December 18th , 2012, Ryan's Manor, London, England, 10:00 PM BST
"Holy shit that was awful!" I gasped as I collapsed into my bed with a shudder. The rest of my peerage was behind me, gasping for breath as they recovered from our most recent brush with the Chest of Demons. Catching the ghosts gave me demonic energy, since it was a contract I was fulfilling, and I needed demonic energy to refill my necromancy. That was how I would be able to destroy the Horcruxes.
Sadly, none of that meant the ghost hunting was EASY, since almost all the damned devil ghosts were stupidly powerful, not to mention some of them were former demons. Like this most recent one.
"I hate mob spawners." Groaned Seras. "Queen Morbidia? More like Queen More-shitty-ones. How many demons did she summon? I lost count. "
Daphne grimaced. "I didn't but I wish I had, so I won't tell you. Too many, is the short answer. How's your power doing, love? You feeling stronger?"
"A bit." I said, clenching my fist as I let the power flow through me. "Not just from this. The contract with Natasha helped. I should have enough power to nuke the cup. With the locket, journal, and diadem taken care of that'll put as four down with a fifth in hand. We just need the last two. One of them is probably WITH Voldemort, who will undoubtedly be keeping it moving and far away. As for the other…"
I glanced over at Val, who grimaced. "We've confirmed it. Skulduggery, Natasha, I even asked Solomon to take a look. Harry IS the last Horcrux. Or at least, he's housing it. We've been working on a way to extract it, but there's still way too much risk."
"Fuck." I sighed. "Did you tell Sirius?" I knew they shared a lot, so it wouldn't have been out of character, but I suspected she hadn't.
She bit her lip. "I don't know how. He's going to be terrified, and I don't want him spinning out about something he can't change. I want to at least have a solution before I drop this on his head."
I considered her logic. "Alright." I finally said. "You're the one basically living with him. If you think that's the right path, that's what we do. Fleur, Daphne, you have any objections keeping this from Stori and Gabi? Sirius is my uncle, so I feel like sharing final say with Val makes sense, but they're your sisters."
They both shook their heads, though Fleur looked torn. She seemed to understand though, and Seras put an arm around her shoulders.
As we talked, I gripped my wand, funneling demonic power into the dark wood. The imbued object drank down the strength I'd been gathering, empowering my necromancy as it transformed from one type of energy to another.
I didn't go overboard, making sure to give myself enough to pull off the destruction of the cup without seriously depleting my power. I was still stronger than I had been when Natasha joined up, and likely to stay that way. We'd even adapted a few tantric rituals from the Spells of Astaroth to improve my power growth, and they seemed to be working well, so I was confident in regaining my power soon.
With that finished, I saw no reason to waste time. I stood. "Alright people, lets get this out of the way. Anyone who wants to head down to the basement to help feel free, anyone who doesn't you're free to do whatever."
Val nodded, standing herself, Seras, Fleur, and Natasha as well. The others decided to sit things out. Their powers, being physical, magical, and elemental in nature, tended to be less useful against spiritual beings. Regular magic didn't work well on souls, which was why necromancy existed.
We had the cup waiting down there, restrained in a circle by the powerful defenses Val had erected for the locket. I nodded and had her ready the trap, taking it down slowly. "Alright. Val, you're on environmental control, Natasha, harrying and distraction, Seras try your some of that blood magic you've been studying from Alucard's book, and Fleur, Veela Fire. It's a natural magic rather than a physical flame so it might help."
Of course, those were just the icing on the cake. As we waited, I reached out with my power, segmenting off particles and then lighting them up with the black burn, readying for a devastating soul attack to finish the fragment."
"So, what do you think this one will try?" Asked Val casually. "Another Dragon? He seems to really like those."
Natasha shook her head. "I don't think so. He seems to identify with serpents, given his supposed lineage. Dragons are considered apex predators and symbols of strength, but someone as arrogant as he is will undoubtedly seek to change it up. I suspect this one will be something new."
Val sighed. "You might be right. This one was made later than most of the others. I can't decide if I hope it's another dragon or if I'd be disappointed."
"We're about to find out." I said as I nodded toward the circle. As we watched, plumes of dark smoke began to billow from the cup, gathering on the ground and coalescing into the shapes of massive terrifying…dogs. Hounds actually, with bright red glowing eyes.
"Oh hey, those are new." Said Val dryly. "Kind of glad Suzie isn't down here, she'd be beside herself at the thought of hurting them."
I nodded. "She would, but these aren't dogs. If I don't miss my guess these are hellhounds. Be careful, these things can-" The dogs vanished and I cursed, hurling myself forward as one of them dove through my shadow, its massive jaws snapping shut behind my head, the smell of brimstone wafting over me as I rolled, scrambling to get to my feet. "Teleport." I finished with a snarl.
The hound was gone, and I spun, searching for the things everywhere. "This one seems sneakier." I said as I waited. "Do you think this one was made after the Diadem?"
Val shook her head. "It was later than most of the others, but not the Diadem. I think…" She frowned. "I think it was influenced by what he was like when he made it. When he made the Diadem a Horcrux he was already powerful and more in your face with his darkness. This one…feels more insidious. Like he used deception as part of the ritual."
I felt something from behind me and dropped, knees going out so I was on my back facing up as the hellhound soared over me. My fist lashed out, smashing into its chest, and it went flying away with a whimper. I actually felt a little bad, but I shook it off. This wasn't the soul fragment, it was some kind of enchantment that it had activated when it sensed danger. The black burn had apparently been an obvious risk that it could sense.
How I knew that I had no idea, and I didn't care that much. My instincts were better than they'd ever been, but honestly they'd gotten TOO good. I got a lot of weird insights I didn't need at times I didn't want them. Still, they were good for a fight in at least one way, they tended to warn me before an attack.
Blurring forward, I ducked under a dog leaping from the shadow of a chandelier and another from a wall mounted deer head, bringing myself closer to the cup. Natasha was already there, weaving a vortex of glittering ice into a grinning face, its frozen teeth gnashing as it snapped at the cup. Hellhounds were intercepting and melting the ice, but it was refreezing nearly instantly.
Val had caught two of the hounds in manacles with her necromancy and was currently slugging it out with them bare handed, I swear she forgot she was a magic used half the time, and Seras's eyes were glowing red as used bloody claws to tear into a trio of hounds while Fleur flung fire at them from above.
The two who had attacked me turned for Natasha when I passed, and I was left with an opening. It was the strangest feeling. I saw the warp and weft of the battle, all the different overlapping elements, and I just found a path through them. I didn't make it, I couldn't, I just recognized it, a tear in the fate of the world, a straight shot past all harm.
I was already moving by the time I finished thinking about it, and my body just walked on its own. I ducked an icicle, then a stray fireball, the body of a flying hellhound, then a pair of jaws. Each step led me further into the mess, and each one put me exactly where I needed to be to avoid that mess for JUST another second.
It was so surreal I started humming to myself, the words to a song I remembered from last year, and the world seemed to move to the beat. I was almost laughing as I sang. "I'm sobbing at the bar, begging girls to buy me shots. Threatening to haunt them if they don't, I'm gonna be a mean ghost, a real scary ghost."
My steps were like dance moves, left then right, a little hop, a small spin, duck down and roll my shoulders, head down and to one side. The attacks got thicker as I got closer to the center of the fight, but not out of intention. Somehow I knew that I was walking through some kind of blindspot. Or more accurately, I was hopping between gaps in the attention.
This was what it meant to find the line in the fate, and I got the feeling I'd just stumbled into an application of my ability that I wasn't supposed to learn about for a VERY long time. Because trying to calculate something like this and find it on purpose was so far out of my wheelhouse that the house IT was in wasn't even HOLDING wheels.
Still, within about forty five seconds I arrived at the goblet, seemingly unnoticed. I held up a particle of magic on my finger and then blew it casually like a piece of dust, letting it settle into the cup as I poured magic in (the perfect amount of magic, and much less than I'd been planning to use).
The mouth of the cup exploded with black fire as a scream rang through the room, a geyser of dark flame licking up before fading away along with the hellhounds. They might not have been part of the soul, but it was using them. Without it the enchantments faded, mostly tapped out anyway.
My girls all spun to look at me, standing untouched next to the artifact, and I gave them an easy smile, feeling pleased as I plucked the cup up and glanced it over. "Well, that was fun." I dropped it through a circle into a chest in my dorm at Hogwarts, and then turned to my ladies. "Now, who wants to grab a late dinner. I am STARVING."
Staring at me, they didn't comment as I strolled out smugly, and inside I couldn't help but laugh. This entire experience had been…fascinating. I needed to learn more about this, to find out how it worked so I could do it again someday. This was the true potential of my…what? Power. Or was this my trait in truth. Did I have my own unique devil bloodline?
I was excited by the possibility, knowing my kids might inherit, that I could make an actual dynasty of devils like me in a way most never could. Until then though, I was one step closer to beating my enemy, and I loved the way it felt. I also had way more necromancy left than I should have because of…whatever had just happened. I really needed to come up with a name for that. I'd let future Ryan deal with that though, for now, I really was hungry as hell.
December 24th , 2012, Great Hall, Hogwarts, Scotland, 8:00 PM BST
"This is dumb." Moaned Stori. "It's CHRISTMAS. We should be at home having dinner together, not waiting to enter some stuffy ballroom." As per usual, Stori's pout was a lethal weapon, and we all sympathized with her point on this particular matter. Christmas was a special time for her, given it was when we'd cured her curse, and very much family time.
I smiled warmly at her. "We told you we could come home after the ball. Only Fleur, Harry, and I need to be here. If you guys want to do dinner we can duck out and meet up with you."
She scowled at me. "I am not sending my best friend and my big brother off to wine and dine a bunch of politicos while I sit at home, eating prime rib in my comfy pajamas. It's CHRISTMAS. We're supposed to be together, even if it is at some dumb party." I smiled down at her, pulling her into a hug.
Stori really was one of my favorite people, and the little sister I never had. Daphne beamed at the exchange, before stepping forward to compulsively fix my robes once I let go. Suzie stepped up to slip her other arm through mine.
"Stori is right." Said my Slytherin princess. "This is a four hour event. We go in, we eat, we drink, we dance, we do NOT fuck in the bushes, and we leave." She glared at Tracey, who just shrugged noncommitally. Shaggy turned red and the brunette girl's face became smug. "We'll be home in time to do Christmas as a family at Val's place."
We'd decided to use the Edgley manor this time, because it was empty and basically unreachable unless you knew where it was. Val was bringing Sirius, and everyone else would be making their own way there. Speaking of my uncle, I turned to give him a smirk. "Glad you could make it by the way."
To my surprise, he didn't seem uncomfortable, simply shrugging. "Parties are my thing. I wouldn't have missed it." I squeezed Val around the waist, and to my utter shock, she flushed happily. My Queen was NOT a girly girl, at least not that way, and seeing her all sweet happy was kind of hilarious, not that I'd ever tell her that. I liked my spine where it was.
It was funny, they looked like a much more compatible pair than I'd expected, dressed to the nines at a formal event. Val wasn't a formal person really, and the age difference had seemed like it might stand out in this environment. But with the elixir Sirius looked to be in his twenties like she was, and they made a nice picture.
We said our goodbyes to everyone as they went in, and Suzie, Daphne, and I, took up position next to Harry, Gabi, Fleur, Seras, Krum, and his date, a Hufflepuff I didn't really know named Megan Jones.
"Orion Black, and his escorts Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass!" Called McGonagall's voice. I smiled at the others reassuringly then stepped forward, my girls at my sides. When we got inside, McGonagall was waiting, gesturing for us to take a position at her side while she announced the others, waiting to perform the ceremonial first dance.
She called the others out, and once we were all present, raised her voice to make a speech. "Friends and benefactors." She called. "Welcome once more to Hogwarts. Many of you traveled far tonight to break bread with us on this, the longest night of the year. It is our honor that you came to celebrate this night with us, rather than at your homes as you probably used to, but this is an historic occasion, and I do hope the trip will be worth your time."
To my surprise, Natasha appeared beside her, Madame Maxime and Dumbledoreon the other side, standing behind us all. "We thank you, Hogwarts Staff." Projected my MILF clearly. "For your wonderful hospitality." She winked at the crowd. "It'll almost be a shame to beat your champion and win this whole thing."
That got a laugh from the crowd. From anyone else it might have seemed petty or spiteful, but Natasha had this easy charisma about her that made everyone take it the right way.
Madame Maxime was next, thanking everyone much more formally, though she did take the time to talk Fleur up a bit, albeit subtly. Oddly, Dumbledore didn't speak, maybe he thought his speeches would lose their impact if he gave them too often, maybe he was eating a lemon drop, who the hell knew with him.
After that, we headed out onto the dance floor for the first dance. I had to switch back and forth, because I didn't know how to dance well enough to keep up with two partners at once. No one really seemed to mind, though.
Once we got past that, we melted into the crowd, meeting back up with our friends almost immediately. Theo and Hannah were the first to find us, and Hannah hugged Suzie happily. "You looked so pretty out there!" She gushed.
Suzie blushed. "Daphne is a way better dancer." She deflected modestly. "I had to work extra hard not to trip over my own feet."
"Nonsense." Daphne said firmly. "You looked beautiful, and graceful as hell. You practically floated across the dance floor." She stopped. "Wait…did you ACTUALLY float across the dance floor?"
Suzie blushed. "Only a little." She admitted. "It helped me keep from tripping. But I couldn't go too high without my wings."
We all laughed at that, not worried about any attention from that, given we were at a wizard ball. Tracey and Shaggy arrived, and Daphne glared as her best friend picked leaves out of her hair and her boyfriend stood around slack jawed. D.B showed up with George, who looked absolutely thrilled to be there with her, so we kept devil talk out of the conversation. Ron and Lavender showed up, and Hermione had come on her own. Krum had apparently asked her, but given our…arrangement, she'd confessed that she felt weird about it.
Sadly, not everyone who came to see us was welcome. "Well, if it isn't my backstabbing cousin." Drawled a cold voice from behind us. I sighed, turning to see Draco standing next to Pansy Parkinson.
Draco had been…different. Quieter mostly, which given the stuff that came out of his mouth was a definite plus, but he was still a toxic dickhead. He didn't seem to remember most of what happened in the chamber and we hadn't bothered to mention it. The loss of his parents had certainly changed him, but if anything it had made him more quietly vindictive.
Unfortunately, he still had access to the Malfoy coffers, and one of the Ministerial candidates, Pius Thicknesse, had been seen cosying up to him for his help funding his campaign. To Draco, the chance to become the 'kingmaker' his father had been was irresistible, and he'd been openly campaigning for Thicknesse and lambasting me for my support of Amelia.
I gave zero fucks, obviously, and after a few strongly worded suggestions for anatomically improbable solutions to our current conflict, he'd relegated his commentary to places out of my sight, for the most part.
However, this was an important networking event, and an peaceful international conclave of sorts, and it would probably be bad form to rip off one of his skinny legs and beat him violently about the head and body with it. More was the pity. Daphne squeezed my arm tightly, signalling that I shouldn't let him get to me. Or that she wanted me to kill him next time he was alone. Maybe Daphne and I needed to work on our nonverbal communication.
"I'm not betraying anyone Draco." I said lazily. "I never supported Thicknesse to begin with. I personally think it takes more to be a good leader than 'being Slytherin'. Besides, if the day comes that I decide to stab you, I'll stab you in the front. It's not like you could stop me."
Sighing, Daphne rolled her eyes. "Boys, this is an event celebrating international friendship. It's in poor taste to make threats here. Draco, we don't want to talk to you, if you'd like to provoke Ryan into threatening you with grievous bodily harm, we can put something on the books in January. It shouldn't take very long, he's already covered most of the ways you can viably hurt someone."
My cousin sputtered indignantly. I just grinned. "That's Daphne speak for 'shoe fly, don't bother us'." I saw his hand twitch slightly, and half expected him to go for his wand, but he didn't bother, just whirling and stalking away, Pansy trailing behind him shooting us venomous looks. That was…odd. Pansy wasn't the quiet type. If she disliked you she let you know. Incessantly.
I shook it off, turning back to Daphne. "You are so fucking hot right now." I told her intensely.
She winked at me, cocking a hip. "You're just saying that because this dress is too tight for panties." My eyes strayed down to her fat, delectable cheeks and I bit my lip. She leaned up to peck me on the lips. "Sorry darling, the back property is closed for the evening. We have mingling to do and then a late Christmas dinner to attend." She leaned up to nip my ear. "You can unwrap your present later. I got you an enthusiastic fuck sleeve that you can use all night."
Suzie giggled at my expression as Daphne pulled back. "I think you broke him. I'm a bit jealous. He hasn't been looking at my chest nearly as much as your rear." She leaned in and murmured breathily. "Do you not love my boobies anymore Ryan?" Her crimson and gold dress framed her cleavage like the worlds softest jiggliest balcony.
I grabbed them both, pulling them against me. My palm filled with soft pliable booty as Suzie's tits mashed against my chest. "I am going to fuck you two so hard after we get to bed tonight that you're going to have to walk sideways, because I will have used all your up and down."
Suzie giggled happily and Daphne growled a bit. "Ahem." Came the voice of Tracey. "You guys remember we're still here right? Like Draco left but you're not ALONE. It's insulting to be ignored like that."
"I'd be more sympathetic if you didn't have branch prints pressed into the arse of your dress." Said Daphne sweetly. "Did you at least use protection?"
"Of course." Gasped Tracey in an offended tone. "I cast several notice me not charms while my boyfriend was raw dogging me." She glanced at Seras. "Did I use that right? I did grow up around muggles but that phrase was new to me."
My vampire snickered. "Yes, you said it perfectly."
I rolled my eyes as we all bantered, mostly ignoring all the so called mingling for a while. Eventually though we had to spread out and sing Amelia's praises, especially Suzie. I shot Natasha a few looks, and my MILF tried to find distracting poses to get into when I was looking, provided she could take them without being noticed. She had a lot to distract with, so it wasn't too hard.
Four hours went by both faster and slower than I'd expected. We didn't eat, though dinner was offered in another room. We'd decided to eat as a family since some of our members couldn't be here. Finally the party wound down. Dumbledore gave a speech at the end where he hadn't starting off, and Natasha and Maxime did the same.
All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend Christmas Eve, at least the beginning of it. At midnight we all headed for the Edgley manor, and I couldn't wait to see everyone. Christmas never ceased to be a blast in the wizarding world. And if I was eyeing the bodies of my girls a bit more than usual, who could blame me. This Christmas I was planning to have the whole set at once.
December 24th , 2012, Great Hall, Hogwarts, Scotland, 12:00 AM BST
We weren't alone when we arrived. The rest of our party had been waiting here, and I was thrilled to see some extended family and friends we never got to spend time with among the guests. "Vincent!" I greeted the necromancer with a hug. "Good to see you, man. How have you been?"
"Quite well." He grinned. "You've been making commendable progress with the chest, and it's taken so much off my plate. And I see an old acquaintance has made her way into our midst." He smirked at Natasha. "Finally got the chance to see how the other half lives, eh, Natalia?"
She shrugged. "What can I say, my Ryan couldn't resist me." She grabbed Suzie, spinning her like a tango dancer until they were cheek to cheek. He's got a preference for busty redheads you know? Our dear Suzie and I are practically twins."
"Perhaps you might NOT manhandle my niece." Drawled Amelia as she entered the room. "Similarities aside I feel you might have become a bit overly familiar."
I saw Natasha smirk, and cut her off before she mentioned any of the VERY graphic sexual acts she'd performed on Suzie that were much more personal than some cheek touching. "Amelia!" I greeted, pinching Nat's abundant rump to get her to let go. "Good to see you. And Andi came along too. How about Tonks, is she here?"
"You bet your arse I am." Shouted my sort of cousin as she stumbled into the room. "I was just telling China about my job metamorph powers. We were playing a drinking game where…" She turned to China woozily. "What were the rules?"
Val's surrogate sorc-mom smiled ruefully. "There were no rules, dear. I never challenged you to a game. You started boasting about how many shots you could do and making your breasts expand and shrink in time to your heartbeat to impress me." She paused. "Which, to be fair, WAS impressive, but sadly you aren't my type."
I winced. Tonks wasn't a devil, so China's magic still affected her. Unlike Fleur's allure, China's ensorcellment wasn't a natural function that exacerbated our sins, so the evil pieces protected us. Veela were some kind of hormone thing or something I guessed, because we'd had to manually protect ourselves.
My mother stepped out from behind them, smiling indulgently. To my shock, she didn't seem bothered by China at all, which was impressive as all hell given how I'd seen some other people act.
"Merry christmas, ma." I said with a smile as I stepped forward to hug her. I was barely clear when Suzie tackle hugged her, and she was quickly followed by Seras, whom my mother had basically adopted when her parents died.
She gave us each a quick kiss on the cheek and beamed at me. "I'm so proud of how you handled yourself in the first task. I know I already said so, but I felt like it needed to be said again. Now come on, all of you. Dinner is ready, I have it under stasis spells so it doesn't get cold, though Daisy and Kreacher are livid, in their own quiet fretting way, that I didn't let them preserve it."
"I'm sure." I laughed. "What are the chances we can convince them to relax and eat with us?"
She snickered, not bothering to answer the question, which was an answer in and of itself. I whistled as I came into the dining room. Aside from a twenty plus person table, the decorations were in full swing. Garlands, lights, sprigs of mistletoe. Someone had gone all out.
But the biggest thing that drew my attention was just how FULL the table was as everyone sat down. My peerage, Gabi, Stori, her parents, Vincent, China, Ghastly, Erskine, Sirius, Amelia, Andi, Tonks, Harry, Hermione, and even Ron and George. All these people who had become a part of my life in just the few years since I'd become a devil.
It was staggering to see the changes in my world since I'd gotten the inheritance my dad left me. Not just my girls, but my whole new family, and the life I had here. My Enchanting practice, my school life, the house. So much was different, and none of it in a way I'd change if given the choice.
Even the mess with Voldemort was a part of my new life. I wouldn't have given up the chance to take out the man who killed my dad for anything, and if I hadn't gotten involved I'd never have known that rat bastard was still around in need of killing.
"Knut for your thoughts?" Asked Suzie as she sat down next to me. She paused. "Wow, you guys are right, that DOES sound dirty."
I grinned at her. "Your corruption is complete. We've turned you into a dirty pervert like the rest of us." I turned to the others. "Job done everybody, we can pack it up and go home. We finally got her."
Everyone laughed, and Suzie blushed, so I gave her a quick peck on the cheek as she pouted. "So." Said Daphne, pulling focus. "What's for dinner? I know we have the traditional prime rib. But everything else is kind of up in the air." Her head snapped over to glare at me. "And don't you dare levitate anything just to make a joke."
I'd been halfway through mentally casting a levitation charm, but I dropped it and smiled at her innocently, only to get an eye roll. My mother laughed. "Well, we have the usual. Mashed potatoes, asparagus. We tried something new for dessert this year, aside from the trifle we made figgy pudding."
"I've always wanted to try figgy pudding." I admitted. "It sounds kind of like mashed up fig newtons, but at the same time it's so christmassy. Like even just to be able to SAY I tried figgy pudding I'd like to try it."
Tracey snorted. "Pudding poser." She put on a hoity toity british accent (something she was good at considering Daphne was her best friend and always sounded like that) "Well, I've always enjoyed the figgiest of puddings."
I rolled my eyes at her. "I don't want to hear food criticism from the girl dating the walking garbage disposal. He and Scooby could devour a whole warehouse. Imagine being able to keep up with a DOG in terms of eating." I winked at Shaggy to let him know I was just kidding, but he was already laughing along with the rest of us.
Scooby, meanwhile, had already dug into his potatoes and looked up in confusion. "Rog? Where?" We all laughed at his classic line, albeit without the second R. His shapeshifting seemed to be making his speech way cleaner, with only a few little reminders of his original…what would you call that? Accent?
Shaggy grinned. "I wouldn't say I can KEEP UP with my best buddy exactly, but I can like, come pretty close."
My mom pointed threateningly at him. "You will eat at a normal speed, Norville Rodgers, and not wolf down my food like some kind of animal. I helped direct the elves when they were cooking, and I won't have you wasting my meal treating it like a competition."
He swallowed hard. "Like, yes ma'am."
Tracey snickered at her boyfriend, but I noticed she didn't try to argue either. Which I had to admit was smart, my mother was a scary woman.
We ate and talked, enjoying the prime rib and the sides and then dessert. Finally, we finished and retired to the living room. Val had let my mom have run of the place and she'd sent the elves to gather all the gifts as she'd decorated. The tree was HUGE, and the pile of gifts underneath it almost as big, and I could see everyone's excitement as we piled in, ready for presents.
There were a lot to get through. I'd made most of mine. I'd been working on a few designs for shielding equipment, and my current standout was a wrist cuff. The shell was leather, with a silver core, and I'd stitched the runes in with silver thread. I'd made one for basically everyone I wasn't having sex with (and Hermione) and when I explained what they did, they seemed to love them.
For Suzie I'd made an enchanted music box. Spatial expansion (not much, just enough to hold a cabinet's worth of stuff) and it played the song 'Once Upon a December' from Anastasia, which was a Disney movie she adored.
Seras got a pair of enchanted sunglasses I'd based on Alucard's. While she could go out in the sun, the brightness was often inconvenient for her and the glasses were warded against UV on top of protecting from luminosity. I'd gotten the wards from the vampire grimoire actually, or at least the concept for them, and I was pretty proud of the things.
I'd made Natasha a custom spellbook, enchanted to create index glyphs that condensed whole pages of text down to symbols. Basically she could fill the entire book and then condense it into a heading in the table of contents, then fill the page with those headings so she had dozens of books in the one volume.
The enchanting on that one had been a pain in the ass, but I'd cheated and bound it in dragon leather, which held way more magic without damage.
Fleur got a horse harness that would let her pour energy into it to refuel her horse. Don't ask me how that works, I got the enchantment from the Spells of Astaroth and Natasha and I had to tinker with it for weeks. I'm still convinced we only managed because of the Diadem (that thing made projects SO much easier, and it turned Natasha on like crazy, though we did NOT fuck while she was wearing it, the first time had gone poorly).
They'd each gotten ME something too, though mostly just little stuff they thought I'd like. Snacks I liked, clothes they'd seen me looking at, a wand holster. I got a few new enchanting texts and some inscribing pens from my mother, a badass new jacket from Sirius, a broomstick from Harry, Stori, and Blaise, and a variety of interesting stones and metals for me to experiment with enchanting on.
One thing I'd noticed was how lively everything was with so many people around. Every present was a big event, every reaction was exciting and more fun for being shared. It was a great feeling, and I could see how much Fleur and Gabi seemed to enjoy it. Harry had gotten used to being showered with affection by Stori, but big family events like these was new for my Veela and her sister.
With her allure, Fleur had to limit her interactions with men. Her dad was mostly inoculated because of his constant exposure to her mom, but no other relatives were allowed over on holidays. Christmas was just a four person event. Here though, with most of us being devils and warded against their allure, they were able to enjoy the holiday so much more.
When we finished up with all the presents, I was ordered to wait downstairs for ten minutes before bed, and my girls scampered off to prepare some kind of present. I was pretty sure I knew what, and I wasn't complaining. I said my goodbyes to everyone, said I'd see them in the morning, and then headed upstairs.
When I arrived at my room, I checked the time, then pushed the doors open to see…flesh. Just so much of it. Tits, asses, thighs, bellies, and beautiful faces piled on the bed, all five of my girls in skimpy lingerie and curled up against each other, waiting for me. Five sets of beautiful eyes locked onto mine as five gorgeous mouths, peeled back into hungry smiles. Granted, very DIFFERENT hungry smiles, but I'd study the variety in a minute. For now I was just going to take in the sight. Best Christmas ever.
December 25th , 2012, Edgley Manor, Ireland, 6:00 AM BST
The rest of my night was pretty much pure bliss. Granted, it got complicated balancing where to focus my attention, but I pulled it off, especially with judicious use of portals. Once we finished, I was ready for breakfast. Since we weren't at home, we didn't do our normal christmas breakfast, and I decided to go out and get some food for everyone.
I stepped out of the door and through a circle, emerging behind a building in Diagon Alley, then headed for the Leaky Cauldron. Tom's food was fantastic, and I thought it would make a better holiday meal than some cheap donuts or something.
When I entered, Tom wished me a merry Christmas and took my order, and I turned to scan the room while I waited…and froze.
A familiar amiable looking bald man sat at a table, eating a bowl of soup. His eyes flashed as he glanced at me, and I knew instinctively he wanted me to approach. Despite the fact that he'd never done anything inherently malicious to me, Gaunter made me…uncomfortable. Not just what he was capable of, something in his eyes, his posture, in a dozen other subtleties about his person made me wary.
"Happy Christmas." he said cheerfully as I sat down. "And how is my favorite devil on this most festive of days?"
"Not bad." I hedged. "Had a nice night. And you?"
He shrugged. "Christmas isn't my thing. I have ideological differences. But it's nice to know you've been having such a lovely day. I thought perhaps I might appeal to you for help. I have a small problem, and you might be just what I need to solve it."
That was…disquieting. I didn't want to be the answer to Gaunter's problems. I didn't want to be the answer to Gaunter's anything. I still had that same instinctive urge to avoid a deal with him at any cost. But…refusing to help when he asked seemed like it might be even worse than accepting, so I decided to humor him for now. Still, I needed more information before actually AGREEING to anything.
"What could someone like you need help with?" I asked cautiously. "I know how powerful you are. Can't you just do it yourself?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, obviously. But where's the fun in that? Games without rules are far too easy to win. My rules forbid me from direct intervention, excepting times when my opponent enables such an action through a breach of etiquette. This, sadly, doesn't count. My problem is no opponent, simply an itinerant pawn who doesn't know their place. I made a deal with someone, and that person has neglected to fulfill their end of the bargain. I can't have people assuming they can just walk all over me, now can I?"
Frowning, I considered the jovial looking man. "Well, who is this mysterious person and what did they do exactly? What was the deal?"
"Nothing excessive." He shrugged. "I simply found your progress a bit…plodding. I decided to take a more active role in punishing that little snake brat. He's often claimed to be the most powerful dark wizard in a century, and I gave him the opportunity to prove it." He smiled darkly. "After all, how does one claim to be the best without BEATING the best."
I felt my blood go cold. "Gaunter, what did you do?"
"I simply visited an old man in prison and made him an offer." His grin was vicious. "Dear Gellert was so very pleased to have that old spring back in his step." The smile dropped away. "Of course, not pleased enough to follow through on our deal. But what is given cannot be taken so easily. He made sure of that."
My hands were shaking. "You're talking about GRINDELWALD. One of Mevolent's generals, the man who fought Dumbledore to a near standstill in his PRIME, and a wizard widely considered to be the most terrifying master of dark magic in living memory? Voldemort might claim to be the best, but that's all cope. That dude is scared of OLD Dumbledore."
"Exciting isn't it?" He asked with a jaunty clap of his hands. "I do some love a spectacle. However, as I said, dear Gellert went back on his word. And so, I require a balancing of the scales. Find him, capture him, return him to his cell. I gave him his freedom, you will take it back."
"And why would I do that?" I asked bluntly. "I don't know Grindelwald, and I don't have anything against him personally. Not a fan of the magic supremacy, but its not like the ministry as a whole is much better. So why would I try to capture him?"
He looked amused. "Well, now we get to the meat of the matter. This, my boy, is the third time I've offered you a deal, and I asked, if you recall, for your help. You can decline, as is your right, but thus far you've enjoyed an…amicable relationship with me. It would be a shame if that were to change. There are others who would operate in my stead. More tractable individuals."
And there it was. Play ball or be the ball, and I had no desire to be at the end of that bat. I hated being bullied…but I wasn't stupid enough to shoot myself in the foot out of spite. "What do I get out of it?"
Because Gaunter worked like that. I'd get paid for this job, and more than likely he would try to make that payment ironic or poisonous in some way. It was why I'd turned him down the last two times. I just got that 'genie' sense from him. Gaunter LIKED fucking people over with the things that they wanted.
"What do you want? Riches? Women? Dear old daddy back? I can assure you, my lad, I pay better than any employer you can imagine. Simply state your desire and I will make it so…provided you accomplish your task."
There was the hook. To Gaunter, I suspected this was the point. Sure, he might actually be bound by rules preventing him from apprehending Grindelwald. But more likely, he'd expected the man to double cross him, and seen helping him as an opportunity to ensnare me in a ANOTHER kind of bargain.
"You're planning to pay up front?" I asked casually. "Doesn't seem like your style."
He shrugged. "Why not? I always keep my deals. Sure, the occasional person might go back on an agreement, but I'm a big believer in human nature. I see the good in people." He winked, letting me know he was being sarcastic, not that I needed it.
I pondered. "Alright." I said slowly. "I'll take your job. Do my best to complete it, in exchange for an answer to a question. If I fail, I fail, I won't be punished for coming up short, and I won't let you punish my girls either. Deal?"
His eyes sparkled, like a dark mirror to the twinkle Dumbledore always had. "Very well. A gamble then, how fun. So, your question? Do you want the location of a forgotten treasure? The true name of a beautiful faerie so you might bind her to your will? Maybe you'd like secrets of dark magic you could use to become unstoppable. I can tell you ancient secrets of all types. You need only ask."
I could tell he was tossing out the bait he thought I'd most want, the stuff that would pull me inot further deals. But I wasn't taking them. I already knew my question. "No thanks. All I want to know is this: What is the one piece of information you LEAST want me to be aware of at this exact instant."
He froze. In fact, EVERYTHING froze. The whole pub. A man eating soup paused with the spoon halfway to his lips, a gambled stilled with his hand out, chips suspended midair. "What did you just ask me?" Gaunter said quietly.
"You heard me." I said bluntly. "I'm not repeating myself. You might count it as another question."
His eyes narrowed as he glared at me, features stony for about thirty seconds before he burst out laughing. "Always with the surprises. Fine, the piece of information I least want you to have is the details of how to remove the horcrux from Harry Potter."
Now it was my turn to freeze, and then to curse. "Shit. My wording was off. I asked what the information was in the abstract, not for the details."
Of course, my wording hadn't been off. If I'd ACTUALLY tricked Gaunter into revealing something like that, it could have come back to bite me. He might not want me to know it because I might die and ruin his fun, or he might have thought about something stupid and trivial at the last second to change the answer. Or it might have WORKED, and then possessed him off to the point where he decided he disliked me more than Voldemort.
No. This was a safe outcome. An answer that wasn't an answer to a question that wasn't a question. It did give me some ideas about Harry I could pass on to Val, but I hadn't wanted to really accept anything from Gaunter. Putting him on the defensive left me seeming to have gotten played without any real consequence.
He mulled it over. "That…was sneaky." He finally said. "It's a tricky thing, the strands of what mortals call 'karma'. Certain actions entangle certain beings with others. You seem to have a natural gift for avoiding those entanglements."
I could tell from his voice that he had figured it out. Which was fine, really. It was done with, and he didn't seem mad, more respectful than anything. I think I'd impressed him.
After staring at me for a minute or two, he nodded slowly. "That amused me." He finally decided. "So I'll offer some advice. The answer to how things end can often be found in how they began. Do with that as you will."
And then, he was gone. No teleporting or magic, just…blink and you'll miss him. Time resumed as he vanished, and I sat at the table alone for a minute, thinking about what I'd learned and about my new task. I almost jumped out of my skin when Tom tapped me on the shoulder, making the older man yelp and stumble back.
"Peace, lad!" He laughed, holding up a hand while he hoisted a paper bag by the handle in the other. "I was just bringin' your breakfast."
I laughed. "Sorry Tom." I handed him a gold coin. "Say, weird question, was I sitting here with anyone a second ago?"
He shook his head. "Not as I saw. But then, plenty of folk make that mistake for a second when they sit down. Part of the effect, don't you know?" He gestured across the table at the wall, and I blinked as I took in what was hanging there. A mirror, old and worn but well cared for, in a gilt frame.
My eyes narrowed as my reflection stared back…and then winked before blurring and becoming normal again. "Gotcha. Thanks Tom. Appreciate the food."
"You tell your ma we miss her dearly." He said with a wide grin. "And Happy Christmas to you both." I returned the sentiment and then headed out, slipping behind a building and teleporting home. I would wait until tomorrow to let them know about Grindelwald. After all, my agreement hadn't set a time frame.
Still, I got the impression I didn't want the bastard out and about for too long. I'd have to consult Vincent and Skulduggery, they'd been around during the war and might know more about him. I put it out of my head though, as I set down my breakfast hall on the table and started taking it out of the spatially expanded bag. Now it was time to eat.
December 27th , 2012, Nuremberg Castle, Austria, 6:00 AM BST
"Well, it looks like our information was good." I said dryly as we stared across the massive drop between out mountain perch and the dark foreboding fortress solidly thrusting up from the opposite peak.
Val snickered. "Maybe not. Maybe Grindelwald was a big fan of open concept."
Several of my peerage members snickered as we stared at the giant ass hole that had been blown out of the side of the tower we were looking into. I didn't blame them. The ones who were snickering weren't wizards or witches. D.B, Shaggy, even Scooby. They all thought this was funny. They thought since we had so many people with us and were devils this was going to be an easy job. They were wrong.
Gellert Grindelwald. People liked to compare to him Voldemort. Voldemort himself had liked to do that. The second coming of Grindelwald, the heir of Grindelwald, Voldemort had basked in those accusations. But one thing he'd never done, not once, was claim to be BETTER than Grindelwald.
Even Voldemort, that fucking egomaniac, knew better than to call himself the equal of a man who nearly brought Europe to its knees. Grindelwald had been, from all accounts, the equal, if not the better, of Dumbledore in his prime. Their duel was STILL talked about to this day, in hushed tones and fraught whispers when it was brought up at all.
It wasn't just the witches and wizards who knew of him either. Grindelwald had been the rare wizard who had made a name for himself among the sorcerers. A man who had wielded a wand and stood shoulder to shoulder with Mevolent and his generals, sorcerers so feared and dangerous that the reverberations of what they'd done was still shaking the world to this day.
So no. I was not laughing. It wasn't funny. Grindelwald was back, he was in his prime, and he'd clearly been given SOME kind of boost, judging by the way he'd blown out the wall of a prison he'd designed to hold his most powerful enemies (top of the list most likely being a much younger and more vital Albus fucking Dumbledore). We weren't on a fetch quest. We were heading for a run in with the secret final boss. We were on our way to fight Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts. Fucking Gaunter.
"This is bad." I said bluntly, my eyes flicking to Skulduggery. "I'm desperately hoping I'm blowing things out of proportion. Please tell me I'm overreacting."
He sighed. "I'm not sure that's possible." He admitted. "Grindelwald…Grindelwald was dangerous in a way even the other generals weren't. In some ways, he was an out of context problem for us. Too much versatility mixed with a ridiculous amount of power. But we have adepts who can do plenty, and he was still more than a match for our strongest. There's a stigma against witches and wizards in our world. You're considered weak. Jacks of all trades master of none. It's looked down on. For someone like him to stand equal to people like Baron Vengeous. To Nefarian Serpine. Yes. This IS bad."
Val looked confused. "We beat Serpine though." She protested. "And we're way stronger now. We can take on Grindelwald. They beat him before."
"Dumbledore beat him." I corrected. "Dumbledore is to magic what Mozart was to music. And that was in his prime. I mean…it's possible we could convince him to take some elixir and duel him for us again, but honestly, if he wanted it he could have taken it whenever. And I don't think old man Dumbledore is taking prime of his life Grindelwald."
Skulduggery shook his head. "That fight was closer than most like to admit. I wasn't there, but I know people who were. It went on for hours, and Dumbledore barely won. In fact, a lot of people insist that he shouldn't have. They say Grindelwald had him dead to rights, but he hesitated for some reason."
"So that's a no on Dumbledore." I said. "Lightning ain't striking twice. So we need a plan. I wanted to see this place to get a look at what he's capable of. Nurmengard Castle was built to house Grindelwalds greatest foes. It's the work of a master enchanter with decades of experience and the mind of a virtuoso, dedicated solely to the binding and subduing of the most powerful wizards in the world, and he popped it like a champagne cork."
Everyone's mood seemed to be dimming as they came to terms with what we had to face. Even Val was looking serious. My Queen had an arrogant streak in her, especially after she became a devil, and it was well earned. I was glad she was paying attention now though.
"So…what do we do?" I asked my bishop. "How do we prepare. We have no clue what he can bring to bear, no idea how strong he is now. Assuming he was given an upgrade, and I think it's safest that we do, what can we get ready for to make sure we can survive a fight with one of the scariest dark wizards to ever live, on steroids."
"Well, my first bit of advice is to consult the man who beat him last time." Skulduggery said bluntly. "And as for the second…" He looked down at his skeletal hands. "You'll need your people in top form."
I blinked in shock. "You mean…Lord Vile?" I knew about Skulduggery's past as one of Mevolent's generals. Not the how or why of it really, just that he'd been that person, and he'd been fucking SCARY. Scary enough that even among the necromancers they walked softly around him. Skulduggery told me Bermuda himself had been wary of Lord Vile.
More than anything, this seemed to shake Val. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. "That's…are you sure?"
The skeleton detective chuckled bitterly. "It won't be my first time facing Grindelwald. We never fought to the death, but we butted heads a few times. Lord Vile CAN hurt him. Especially now, with the new powers I have to call on."
"I think you're overlooking something very important." Said Natasha quietly. "Gellert IS a master enchanter, and now that he's free, he'll be putting those skills to work. His first goal will undoubtedly be shelter and a fallback position. If we choose to hunt him down, we must do so with the realization that we will be up against the most fiendishly powerful defenses he can conceive and enact in a short time."
I raised an eyebrow. "Gellert? You knew him?"
"I did." She said with a nod. "Remember, he was a student at Durmstrang. He was quite gifted. Some of the alterations he made to the school remain to this day, and they cannot be changed. In terms of enchantment, he long surpassed my prowess, even before graduating. Not to say he lacked as a combatant, but his mind was always more geared toward research. He applied that to his combat skills as well, however. Perfecting spells, refining his casting. He would drill the same charm, the same spell, for hours until he could perform it effortlessly. If Albus Dumbledore was Mozart, Gellert Grindelwald was Da Vinci."
That..was a good point. "Amelie might be able to help." I said after a minute. "She was is student, and is widely considered one of the most talented enchanters on the planet. With Dumbledore coaching us on combat and Amelie helping us prepare for his enchanting, we might pull this off." I turned to Tracey. "I'll need your help too. You're not as focused on Enchanting as I am, but you have the talent for it. You notice things I miss."
"We're getting ahead of ourselves." Said D.B. "I know that you're busy looking ten steps ahead toward our fight with Grindelwald, and that's good, but we need to TAKE those steps. Which means-"
"We need to find him." I finished. "I know. I'm hoping Dumbledore has some ideas there too. They WERE archnemeses. He's got to know something about the guy. Maybe Amelie too. Before we can track him down, we need more information. It's not like we can just use a tracking spell." I paused. "Actually." I pulled out my wand, trying to focus on the point me spell. Nothing. "Nope. No dice."
D.B looked thoughtful. "We might be able to help. We ARE detectives. I can work with Skulduggery, not to mention we have some friends back in the states who might be able to lend a hand. My friend Velma is a genius, and I bet she could cook up some kind of algorithm to find him with facial recognition."
The others look confused, but I nodded slowly, getting excited. "Grindelwald isn't just a wizard, he's a wizard whose been in PRISON since the forties. No way he's up on cameras and facial rec. If he's popping around getting materials, which he'd need to if he wants to enchant a whole fucking base, there's a good chance he showed up on camera somewhere. We need an image of him in his youth though. We can talk to Dumbledore about that. Maybe a still of him from their fight or something."
This was a real, solid lead. Maybe not enough to break the case wide open, but it was a tangible direction to take.
Natasha sighed. "I suspect we are taking this too lightly. I shall reach out to some of my sources. I've developed quite a network in my time on this earth. In fact, perhaps approaching Nicholas would be helpful. He was around during the war, and even fought against Mevolent's forces a time or two."
I remembered his fight with Bermuda, and wondered if the old necromancer might not have been on Mevolent's side during that conflict. It was another lead in case the current ones didn't pan out. I turned to Fleur. "We need to talk to him. Can you contact him?"
She grimaced. "Not directly. My family has some connection to him, but since reincarnating, my family members have been slowly pulling away. I suspect they can feel something different about me. Only Gabi doesn't seem to feel it, though perhaps she does and simply does not care. Maman was distant on my last visit. I do know someone who is quite friendly with the man, however. My grandmother."
"The slutty one?" I asked with interest. I got a lot of glares for that, but I pointed at my Veela. "She said it, not me."
Tracey rolled her eyes. "Don't sleep with Fleur's sexy grandma. It's tacky."
I slapped Natasha on her generous booty, earning a squeak. "But sexy grandmas are my thing now." I said innocently.
The redhead seemed torn between blushing and glaring, which I enjoyed. Natasha was far too composed most of the time. Making her squirm was kind of cool. "Anyway, contact your grandma. We'll meet with her to see if she could take us to…wherever he is." I turned to Natasha. "Assuming you don't know."
She smirked. "I only meet with Nicholas occasionally to restock on elixir. Perenelle doesn't like me much these days. And after I introduced them, too. What an ungrateful girl."
I chuckled a bit, feeling much better with a solid plan. Granted, it was a plan to make a plan, but still, that was better than winging it. I'd gotten out of Gaunter's little trap without any debts accrued or serious fuckups, and now I was on the way to a smart and careful fight with Grindelwald.
Besides that I'd passed on the information about the Horcrux to my people, and they should know how to free Harry soon. Once he was down I could destroy the Horcrux in the ring, then we only had one more to take care of before Voldemort would be just as killable as any other immortal lich with access to horrifying ancient magic. Well…maybe I did still have some shit to figure out.
As usual pat-reon has the advance chapters at that site /malcolmtent
