So, here's the second chapter of Your Soul is Mine.


YOUR SOUL IS MINE

CHAPTER 2:

EXPLANATIONS

Rias had sent messages to the rest of her Peerage last night, and to their credit, they accepted the fact that one of Magical Britain's most wanted fugitives would be staying with them. Then again, they knew that anything the wizarding world's press said had to be taken with a pinch of salt, what with the sensationalism being ramped up even more than most media in the mundane world. In addition, she had sent a message to her brother, and to his eternal credit, he didn't panic, instead offering to dig into the matter a little more overnight.

Still, Rias had to confess to being surprised that her brother asked to have a meeting at breakfast that day. She agreed, and hoped that he wouldn't embarrass her with his facetious sis-con antics. Harry seemed resigned when she told him that, though she did promise that she would hear him out. For now, he was their guest.

Rias introduced Harry to the other members of her Peerage, sans Gasper, of course. Gasper had encountered Harry in his raven form on a few nights, and had actually gotten along well, but that didn't mean the skittish crossdressing Dhampir would accept Harry as he was. Harry didn't need much of an introduction for himself, it was more for the others' sake.

"So, I'm curious, how much do you know about us?" Kiba asked.

"…Enough to know what a Peerage is, that Rias treats you as a circle of friends and sincerely at that, and I know what lineage Akeno, Koneko, and Gasper have," Harry said. "I also noted you have an especial hatred for the Vatican, but I didn't hear anything else. I also made sure to leave if you were trying to do something private. You know, like undressing or showering or anything like that."

"Good," Koneko said in her usual stoic tone, before her gaze softened. "Still…Azkaban clearly did a number on you."

"…Why are you being nice to me?" Harry asked quietly.

"Believe it or not, you had some very vocal supporters back in Magical Britain, though many of them are now persona non grata there," Rias said. "Dumbledore's announcement of your supposed villainy actually split his supporters in two. You had many supporters who couldn't believe that someone who undertook a number of heroics would suddenly turn out to be evil. In fact, I have heard that some of your supporters are here in Japan, in Kyoto specifically, working with Lady Yasaka of the Shinto Faction. So let me put it this way: I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt until you prove otherwise. And would you think that my brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, would let someone with your notoriety remain with me in any capacity, if he thought there was a chance you could truly be a danger to me?"

"…But I am. I…do you even know anything about what happened that night, in the graveyard?"

"Only what was reported and claimed by many different parties. During the Third Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, you and Cedric Diggory took a trophy that had the Portkey enchantment. It was meant to return you to the podium, but it took you to a graveyard. You claimed, which was a delusion according to the papers, but true according to Dumbledore's statements, that Peter Pettigrew murdered Cedric Diggory, and then used your blood as part of a ritual to give Voldemort a new body. Voldemort attempted to duel you to the death to show off his supremacy, only…they dropped dead. Dumbledore claimed you used a vile soul magic to commit an act of mass murder, an ability that you've had for many years, having claimed the life of your mother."

"I don't know how I had the ability. I do vaguely remember doing…something to Quirrell in my first year, and to that memory in Voldemort's diary in my second year, but…my memory of that night after Voldemort used the Cruciatus on me is a blank," Harry confessed, despondently. "I only woke up a week or two afterwards, in a cell in Azkaban, having been tried while I was comatose. It took a couple of days to even learn why I was in Azkaban."

"…Harry, if you need someone to talk to, once my brother is done, I am more than willing to talk to you. Well, unless you're not willing to speak with Devils?"

"…I've seen you guys long enough to know you're good people, better than I am," Harry said morosely.

Rias and her Peerage exchanged a look. But before they could say anything further, the distinct light from one of her brother's teleportation circles flared into existence nearby. Hopefully, her brother's personality would put Harry at ease…she hoped…


Harry's morose thoughts were interrupted when he saw light flare and coalesce into a ritual circle. He had to admit, he hadn't been present the last few times that Sirzechs Lucifer and Grayfia Lucifuge had visited Rias. He wasn't looking forward to it. He was still feeling tired and exhausted after his transformation.

That being said, he wasn't expecting a young man, seemingly in his twenties, looking like a slightly older male version of Rias, in a rather neat suit. His features were handsome, even beautiful, but set in a friendly expression, though his teal eyes were peering at him critically. The buxom woman standing next to him had silver hair, crimson eyes, and wore a maid's outfit. Exotic features aside, she seemed the very model of a demure maid. But he knew that Grayfia Lucifuge was one of the strongest Devils around outside of the Four Great Satans.

"Hey there," Sirzechs said casually. "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste."

Harry stared at the Devil incredulously, before snorting, as Rias facepalmed. "…Really? You're going for the Rolling Stones, there?"

"Eh, I met them once not long after they released Sympathy for the Devil," Sirzechs said casually. "Anyway, I'm sure you know already, but I am Sirzechs Lucifer, and this is Grayfia Lucifuge, my Queen. Pleased to meet you, Harry Potter."

"…Are you? Are you really?"

Grayfia cleared her throat. "Believe me, if we thought you truly were a danger to Rias' person, you would not be sitting here. This is more of the final test, so to speak. We take her safety very seriously."

"…Even given what I heard about her engagement to this…Riser Phenex?"

Sirzechs had the good grace to cringe. "Unfortunately, politics is a bitch. That's the short version. The long version can wait, when time isn't an issue. For now, I'd like you to recount what you thought happened on that night in the graveyard at Little Hangleton, and the aftermath, and how you ended up in the Underworld. Grayfia will be using a spell that can detect falsehood. It's not 100% accurate by any means, even on humans, but it's good enough for our purposes. And we can have breakfast while we do so."

Grayfia nodded, and activated a magic circle, with food appearing on the long coffee table between the two lounges in the clubroom. There was even tea, and Harry, despite his nervousness, wasn't going to pass up free food, even from Devils. After Azkaban, and what had to be nearly three years as a raven, he couldn't help himself.

So, between mouthfuls of toast and tea, he told them what he knew of that night his life had changed for the worse. It wasn't like he had much to lose anymore. Sirzechs nodded and listened, occasionally asking a question.

After Harry finished, Sirzechs looked to Grayfia, who nodded. Sirzechs looked to him and smiled. "Thank you. And don't worry, I believe you. Still, to think you ended up in the Underworld, and in the Familiar Forest no less, thanks to a sabotaged Portkey. If it's any consolation, Barty Crouch Junior's luck did run out not long after your seeming escape. He was there to break out the surviving Death Eaters, but Bellatrix Lestrange turned on him soon after the escape, something about how he snivelled towards his father, begging for mercy, during the trial. He was Crucio'd into a coma, and then given the Kiss by the Ministry of Magic."

"…Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Harry growled. "But…how did I get this power?"

"Ah, now that's where things get tricky. Harry, you had the bad luck to be born with a Sacred Gear. Do you know what those are?"

"…Sort of? I know Yuuto here has one, that allows him to make swords, Gasper has one too, even if I don't know what it does, and Rias thought that Issei Hyoudou guy had one," Harry said. "That BDSM Fallen Angel bitch, the one who pretended to be his girlfriend? Just as I was about to attack her, she said something about blaming God for his Sacred Gear, and she was under orders to kill him as he was a threat."

"Well, a Sacred Gear is a type of power bestowed upon certain individuals by the God of the Bible," Rias said. "Some have been quiet and obscure achievers who nonetheless became important behind the scenes in history. Others are famous or infamous figures. Humans or those with human heritage are the only ones who have Sacred Gears, as a means to redress the power balance between humans and supernatural beings."

"But some are also the prison for powerful beings of notoriety in our world," Sirzechs said. "Powerful Dragons like Ddraig, Albion, and Vritra have been imprisoned by God within Sacred Gears, as well as evil deities. Gasper has the Forbidden Balor View, which has the Celtic deity Balor sealed within it. But there have been occasions where notorious humans have been too, or at least notorious for their day. Have you ever heard of the game series Mortal Kombat?"

"Uhhh, yeah, Dudley liked to play it, and he watched that film too," Harry said, dreading the answer, but needing to know. "Why?"

"Believe it or not, Midway actually got the idea from combining a number of tales from our world, thanks in part to some of the production team, like Ed Boon and John Tobias, having connections with the supernatural world," Sirzechs said. "Scorpion was a notorious shinobi turned Stray Devil, for example. But there was one element that was perhaps even worse that existed in real life: Shang Tsung. His real name has been erased from history, but this Chinese warlock became notorious. He was a sorcerer who dabbled in the Dark Arts, especially soul magic. Obsessed with immortality, he stole other people's souls to extend his own foul existence. So foul was his deeds, that the God of the Bible actually intervened, for this warlock had actually stolen the souls of at least two of his Angels, and it was said that he fully intended to usurp the gods themselves. Thankfully, while powerful, he was no match for God. God stripped the man's power from his soul. However, it is said that he saw the potential for great good to be done with even such a vile power, so while the sorcerer's soul was annihilated, God turned that power into a Sacred Gear: Magus Animaphage."

"…Magus Animaphage?" Rias asked, frowning. "I've never heard of this Sacred Gear."

"Not many people have, and those that do know of its dark history. The Dark Longinus, it is sometimes called, because its power is almost as limitless as the Thirteen Longinuses," Sirzechs said. "I only know of it because I have encountered no less than three of its wielders over the centuries. Two of them were vile pieces of work, making Voldemort look like a child by comparison. But the last I had met was, while ruthless and pragmatic, was also a decent person. He acted as a vigilante of the supernatural world. He still met a sticky end, but I have met worse Angels than him in terms of morality. That being said, probably the only person aside from the God of the Bible who knows more about Magus Animaphage is Azazel, Governor-General of the Grigori. His knowledge of Sacred Gears is near-comprehensive."

Rias sighed. "And considering the state of affairs between the Grigori, the Devils, and Heaven…"

"…But what does it do?" Harry asked quietly, trying to mask the turmoil he felt. And despite the meal he had, he was feeling nauseous. "Was Dumbledore telling the truth? Just…tell me. Please."

"…In some regards, it's like the Sacred Gear Divine Dividing. That Sacred Gear, bearing the Heavenly Dragon Albion, halves their opponent's power and adds it to their own reserves," Sirzechs said solemnly. "But…what Dumbledore said about your Sacred Gear is right in at least one regard. It steals souls from those it affects. Normally, it's by bodily contact or close contact, but I have heard that the Balance Breaker absorbs souls from a short radius. It uses those souls to amplify your power and increase your lifespan, even allowing you to mimic their appearances. Animaphage means, in Greek, 'soul eater'."

And at that, Harry's stomach rebelled. Thankfully, Grayfia, thinking quickly, summoned up a bucket onto the table, just in time for Harry to expel his barely-digested breakfast into it. He retched again and again, until his stomach was empty. His very world seemed to lurch, and he slumped over, hitting his head on the table as he went down.

As the darkness consumed him, he wondered if he would wake up again. Some part of him hoped he wouldn't…


Rias froze as Harry slumped over in a dead faint, hitting the coffee table on the way down. Grayfia hurried over, checking him with a diagnostic spell. "…He's fine enough. Just a minor concussion. His blood sugar's still pretty low," she reported.

"He didn't seem fine," Koneko observed in her blunt way, though concern was writ large on her face.

"Did you need to tell him that, brother?" Rias asked.

"…He wanted to know, Rias. Dumbledore told him the truth, albeit a twisted one. I tried to lessen the blow by telling him about that prior wielder, the vigilante, but…it's still a shocking thing to reveal. Ugh, yeah, I fucked up."

"I'll stay," Grayfia said, looking at Rias and Sirzechs. "Rias and her Peerage need to go to class soon, and we need to make sure he's not suicidal."

"Are you sure?" Sirzechs asked. Grayfia simply nodded. And Rias trusted Grayfia. Although technically her sister-in-law, Grayfia had been much like a second mother when Rias was growing up.

Still, would it be enough? Those were Rias' thoughts as she looked to Harry, who had been laid down on the couch. What they had just learned would be enough to shake anyone. But Harry had been through a hell she had no experience of. Maybe her Peerage members could understand, but Rias? And could Grayfia soothe his soul enough for him to not flee, or worse?

Those questions would haunt her this school day. She just hoped things would turn out for the better…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Oh dear. Harry has just learned some hard truths. But will this end well?

In deciding on a power for Harry, I wanted something that would give him enough lifespan to be feasibly paired with Rias, and enough power to stand a chance against many characters from DxD. I had a bit of inspiration from the Mortal Kombat franchise, and indeed, I actually considered a Potterverse/Mortal Kombat crossover where Harry gains Shang Tsung's powers. I used elements from that idea in this story.

Keep in mind, though, he doesn't assimilate their power perfectly, though their lifespan is added to his own. Right now, Harry is nowhere near Sirzechs or Vali's level. But, although he doesn't know it yet, he's more than capable of taking on the Fallen.

No numbered annotations this time.