Okay, here's the revised version of Nocturne's first chapter. I think this works better in how Harry and Morrigan met.
NOCTURNE (REVISED)
CHAPTER 1:
SUCCUBUS AND WIZARD
Darkstalkers.
This name, not generally known in common parlance, is a catch-all term for non-human beings who are considered dark or demonic, by both magical authorities, and the mundane ones who are aware of their existence. Vampires, werewolves, Succubi, along with demons of many stripes, the undead, catgirls…whether they prey on humanity, or try to co-exist, they are frequently tarred with the same brush. Generally, Dark Creatures in general fall under this banner, as long as they are considered somewhat sentient…and malevolent. Even if they aren't truly evil, but instead are somewhat inclined to violence.
There are many kinds of Darkstalker. There are many varieties of vampire and werewolf, for example, and there are many forms of the undead. The various magical authorities have a fairly hard time covering things up, though they also find it merely better to allow some mundanes to hunt them.
To consort with a Darkstalker is to invite death, if not from the Darkstalker themselves, then from those who hunt them. Some hunters do it to make the world a better place. Others do it for money, or for sadism, or (in the case of a deceptively-dressed girl who seems to have a thing for looking like Red Riding Hood) both.
Not all Darkstalkers are evil. Some are as good as any sentient being can be. Others are just amoral rather than immoral. But there are many who do not, cannot, or will not make the distinction.
The night is dark and filled with terrors, so they say, and not all of them are Darkstalkers. This is the story of how a group of wizards who hid in the night found themselves caught short when the night was reclaimed by those who always possessed it…and how the Light made its biggest blunder…
Once more, he was forced to see Cedric die.
Once more, he was forced to see Voldemort rise from the cauldron, reborn.
Once more, he was forced to fight to the death, barely escaping with his life.
He was on the verge of waking up, screaming, when soothing arms gently wrapped themselves around him. Naked arms. And then, sweet breath on his neck. The sensation of two fleshy orbs pressing into his naked back. When it happened the first time, he had understandably panicked. Now…he was merely grateful. Because it meant she was here. Comforting him, when nobody else would. She had haunted his dreams for nearly three weeks now…and he was grateful for it.
"It's okay," breathed a gentle, sultry voice with a faint Scottish burr. "I'm here again." Large, bat-like wings folded around them both.
For a moment, they floated in the dark void together. Her presence was soothing. In fact, he had come to enjoy her presence…though whether she was a figment of his imagination or not, he didn't know.
A faint chuckle near his ears. "I'm not, you know. A figment of your imagination. Dreams are as real to me as reality is. After all, I feed on dreams. Your mind, your dreams and nightmares, they fascinate me. But…well, I can't say I know how it feels like to be you, save through your memories."
"Then why are you here?"
"I feed on dreams, Harry Potter. And on many other things. But you've gained my attention. I bore easily, and your life, while hard, is still interesting. Ugh, I wish I didn't skip out on Father's lessons about wizards, I would have recognised you sooner. Actually, it's your birthday today, isn't it? 16 years old…well, so am I."
Harry was released from her embrace, and turned to face the naked girl behind him. She had green hair. A pair of bat-like wings protruded from her back, and a much smaller pair protruded from her head. Her face was beautiful, inhumanly so, and her light green eyes twinkled with mischief. She was, frankly, bloody hot, and he felt himself getting aroused, despite himself.
She smirked, and then purred, "In fact, I might just come around and give you a nice wee present…"
Morrigan Aensland was sixteen years old, and bored out of her skull. She had had enough of her father's lessons and lectures, the admonishments of her caretakers, and the sheer ennui that came with her existence. A common malady amongst humans in general, and teenagers in particular.
However, Morrigan Aensland was not human.
She was a Succubus, one of the most powerful in existence, and certainly the most powerful for her age. Then again, what else should you expect from the daughter of the strongest Lord of the Demon Realm, sometimes known as Makai? Up to now, she had subsisted on the dreams of men and women she had entered, feeding from within their dreams. But soon, she would need to do more. And she was certainly looking forward to it, feeding on the souls of the living while giving them one last prolonged moment of bliss…and then giving their souls eternal pleasure within her own self.
Of course, her father Belial was leery about this, if only because she had a habit of going to the human world whenever she pleased. It was less over-protectiveness, as she was more than capable of dealing with any hunter of Darkstalkers, the Night Warriors, who crossed her path. No, it was simply because he didn't like her having fun. He claimed that it was because she was meant to be comporting herself according to her station as heir to the ruler of Makai, but she personally thought it was because he was a bloody killjoy.
Which was why she was going for a stroll in the human world, through the suburban nightmare of some godawful town in Surrey called Little Whinging. Not in her standard form, but as a human. As a tall, slender teenaged girl, her usually green hair changed to a light brown. She wore a T-Shirt with the image from the cover of one of Meat Loaf's albums, and jeans.
While it was tempting to home in on her new little interesting hobby magically, she wanted to be cautious, just in case. She knew her little hobby was a wizard, and they could be tricky. Not that she had anything to worry about, being an S-Class Darkstalker, but it didn't hurt to be careful anyway.
As it was, she made her way to his home address, and was glad she did some recon first. She could feel those damned blood wards, and with an expert eye, she dissected them. Hmm, keyed to one individual, as well as those linked to him. However, did sod-all protection against anything else, and didn't extend past the boundaries of the property. Hmm. Well, that made sense now. Something to tell him when she finally met her pet project. They wouldn't be hostile to him, but if she didn't do this correctly, she would be detected. In fact, she was sure she could sense a human where there wasn't meant to be one, very close by. An invisibility cloak, she wagered. Harry was being kept under watch.
She sniffed the air ever so slightly, and grimaced. She could smell a lot of booze too. And was that a faint but obnoxious snore she could hear? Hmm, who watches the watchmen?
With that thought, she reached out with her senses, searching for Harry. Well, he was at home…and thankfully, none of those damned relatives of his were. With a smirk, she carefully modified her portal…and stepped through it…
…And found Harry Potter in his room, his rather dreary room, looking surprised at her as she stepped through. "Good morning, Harry," she purred, changing her appearance back to her preferred one. "Sleep well?"
Harry, understandably, gaped, before he dived for his wand. But before he could cast a spell at her, she lunged and snatched it away. "Keep that thing in your pants," Morrigan scoffed. "You haven't even bought me a drink first. Besides, if I was working for Voldemort, I could have dealt with you the moment I entered your room." She handed his wand back, though not before whispering, "Nice, long, and firm. Just the way I like it."
He snatched it from her, blushing furiously at her innuendo. "What is wrong with you, Morrigan? Is this still a dream?"
She chuckled. "Of course not," she said, sitting down next to him on his bed. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm not actually human, Harry?"
"…Well, the bat wings were a bit of a giveaway. Are you a vampire or something?"
"Succubus, actually." She tittered softly when he recoiled away from her. "Oh, please. While I can consume souls if I wanted to, well, I can consume other things…like your dreams." She gently stroked his face. "It's how you've gotten a better night's sleep lately…nightmares are an acquired taste, but I can subsist on them fairly well. That's how I stumbled across you. I found your dreams interesting."
"Interesting," he said flatly, with just the faintest hint of anger just below the surface. "You find my nightmares about Voldemort and Cedric and my past…interesting."
"Well, perhaps morbidly so. I never said I found them entertaining, the nightmares, anyway. Well, except for the bits where you fought back, and fought back well. Anyway, it was more to do with you being interesting, Harry. But enough of that, it's time for your present!" She transformed herself back into her disguised self. "How about a fun-filled day at Euro Disneyland?"
"Ah, what?"
"Your birthday present. I can get us to Paris, and into a fun-filled day at Euro Disneyland. No questions answered. So, let's go and have some fun, shall we?"
"But wait, just a moment…" he protested, before Morrigan grabbed him by the wrist, and took him through another portal…
And it was fun. Gradually, little by little, Harry loosened up. Morrigan had to admit, it was kind of cute, seeing him relax and act like a teenager. If he was really in danger from Voldemort, it was little wonder he was so tense.
And that helped grow the germ of an idea Morrigan had had for some time. . It was possibly foolish, and it'd piss off her father something fierce…but she found herself not giving a shit. After all, Morrigan was looking for some excitement in her life. And it wasn't like these fools could kill her if she didn't let them. The Killing Curse was powerful, but while it could kill most demons of Makai, the strongest ones, even as young as Morrigan herself, wouldn't be killed by it, unless they were weakened.
So, after going on a number of rides, which she had to admit excited her a little, and with the sun beginning to set, Harry asked the inevitable question. "Why are you doing this?" he asked as they walked down a path, cotton candy in hand.
"On a whim. You seemed like the sort who needed a wee bit of happiness in your life. Besides, like I said, I was bored. I still am. I need some excitement in my life. I'm…royalty, I suppose you could say."
"Really?" Harry asked sceptically.
"Oh yes, it's true," Morrigan said. "Morrigan Aensland, heiress to the throne of Makai, or the demon realm, if you prefer. Not Hell, not where damned souls are punished for eternity. Actually, that was another reason I liked you. We're the same in that much, having so many expectations made of us. You as the Boy Who Lived, and me, as heiress to my father. Anyway, I want to make you an offer…and as you humans say, it's an offer you can't refuse."
"And why is that?"
"Well, leaving aside the fact that the Killing Curse doesn't really affect me, well, what you'd like is protection against Voldemort and his cronies. I want to alleviate my boredom. Therefore, I think we can come to some sort of arrangement. Maybe you can consider it a birthday present…" And with that, she pulled him through yet another portal…
Harry didn't know why he trusted Morrigan. Maybe it was something of an allure, like that of a Veela, but more powerful and yet, more subtle. She had admitted herself to being a Succubus after all. Or maybe it was because his friends hadn't written to him much, neither had Sirius or anyone else, and he had been stuck at the Dursleys, with no news of Voldemort. Frankly, this was the best birthday he had ever had in his life, thanks to this girl he had met in his dreams mere weeks earlier. Nobody had done anything for him like she had done, just upped and taken him out somewhere for his birthday…unless going to the Quidditch World Cup last year counted as a belated birthday present.
He still had a vague feeling of being near a predator, one that was playing with her food, so when she took him through a portal, and into a room that seemed like it was an opulent bedroom in a castle, he felt no anger anymore, just resignation. Something told him he was in her territory.
Still, it seemed like it was time to pay the piper. But if this Morrigan girl was going to turn on him, then he was going to go down fighting.
"What's this…arrangement?" Harry asked.
Morrigan smirked, changing back once more into her inhuman form. "Straight to the point? No foreplay? Well, two can play at that game. My proposal is very simple, Harry Potter. I will become your familiar, your bodyguard…" Her smile became a more lustful smirk. "…And your lover. So, what say you?"
Oh, what the possibly-literal Hell had he gotten himself into now?
CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:
So, Harry and Morrigan have met up, and Morrigan has an interesting proposal for Harry. But will he take her up on it? And what will Belial think?
I did a lot of editing on this chapter compared to the original, changing it so Morrigan has actually spent some time with Harry before indulging her whim to entertain him, and then make her proposal. I hope this feels better, less awkward. Harry doesn't quite trust Morrigan per se, but she comforted him within his dreams, and that helped in the goodwill stakes.
Incidentally, we will have other Darkstalkers characters appear, never fear. Jon Talbain will definitely appear, and maybe Felicia and Hsien-Ko.
No numbered annotations this time.
