Deal with the Devil – Harry Potter.
Kraven Shayde resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the man in front of him babbled out excuse after excuse, his mind constantly drifting away from the pathetic human to things much more interesting, like what the chefs were cooking that night, to what his son was doing, and then finally to what his wife-partner-mate was wearing.
As silence finally fell in his throne room Kraven's mind snapped back to attention and his black eyes drifted down from the ceiling to stare at the trembling human standing in the middle of the room. "Huh?" he asked simply, "Are you finished?"
"I- I- I wi- I will have the money for you." the man stuttered out instantly.
"I don't care," Kraven interrupted bluntly, waving a hand lazily through the air and shutting the human up as he stretched out slowly, "Whether you will have the money for me or not," he corrected. "What I care about, is that you should have had the money for me yesterday," he explained gently, "I did give you one year to gather it for me did I not? I was being generous yes? I believe I was," he pointed out as the balding man nodded rapidly. "Then why do you not have the money for me?" Kraven demanded softly, "I find myself… insulted," he threw out there, hiding his pleasure at watching the sweating human squirm.
"I- I swear – Lord Shadye – that you will get what I owe you and- uh- and more!" the human promised quickly, raising his hands and making a strange gesture towards Kraven that was obviously supposed to 'soothe' him.
"You're right," Kraven agreed slowly, his eyes flicking past the human to one of the guards lurking in the shadows of his throne room, a silent command passing between them telepathically. "I will have more," he confirmed as the human let out a shriek of pain, the guard having leapt forward and taken him down at the knees, the human now kneeling before Kraven's throne as one clawed hand holding him down while the other rested on the crown of his head. "But what do you have that I want?" Kraven asked innocently as he slowly folded up from where he was lounging and gracefully prowled down the stairs as his wings flexed eerily, pure black scales glistening in the light and making the human whimper.
"I gave your wife back her eyes," Kraven hissed as he slowly crouched before the human, "All I asked for was half of the proceeds of her business. Proceeds that we both know go straight into a savings account, meaning that there was no reason for you to not have it".
"My wife- she's very ill," the man blurted.
"No she's not," Kraven corrected simply, slipping into the human's mind as cool black eyes met terrified brown. "And your car didn't get stolen. Nor did your children need the money," he continued, shooting down the human's excuses the moment they came to his mind. "You got greedy!" Kraven snarled as his own suddenly clawed hand wrapped around the human's throat and he lifted the man into the air, "And while I'm normally... very fond... of greedy people. I find people who try cheat me out of money to quite despicable," he growled out, his voice losing all human qualities and becoming purely demonic.
Tightening his grip for a moment Kraven hesitated before releasing the human suddenly, smirking for a split-second at the startled 'yip' of pain that echoed from the man as he hit the ground. "Let it not be known that I cannot be generous however," he decided slowly as he crouched back down before the shaking man, "You have one week," he declared as the human's eyes lifted to meet his once more, "To pay double my fees or you and your precious little family with find yourselves scattered across the world in very very tiny pieces," he promised. As the human started nodding rapidly Kraven's hand snapped out and he grasped the man's face without warning, "Until then however," he whispered softly, "I need collateral," he explained as he felt his powers going to work at the briefest of thoughts.
"Return him to his home," Kraven ordered as he stood and climbed the dais to his throne once more, throwing himself down lazily as he threw one leather-clad leg over the throne's arm. "In one piece," he added as a second thought as the man ran his hands over his face, "His sight will be returned after he gives us what is ours".
As his guards materialized from the walls and hooked their hands under the human's arms, carrying him away and out of his sight, Kraven found himself slumping down in his throne again, tilting his head back against the back of throne as a loud exhale rolled from his lungs. "Tell me that there is no one else," he called out slowly, raising a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose, "Tell me I can go spend some time with my son".
"I'm afraid my liege," his steward/bodyguard/best friend's voice replied from behind his throne, "There is still more business to deal with today".
Kraven sighed and waved his hand in a 'go on' gesture, rolling his neck and smirking when it cracked loudly, wishing once more his wife were allowed to massage his shoulders while he worked (Something only forbidden because he could never pay attention to business when his wife was working her magic like that).
"Our Brother Severus Tobias is here with important news," Drakam, admitted, "Something regarding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry".
"Tell Severus he is to spend the rest of the day in our potions lab," Kraven declared, "At his own leisure," he added quickly, "I will speak with him privately after dinner".
"Very well my liege," Drakam agreed, "And your next appointment is an extremely important young man who seeks your presence".
Kraven growled under his breath, "I hate formal gatherings, they're so tedious".
"This is not so much of a formal meeting as it an informal one," Drakam corrected even as a baby's laugh echoed through the throne room and Kraven snapped up on the throne instantly, every fibre of his being locking onto the giggling baby being carried into the room by the golden haired and winged woman that had also been plaguing Kraven's thoughts that morning.
"DADDY!" Kraven's son exclaimed happily with another giggle as tiny clawed fingers pointed in his direction, the small black wings on his back flapping furiously even if his son wouldn't start flying for a couple more years at the least. "DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!" echoed from the room as Kraven felt his face splitting into a grin, leaping from his chair and meeting his son and wife in the middle of the room, not hesitating to sweep his son into his arms and kiss his wife on the corner of her mouth as the sound of Drakam ordering everyone out of the room sounded behind them.
"How is my handsome man?" Kraven asked as he nuzzled his cooing son, "And how is his beautiful mother?" he added pulling his wife closer to repeat the process.
"Dante wanted to see you," Lilith assured him as they shared a quick kiss, "He's been calling for Daddy all morning, I asked for Drakam to send for us the moment your last appointment was over," she explained making Kraven beam down at his son.
Kraven was stopped from answering as his son twisted in his arms to slap a hand against his chest, staring up at him with eyes far too serious for an almost two-year-old. "Bad Daddy!" Dante declared stubbornly, "No go! Daddy stay!"
"He's also been telling everyone who would listen how bad Daddy was for leaving him," Lilith added with an amused smirk as Kraven quickly mumbled out some apologies for his son who actually managed to somehow look sceptical about believing him.
"Well I'm sorry Dante, it's just us for the rest of the day now," Kraven promised, stiffening as there was a knock at the throne room door and he turned in time to see Drakam slipping back into the room with an apologetic look on his face.
"I beg your forgiveness my liege, but one of your watchers has caught a family bound by debt to Clan Shayde trying to flee the country," Drakam explained, "He called the guards and had the four of them brought straight to me".
"What kind of debt?" Kraven asked even as he looked down at his son sadly, brushing a hand across Dante's soft wings that fluttered automatically at the touch.
"Multiple ones my liege. Gambling, bill payments, job acquisition," Drakam clarified, "It was your belief that he was an 'easy' mark with how he'd never get the required money to pay off his debts".
"And he was trying to flee the country you say?" Kraven asked as he glanced back over at his best friend.
"Our watcher reported him buying three one way tickets to America," Drakam confirmed making Kraven pull a face.
"This won't take long," Lilith said dismissively as she took Dante back and bounced him in her arms, "We can wait for Daddy can't we?" she asked her son who giggled before nodding quickly, likely not understanding most of the words his mother had spoken.
"You heard my wife, bring them in," Kraven ordered with a grateful smile in Lilith's direction, watching as Dante wrapped a handful of his mother's blonde hair around his fist.
The sound of muffled screaming and a loudly crying baby soon filled the air causing Kraven to scowl at the door to the throne room in disgust (Dante crying was one thing, Kraven thought, other people's babies were just disgusting in general), the doors being pushed open as four guards either levitated, or carried in the case of the two guards holding babies the family into the room. As Lilith took Dante over to the dais and absently conjured a small black rocking chair to sit in, Kraven slipped into the obscenely fat man's mind, discovering that one Vernon Dursley had in fact been trying to flee the country to escape from the debt he could never pay off.
"Shut that thing up," Kraven snarled angrily, glaring at the chubby baby that would soon be following in its father's footsteps in the weight department as it's screams only got louder at the sight of him. Grunting in approval (And making the mental note to mock the guard later) as the guard holding him conjured a black pacifier in a wisp of black smoke to shove in the kid's mouth, Kraven approached the fat human and sneered at him, "Did you really think you could escape me?" he demanded slowly, the human screaming and yelling at him through the gag in his mouth. "Until you pay off your little debt, I own you," he growled out as he eyed the black chains wrapped around the man's bulk, "And to be honest there is a lot of you to own, but that's beside the point, since we both know that you're never going to pay off the aforementioned debt".
"The main question now is just, 'what do I do with you?' isn't it? I mean you tried to flee the country, in clear violation of our agreement," Kraven pointed out innocently, "And here I thought we were friends, we have been doing business together for what? Almost two years now isn't it?"
When the fat human started trying to reply Kraven just shook his head and cupped his hand to his ear, "Yeah I can't understand you, you've got this thing, across your mouth," he taunted. "Well? Grovel" Kraven ordered simply.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO US! WE'RE NORMAL FOLKS!" Vernon roared in response making Kraven's fist lash out and slam into the human's jaw, a loud crack echoing through the throne room.
"Actually I can do this to you," Kraven corrected slowly, feeling the black in his irises growing out to encompass his entire eye as his wings spread out threateningly and the room darkened eerily. "Because like I said Vermin. I. OWN. YOU," he snarled out, "Now. What are you going to give me to make this all go away?" he hissed as he made a shooing motion with his hands.
"Mo-money," Vernon began in a frightened stutter.
"You don't have any money," Kraven interrupted, not needing his mental powers to know that much, "If you did you wouldn't keep borrowing it from me".
"The house!" Vernon blurted.
"Isn't actually your house," Kraven countered with a smirk that revealed the tip of one long fang, "I checked that out. The rent that you're supposed to be paying to the real owners is actually funding the various prostitutes you buy on Sunday when you're out 'golfing'," he clarified for Petunia, Vernon's wife with a smug vindication.
"The boy," Vernon exclaimed making Kraven falter, blinking at the human in shock.
"You'd sell your own son to me?" Kraven ground out in disgust, his paternal instincts telling him to just tear the useless lump's throat out and be done with him already.
"He's not mine," Vernon whimpered, "He's a freak like you!"
Gesturing absently with one hand Kraven ordered the two guards to step forward, each of them holding a baby no older than two years old in their arms, the chubby one struggling to get away (With the pacifier taped to his mouth to ensure his silence) while the green-eyed one just stared at him silently. Looking between the two of them Kraven sniffed the air hesitantly, his head snapping around to stare at the green-eyed boy in shock as he gestured for his wife to approach him quickly, "What's your name little one?" he asked slowly, raising an eyebrow when the boy just shook his head and burrowed back into the guard's arms.
"What's his name? Vermin?" Kraven demanded as Lilith reached them and sniffed at the boy slowly before jerking back in shock. "NOW!"
"I- I don't know!" Vernon blurted, Kraven's claws twitching with the urge to kill the pathetic human when he slipped into the man's mind and found he was telling the truth.
Looking instead to Petunia, Kraven dove into her mind and quickly found the boy's name and the reason for his label as a 'freak'. "My love, it seems young Harry here is not only a Wizard, but is a Son of Lustre," Kraven explained as he turned to face his wife.
Lilith's eyebrow just rose at him with an amused look in her eyes, "I know a fellow Lustre Demon when I smell one dear," she pointed out slowly making Kraven grimace at his own stupidity before he turned to stare at the boy in the guard's arms again, "Even if he is only half".
"He's not just any Lustre Demon," Kraven corrected slowly, "He's Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived".
"His parents are dead then, explains what he was doing with these pathetic excuses for Humans," Lilith spat as Kraven shrank back at the familiar look in his wife's eyes as she stared at Harry. "What do you think Dante? Do you want a brother?" his wife asked their son who was staring at the infant Lustre Demon with wide eyes.
"We're not adopting him," Kraven declared bravely, steeling his nerves just in time for Lilith to turn dangerous eyes on him. "If you wish to bring him into the Clan then so be it, if you wish to raise him at Dante's side then so be it," he allowed quickly, not under the illusion that his wife would just bend over at his words, "But it will be as spiritual brother, as Dante's glorified manservant, not as his blood brother".
"But we will be raising him won't we Kraven?" Lilith asked slowly, her words dripping with ice.
"Of course my love," Kraven agreed quickly as her eyes narrowed, "He will be Protectorate of my Line, raised as Drakam was to me".
"That'll do," Lilith decided, taking Harry from the guard's arms without hesitation, "We'll need to give you a new name though, Harry, what a disgustingly muggle name".
Kraven sighed softly as Lilith turned and left the throne room with both babies, the Lord of the Shayde clan glancing over at his steward with a lost expression on his face, "So did that really just happen?" he asked quietly.
"Well? What about us?" Vernon demanded rudely making Kraven turn around to stare at the fat lump, "We gave you the boy, now let us go!"
"You're right" Kraven agreed, "You did give us the boy. In fact, that was such a great thing of you to do that we're going to write off that entire rent thing alright?"
"What?" Vernon stuttered out, "The boy must be worth more than that to you!"
"He is. But you're trying to sell him to me, I don't care what he's really worth, I just want to see you suffer," Kraven admitted with a smirk, "Take the lump to the mines, he can work off his debt there. The Giraffe can join the cleaning staff, that way she can continue to raise her son until he's of age to start working too," he ordered loudly, grinning and baring his teeth as he waved goodbye to the red-faced screaming humans.
"Stupid humans," Kraven muttered before turning to face Drakam as the guards dragged said stupid humans from the room, "Drakam. Tell me there was nothing I could have done to have stopped Lilith from adopting that Harry boy".
"As you steward or as your friend?" Drakam countered, "As your steward? Yes, you could have ordered her not to. But as your friend? You know the rules of marriage as well as I, the wife is always right, even when, no especially, when she's wrong".
Kraven grunted under his breath as he cracked his neck and flexed his wings again, "The Wizards aren't going to like this. Their precious Boy-Who-Lived being raised by Celestials. Demonic Celestials".
"No my liege. They're not," Drakam confirmed.
Kraven shot him a look before turning and heading towards the side doors, eager to return to his private quarters to spend some time with his son, "Then Drakam. Fix it".
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
Based on DZ2's 'Prisoner of Magic' challenge, this is actually one of the first AU ideas I had, as it's a little obvious that none of the above characters are part of either the Harry Potter world or any other.
Remember to leave a review if you liked this idea and make sure to follow this story, more ideas are sure to come!