So, here we are, a story I had promised for putting into the Cauldron, one of my attempts at a Harry/Rias fic, and probably the last to be posted for a long time. I've tried and tried and tried to get it to work, but it hasn't been working out, and I'm burned out, so there won't be any new attempts, in all likelihood, until at least the new year. Which is a shame, as Vellichor had some good concepts, and I intend to reuse them for another fic.

This one also had some excellent concepts. Harry had an interesting means of both boosting his power and extending his lifespan, inspired by Shang Tsung from the Mortal Kombat games, and I loved how I wrote Rias in this. Unfortunately, it was WAY too dark and angsty for my liking. I may revisit it, but I'm not sure how I'm going to make it any less dark and angsty, given the subject material.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into what could have been.


YOUR SOUL IS MINE

CHAPTER 1:

METAMORPHOSES

The boy was left alone in the cold and the dark. And these were comforting, compared to the nightmares the Dementors brought. Not just the night of his parents' death, but of the day his life was ruined. Where those he thought friends and family either were kept away from him, or worse, showed themselves to be not his allies or loved ones at all.

The worst of it came from the man he called a godfather once. He had been wrongly imprisoned here, and yet, he didn't give his godson any consideration. He denounced him, said his parents would be ashamed of what he had become. A monster.

And the damning thing was, he was right.

Oh, he didn't mean to become a monster. He had no intention of doing what he did ever again. But here he was, celebrating what should have been his fifteenth birthday in prison. And if what he heard was true, they were preparing for him to receive the Kiss.

And for all that he was a monster, he still wanted to live. It was shameful, but he wanted to live. He wanted to fly, far away from here. He wanted to escape.

He didn't know it, but before long, he would get his wish…


Rias Gremory, the Heiress to the Gremory family, reluctant fiancée to Riser Phenex, Pureblood High-Class Devil, and President of the Occult Research Club of Kuoh Academy, was troubled. If one didn't know the particulars of her life beyond the basics, one would wonder why. After all, her family was rich, she was blessed with a beauty beyond most humans, and she was admired by many at Kuoh Academy for not only her aforementioned beauty, but her grace, intelligence, and, well, being an exotic foreigner. Though they thought she came from Europe rather than the Underworld.

But leaving aside her arranged marriage with Riser Phenex, Rias had a number of things to consider. A cell of Fallen Angels had recently made a nest somewhere in the town she was supposed to govern as her territory, alongside her lifelong friend Sona Sitri. And just when she had pinpointed Issei Hyoudou as a possible Sacred Gear wielder, and someone she could entice into her Peerage too, he'd gone and accepted a date from a disguised Fallen.

Issei Hyoudou had enrolled, along with his two friends Matsuda and Motohama, into Kuoh Academy when it had recently changed to co-ed. The three of them were notoriously perverted and rather vocally so, wanting harems. Issei was the better of the three, though. She wouldn't be considering him for her Peerage unless he had redeeming features his friends did not.

Rias was taking a wait and see approach for now. With this 'Yuuma Amano' bringing him on a date, well, Rias wondered if Issei was going to be recruited by the Fallen. It was possible this was an assassination, but from what she knew of the SOP of the Grigori, Sacred Gear wielders were generally only killed if they were in danger of going berserk. Rias felt it more likely that the Fallen was either a honeytrap to try and recruit him, or else was gathering information on him.

Rias did intend to take precautions in case she was wrong. She hoped she wouldn't be wrong, she didn't need Issei's death on her conscience, even if she could revive him with an Evil Piece. But she was going to ensure her familiar would give him a summoning pamphlet. If he was in danger of dying, she would be summoned by his last wishes, she hoped.

Of course, she hoped it wouldn't come to that. There were plenty of Devils who would be callous enough to do this as a first resort, she knew. But she wanted to give Issei a choice. True, the rest of her Peerage didn't exactly have that luxury, especially Koneko and Kiba. But she wanted to try and assemble her Peerage by consent where possible.

Today was the day for Issei's date with that Fallen. Hopefully, she could then contact Issei and try to coax him into joining them with a suitable counteroffer. Hopefully, she hadn't fucked this up.

A hoarse croak attracted her attention, and she turned to look at the window, and smiled. She took some meat from a dimensional storage spell she had learned, and gave it to the raven currently perched on the window sill. What a curious thing it was, with emerald eyes. She knew it was no ordinary raven from the moment she found it.

Ordinary ravens didn't turn up in the Familiar Forest. While getting Kiba's familiar, which he had demurred for so long to get, the raven turned up. The Familiar Master, Zatouji, had remarked on it. But the raven accompanied her Peerage out of the Familiar Forest.

She'd named him Matthew, after Dream's chief raven in The Sandman comics. She was something of a self-confessed otaku, but she liked plenty of Western things too, and Neil Gaiman's stuff was amongst them. He seemed to accept the name, somewhat.

Honestly, the way Matthew acted, he seemed rather intelligent. Sometimes, it even seemed like he was trying to speak. She already had a familiar bound to her, as did the rest of her Peerage, so she didn't try to bind him to herself, or to anyone else. Besides, something about binding him felt…wrong.

In any case, he'd become the unofficial mascot of the ORC. He'd become notorious for crapping on people he didn't like, like the Perverted Trio…or the Kendo Club girls when they went too far in attacking them. Oh, and Aika Kiryuu, though most times, the perverted, dick-measuring girl brushed it off and made jokes about having a bukkake fetish. But otherwise, he was liked by Rias and her Peerage. More than a pet, more than a potential familiar, he almost felt like a friend.

After he scarfed down his food, Rias gathered him up in her arms, gently pressing him to her bosom. "You haven't been around for a few days, Matthew," Rias said gently. "There've been…developments."

And then, it came out of her. Akeno was tending to her family shrine elsewhere in Kuoh, Koneko was shopping for sweets, Kiba was practising his swordfighting, disguised as kendo and iaido practise, and Gasper was, as usual, shut in his own room. She confided in Matthew, her fears and worries about the Issei Hyoudou situation.

"…I'm sure I'm overthinking things," she concluded. "Standard operating procedure for the Grigori, from what I've heard, means she'll be trying to recruit Issei. But…what if I'm wrong? I've taken precautions, yes, but…what if they're not enough? I can revive him as a member of my Peerage, yes, but it feels like it's yet another person I've done it to without them having a say in the matter."

Matthew croaked softly. She'd said similar things to him before. It was hard to tell whether he was trying to reassure her or not, though. Honestly, he was more of someone to vent to, to confide in, even though he couldn't really respond coherently.

"Hey…could you do me a favour?" Rias asked. "Keep an eye on him. It's getting a little late, so they're probably beginning to wind down their date, but…I'd feel a lot better if you were watching him. Could you do that for me, please? Don't intervene unless it's necessary."

Another croak, and Matthew began to squirm a little. She released him, and he flew to the window, looking back at her, before giving a little nod and a croak, before flying away.

She hoped it was nothing. She hoped she was being paranoid. She hoped she was wrong.

Unfortunately, she wasn't…


She knew something had gone wrong when she felt the summoning leaflet she had sent to Issei activate, with an impression of his last thoughts, desiring to live, entering her own mind. It was all she could do to maintain her composure when she went to the teleportation circle and activated it. Inwardly, though, she was berating herself. She had fucked up, again.

The ORC clubroom flared and faded away, to reveal a park with a fountain she was familiar with. A favourite spot for dates. But it had been marred by violence. Even as she watched, glossy black feathers fluttered down, and she could feel a Fallen-style portal closing up. And on the ground, in a pool of his own blood, was Issei, staring up at the sky, the light fading from his eyes. Not quite dead yet, he was barely conscious, but he wouldn't be alive for long. Holy Light may not be as toxic for humans as it was for Devils, but the heat from it probably damaged a lot of surrounding tissues in the wound. Unless someone had the Twilight Healing or healing magic on a similar scale, he wouldn't make it. Her healing magic was good, true, as was Akeno's, but not up to Twilight Healing levels, especially on a non-Devil.

Trying to keep her composure, she walked over to Issei. "So…you called me with your last thoughts?"

Issei choked up a gob of blood. "…Gremory?" he rasped out, nearly destroying her composure then and there. But even as she made to begin her spiel, he choked out, "…Demon Crow…attacked…Yuuma…to…help me. She…hurt him…"

Demon Crow? Oh, right, that was Matthew's nickname amongst some students at Kuoh Academy, especially those who had been crapped on by him and…wait, what?! Stamping down on the panic, she said, "And you wish to live?"

Issei nodded, his breathing becoming ever more shallow, his eyes closing. Rias smiled sadly. "…Then you shall live once more, for my sake," she said. She pulled out the case with her Evil Pieces. 8 Pawns, a Rook, a Knight and a Bishop. Eventually, she pulled out a Pawn, and placed it on his chest, intoning the ritual chant. Once he was revived, she could look for Matthew.

The first Pawn didn't react properly, but she realised she could use more. She tried four, but that didn't work. Only when she tried all eight did they sink into him, reviving him. He was unconscious, but he would live, as a Devil. His wounds were healed during the conversion process. She would send him home, but once she had found Matthew.

A pained croak drew her attention. She found him in a bush, a wing broken, looking battered, but alive. She gently fished him out. "Did you try to save him?" she asked. "Thank you, but…you're hurt."

With a croak, he squirmed out of her grasp, and flopped to the ground. She tried to catch him, but he shifted, distorted, and changed, so that he was slipping out of her grasp. What flopped to the ground in a boneless heap was definitely not a raven, though.

It was a person. A human boy about her age.

He was dressed in tattered rags. His messy mop of black hair had a few raven feathers sticking out of it. His arm was at an angle that no arm should be, even on the most extreme of contortionists.

But then, she realised that she recognised the face. Especially that faded lightning-shaped scar snaking out from beneath his fringe. After a moment, she couldn't help but emit a sardonic, sad chuckle.

"Of all the people to end up here, it had to be you."

Still, she needed to make arrangements ASAP. She needed to send Issei home for now. As for the human formerly known as Matthew, she had something else in mind…


It was the same nightmare he had suffered for many nights now. Oh, there were variations on the theme, but it always started with him in Azkaban, with the grey eyes of his godfather glaring at him in contempt and hatred, along with his former friends. Oh, he knew intellectually, in his most lucid moments, most of them had stood by him in reality. But the nightmares were born of his worst fears, warping memory.

Not that he needed warped memory to remember his treacherous godfather's words. "To think, you showed your true colours. It should've been you who died. James and Lily…they should have lived! They'd be rolling in their graves to see their son turn out to be a monster worse than Voldemort!"

He couldn't retort, not in the dream. He'd been Silenced, just as he had been in reality…well, that's what he thought, anyway. His memories of that time were a bit hazy.

Case in point, another face pushed past. Mad-Eye Moody, whose features dissolved into those of Barty Crouch Junior. This was also part of his memories, but conflated with his confrontation with his ex-godfather. "So, what we're doing is sending you to Hell, where you belong," he said, readying a Portkey from a rock. "It's a better punishment for what you did to the Dark Lord. Rot in Hell, Boy Who Lived…"

And then, he threw the rock at him. The moment it hit his chest, there was not the familiar sensation of a hook into his navel, but rather, it felt like arms grabbing at him. Cedric Diggory, the Death Eaters, his parents, dragging him down to Hell, snarling accusations in his ears, even as he was clasped tight, no matter what he fought.

But then, a new voice penetrated his mind. A friendly one, an urgent one, the voice of an angel. "Calm down! You're safe now, you're safe! Wake up! Please, wake up!"


The first thing he noticed was that, for the first time in what had to be years, he was lying on a soft bed. Very soft. Luxurious, even. Comfort embodied.

The second thing he noticed was that he was far from alone in bed. The rather beautiful arms wrapped around his chest were a big clue, as was the sensation of two rather soft orbs pressed into his back. Indeed, the body pressed into him from behind was soft and supple.

And the third thing he noticed was that his bedmate was naked…and so was he. He couldn't see her, but he could feel her. He was trying hard not to panic, his breath rapid. Plus, he could feel himself becoming aroused, despite his panic.

"…It's okay," said the voice of his bedmate. "You're safe. I healed you. I'm not going to hurt you unless you give me reason to. You remember my voice?"

Recollection stirred at the familiar voice. He tried to speak, only to emit a hoarse croak. Not because he was a raven anymore, but rather, because it had been many years since he had spoken properly. "Is…is that you Rias?" he managed to croak out.

"Yes, it's me," Rias said. "I'm sorry about you waking up with me in bed, both of us naked. But we didn't sleep together except in the most literal way. It was the most effective way to heal you. The healing magic I know requires skin contact, the more the better. And considering what that Fallen Angel did to you…"

Her words fired up remembrance in him. "…What about Hyoudou? Is he okay?"

"…He was dying. I couldn't do the same to him, not with his injuries so severe, and as a human. He's now my Pawn, but we can talk about that later. He's at his home, and my familiar is watching him. I'll discuss the particulars with him later. I think the priority is you. Hey, turn around, okay? Look at me."

"You're naked," he mumbled, only to have her chuckle sadly.

"Haaa, typical British…you're so stuffy and prudish," Rias said. "It's okay, I'm fine with you looking. Besides, you were a gentleman before, as a raven. I noticed you leaving the room whenever we need to change clothes and stuff like that. And before you ask, I got rid of those rags you were wearing. Yuuto's kindly donated some of his clothes, you were about the right size, roughly. And you might want to have a shower. I used a cleansing spell on you, but that's more of a stopgap measure. Anyway, just turn around. It's okay, I'm not like Medusa or anything."

Reluctantly, he rolled around in bed, Rias gently releasing her grip on him, though he moved his leg to try and cover up his arousal, probably unsuccessfully. He tried to look at her face, or at least anywhere else but the rest of her body, blushing furiously as he did so. She chuckled, the action doing interesting things to her breasts, before she gave him a sad smile. "It's good to finally meet you face to face, Harry Potter."

And for the first time in a very long time, Harry actually felt like it was good to meet someone. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it. Who would want to harbour a monster such as him anyway? Nobody, that's who…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, more 'Animagus Lover'-style shenanigans, and Harry and Rias have had an interesting beginning.

Now, why am I writing Rias more angsty? Well, basically, I wanted to reconstruct her as a character. When I originally wrote her, I wrote her as being close to her canon self, but without digging too deeply into her character. While I did do some digging into her character more for my Harry/Raynare fic Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, and even more so in my Harry/Rossweisse fic Óskmey, I wanted to really get into her head, into her doubts and insecurities.

She and Harry do have some interesting parallels. They both have a fame and expectations that they want to get away from. And they have something of a saving people thing. Of course, Rias' can be seen in a sinister light, something I've pondered, and while too many people do bash her, I decided to reconstruct her, a process started in Óskmey, and continued here.

I was also inspired in part by a scene in dinocam3's My Hero Academia crossover Hero Academia DxD, where Magnus, a man working for the Khaos Brigade during the assault on the peace conference (and who is, according to dinocam3, basically Monsoon from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance), preys on Rias' doubts and insecurities about how she recruited her Peerage. I decided that this is actually something of a sore point for her, hearkening back to Issei/Vivi's accusation in my Final Fantasy IX crossover Black Mage of Kuoh that she can't have friends unless they're her indentured servants (untrue, given Sona being her friend, but close enough to the mark for it to hurt her).

Here, the fact that she effectively conscripted her Peerage haunts her. She's a strongly empathic young woman, so the fact that she gave her servants little choice to join her is a sticking point. Kiba was pretty much dead when she found him, Koneko was going to be executed if she didn't join Rias' Peerage, and both Gasper and Akeno, while rescued by Rias, had nowhere else to go, pretty much. The reality is that Rias did not intend for this to happen, but it could be seen in a more sinister light. Hence her doubts and insecurities.

In addition, in Óskmey, I actually realised, a lot of Rias' mistakes could be chalked down to the fact that she's still a teenager. A very mature and competent teenager, true, but she's far from hypercompetent. She's still trying to figure out how to be an effective administrator of a territory, on top of being a King of a Peerage, and that's without the pressures of her arranged marriage to Riser adding to the weight on her shoulders. We only see her through Issei's eyes in the canon series (I mean, the original novels are written from his viewpoint), and we only are occasionally privy to her private thoughts. I think the greatest insight we have into her is when she confesses her hating the expectations made of her during the training to fight Riser.

So while this is still the same Rias we all know and love from canon, she has been fleshed out. She's still an unrepentant flirt, tease and exhibitionist. But inside, she's got a lot of issues. Nothing as strong or severe as her Peerage, but I think this take on Rias is perhaps the most complex I have written her.

As for Sirius being bashed? I usually only do that for WBWL fics, and not all the time even for those. Here, though, I am making an exception. Sirius is a former bully. He comes from a household where he was unwelcome, and the Black line is known for its mental instability. Add to that over a decade's stay in Azkaban, as well as Dumbledore's manipulations (yes, he's being bashed here too), and you have a very heady combination. Keep in mind, only those two will be severely bashed. Others will be decent enough.

Also, Barty Crouch Junior, this time, managed to maintain his cover as Moody, as Harry fell unconscious at the graveyard, and was found by Aurors and Dumbledore. That allowed him to end up giving Harry a Portkey that was meant to send him to Hell…but it was the Underworld instead.

But why has Harry been Azkaban'd this time? You'll find out. Let's just say that the title, plus my recent foray into Mortal Kombat, is a clue…

No numbered annotations this time.