Hogwarts DXD
ESKK: Well, another day another chapter published. Let's, start reading folks.
(Start Dumbledore)
Albus Dumbledore apparated into existence at the beginning of an unkept gravel road. He eyed the overgrown hedges warily and the forest on either side. He knew not to underestimate Tom's defenses so as he stepped forward, he kept his senses extended. It was a damn miracle on his part that he deduced this place hiding a Horcrux but not one to rest on his laurels Dumbledore had quickly prepared to deal with the Horcrux especially since Harry was no longer one himself.
Dumbledore had no idea how it had happened, but the fragment of Toms soul was expunged from his famous scar. He suspected he had Vernon to thank for that though unintentionally at the time. Just before the edge of the vegetation, he winced as a sharp pain shot through his head. His grip tightened on his wand, and his other hand went up to the side of his head. Losing his grip on his magical senses he took a moment to steady himself. He had expected Tom to be subtle with his designs, so he'd had his senses extended to the max.
Probing the area more carefully he realized, to his shock, that the wards around the old Gaunt estate were active. That meant something had tripped them already and had possibly put themselves in severe danger. He couldn't help but fear that someone else had discovered the secret about Tom's Horcruxes. He couldn't allow this to become common knowledge. He needed to get in there and see if whoever had tripped the wards were still there.
Knowing that subtly was no longer required he hurried forward as fast as his aged body would allow. One wave of the Elder Wand cut a swath through the thick hedges, while another conjured a protective bubble around himself that was only visible as a slight glimmer in the air. Despite its underwhelming appearance, it proved to be incredibly effective as soon as the twisting vines and creaking branches touched the barrier, they immediately retracted with their ends burned.
Finally, stepping out into a clearing, Dumbledore stopped in his tracks. A battle had happened here recently. Looking around he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He could sense a high concentration of magic on the dry ground before him, but it seemed to be fading, so he assumed whatever enchantment had been placed on it had been broken. The pile of rubble in the middle of the clearing indicated some kind of stone golem, which only made him more wary of who he was about to meet. Taking down a golem was an impressive feat.
Crossing the open space, he took in the shack before him. It looked almost the same from when he'd seen it in the memory, if only a little worse for wear. He stopped in front of the steps, eyeing the open door, and keeping his wand raised. Before he could decide how to proceed, he was shocked once again as two people stumbled out of the building. He was even more shocked when he recognized one of them.
"Harry?"
(Scene Break Hogwarts Headmasters Office)
Harry squirmed uneasily in his chair before the headmaster's desk. It wasn't that the aged wizard's expression held any malice or anything similar, in fact, his expression was more searching than anything. Their conversation after their surprise encounter had been brief, but Dumbledore had requested that they join him at Hogwarts to talk, so that's where they now were. Hermione had politely declined her chair, standing beside his, her posture stiff. Dumbledore's hands were steepled before him and by the look of things no one was talking.
Finally, the old wizard let out a tired sigh before he began to speak. "Well Harry your appearance there was a surprise though informing Sirius how you and Ms. Granger had snuck out did not go over well." Dumbledore said as he knew Sirius had a trial to prepare for. "Though I think the more appropriate term would be to refer to you as Ms. Bael." Dumbledore said which caused Hermione to tense up big time.
"How did you know?" Hermione asked glaring at the man she had respected for a time.
"I'll admit I had not kept up to date with the Supernatural side of the world, so it had quite frankly slipped my mind of Devils ever coming here, especially a Cambion." Dumbledore said as he looked to Hermione knowing of her mixed heritage. "Your biological father's donation and recommendations for teachers may have tipped me off though." Dumbledore admitted and thus Hermione sighed keeping her temper in check.
"Before we continue." Ddraig cut in as he glared at Dumbledore. "Your aura it's the same that was used to lock me up for all these years when my Partner needed me most." Ddraig said in an accusing tone which surprised everyone while Dumbledore only gained a saddened look.
"Ddraig what?" Hermione asked shocked to hear this from the Red Dragon Emperor.
"I said what I meant this man's aura matches the magic that kept me sealed away." Ddraig said and thus Harry and Hermione looked to Dumbledore in shock.
"Explain now." Hermione said as the power of Ruin formed in her hands showing just how unhappy he was.
"I fear no matter what explanation I give anger will be sure to follow." Dumbledore said and thus with a tired sigh he explained. "It all began when I was interviewing Treelway for the Prophesy position." Dumbledore said admitting to his errors. "I had at the time thought her a fraud and was going to turn her down... but then it happened." Dumbledore said before looking to Harry. "If you remember when you were a Third Year I had once told you that her prophesy to you was the second true prophesy she had made." Dumbledore said and in turn Harry looked no he glared at Dumbledore but with a calmer glare.
"The first true prophesy she told was of Voldemort's defeat and only two children matched the description you and Neville Longbottom." Dumbledore said before he sighed and rubbed his eyes a bit as the century weighed down on him. "When you were born I all but felt the power inside you and suspected it was the power Voldemort knew not so in order to hide it I locked it away." Dumbledore said and thus Hermione glared.
"That doesn't explain why you kept it locked away for all these years." Hermione said and Dumbledore continued the story.
"Honestly, I had plans to unlock it but then Peters betrayal leading to you being made an orphan." Dumbledore said with a sad tone in his voice. "When I was going to unlock the power once more, I detected a fragment a sliver of Voldemort's soul within your scar Harry." Dumbledore said and in turn Harry touched his scar. "Marked as his equal I knew if I unsealed the Power Voldemort would undoubtedly come after you and use the connection you two had shared once to take said power for himself." Dumbledore said and thus Hermione considered his words.
"If Voldemort had the power of a Longinus, then he'd be unstoppable without another Longinus to face him in battle." Hermione said as she saw why the Gear was locked away to keep it from Voldemort. "I may not like it... but it was the smart move." Hermione said and thus Ddraig sighed to this bitter pill here.
"I don't care either way, though in retrospect I doubt Voldemort and I would see eye-to-eye either." Ddraig said as he was better off with Harry.
"Oh, sir before I forget here." Harry said as he then placed the Sword of Gryffindor onto the table. "I think Gemini broke in here and stole it." Harry said as he gave the sword back to Dumbledore. But then a bit of butter fingers Harry fumbled his grip and to his horror the sword of Gryffindor tumbled towards the ground. He cringed expecting to hear the loud clatter of metal on stone but was surprised when the blade sank into the floor as if it offered no resistance at all. The floor even rippled slightly as if it were made of water. As the ruby encrusted weapon disappeared from view, Harry looked around wildly in shock. He and the others only barely managed to catch sight of it rematerializing in the case.
"I… what…" Harry asked shocked with what had just happened.
"Well, that was interesting." Dumbledore commented after seeing what had happened. "Did you do anything specific to send it back over there?" Dumbledore asked as he looked to Harry.
Harry shook his head in response to the headmaster's question. "No. I just dropped it." Harry said as he tried to figure out how that had happened.
"Hmmm…" Dumbledore said as he stroked his impressive beard. "You might be more connected to sword than I thought." Dumbledore theorized but then sighed. "Unfortunately, you are the only one who has managed to pull it from the Sorting Hat in recent history, so we have nothing to compare it to." Dumbledore said and thus remembered another question he had wished to ask. "That being said, this brings me to my next question. I was quite surprised to see you at the Gaunt Shack." He began causing Harry and Hermione to tense up slight. "Would you mind illuminating me on this matter?" Dumbledore asked looked to the pair before him.
But before Harry could answer Hermione spoke up for the first time in several minutes. She'd been quietly observing the exchange so far with interest. "How about yourself Professor?" Hermione began getting his attention. "At first, I was under the impression that you had somehow tracked us there, but now I am certain that was not the case." Hermione said as she glared at the man. "What were you doing at an abandoned place like that?" Hermione asked and in turn it was clear she did not trust Dumbledore as much as she portrayed.
Dumbledore sighed, his shoulders slumping forward slightly. He almost seemed to age several years before Harry's eyes. "It's not something I wished to burden you with Harry, but with the recent events that occurred I fear that you may be dragged into this alongside Gemini." Dumbledore said as while he knew Gemini was more of an independent agent it was only a matter of time before Bellatrix tracked him down.
"I want to know." Harry said as he was tired of people lying to him or hiding things. After learning Dumbledore was the one to lock Ddraig away Harry deserved these answers.
"Very well." Dumbledore began before sat up straight. "My trip to the Gaunt's old property actually had nothing to do with you. My own research led me to believe that it contained one of Voldemort's horcruxes." Dumbledore said as Harry and Hermione looked to each other.
"Well, I suppose that answers the question of who made it." Ddraig said as Dumbledore suspected Ddraig knew what this item was.
"The diary... Toms Diary... that wasn't really a memory, was it?" Harry asked as he began to connect the dots.
In response Dumbledore reached into his desk and pulled out a familiar book from it. "A mere memory could never have done some of the things it did." Dumbledore said as he put the book, Tom Riddle's diary, on the table. Harry took the diary and looked at the cursed object with shock and possibly fear. "Though if you think about it another way, it makes the length of time that young Miss Weasley was able to resist its effects quite impressive." Dumbledore said but right now Harry's thoughts were in disarray.
Knowing what the diary actually was made the events of his second year all the more sinister. Looking down at the ruined leather-bound book in his hands, he suddenly couldn't get away from it fast enough as he threw it back onto the desk. "I can't believe all of this," Harry muttered with shock and horror. "He really is crazy enough to go through with this kind of thing." He looked back up at his headmaster. "Doesn't splitting your soul have some kind of negative impact? It can't be healthy, can it?" Harry asked as he tried to rationalize it in his mind. "I know a Dementor consuming one's soul is supposed to be worse than death." Harry added to which Dumbledore gave a bitter smile.
"You are quite right Harry." Dumbledore said and thus Harry sighed a bit. "I'm sure you've seen the inhuman form he chooses to take for himself these days. I believe that is a result of a combination of his horcrux creation and any number of other rituals he has subjected himself too." Dumbledore said and thus Ddraig spoke.
"He's just like, all fools he fears death and constantly seeks Immortality to the point he'll mutilate his own soul to achieve such a goal." Ddraig said as he listened to the topic. "Life is finite as it must be so it shall always be, not even Gods are immune to this absolute fact." Ddraig added knowing his and Albions battle killed the Biblical God.
"How many did he make?" Harry asked and in turn Dumbledore looked and sighed.
"7 at most." Dumbledore said and in turn Harry counted.
"So that means he's down five." Hermione said and thus she saw where this was going.
Dumbledore shifted in his seat as he looked at Harry, "I am in the progress of tracing the locations of several very specific objects that I believe Tom may have gotten his hands on at some point over the years." Dumbledore said as he explained the current plan. "If I can prove that he did come in contact with them than I'll be all but certain that he used them as his horcruxes." He said and thus Harry now wished they kept one of those fragments.
"But how will we find where they are now?" He asked before turning towards Rias. "Would you be able to track them like earlier with the…" He trailed off when he saw Hermione give him glare of warning.
Glancing back at Dumbledore he was met with an inquisitive expression upon the old wizards face and Harry was unsure on how to play off the information he had just revealed.
After a moment of awkward silence, Dumbledore finally broke it. "I'm still not sure what you were doing at the Gaunt Shack yourself." Dumbledore began to ease things to a calm discussion. "I don't want to pry but it's quite curious as you claim not to know the object you were destroying, and I find it concerning it was seemingly so easily located." Dumbledore said and thus Harry may need to tell him flat out.
Harry exchanged another look with Hermione whose expression was still not giving anything away. She'd been strangely guarded since they'd arrived at Hogwarts, but Harry just assumed it was because she didn't know Dumbledore. Dumbledore of course had detected animosity from Hermione more so now that she knew his involvement in some of the mysteries around Harry.
"How about some tea before we continue our conversation?" He offered hoping to ease the tension a bit.
They both nodded and Rias even finally took the seat she'd been offered on their arrival. Pulling his wand, the headmaster gave it a wave conjuring up a platter with a steaming teapot and three cups. Despite this, it was not the impressive use of conjuration that had captured Harry's attention. It was actually the wand in his hand that his eyes had locked onto.
Harry had seen the headmaster use that wand for years and yet he'd never gave it a second glance, now though, it was if it were the only thing in the room on which he could focus. He barely even noticed Hermione's sudden grip on his shoulder as she saw it too.
"Harry…" Hermione said to Harry's ear in a hush whisper.
"I know." Harry responded almost in a trance now. Without realizing what he was doing, Harry stretched one of his hands out in front of him. The others in the room watched him in confusion. Suddenly, to all of their shock, the wand in question was wrenched from Dumbledore's hand and flew directly into his own as if summoned.
Harry lost all perception of what was going on around him. The wand in his hand seemed to be almost pulsing with energy and soon began to burn his hands. Forcing his clenched fist open, the wand dropped down before stopping and floating back up in front of his face on its own. At the same time, he could feel as his invisibility cloak, which had been wadded in one of his pockets, yanked free and start hovering around him as well. The stone he'd taken from what he now knew to be one of Voldemort's horcruxes, did the same.
The three objects orbited around him like planets around the sun, the others in the room still too shocked to move. That's when Harry started to hear them. The whispers. It was like hundreds, no thousands, maybe even millions of voices overlapping all at once, and yet he couldn't distinguish even one from the other. It was truly overwhelming and if Harry could force himself to move again, he would have clamped his hands over his ears, though for some reason he doubted it would have done anything.
A few moments later, as the sounds started to fade to a more manageable level, Harry noticed the energy that had been coursing through the three items was now being expelled directly at his body. As it hit him, it took everything Harry had not to cry out. Ddraig appeared on Harry's arm, resonated with the Hollows, and did his part to control the flow of power. "Harry focus remember for a Sacred Gear thoughts and emotions become power." Ddraig warned Harry and instructed him on what to do. "Wish it so and we shall absorb the Hollows!" Ddraig urged and thus Harry proceeded to do so.
Just then Harry's Scale Male reappeared, minus the wings, before the objects surrounding Harry froze midair in response. Before Harry knew it the cloak moved first and with it the cloth wrapped itself around the armor becoming something of a cape for it. Following this the stone in front of him began to change as it launched itself towards his chest. Entering the green gem on the chest the gem gained a new crest the symbol of the Deathly Hollows. Last but not least, the wand returned to his hand, but that wasn't all. It twisted upon itself and extended out longer. As it settled back down, Harry thought it might have turned into a staff, but looking upwards revealed he wicked curved blade.
With this new weapon in hand, a scythe the armor changed as a whole and for Harry it was painful beyond recognition. The armor began to gain several spikes on it while certain areas gain overlay of sorts. With a roar Harry released the aura and thus the Scale mail looked more like a dark knight of sorts or perhaps Death on the warpath.
"Harry?" The voice of Dumbledore was heard calling Harry's name sounded extremely hesitant. Whipping his head around he met the gaze of the one who said it. "Is that you, my boy?" Dumbledore asked and in turn the armor reverted to its base Scale mail form. The Scale mail vanished right after and when it did the crest of the Deathly Hollows appeared on the gem of the gauntlet before shifting back to Ddraig's crest.
The question threw Harry for a loop. Who else would he be? Studying his headmaster more closely, something seemed different to him. He still looked the same as ever, but now Harry couldn't help but notice some kind of energy that clung to the old wizard. It wasn't visual in any way, more just a sense he was suddenly getting. Without realizing it, he stretched his senses out further into that energy and was reward with a renewed intensity to the strange whispers inside his head.
Somehow, as this was happening, Harry was assaulted with an overwhelming sense of sadness and regret. Flashes of things he'd never seen sped past his eyes. First, it was visions of a young girl. She was surrounded by a group of boys a few years older than her. They were pushing her and taunting her. Suddenly, as her stress level rose, the girl cried out, a wave of dark energy exploding around her, throwing her tormentors backwards.
The scene shifted again, and an older man was being hauled away by what, Harry recognized to be several Aurors. The unmoving forms of the teen boys from before were laying on the ground behind them.
Another shift showed a weary middle-aged woman trying to calm the same girl who was working herself up into a familiar state of distress. Nothing was working and another explosion of dark energy came forth, throwing the woman across the room where she impacted the wall and slumped to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut.
The new scene that appeared showed two boys in their late teens. They were standing beside the young girl from before. They all watched as a coffin was levitated into an open grave. An old woman came over and spoke to the pair before leading the young girl away. The two boys stayed at the grave before the older said something Harry couldn't hear. The younger turned, his face flushed, and struck out with his fists. The blow impacted the older boy's nose as he stumbled back onto the ground.
A new vision popped up, showing the older teen again. He was pouring over a on old tome. Another new boy his own age stood beside him doing the same. Stopping his reading, the one spoke, quickly gaining the others attention. They soon got into an intense discussion, but Harry could see the passion the two shared. Even with only a quick glance, he could tell that the one boy's nose was now crooked.
The next scene showed the two boys from the earlier funeral. Only now did Harry realize that they looked to be brothers. The younger girl and the older brother's friend were also present. A heated argument was waging between the three boys and the young girl was once again becoming distressed. The younger brother seemed to notice first and moved to go help her when the older brother's friend moved to intercept him. Before he could blink, wands were being drawn and the first spells were fired. Curses flew through the air as fast as the eye could see. Some were dispelled before they could take effect, others were parried out of the way off magical shields, some even missed their mark completely blowing small craters into the grass around them.
Finally reaching her limit, the girl let out what looked to be an ear-splitting scream, waves of dark energy visibly roiling off of her tortured form. It knocked some of the fighters back and even affected the magic currently in the air. Some of the spells seemed to change color and effect mid-flight while some suddenly veered off course, and even some disappeared completely. There was a great flash of light when some of the newly mutated curses collided together. When the scene cleared, Harry saw the three fighters struggling back to their feet. Off to the side, the girl was dead. The youngest brother let out a strangled yell as he ran to her body. The older boy's friend, looking worried apparated away. The older brother stood stock still, his face deathly pale as he looked at the results of all of their actions. It was only as the scene faded away that Harry realized the older brother wore a pair of spectacles over familiar looking blue eyes.
The next things Harry saw took a shift in tone. He did get a glimpse of a huge fight between the young Dumbledore and his former friend, something that looked even more impressive than his battle with Voldemort at the Ministry, but after that, things lightened. The darkness of his youth never disappeared but his love of teaching and never-ending hope towards the fundamental goodness of humanity always shone through. The visions flashes by faster and faster, mostly taking place at Hogwarts, showing the young man he'd first seen slowly transform into the old and wise mentor he was familiar with.
With a blink of his eyes, it was over. Harry was staring back at Dumbledore in the here and now. He was pretty sure he'd just seen visions spanning the entirety of his headmaster's long life and yet Harry was certain he hadn't been standing there for more than a moment. He wasn't sure how he had done all that either.
"Harry?" Hermione asked and thus Harry came back to the real world. Turning to face the girl Harry was shocked to find that even she looked a little unnerved, though not nearly as much as Dumbledore had appeared to be. Without conscious thought, he tried to reach out to read her as well.
As soon as he did, he noticed was that it was as though he could get a vague sense of her emotions and… character, for lack of a better word, it was nowhere near as clear to him as Dumbledore's had been. Something felt different about what he sensed off her… alien somehow. Though that did make sense he figured, seeing as how she wasn't actually human. The things he did sense though, matched up mostly with what he already observed from her, and to his shock and joy it was all the same thing she had come to expect from Hermione from the years he had known her. Harry had almost forgotten those things after he had been turned.
Blinking out of his momentary faze, Harry realized he still hadn't answered either of them. "Yes, what was that?" Harry asked as he tried to make sense of it.
"It was you, becoming the Master of Death." Ddraig said as he spoke from Harry's arm. "You united the Hollows and now they return to their original form." Ddraig said which could mean anything. "There was a lot of power involved so I had to try and control the flow." Ddraig said making it clear that Harry had a new power now from this. "You may have just shaved some years out of your life from this." Ddraig added making it clear they were reckless with this plan.
"But did it work?" Harry asked Ddraig who hummed a bit.
"Yes, I'm certain that it did though it seems the power may have granted us a new power." Ddraig said which was good news for them. "It should provide us with a much-needed edge over Rizer now." Ddraig added and thus Dumbledore heard.
"Rizer?" Dumbledore asked and in turn Hermione facepalmed herself.
"Oops." Ddraig spoke and thus Harry sighed to this.
"It's a long story sir one that has several twists and turns." Harry said and in turn Dumbledore knew he was in for a long conversation.
"I believe we may have some time before Sirius or Remus arrives." Dumbledore said and thus with a glance to each other the pair started to talk.
(Meanwhile with Gemini)
Gemini had returned to Hogwarts before anyone knew he was gone. Entering the Dorm, he yawned a bit before entering his bed and simply laying on his back. "That was unlike you Gemini." Albion spoke as Gemini raised a brow to this. "Normally you would have just left him to his fate." Albion spoke finding Gemini to be acting out of character.
"Normally, but if waited for him to get strong he'd only be making me waist time on him." Gemini said as he laid there for a bit. "He refuses to seek a battle and waits for the battle to come to him instead." Gemini said and thus Albion found this amusing somewhat.
"So instead of allowing yourself an easy win you decided to act and make him give you a challenge." Albion said while Gemini just laid there.
"Exactly, if I can't beat him at his peak then I have no chance against Great Red." Gemini said and thus Albion opted to leave Gemini be for this.
"I don't much like it but knowing you as I do you will accept nothing less but the absolute best so I shall abide by it." Albion said and in turn Gemini smirked to this.
"Not like you have much choice." Gemini said and thus Albion huffed to this.
"Don't get cocky if this bites you in the ass later, don't say I didn't warn you." Albion said and in turn ended the conversation with the strongest White Dragon Emperor.
(Back at the Headmasters Office)
"I see." Dumbledore said as the pair had finished off their explanation of the event. He had of course gone to retrieve his old Wand never once abandoning it after acquiring the Elder Wand. He kept the wand safe in his office should he ever need to use it, the Wand felt just as he remembered when he had first purchased it all those years ago. "It seems you have a special gift of finding yourself in the most curious of situations, Harry." Dumbledore said as he looked to Harry.
"It's not something I'm proud of honestly." Harry said as the old Potter luck had a nasty way of rearing its head. But then Harry thought of something particularly the Horcrux situation. "Sir... one thing still bothers me you know I was a Horcrux, and Tom was immortal so long as he had his Horcrux's." Harry said and thus Dumbledore knew where this was going. "What was the plan to destroy the one in my scar?" Harry asked and thus Dumbledore grew silent.
"You had a plan, right?" Hermione asked and in turn the silence was telling. "You were planning on him to die... weren't you?" Hermione asked and thus the guilty look Dumbledore had was the final nail to the coffin.
Harry's anger began to roar to the surface, but the boy opted to keep it contained at least long enough to let Dumbledore explain himself. "Both yes and no." Dumbledore began choosing his words carefully not to control Harry but to avoid the Wrath of the Red Dragon Emperor. "I know the piece of Tom's soul inside of you had to be destroyed before he could be defeated." Dumbledore said and thus Hermione saw what this meant.
"The only way to destroy a horcrux is to destroy its container." Hermione said recounting what she had read on the subject.
"Yes, precisely however that being said, nothing has ever been written about a horcrux with a living vessel." Dumbledore said to which it made sense; Harry was basically uncharted territory. "I had a theory that if Tom were to hit you with the killing curse again that because of the lingering blood protection from your mother and based on the fact that Tom himself took some of your blood into himself in order to rebuild his new body, it would destroy that small portion of his soul residing in your scar and leave you unharmed." Dumbledore said which the Campion and reincarnated Devil both raised a brow to this.
"That sounds like a lot of guesswork to me." Harry said with a little bit of heat entered his voice this time.
"It was," Dumbledore said which made the Headmaster's shoulders slumped. "I had no idea if it would work at all so for all I knew, I was committing you to death by my actions." Dumbledore revealed guilt deep in his voice. "It has haunted me for years, what was the right choice? Should I do nothing, and by my inaction let the war rage on with Tom remaining anchored to life, or should I potentially sacrifice one child for the safety of all?" Dumbledore said sharing his woes on the whole matter. "But it seems that those were not the only two options." Dumbledore said and thus bowed to Harry a bit. "I can only apologize to you Harry. I should never have stopped looking for other alternatives." Dumbledore said as he truly did feel guilty for not seeking out alternatives to Harry's predicament.
Harry looked at Dumbledore's bowed head before him feeling conflicted. He couldn't imagine the stress that kind of responsibility would have on someone. He also knew that if he'd been told about the horcrux in his head, he would allow them to kill him in an instant if meant taking down that mad man. It's not that Harry wanted to die, but if it meant potentially saving his friends, there was no question of his choice. Despite all that he was still angry at Dumbledore. He was going to take away his choice in the matter, even if it would have been the same. Though as much as he wanted to vent his frustrations on the ancient wizard, he took a deep breath. Now was not the time.
"I need some time to think on all this." Harry said as this caused Dumbledore to look up at him looking somewhat surprised.
Hermione who before had been starting to relax around the old wizard, seemed completely pissed now, if the glare she was directing at him was any indication, though she still hadn't said anything. But Hermione knew Harry needed to clear his head and not react with his emotions so erratic, so it came as a shock that he chose to think on it before deciding to respond to it.
"Of course." Dumbledore said and thus the fireplace came to life. "Well, it seems it's time for you to depart, Harry." Dumbledore said and thus Harry nodded to this.
"I understand." Harry said and in turn he stood up as Hermione then followed after Harry to await Remus to come though.
'Godspeed you two.' Dumbledore mentally added wishing the both of them the best and hoping that Hermione could make it pass this new trial of hers.
(Scene Break Grimmauld Place)
The return to Grimmauld Place was more or less as one would expect. Everyone was gathered in the dining room getting the whole riot act from Sirius. Of course, when told what was going on Sirius could not help but agree with why they had to keep it hidden. The good news was that Tonks wasn't around to hear about it, but the bad news was that Sirius was. "So just so I have all the key points, Hermione is half devil." Sirius said as he looked to Hermione.
"Yes sir." Hermione said as Sirius was making sure everything was accounted for.
"My Godson died, and she reincarnated him as a devil." Sirius said making sure he had everything.
"Yes." Harry responded as Sirius nodded to this.
"And now you have only a few weeks before your forced to face some bloke who is trying to get your cousin to come out of hiding?" Sirius said and thus Hermione nodded again.
"Yes." Hermione said and thus Sirius sighed to this.
"I should be upset, angry, and even appalled by this." Sirius said as everyone got worried. "But... I'm just happy to know that I have you to thank for Harry's continued survival." Sirius said as he then smiled to Hermione. "So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." Sirius said and thus Hermione could not help but smile to this.
"You're welcome." Hermione responded and thus everyone sighed in relief.
"That went better than I expected." Daphne said and thus Remus sighed in frustration.
"Wait for it." Remus said and thus Sirius showed his true colors.
"So, Devils can have harems, right?" Sirius asked and thus Remus facepalmed himself.
"Sirius!" Remus cursed and then grabbed his friend dragging him away. "Godfather, example you set." Remus reminded while dragging his friend off.
"Wait moony I was kidding!" Sirius cried out as the Werewolf away dragged him.
"At least he didn't reject us, huh?" Harry said as he was grateful that his godfather didn't see him as some sort of monster for this.
"That's family Harry, they love you no matter what." Hermione said happy to see that Sirius could be counted as an ally. "But now that all of our objectives have been met, we can focus on training and preparations." Hermione said reminding everyone they should not rest on their laurels just yet.
Everyone nodded as they all agreed with Hermione's mindset on this. They needed to be ready for whatever Rizer and his peerage has in store for them. But Harry had one vow that by the end of this Rizer won't ever touch Hermione or even be close to her, and Rias Gremory wherever she is hiding will finally be free.
(TBC)
ESKK: I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter despite it being short. Originally it was supposed to be part of the previous chapter, but it made the Chapter way too long, so I cut it in two. Be sure to leave a review before leaving and as always folks, ja-ne.