ÓNEIROS KURANES

CHAPTER 2:

CONSOLIDATION

To finally meet his oldest friend in reality, to finally know, for once and for all, that she was real, well, words failed Harry. For the longest time, he had thought her a figment of his imagination, at least in his darkest moments. Then, an argument when she revealed what she was, a Devil, and not long before the Third Task, the battle in the graveyard…and everything that happened from there.

He rubbed her back soothingly. Sona had told him, albeit in brief terms, what had happened at the birthday party at the Gremory manor (the main one). Even only knowing the brief summary the glasses-wearing Devil told him, he felt pretty fucking angry. Angry towards Riser Phenex, towards Rias' parents, towards the Baels and their cock-sucking sycophants…

They made Rias cry.

True, Rias' parents, Zeoticus and Venelana, were mostly delusional, not truly malicious. The Baels had too much power over them, and they believed, just as it happened with them, that an arranged marriage would give way to love. Zeoticus also wanted progeny that combined the powerful magic reserves of the Gremorys, the Power of Destruction of the Baels, and the pyrokinesis and regeneration of the Phenex bloodline. They thought Rias' objections were childish or teenaged petulance.

Harry was reminded uncomfortably of what Dumbledore did. To him. To his life. Sealing away the power he had out of panic when Harry spoke to him about Rias was the last straw, especially when Fudge and his Auror cronies turned up soon afterwards. Dumbledore hadn't intended for Harry to end up imprisoned by the Unspeakables, but he did enough to ruin Harry's life in the first place.

And like Rias' parents, Dumbledore hadn't done it out of malice. Just a delusional belief that he knew what was best for Harry (when his track record, especially where the Dursleys were concerned, indicated otherwise). The old wether had at least campaigned to get him out of the Department of Mysteries, though Harry valued Sirius' efforts more. With Pettigrew captured, along with most of the Death Eaters that had been at the graveyard, there was proof that Sirius was innocent of Pettigrew's death, at least. From there, the ball got rolling.

Of course, it didn't mean much for Harry being trapped in the depths of the Department of Mysteries. He hadn't killed Voldemort and his followers, but they would never awake again. But a few of them had escaped when Harry unleashed that power, and they dripped poison in Fudge's ear, saying he was a new Dark Lord on the rise, that he had murdered Cedric. Never mind the logic or lack thereof, in that he would murder Cedric, but only put Voldemort and the Death Eaters into eternal sleep. And then, the Unspeakables made themselves known. They wanted Harry to be their new guinea pig.

Over two years as a guinea pig for the Unspeakables, his powers sealed by them. He could not contact Rias, but he could at least protect his psyche. Retreating into his dreamscape was all he could do.

It was thanks to the Unspeakables, ironically enough, that he learned what the power he possessed truly was. A power that would put him on the radar of the wider supernatural world. They had also dealt with the Horcrux in his scar, which would have been the final nail in the coffin of Harry and Dumbledore's relationship if it hadn't already been dead and buried. Certainly, many friendships had been broken after Madam Bones finally got him out of the Department of Mysteries, and he was confronted for having a relationship with a Devil, even in his dreams.

But he didn't want to think about such things now. He was here on Rias' 18th birthday, as a surprise. Though he wasn't the entirety of her present. After Rias finally broke off her embrace, she picked up a bag and pulled out a DVD boxset, handing it to Rias. It was a boxset of a season of one of her favourite anime series.

On her confused but delighted expression, he said, "I asked Sona what you'd want for your birthday. I made a quick stop at a store in Tokyo after I arrived in Japan."

Rias shot a grateful look at Sona briefly, before returning her delighted expression to Harry. "Thanks, Harry…"

Rias had excused herself to change her clothes. In fact, so had the other Devils. In a way, it was a shame: Rias' formal outfit was a perfect balance of sex appeal and tastefulness. She looked like the princess she pretty much was. Hell, her epithet was the Crimson Ruin Princess, for her mastery over the Bael Power of Destruction. It was an epithet she enjoyed more than being the Gremory Heiress, he knew.

However, the uniform for Kuoh Academy was another matter entirely. The boys' uniform was fine enough, with trousers, shirt, and a blazer. But whoever designed the girls' uniform must've been a major pervert. The wine-coloured skirt was a stiff breeze away from exposing underwear, and the waist and bust were emphasized by a weird waistcoat that looked more like a cloth corset, as well as a shoulder cape.

Harry looked over the people who, aside from Rias (and even that was only in dreams), he only met recently. First cab off the rank was Rias' fellow King and one of her oldest friends, older than even him. Sona Sitri (though she was known as 'Souna Shitori' to the students here) had a rather modest bust compared to her fellow High-Class Devil, but she was nonetheless beautiful, albeit in a somewhat stern way. She had short dark hair framing her features, with violet eyes peering from behind glasses she mostly wore for effect, as most Devils had perfect eyesight. She had an air to her that reminded him of Hermione, or even a teenaged McGonagall. He was grateful to the rather stern girl to helping him set this up, and being there to prevent Rias from attacking him.

Yuuto Kiba was a blonde-haired boy of European descent, his features beautiful, even a little effeminate. Yet Harry knew from Rias that he was actually an Italian-born orphan once named 'Isaiah', and a victim of a cruel project headed by an evil faction within the Vatican. The Holy Swords Project was a failure, and Yuuto was the only survivor. He'd become Rias' Knight reluctantly, having died prior to Rias resurrecting him, though he was now used to it, and her stalwart Knight.

Koneko Toujou was a petite girl, about fifteen if he recalled, even if she looked younger. Short silver hair framed adorable features in a cute bob, while golden eyes watched him stoically. Like Yuuto, she had changed her name, from 'Shirone', to distance herself from the crimes of her sister, the notorious Stray Devil Kuroka. In fact, Koneko was a Nekomata, specifically a Nekoshou, a type of magical creature that was basically a catgirl. She just hid her feline features using transformation magic. She was Rias' Rook, her petite body hiding a lot of strength and durability.

Akeno Himejima was about Rias' age, in her late teens, with, like Sona, dark hair and violet eyes. But the dark hair was longer and done up in a ponytail, her figure was considerably more buxom, and Harry knew that Akeno was no relation to Sona anyway. In fact, she was a Nephilim, a hybrid, born of the human mage Shuri Himejima, and the Fallen Angel Baraquiel. However, while Baraquiel was on an extended mission for the Grigori, the Fallen Angels' organisation, Shuri and Akeno were attacked by the Himejima Clan, with Akeno denounced as a halfbreed, and Shuri having sullied herself with Baraquiel. Shuri sacrificed herself to save Akeno, who went on the run in Japan at a young age. Rias saved her from another mob assembled by the Himejima Clan, and made Akeno her Queen.

And finally, Rias Gremory. Looking at her, you wouldn't be able to tell she was a Devil. True, she had a buxom figure men and women would kill for, and her beauty was one that rivalled if not surpassed Veela and their progeny. You could even call it divine rather than diabolical. But she could still pass for being human easily, as could most Devils. Her hair was a deep crimson that could be called blood-coloured, while her eyes were teal jewels, though the latter were still a little bloodshot, presumably from her being upset earlier.

"…First things first, Harry, and know that I am truly grateful for your present, and your being present," Rias said, "but what the actual hell did you think you were doing, breaking in like this?! If it weren't for Sona, I could have attacked you as an intruder!"

"Why do you think we started playing the song once you entered?" Sona asked. "We thought that would bamboozle you long enough for us to explain. And as his co-conspirator, I would have made sure he wouldn't have come to any harm, Rias."

"Rias, it's all right," Harry said. "I think my power would have allowed me to incapacitate you long enough to explain matters anyway. But honestly, I've done more stupid things for less reason."

After a moment, the redhead rubbed her forehead. "…True enough. Fighting Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, a Basilisk being controlled by a shade of Voldemort no less…fending off a swarm of Dementors, oh, and let's not forget, facing a damned dragon! Then again, you were roped into that damn tournament, but still…it frightened me to think how much you faced danger. It may not have been a Dragon King or an even greater Dragon, but even an average dragon can be a major threat to even trained wizards."

Harry just let Rias get it out of her system. Although a Devil, she was also compassionate. It took him a while to accept the fact that her Peerage were only her servants on paper, when she had finally confessed what she was, and what her circle of friends were as well. In any case, she was worried about him.

Eventually, Rias calmed herself with a shuddering sigh. "Sorry. I'm still a bit on edge after what happened. How much did Sona tell you?"

"She told me enough, that Riser Phenex gatecrashed your party, and is trying to bring forward your wedding date, even if it'll be a while before those bastards backing him can hammer out the details and confirm it. That sums it up, doesn't it?"

"Pretty much," Rias said.

"…Who does that, and to a fiancée, huh?" Harry asked out loud. "I mean, aside from a flaming prick, but from what you told me, that describes him to a T. He's even literally flaming."

Uneasy chuckles came from Rias, her Peerage, and Sona. "…Enough about Riser," Rias said. "So, you're transferring into Kuoh Academy?"

"Yeah. I remembered you telling me about it when we reconciled, how you came here to attend high school in the human realm. It took some doing with Sona to arrange my transfer, and I had to attend an exam. Translation Charms help with the Japanese at least, and Hermione and Remus helped me with the more mundane subjects," Harry said. "Sona helped cover it up, as well as arranging things with your Peerage. By the way, I'm glad to meet you all. A shame I haven't met Gasper yet, but, well, his issues…"

Akeno chuckled, waving off his words. "No, I was just surprised that Rias was actually telling the truth, that the Boy Who Lived had somehow become the literal boy of her dreams." Then, her demure smile became pensive. "But…how much did she tell you about us?"

"…I know that you're a Nephilim, the daughter of Baraquiel and Shuri Himejima, and Baraquiel is a sore point with you," Harry said, before looking to Yuuto. "I know your original name was 'Isaiah', and you were a guinea pig for some damned Vatican project for Holy Swords." His eyes went to Koneko. "And you're actually a Nekoshou originally called 'Shirone', who had to be brought into Rias' Peerage, or face execution for your sister's crimes. And you were, what, ten? What happened to you three, not to mention Gasper, was utterly cruel." He looked down at the floor. "Then again, I've known cruelty myself."

"…And may I ask what that is, if it's all right?" Sona asked. "After the Third Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, you…disappeared for over two years. No claims you had been sent to Azkaban either. I know that Rias was tempted to head over there and storm Azkaban if need be, despite the Biblical Factions agreeing to stay away from the wizarding world."

"…Let's just say the Unspeakables happened, and I ended up their guinea pig," Harry said. "I've been through a lot in my life, and I've told Rias about that, but…we've only really met recently, Sona, even though you've helped a lot with, well, this."

Sona nodded. "I see. But will they hassle you anymore?"

"Let's just say Minister Bones has instituted sweeping reforms of the Unspeakables, and leave it at that," Harry said. "At least for now. But…I will tell you why they were interested. I think Rias already has an inkling. I haven't told her, but…I think she knows, don't you, Rias?"

"…I suspected," Rias admitted. "How you met me in a dreamscape…how you were able to trap Voldemort and his followers in an endless sleep…there's many powers like that…but I suspected that you possess a Sacred Gear."

Harry nodded solemnly, summoning to his hand a seemingly innocuous pouch, from which he plucked out sand, sand that seemed to glow and glitter in the light of the ORC clubroom. "Though I doubt you've heard of this one. The Unspeakables gave me a crash course on them while I was their guinea pig, and mine is one of the most obscure: Óneiros Kuranes…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Title drop!

Óneiros is Ancient Greek for dreams. Kuranes is another matter entirely: the name is that of the ruler of the dream city-state Celephaïs from the Dream Cycle of HP Lovecraft.

Of course, Harry's Sacred Gear will be heavily inspired by the abilities of Morpheus/Dream of the Endless from The Sandman. Nerfed, of course: Harry is nowhere near the level of an Endless, and he hasn't been pushing himself to the limit of his powers…yet. But people forget how potent power over dreams are. Dream of the Endless is one example: Freddy Kreuger from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Nahida from Genshin Impact are others, on opposite sides of the moral spectrum.

My original intention was for Harry to be Azkaban'd for a couple of years, and spend the remainder of the time between his release and heading to Kuoh in physical and psychological rehab, helped by the Unspeakables. But I reckon Harry being sent to Azkaban would be big news, and Rias might have caught wind of it, and, despite the agreement between the Biblical Factions (in my latest Potterverse/DxD crossovers) not to interfere in the wizarding world, would probably storm Azkaban. Instead, he disappeared thanks to the Unspeakables, and thanks to a seal placed on his Sacred Gear by them, his ability to use it was limited. Why? The Unspeakables wanted to study his Sacred Gear. But they also have links to a certain nascent faction…

No numbered annotations this time.