Iris was having trouble with trying to breathe.

First had come the sharp shock of knowing she had helped an honest to magic assassin kill Vernon and by extension Petunia. Second was the knowledge that she was out of England entirely and was somewhere in Europe. Third came the cold shock of the conversation she had with that strange blond wizard who had killed Vernon... she had to wonder if this was what people meant when they mentioned a deal with the devil.

Once she got over the sharp shock that she was in completely uncertain waters, and had been given a better breakfast than she was used to during summer holidays, she had been brought to meet someone from the blond's group. A cursed mage with a rather fascinating frog. Their name was Mammon.

Mafia. She had made a deal with the actual freaking mafia. And if that wasn't enough, they apparently had their own secret sub-society involving supernatural powers that were even more closely guarded by impartial and terrifying guards known as the Vindice.

The blond was part of an elite assassination group called the Varia, and was highly ranked as one of the 'officers'. Sort of like a general under a currently indisposed leader from what she could tell.

Apparently she had what were known as 'Cloud flames', and that had been the main source of Belphegor's wariness when he arrived to kill Vernon.

He had been rather concerned she would snap if she discovered him in what he believed was her 'territory'. Clouds were predisposed to claim 'territories' and reacted violently when they were infringed upon without permission.

The two were at least 'kind' enough to give her a chance to take in this new knowledge before they did anything. Which meant she had been left alone (but was under observation...they had been clear on that front) for the next week to adjust.

Mammon pointed her in the direction of the nearest Gringotts. She wasn't tied to the blond yet, and he wasn't about to pay for anything she needed since she wasn't his responsibility yet.

She really needed to learn his name.

At least she would have Hedwig for when the other meeting began. The owl had arrived three days after the shock had initially worn off. Her presence alone had been a boon.

Potter was clearly made of sterner stuff than he expected. Once she got over the shock of learning what he was and the fact she would have to deal with the Vindice watching her now that she was known to be active, she had handled it well.

"I have a few questions, before we create any sort of contract."

"Ask," said Mammon.

"Am I expected to do anything as part of your group once the contract is made?"

"No," said Mammon promptly. At least the girl was showing sense so far. "Only those with the right qualifications are chosen to become Varia, and you have neither the right training or the requirements needed. At most you would be considered a 'protected' partner, since you're not one of us or previously affiliated with the mafia."

"What exactly would be expected of me if I agree to the contract?"

"At most you'll join me at parties and act as eye candy. It's rather uncommon for female mafioso to really stand out in general," said Belphegor, idly playing with his knife. "As far as the mafia would be concerned, you're just an informed civilian who's only affiliation is through me. You won't be expected to do anything or join any groups so long as we're dating."

That annoyed her greatly, but she kept her mouth shut.

"On our end we'll insure you receive real combat training, not the watered down kind most civilians get, as well as a general idea of how to use your flames if you're interested. Any magical and mundane education will mostly be up to you, beside suggesting tutors," said Mammon. "Outside of making sure you don't get involved with certain people, we could care less what you do in your free time."

"So long as I don't interfere with your group, or associate with potential spies you mean?" she asked.

Mammon nodded.

It was a surprisingly better deal than she expected. Certainly better than the half-assed 'protections' she got from the Order and Dumbledore's false platitudes.

"What of the people who will undoubtedly track me down?" she asked.

"If they're stupid enough to attack you in our territory, then they're too stupid to live...at least unless you give us a reason to keep them alive anyway," said Belphegor bluntly.

Iris was clearly thinking over her options.

"Who sources your potions?" she asked.

"No one. Most of the Varia is mundane or squibs, and most of them don't have any magical contacts. The few that would have limited access to such things," said Mammon. "I would know if they did."

"So if I were to source your group with certain potions, like polyjuice for instance..."

"You would have a significantly greater protection detail and a stronger say in matters involving you," said Mammon without hesitation. "Anyone able to supply us with potions like that would be well worth their weight in gold."

Iris' eyes sharpened then.

"Good. I refuse to be considered just a pretty face if I can be useful, especially since this deal has so many benefits," said Iris.

"Shishishi..."

Potter was indeed far more interesting than he had taken her for.

Mammon drafted the contract...though their estimation of the witch went up when Iris asked pointed questions about certain parts. Her inexperience was expected...her vested interest in making sure that there was no surprises was not.

Then again, he did remember reading that she had been forced to enter that ridiculous tournament a year or so ago. No one was certain about whether it was willing or not, but the end result was that she had won it and come back with a dead body.

At least his potential queen had sense.

With the contract formally written and safely placed in Gringotts, Belphegor mostly made a habit of popping in to her new house which had been left mostly abandoned near the Varia castle. Normally she would have gotten an apartment or something of that nature closer to town, but due to her Cloud flames and the fact that she had never really had anything to call her own territory, Mammon had looked for something a little more isolated.

It was nice and quiet, and there was a nice little spot for a garden where she could grow potion ingredients. Mammon had been kind enough to source them a proper greenhouse, rather than make her grow everything in a magical trunk.

Since she would be potentially sourcing them potions (either personally brewed or bought and then compensated for) it was a worthwhile investment.

She was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, which was why she was putting off finding any tutors. Once it became clear she was not attending Hogwarts another year, she fully expected an entire slew of headaches.

Which was why she was going to enjoy the peace and quiet while she could, and prepare for trouble.

She was not expecting her new fiance to show up at the gate, looking bored.

"I would have expected you to come in unannounced like you owned the place," she said after a moment.

"Shishishi...normally I would," he admitted openly. "However doing so to a Cloud who's been forcibly uprooted from their daily routine is tantamount to suicide. A few moment's patience is a small price to pay for a prince."

Iris' eyebrow rose. The two had explained that Clouds were notoriously territorial, but hadn't gone into more detail than that. This however, suggested something all too familiar to her.

"Are you telling me people treat Clouds attempting to establish a 'territory' like a nesting mother dragon with a clutch?" she said dryly.

"Close enough," he agreed.

That was hilarious.

"Then come on in and make yourself comfortable, but just to be clear my bedroom is off limits until we're either married or better acquainted."

Belphegor snorted. This was an arranged marriage written by them...it was only natural that they would wait before attempting anything intimate. They barely knew anything about each other, and she was still adjusting to the notion of 'freedom' without being judged for it.

Hell, Iris had written in the contract that until they were married, Belphegor was free to sleep around as long as he was careful about it. Belphegor had been kind enough to reciprocate...mostly by allowing Iris to sleep around, so long as it wasn't with another man.

If she favored someone enough, Belphegor was fine with making them her personal handmaiden/bedwarmer. However he was not interested in sharing her with other men. It was a stipulation they could both live with long term.

It was nice that she had the implied respect of at least being ASKED before her fiance intruded on her personal space.

"So what brings you here?"

"The peasants were getting annoying, and I am at least assured of some peace and quiet while visiting. Luss has been extra irritating since they found out about our betrothal."

It had been big gossip that the Ripper Prince had a betrothed. The only reason she hadn't had an invasion of nosy assassins out for gossip on who could possibly hold the interest of Belphegor was Mammon's stern warning that the girl in question was an active Cloud who was currently in the middle of establishing new territory in an unfamiliar setting. The betrothal was still too new for Belphegor to take liberties around her, hence why he bothered to ask before entering the gate.

For now she was left alone, but in a few months or so...or during the slow period before Christmas and before the busy season that happened after New Year's...she would likely have to put 'warnings' in place for the bored assassins.

It was nice that Mammon had told her she had more or less carte blanche on what wards to add around her home. If they were too stupid to recognize the warning signs of invading her space without permission, they were too stupid to live.

Belphegor stayed a few hours, before he got a call on his phone. Iris had one of her own...mostly for emergencies...but she had next to no idea how to use it.

"VOI! Where the hell are you, shitty prince?!"

Iris stared at the innocent seeming object. Who on earth was on the other end and why were they so loud?

Belphegor said something likely insulting in Italian, before an irritated expression crossed his face.

"I have to go."

"Who on earth was that, and why was I able to hear them without the speakerphone on?"

"That was the de facto leader of the Varia, Squalo Superbi. The shark peasant is always loud."

Iris seemed to consider something, before she pulled out one of the twins' newer creations. It was a potion that gave anyone who consumed it a high pitch voice much like one would get from inhaling helium.

"Slip this into his drink when you can."

"What is it?" asked Belphegor curious.

"It's a relatively harmless prank potion that will wear off in an hour after it's consumed. Worst case scenario, I have to brew the counterpotion. It's more of a nuisance potion really."

Curiosity clear on his features, Bel hid the potion vial somewhere on his person.

Three days later, he came back with a delighted look of glee on his face.

"That was hilarious."

Hearing the shark peasant's normally loud voice squeak for an hour straight was totally worth the bitching out because Mammon had seen him slip the potion in his drink.

Iris grinned.

"Do you have anything else?"

Her grin was all teeth and full of false 'innocence'. His snickering only got worse. It seemed he had found the first common ground with his future queen.

On an unrelated note, the Varia was promptly hit with a rash of humiliating and highly amusing (for everyone but the victims) pranks.

Iris was out shopping when she felt something almost slimy crawl down her spine. It took her seconds to register where it was coming from and know she wanted nothing to do with the source.

The man was attractive enough, she supposed. But it was his aura that put her off entirely.

He oozed the same arrogance of Malfoy, but without any of the class. Even Draco, the prick, had better taste than him. However he had spilled far more blood than Draco had.

Something about him brushed her the wrong way. And he was observing her.

Like hell was she going to let this stalker find her new home.

She headed into a busy cafe, and headed for the bathroom displaying the same urgency anyone would if they had to go.

She ducked into one of the stalls, and climbed on top of the toilet. Just to be safe, she waited for a group of obvious civilians to come in.

A few spells changed her hair and clothes, and disguised her skin color as something much darker and suited to warmer climates. She hid her glasses, well used to wandering half blind.

She ducked out of the bathroom with the group of girls, who didn't detect the addition to the group. She was used to fading into the background after all.

It was ridiculously easy to leave the cafe with the girls, and break away before they even registered her presence.

She knew that the man following her hadn't detected her slipping off, and took to the roofs. She would need the cover to get her broom out and disillusion herself long enough of fly home. Her little trip to town was utterly ruined anyway.

Once she was above the cloud cover, she sighed with relief. So long as she remained high up, most people would be unlikely to notice anything out of the ordinary.

It took her twenty minutes to fly home, and when she did, she drew up all the wards around the house. She did not want to be caught unaware by that man if he somehow managed to track her down.

Three hours later...

"You really need to keep the phone on," said Bel through the communication mirror.

"I would if I could get the hang of the stupid thing," she replied.

After a week of failed attempts to contact her, Bel had bought a set of mirrors. While Iris might forget to turn her phone on, she was usually within range of a mirror.

"You slipped away from the mooks set to guard you. Why?" asked Bel.

"Someone was tailing me. Not magical...he felt wrong for that. He also wasn't muggle either," she said flatly. "There was something off about him that made my skin crawl, and he was watching me."

That got Bel's full attention.

"Describe him to me," he ordered. It wasn't a request.

"Blond, scruffy appearance, somewhat well dressed and he looked Italian," she said. "I can give you the pensieve memory if you want."

"I'll be there in an hour."

"I'm not going anywhere, but I did pull up the full wards. I don't know who he is, but I know better than to let him anywhere near me."