While Lucifer was being nourished milk's nectar directly from the source of Kanan's and her Succubus mother Lilim's breasts, across the ocean, Robert returned to North America.
The Graves family had been waiting for good news. Instead, when they heard the hearing had accomplished nothing and that Morningstar had walked away clean, people snapped.
{Robert! You're the disgrace of the family!}
{Uncle, why would you provoke that monster? Now all of us are laughingstocks!}
{This is your fault! You killed my father!}
{Uncle, what were you thinking? The family elevated you and this is how you repay us? If you can't get that creature out of the estate, I'll ask Great-Grandfather to expel you!}
The family group chat exploded. One furious message after another etched itself across his Whatsapp, all of them aimed at Robert. To them, this was completely unfair, why should they suffer for something he'd stirred up with Morningstar?
The sharp words cut like blades.
Mr. Robert Graves stared at the accusations, breathing harder and harder as a faint flash of red glimmered in his eyes. 'Blame me? Did I go after boy's assets for personal fun? Wasn't it to strengthen the family? Did I climb the ladder and not use my influence to help you?'
Back when everything was going smoothly, every one of them had been respectful, flattering, calling him "Big Bro," "Uncle." But the moment trouble came, they shoved every ounce of responsibility onto him?
Robert didn't even notice how badly he was losing control, his emotions were skewing hard, feeding his anger down the most extreme path, it felt like a dark flame burning through the back of his mind, threatening to erupt at any moment. And now their accusations became the 'final' straw.
'Snap!'
Robert slammed his notebook shut and threw it into the fireplace. Then using floo powder, he stepped straight into the flames and traveled to the nearest public Floo to Graves estate before apparating the rest of the way.
The Graves estate
Far above the clouds, Usaki, the Rayquaza, cracked open one massive eye, watching Robert slip through the hole into the manor grounds. Seeing no danger, the dragon closed its eyes and drifted back to sleep.
"Uncle?!"
A Graves family member, one of those trapped inside the estate, had been wandering around out of boredom.
Then Robert's sudden appearance startled him so badly he nearly tripped, he'd been one of the people screaming at the man earlier and thought he had come to settle score.
But then something clicked, and joy burst across his face. "How did you get in? Has that monster finally left?"
"I came through the pig hole," Robert said flatly.
The calm answer shattered the man's hopeful fantasy, he stared in disbelief, "Uncle, how could you bow to Morningstar?!"
"Wasn't that for you? For you useless deadweights who dragged me into provoking him in the first place?"
Without another word, Robert quietly drew his wand, "Since you think I've made a mistake, then you won't be a Graves any longer."
"Uncle, what do you mea-"
A flash of green swallowed his vision. His body hit the floor with a dull thud, eyes still wide with disbelief. His own uncle... had killed him?
Robert stared into those lifeless, unblinking eyes for a few seconds, then stepped over the corpse without a shred of hesitation and headed deeper into the manor in search of his next target. A massacre began.
No one in Graves family ever imagined that the man who returned wasn't Robert, but a reaper wearing his face. Caught completely off guard, most never even raised their wands before a single spell ended them. It wasn't until someone finally noticed the slaughter and screamed that a few others rallied together and forced the killer back.
Robert was no powerhouse. He was only a little stronger than an average Auror, and several full-grown wizards working together pushed him to the limit. After blowing apart a few rooms in frustration, he Disapparated and fled the ancestral grounds.
Soon after, wails and sobs filled the estate. Eight Graves family members lay dead by Robert's hand. For an ordinary 'pure-blood family', that was the population of three generations.
Even for the once-prosperous Graves, it was a devastating blow. Worse than what Morningstar' and his pet had done. And most of the victims were young, the Graves line was effectively severed, their decline now inevitable.
In the middle of that grief, an old man moved slowly among the bodies, collecting one by one.
It was Percival Graves.
Sadness shone in his eyes, but so did something else, hard to name. Everyone was too lost in their grief to notice his quiet muttering.
"Dead is fine... saves me the trouble of doing it myself. I could never bring myself to act anyway... Robert's change... is this Morningstar's work?"
Carrying the eight corpses, the old man walked toward the back hill where the family graves lay.
"Truly the Devil he said..."
By the next morning, news of the massacre had swept across North American wizarding world, sending shockwaves through entire community. Had Robert gone insane?
At first, many thought it was just a rumor, but one Graves survivor after another stepped forward to confirm it. The family was practically finished; who cared about saving face anymore? Once they'd gathered the bodies, every survivor crawled out through the hole. Usaki hadn't moved to stop them at all.
Everyone assumed Robert had snapped under the weight of blame and guilt, driven into madness. The 'International Confederation of Wizards' struck his name from their rolls, and MACUSA issued a hefty bounty on his head.
Aside from Percival, no one even thought to suspect Lucifer. Magic didn't have to obey mundane logic, but still, just yesterday Robert had returned to North America, acting completely normal the entire way.
Not a hint of the Imperius.
"So many dead?"
With the task done, Usaki had naturally returned to her father and brought news that hadn't yet spread to the rest of the world.
Lucifer poured himself a glass of rum, and drank with vigor. In his mind, Robert would probably kill a couple of people before being noticed and subdued. Instead he'd taken out almost ten and even managed to escape.
"So that old man hadn't intervened?Did he truly not care? Or was there something else going on?"
Considering it for a moment, he found no clear answer, and let the matter go. The result was good enough. This hadn't been about revenge, he'd simply wanted to test his Chaos magic on a wizard, Robert was just the nearest labrat, nudging emotions into chaos, quietly unraveling reason.
.....Far more subtle than regular spells, and much harder to defend against, the downside was controlling intensity and direction of emotional push was tricky. The 'following' days were quiet, Lucifer spent most of his time with Nicolas studying the purified corpses, Gellert had brought back from Albania.
They managed to extract spiritual material, though quite less than what a living person possessed, pitiful, really. But with enough quantity, it still helped ease shortage of raw resources for Flamel.
Meanwhile, thanks to efforts of his wife Elmesia, joint order from several Ministries of Magic was 'finally' settled, he would have even not remembered to ask, if she hadn't seduced him in coming over for ten or twenty years.
When Fudge received the shipment, he was baffled. How had Lucifer filled such a massive order in such a short time? He even suspected the goods were defective. But after random inspections showed everything met the standard, he could only sigh and pay the remaining balance.
It wasn't that he didn't want to oppose Lucifer, he simply couldn't anymore. Rosier's warning had silenced most of the wizarding world.
No one wanted to end up having a chat with Grindelwald. Who was 'far' away in Albania, he was tired dealing with Inferi's, then busy arranging a funeral for Voldemort. After searching for half a month, he had finally cornered his prey.
The old and new Dark Lords were about to face each other for the first time. Deep inside the Albanian forest, a brutal chase was underway.
A long, thin shadow slid rapidly across the forest floor, weaving through dense undergrowth to hide its trail as it fled from the pursuer overhead. Grindelwald was hovering above, stopping and starting as he followed. He wasn't familiar with the terrain, but from the sky he held all the advantages he needed. With the height and tracking magic he learnt from Makima, losing the target wasn't a concern.
Even so, he didn't dare strike recklessly, real target wasn't Voldemort. It was Nagini. If he attacked rashly, Voldemort might choose to use the snake as a shield to buy time.
With the moonlight and occasional flashbomb Grindelwald tossed down, the running shape became visible: a massive python, and clinging to the tip of its tail was a rat. 'Yeah... that rat must be Voldemort, Nagini is a powerful magical creature.'
Voldemort in his current state couldn't possess her body at all. So weak as he was, the Dark Lord was forced to inhabit a creature with almost no magical resistance.
Like a rat.
And right now, Voldemort the rat was too busy desperately directing Nagini through the forest, "Damn it."
'Where had this flying wizard come from? And why had he come all the way to Albania to hunt me? A follower of Dumbledore? Impossible, his tiresome talk.... about love and compassion could never produce someone like this... This man was clearly cut from the same cloth as me, a dark wizard.'
Boom!
Suddenly, a surge of magic exploded from the sky, not aimed at Voldemort or Nagini, but at the patch of land ahead of them. Grindelwald had sharp eyes; he spotted several cave openings in that direction. If Nagini slipped inside, he might lose her.
The ground erupted. Chunks of stone blasted outward, collapsing the messy tunnel entrances beneath layers of debris, Voldemort nearly snapped his rat's teeth in frustration. He scrambled to think of a new escape route, and that moment of hesitation slowed his command.
Nagini, confused by the sudden wall of rubble ahead, instinctively slowed down.
"A perfect chance." Grindelwald struck like lightning. Vines burst from the soil, growing in a frenzy and twisting together into thick cords that wrapped hard around the python.
Voldemort snapped back to awareness and screamed at Nagini to break free, but it was already too late. The vines clung like they had rooted themselves into her scales. A beam of dark light shot from Grindelwald's wand, hitting the snake with deadly precision.
A sharp, agonized hiss tore through the forest. Nagini was convulsing violently, flinging her body with such force that the rat possessed Voldemort was thrown off her tail.
Landing lightly on the forest floor, Gellert watched Nagini thrash, then sighed and cast a spell putting her fully under, "Rest now, old friend. That was a necessary measure, once you recover, you may thank me."
He had grown more sentimental, he realized. More nostalgic, there were few left from his era, and Nagini was one of the rare ones, someone whose willpower he had always respected.
Blood-cursed beings rarely kept their sanity past their twenties. In that way, she was a lot worse than Greengrass and their inherited curse.
Grindelwald raised a hand.
The rat Voldemort had been thrown became rigid midair, frozen in place. A stone on ground transformed into a cage and snapped closed around it.
A piercing squeal split the silence. Black mist burst out of rat's body as it shriveled in an instant.
Trying to trap the mist, but no matter what spell Gellert used, it slipped through his magic like the two existed in separate dimensions.
"'Who are you?!" hissed a cold serpent-like voice from within the mist, dripping with murderous intent.
Grindelwald smiled faintly and stopped trying to capture him, hands clasped behind his back as he studied the swirling darkness. "You're truly pathetic if you still have to ask. The entire world has been in an uproar, yet you're so out of touch you don't even know who I am. With strength like this, how dare you let people call you the Dark Lord?"
"Who are you??!!" Voldemort repeated, voice flat but the agitated mist betraying his unrest.
"Gellert Grindelwald."
"You?" Voldemort instantly understood, emotions of shock and fury tangled in his voice were palpable, "Weren't you imprisoned in... Nurmengard? It's been decades. How are you still alive?"
He'd been born in 1926. During his school years, Grindelwald's influence was at its peak. At first Voldemort had even taken the wizard as his standard, dreaming of becoming a ruler of the world. But later, he dismissed the man entirely.
The reason was simple: Grindelwald lost to Dumbledore, a loser wasn't worth admiring.
Never in his wildest calculations did he imagine the two of them would meet decades later, and certainly not like this, while Voldemort was reduced to something even less than a wandering spirit.
What enraged him most was how unprovoked all this felt. Whom had he offended? Why was this man going after him like a rabid dog?
"Grindelwald, you and I have never even met. We actually share a common enemy! Why hunt me down? Go bother Dumbledore!"
The words came out as a furious roar from the swirling black mist.
"Dumbledore? I'll deal with him soon enough. But you and I have our own unfinished business." Grindelwald smiled with quiet amusement. As he spoke, casually stowed the unconscious Nagini away.
If Voldemort had a face, it would have twisted with murderous rage. He wasn't used to having things stolen from him.
"What grudge? We've never even crossed paths!" The mist forced his voice into something coldly controlled.
"It's simple. I don't like the title 'Dark Lord' being tossed around," Inspecting his nails which needed to be cut down a length, Grindelwald talked as if he was dealing with a teenager, "A dark wizard who never even made it beyond Britain calls himself the Dark Lord. Do you really think you deserve that? But the world recognizes you terribly, so not much I can say."
He lifted his chin, ounces of arrogance sharpening his expression, "Still, from this day forward, I am the 'first' Dark Lord, and you're the second. Since I'm not dead, what gives you the right to inherit my title? So I'm going to kill you."
"Enough!" Voldemort finally snapped. The black mist erupted outward, splitting into multiple streams that shot in every direction at high speed, "I'm the creator of this title. It's pathetic that you couldn't even make one of your own. Grindelwald! I will return. And when I do, I'll show you what the real Dark Lord can do!"
His voice faded slower than his escape, Grindelwald watched until the last thread of mist vanished, then his brows drew together.
"That's a strange state... somewhere between life and death. More unusual than a ghost, what I'm seeing might just be a kind of projection, a placeholder. Voldemort's real soul may not even be here."
He began analyzing Tom Riddle's condition. Magic needed to strike an actual target to work, every spell Gellert'd just attempted had passed clean through, as if Voldemort didn't exist at all.
The only way to kill him completely would be the long route: destroy the Horcruxes one by one, revive Voldemort, then finish him.
'Herpo the Foul's' invention amazed Grindelwald. Aside from the horrific cost to the soul, Horcruxes were almost a flawless path to immortality. But why, in all of history, had no one truly become through them?
"The curse of immortality..." Gellert murmured, silver hair stirring as he rose into the air, then he reached out through space to contact Lucifer, "I found my friend? Also tried to detain Voldemort, but failed. Magic couldn't touch him at all."
"Did you try Mystic arts? A Demonic curse cast through someone's real name."
Grindelwald paused for a moment, he actually hadn't, Demonic curses required ceremony and a full ritual. There hadn't been time, "Anyway, I will reign in my friend, she's completely wild now, anyway, what shall I do with these Inferis', there were a thousand here..."
Lucifer thought for a moment, he could give them to Ainz for revival, but then decided better of it in his consciousness to purify, and give them a burial, "Tomorrow morning I'll come find you, just hand them over to me."
"You know what, I was thinking... why not give a few to Albus, he was probably bored during the holidays."
......
"Astoria? What are you doing here?"
Taming a little paparazzi wasn't a big deal for Lucifer, Rita Skeeter didn't have the guts to betray him anyway, she just wanted another exclusive. Add a layer of mental safeguards and she'd stay obedient.
After playing with the pets for a while, he headed upstairs to wash up and sleep. The moment he opened the door, he stopped, there was a small lump under the blankets, and a tiny head poked out.
Astoria saw him and broke into a smile, then sighed in frustration, "My sister's way too loud. She threw a tantrum over a movie, so I lost patience and used a 'Stunning Spell.' She shut up after that, but I couldn't sleep. So... I came here."
Lucifer's eyelid twitched, using a 'Stunning Spell' on your own sister, you know he originally believed Astoria's temperament didn't suit Slytherin at all and leaned more toward Hufflepuff.
But now? Maybe he'd been too quick to judge. The girl was a Slytherin.
"So you want me to keep you company?"
He asked, ruffling her hair.
"No, no, you can sleep normally. I'll doze off once I'm tired."
After washing up quickly, Lucifer got into bed like she wanted. They chatted about coming school year and about Underage wizard tournament that was giving him a headache.
Astoria agreed, only a little reluctantly, that once Darcy arrived she'd help keep Daphne in check so the two wouldn't constantly be at each other's throats.
As they talked, the girl tugged her blanket tighter, Lucifer's eyes flickered, and he casually asked, "By the way, Astori, when was last time you took your potion?"
She tilted her head, thinking. "End of November, I think. Why?"
"No reason, just didn't want you to forget. The weather's been unstable, you could catch a cold. Take another dose in a couple days, I will get you to see the Dryad lady."
"Okay, got it."
A few minutes later, her voice grew softer and softer until, finally, she wrapped herself around one of his arms and drifted off. Lucifer stared at the ceiling for a long time, unmoving. After about half an hour, he gently slid his arm free and began checking her condition carefully. Slowly, his expression relaxed, it was better than he'd expected, much better, how did it come to this, you ask?
She had been undergoing a body transformation to be nature's spirit.
xxxxxx
Dawn paled sky by the time, Lucifer arrived at the Reichstag in Berlin. The grand chamber had long since been cleared. Only Grindelwald remained, seated alone behind the podium, staring blankly at rows of empty chairs. He looked lost in memories of old battles and long gone faces.
He didn't stir until the boy appeared.
"Oh?" Grindelwald blinked back to the present, glanced over, and immediately picked up on the boy's happy state, "Good news?"
"Something like that," Lucifer didn't bother hiding it and explained the mutation in Astoria's blood.
When he finished, Grindelwald nodded in sudden understanding, "Don't rush the process, I talked a lot in the bar, and I gained a deeper intricacies of magicules and fairies. The most important thing in learning magic is your mindset... I made many mistakes when I was young because I wanted results too quickly."
He twirled his fingers absently while saying something that would chill anyone else, "And don't worry about materials for your experiments. Most people in this country welcome my return, but a few stubborn fools still resist. Some even tried taking shots at my followers after I was imprisoned. For the sake of your little girlfriend, their sacrifice is worthwhile."
"Yeah, at least her stuffering is gone."
"By the way..." Grindelwald shifted topics, "I found a few bugs crawling around, not Dumbledore's."
Lucifer wasn't in the mood for small fries, he had a dinner coming up with Granger's, "Why tell me? Just deal with them."
"I'm planning to move on a few neighboring countries." Grindelwald finally revealed his plan, "This stalemate is tedious. Might as well hit them hard, crush their morale, and force Dumbledore to negotiate."
"Oh?" He caught on immediately what he intended, "You want to dig a hole and wait for him to jump in? Don't accidentally bury yourself."
Gellert Grindelwald was powerful, no doubt. But even he couldn't stand alone against several hundred trained Aurors. In the end, they were all flesh and blood, a direct hit from Hit Wizard's spell could kill anyone.
"That's exactly why I'm telling you." His smile deepened with mischief, then turned into a full on evil grin, which eerily was similar to the boy's, "Interested in joining the fun? Your human-transfiguration magic is already perfected. Tell me, if two Grindelwalds suddenly appeared, how do you think people would react?"
This old man... was surprisingly creative. Him disguised as Grindelwald, that would be easy. Even if Dumbledore showed up, he wouldn't notice right away. And it wasn't every day one had a chance to fight a hundred Aurors at once.
"Contact me beforehand, preferably push it to next month. If things get too noisy, Dumbledore will drag Fawkes around the world again."
Grindelwald nodded with a dark chuckle which echoed in the Chamber and handed the bag of Inferi's to him. Then they went their separate ways.
xxxxxxx
"So you went texting to McGonagall?"
"Because I thought- and Professor McGonagall agrees with me, that, that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black! Why is that so hard to grasp for him?!"
"Do they know it was you?"
"I don't think so, she had probably used some kind of excuse in checking over any fishy gifts to Harry."
"Okay, but Hermione... I thought you promised me you would just accept Potter's idiotic behavior?"
"I don't understand how you can just accept that your friend is willing to risk his life all for riding a stupid broom!" Hermione was so out of her regular nonsense, she yelled at him without even thinking, "He's our friend, how do you not care about him? I thought I could trust you, Lucifer. Do you even care about me? Or you are just selfis-"
Shit, she instantly covered her mouth, horrified at what she had just said. Tears immediately stung her eyes, "I-I swear, I didn't mean...."
"His life choices are not mine to interfere with," Lucifer sucked in a shaky breath and closed his eyes, wishing for this nightmare to be over. Without saying another word, he clenched his jaw, opened the door and ran a sprint towards the stairs, but Hermione was quick to reach out for him, her eyes growing wide.
"Lucifer, please," she pleaded, tugging at his arm; tears were now forming on the lids of her eyes, "I-I didn't mean to say that. I k-know you care about me...what I just said was n-nothing but my stupid mouth's r-rambling, I swea-"
"Hermione, let go," Lucifer said as calmly as possible, trying to avoid her eyes, wanting to take the next step.
"No, no, please," Hermione cried holding his arm tighter when he tried to move once again, "Y-You have t-to listen! I swear that wasn't me, I---"
Lucifer shook his head, unwilling to talk about this in the angry state that he was in. Instead, he yanked his arm out of Hermione's tight grip and walked downstairs, closing the door behind non-verbally despite his girlfriend's cries for him to stop.
He angrily made his way through the corridors, walking rapidly as though he was looking for an escape.
As expected, however, Hermione chased after him using Alohmora, the placement of her footsteps traced every single step of her boyfriend in front of her. "Baby, wait, please," She called, running slightly to catch up to him. "Stop walking away, you do this all of the time!"
She opened the front entrance gate.
"What?! You are not my Lucifer? I swear he was just two or three steps ahead?! Fuck it, have you seen Lucifer?!"
"I-I don't know a-anything, M-Miss?"
"Lucifer, come back?!"
'Sometimes betrayal comes from the ones we expect the least. I just didn'texpect it would be you, Hermione.....'
xxxxx
Almost two hours later.
Hermione let out a loud sob and tried to find Lucifer everywhere. But for the curse of Merlin, she just couldn't, he hadn't gone to Greengrass either.
She wanted to tell him that didn't mean anything, what she said. It just slipped out, because of how angry she was. That Lucifer was the most important person in her life and she trusted him more than anyone!
Dejectedly, Hermione went to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut behind her, crawled into bed and held the pillow tight. She never told him about her inner feelings, but her boyfriend was her own anchor, her own rock, her own support.
Touching the necklace Lucifer gave her on her birthday last year, clutching the pillow, then crying her eyes out until she fell asleep.
........
She didn't even want to be looked at by her family or be herself right then.
Hermione wanted to apologize to Lucifer but since he was avoiding her, it wasn't easy to do so.
She was thankful when everyone would return from break, maybe she'd have better luck finding him if he thought he could sneak through the Platform crowd.
xxxxxxx
Back in London, Lucifer found Daphne still asleep. He scooped her up and gave her a vigorous shake. The girl flopped back and forth like a rag doll. She woke up but stared blankly for several seconds.
Only after a long, foggy moment did she realize what was happening. Her lower lip trembled. "Lucifer, what was that for? You can wake me normally with a kiss, you know."
He tapped the girl between the brows, "When have I ever woken you up in under an hour? I don't have time today. Up. Wash your face, we're going to the station. Look at Astoria. She's been ready for ages, breakfast eaten. She's the older sister here."
"That's not true. I'm the older sister,"
Daphne muttered miserably, but she still got out of bed to change.
A little later, Lady Greengrass arrived to take the three of them to King's Cross. Platform 9 and 3/4 was already bustling, the moment Lucifer passed through, conversations died mid-sentence. People stepped aside instinctively, leaving him a clear path.
They tried to look away but couldn't stop glancing at him. In the Wizarding world, killing carried far more weight than in the Muggle one. He hadn't struck the fatal blows himself, but he'd forced more than a dozen wizards into corners they never escaped.
....A flourishing pure-blood family had collapsed practically overnight. That kind of power inspired awe and fear.
Well, exactly the effect he wanted. Not from the students, but from parents behind them. 'Oppose me if you want, but check whether your family tree can survive the consequences....'
Once aboard the train, three found an empty compartment, to both Astoria and Lucifer's visible surprise, it was Daphne who inquired about Granger, and why she wasn't here?
Sighing, he went looking.
.......
Of course, now that Hermione had actually managed to see Lucifer for what felt like an eternity of not seeing him, she was unable to actually talk.
Well, she was able to when her opened her compartment without bothering to even knock, and she impulsively called on his name.
But Lucifer didn't seem too keen on stopping for very long to talk with how cold it was on a January morning.
"Lucifer, please? Please talk to me?" Her voice crack was the only thing that got him to stop and look at her, hurt in his eyes, "Please... I was so stupid for saying what I said. You are the most important person in my life I trust you more than anything, with my life even. Even though Going to McGonagall was the right decision, I was just being stubborn about it with how irked I was at Harry's dismissive nature towards the possibility of it being sent to him by Sirius Black. But I have no right to say those horrible things to you. I am so sorry. P-Please forgive me!"
Lucifer looked and saw dark circles under eyes, she wasn't going to bed properly over the holidays, he wasn't able to stay mad at her after that, didn't want that to happen, but spend good days with family.
He stood there and Hermione slowly walked up to him and embraced him, both now feeling much warmer just by being so close to one another.
"I was really hurt when you said that," He said while her cheek was against his jacket.
"I don't doubt that for a second, and I should never have hurt you like that..." Hermione said, and Lucifer could tell that she was hurting as well from her own actions. She squeezed him tighter in the embrace, not wanting to let go of her boyfriend again "I'm so sorry, I really am....."
"It's okay, Hermione, honest," Lucifer said, wiping the stray tear that fell from her eyes. 'It's okay, because I care about you too much to ever be more than upset with you.'
He thought to himself.
The trip went by quickly with chatter and laughter between three girls discussing what each missed. Then they were at Hogsmeade... But at oak doors, students froze. Standing there, arms crossed and expression as sour as ever, was Snape.
Most of them were genuinely terrified, he gave them the worst trauma of their lives during exams.
Fortunately, the old bat wasn't there for them. When he saw Lucifer, he jerked his head toward a small side building, and walked inside.
Puzzled, he followed, motioning for his girlfriends to go ahead. As soon as he entered, Snape shut the door and got straight to the point, "I hear you have a large number of Inferi. Give me some. I don't need many. A hundred or two will do."
"P.. Professor," Lucifer almost laughed, but somehow resisted, "A hundred or two counts as 'not many' to you? Then how about giving me some instead?"
Snape was a man with no sense of boundaries and even less of social grace. Not only did he not bother with the basics of asking for favors, like maybe offering a gift or inviting someone to sit, he literally blocked the doorway and dragged Lucifer inside like a debt collector.
If he weren't powerful and an expert at potions, someone would have beaten him to death long ago, Lucifer honestly felt the urge to throw hands.
A part of him was ready to flip the seniority table and teach Snape how normal people interact with each other.
"Umm..." Snape sensed danger and took two tiny steps back, he clearly realized he'd said something outrageous, it was not Potter he was dealing. With a stiff cough, he added, a bit awkwardly, "I'm not asking for them for free. You're short on supplies, aren't you? I'll pay in Galleons."
To be honest, Snape also knew he was acting cowardly, but looking weak in front of Lucifer wasn't exactly shameful. Graves were enough.
"Sorry, Professor," he said with a bright, cheerful smile, "I'm not short on money. Galleons? They're basically dirt. I'm not interested."
Snape clenched his fist and glared, silently expressing pure disdain, Lucifer who had caught the look, and his smile faded in goodbye.
He turned like he was about to leave, making Snape panicked and darted in front of the door, "Fine, fine. What do you want then? Potions, recipes, something else?"
"Before we talk trade," Lucifer said, giving 'his' Head of House a slow once-over, "why don't you tell me what you want the Inferi for."
"I found a poison in an old text," Snape said bluntly. He didn't bother hiding anything, "It's colorless, tasteless, blends into any liquid. Once it activates, the victim's whole body rots, maggots that devour magic grow out of the flesh, and they die in endless agony."
Lucifer held out his hand. "Recipe." This was clearly vicious magic, had to examine it thoroughly to criticize it, of course.
Reluctantly, he fished out a piece of parchment and a quill and copied the formula, Snape's face darkened to a degree while he did.
While he wrote, Lucifer read. The brewing method aside, ingredients alone were horrifying, every line was nastier than the last.
"Can I have them now?" Snape asked impatiently when the boy folded the recipe away.
"Have what?" Lucifer blinked innocently, shuffling his robes for good measure, "We haven't discussed terms yet."
"I just---"
Halfway through the sentence, Snape realized he'd been conned again. By this little menace. 'Salazar Merlin, God, someone please come down and sent this boy to hell!'
"What do you want?" Snape inhaled deeply and hid the part of himself that wanted to knock this brat unconscious. He forced his voice to stay even.
In any trade, the worst thing is an imbalance in leverage. And somehow Snape was always the one in need when it came to Lucifer. On the rare occasions the boy came to him first, he always held some card which couldn't be refused.
"Professor... you only just 'found' this recipe, right? You must have gone treasure hunting again. And I'd guess you didn't come back empty-handed. Good things ought to be shared, I delivered on the Basilisk's goods, no need to hide...."
He'd noticed because there was still killing intent lingering around the old bat not aimed at him, but present.
Snape's expression shifted, he hadn't expected Lucifer to pick up on that. Tugging at his robes, clearly debating how much to admit, "You're familiar with 'The Magick Moste Evile?"
"Of course. There's a copy in the Restricted Section," Lucifer answered casually, he'd not only read nearly every book in the Restricted Section, but recreated in his space library. The 'Magick Moste Evile' was among the darkest volumes there, full of ancient curses even 'Soul's Afterlife lore'--- though much of it was outdated or impractical.
Snape shook his head. "The one in the Restricted Section isn't the original. It's been copied and edited by Merlin, knows how many people. The version I acquired isn't necessarily medieval original, but it's... 'much closer.' For example, that recipe I just gave you. Do you see it in that library copy?"
"That's true," Lucifer agreed, smiling brightly, "Then Professor, would you mind copying your version for me? I'll trade fifty Inferi."
"One hundred."
"No, I need them for my own work. Fifty is already generous."
"Seventy-five," Snape countered immediately, still haggling.
Lucifer then chose to bring out the big guns hidden, "If you're not satisfied, you can negotiate with my teacher, Nicolas Flamel. Just don't blame me for not warning you. His temper hasn't been great lately."
He didn't explain why, but ninety percent of the trouble was his own fault. Even Snape wasn't reckless enough to provoke a six-hundred-year old alchemist. With obvious reluctance, he accepted deal, though internally was ranting nonstop.
More than a thousand Inferi and it still isn't enough. Alchemists really are lunatics, Compared to them, he was practically a white wizard.
"You want the purified or the raw ones?"
"Raw, obviously. If they're purified, what poison is left?"
Next, Lucifer was just about to ask where Snape had gotten his copy of 'The Magick Moste Evile' when loud shouting erupted outside the door. The conversation had to end there.
He pushed the door open, entrance hall was packed, and at center of the crowd were usual stars of Hogwarts brawls,
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.
The two of them were like opposite ends of a magnet. Even if one lived on a rooftop and the other in a cellar, they'd still find a way to collide and spark chaos the moment school started.
Like now, Harry and Draco were locked in a messy fistfight, completely ignoring their audience. At least they'd kept things fair.
No wands.
Harry's was with Ron, and Draco's was in Goyle's hand.
Pure physical combat, also called... man's romance, right? The moment Snape realized Potter was involved, he perked up. Using his greasy hair and sallow face as a natural battering ram, he forced his way through the crowd.
He waited for Draco to land a knee to Potter's lower half, then instantly cast a spell to tear them apart. Being almost knocked in the jewels, Harry made a strangled, borderline indecent sound as he crumpled forward, too much in pain to talk.
Snickers were rippling around them.
"Impressive," Snape drawled the commentary, dragging out the syllables to make even busy students pay attention, "Classes haven't even started and you've already given the entire school a charming performance. Is this your idea of welcoming everyone back? Very dedicated, you are Potter. That ought to get house points from Minerva."
His sarcasm was sharp as always. The two culprits turned crimson, and Hufflepuff's good natured table burst into barely suppressed laughter.
"Malfoy, you tell me," Snape said, lifting a brow, "What exactly did you do this time to offend the famous Mr. Potter?"
What a devious man, Lucifer gave him a sidelong exxagerated eyeroll.
Starting by framing the situation and calling on Draco Malfoy first ensured that anything Harry said afterward could be brushed off as excuses.
Of course Harry wasn't sharp enough to catch on, and Ron definitely wasn't going to help.
"Professor," Draco put on a perfectly innocent face, "I only asked Potter how things were going with his new broom, and he punched me."
"Liar!" Harry's temper snapped, he wasn't a good boy anymore, now that his broom was snatched, "You insulted Neville for being a loud mouth, you called him a disgrace to pure-bloods!"
"Harry....." Neville wanted to cry.
"Did I say anything untrue?" Draco shot back, "Ask any pure-blood family and they'll tell you the same. I stated a fact. What, someone disagrees with you so you get to punch them now?"
He snorted, "What are you, the new Dark Lord, Potter?"
The Slytherins around nodded in agreement. A couple even praised Draco out loud, the Gryffindors, loyal as always, immediately defended Neville, and the argument was seconds away from exploding again when McGonagall arrived.
"What is all this! It's the first day back. Do you want me to start taking points already?" Her presence had more weight than Snape's. The heated back-and-forth died instantly.
"Mr. Morningstar," McGonagall surveyed the Great Hall until every student looked at the floor, regretting their actions and deeds. Only then did she soften a fraction and turn to him, "What happened?"
Not taking sides, Lucifer relayed both boys' stories calmly. After hearing two accounts, McGonagall's expression darkened even further, "Save your energy for something useful. Exams are next week, unless you're all confident in earning full marks?"
She turned to Harry and Draco, "You're lucky today isn't technically the 'first' official school day, so I won't deduct points. But after exams, both of you will report to Mr. Filch and help him clean the storage rooms."
Both boys mumbled their agreement, too terrified to say otherwise, McGonagall waved everyone off, and crowd dispersed into the Great Hall.
But Snape wasn't satisfied, he'd hoped to punish Harry, but once McGonagall made the call, he couldn't overturn it, and whispered to Lucifer about the time, place for their exchange.
As they walked into the hall, he suddenly felt a heavy stare aimed at him and Lucifer. Severus Snape looked up and nearly jumped.
Summer break had passed, it was time to rest, however in complete opposition to such a festival, Albus Dumbledore looked like Death had sent him a personal invitation to grow flowers on his funeral.
Although people outside Hogwarts and even those inside, liked to call Dumbledore a senile old man, the truth was that his appearance was never actually messy or deranged.
On the contrary, he dressed with great care and excellent taste. For the Welcoming Feast, end-of-term banquet, or any important announcement, he usually wore dark robes and a pointed hat.
During ordinary school days, he preferred long robes in purple or silver, made of silk-like fabric embroidered with elegant, expensive patterns.
Thing that never changed was how he kept his hair and long beard: flowing, neat, and slightly 'fluffy' in that iconic way of his.
But right now, Dumbledore's eyes were sunken, dark circles heavy beneath them. His skin looked dull and lifeless, he'd clearly lost weight.
Even his treasured white beard was a mess, with several sections hopelessly tangled. He was leaning against the back of his chair with his eyes closed, as if he'd fallen asleep.
It wasn't just Snape who noticed, students and professors alike could tell immediately. You'd have to be an idiot to miss how exhausted the Headmaster looked.
Everyone began to whisper about what on earth Dumbledore had been up to over the holidays to end up like this. What kind of trouble had left him so drained?
Their first instinct was, of course, to blame Grindelwald. It was clear that being to fight the Dark Lord had its downsides, you never knew when some catastrophe would be dumped on your head, whether you deserved it or not. It would be funny as hell if they knew the true culprits behind Dumbledore's current state were actually... Nicolas and Newt, his old friends or rather, the thousand Inferi they gave him to purify.
Purification was never simple.
Reversing the dark energy animating those corpses and restoring to a natural state was basically altering their very nature. One or two would be manageable. But a thousand?
It had squeezed Dumbledore dry.
Even the 'Elder Wand' was twitching like it had PTSD. And even then, they were only halfway done, the talk between Nicolas and Dumbledore before yesterday had been old Alchemist nagging him to work faster.
With Lucifer's guidance, Nicolas had just succeeded in creating two new alchemical life forms and was riding a wave of excitement. He had countless ideas waiting for materials to bring them to life, right now he was even more impatient than the Devil.
And Newt? Well, he just vanished. Even when Dumbledore sent him messages through WhatsApp, the old social anxiety patient Magizoologist was smart enough not to answer.
"..."
Shotting Dumbledore a sympathetic look, Lucifer made a mental note to buy him some honey-flavored sweets to help him recover. Snape, on the other hand, looked far more serious.
His quiet muttering was easily picked up by the sharp-eared boy beside him.
"Dumbledore... you aren't going to collapse before Voldemort returns, are you..."
Lucifer almost choked on his own laughter, he stared at Slytherin's Head of House with a bizarre expression, then patted Snape's shoulder and said in a mock-solemn tone, "Professor, the Headmaster is gravely ill, you must carry the burden."
Snape understood the meaning and gave him a speechless look, "Who said I want to be headmaster?" His only wish, motivation to keep going, was to see Voldemort die painfully. Everything else was irrelevant.
"No, no," Lucifer shook his head quietly, "You still don't get it, If you become headmaster can Dumbledore finally be free of all this day-to-day nonsense, right? Then he could focus completely on dealing with the two Dark Lords."
Snape's blood in veins froze, 'Come to think of it... that actually made sense. Running the school took up most of Dumbledore's energy, especially with Harry Potter around... Oh, and the future third Dark Lord Morningstar.'
If he became Headmaster = Dumbledore could relax = Voldemort would die faster.
There was even a little bonus, he could make Harry Potter's life hell. A tiny spark of ambition 'flared' in Snape's chest, and he didn't even notice when Lucifer had slipped away.
By the time he came back to himself, most of the students had returned, and he hurried back to his seat. As he passed Lupin, paused to deliver an ominous reminder, "Remus, don't forget to come to me tomorrow for your potion."
Lupin who had been happily chatting with Flitwick, simply smiled warmly, "Thanks for the reminder, Severus. I won't forget, you are a good man."
"Hmph." The Welcoming Feast started and ended without incident.
Aside from Filch adding two more items to the list of things banned from the school. (Not that any student paid attention) They just drifted off to their common rooms in small groups, to cram unfinished homework, others review for classes.
Hermione Granger's ideas were often morally questionable, but at least they helped Hogwarts students a lot, who weren't running around clueless anymore. They actually remembered to study now. She had whispered into his ears the moment he came to eat at Gryffindor table.
Normally, this witch would spend every spare moment revising before exams, even if she was already confident in everything.
But this time she hadn't seen Lucifer in almost two weeks. Video calls and text messages were ignored, so Miss Know-It-All actually took a bold step and asked Lucifer to go "moon-gazing" with her that night.
Once the castle had gone quiet and she was sure her roommates were asleep, Hermione cast an imperfect 'Disillusionment Charm' on herself.
And the two met downstairs in Common Room, Lucifer improved her spell, the witch happily wrapped her arms around his and the two headed toward the 'Forbidden Forest.' They planned to set up a small nest for the night in unicorn territory.
Sighing, he wouldn't really be getting any proper rest this week, schedule was already booked, tomorrow was Ginny, and after exams.
"Uooo~"
Sensing Lucifer's presence, three unicorns came galloping from afar, circling excitedly around him, he stroked each one in turn. When finally reached the youngest, he lifted it slightly... and its neck jiggled in a full ring of baby fat, which made Hermione break into quiet laughter.
He couldn't help it either, "What happened to you, Milo? How did you get so chubby?"
The unicorn had put on at least thirty pounds, there was extra padding everywhere. The older two whinnied and nudged his shoulder, explaining in their own way.
The little one, Milo, was heading into its adolescent phase, and for the past month it had been doing nothing but eating or on its way to eat.
"Alright then, we'll deal with the diet once you settle down."
Lucifer realized every creature he raised was a glutton. He didn't even count Norberta, thunderbirds, and pandas anymore. The Unicorns ate nonstop, and Usagi well, Muggle news had run multiple segments about mysterious meteorite thefts. At this point it was practically an unsolved national mystery.
After playing with the unicorns for a bit, cold finally drove them inside the tent, Lucifer got Hermione tucked in early. They curled up under the blankets for warmth, talking until the conversation eventually drifted toward Graves.
Hermione... didn't really approve of her boyfriend's way of doing things. She phrased it gently, but he could still hear the disapproval. And their worldviews clashed again. She felt he was too reckless, any direct conflict risked injury or worse.
The bushy haired girl also disliked relying on force to solve problems. If everyone acted on strength alone, society would fall apart.
But in the end, her views came from her background. She grew up in a middle-class household, attended private schools in wealthy neighborhoods, surrounded by kids of similar status.
Families like hers were the most comfortable group in society. They had material security, plenty of savings to cushion risks, and none of the cutthroat competition faced by top-tier elites.
They never saw poverty at the bottom nor the brutality of the top. Naturally, they preferred a system that worked best for people in their position.
Thankfully, Hermione's temperament had softened a lot. With Lucifer, she wasn't the bossy little cat she once was. She had mellowed, if this had been when they first met or if still had her original personality, she wouldn't be expressing concerns gently.
She'd be lecturing him already.
Lucifer didn't argue back. He just smiled, gave a vague reply, and smoothly steered conversation toward Hermione's favorite topic:
Studying for Exams, not because he was scared or annoyed, but because arguing was pointless.
The only way Hermione would understand his perspective or how the world really worked was through experience. She needed to live more, see more. Her ivory tower of Granger's residence, and pampering was full of ideals. After graduation, reality would do the teaching.
Look at Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff to boot which already showed the girl was special enough.
....In many ways she and Hermione shared similar traits, but that girl had learned to bend without breaking. She held her principles without making others uncomfortable, and found good friends of her own early, becoming the leader in three girls.
xxxxx
Early the next morning, a pair was alone whispering.
"Since you got the benefit, help me with one more thing," Lucifer unfolded the Marauder's Map, spreading it on the table, "Check your brother's location."
"Which brother?" Ginny asked being somewhat out of it, she wasn't much of an early riser, especially on the weekend, that came right after holidays ended, but you still had to leave the Burrow.
"Ron."
"Oh."
Following the tip of his wand, she searched the map. Soon, noticed the oddity. Ron's name was almost perfectly overlapped with another in Gryffindor Tower, boy's dormitory. She squinted, sounding out the crammed letters, "Peter...Pettigrew, wait, that is Scabbers, right? Peter Pettigrew? What a strange name..."
Mid sentence she fell silent.
The name was clearly male. Ginny knew exactly how precise the map was about the position, having used it for a while herself. Her imagination instantly conjured several very wrong scenarios.
"Oh, eww!"
Her face went pale and she collapsed straight into Lucifer's arms, gagging at own imagination.
"What are you thinking?" He asked dryly.
"What can I think?" Ginny said weakly, "I'm trying to be open-minded here! I mean, Ron, seriously? I thought if anyone it'd be Harry! Thank Merlin there are enough Weasley men to keep the family line going. If this were the Malfoys, their whole world would collapse!"
Lucifer's expression darkened. Was that what he'd been asking? Leave it to Ginny Weasley's brain to sprint straight off a cliff.
"Merlin's beard---no! Could you not focus on that? I meant, Gryffindor doesn't even have a student named Peter Pettigrew."
Freezing off her dimples, finally realising she had run wildly off course. Then frowned, Gryffindor had over two hundred students, true, and she could not remember all the boys, especially the ones she seldom met.
But she was sure there was no one with a name that strange. If there were, he would already be famous.
"Where did this person come from?"
"Eleven years ago," Lucifer said lazily, leaning back in his chair which was so evil, it almost enchanted to sleep again, "Harry's father, James Potter, and his mother, Lily Potter, were found by Voldemort.. because someone sold them out. The traitor, according to the story, was Sirius Black right? And he was sent to Azkaban.... Before Black was captured, he went after another friend. The chase ended with half a street blown to bits and a rather messy body count."
"Thirteen people..." Ginny shivered. For a world with so few witches and wizards, that was no small number.
"The person Black supposedly tried to kill was never recovered," Lucifer went on, "They found only a single finger. And name on record was..."
"Peter Pettigrew?" Ginny finished, gooseflesh rising, the boy had laid it on thick enough that she guessed it before he said it, "Then why would someone long presumed dead be in Ron's room?" Her voice tightened, "What is going on?"
"I do not know," Lucifer said bluntly, "But from what I am seeing, Pettigrew is likely Scabbers."
"Scabbers? He is an Animagus?" Ginny's voice shot up an octave, "You are telling me Peter Pettigrew has been at my house as long as I have?"
"More or less," Lucifer was barely keeping a straight face. Ginny's mouth really was made for barbs. She was stabbing others and herself with equal zeal.
"Then we grab him. I heard Professor Snape has a good stock of Veritaserum. We feed him a few drops and we will know everything."
"Huh?" Ginny stared up at him, with a horrified expression, "You want 'me' to grab him?"
"First, it will be a test of your abilities for the Dueling tournament, second, your 'family revenge', and third, Luna insisted you do it. I won't question her for obvious reasons...."
"Can I even do it?" She knew her limits, could bully lower years, sure, but Pettigrew was a registered Animagus, a skilled wizard at least in Transfiguration, even if a coward, shouldn't be weak?
"Idiot," Lucifer tapped her on the forehead, "I will be invisible, and watch you. Trick him, use your brain. You have 'the Petrifying Eye' from Abbott for three days right, what are you afraid of? Don't bully her too much or Susan will get angry."
"Right." Ginny smacked her own forehead, annoyed she had forgotten Hannah's 'trump card' won in a Quidditch quiz by three points, that girl was so kind, she had given her most prized possession like agreed.
Feeling conflicted, she had given her Nimbus 2001 in exchange. A sudden thought struck her, "Who did you give the other basilisk eye to?"
"Someone you do not know," Lucifer said with a dismissive wave, "Not from our school."
"Definitely a girl," Ginny said, voice turning tart, dripping with jealousy.
He did not even try to deny it, "She's seven or eight years old, the world is too rotten and safety comes first. Girls should learn to protect themselves, especially, never mind."
"No," Ginny said, shaking off her accusation, "I still know too few spells. You must teach me two more for self defence. What if Pettigrew runs?"
"Fine." Lucifer considered for a moment, then he nodded, "One more, 'Difomespera,' but use it carefully, without the countercurse those wounds will not heal."
Among his circle, each had a trait, Daphne brought joy, Hermione for study, Darcy brought beauty, Astoria was his good luck, Hannah being good cook, Tracey's sharp tongue, Alexandra's cuteness, for fights, Susan ranked number one, but he didn't want to put her under stress, so now would have to rely on Ginny, so he did not skimp on training, even her freckles were gone from the cream she'd bought from 'Mistress Kanan's'
Twitching that his arms were empty, Lucifer pulled Ginny into, the little witch was soft and warm, perfect human pillow material.
"Oh, right," She suddenly remembered, and put her nose in the boy's neck, "Are George and Fred working for you? They've been busy all holiday. I heard them mention something about a delivery."
Resting his chin over her classic Weasley red hair, he muttered, "They're pretty talented with alchemy. I've got them producing one of my products."
Now that he had Dynasty of Sarion
doing most of the work, the twins' contribution was basically negligible. But because he'd already agreed to work with them, wasn't going to back out.
Might as well let them keep earning.
And, to be fair, twins had grit. After a few months, they'd already earned three hundred Galleons from him, more than Arthur Weasley's salary.
"They're getting paid that much? You're not losing money, are you?" As expected of an extroverted girl, Ginny's first concern was whether he was getting ripped off. If the twins heard her, they'd probably collapse on the spot.
"Relax, there are plenty of suckers lining up to pay for it."
Even cheapest product was pure profit. What capitalists feared wasn't low prices, just having no customers.
Ginny nodded in understanding, shifting into a comfier position and fell asleep within minutes. She stayed groggy all the way until it was time for breakfast.
.........
Lucifer ate, then went to check the old Whomping Willow at school garden. With summer coming on, its foliage was getting lush, a harvest would be ready soon for Sprout.
"Lucifer!"
Hagrid waved from the kitchen garden as he was about to go pull pests, with a shovel in his hands.
"Morning Hagrid, about those Acromantulas," Lucifer asked when he reached him, "can we count on regular deliveries again?"
"Course they are!" Hagrid boomed cheerfully, "With the hobs and the ghouls you set up, Aragog's brood will not starve."
"Good. Then in the summer, please pass the materials to Fawkes, he will bring them to me."
"Right.." Hagrid agreed with a complicated look. Dumbledore's bird, since when had he started running errands for Lucifer?
......
In the two days of break, he coached Ginny, Lucifer suspected the girl had a knack for hexes and the darker edge of magic; in two days she had mastered 'Difomespera', a spell that had taken him two hours.
Armed now with a potent, subtle cutter, Ginny burned to go find Pettigrew and make trouble, he stopped her; there was no need to hound someone who'd already been knocked senseless by Crookshanks.
xxxxxxx
When Monday's 'first' class ended for second years, Lucifer waited by the classroom doors, stopping Ginny and Luna as they came out. He pulled them aside into a quiet corner.
"Stop dragging this out," he said bluntly, having enough patience, "You don't want your brother sleeping with a man every night, do you? I keep hoping you would enter the room."
"I'm working on it!" Ginny grumbled with her cheeks puffed, "Ron keeps Scabbers in his dorm. I can't just storm into the boys' room like you and grab him, that'd make everyone suspicious."
"Be alert, in the afternoon, the gift Daphne's giving you will arrive this afternoon. There's some pet food for rats inside. Use that as an excuse to lure him out..."
"Luna, what do you think?" Ginny turned to her friend.
But Luna looked dazed, as if she hadn't heard a word, and was far away, Ginny knew better, that girl was pondering into the "future."
After a pause, her soft, dreamy voice floated out, "To catch a rat, you bait a rat. Better drug it 'first' too, would be lot safer that way."
"Huh? Please return the elf-like Luna. Whoever this is has fallen gloriously to the dark side."
What happened to his ethereal little fairy? When did Luna start sounding like this? She'd just come up with an idea even, he hadn't considered.
Ginny's face lit up meanwhile, she nodded eagerly and shot Lucifer a mildly disdainful smug look, "See? Luna actually knows what she's doing. Way safer than your plan."
"But..." She then pivoted serenely, "just drugging one rat isn't entirely safe. Might as well knock out Harry and Ron too. That way they can't interfere...."
Lucifer went completely silent, 'future of the wizarding world sure looks... promising.'
In the end, under Ginny's relentless insistence, he agreed to hand over a potion before afternoon classes, brew strong enough to take down a rat, a wizard, or, if necessary, an elephant.
Then he even conjured up a decoy Scabbers who would act as Ron's pet for rest of the term, until everything was revealed in open, and Hermione could focus on her studies without being accused, proving innocence for--'Murder Cat, Crookshanks'
xxxxxx
That evening, in Gryffindor common room, news of exams on Thursday hadn't dampened anyone's spirits, two they still had for cramming.
....After dinner, most students lounged around, laughing and relaxing during the best part of their day. Harry and Ron were no exception, idle.
Lucifer stared at the two idiots.
They were hunched over a little Quidditch tabletop game, their tiny broom riding figures darting about. Despite his real-life skills, Harry was getting crushed, Ron already had a two-hundred-point lead.
An owl's hoot interrupted Ron's victory celebration. He turned around to see Ginny walking in, holding an elegant snow-white owl.
"Ginny," Ron said curiously, "whose owl is that? I've never seen it before."
"Mine," Ginny replied with a bright smile, stroking the owl's big round face. She held it up proudly so they could see better, "Her name's Freya. She's a purebred snowy owl."
Ron's eyes widened. "Where'd you get the money for that? Those are expensive!"
Owls were the most popular pets among wizards, low maintenance and useful for delivering mail. Ron had always dreamed of having one, but a purebred snowy owl?
That was out of reach.
"I didn't buy her," Ginny shook her head, and said cheerfully, "It's a gift from Daphne."
Daphne Greengrass did have a generous streak, the elegant Slytherin heiress. After Ginny had stood her ground against two duelists Hermione and Susan Bones, promising to cut down the girls to a size, which in her eyes, made her one of their own.
Since then, she'd been treating Ginny like a little sister---lavish meals, shared potions, even her stash of forbidden, "Heretic potions."
At this point, if Lucifer ever argued with Daphne, Ginny would probably defect on the spot.
"So you're just letting her buy you off with fancy gifts?"
Ron's tone turned sour.
"I brought you sugar hexes too," Ginny said sweetly, setting two beautifully wrapped boxes on the table. She lifted the lids, one held a small cake, the other was packed full of assorted sweets, "They're from the new bakery in Diagon Alley. If you don't want them, I'll just---"
"Eat!" Ron's eyes gleamed, "Never turn down free sweets! You're my favourite sister!"
And, eagerly reached or a handful of Honeydukes Fizzy Mix, but Ginny blocked him with her wand.
"Wait.. the pet shop gave me some new experimental rat food along with Freya's supplies. Bring Scabbers down so he can have a treat too."
"Alright, alright! Don't eat without me," Ron was already halfway up the stairs. He returned a minute later, proudly holding Scabbers.
Ginny shivered involuntarily, all she could see was her brother cuddling a man in his thirties disguised as a rat. 'Utterly disgusting.'
"Here you go, Scabbers. Eat up and save me some pocket money," Ron said, plopping rat on the table before immediately digging into cake. Harry helped himself to a slice too.
Watching the two boys and the rat happily eating, Ginny's smile widened.
"You're not having any?" Ron asked through a mouthful of frosting, a bit suspicious of her unusual behaviour.
"I already ate," She said gently, "These are for you."
"Oh..."
Then---'thud!'
Harry was the first who collapsed, hitting the floor hard. His whole body went limp, and couldn't even open his mouth to shout. His eyes went wide as he stared helplessly at Ginny.
"Harry? What's wr----"
Ron didn't finish his sentence before he slumped backward too. Ginny, ever the considerate sister, flicked her wand, cushioning his fall so he landed softly on the sofa.
"You..." By now, both boys understood perfectly well, Ginny had spiked the food Scabbers was next. The rat lay motionless, as limp as melted wax, and she easily pinched his tail, dropping him into a glass jar.
Meeting Ron's incredulous gaze, she murmured, "You'll thank me one day, I promise." And with that, she turned and walked off, jar in hand.
Harry's fall drew a few glances, but no one thought much of it. After all, who'd ever suspect Ginny Weasley of drugging her own brother?
Within seconds, both boys' eyes fluttered shut. Peaceful, dreamless sleep, then memories were altered by Lucifer who revealed himself slowly reducing the enchantments.
Ginny watched as he worked, then handed the glass jar to him the moment he was done, like it was contagious.
"Easy as pie," she said proudly.
"Well done," Lucifer gave her a gentle pat on the head, "I'll handle the rest."
"Can I come?" She asked quickly, the girl had found Pettigrew revolting, but wanted to know how he'd faked his death and hidden as a rat for over ten years in the Weasely household.
"No," Lucifer smiled and shook his head, "What comes next might get violent, better if you don't see it."
"Alright." Disappointed, she still nodded, and stared at his back leaving Gryffindor portrait of Sir Cadogan, threatening to light a fire on his beard.
xxxxxxx
Carrying the sleeping Scabbers, Lucifer stepped into Hell's domain. The potion he had brewed was simple, a 'Sleeping Draught' laced with a measure of the 'Draught of Living Death'. The latter was a little too fine in quality, which made the waking process troublesome.
To save time, he chose the most straightforward method.
"'Crucio!'
The balding rat began to convulse without awareness. After roughly thirty seconds it jolted awake, but Lucifer did not lift the curse, he pressed harder. Another ten seconds, and Scabbers 'finally' could not maintain the guise, his body ballooned and twisted, until a squat, balding, scruffy middle-aged man lay there.
If you'd ever wondered what "gross" looked like in human form, Peter Pettigrew was the answer. The fact that this man's Animagus form was a rat almost felt too merciful.
"S-Stop, stop it... please!"
Scabbers, no, Peter Pettigrew, squealed as he begged in pain for Lucifer to cease. Vines slithered up and bound him tight, and only then did the red arcs of the Cruciatus fade.
Conjuring a plate of biscuits and a jug of milk, he ate at an unhurried pace, and gave Pettigrew ample time to recover.
By the time he had nearly finished, Pettigrew had crawled back from the pain that clawed at his soul. He lifted that oily face into an ingratiating smile, his voice thin and sharp.
"L-Lucifer... I am not a bad man, my name is Peter Pettigrew, a recipient of the 'Order of Merlin, First Class."
"Oh?" Lucifer set down his cup, "Sounds like a hero. Then why are you hiding in Hogwarts?"
"Because... because I have a terrifying enemy," Pettigrew said, terror washing over his face, "His name is Black, Sirius Black is the Dark Lord's cruellest henchman, he is the one who murdered my friend James!"
"Hagrid told me quite a lot," Lucifer said, obligingly playing along, "I know Black, he escaped Azkaban to kill Harry Potter right? Should be nearing his death, drained by the Dementors, he hadn't shown his face in ages since Grindelwald came...? But forget that, what about before? Why keep hiding? You could have come out and enjoy your hero's welcome."
Pettigrew put on a pinched, troubled look, his face twitching at the calmness in his voice, "Yes, Black was gone, but what about Death Eaters who slipped the net. For safety I could only become a rat and evade their hunt.... Child, you do not understand how dreadful the Dark Lord and his servants are! Monsters every lot!"
"Funny. I don't believe a word you just said," Lucifer tilted his head, and crossed his legs, "Maybe I'll hand you over to Professor Snape and let him decide what to do with you."
Outwardly Pettigrew looked pained at the lack of trust, inwardly he exulted.
Snape, of all people! He knew Snape, they were colleagues once, even partners of a sort. That half-blood leaked the prophecy to Voldemort, he provided address as an agent. A perfect pairing, only the boss fumbled, 'failing' to kill even a child!
"If you insist, child," Pettigrew said quickly, his eyes whirling. "If I appear like this inside castle I will cause panic. Maybe... give me antidote first, let me recover my mobility, all right?"
He still felt weak all over, voice trembling as much as his hands. Transforming into his Animagus form was out of the question.
"No need to make it so complicated," Lucifer smiled, raising a glass of wine, couldn't wait for what was coming next, "I can help you out... Neuronist, I know you are quite excited."
"Keke~ My Lord, give me a chance, I will make an honest rat out of him."
The shadows at edge of the chamber rippled, answering the call.
From the deepest gloom stepped out Neuronist Painkill, her bloated, bluish-gray form was wrapped tightly in dark leather. Her smooth eye-less head tilted slightly as she took in the sight of the prisoner.
The most terrifying feature, however, was her hands.
She raised one arm in a calculated gesture, letting her impossibly long fingers splay against the darkness.
Her nails tapered into wicked, needle sharp points, twitched and scraped against one another with a sickening 'clack sound' that made Peter Pettigrew's breath caught in his throat. The pathetic smile vanished from his oily face, he had faced Voldemort and lived among Death Eaters, but wrongness of the creature before him made his stomach turn.
Terror was turning his skin a translucent sickly white.
"What... what is that?!" Pettigrew shrieked, his voice rising to a breathless squeal. He frantically tried to scramble backward, but vines dug deeper into his flesh, pinning him to the stone floor, "Get it away! Lucifer, please! No! No! Noooo!"
Neuronist however leaned down, her wet multi-part mouth twisting into a terrifying approximation of a maternal smile. She brought her bloated form inches from Pettigrew's face. The scent of her suffocating decay perfume washed over, making him gag.
"Oh, look at you, such a plump, greasy little thing," She cooed, her voice a grating mix of a wet gurgle and a high-pitched giggle. Then brought her hand down slowly, tracing the air millimeters above his cheek, "Don't worry, my sweet little rodent. I am a professional... I know exactly how to peel back those lies, layer by layer."
"NO! SPARE ME! ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Pettigrew's scream tore from his throat, a blood-curdling sound of absolute despair. He thrashed violently against his bindings, eyes rolling back as cold tips of Neuronist's nails 'finally' touched his skin.
"Ah, this wine is pretty good."
xxxxxx
Lucifer heard Oliver walk up to Harry that late evening.
"Had a good Christmas?" He asked.
He didn't know why the Quidditch maniac bothered, because he went straight into next thing without waiting for an answer.
"I've been doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After the last match, you know, I know Dementors are gone... but with Black, and Grindelwald out there....you mentioned a grim in clouds, right? I mean... we can't afford you to - well---"
Wood broke off, looking awkward.
Did Oliver forget Lucifer was the Reserve Seeker? Because he was feeling forgotten right then.
"I won't faint again," Harry had said quickly, "Professor Lupin taught me how to ward off bad memories."
"Ah," Wood said, sounding a bit relieved, then he looked over at the boy in question, "Lucifer, I don't want you to think that I've forgotten about you, but well with the things that keeps happening in Trelawney's class, I'm not exactly sure how well you'll do in an actual match, you know. Control your temper?"
"Sure," Lucifer responded sarcastically, not even looking up from a book he was looking at regarding dangerous bowtruckles eating fairy eggs.
"Have you gotten the 'firebolt' back?"
"No," Harry said simply.
"What!? You'd better get a move on, you know, McGonagall still says Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"
"Sirius Black," Their running Seeker said wearily, "You forgot? He's after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it."
Wood then conveniently waved aside the information of a famous murderer being after his Main Seeker, he said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' and buy a broomstick?"
"I know," he said glumly, "but McGonagall still wanted to strip it down----"
Oliver paled when Lucifer looked up at them, signs of goodness leaving his face by the minutes, "I'll go and talk to her, Harry," he promised, but it wouldn't do any good, "I'll make her see reason... a Firebolt... a real Firebolt, on our team... she wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do... I'll make her see sense... a Firebolt..."
Lucifer closed his book with a thud, not in the mood to read anymore, 'If only they knew I had a Firebolt as well, Wood wouldn't just be casting his Reserve Seeker aside so casually. Fucking morons....'
xxxxxxx
After last term's experience, young witches and wizards had all remembered that exams hit right after the holidays, so no one had relaxed too much over break.
And of course, McGonagall had been in a good mood these past two days. The diagnostic exams ensured kids didn't come back with completely empty heads. But no matter how much theory they knew, everything still came down to wand in hand.
And this was where the 'Fantasy Draught's' effects really showed.
Hogwarts students, boosted by the potion, had noticeably stronger focus and intent while casting. Their overall skill level was already a step above students of past years. And after two days of exams, everyone looked like they'd shed a layer of skin.
Friday evening's Dinner was basically a school-wide slump.
Every professor understood, except Snape, who seized the chance to kick Gryffindor while they were down and deducted twenty points.
Half from Harry, half from Neville.
Harry stared at Snape's retreating back, wishing he could shoot a 'Stupefying Charm' straight from his eyes and blast the greasy bat across the window behind. He suddenly turned to Ron in a bad mood, his delusions mad, "When do you think I'll be strong enough to beat Snape? After I graduate?"
Ron had absolutely no idea. Still, he tried to give his support, "I mean... probably? Snape keeps trying to get the 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' job, right? Dumbledore hasn't given it to him. Must mean he's not that good."
"That... actually makes sense." Harry's eyes lit up, he'd never thought about it that way. And with Hagrid's constant slip of his Dad, James calling Snape, 'a pathetic weakling', how he'd been bullied by his friends back in school, he was starting to believe it.
Severus Snape was just a coward hiding behind his Head-of-House badge.
"Just a miserable little Potions bat...."
Harry muttered quietly, setting a new goal for himself. Half a year left of third year... okay. Within the next two and a half, he was going to punch Snape in the 'face' at least once.
"Look mate, Scabbers has started to eat his favourite muffins again...."
xxxxxxx
The first Divination class of the new term, they got started on palmistry, and Trelawney didn't even wait to tell Harry that he had the shortest life-lines she'd ever seen.
Alternatively, she told Lucifer he had the longest life-lines she'd ever seen. She could have just called him Immortal at this rate!
This upset Hermione greatly, because Trelawney explained unnecessarily that his long life would only lead to even greater destruction and genocide.
xxxxxxx
Lucifer nodded and marched off ahead of them and found Hermione, putting her books back into her new shoulder bag, "Need help?"
She looked up and her scowl softened into a look of appreciation, "If you don't mind, this bag is really amazing. I could make a library inside!"
"Why don't you just flick that wan-"
"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" They heard Ron ask Harry as they got closer from Defense's classroom, "What d'you reckon is the matter with him?"
As they passed, Hermione couldn't help herself and tutted at them.
They turned and Ron looked furious, "What are you tutting us for?" He asked irritably.
"Nothing," She said and slung her bag back over her shoulder.
"Yes you were, I said I wonder what's wrong with Lupin and you-"
"Well, isn't it obvious ?" She said with an air of superiority, "Lucifer already knows." Hermione looked at him and he nodded.
To be fair, he had a strong, sneaking hint shared by Amelia Bones before the school year even started, and only needed to confirm it from Lupin himself, but won't do that.
"If you don't want to tell us, don't!" Ron snapped at her.
"Fine, we won't!" Hermione said haughtily, grabbed Lucifer's wrist, and dragged him off to the Great Hall.
"Hey, do you actually know?" Lucifer asked her, feeling much normal, when she's back to clinging onto his arm like usual.
xxxxxx
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