Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Devil May Cry, or Sword Art Online. This disclaimer is for the whole fic. (So I don't have to keep repeating myself.) Yes this is a three way crossover.
Warnings: Female Harry Potter, Harry Potter has a Twin, Violence, abuse, language, dark themes (occasionally it's Sword Art Online, and contains abuse for crying out loud), brief identity crisis, references to both suicidal thoughts and actual suicide, mentions of sex, mentions of rape in the form of having sex with someone who's under the influence of love potion, mention of forced abortion, Evil/bashing of Dumbledore and other HP characters, Gender Bending, out of character behavior of known characters, Dark Lily Potter, and just generally AU for all three of the crossovered universes. Any warnings I may have missed will be added in the chapter it happens in, the rest concern the fic in general.
Pairings: Kirito(AKA Kazuto Kirigaya)/Marzanna(fem!Harry), one sided James Potter/Lily Potter, Dante/Lily Potter, Nero/Kyrie, Sparda/Eva, Mike(Marzanna's Twin)/Hermione, others undecided as of yet if there are any.
AN: Marzanna is a Goddess of witchcraft, death, and winter, she's also associated with nightmares. Hanna is a Goddess of life, though this name won't become relevant till later. Also for Devil May Cry I'm using stuff from both the original games, and the DMC: Devil May Cry reboot. Also the year is different than in Harry Potter, instead it's SAO's, since there was no really reason for the date in HP, whereas SAO's in the future mostly because of NerveGear and AmuSphere.
Semi-important note: Because I've had some reviews about it, allow me to clarify ahead of time for anyone new. Marzanna is actually weak compared to Dante and others of his bloodline, not because she herself is weak, but because she's more of a scholar and does not measure up to canonical feats of ability like stopping a 1,000+ ton statue's swing dead in its tracks with nothing but a basic sword block, throwing a sword ahead of herself down a tower fast enough that it catches fire like a meteor and then running down the side of said tower fast enough to catch up to it and grab it without any ill effects to himself, firing multiple bullets and hitting every single one on the end of the preceding one, catching bullets with the flat a blade and then lining them up on the ground and hitting them back at the same speed, or hitting every raindrop in a 12 foot radius making a brief dry spot in the middle of a rainstorm. Just to name a few.
And while she also has the same healing factor, since I'm attributing that to Devil blood period, Dante has also survived being shot in the head and impaled by a massive two handed sword, the former example of which he caught the second bullet between his teeth then walked away with a scoff and the latter he literally pulled himself up the sword and through even thicker parts of it rather than trying to just pull it out normally. And I've also blended this with the DMC reboot to a certain extent, in which its stated that Rebellion, Dante's sword, has the ability to hinder the healing of Demons, and in non-reboot games he's been impaled in the chest with it and been perfectly fine. So, if you aren't for OP stuff, this isn't for you. My point being though that Marzanna is neither super weak despite me saying repeatedly in the fic that she's the weakest in her family, her family is just ridiculous, and nor is she an OP Mary Sue or whatever, that's just how Devil May Cry in general is. And one of the two familiars I gave her later, while super dangerous, is only meant for companionship, not OP nonsense. Since Marzanna is a complete outcast because of her heritage, it's meant to be companionship born from mutual understanding with 'the abomination' that Aite is.
Also, soulmates, as they're depicted in the fic are not forced to have feelings for each other, I only had one or two reviews about it and I have no idea where they got the notion, but that is not the case. By and large, soulmates just click very quickly, though if one of them has gone through some sort of drastic change that makes them no longer suitable for each other, they can totally reject their soulmate. And while it never crops up, with the way I imagine them in the fic, there are totally platonic soulmates out there were either both of them are asexual, or only one is and the other can possibly get their sexual needs seen to by other partners depending on whatever the understanding they have with their soulmate is. So it doesn't force feelings in the slightest, which is actually explored more in depth after the Aincrad bit for SAO.
And while it was just one reviewer, I wanted to say it anyway given how hilariously ridiculous the accusation was, but this isn't me gender bending a character to self insert without admitting it, given that A) I'm aro-ace and one of the focuses of this fic revolves around Marzanna not being so, B) Marzanna has a lot of issues later after Laughing Coffin, which is in direct opposition of my own beliefs that if you die while I'm defending myself or other people, that's on you bro, and C) I'm not really a fan of children in general, so I wouldn't likely to bond with Yui in general like she and Kirito do. The biggest similarity between us I can think of is that we both curse rather freely, but even that was a specific choice because she's Dante's daughter. So, make of that what you will, but if you're going to attempt to insult me by accusing me of such, I'm telling you right now, I'm gonna end up laughing at you with my beta.
The confusion comes first as she feels like a fog slowly lifts from her mind as she tries to work out what's going on. She was… She was in America, on a last minute 'bachelorette vacation' before she married James next week.
Her brows furrow further. James? Since when was Potter James? She hates him. Hates him with the passion of a thousand suns in fact. More to the point, why on earth would she be marrying him off all people?
She slowly goes back through her memories, trying to figure out when the hell that had occurred. And why the hell she'd agreed to marry him.
The fury comes next as flipping back through her memories faster and faster reveals the truth.
She's been under love potion since she was sixteen. And now she was not only in the midst of a years long relationship with James fucking Potter but she was supposed to marry him in a week.
For a few moments, the fury pulses through her, then gratitude sweeps through her when she lifts her head and finds Severus, waiting patiently as he knows full well how waking up from a particularly long stint under love potions can be jarring and take some time to process. He'd tricked her into swallowing a bezoar, not that she was complaining now that she was free. She can't help but feel incredibly grateful that they'd privately made up after their fight in fifth year. Even in the moments, she'd known that he'd been at the end of his rope due to the other Slytherins pressuring him to join Voldemort, and that Potter and Sirius had just made him snap, which had resulted in her calling her a mudblood on that day oh so long ago.
He'd apologized profusely later, and though initially angry, she'd eventually forgiven him. Not that she was particularly capable of staying mad at him for long. Not at the man that was her older brother in all but blood. A sibling sentiment that has been returned ever since he got over his childhood crush on her.
She smiles tiredly at him, "Severus. It's been a long time."
Relief washes over his face before he nods, "That it has Lily. It's good to see you as yourself for the first time in a long time."
She nods, "It's good to be myself. Thank you." He nods, but then she sighs, "Though, it's a bit late now."
Severus' nearly serene joy disappears in an instant as concern takes over, "How do you mean?"
She shakes her head, "In my muddled state I didn't bother to even attempt to put the clues together, but from what I gathered while under the love potions thrall it's Dumbledore that's been supplying Potter with the amortentia for me." Her lips twist in a snarl of rage at essentially being treated like a bartered good as she continues, "Undoubtedly in return for his loyalty."
She shakes her head, "They won't let me go now. Not that it's only a mere week until IL bound to Potter." She purses her lips tightly, "Ours isn't a wedding in the traditional sense in the slightest. It's a magically binding wedding that has been set up while I was under the potion and not inclined to argue with Potter. I won't be able to leave him unless a miracle happens." She tilts her head, "At least, not without losing my magic and possibly my life anyway."
Severus' expression twists with heartbreak, and his eyes get wet, "I'm so sorry Lily. I am. I- I tried to get to you earlier, but Potter and Dumbledore kept getting in the way, and- and-"
He cuts off and she smiles sadly as she reaches out to squeeze his hand, "I know Severus. I know you tried, and if anything I'm incredibly grateful that you never gave up on me, even after I started treating you so horribly under the potion."
He smiles wanely, "Well, it was obvious from the get go that you weren't exactly yourself and I probably shouldn't take anything you said seriously, given that you seemed to completely forget about any conversation between us later, including my apology and that you'd eventually seen in in yourself to forgive me for that- that slur I said in the heat on of moment."
She chuckles lightly, "Yes, I suppose that would be a giant red flag." Then she sighs again as she looks down morsley, "Unfortunately, even if I try to prepare counter measures, chances are I'll be back under the thrall of that potion by the time I'm forced to marry that sick bastard." She shakes her head as she lifts it, "This will probably be the last time I'm me for a long while." She snorts, "I suppose if there's one good thing about Potter's obsession with me is that he'd never allow me to be kept under forever. Not with the way continually being subjected to love potion will poison, and eventually kill someone." She sighs once more, "By then though, he'll have made me marry him and give him at least one child, which will tighten the stranglehold that noose of a marriage contract will have on me."
He says nothing in return. There really isn't anything to say to something like that. After a few beats, she shakes off the mood that has descended on them, "So! How have you been Severus?"
He smiles wanely, as he slowly fills her in on what's been happening with him. From their they flit from topic to topic, discussing practically anything and everything for hours, both enjoying her temporary freedom to the fullest and spending time together while they still can. Eventually however, Severus had to leave. Much as he'd resisted, he'd eventually been forced to join Voldemort, and there was a meeting he was required to attend soon. Required as long as he wanted to keep his life anyway. So they say their teary goodbyes, both painfully aware it would be the last time the real Lily got to see Severus for a long time to come.
For a while after Severus heads out, she sits there contemplating her life. She'd had a whole life plan. Intentions to make a good career for herself and build a life before eventually having a child, which has been something she's wanted for quite a while with the distant, vague longing of something shrouded in the mists of the future. And now Potter was looking to essentially turn her into his personal housewife. While she had nothing against housewives in general, in fact given the nonsense some of them put up with and what most of them go through on the daily to keep their homes clean and running she respects the majority of them in a vague sense. But it was not what she'd been wanting for herself. Maybe eventually when she had kids she would've pulled back on her career and traded off which parent was home with whoever would've been her husband, but even then she'd had no intention of just dropping her career and the like to become a full time stay at home housewife and, eventually, mom.
Roughly half an hour after Severus has left her to her thoughts, they crystallize firmly into a decision. It wasn't the order she'd intended for things to happen, but that had already been shot all to hell by Potter, so this may be her last real chance for years. She wants a child or her own. One that has nothing to do with Potter. Even without her own wants, there are a plethora of purposes it can serve. First of all, it would spite both Potter and Dumbledore, which while she'd normally never subject a child to their oh so tender mercies she doubts very seriously either of them would bother the child much, given that they were going out of their way to respectively present a grown up from his bratty younger self and a benevolent and wise old man image to her despite her being under the potion.
Second of all, it would constantly serve as a reminder to Potter that she would never truly be his. Third, she wants to do something. One last choice that is completely and utterly her decision. A decision that would last. And finally, unlikely though it may be, she was hoping that the child might serve as a reminder to the Lily under love potion that the woman she was isn't Lily Evans. She wants, desperately, for something, someone, to love that has nothing to do with Potter.
Decision made, she heads over to a local magical shopping center, heads into a potion shop without hesitation, and buys herself a fertility potion. Prize in hand, she goes back to her hotel room, taking said potion when she gets back.
She has a couple hours before it kicks in, and it would only last a few days, but if she sleeps with anyone in that time frame, it's practically guaranteed she'll become pregnant. She would just need to do a wandless nonverbal spell to break the condom that a non-magical man, which is what she's aiming for as she had zero desire to be accused of Line Theft, will undoubtedly use.
There actually are spells to terminate a pregnancy, but there are also counterspells to prevent abortion and she actually knows them due to her love potioned mind being terrified of falling pregnant and being made to give it up because Potter isn't ready for children. Of course, those counterspells do nothing to prevent non-magical abortion but with Potter and Dumbledore being purebloods through and through, she sincerely doubts they would think to even check if such methods exist, much less make use of them.
Since she has a couple hours before the potion kicks in anyway, she starts getting ready for a night out. Slightly slutish though it may be, she wasn't going to be overly picky about who she slept with, as long as they were attractive and charming enough that she didn't feel like a slut, anyone would do.
She runs her fingers through the condensation on her glass in idle thought. She's been at the bar for hours, and yet, though there were more than a few candidates around for what she was looking for, she was gripped by the strangest urge to wait. It was identical to the urge that had driven her into this particular bar, even though it was far from her usual preference. Now it's nearly one in the morning, and though she's actually been hit on by more than a couple guys who were both attractive and charming enough to he suitable, those same urges had seen her turning them down.
Now it was nearly one in the morning and whatever it is she's waiting for still hasn't shown itself. Whatever it was that was stopping her tonight, if she doesn't find someone by the end of the night, she'll just try again tomorrow.
The vague decision is made a moot point a few minutes later however, when the urge to wait suddenly twists into a powerful urge to turn around. Giving in without hesitation, she finds herself watching a man with strange silver hair wearing a red trench coat walk into the bar.
She turns away, watching him from the corner of her eyes as he walks up to the bar and orders a bottle of Jack Daniel's, then a moment later pays for it and thanks the bartender when he receives it and an accompanying glass. For a few minutes the man just pours himself drinks as he stares down at the bar in contemplation with occasional sweeps of his gaze over the room.
Finally, he seems to notice her. Grabbing his bottle and glass, he walks up to her with a grin. Absently she notes that now that he was closer, she can see he has beautifully soulful blue eyes. She refocuses when he starts talking to her, "Now, I know it sounds clichéd, but I'm being utterly serious when I ask. So please, would you be so kind as to enlighten me to what a gorgeous woman like you is doing in a rundown, shady, hole in the wall bar like this?"
She wasn't here to banter or anything of the sort, but something about him makes it impossible to stop herself from playfully teasing, "Oh, you're being serious huh? Well you're certainly right about it being clichéd, but to answer it anyway I have no particular reason for being here. Though I might just have to leave if you continue being clichéd."
He grins even wider in delight at her playfulness then jokingly places a wounded hand to his heart, "Oh, well that's a complete shame, I'd hate to lose the company of such a lovely woman, but sadly I'm clichéd most of the time."
She couldn't stop the smile from forming if she tried, but really she doesn't even feel like attempting to stop it. It's been far too long since she felt this young and playful, but there was just something about this man that was utterly charming, and he was rather attractive to boot. So, still smiling, she continues playfully teasing him by saying, "Oh, well I better just head for the door while I still can then, hmm?"
The man laughs, then holds out a hand, "I suppose so. I'm Dante by the way. Dante Sparda. I hope you have a name befitting your loveliness, otherwise it would be an utter shame."
She laughs too, "Lily. Lily Evans."
When she goes to shake his hand though, Dante flips it over and presses a kiss to the back of it, then grins up at her.
She can't help but laugh again. He really is something else, this Dante.
Hours later, after Lily had discovered Dante was rather amazing in bed, and enjoyed curling up against his incredibly fit body afterwards, she wakes up. She lifts her head to gaze at her bedmate, only to find Dante was still asleep. She sighs heavily in disappointment. Some impulsive part of her that's been completely and utterly charmed by Dante wanted to just say fuck the consequences. Wanted to stay with the incredible man she'd met and run away from her inevitable future with Potter, and maybe if Dante was agreeable, raise the child she now undoubtedly had growing within her with him.
But no matter how much she'd like to stay with Dante, even just til the morning, she has to get going. The thought is strangely painful considering she's only known him for a few hours. Still, she ignores the feeling and slowly sits up, cautious of waking him, because something tells her he'll ask her to stay. And she knows she wouldn't be able to say no.
However, when she moves her hand so she can climb out of the bed, she feels something incredibly soft beneath her fingers. Picking it up and looking at it, she sees it's a beautiful white and black feather. That same urge from earlier, the one that told her 'wait' and then 'turn around' comes back and she feels like this feather is incredibly important and precious.
Setting the feather carefully on the nightstand, she gets out of bed and gets dressed, being careful not to wake Dante the entire time. She even goes so far as to use a wandless nonverbal silencing spell on herself. Afterwards, she carefully picks the feather back up, magically drills a hole through the shaft of the feather, conjures a chain, and slips it through the hole in the feather. Then she promptly puts the new necklace on.
At the door, she throws one last regretful glance at the incredible man still sleeping in bed as well as the incredible future that might've been, then slips out the door, mentally berating herself for the tears that well up that she refuses to let fall. She's been through much tougher ordeals than walking away from a bed partner she's known for less than six hours.
It does nothing to stop her heart from feeling like it's being crushed by a mortar and pestle.
Dumbledore was quickly gaining a headache.
Somehow, despite the love potions, Lily had gotten pregnant during her little 'bachelorette vacation' a month prior. It threw a wrench in his plans, and even worse, now James was complaining to him furiously, "How could she even think about sleeping with anyone?! You guaranteed me that the potions would make her completely loyal to me! The plan was for her to get pregnant, to make the contract more binding! She's supposed to already be pregnant with an Heir to the Potter family! So why haven't you already aborted the bastard she's carrying now?!"
He sighs as he looks down at Lily, who was currently under the effects of a sleeping potion, "It would seem Lily was at some point unaffected by the love potion, and got pregnant on purpose." Seeing James look utterly confused he explains, "She cast multiple spells on herself to prevent abortion. Even with magic, she couldn't possibly have known before the wedding, and I know she was under the love potions thrall then. Ergo, she knew even before it would show up on a scan, and hence she did it on purpose. However, back to the anti-abortion spells. Even I can't remove them, as these spells are extremely powerful and rather tricky. I do, however, know a way around this predicament."
James doesn't look happy at his explanation, but perks up slightly at the last sentence, "You do? What is it?"
He feels slightly annoyed that James doubted him, but ignores it, "Yes James, I do. We can't do anything about the child, but I know of a rather unique spell that allows a woman already pregnant to conceive another child. The spell will allow her to conceive for three days after I cast it. The first child will still be born, with no complications despite the other baby, and if their conception dates are less than six weeks apart, which will happen with these two, they will be born together as twins. While I know you don't care about the child, if Lily is going to carry it to term, we might as well keep it around in case it becomes useful." He thinks for a moment then adds, "Also, I should probably modify her memory. It wouldn't be wise to allow her to know she's under the amortentia, even if most don't care when they're under its thrall."
James just huffs, "Very well, that doesn't mean I have to like it though. Cast the spells, I'm sure you're needed elsewhere. Your attention is always in high demand."
Marzanna Evans, bastard child of Lily Potter, was inarguably a rather brilliant child, though one with a far from ideal life. By six, she had grown entirely used to her stepfather, James, continually informing her she only held his name so no one would know she wasn't his. Given that James was an abusive asshole, however, she was honestly glad he wasn't her father, and she didn't want to have his name either. Even if he only hits her because she wasn't his. Which is why she makes a point to think of herself as an Evans.
Currently, she was searching the Potter library for information on a love potion called amortentia. Her mother had abruptly handed her a journal the other day, saying that she was supposed to give it to her, but admitted to not knowing why when she asked. To her surprise, when she opened it, she found it was in her mother's. Inside her mother had explained about being under a love potion, and that she knew she'd be under its thrall again. She'd gone on to say that she had cast a compulsion charm on herself to give the journal to her when she was old enough to understand its contents, and that it had runes on it that made it impossible for anyone else to read it.
The journal which had so much written in it quickly became her prized treasure. Things such as what her mother was really like, and her view of the wizarding world and its laws. Her relationships, mostly how much she hated Potter, and how she loved her pseudo brother Severus Snape. What Marzanna found most important though, were the 'letters' from her mother, and what little she knew about Marzanna's father, Dante Sparda. She'd even gotten hold of a special type of pensieve that let someone make a photo from a memory, and included a picture of Dante in the journal.
She'd gone on to say that the pensieve and everything else she treasured was inside a trunk hidden in the attic, as she didn't want Potter or Dumbledore to get their hands on any of it. The trunk was capable of shrinking, and had feather light charms of it. It was also expanded on the inside, and had multiple compartments. Which compartment you accessed was determined by the numbers you turned the combination lock to. Her mother had told her to get the trunk and keep it with her at all times.
So she'd dutifly collected the trunk, which was currently stored inside her. It was a... strange ability she had obtained a while ago. A particularly bad beating from Potter had resulted in some sort of energy gathering there and changing it permanently. Rather than skin, it was now covered in some sort of rough plating, barring a crack going down the inside of her wrist to her elbow and expanding to cover the entirety of the inside of her hand. From within the crack, a deep red glow emanated. The first time she'd seen it, a name had popped into her head.
Devil Bringer.
She had soon found out from a surge of instinct, entirely by accident when she had been trying to hide the journal from Potter, that it had a second ability separate from the one she'd instinctively known of and known how to use from the get go that if she was holding something in that hand and had a strong desire to put it away it would turn into energy and be absorbed by her arm. Anyway, after she got her hands on the trunk, she did some careful experimentation and was relieved to find she can store magical items within without consequences, and promptly took to storing the trunk within her arm.
Now she was looking for information on the potion that enslaves her mother. She learns that a person could be given amortentia for about twenty years before it begins to poison them, eventually leading to death if they continue to be given it. Her mother had explained in the journal that she'd been given amortentia since her sixth year at Hogwarts, and since her mother gave birth to her when she was 22 that meant she'd been under amortentia for 12 years by this point.
The question, then, was whether or not James would take it far enough to kill her if she interferes. Her mother had always followed Potter's lead and commands, which was understandable if she was under amortentias' thrall. Though this revelation made the two exceptions to that rule even stranger than before. The first exception being that where James hated her with a passion, her mother had almost, almost but not quite been loving towards her. Though this journal told her the real Lily loves her dearly.
So with all this in mind, the predicament arose, should she attempt to stop the bastard Potter? Or should she wait a few years, and see if he stopped on his own to prevent killing her? As she was contemplating this, she puts the book she'd found amortentia in away. After that she begins absently browsing the section on the dark arts and the defenses designed to combat it for something to read. Though it was impossible to really tell until she got her wand, it appeared as though she had an affinity for those subjects along with a minor affinity for potions.
A few minutes later her mother comes into the library. Upon seeing her Lily gave her a gentle smile, absently grabbing that feather necklace she always wore, "Reading again Marzanna? You're starting to become a bookworm you know."
That feather necklace was the other exception that she refused to listen to Potter about. He was always demanding she take it off, but she refused every single time. Her mother had only spoken of it to her once, in quiet longing whispers with a strange gleam in her eye, she'd confessed to Marzanna that she found it in their hotel room the morning after she met Dante, her father. Which made her defying Potter's demands that she get rid of it incredibly confusing, she should be utterly devoted to him and willing to do whatever he told her to because of the amortentia. Not clinging to a memento of her father.
The entire situation baffles her. She shakes herself from her thoughts, then smiles at her mother, "You're one to talk, I get it from you, mama."
Lily laughs, then reaches out with one hand to tuck her bangs behind her ear while smiling, "Too true, my little Marzanna."
Marzanna smiles absently in return, but inwardly was beginning to plan. She'd made her decision, she'd never be able to forgive herself if she didn't try to help her mother.
Lily was confused. Her mind had slowly begun to clear the day before, and now she was once again herself. With her mind clear, she had soon realized she'd been under love potion. As soon as she realizes what had happened, she feels something shatter in her mind, and memories rush back to her. Immediately her hand shoots to her feather necklace, her grip lovingly careful, even though she wants to clutch at it desperately.
Her confusion increases, as she realizes she's only been under the amortentia for a dozen years in total. She thought it would be longer til Potter stopped using it. She wasn't complaining though, she might not be able to divorce or leave him, but that didn't stop her from hexing him. Though she was considerably worried, she hasn't been enough of herself to care for or go looking for her daughter but she hasn't seen her baby girl in a few days.
She sets out to look for her beloved daughter as soon as she realizes. Not finding her anywhere, her concern skyrockets, and she sets out on a warpath to rip the fucking answers out of Potter. However, when she gets near Potter's study, she hears Dumbledore's voice. Realizing she might be able to get her answers without revealing herself, she shamelessly eavesdrops as Dumbledore asks, "How could you have possibly run out of amortentia? I just delivered that batch three weeks ago! You should have two months' worth!"
Potter growls furiously, "It was that little bitch Marzanna. She ruined my entire stock! I knew she'd be nothing but trouble!"
She can't help but smirk, even though that tidbit only makes her worry even more. Dumbledore was not the sort of man who allows for other people's meddling and sure enough he barely lets Potter finish before exploding, "She what?! Does she have any idea how much some of its ingredients cost?!" Reigning in his temper a bit, he stops shouting, but continues in an angry tone, "I've never minded the cost, but I do mind when my money is practically thrown away. Where is the brat, I'd like to have a word with her about destroying valuables."
Potter snorts, "She's not here anymore, good riddance. Since she feels inclined to ruin my stuff and my life despite my generosity, I took her back to where she came from. I portkeyed over to America with her and left her there four days ago. After punishing her of course."
Dumbledore sighs, "I wish you hadn't done that, despite what she did it doesn't change the fact she might have been useful later. Oh well, what's done is done. I'll refill your stock as soon as I can."
She barely hears Dumbledore. She'd stiffened, her mind blanking for a moment before she furiously thought, 'What?! He abandoned my little girl?! She could be dead now because of him!'
With that thought her fury overrules her common sense. Drawing her wand, she barges into the room, pointing her wand at the startled Potter, all but shrieking, "How dare you! How dare you do that to my baby?! Crucio!"
Potter falls to the ground screaming. It was over in a few seconds though, as Dumbledore was quick to disarm her with a simple expelliarmus, "My, my, Lily. I didn't know you had it in you."
She just ignores him, glaring at the slowly standing, wide eyed Potter, and says with cold fury, "My precious baby girl is probably dead now because of you. You better watch your back Potter, because some day you'll die a slow agonizing death, and it will be by my hand. Until then I'll just have to settle for loathing you with every fiber of my being."
Dumbledore returns the favor of being ignored, "Until I get you more amortentia it would be best if we keep her asleep, either with a potion or a spell."
Potter just nods, still staring at her with wide eyes.
Nero was currently raiding one of Agnus' bases with Dante and Kat. He'd been furious when he learned the asshole who held Kyrie hostage was still alive. The fact that Agnus hadn't stopped his foul experiments, and was in fact working for actual Demons now hadn't helped his mood. Originally, Dante had just wanted to blow the place up and be done with it, but Kat wouldn't let him, explaining that they should raid the place for information or anything useful before destroying it. He had at first agreed with Dante, then switched to Kat's approach. He'd really only wanted to destroy Agnus' lab as minor payback to spite the cowardly bastard, but Kat said they could blow the place up when they were done. He figures stealing the bastards' research and stuff, possibly using it against him, and destroying one of his labs was better payback than just blowing the place up.
He has just finished combing one of the storage rooms when Kat contacts them over the headset, "Dante, Nero, I found Agnus' lab, and I've already managed to access the computer. There's two audio files you guys might wanna come listen to."
Once at the lab, Dante doesn't hesitate to ask, "What's so important that you couldn't just copy the files and show us later?"
Kat glances at Dante before answering, "A combination of Agnus and his demon masters plans, research, and something Agnus found."
Instead of saying anything more when they give her confused looks, Kat just starts the first recording. Immediately Agnus' annoying voice fills the room, "August 17th, 2014. The demons have tasked me with creating a true Hell Gate, rather than one of the second rate ones I made on Fortuna Island. The biggest reason being that my Fortuna Hell Gates were barely stable enough to let a single Great Demon in, while the real one would let them come through in swarms. Herein lies the problem though, Sparda's seal prevents the real Gate from being created, the only reason mine work was because it was so unstable and weak. With the seal in place only weak Demons can access the human world."
"Creating a Hell Gate is easy if you know what you're doing, that damn seal is the hard part. The seal cannot be broken without the blood of Sparda or close kin, and quite a bit of blood to boot. Easily enough to kill a human. Previously the only known kin were Dante and the assumed dead Vergil, hence the difficulty of acquiring the necessary blood. However, some investigation revealed evidence that Nero, formerly of Fortuna's Order of the Sword, is in fact Vergil's son. I had a small bit of blood from both Nero and Dante from their fight when Dante made his first attempt to kill Sanctus, and though Dante certainly isn't Vergil, as his twin his blood is close enough that I was able to confirm the relation. That being said, I can't use Nero either, like Dante he's simply too powerful to even attempt to capture and detain. In the meantime, I've created a few of my bastardized Hell Gates for the Demons I'm working for to use."
Here Kat pauses the recording to let them process the bombshell they just heard. He was in utter shock. However, he swiftly notices that Dante doesn't seem surprised at all when instead he just asks him, "You ok kid?"
He turns to the man he's seen as a mentor practically since he joined Devil May Cry, feeling shocked and slightly betrayed, "You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"
However, the older man shakes his head, "I didn't know, I suspected. There's a difference, and I didn't say anything in case I was wrong."
Though that dispels the feeling of betrayal, he can't find any other response than a quiet, "Oh."
Dante smiles faintly in understanding, then turns back to Kat and gestures for her to continue. She doesn't hesitate to continue the recording, "However, Nero being Vergil's son got me thinking, and that led to another investigation fueled discovery. A little girl by the name of Marzanna, who just so happens to be Dante's daughter. She's already been tracked down and acquired as I'm recording this. I'll have to be extremely careful not to accidentally kill her with my experimentation, but I cannot allow the opportunity to study a Nephilim to slip through my fingers. Not only a Nephilim, but a Demon from the Devil species, which Mundus wiped out completely, with the only exception to the massacre being Sparda."
The recording stops there, and Kat explains, "That's the end of that one."
Nero sees her turn to them out of the corner of his eye, but his attention is focused on Dante. The older man is swaying with an expression of utter shock. Reaching out, he grabs onto his shoulder, both to steady and ground him. Even though he's rather surprised as well, his shock likely wasn't anywhere near Dante's, who'd just learned that he was a father.
After a minute, completely out of character for the older man, though it's understandable given the circumstances, he uncharacteristically squeaks out, "... Daughter. I have a daughter. Oh dear fuck, I'm a father?!"
He gives his… uncle, apparently, a sympathetic look before lightly reminding him, "It's to be expected, given your playboy tendencies. You can only get lucky with condoms so many times Dante." His concern wells up, and he adds, "I'm more concerned about what the asshole Agnus will do to that poor little girl. Experimenting on her is bad enough, but he's going to use her to make a true Hell Gate, which might just kill her. Fucking Bastard."
Dante's expression darkens dangerously, and with a growl he nods in agreement, "Considering the bombshells in that recording I'm hesitant to say this, but go ahead and play the next recording Kat."
She turns back to the computer nodding, then a moment later Agnus' voice once again echoes through the lab, "Subject: Marzanna- basic pre-experimentation information:
Name: Marzanna Evans
Date of Birth: July 31st, 2008
Age: 6
Height: 3' 4"
Weight: 47 Pounds
Eye color: Green
Hair color: Strangely and surprisingly, naturally three colors. Bangs are red, the rest is primarily black with two streaks of the silverish white that Dante and Nero have near her ears.
Initial observations: Originally one of my machines detected a strange energy around her left arm, disrupting it leads me to believe it was an illusion of some sort, as her left arm is almost exactly like Nero's Devil Bringer. Marzanna's Devil Bringer is the only visible thing of interest about her. Notes: I'll have to find a way to contain that arms power. Subject has already shown she knows how to use it. Which makes me wonder if perhaps the Devil Bringer comes with instinctive knowledge on using it, as I recall Nero being incredibly proficient with his as well."
"Date, August 20th, 2014. My experiments have finally begun giving me useful data about the Devil Bringer. I believe that rather than being born with it, the Devil Bringer forms when a Devil is in danger. I've read about, and spoken to, other Demons about Devils before, from what I learned, when a Devil is in life threatening danger that is when their true power begins to awaken. What my study of Marzanna's Devil Bringer has shown me, it's that a Devil Bringer forms when a Devil with impure blood is in danger, but not enough danger to awaken the infamous 'Devil Trigger'. The blood needs to be impure, though it seems Angel blood won't work. The reason for this is that all Devils instinctively know their limits, and part Devils do too, but for a Devil of impure blood, that instinctive knowledge is just the slightest bit… hazy."
"When they feel threatened their demonic energy will surge forth, but they don't properly control it. Since even Demons are prone to instinctively bringing their arms up to defend themselves, the arm that will take the brunt of the attack receives the most demonic energy. That arm becomes overcharged with more energy than its human form can handle, causing it to permanently 'Devil Trigger'. Unless the Devil Bringer's abilities of creating a phantom arm and absorption are somehow brought about by the demonic overload, then this means that any Devil should be capable of using these abilities, so long as they either possess a Devil Bringer, or are in 'Devil Trigger'."
"A bit strange a six year old awakened it, considering the danger she'd have to be in. Though this is easily explained by my examination of her. Her body was littered with scars making it obvious she's lived a life of constant abuse. Considering how injured she'd have to be for the healing abilities that all Devils and Angels have to be incapable of healing her well enough to not leave scars, I would have been surprised if she didn't awaken her Devil Bringer."
"Date, August 26th, 2014. The girl is definitely related to Dante and Nero, she has that same defiant, sarcastic, and sardonic attitude. Correction she's worse, at least I could put up with them. If she isn't insulting me or telling me to do some rather unspeakable acts to myself, she's attempting to escape, killing my new bianco and alto angelos, destroying my precious research, and just generally causing pure chaos in the process. I'm understandably finding my tolerance for her waning. To be blunt, she's driving me insane, on more than one occasion I've found myself having to have her removed from my presence purely so I don't strangle her."
The last part draws amused grins from all three, not the strangling, but Marzanna driving Agnus' nuts. It dispels some of the fury that had set in upon hearing of Marzanna's abuse. The recording picks back up after a brief pause with Agnus muttering angrily in the background, "Date, August 28th. I spoke to one of the Demons I'm working for a few days ago, upon informing her of Marzanna's continued escape attempts she informed me that there were humans capable of magic. Actual magic! There are so many things I… "
His voice becomes an indistinct mutter for a few moments, before he speaks up again, "Anyhow, she suggested that since the ability to use magic is hereditary, it was a distinct possibility that Marzanna's mother, and Marzanna herself, were magic users. It took a bit, and I only managed to confirm her suggestion a few hours ago, but Marzanna is indeed a witch. It explains how time after time she manages to escape her bindings, so I'm going to have to invent something that prevents the use of magic. That should hopefully stem the flow of the little brat's escape attempts."
"Date September 7th. It took a bit of effort and a stroke of genius, but I managed to create an armband that stopped Marzanna from using not only her magic, but her Devil Bringer as well. The device was finished on August 2nd, and so far there have been no more escape attempts. Though I'm not holding my breath that this trend will stick around, Marzanna has proven to be incredibly adaptive. Also it's been decided, Marzanna will be transferred to the base we plan to create the Hell Gate in on September 30th."
Here Kat shuts off with the recording, turning to them with a worried look. It takes a bit for him to regain his wits, but as soon as he does, he can't help but explode, "The 30th?! That was three days ago! They've probably already made the real Hell Gate!"
However, Dante is quick to shake his head, "No. They would have to build the Gate's physical anchor after they broke my father's seal so it wouldn't hold remnants of it. They probably prepared the ritual to break the seal in advance, but the ritual takes two days to complete. If she arrived at where they were making the Gate on the 30th, then they've only had a day to begin construction, if not the ritual might not even be complete as we speak. We shouldn't linger any longer. Kat, transfer the computer files, we need to finish raiding and destroying this place now."
With that they get back to work, all three distracted by the worry for Marzanna's fate.
