Magic Eater

by bubbajack

Soul's world just got a little larger. Madness, order ,and now wizads and witches. Who knows what else Soul can take in this level of insanity now on his plate. Here's hoping Soul can keep his head! Soul X harem Rated M for mature. Warning: This story is an AU and might not follow canon exactly be warned folks!

2. Chapter 2

Magic Eater

By: Bubbajack

Editors/Co-Authors: Icysnowsage, First Hassan/Darklord331, Antagonist, Loamy Coffee

Special Consultant: Heliosion

Special thanks go out to my Super Donors: Alexander Murry, Bobby Glass, JackHanmer, Jareth Norris, Martin T. Aranda, NeroSolas, Selmephren, and Lucas White my sole Supreme Tier donor.

Ch.2: Meeting Family and Friends.

Soul walked out of Gringotts, subconsciously pulling at the neckband around his throat. He had only been half joking when he told Griselda that she should get him into a suit. It felt awkward to be wearing one again after all this time. It felt like an uncomfortable second skin he was wearing, similar to a lobster that had grown too big for its exoskeleton. He was wearing a black pinstripe suit, green dress shirt, and silver tie with the Galator being used as a tie clip to keep his tie in place. Freshly polished leather dress shoes adorned his feet, and a green handkerchief was in his breast pocket, with emerald cufflinks on his wrists. On all but his ring finger on each hand sat the lordship rings he'd inherited through blood or conquest by his ancestors. He couldn't help but glance down at them as he walked.

On his thumb was the ring of Karstaag. Made completely of black, pale, and dead looking wood, the crest portrayed roots burrowing deep into a black field roughly taking the shape of a wood nymph. Carved roughly into the band in Welsh was the phrase, "Tad Amser yn Cofio, Mam Natur yn Medru ei dyledus." Which translated to, "Father Time Remembers, Mother Nature Reaps her due."

On his right index finger was the Emrys ring. Which consisted of two dragons circling each other one white one red on a blue heater shield on the gold band was the family motto "Ar gyfer Avalon, yr iwtopia bythol." Which was Welsh for "For Avalon, the everdistant utopia."

The Ambrosius lordship ring on his middle finger consisted of a white chalice with a sunburst around it, with a single golden droplet at its center on a black field. With the phrase, on its golden band being, "I roddi dyfroedd y bywyd yn rhydd." meaning,"To give the waters of life freely."

Soul wore the ring of Morgan Le Fay on his right little finger. It consisted of a silver Pike on a black field, flanked on either side by two faeries, with the phrase "O Awyr a Thywyllwch" on a silver band, which meant, "Of Air and Darkness," in English.

On the thumb of his left hand sat the ring of Morgause-Lot. In contrast to her sisters', it had a two-headed dragon made out of tiny rubies on a black field, the heraldry of her husband King Lot, and inscribed on the black iron in gold with her motto being, "Gwaed yn dynodi y Brenin." Or, "Blood denotes the King."

On the middle finger of his left hand was the Slytherin ring. A silver snake on a green field and written in Parseltongue which he could apparently read, were inscribed the words, $$"Purity of Blood and Magic."$$

On his left index finger was Helga Hufflepuff's ring. Displaying a black and white badger on a yellow field, along with the phrase, in English for once, "The Honey Badger takes what it wants."

On his little finger was the ring of Antioch Peverell; it consisted of a black line going through a white circle and a triangle, on a smoky gray field. Written in elegant french on the silver band was the phrase, "Le dernier ennemi à vaincre est la mort." which translated to, "The last foe to be defeated is death,"

"Stop fidgeting Soul-kun, you'll be fine," The lady who was clinging to his left arm chastised him.

She was wearing an elegant layered purple dress, with a plunging neckline complete with ruffles, bows, and everything a prim and proper lady would have. The matching stiletto shoes she wore clicked on the cement as she walked, clinging daintily to his arm like a wife or escort.

He'd never seen her dressed like this. She was normally dressed like a hooker or a sexy witch. Yet Griselda refused to allow his… guest to accompany him looking like, in her words 'a common street whore. It would be unseemly and sully his image.' According to her anyway. But Soul wasn't going to complain. He did have one question for the woman currently clinging to his arm, though. "How in Death's name did you even manage to find me, Blair?"

In response, the transmogrified cat replied cheekily, "Blair always knows where her Soul-kun is. You ate one of my souls, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I did. Still, I didn't expect you to be on top of me when I woke up this morning."

"Why ever not? I'm usually on top of you when you wake up in the morning, scythe-boy." She said as she gave him bedroom eyes and a cheeky smirk, pulling his arm into her bountiful cleavage as she did so.

"I don't know, maybe because we were in a magically protected vault? One that was being overseen by goblins of all things?" Soul questioned as he gave her a half-hearted glare.

But the nekomata just shook her head and replied tersely, "That doesn't matter to Blair. She's your familiar. Any magic you can use she can bypass. Nothing will ever stop Blair from getting to you. Blair will protect you from anything that would hurt you." She said the last part possessively as she looked into his eyes with a slight manic gleam that had Soul worried.

"Blair I… Thank you. It's nice to have someone here for me who understands everything that's going on. Everything with me, I mean." He then reached over with his free arm and gave her head a pat, causing his familiar turned human to flush and her cat ears to wiggle under her hat.

Pushing her head into his palm, Blair all but purred."You can't get rid of me that easily, scythe-boy. Blair is yours and you are Blair's. Regardless of what Maka might think."

Hearing his Meister's name caused Soul to sigh, "I hope she's going to be alright. First, I disappear and then you vanish right after me. She's going to think we're up and abandoning her and she already has problems with that due to how her mom and dad's divorce went."

The cat witch frowned and said, "Blair didn't think of that. She only thought of getting to you because she felt you might need her."

Soul sighed through his teeth, before saying, "What's done is done. I just wish there was some way we could leave her a letter or something. That way, she wouldn't worry so much. You know how she's been lately."

"Been worried half to death about you. Blair's seen it." The Nekomata replied, nodding her head. She let go of his arm for a moment to think. Before finally smacking a fist into her open palm. "Blair thinks she has an idea! Can Blair have some galleons, Soul-kun? She wants to go and buy you an early Christmas present. Or a late birthday present. When is Soul-kun's birthday anyway?"

He couldn't help but wonder what the Nekomata had in store for him, but he did answer as he handed over a small handful of galleons, "My birthday isn't till October 31st, Blair."

The purple haired witch nodded to herself, "Early birthday present, then. Blair will be back soon. You go do the rest of your shopping. And try not to steal too many women's hearts while Blair is gone." She finished, giving him a playful wink before she skipped off.

'Right, like that will happen.' Soul thought to himself ruefully. 'Just who does she think I am, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova?' He thought as he slipped into a store that seemed to specialize in potions and ingredients.

The little bell tinkled above the door when he opened it, showing the proprietor they had another potential customer. Only one other person was in the store at the moment, and that was a little blonde-haired witch at the back. The proprietor, an elderly witch who seemed to have odd stains all over her apron, gave him a kindly wave. "What can I do to help you, dearie?"

"Yes, ma'am. Hello, my name is Soul, but I guess you don't really need to know my name. I'm here for first, second and third year potions ingredients for a Hogwarts student?" Seeing a surprise look on her face, he explained. "I'm a late bloomer with a lot of catching up to do, ma'am."

"Oh! Oh my, I understand." She said, nodding gravely. "Ok dearie, I will retrieve what you need right away… Just wait right here."

Deciding that just standing around would be uncool, Soul walked to the back of the store. The shelves were filled to the brim with strange concoctions, reagents, bits and pieces of plants and monsters he had no name for at the moment. Remembering the other customer, Soul decided to see what the young lady was looking at. She seemed to be gazing into a collection of horns of some creature or another. Staring at them with an intensity Soul would have on a recently gathered soul of an Afreet. Although she wasn't drooling like he would be, so that's a plus on her side as far as he was concerned.

"No, no, none of these are the horns of a Crumple Horned Snorkacks." The girl said airily to herself in an almost dreamlike state.

"What's a Crumple Horned Snorlax? You mean like the Pokémon?" Soul couldn't help but ask.

The girl turned to face him, showing her silver eyes, and radish earrings She wore in either ear. She smiled at him conspiratorially and said, "That's just what the Ministry wants the Muggles to think. The Crumple Horned Snorkack is real," Her eyes then widened a bit, at who she was talking to, and she then curtsied and said, "Ah, but where are my manners? I am Luna of House Lovegood and you are?"

Soul bowed at the waist like he was taught to do at those high society parties, "Soul Evans. Nice to meet you, Lady Luna of House Lovegood."

She stared at him curiously for a moment as her eyes shined, before saying. "I feel like you're not telling the truth. Like Evans is but isn't your last name. Is that about right?"

"Are you sure your last name shouldn't be Holmes? Miss Lovegood?" Soul jokingly questioned her, showing off a shark toothed grin as he did. Usually his teeth unsettled people, but she just seemed to smirk herself in response.

"I'm quite sure most people call me Looney for my ability to deduce strange things, but you seem to take it in stride. I like that about you, Mr. Evans."

Soul grimaced when he heard that. It upset him that someone was calling this young lady looney. She was a bit odd, sure, but she seemed sharp as a tack. He knew some meisters and demon weapons who were WAY more kookier than Luna. "Looney huh? Well, next time someone calls you that, you point those people out to me and I'll have a… Chat with them, all right?"

Luna nodded politely while trying to hide the utmost joy she was feeling, "I'll be sure to do that. Thank you for spending some time with me, Mr. Evans.

"It's…" He paused, not sure if he wanted to reveal this, but he decided screw it, he needed to make some friends. "Lord Soul Emrys-Ambrosius Evans actually."

Luna's eyes widened like twin full moons as she replied, "My my, Hogwarts is going to be quite restless this year. Having someone like you enter our ranks, it'll be quite stirred up. It hasn't been like that since Heather Potter arrived. She happens to be staying at the Leaky Cauldron this summer, in case you were looking for her, by the way."

The smirk on her face and the twinkle in her eyes made Soul smirk.

'Cheeky,' he thought, 'But I am in fact looking for her.' He paused for a moment before asking. "You wouldn't happen to be a seeress, would you, Luna?"

"According to ancient family traditions on my mother's side, we are descended from the Oracle of Delphi. But there's no way to prove that. Anyways, nobody listens to my mad ramblings one way or another."

Soul put his hand on her shoulder and bent down till he was eye level with her, as he spoke to her quietly and sincerely, "I believe you. About being prophetic, I mean. So if you ever want to ramble to me about anything, anything at all, go right ahead."

He didn't expect the effect this had on the girl, for she threw her arms around him and nuzzled her head into his collarbone in a warm and soothing hug. "Thank you," She murmured into his neck. "That means a lot." Pulling away, and dabbing at some tears that had collected in the corners of her eyes, Luna continued, "Well, while I am a good seer. You will be an even better seer than I in time. The past, the present and the future. All will be open to you as long as you open your heart."

"I'll keep that in mind, Luna, thanks." Soul said, giving her shoulder a squeeze before he made his way to the front where the shopkeeper was motioning for him. His tall order was ready for pick up. "See you on the train? I'll save you a seat."

"I'd love that." Luna said dreamily.

"Looking forward to it then. See you around, Luna." finished Soul as he waved to his new friend and left for his next destination.

After he was gone, Luna took a moment to bounce around, up and down on her feet giddily. 'I made a friend! I made my first friend outside of Ginny. Oh, I've never wanted to owl father so soon in my life. Mother would be ecstatic! And he was a boy, a cute boy, to boot…' She paused, then frowned. 'On second thought, maybe I shouldn't owl Father. He has become rather possessive since mother passed.' Luna nodded, thinking this was the proper course of action. Her father was, to put it kindly, unhinged in madness and grief with the passing of her mother. He was crazy, crazy like a fox when it came to writing diatribes and snide comments about the ministry and their insane and inane practices. But when it came to her, he was overly possessive and would not let her near any man. She hoped that would change as she got older. She didn't want to die a spinster. Also the visions told her that in the future, she would play a pivotal role in the changing of the wizarding world. But that would require her to have a husband as it also mentioned her descendants.

She stared off into space, like she often did when she tried to see visions of the future. Usually they were indistinct, hazy, and indiscernible. Yet suddenly, they were clear and she could see so much. She gasped a little bit at what she witnessed. And suddenly, Luna Lovegood knew. She knew she had to prepare. For she saw the golden threads that would lead to the optimum, ideal future. Luna Lovegood swore to herself then and there she wouldn't give it up. Not for anything. She would have to work very hard to get to that one ideal future, but she also knew she wouldn't give it up… as her hands slid down towards her stomach. She looked around at the ghosts of people who should be around her, but at the moment weren't. For in that ideal future, she had friends beyond counting. A family beyond number. She had people who were like sisters to her. She would have to work hard, but she would have that ideal future. 'And to think,' she thought as she stared at the door, where Soul Evans had just left, 'I have just met the man who will make it all possible.' She rubbed her stomach again. 'I can't wait to see you, in that gorgeous future, my sweet, sweet Artemis.'

(...)

The next place on Soul's list was Ollivander's Wand Shop. The moment he entered, a strange calm fell over him. This place felt like he had entered a church or a library. As if solemn silence was expected here. Stuffed into every nook and cranny and crammed onto every shelf were slender boxes in which Soul assumed wands were kept. 'And one of them is for me.' He thought to himself. Wondering which wand would pick him because according to Griselda, the wand chooses the wizard. Although she said it with a slight bitter taste in her mouth. For wands were banned from creatures such as Goblins.

Soul didn't see the point in that himself. A wand was just a piece of wood with a magical core in it. Goblins had their own magic and didn't need wands, but according to goblins, the wand was a symbol of status. As far as he was concerned, though, the goblins had far greater status than the Wizards did. They handled the money, and money was the lifeblood of any economy or nation. You cut off the blood supply and that nation will die. Should the goblins see fit, they could kill the wizarding world just by simply denying them their money. The fact that they chose not to spoke highly of their restraint.

"Ah, Mr. Evans. I was wondering when I'd be seeing you." A raspy old voice broke Soul out of his reverie. A wheeled ladder zipped from the back of the store and on top of it was an elderly man wearing a tweed suit.

"Mr. Olivander, I presume?" Soul asked, a twinkle of mirth in his blood red eyes.

The man spryly hopped off the ladder, showing he was well-moving for his age. "Indeed, Mr. Evans, indeed, I have been waiting to meet you since I met Heather Potter. Your distant cousin. I'm presuming you know that."

"I'm looking forward to meeting her, Mr. Ollivander, but I wanted to… look the part, as it were."

Ollivander nodded, "Yes, yes, I am sure you do," He then hummed to himself. "Would you let me look at your hands for a moment, my dear boy?"

Soul gave him his hands, palm up. "Yes, yes, I see slightly calloused at the tips. You're a musician, a pianist, aren't you?" Ollivander noted.

Soul nodded, "Yes, Sir. Though I haven't played piano in a few years."

"Hmm, yes, I see," The man muttered to himself. "Yes… Let's try this one." He said, handing him a small box. Soul took the piece of wood out-of-the-box. It looked to be made out of Hickory or something. He gave it a flick, and the desk's quill ignited into flame. "I think this isn't the one for me, Mr. Ollivander." Soul said as he placed it gently back into its box.

"No, definitely not." Ollivander agreed before he handed him another wand. And so it went for the next hour, Soul trying wand after wand but having no success with any of them. Until a tapping came at the window and Soul saw Blair holding a cage. With the most magnificent bird Soul had ever seen. It was pure white with blood red eyes and it let out a trilling note that seemed to uplift his spirits the moment he heard it.

"What is that thing, Blair? Some kind of swan?" He couldn't help but ask as he saw the magnificent bird.

"My dear boy, that is a Phoenix. What's more, I do believe it is an albino Phoenix." Ollivander couldn't help but note.

Soul looked at the elderly man questioningly, "An albino Phoenix, Mr. Olivander?"

Mr. Ollivander nodded solemnly, "Oh yes. Phoenixes are rare but a pure white phoenix? Rarer still. Phoenixes are creatures of the light. But pure white phoenixes? Those creatures only show up when a battle between the forces of light and darkness are imminent. And they choose a champion. Or so it is said, and this Phoenix seems to have chosen you, Mister Emyrs."

The Phoenix trilled in response. As if agreeing with the wandmaker's assessment. There was a flash of white fire, and the phoenix disappeared from its cage, only to reappear on the counter. A single white feather falling from its body, and landed in front of Ollivander.

Mr. Ollivander's eyes gleamed in delight. "Bless my soul to see a phoenix, an albino phoenix no less, drop a feather. Clearly you have been chosen, my boy. For a phoenix to choose to drop a feather for you. Marvelous. Simply marvelous."

"It feels right, but at the same time it's not complete," Soul said, half nodding along., "It feels like I'm still missing something, "His eyes locked on to Blairs, he asked, "You're not going to have a problem with him, what with you being a cat and all?"

Blair winked at him, "He and Blair have reached an understanding Soul-kun, don't worry."

The musician gave the phoenix another once over, "He Huh. I suppose I should give you a name, shouldn't I? How about Gwyn?"

The phoenix trilled happily at that, seeming to accept his given name.

"I think he likes it… But I still think this wand is missing a little something." His eyes fixed back on Blair and he asked. "I'm sorry if this is a little forward, Blair, but would you mind donating a little hair for the core of this new wand of mine?"

Blair smiled at him warmly and said, "Blair would be honored."

Ollivander looked Blair up and down, "This young lady is not a witch." he said knowingly. "Nor is she blood cursed as a wizard to turn permanently into a cat. No, no… she is a cat strong enough to turn into a human. How curious. Lady Blair, might I trouble you for a few more strands of your hair? I would be most curious to experiment with them and see what kind of wands I could create."

Blair narrowed her eyes, then spoke in a firm tone of voice, "Only on the condition that you do not sell them to anyone, Mr. Olivander, only one wand will be handed out to anyone using Blair's hair, and that is my master."

Ollivander bowed at the waist, "As you say, my lady. You honor me with the privilege of working with new, unknown wand core materials," He then with a flick of his wand, plucked a few strands of hair from the nekomata's head before he looked at Soul and asked, "Well you have a core now all you need is a wand wood. Any particular length you're looking for?"

"I don't suppose you work with reeds, do you? Also maybe twenty-six inches overall?"

Ollivander's eyes seemed to gleam with anticipation. "Oh, it's been such a long time since someone's made such a personal request. The ministry and their standards don't usually let me work on such unique materials. Outside of custom orders, of course. I guarantee you, Mr. Evans, the wand I am about to create will not fail you. Ever. Though it will take me at least a day or three to create it. Magic is a wonderful thing, after all. Can you wait that long, young man?"

Soul couldn't help but nod, "I think I'll manage, Sir. Take all the time you need. I don't have to get on the Hogwarts Express, for at least another few months. That should give you all the time you need and then some."

"Indeed it will, my boy. Indeed it will." Ollivander said as he rubbed his hands together giddily Eager to get started on a new project.

"Also, I would like to request a wand be made for Blair at my expense," Soul requested.

"Soul-kun, you don't have to do that for Blair." She said, though it was obvious, she appreciated the thought.

"Strong enough to turn into a human and use magic. You should learn how to use it properly. Why can't you just masquerade as a witch? You've been doing it already. You may as well learn beside me."

Ollivander just smiled and said, "Quite the deception you're trying to pull off, Mr. Evans. How very Slytherin of you. Salazar Syltherin himself would have approved."

"Thank you?" Soul said, unsure if that was an insult or not.

"Are there any particular requirements you would like, Miss Blair?"

"Well, Blair does like the color purple, so if you have any purple wood, she would like some of that," She said, meowing at the end. "Also, for a core, if you just want to pluck another one of my hairs, feel free to do so."

Ollivander did just that, muttering to himself happily as he did so on getting to work on not just one custom wand, but two. Seeing the man was practically chomping at the bit to get started, Soul laughed and said. "We'll leave you to it, Sir. I've got books to purchase anyway. Have a nice day."

"You as well, my boy. You as well. Now, where did I keep that small stock of purple heart wood?" Ollivander muttered to himself, hardly noticing as the boy let himself out of his shop.

(...)

"Where to now? Scythe-boy?" Blair asked, giving him a saucy wink as she did so.

"Well, we need to get books." The demon weapon said aloud before giving her a sidelong glance, "But could you not call me by that nickname? You're basically giving away that I'm a…" He looked up and down the street to make sure they were alone before saying. "A Demon Weapon. If they find that out, I'm as good as dead."

Blair latched onto his arm and leaned in close, all but purring into his ear. "Sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I could call you snookums if you like."

"I'd prefer it if you just called me by my name, but we both know you don't have enough self-control to just do that, don't we Blair? But if you have to call me something, I guess I can let you add the kun prefix to the end of my name." He rolled his eyes as he said this.

"Really?! Blair can?" She asked, ecstatic upon being allowed to call him that.

"Yes, Blair, you can call me that." He told her in a deadpan tone. 'So uncool.' He thought to himself. 'But there are worse things she could call me, like snookums.'

Blair clapped her hands while she jumped around a little in place. "Yay, Blair is so happy!"

"I'm glad you're thrilled. Now can we go by our books now?"

"Is Soul-kun actually going to read the books or is he just buying them because they're on the list of things he needs to buy?" Blair asked coquettishly.

Soul just shrugged, "I mean, if I'm gonna learn this magic thing, I may as well learn it, right, right?"

Blair stared at him silently for a moment before replying, "True, it's just reading has always been more… Maka's thing than yours. No offense." She added, nearly as an afterthought, holding up her hands defensively as she did.

Soul dragged a hand down his face as he sighed, "I'm not offended, especially since you're not wrong. But I'm definitely going to have to become more studious if I want to learn what the heck I'm doing. Either that, or become really good at tricking people into thinking that I actually know what I'm doing. Stage magicians do it all the time, after all."

Pointing a finger at him near accusatorily, Blair said, "But Soul-kun is a real magician, not a stage magician. There's a difference."

Lazily folding his arms behind his head as he walked, Soul replied, "That doesn't change the fact that I might have to fake it till I make it, Blair."

"Just be careful Soul-kun, unlike me you don't have nine lives… Well, eight now." She warned him as they entered a place called Flourish and Blotts.

The interior of the store smelled like a library, that of old paper ink and was dimly lit with occasional spaces lit by small lamps next to reading chairs.. 'Maka would love it here. I'd have to pry her out with a crowbar.' Soul thought to himself as he took a look around.

"Anything I can help you with, dear?" an elderly but nice looking Witch asked.

"I need a full set of Third Year books for all subjects…" He paused before asking, "What the hell is that?" For in a canary cage was a bunch of books, but they were flapping and trying to bite things.

"That would be for those taking the elective of Care of Magical Creatures this year… Please tell me you're not taking that as an elective?" The witch half cried and half begged even as she reached for a mitten that looked like it might have been made out of, unless Soul's eyes deceived him, the hide of some kind of dragon.

"Umm, no ma'am, I-I don't think I am." He told her, much to her relief.

"Oh, thank Merlin for that," She sighed in relief. "Will you be taking Ancient Runes or Arithmancy instead?"

Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, he replied, "I'm going to be honest ma'am, I'm a late bloomer so this will actually be my first year at Hogwarts and I have a lot to catch up on. I have no idea about any elective courses."

The elderly witch looked at him in sympathy and concern, "Oh, you poor thing. Well, to be quite frank with you, Arithmancy has to do with math and equations. Which is used for spell creation, whereas Ancient Runes have to do with, well, Runes. Which are ways to make wards and do other minor magical things."

'Well, I've always been pretty good at math and Runes sounds pretty cool.' Soul thought to himself. "I'll take a book on Arithmancy and Runes please, ma'am."

"Of course, dearie, and I'm assuming you're going to need books for school years one to two as well… Though honestly, I'm going to give you Defense Against the Dark Arts Year Two, rather than what they actually taught the students that year. Complete bullocks if you ask me." She said with an imperious sniff.

"What did they teach them in second year, ma'am?" Soul couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing bloody well useful from what I've heard. In fact, over the last few decades, Hogwarts has had a terrible time keeping a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. They seemed to replace them every year."

Soul couldn't help but voice his opinion on the matter, "That sounds like a curse."

"It certainly does, my dear, but you would think Albus Dumbledore would have had it checked if it were so. He's the greatest Wizard of his time, you know. Defeated Gellert Grindelwald and stopped the wizarding half of World War Two, he did." The woman then gave her head a shake. "But of course, you being a late bloomer, you probably don't know anything about that. Were you muggle-born and raised?"

Soul nodded, "Yeah, something like that, ma'am."

"Ah, I figured as much. You have that air of not knowing what you're doing about in our world, no offense. But I always do enjoy seeing the muggle-borns coming in and looking absolutely fascinated by everything every year. It never gets old seeing the absolute joy on their faces."

Soul smiled, showing off a few of his sharpened teeth. "Kids are… nice and innocent, you know. They should keep that innocence as long as they can."

She beamed at him in a motherly fashion, "You're a good boy. What did you say your name was dearie?" She asked kindly. "Mine is Etheldreda Blotts."

"Soul Evans, ma'am" He replied, giving her a polite nod.

"Right, well, I'll get the books you need and throw in the History of Magic Volumes One to Three while I'm at it. Free of charge."

"That's kind of you ma'am, but you don't have to do that. I can more than pay for them." Soul assured her as he pulled galleons out of the pouch at his side.

But she waved him off, saying, "Nonsense dear, you have a lot to catch up on and little time to do it. Consider this my way of looking after a strapping young man like yourself. Besides, you should know better than to argue with your elders."

Soul smiled and nodded, "Yes, ma'am, of course. I never won an argument with my Gran when she was alive and I don't expect to start now with you."

"Smart boy, she trained you well." Etheldreda smiled as she rang up his purchases.

(...)

His shopping done, Soul made his way to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Intent on getting himself something to get rid of the heat that had built up under his clothes. What he did not expect was to find his cousin, Heather Rosemary Potter, sitting at one of the tables and working diligently on what appeared to be her homework. It was rather easy to recognize her due to all manner of books that had her pictures on them in Flourish and Blotts, and though he assumed they were all a bunch of crap, he skimmed through them anyway. 'Honestly, who expected a toddler to be fighting Dragons, rescuing princesses, and stealing gold from Gringotts? Still, how should I approach her about us suddenly being related?' He then noticed that except for her table that was filled with her coursework, all the other tables were full. It presented him with a unique opportunity. One that he decided to capitalize on right away. Going into the ice cream parlor, he looked at the selections before ordering a Cinnamon Fire Whiskey Sundae with Leprechaun Irish whipped cream on top. Having paid for his dessert, he made his way over to the lone table and asked kindly. "Excuse me miss, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

Heather Rosemary Potter jerked up in surprise, not expecting to be addressed. When she laid her bespectacled emerald green eyes on the person who spoke to her, her heart immediately fluttered and her face burned crimson red. 'Oh Merlin's Beard and Morgana's Tits, he's drop dead gorgeous!' She thought to herself about the mysterious stranger who just approached her asking to take a seat at her table. "I-um- of course, please feel free to sit down, just don't get any ice cream on my homework please."

"Thanks, that's really cool of you. I'll be very careful not to get anything on your work." The mysterious man said as he sat down across from her. He ate in silence for a moment before he asked. "But what'cha working on anyway, Miss?"

Silently lambasting herself as an idiot, the Girl-Who-Lived introduced herself, "Heather. Heather Potter, and I'm working on my potions homework for 3rd year at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts, huh? I'm going to be joining for my first year." He said as he took another bite of ice cream. "Man, I love magic."

Heather was surprised but also thankful when his gaze didn't automatically flick up to her lightning bolt shaped scar. She also couldn't help but ponder aloud, "First year but you look the same age as I do?"

The stranger nodded, "Yeah, I'm a bit of a late bloomer, I guess. I've got a lot of work to catch up on to be at the same level you're at now. Lots of remedial lessons in store for me. Yippee." He spun his spoon in a nonchalant circle as he said the last bit, clearly showing how enthused he was. "But pardon me, I didn't introduce myself properly. My name is Soul Evans."

"Evans?" Heather said, perking up. "That was my mother's name. Maiden name, anyway."

The now named Soul nodded as he reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a folded piece of paper, "Yeah, funny thing about that. I've been wanting to meet you. And I've got something to show you, something from Gringotts." Sliding it across the table to her, he finished. "I think you'll find it pretty interesting."

With mounting curiosity, Heather unfolded the paper and read the top half was blurred as if she hadn't had glasses on. Her eyes lit up as she read. "We're cousins?!" Heather didn't know whether she should be happy or sad about this. Happy because she had another family member in her life. Yet also sad because this mysterious and admittedly very attractive man sitting across from her was essentially off the market, for her at least.

"Fourth cousins, but yeah. Does that even count as familial bonds?" Soul couldn't help but wonder aloud.

'That is a very good question that I should ask Hermione when I see her.' Heather thought to herself. 'That could open up all kinds of possibilities.' Shaking away such flagrant thoughts, she said, "I have so many questions!"

"Easy. Heather, easy." Soul said as he held up his hands. "I'm not going anywhere. We've got all the time in the world to talk. Are you staying at the Leaky Cauldron this summer? I'm thinking of renting a room there myself."

"You can bunk with me!" She said automatically before her brain caught up to what her mouth said, and her face turned crimson red as she sputtered. "I-I um, I mean… I'm going to shut up now."

Soul couldn't help himself. He laughed uproariously. Showing off his pointed shark-like teeth as he did so. "You are just too cute, aren't you, Heather?"

'Cute. He thinks I'm cute. Oh God, he thinks I'm cute. What should I do? I don't know how to handle boys. I wish Hermione was here! She'd know what to do.'

Seeing her looking flushed and uncomfortable, he asked, "You ok? You look like you've got a stomachache or something. Have you eaten too much ice cream today?" Soul asked with sudden concern, his crimson eyes seemed to glow as he looked at her, a small frown on his face now.

"No," she squeaked out piteously, hating the way her own voice sounded at the moment. "I-I'm fine really." Clearing her throat and taking a moment to catch her breath and clear her head, Heather said, "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, your mum, your dad, any siblings you might have?"

"Well my mom and dad died in a car crash when I was five," Soul said with very little emotion in his inflection. "So I don't remember them all that well. I have an older brother named Wes, and up until a year or so ago, we were living with my grandmother, until we lost her due to old age. So Wes is basically my last living relative."

Heather covered her mouth in shock and did her best not to cry, "Good God. I'm so sorry, Soul. You didn't have to tell me that if you didn't want to."

He just shrugged. "There's no point in hiding it. Stuff happens, people die and you have to accept it and move on with your life."

"Yeah," Heather said solemnly, "I guess you do," She perked up and then asked, "So when's your birthday? Mine's July 31st."

Soul gave a little chuckle, "Mines October 31st. So I guess that makes you exactly three months older than me to the day."

"Yeah, I guess it does," Heather said, her mind reeling from the revelation. Halloween was the day her parents died at the hands of Lord Voldemort. She'd always hated it, but now, for the first time ever, she actually had a reason to celebrate it. It was now the day of a family member's birthday. While she didn't think she'd ever like the holiday, this at least took a majority of the sting out of it. 'I'm actually going to have to search for a present.' She thought to herself. 'It's a good thing I'm in Diagon Alley.'

"July 31st, huh?" Soul hummed to himself. "That means I owe you at least thirteen birthday and Christmas presents, doesn't it?"

Heather fervently shook her head, "You don't owe me anything. Being able to meet you is a present enough."

Soul sniffed imperiously before he replied, "I disagree, young lady. Now there must be something you want for your birthday, hmm? Now what is it, fess up? Besides, me not getting you a present would be uncool, and that's not how I roll."

Looking down at her hands in her lap, Heather muttered out a reply, "Well I have been looking at the new Firebolt racing broom. But I have a perfectly good broom in a Nimbus 2000! So I don't really need it. Plus, it's far too expensive." She cut him off at the pass before he could even think of buying such a broom for her.

But Soul waved away her concerns with a hand gesture and a smile Before offering her his hand as he said, "You let me worry about the price, ok? Come on cousin, gather your things, we've got a broom to go buy."

Despite her anxiety of just meeting and then letting a newfound family member spend 500 gallons on a new broom. Heather Potter couldn't help but feel her heart pounding in her chest and butterflies flying away in her stomach as she felt her hand in his. 'I shouldn't feel this way towards him. I shouldn't feel this way at all. He's family.' And yet the feeling wouldn't go away, and it wouldn't stop, and a small part of Heather really, really didn't want it to.

(...)

This, Heather decided, was the best summer she'd ever had. The days flew by in an unending surge of joy as she got to know Soul better. Blair was an awkward surprise. She was quite forward for a familiar, and one capable of shape shifting at that. But the more she got to know Soul, the more she liked him, and even Blair grew on her as a sort of older sister figure after a while. Even Gwyn, Soul's pet Phoenix was quite something, and his trilling could often raise her spirits even when she was confused on her homework. The two of them would often spend their days exploring Diagon Alley and she did her level best to tutor Soul through the first year's coursework while they ate outside Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Her cousin's wand was made out of bone white Reed and looked like the ever so slightly bent finger in a human hand because it bent at odd angles. And yet, for some reason, she felt it suited him quite well.

While Blair's wand was made out of purple heartwood and spiraled like a Unicorn horn up to the tip. It felt good to teach others about Defense Against the Dark Arts and other simple subjects. 'Maybe I should think about becoming a teacher when I graduate from Hogwarts.' Heather mused jokingly to herself. 'One thing's for sure, I'm not going to be a potions mistress. Not with Snape teaching her class.' She thought sourly As her thoughts turned to the greasy haired potions master and Head of House of Slytherin. But thinking of the man did bring up a topic she wanted to ask her cousin.

"What house do you think you'll be sorted into during the sorting ceremony?"

"I have no idea, but from what you've told me of them? Any one of them could be pretty cool as far as I'm concerned. Snakes are cool. Badgers can kill pretty much anything, so Hufflepuff would be pretty awesome. Gryffindor sounds like fun because you'd be there, so that would be nice. And Ravenclaws sound pretty chill so… I guess I'd be down with anything?"

"Really?" Heather said, sounding surprised, "My friend Ron Weasley told me that every wizard or witch who's ever gone into Slytherin has gone and become a dark wizard."

"I don't believe that for a second. From what I've read on A History of Magic, Merlin himself came from Slytherin. And I'm pretty sure he wasn't evil." Soul retorted. Soul hadn't bothered to mention that he was Merlin's heir. That kind of felt like a big deal and not something he wanted to bring up. Plus, it wasn't cool to brag. Cool guys don't do that, they had no reason to, and Soul was cool.

Heather nodded, taking his revelation to heart, "Yeah, looking back on it, Ron was a little biased. But I do have a very good reason for not wanting to be in Slytherin," She continued, her tone becoming dark and broody near the end.

"Why is that?"

"Virgo Malfoy." Heather all but spat hatefully. "I hate that uppity trollop."

Soul whistled. When talking about someone, he'd never heard his cousin be so vitriolic before when talking about someone. "What'd she do? Steal your underwear?" Soul couldn't help but ask.

Giving him a dead plan glare over her glasses, and reminding herself, not for the first time, that her cousin was thoroughly Americanized, Heather replied, "No, she did not steal my knickers. She's just an uppity prissy bitch who thinks she's better than everybody else just because she's a pureblood. Since she's a magical inbred, she thinks she knows better than everyone else. She even called my friend Hermione Granger a mudblood at one point."

Cocking his head to the side, Soul asked, "I'm assuming that's bad?"

"It's like the equivalent of calling her a mutt. Or some other type of slur."

Soul scratched the back of his head. It sounded like there was some bad blood between these girls, pure or not, "Well, that's not very nice. If I see or meet her, I'll have words with her."

Heather beamed at him, her cheeks turning slightly rosy, "Thanks Soul, I knew I could count on you."

He just shrugged and said, "Hey, what are friends for?"

'Right, friends.' Heather had that thought to herself, as her stomach twisted into knots. Heather knew she was feeling more than just friendship and familial kinship with her fourth removed cousin. She knew it was probably wrong. She also knew she didn't give a shit. She really, really wished Hermione was here because she needed to talk with another girl about this. But all she had was Soul, the guy she was currently crushing on harder than the Titanic was an iceberg. Not that she hated his company at all, of course. She absolutely adored being around him, but that was part of the problem. She wanted to be more than family, more than just friends, but she was afraid to take that step. She needed someone to tell her it was ok to at least try.

"Hey, you two. I'm back!" Blair said today, wearing an elegant set of purple low cut robes that stopped just above her knees.

"Hey Blair, did you enjoy your little shopping trip?" Soul asked upon seeing her new apparel.

"Always," She all but purred in her master's ear. "Thank you for giving me the galleons to go shopping, Soul-kun" As she slid onto his lap as if she belonged there.

'I am not jealous of the shapeshifting cat. I am not jealous.' Heather told herself. It wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. Doubly so when Blair looked at her and winked salaciously. 'Oh that bint! She knows, and she's taunting me!' Heather felt her right hand twitched towards her wand. She wanted nothing more right now than to hex the damn cat. But much to her surprise, Blair got up, stretched and said. "Soul-kun, Blair and Heather need to have a private chat so you can watch Blair's things for a bit, right?"

The albino wizard eyed his familiar suspiciously, asking, "What kind of private chat, Blair?"

She just waved him off and replied, "Girl stuff you wouldn't be interested in and would probably be grossed out by."

"OK, don't mind me then," Soul said before he looked at Heather and said, "If she tries to get frisky with you, you have my permission to use a stinging hex on her."

"Thanks," Heather replied. On more than one occasion Blair had tried to get Heather to take a bath with her. She was thankful that Soul had given her permission to use a stinging hex on the promiscuous little vixen.

Blair's shoulders slumped as she said."Soul-kun and Heather-chan are no fun at all!"

"We're just not interested in a threesome, Blair." Soul called as the two girls left the table.

"Like Blair said, no fun at all!" The transmogrified cat girl called over her shoulder as she led the witch up the stairs to her room.

(...)

The door closed with a heavy clink and Heather looked at the promiscuous trollop that just oozed sex appeal. If Heather was honest with herself she was jealous on a level she couldn't fully express. She was getting beaten by a cat of all people for her distant relatives' attention and maybe love (?). She still felt conflicted on how she felt. She knew it wasn't just puppy love as that would have faded after a few days of spending time with Soul but it wasn't deep and romantic love as that didn't have time to develop. Maybe lust? But that sounded so bad when it really felt so damn good.

"You're in love with Soul-kun."

The simple statement made Heather's blood freeze and she felt like she was found with her hand in the cookie jar. Her face turning red as Ron Weasley's hair, Heather asked. "Is it that obvious?"

Blair just laughed and Replied good naturedly, "Not to Soul because he's a boy. And if experience has taught me anything, males are oblivious to a woman's affections."

"And it doesn't bother you that I have feelings for my cousin?" Heather inquired. "You don't think it's gross or weird or anything?"

Blairs amber eyes gleamed mischievously, "If I said yes, would you believe me? You consider me competition, don't you, little girl?" Blair rolled her eyes and continued, "But to answer your question honestly, no, I don't think you're sick or anything for wanting to get yourself a piece of that sweet sweet meat pie of a man." Blair licked her lips hungrily, "Trust me girl, I've been trying to get me a slice of that since he came crashing through my bathroom window and into my tub while I was taking a bath. And I still can't get myself a slice of that meat pie."

"Wait, you met Soul when he came flying through your bathroom window and he crashed into you while taking a bath?" They couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Oh yes, he crashed through the second story window. Really was love at first sight. I'm starting to think he might have that effect on women." Blair said with a mischievous grin on her face. "First me, now you. Who knows what other women he will charm with his effortless Wiles?"

Heather gave her head a shake like she was a wet dog. "Wait, you're saying Soul's a Playboy?"

"Nothing of the sort," Blair scoffed, "He has no idea just how charming and amazing he is. That's his problem. He's just that good at wooing women. And he has no idea he's that good at it."

It all clicked into place for the Girl-Who-Lived, "So what you're saying is he's obliviously suave?"

"Oh very much so." Blair confirmed, nodding gravely. "It'd be cute to watch if it wasn't so annoying and he wasn't such a damn gentleman."

Heather rolled her eyes herself, "Tell me about it. Half the time I wish he'd just take me right then and there for a good long snog, but instead, he's being an absolute peach. Like what do I have to do, get naked on top of him before he finally gets the hint?"

"No, that won't work either," Blair deadpanned as she shook her head, "Trust me, I've tried. Every day for more than a month."

"You're kidding…" Seeing the deadpan look on the Nekomata's face, she said, "By Merlin, you're not kidding. Are we sure he's not some kind of Saint? I mean, what kind of man does nothing when a woman literally throws herself on top of him naked?"

"The classic gentleman. The kind of man who wants to wine and dine you and at the end of the night leave you at your door with a kiss and leave you wanting more." Blair said, ending her small impromptu speech with a wistful sigh.

'That does sound pretty nice,' Heather thought to herself, "But that doesn't matter if he won't recognize the fact that we like him like that in the first place. So what do we do?"

"At the moment I have no idea," Blair replied, shrugging as she threw up her hands. "Blair was hoping you might have a plan."

Heather shook her head, "I'm the recklessly brave one of my group. When it comes to planning, the one we need is…"

Suddenly, Soul's voice called up the stairs, "Hey, Heather, can you come down here for a minute? Some people are looking for you."

"Be right down." Before telling Blair. "Looks like we'll have to cut this short."

Blair gave her a playful wink, "Looks like it. But it's nice to know I'm not the only one who sees how much of a hottie Soul-kun is."

"I'm pretty sure any girl with eyes can see just how hot Soul is." Heather returned as she held open her bedroom door for the Nekomata.

As she made her way outside of the Leaky Cauldron, Heather let out an excited squeal of joy, for she found just the person she had hoped to see, and what's more? She could help her with her current woes. "Hermione, I missed you so much," she said as she ran and hugged her Best Female Friend from Hogwarts that she hadn't seen all summer.

Pulling away, Hermione said."Heather, it's great to see you. How have you been?"

"Grand! Just grand. I have so much to talk to you about!" She looked over Hermione's shoulder and saw Ron was glaring daggers at Soul. And she couldn't help but ask. "Is something going on here?"

"I don't think your friend likes me very much, Heather," Soul replied. He currently had a gold leaf cigar in his mouth and was puffing on it leisurely.

"Where did you get that? And I didn't even know you smoked?" She said, not exactly put off by the fact that he was a smoker, but surprised more than anything.

Taking another puff off his rather expensive looking cigar, Soul replied, "I learned just a couple months ago that I am a freaking mage. It was quite stressful. I had to do something to relieve the tension. I didn't know how you'd feel about smoking, so I just decided not to do it around you. It didn't seem proper. Plus there was always a risk I could accidentally set your assignments on fire, and that wouldn't be cool." He shrugged, being the gentleman he was.

"Heather, what are you doing hanging out with this slimy snake git?" Ron asked, his face as red as his hair as he turned to her.

"That is my cousin, his name is Soul Evans and you will not talk to him like that." She snapped at her oldest friend.

"I thought your cousin was some fat wanker and you hated him?"

Heather shook her head, causing her wild black mane of hair to flap about, "I don't hate Dudley, and this isn't Dudley. His name is Soul. We just recently met, and he is my fourth cousin."

"Ronald, behave yourself!" Molly Weasley, the matriarch of the Weasley clan, snapped at her youngest. She then turned her soul and said kindly. "Pleasure to meet you, Soul dear. I'm Molly Weasley. This is my husband Arthur, and my children. Ginny, Ronald, Fred and George."

"Missus Weasley," Soul said, giving her a polite nod. "Heather told me so much about you, it feels like we've already met. I can practically picture the Burrow in my mind's eye." He put his cigar down in a crystal ashtray before he continued speaking. "Would you mind too terribly if I referred to you as Molly?"

"That's perfectly fine, dear." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Cool, feel free to just call me Soul." The albino told her with a knot of his head as he picked up his cigar and took another puff off it. Giving it a quick twist to get the excess ash off and into the ashtray before he did so.

"Aren't you a bit young to be smoking, dear?" Molly said with a hint of disapproval in her tone.

"Molly, from what Harry has told me, Wizards become considered adults at the age of 17 when in the muggle world you're not allowed to smoke, drink, and you might be allowed to get a temporary driver's license at that age. So if you're allowed to do all whatever you want at the age of 17 and are considered an adult as a wizard. As far as I'm concerned, if I'm 13 now, I should be old enough to smoke. By wizarding standards, at least."

"I well… What would your parents think, Soul dear?"

So shrugged, "I wouldn't know, ma'am. They're both deceased. I'm just kind of winging it here. I am very stressed out at suddenly learning I'm a mage at thirteen and I have three ways I can deal with this stress, smoking, drinking, or a whole lot of sex. I chose the least of three evils."

Blair gave her Master salacious wink as she said."I would have volunteered for that third one, you know?"

The albino wizard deadpanned to his familiar, "I know, that's why I said smoking was the least of three evils."

Heather was looking back and forth between master and familiar, and she didn't notice Hermione looking at her looking at Soul. But she did notice her friend gasping next to her and muttering into her ear. "Heather, do you? Him?"

"Can we talk about this later tonight? I could really use your advice, please?" The Girl-Who-Lived knew that last word was laced with desperation, but she didn't care. She really needed her friend's help.

"Of course. We can have a sleepover in your room and everything. It'll be fun." Hermione muttered back.

"Thank God and Merlin." Heather sighed in relief. "You're the best, Hermione." Heather said as she pulled her sole female friend into a one armed hug.

"So how exactly are you related to this Syltherin git again?" Ron grumbled, clearly unhappy.

"He's my fourth cousin on my mother's side. He has the same last name as my mum before she married my dad." Heather said patiently while sending Ron a pointed glare over her glasses. Silently telling him to behave himself, while Hermione added her own glare of disapproval on top of her own.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you behave yourself right now, young man. I will not have you disrespecting Heather's family in front of us." His mother told him sharply, adding her own glare on top of Heather's and Hermione's.

But Soul just raised his hands to keep the peace, "It's fine, Molly, if the worst your son can do is glare at me, I think I'll be perfectly fine. I've been in a lot more dangerous situations than having some kid glare at me."

"Why you little…" Ron growled, only for Ginny to step on his foot.

"Ron, stop being a ponce, you're making us all look bad." She growled in his ear. "People already see us as the white trash of the wizarding world. Don't add on to it."

"Whatever." Ron scoffed before he stalked away, hands in his pockets, deeper into Diagon Alley.

Soul sighed as he ran a hand through his ivory white hair, "Well, it seems as though I suck with introductions and meeting new people." He threw a small bag of galleons on the table and said "I was going to give him this to help himself to a late birthday present, but I guess he doesn't want it. After all, any friend of Heather's is a friend of mine." Soul proceeded to produce several other small pouches full of galleons and tossed them to each of the Weasley twins and one to Hermione as well. Saying. "I don't know when your birthdays are or what you particularly like besides books for Miss Granger. So here, go nuts and have some fun, on me."

"Wicked!" Fred said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thanks mate, we-" George started.

Only for Fred to finish, "-Owe you one for sure."

But Soul just waved them off casually, "They think nothing of it. It's perfectly fine."

"You boys can use this to go buy your textbooks this year."

Soul spoke up again, "Actually, Molly, I've already taken the liberty of taking care of that for everybody," He then clapped his hands twice, and called, "Gwas?" Out of nowhere, a house elf appeared.

"You be calling me Master Soul?" The house elf was brown-skinned with big floppy ears. Its eyes were big, luminous and a bright Cornwall blue. It was wearing an official-looking toga rather than a and the clasp was in the form of two Dragons swirling around each other, one red, the other white.

"Yes, Gwas, I did call you. Could you be so kind as to go get those books I purchased and had you place in the manor?"

"The school books?"

"Yes, the ones for Second. Third, two sets from Fourth year." Soul kindly told the elf.

Gwas disappeared with a snap of his fingers and pop, and then reappeared a stack of books placing themselves on the table. "Will that be all, Master Soul?"

Soul smiled down at the creature, And kindly said, "Yes, Gwas. That will be all. Thank you very much for your help."

"I live to serve Master Soul. Call again if you be needing Gwas." The elf replied, slipping into a bow before popping away.

Turning to the Weasleys, he said, "Fred, George, the only thing Heather couldn't tell me was what you took as elective, so that's something you might need to spend a little bit of money on. I apologize in advance for that." He sounded genuinely remorseful of the fact.

"Mate, don't even worry about it." George told him, waving his hand as he did so.

"Yeah, man. Do you have any idea how much cash you just saved our family? You're a-ok in our books." George told him, giving him a thumbs up, "You need anything-" George started.

"Anything at all," Fred continued.

"Just ask and we'll be there." The twins chorused at the same time, before they gave him a salute, turned at the same time, and wandered off into Diagon Alley, to spend their given gains.

Turning to the matriarch and patriarch of the Weasley clan, Soul tossed them two pouches full of galleons plus Ron's. "Here, consider this my thank you for looking after Heather for me all this time."

"Oh dear, you don't need to-" Mrs. Weasley began, only for Soul to cut her off.

"Take the damn money Mrs. Weasley," He said while raising a hand. "I'd like to think I look after my own. If I didn't, that would be pretty uncool of me. Refusing a gift not charity but a Gift would be considered rude no?"

"I think we should do what he says, Molly wobbles. He seems to be quite the serious young man. And we wouldn't want to disrespect him, now would we?" Arthur said with a jovial smile on his face that showed no greed but respect. The fact he didn't even look at the money but giving Soul a once over was a good hint of the man's character.

"Well, if you insist, but you will be coming over one summer and you will be treated to our hospitality, young man."

"I'm looking forward to it, Mrs. Weasley." Soul said with a slight nod of his head. "There should be about a couple 1000 galleons in both those pouches plus the 100 I was going to give Ron but since he doesn't seem to want do what you want with it."

"You're too kind, Mr. Evans. Thank you very much."

"Like I said, Arthur I look after my own. Do you mind if I call you Arthur? Calling you Mr. Weasley seems a bit too impersonal, especially since you have been so kind to my only family left besides my brother."

"That's perfectly fine, my boy. Call me Arthur if you want," Mr. Weasley said, another grin on his face before he spoke up again, "Since I'm assuming you're muggle-raised, I've been wanting to pick your brain about certain muggle things."

Soul smirked good naturedly, "Ohh yeah, like what? Heather warned me I should be prepared for questions about rubber ducks?"

Arthur just shook his head. "No, no, I figured out what those are for. What I'm really interested in nowadays is muggle cinematography. How on earth did they manage to do all that without magic?"

Soul chuckled a little as he replied, "That's a multi billion dollar a year question you're asking, Arthur." Rubbing his hairless chin, he thought aloud, "I personally don't know the ends and outs of the movie industry, but for a while there, I was adding certain piano pieces to certain movies."

"You play piano. You never mentioned that." Heather said, giving him a surprised look.

Soul shrugged, "It's not something I like to talk about." He then clapped his hands and said, "I suppose you girls are going to want to go on a shopping spree now?"

"What made you assume that?" Heather asked with a smile on her face as Hermione looked between her and her fourth cousin.

The albino magician rolled his eyes, "Because women with extra money in their pockets often end up burning holes in them."

Hermione felt the need to defend her half of the species from gender stereotypes, "We're not all like that, you know."

"So you're not thinking about buying out Flourish and Blotts with the money I just gave you, Miss Granger?" Soul couldn't help but tease.

Hermione flushed, "Well, it did cross my mind, but only for a second!" She said quickly. "Obviously, I need to use this gift you've given me responsibly. Thank you by the way, that was too kind of you. I really shouldn't accept it."

"That's not the only gift for you I have planned, Miss Granger. In fact, if you would go to Gringotts and ask for a blood test. You might find you have something waiting for you." Soul replied, giving her a knowing smile, as if he knew something she didn't.

That smile he was giving her irritated her a bit. Hermione squinted her eyes at him before asking, " What do you mean?"

Soul motioned to the bank with a flourish, "Just go to Gringotts with your parents, Miss Granger. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised with what you find out."

"All right, I will," She said, walking off a little annoyed at being led by the nose. Her parents, who had been standing off to the side, came over when she motioned to them. "By the way, these are my parents. Dan and Emma Granger. They're dentists."

Dan was a tall, broad man with dark hair, while his wife had dark brown hair that was in a mess of curls, much like her daughter's. They were both wearing normal muggle attire for the season: jeans and a black pullover shirt for Mr. Granger, while Mrs. Granger was wearing a blouse.

"Mr. Evans, thank you for giving our daughter that gift." Dan said, offering Soul his hand which Soul shook.

"Not a problem, Sir. Like I told the Weasleys, any friend of Heather's is a friend of mine, and I look after my own."

"Now, what's this about going to the bank?" Emma said, giving a kindly, disarming smile with her teeth gleaming straight and white, as one should expect from a dentist.

"Just trust me and head on in. Tell them Soul sent you and ask for a blood test. I'm sure you'll be surprised by the results." The musician turned demon weapon turned wizard replied.

"You're up to something." Emma said knowingly, "But it's a good thing, I think." She then turned to her husband and daughter and said, "Well then, come on, we'd best go see what sort of treat he has planned for us."

"See you in a bit, Heather?" Hermione said, turning to her friend.

"See you in a bit, Hermione." Heather echoed, seeing a friend off. Once she was gone, she turned to soul and asked, "All right, what are you up to?"

Soul replied calmly as he put his hands in his pockets, "What makes you think I think I'm going to tell you what I'm up to with your friend?"

"You're going to tell me because you're my cousin, and Hermione is my best mate, that's why." Heather said, crossing her arms as she glared at him over her glasses.

Soul just chuckled a bit, "All that does is make you look cute because you're cute when you're angry. It doesn't actually do anything to intimidate me." Hearing this, Heather pouted, causing soul to add, "And that just makes you look even cuter."

"Stop it." She grumbled at him, annoyed at how easily he could get to her and make her flush. She both hated and loved that about him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. You are cute when you're angry though."

"Idiot." Heather grumbled with little heat in her tone as her face reddened. "Hermione's not in any kind of trouble, right?"

"Why would I send her to the bank to get in trouble?" Soul questioned in response. Shaking his head, he replied, "No, this is definitely a good surprise. Kind of like the Firebolt I got you for your birthday."

Hearing that soothed Heather's worries a bit, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and quite a bit of tension in her body with it. "OK then as long as it's nothing bad, I trust you."

Shaking his head, the secret Demon Weapon replied, "You've been hanging out with me nonstop for a couple months now. I would certainly hope you trust me."

"Ah, Heather dear, I was hoping I could have a word with you in private for a moment," Arthur said, looking suddenly nervous."

"Sure Mr. Weasley, uh, give me a minute, Soul?"

He waved her off, while taking a puff on his cigar before he said, "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."

Heather walked off with Mr. Weasley who talked to her in hushed tones.

Now left alone with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, the albino said, "I hope my smoking doesn't bother you, ma'am. Like I said, it's a nervous habit I've recently picked up."

"Well, I can't say I approve, I'm not your mother and have no control over what you choose to do with your life. And you were at least a gentleman enough not to do it around Heather till this point. You said you were a late bloomer, dear? This must be quite a shock to you then. Suddenly stepping into our world at such a tender age. A teenager, no less. Mixing hormones suddenly with magic. Ooh, what a mess."

"You don't know the half of it, Mrs. Weasley. Before, I was living around Nevada and well, I had to get out of there real quick."

Mrs. Weasley paled when she heard that, "Oh, Oh my. So you were living quite close to Death City then?"

Solar nodded, "Yeah. Didn't feel safe sticking around when I found out what I did."

Ginny, a bit fretfully asked, "Did… did you ever meet a Death Weapon?"

He gave a so-so gesture with his hand before nodding, "Once or twice. They're aren't nearly as scary as you guys are making them out to be. I mean, at the end of the day, they are just people."

"But they hunt Wizards and witches like us. Doesn't that, like, terrify you?" Ginny asked, looking at him with wide green eyes.

Soul thought about it for a minute, then a thought occurred and he came up with a pretty good parallel, "I mean, Mice eat grass, and snakes hunt mice all the time, but the apex predators are the birds that hunt snakes. Doesn't that just mean they're the top of the current food chain?"

"If that's the case, then what do we hunt? If we are the snakes?"

"Well, from what I've read on magical history. Wizards would be superior to the common muggle. At least according to any dark wizard that's risen within the past oh…40 years or so. Starting with Grindelwald, and then with Voldemort, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or whatever you choose to call him." After the two Weasley women flinched at the casual mentioning of the previous Dark Lord's name, Soul said, "It's just a name, you know? Also, it's kind of a pathetic one regarding names. It's literally French for Flee's From Death. Meaning he's scared of death."

That seemed to surprise them both, and Ginny asked. "It is?"

Soul nodded, "It is. I know a little bit of all kinds of languages because back when I played piano, I played in high society. You tend to pick up a few things. Languages being one of them. Manners and etiquette being another."stretching his arms above his head and letting out a yawn. Which almost cost him his cigar, Soul continued, "I don't know who this Voldemort guy really was, but I know he was scared to death of dying. It's literally in his name. Now, I don't know about you, but I have a hard time being afraid of someone like that."

"I guess it does seem rather silly," Ginny said out loud after a moment.

But Molly just shook her head."You two can say that, but what he did during the war? The people he killed? The travesties he committed? You don't know what it was like back when he was alive and committing acts of terror."

Soul was quick to point out, "The fact that the man was a terrorist proves how little power and influence he really held. One only commits acts of terror to cow the populace. Because there are too few of them to control the masses. The moment his acts of terror stop affecting people and they fight back instead of being cowed is the moment he stops being an effective ruler, a leader. If anything a man who ruled by terror and led by fear is no ruler or leader at all. He's just a coward who's paranoid and waiting to be overthrown."

Molly nodded after a moment, "You may be right, but I certainly hope he stays dead and gone."

Finishing off his cigar and pulling the diamond studded band off of it, Soul replied, "If wishes were fishes, no one would go hungry Molly, but I certainly hope this one comes true."

Just then, Heather came back with Mr. Weasley and she looked disgruntled. "Everything ok, Heather?" Soul asked, picking up on her mood instantly.

Giving him a sudden half hearted smile, The Girl who lived replied, "Ohh yeah, nothing to worry about, everything's fine."

Flicking his crimson orbs to Mr. Weasley, the man just smiled disarmingly, but didn't say anything. 'Well, something smells like shit and it's not me.' Soul thought to himself. Before shrugging and deciding 'She'll tell me when she's ready.'

The sudden keening shriek of an excited girl was heard moments before Hermione crashed into Soul and nearly knocked him on his ass. Catching her and steadying himself, he said, "I take it you liked my surprise?"

Heather, confused at the sudden commotion, asked, "Hermione, what happened?"

"We went to Gringotts and had a blood test done and I just found out I'm distantly related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers." Hermione chatted excitedly. "I have a family vault, Heather! I'm not insanely rich by any means, but there's plenty of gallons in it. More than enough to get me through school."

"That's brilliant!" Heather beamed, happy for her friend.

"We were quite surprised when we found that out, " Emma said, smiling, happy for her daughter.

"Not to mention this will save us money in the long run." Her father muttered under his breath, Only to get elbowed by his wife. "What? I'm just saying the exchange rate between our currency and theirs is extreme. £20 for a gallon, £10 for a sickle and £5 for a Knut."

Pulling away from Soul, but still holding him at arm's length, Hermione asked, "How did you know?"

"I have a good reputation with the goblins." He answered evasively, not wanting to spill the beans, that they basically would do whatever he asked and all he had to do was say something. "Curious one day after Heather mentioned her best friend, I asked if there was anyone related to you that might have been a pureblood wizard at one point, and if that vault, if they had any, was inactive. Turns out I was right. You are what's known in Gringotts terms as a lost blood. An inheritor of an inactive wizarding Vault."

"Wow. And you did all this just because Heather brought me up in casual conversation?"

Soul shrugged casually, as if this was no big deal to him, "Well, she did mention something about you being the smartest witch of your age. That piqued my interest. And I figured you didn't deserve to have to worry about fees for school and everything, so I've decided if you didn't have money for school, I'd make sure you did."

"You really are too sweet, you know that?" Hermione said as she hugged him again.

"It's no big deal, it's just what cool guys like me do," He said as he returned the embrace.

"He tries way too hard to be cool. He just needs to be casual." Heather muttered under her breath.

"I know," Blair agreed. "But Soul has something of an image he's trying to project. His biggest fear is just being himself and letting people in. But we're going to help him work on that, right?"

Heather nodded to the cat witch. "Yeah, we are."

All of a sudden, Ron came stomping back to the group. His face flushed. "I heard you gave the twins galleons?" He demanded of Soul.

The Albino wizard nodded, "I did, and I would have given you some too, but you went and stormed off before I could."

"All right, well hand them over then, mate." Ron said, grinning as he held out his hand with a smile on his face.

Soul just shook his head and shrugged, "Sorry dude, but you kind of missed your chance. I decided to give them to your parents since you didn't seem that interested. I'm sure they'll do something useful with them."

Ron's face immediately turned red with rage, "What?! So you'll give money to my brothers but not me? You slimy Slytherin git."

Soul just yawned like he was bored, "How many times are you going to use that same insult on me? It's starting to really lose its effect."

"I've already told you once to stop insulting my cousin once, Ron. Do it again and I'll hex you." Heather said warningly, a frown on her face, and anger flashing in her emerald green eyes.

"Yes, he has been nothing but a gentleman, Ron, and you've been acting like an arse since you met him. Grow up." Hermione said, fixing her male friend with her own glare.

"Yeah, he's cool Ron, stop being a git and grow up and be nice." Ginny said, also coming to his defense while tacitly choosing not to mention her own pouch of galleons Soul had given her.

"Stupid damn snake turning my friends and even my family against me." Ron muttered under his breath as he stalked into the Leaky Cauldron to get a butter beer.

"I'm terribly sorry about Ronald, Soul dear he's-"

"A pompous prat ass git?" Fred said coming back alongside George with their collective purchases nowhere in sight.

"A Dungbomb with a short fuse?" George added.

"Still scared of spiders because we pulled that one prank?" Fred continued.

Molly chided her twin sons, "To be fair, that was pretty mean of you too. You transfigured his teddy bear into a spider."

"And we apologized-" George began.

"We've never done anything like it since." Fred continued.

"But he still treats us as if we're the devil incarnate." The twins chorused as they threw up their hands in sequence.

Soul couldn't help but note, "Sounds like Ron's the type of person that has a long memory and a short fuse. That's a bad combination."

Heather wanted to jump to Ron's defense but he wasn't exactly wrong. There were times where she'd seen jealousy in Ron's eyes when she pulled out money to pay for things she knew he couldn't afford. But they were friends and it shouldn't matter. Friends looked out for each other they had since first year after all. If the cost of him watching her back was her buying him some things he couldn't afford in Diagon Alley and whatnot every once in a while, then she would happily hand it over. 'I wish I would've got Uncle Vernon to sign that permission slip to go to Hogsmeade.' She thought to herself. 'But I thought it would have been best to leave for the summer after I accidentally blew up Aunt Marge. As much as we all hate her.'

Heather's life on Number 4 Privet Drive wasn't as bad as it could have been, she supposed. She was taught knitting by Aunt Petunia, Dudley was overly protective of her due to Vernon, the first time he saw Dudley trying to bully her, gave him a very stern talking to, saying that men did not put their hands on women in any untoward capacity. So he was very protective of her as they were growing up. As she grew older, she took classes in ballet and learned to play the piano. She doubted she was anywhere on Soul's level, but she was eager to hear him play if she could convince him to do so. She gardened, and she became so good at cooking that the Dursleys preferred her cooking over her aunts, which was something she was somewhat proud and also somewhat embarrassed about. Before her letter showed up, she didn't even know she was magical. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia told her her parents had passed away in a car crash. Due to some drunk T-boning them at an intersection. Then the letter came. She got mail, of course. She subscribed to all kinds of girly magazines. And grew up loving The Beatles and Elton John due to Aunt Petunia's love of them. Vernon could care less about them. He thought their haircuts were ridiculous. But a letter addressed to her, for a school of witchcraft and wizardry, brought up things the Dursleys would have rather not have discussed. She learned things about her mother she didn't know.

"I don't hate you or my sister, I hate the world she got dragged into." Petunia told her once the letter came. "Lily and I, before she got her letter, were thick as thieves. We knew everything about each other. We could speak without saying a word." She seemed to stare off into the distance as she said. "After the letter came, though, she was secretive and quiet. There were all kinds of things she couldn't or didn't tell me. And as the years passed by at that school, she became more secretive, more quiet. And then she married and became part of that world entirely. She just didn't have time for her normal muggle sister any more." She teared up a little bit at the end as she said. "And I'm afraid the very same thing will happen to you, dear. You'll go to that school, be enamored by its magics, and… You won't want anything to do with your aunt, uncle and cousin after seven years in that world. You'll just be consumed by it entirely, just like my dear sister was, and it cost her everything, even her life."

Heather hugged her Aunt Petunia and promised before her first year began that that wouldn't happen. True to her word, she sent an owl home every month, sometimes once a week, telling them what was going on. She usually left out things like going after the Sorcerer's Stone in first year, the fact that she was being hunted and shunned in second year for being considered the Heir of Slytherin. And this year, she felt they deserved a break from her and her magicalness. After what she did to Aunt Marge. Hopefully when she comes home for the summer, they could patch things up. 'Then again, knowing how everyone, even Uncle Vernon, feels about his sister, they probably thought this was hilarious.' Heather thought to herself ruefully.

'I should probably send them a letter telling them I'm ok, They're probably worried sick.' She thought to herself. Regretting the fact that she hadn't done this sooner. She was just having far too much fun with Soul, and was too caught up in her own teenage emotions to realize she hadn't sent them any post. 'I might even be able to ask Aunt Petunia what I should do about my feelings regarding a certain albino while I'm at it.' She considered.

"Everything all right, Heather? You've been quiet." Hermione noted.

"I just remembered I haven't sent my relatives a letter since I got here. I should probably do that and let them know I'm ok."

"Yes, you should probably go do that right now, dear. They're probably worried sick. They probably haven't been this upset since Ron, Fred and George kidnapped you from your room last summer." Molly said, sending her children a glare.

"What were we supposed to do mum?" Fred said. "She wasn't answering any of Ron's letters. We assumed the worst."

"I mean, we expected bars on the windows and a locked door with a cat flap, but we didn't see any of that." George continued.

"It was a fairly normal looking room." Fred carried on. "Very girly, lots of pink, lots of posters on the walls. Lots of some bloke called Sir Elton John."

"Shut up!" Heather said, flushing. Annoyed that the twins had brought up her celebrity crush on Sir Elton John.

Hermione, though, nodded in approval, saying."You've got good taste, Heather," Before whispering before stage-whispering conspiratorially towards her, "You do know he's gay, right?"

Looking away in embarrassment, Heather admitted, "I know, but I just don't care."

"Fair dues, fair dues," Hermione said she couldn't blame her. Sir Elton John was Sir Elton John after all.

"Anyway, what do you say we all head on into the Leaky Cauldron for dinner? My treat." Arthur said, "I insist." He added, while looking at Soul.

Snapping his fingers, Soul said with a good-natured smile, "Damn, you beat me to it, Arthur."

Grinning himself, the Weasley patriarch replied, "As you've been saying all afternoon Soul, we're family, and we look out for each other."

"Here here." Dan said heartily, "Now let's head on into the Leaky Cauldron, I've been wanting to try this fire whiskey I've been hearing about."

"First rounds on me, Dan." Arthur promised him.

The dentist appreciatively nodded to the wizard, "I think I'll take you up on that offer, Arthur. Thank you."

"I am curious though, how do muggles go about cinematography?"

"Well, it just so happens my wife and I run our dental clinic for the rich and famous. At least the rich and famous in Britain. Dental implants, cleanings and stuff like that. So we're on the fringes of that social circle, but we know a little bit." Dan said, getting into a conversation with Arthur as they walked towards the pub.

Molly and Emma shared a glance and shook their heads, thinking at the same time. 'Boys.'

Offering both of his arms to Heather, Hermione and Blair. He said, "Ladies, shall we?"

Heather took one arm, Hermione took the other, and Blair turned into a cat and plopped herself down on his head while Gwyn, his pure white phoenix, suddenly poofed into existence and plopped himself down on his shoulder.

"We shall, kind, Sir." Heather said, taking a moment to stroke Gwyn's plumage, causing him to trill happily.

"Is that a white Phoenix?" Hermione asked in hushed, astonished tones.

"Gwyn, Hermione. Hermione, Gwyn," Soul introduced as he made his way into the pub to sit down for dinner. Tomorrow was a big day. They all had to head to Kings Cross Station, and board the Hogwarts Express. Soul's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was about to begin.

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Word count: 14,922 words Number of Pages: 30 Completed: 10/11/2024

AN: Welcome everyone to Magic Eater Ch.2! When Soul Met Harry! Or Heather in this case. I hope you enjoyed all the character interactions in this chap, I enjoyed writing it that's for sure. Till next time everyone! Your Friendly Neighborhood Writer Bubbajack out! Now here are my co-authors/Editors to say a few words.

Snowy: Snowy is currently busy. His author's note will be inserted at a later time! (XD) However a very nice artist named oliviaarther9 showed some great art to us at Inkblot and while we can't buy her art we are more then happy to advertise. Go check her out on artstation and use gmail to get a hold of her using the name listed above.

First Hassan:

Antagonist:

Loamy Coffee: I foresee Ron getting hit. Still, Soul's making waves with people and based on Heather and Luna's reactions, it's going to be amazing~

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