shock, he took in the now perfectly composed face of the Devil King as he straightened the tie from the suit he was wearing.
"I'm sorry about my wife," he commented idly. "Grayfia can be a bit… strict."
Harry just gaped at the man… no devil. What was up with this family… his family now? "I… it's ok.. I don't think she likes me much anyway."
"What?" Sirzechs asked confused. "Grayfia doesn't have any problems with you. Like I said she can just be a bit strict. Despite wishing for Rias to get her wish and get away from the man our father betrothed her to, she probably disapproves of the method in which it was accomplished." Looking thoughtful, he continued, "Don't worry yourself about it."
Harry nodded still feeling a bit put off balance by all this. None of these devils were acting like he expected them to, "Anyway, you said you wanted to speak with me?"
"Ah, yes," he said. "First of all, I'd like to extend the apology of our family for Miss Himejima's attack on your person. While the actions of a servant are usually the responsibility of their King, in this case you were also a guest of the Gremory family, even if you are a recognized member yourself now."
Harry's eyes widened again as that news sank in, "Recognized? So you… I… your father is ok with this… you're ok with all this?"
Sirzechs shrugged good naturedly, "It's an interesting situation. I was starting to find myself opposed to match our father made for Rias, and hoped to allow her to make her own choice." He frowned, "You did take that choice away, but I also know it wasn't by your own volition. On top of that you did get her away from Riser Phenex and she does indeed seem happy."
"Oh… err.. Thank you?" Harry tried not really sure how he should respond to all that.
"I think I should be thanking you Harry-chan. Is there anything I can do for you?" He said snickering.
"What?" Harry wasn't sure why, but he found this teasing-version of Sirzechs scarier than the whole Lord of Hell persona he'd built up in his head before hand. It reminded him too much of how easily Fred and George could joke around before suddenly beginning to prank you mercilessly. Shaking his head, he tried to recompose himself, "I- I'm fine. Anyways, is that all you wanted to meet me about?"
Sirzechs face became serious, "Not quite. My father has also asked that I humbly request on behalf of the family that you keep quiet on your marital situation for now. Especially around others in the Underworld. Until the preparations are made to contain the political backlash from the announcement, it would be beneficial to all, if you would act as her contracted magician in public."
"Contracted magician?"
Sirzechs nodded, "Yes. I'm not sure how much you know about the supernatural world and specifically magicians? How the relations within different factions are? Magicians-"
"Wizards. We call ourselves wizards, and Rias did explain about Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. About the Great War. She explained about the Evil Pieces and all that too. She explained how devils avoid wizards in certain countries, especially the United Kingdoms, because of the Ministry of Magic's discriminatory laws against non-humans. She spoke about how they were known for trying to enslave devils and other creatures. Rias said it was one of the reason's her Queen attacked me, she thought I was trying to enslave Rias. Is that what you meant?" He asked.
"You're not quite right about all that."
"Huh?" Harry was confused, "But that's what Rias said."
Sirzechs sighed, "While Rias is quite knowledgeable about the current state of the Underworld because of her position. She doesn't know as much about certain parts of history, especially in regards to other factions."
"What do you mean?"
"Well the first thing you need to understand that while technically all humans with magical abilities are the same, they are actually two very different factions. A long time ago with the invention of wands, magicians found themselves divided. For most magicians, magic is about using your head and making calculations. It is all about calculating the cause and effect, especially with the use of seals." He explained. "For those who switched to the usage of wands and took the name of witches and wizards, like yourself, your magic is much more like how us devils use our power. It is about emotion, imagination, and will power."
"But it's impossible for Wizards and witches to use magic without their wands, and I've never heard any of this before," Harry exclaimed.
"That's only what they want you to believe. That leads to what else you had wrong. Devils as a whole do not avoid England. There are actually many magicians who reside there that we have contact with. It's wand-using Witches and Wizards all around the world that all three of the factions do not interact with."
"What? Why?"
"At this point, my sister was partially right. Where she's wrong is that all species have attempted to enslave members of other races at some point or another in history, even magicians. What happened with the wizards though was a breaking point for the supernatural community. Apart from us devils, there are other denizens here in the Underworld, one of which is the Fallen Angels. Another lower class of demon, imps, used to be plentiful in our world. They were not as powerful nor as intelligent as any other major races, but their magic was quite interesting."
"Were?" Harry asked tentatively.
"A wizard, coincidentally from your own country, had devised a ritual to enslave imps to his command. Normally, this wouldn't be anything special, but this wasn't a normal situation. This wizard managed an unprecedented feat, he bound the will of the entire species to them in perpetuity."
Harry paused, a feeling of horror growing in the pit of his stomach.
"I think you would know them now as House Elves."
The last comment hit him like a physical blow. How had no one known all this? Hermione had spent months researching the history of House Elves to try and set them all free, she had never come across this information.
"W-what happened?"
"After it got around about what they did, the wand-using Wizards were banished completely from the rest of the supernatural community. It isn't perfect, as you know they are still heavily connected to the goblins and certain other magical races, but as Rias was saying, their own more recent actions have worsened those relationships."
Harry wasn't sure what to think. This was completely different than everything he'd learned since first entering the magic world five years earlier. Had everything he had been told a lie? The more he thought about it, the more he realized it wouldn't surprise him. Just look at what else the Ministry of Magic had lied about before.
"Do wizards know about all this? Do they know about this history? About devils? About Angels?"
"Some," Sirzechs answered, "but no most do not. Though the factions do not interact with them at all, knowledge would not have faded. Unfortunately, your leaders like to pretend we do not exist and that they alone are the supreme supernatural power in the world. Its an ignorant view, really, but there is no one there to correct them. The magicians won't have anything to do with them, hating wizards even more than any of the other factions, as they feel their actions reflected badly on them."
"So what does this have to with that whole magician contract thing you mentioned earlier?"
"Yes, a contracted magician," Sirzechs corrected. "Some human magic users form contracts with devils for the purpose of gaining power, knowledge, or even just for the prestige of being aligned with one of our great houses. In return they serve said devil as their retainer for the agreed about amount of time as payment. The details of the contract are worked out on a case to case basis."
Thinking on it, Harry started to put some things together, "Sort of like your peerages. New devils serve in another's peerage as payment for being reincarnated. Then if they work hard enough, and advance in the ranks, they have a chance of being set free and forming a peerage of their own."
Raising a single eyebrow he responded, "Exactly."
Sighing, Harry ran his hand through his own hair, "I was not the most open minded when Rias first told me about the Evil Piece system early. I jumped to conclusions and most likely insulted her with my comments. It seems I'll have to find time to apologize."
"It's actually a common occurrence. There are many who believe our peerage system to be no better than slavery. The fact that you changed your mind and are willing to admit it is quite admirable," Sirzechs said.
Harry narrowed his eyes, "I'm surprised that you are still so agreeable to all this. Even if everything you said earlier is true, how do you know I'm being honest? How do you know what I did really was an accident? How do you know I am trustworthy? You are all but inviting me into your family and yet we have just met. What are you getting out of all this?"
Sirzechs smiled, and something about that smile chilled him to the bone. It was a reminder that while he put off this laid back, easy going vibe, there was a reason Sirzechs Lucifer was one of the four great Devil Kings.
"Do not mistake me Harry Potter. I care a great deal for my family and would never endanger them. I know exactly who you are. I know what you are famous for, and I know of the return of Voldemort in your Wizarding community." He said calmly. "I have been keeping my eye on you for a while and that is the reason I was so surprised to see you arrive here with my sister. It's also the same reason I know you are a good person. I know you are trustworthy."
"I see," Harry answered, licking his lips nervously. Despite the compliment, he couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved.
"As for what we get out of it, well, apart from getting my sister out of her unfavorable position, I will say it is not unwelcome to connect the Master of Death to our family either."
Harry smiled tightly, "Yes Rias mentioned that it was brought up between you all."
"I don't think you understand the position you're in, Harry." His new brother-in-law pushed, "You are essentially your own faction. You are neither devil, nor Angel, fallen or not. You aren't dragon, Youkai, Vampire, Werewolf, or even a god in the traditional sense. You were human and yet now you're not."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked feeling panic begin to bubble up inside him. How was he not human?
"Haven't you felt it? These new powers you've been gaining, they are not just extra abilities given to you. You are no longer entirely human anymore."
Harry knew he was right. He'd been thinking the same thing not too much earlier back at the Burrow. He hadn't wanted to accept it, his whole identity being tied to the fact that he was a human being. The problem was he wasn't even an identifiable race it seemed, being unique as Sirzechs had said. It made his Uncle's words from his childhood ring through his head. Freak. He pushed those thoughts away.
Looking back at the devil before him, Harry opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the sound of knocking at the door. They opened a minute later to admit Grayfia once again.
"Your time is running short, Sirzechs." she announced. "You must return to your duties soon."
"Very well Grayfia," he looked at Harry again. "It was a pleasure talking to my new little brother." Harry felt himself twitch along with Grayfia at his blasé attitude. "Remember if asked in public, say you are a Magician currently contracted to the Gremory family through Lady Rias. My father wants to speak with you tonight, and he should give you something to help with all that. There will also be a colleague of mine coming over to meet you soon about the official alliance of our factions, but don't worry, I'm sure you'll get on amazingly with Serafall."
Everything was starting to happen so far, Harry felt like his head was spinning, "Oh… ok." Before he could forget Harry voiced one last question, "I have one last question before I go, how does Rias not know all this? She didn't even mention some of it, and got other stuff wrong. Do all devils know about Voldemort? Both you and Grayfia here have mentioned him, and yet Rias had never heard of him."
"You have to understand Harry, that much like wizardkind has tried to forget these events and so have many devils. It's not exactly hidden like it is from you, but it is rarely talked about. Rias was not alive when all of this occurred so she has only heard bits and pieces. That's why she had made some wrong assumptions about wizards. As for the other, only a few devils are aware of what is going in your community at present. In my position, I've always tried to keep aware of the whole Supernatural community, banished or not." He clarified before turning to his wife, "Grayfia, dear, could you lead Harry to wherever he needs to go next?"
"I must return with you to work at once," she protested.
"Harry doesn't know his way around the manor yet, and things would go much easier if he had an escort," Sirzechs said smoothly. Harry felt a bit annoyed of being spoken of in this manner, but he knew it was probably true that he would get lost otherwise.
Grayfia's eyes narrowed, "Fine, but you better not try and run from me. I'll be right back and we'll leave at once."
"Run from you," the Devil King laughed nervously, "Wherever would you get that idea?"
Keeping her eyes narrowed at her husband for a minute, making him sweat, she finally turned back around towards the door. "Come with me Mr, Potter. Lady Rias is still with her peerage but she told me you were welcome to join her when you were done with Sirzechs,"
Following Sirzech's Queen and wife, Harry tried to assimilate all the new information he'd just learned. Despite all this, all he could think about was how he was about to come face to face with the woman who'd almost killed him.