"You're not wrong," Newt sat down on a stone bench. "Alright, enough wild theories. Lucifer, your runic and warding work is better than mine and Tina's. Help me check the estate's protection spells..."
"....Why don't we just use the 'Fidelius Charm?' Quick and easy. I can serve as Secret-Keeper."
"You know that spell?" Newt's eyes widened. 'The Fidelius Charm' was one of the highest tiers of contractual magic. It buried a secret inside the Secret Keeper's very soul, strong enough that even Voldemort needed Keeper to speak willingly to break it.
He gave an unbothered shrug, and opened the mouth to inform, "Piece of cake, spell itself isn't hard, real issue is choosing someone trustworthy. Weren't Potters betrayed by Black?"
Newt couldn't help but let out the dry tired sound at that.
"Anyway, how about choosing Dumbledore?"
"Uh... I think I'll pass. You'll do just fine."
They exchanged a look and burst out laughing. Inside the house, Tina heard the laughter and glanced out the window, but didn't think much of it and went back to chatting.
xxxxxx
The next morning, Lucifer finally took a sleep deprived but still energetic girlfriend and headed back to Hogwarts. Before they left, Tina asked him to come again in two weeks.
Jacob and Queenie would be joining them by then. Those two weren't as free as Newt and Tina. Jacob's bakery was still running, and he needed to handle all his affairs before moving.
Lucifer and Hermione returned straight to the Great Hall for breakfast, and noticed Dumbledore, who had disappeared the whole weekend, was already back.
Students had no idea he'd been to North America and returned with nothing to show for it.
Once the hall was nearly full, he stood up. A sharp buzzing sound cut through the chatter, drawing frowns and attention from every table.
"Forgive me for interrupting your meal, there are a few matters I must address right now."
"During Saturday's Quidditch match, the Dementors, who have lacked proper feeding for quite some time, broke their agreement with me and entered the pitch. Minister Fudge has asked me to convey his sincere apologies."
No one reacted, a verbal apology meant nothing to people here. But the next sentence set the hall roaring.
"...Starting today, the Dementors will be withdrawn from Hogwarts and the village. And to make up for the incident, there will be an extra Hogsmeade weekend for everyone."
After delivering news, Dumbledore sat down again and gave Lucifer a private little wink, who in turn smirked inwardly, biting his cheeks. 'Was the old man trying to show off his influence?'
....Hermione's mood was complicated, she even had to put up with Draco's obnoxious gloating at the defeat of Gryffindor. He had gotten especially loud when Harry had shown up in the for Breakfast that morning, she heard.
If they all hadn't more or less agreed that Hufflepuff won the match, Lucifer could've easily 'filled' in, but Wood admitted defeat. Malfoy had also 'finally' removed his bandages like the little bitch boy that he was, according to Hermione.
Two flights of steps down to Potions, she lost her composure. Her knees gave out and she collapsed into Lucifer's arms, whispering in horror, she had noticed Dumbledore looking at her once, "Merlin, we got caught the minute we got back. We're doomed, Lucifer, doomed..."
"Relax," Daphne said confidently, puffing her chest out, "My mother's on the 'Board of Governors.' Dumbledore wouldn't dare expel you two, worst case, you lose a few house points. Well, for Gryffindors---"
Lucifer quickly covered her mouth.
Hermione's eyes were already welling up another word and she'd be crying for sure. Then he'd have to calm her down, and that was definitely not on his to-do list.
"Look," he said gently, "Headmaster's not going to take points. You saw him, he knows we came from Scamader's house, but he didn't say a word. That means he's letting it go, delighted even if you shared.... It's over, don't stress yourself out."
The brunette thought about it deeply, recalling the old wizard's calm expression, and 'finally' nodded. Her shoulders relaxed a little. 'What even possessed.... me to leave school without confirming first if he had the approval?'
"Alright," She murmured, "Maybe you're right."
And of course, Draco Malfoy had to spend almost the entire time during their next Potions lesson imitating Dementors instead of actual assignment Snape laid out for them.
Hermione was the first to crack and took a large Crocodile Heart and flung it across the room, hitting Malfoy square in the face. It was quite hilarious, but Snape took 'off Fifty points' from Gryffindor because of it.
Hermione was annoyed, she couldn't understand how this kind of bias was allowed with the governors or even the Ministry 'for' that matter.
"Morningstar, stay a moment."
Just as Lucifer was about to go to Transfiguration with Hermione and Daphne, Snape pulled him aside into a shadowy corner of the room.
"I need a Strengthening Potion," Snape muttered in a low tone, since he couldn't whisper in the boy's ears, "How soon can you get it to me?"
For a moment Lucifer stared at him, saying nothing, his message was obvious. You really think you can get free potions out of me just by asking nicely?
Snape's face darkened instantly.
"Just tell me what you want. How am I supposed to guess what ridiculous price you have in mind?"
"Professor, who's the potion actually for?" Lucifer instantly knew it wasn't for Snape himself. If he needed it, he would've tried to talk circles around him, maybe dug a hole to step into before bringing up his request.
Coming straight to the point like this meant he was in a rush... and not for his own sake, the boy's expression shifted into something strange.
Snape bristled under his stare.
"Morningstar, do you charge less for knowing why the buyer wants it?"
"Of course not. I'm just curious." Lucifer grinned and started rummaging through one of his bottomless extension pockets.
He quickly pulled a 'Strengthening Potion', and Snape's fingers twitched like he wanted to snatch it. Anyone who managed to rob this kid would instantly become one of the richest wizards alive, probably with a stash of priceless magical junk on top.
"What's your price?" Snape forced himself to look away, guarded again. He had told the brat to name it, but if the price was outrageous, he wasn't going to play sucker.
"Hmm... eight thousand Galleons. I'll even give you a friend discount. Want a few more bottles while you're at it? Buy ten, get one free."
"Card." Snape pulled out his Gringotts bank card with a deadpan expression. Ten bottles? That would be eighty thousand Galleons. He wasn't one of those 'filthy' rich pure-blood aristocrats. Where was he supposed to steal eighty thousand Galleons?
Lucifer happily whipped out a card reader and processed the sale with professional speed.
"Anytime you need more, Professor, just come find me."
Snape took the potions with a distracted nod, when the boy was about to turn to leave, he casually tossed out, "So. Is Harry ok?"
"He is----" Then he froze halfway through the sentence, realization slammed into him. His sallow face 'flushed' bright red.
"Ten points from Slytherin!"
At that moment, he had unlocked an achievement no one in history had managed: making Snape deduct points from his 'own House!'
That alone so loudly practically declaring itself he had long considered Morningstar to be a snake under his tutelage.
It showed just how thoroughly he'd gotten under Snape's skin. Even so, Lucifer couldn't figure out why he suddenly cared this much about Harry's abilities. Was it because of what happened a couple days ago?
But the Dementors were already back in Azkaban. What was Snape worried about now? He dropped the thought a moment later.
Had too many things to worry about on a daily basis. Whatever mess existed between Snape and Harry was microscopic by comparison.
Outside the doors however, Hermione who had heard the commotion with Daphne beside her now wearing a goofy grin, she decided to get her ears checked by Madam Pomfrey, they must be bleeding, she'd definitely heard wrong.
"What in Merlin's name? I ought to go to bed early tonight."
....When her boyfriend came out, she checked Lucifer's robes, and tie's colour twice, they still showed reddish gold of Gryffindor, rubbing her eyes, she made a decision to catch up on the lost sleep.
After Potions was lunch in the Great Hall, and Lucifer used much of time to work on 'Ancient Runes' homework instead of eating. He was "quite good" at the class and probably would consider it his 'favourite' elective over Arithmancy.
xxxxxxx
On the way to 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' with RavenClaw, Ron was complaining, "If Snape's taking Defense again, I'm going off sick," he said as they got towards the classroom after lunch, "Check who's in there, Harry."
Before he had the chance to, all three of them were pushed towards the door. It was Lucifer who had been forcing them all in, "Don't be babies about it."
To their glorious relief, Professor Snape was not there, and it was instead Lupin, back at work.
His frame was noticeably thinner than the last time they saw him, so being sick was what everyone believed everyone but Lucifer.
"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he set us homework?!" Parvati complained.
"We don't know anything about Sphinx----" Dean said.
"-two rolls of parchment!" Ron complained, rather loudly.
"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked them, frowning slightly. The complaining broke out again.
"Yes, but he said we were really behind!" Lavender yelled.
"---he wouldn't listen-" Seamus informed Lupin.
"- two rolls of parchment!" Ron complained again.
Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on Gryffindor faces, but noted that RavenClaw didn't complain once, "Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape, you don't have to do the essay," he said to a thunderous Gryffindor applause.
"Oh no..." Hermione groaned to her boyfriend, looking disappointed, "Lucifer and I already finished it!"
"...Here, I'll grade it for you," Lucifer said taking her two rolls of parchment and opening them. He read everything at an inhumane speed within a single glance, and declared, "Perfect, Full marks."
Hermione blushed as she turned to see the 'full class' staring at them. Many faces showed jealousy, of what they have together, and who she got to have it with.
Professor Lupin who watched both of them, "Twenty-five points for the House who have finished it."
She smiled, they'd just earned back points she mistakenly lost in Potions.
xxxxxx
Professor Lupin then brought out a box with a cover over it, "Now, does anyone have any possible idea, what is in here?"
Of course, Lucifer and Hermione were the only ones to raise their hands, he pointed to both of them.
"A Hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature that looks frail and harmless---"
"---but is actually incredibly dangerous if you allow yourself to be fooled by its appearance. It uses a lantern dangling from its hand to lure people deep into bogs where they never find their way out."
"Excellent description, Ten Points each for Gryffindor. I couldn't have said it better myself," Professor Lupin looked extremely proud of his Gryffindor students, but immediately seemed to correct his notion, he had biased ignored the raised hands of RavenClaw.
In fact 'this habit' came from Slytherin, who were much more passive and less motivated in his class. He could only imagine what Snape lets them get away with.
Lupin then removed the cover and revealed the Hinkypunk for everyone to see. It made a squelching noise when it pressed itself against the glass and Hermione involuntarily shuddered at the disgusting sound.
He gave them simple homework, having them detail defining characteristics and giving a detailed description of the kinds of places a Hinkypunk will inhabit, no specified length for the parchment.
"Wait a moment, Harry," They heard Professor Lupin call out, "I'd like a word."
The students watched him walk away, and the other three Gryffindor also left the classroom, as well, noticing looks in two eyes.
"What do you think Professor Lupin wants with Harry?" Hermione asked immediately at once, clutching her books tightly under left arm.
"Dunno, you think it has something to do with what happened during the Quidditch Match?" But it was Ron who butted in their conversation.
"Probably, that's twice now Potter has been horribly affected by the Dementors..." Lucifer said, while making a small glance to Hermione's face to notice any kind of weird thoughts. But to his relief, the girl wasn't affected by the mention of it.
"Maybe Professor Lupin is going to teach him how to deal with those creatures?" She suggested picking up on the hint he laid out.
"I did suggest him, there is a counter to every magical creature. So, I wasn't surprised me when I picked up on Patronus," Lucifer said, continuing forth to the Hogwarts Library to get a start on his homework.
Harry found them a while later and informed he was going to be attending 'Anti-Dementor' lessons.
xxxxxxxx
After Arithmancy a normal day's afternoon, Daphne and Hermione headed towards the library, bickering.
"Greengrass, turn this book to page one hundred sixty-eight."
A cool, sharp voice broke the silence.
Madam Pince shot a glare over, but when she saw who had spoken, her expression twisted into something complicated.
The one talking wasn't a student. It was a ghost, 'the Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw!'
A lot of students sneaked glances.
Ravenclaws looked stunned. Why was the Grey Lady appearing in front of everyone all of a sudden? And why was she talking to a Slytherin? Didn't she hate creepy reptiles with no legs?
Students from other Houses mostly didn't even recognize her, after all she almost never showed up in public.
"With pleasure," Daphne pulled down the book she pointed at: {A Complete Compendium of Medieval Tanzanian Ritual Ceremonies}. She opened it to the requested page, without any other doubtful thoughts.
Every so often, she asked her to flip to the next, Daphne did it patiently. Hermione watched them with a strange expression. 'The Grey Lady' drifted so close while reading that her ghostly form overlapped with the girl's body. Thankfully, it didn't last long. After reading what she wanted, the ghost rose back into the air and inclined her head.
"Thank you, Greengrass. I'd like to award Slytherin one hundred points."
With that, she glided away.
One hundred points? Plenty of students heard her declaration.
"Blood---?!" Hermione almost shouted, and got herself banned from the Library, somehow passed her trial, she had eaten her own lips, and needed a balm to smooth over. Daphne Greengrass had taken a lead by 'twenty five points' in one fell swoop, without doing a thing.
She wanted to complain unfairly.
But everyone else present could only smile wryly, shook their heads, and went back to what they were doing, no one took it seriously. 'Hogwarts ghosts all had... issues.'
Nearly Headless Nick kept trying to detach his head and loved showing students his spinning head trick. The Bloody Baron looked like he'd bite your hand off if you said hello. Even Peeves was scared of him. Moaning Myrtle cried so much she'd turned the 'second-floor girls'' bathroom into a quarantine zone.
The one who seemed most normal, the Fat Friar, was actually the least normal. 'Wizards and the Catholic Church' had hated each other for centuries. Even now, textbooks still mocked and criticized the Church.
Yet the Friar had somehow infiltrated the clergy, become a cardinal, and died because he was poisoned while fighting other cardinals for the papacy. Some theorized he was a wizard spy trying to soften Church hostility from the inside... but no. He had been a sincere, devoted Catholic.
Even as a ghost, he still remembered to attend weekly mass. Even portrait of Sir Cadogan on Gryffindor's entrance was a lunatic who insulted passing Friar as coward.
So, students in the library shrugged off the Grey Lady's announcement, assuming she was just another problem ghost. Probably some sheltered, haughty "noblewoman" in life. Only the Ravenclaws hesitated, their House remembered the Grey Lady as brilliant and perceptive, not some scattered teenage idiot.
Their doubts were confirmed that evening when they walked past the Entrance Hall on their way to dinner, and saw Slytherin's hourglass jump upward by a massive chunk. 'Wait, we thought you were bluffing. You can actually award points?!'
Word spread across the Great Hall within minutes, and place exploded.
Ghosts could give out house points? This was the 'first' time any student had ever heard of such a thing and the way they gave them out was absurd. 'A hundred points for flipping through a book?'
Plenty of professors wouldn't hand out a hundred points in an entire month. Only Daphne Greengrass managed to do that, was mooching points off ghosts. She was courteously invited by a wild Hermione to eat dinner at the Gryffindor table.
"This is really 'flattering,' Granger...."
Daphne was emotionally touched, even Lucifer was cutting off her pancakes into a bite sized mouthful of slices to eat. A few crafty students immediately got ideas, Compared to sweating for points from professors, tricking ghosts into handing some over sounded way easier.
"..." x 2
George's eyes flashed quickly seeing that third year Slytherin girl, eating happily on the dining table, no one was brave enough to shush her away.
Fred was the most excited twin. It wasn't like they weren't used to sitting at the top of Gryffindor's deduction leaderboard every year. Only after their 'foolish little brother' and Harry enrolled did they finally have some cover. But still, a new way to get points? They must try it.
"Fred, let's go find Nearly Headless Nick," George murmured seeing his face at once, "We'll flip a few pages for him, bring a little offering, and maybe he'll give us a few dozen points. It's a guaranteed win."
Fred thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No, we're not that close with Nick. Just running up to him like that probably won't do anything.... We need someone he's actually friendly with. Didn't Harry go to Nick's Deathday Party last term? Let him do it."
George had to admit that sounded reasonable. But after scanning the entire Gryffindor table, they couldn't find Harry anywhere, so decided to wait until he came back to the dorm.
At eight-thirty, Harry dragged himself back to Gryffindor Tower, exhausted.
He'd just finished remedial lessons with Lupin who had somehow found yet another boggart. Of course, the thing immediately turned into a Dementor.
Harry's worst fear was still that chilling presence, and even the boggart version could mess with his emotions. Tonight was his first attempt at the 'Patronus Charm.'
After an entire evening, he still hadn't managed a single successful casting. He wasn't panicking though, Lucifer had warned him how hard the spell was. What did annoy was that he'd already scheduled another practice session for tomorrow night, only for Snape to suddenly accuse him of "wandering the castle" and sentence him to a night of detention!
Now he had to postpone until the day after.
"Harry! Finally! Where've you been this whole time?" The moment he stepped into the common room, the twins who had been waiting since dinner grabbed him.
"Nothing," Harry said with a quick shake of his head, didn't want to mention he'd been practicing the Patronus with Lupin.
"Snape just gave me trouble again."
The twins didn't even blink. The day Snape didn't give Harry trouble would be the real miracle.
"I'll lob a dungbomb into his office for you another time," Fred said quickly to change topic "Right now we've got something more important..."
They told Harry about their discovery of ghosts giving out points and their plan to have him ask Nick for a few tasks in exchange for a reward.
"Um... is that really okay?" Harry was stunned. If ghosts could give points, did that mean Peeves could too?
"Just try, it's free," George urged with the patience of the mastermind, "We just lost the match, Greengrass picked up a hundred points in a row, and if we don't start doing something, the House Cup's practically decided already."
Guilt hit Harry's heart immediately. It was his 'fainting' that made them lose the game, so he nodded without hesitation, "Alright. I'll go talk to Nick tomorrow."
xxxxxxx
The next day, Harry found Nick in a second-floor west corridor, he often lingered there because a portrait of an old friend hung on the wall, and the two of them liked chatting.
"Harry, is something the matter?"
"Nick... could you give me a task? And if I finish it... could you award me some points?" Harry still had a line he wouldn't cross mooching without doing anything wasn't something he'd do.
"Points?" Nick stared at him like he'd said something outrageous half his head actually fell off. "I don't have the authority to give anyone points. Who told you that?"
"Eh? But Greengrass got a hundred yesterday."
Nick looked even more baffled. "Who gave it to her?"
"Fred said it was the Grey Lady. The Ravenclaw ghost."
"Oh, that explains it." Nick nodded as his half-fallen head drifted back into place. Seeing how confused Harry still looked, he couldn't help laughing, "Harry, the Grey Lady is... 'special. We all respect her, I didn't know she could award points either, but honestly, it's not surprising. After all..."
The ghost shook his head and stopped himself. As the daughter of a Founder, tossing a 'few house points' around really wasn't a big deal, "Alright, don't waste your time on me. If you want points, study properly."
With that, Nick floated off, leaving Harry bewildered as he wandered back toward the Great Hall.
The Grey Lady truly was the most unusual ghost. Every student who'd gotten the same idea as Harry had already heard the rumor. At this point, whether they could get points wasn't even the main concern anymore everyone just wanted to know what made her so special.
But no matter how many ghosts or professors they asked, no one knew.
Most people genuinely had no idea, a few ghosts who did know truth about her identity would never reveal it.
Some Ravenclaw students even tried asking her directly, which left Helena completely fed up. She had already complained to Luna several times in the last two days.
"...." Luna felt severely wronged, all she'd wanted was to make up for scaring Daphne that day, give her a few points. How could she have predicted that a bit of point-tossing would blow up into this hassle?
Thankfully, Helena was an 'easy-to-soothe' sweetheart. A little gentle coaxing and she calmed down, even telling Luna, girl could come to her again if she ever needed to earn more points.
But she didn't plan to give any more for now, knew when to stop.
Slytherin had already been far ahead before Helena gave Daphne any points, cause Professor McGonagall had awarded Lucifer a hundred for 'Fantasy Draught,' so there wasn't a shred of backlash after his big boost.
She'd only consider another round near the end of the school year, if RavenClaw were a bit behind.
xxxxxx
Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Magic...
Cornelius Fudge 'finally' understood what Dumbledore's warning last year had really meant. Compared to the humiliation of showing up to scold him, Lucifer was actual, tangible trouble.
After the Ministry bought tons of new equipment and purchased batches of the WhatsApp notebooks and supplies, their finances were a disaster. Even raiding a few vaults at Gringotts hadn't 'fixed' the hole.
And right at this critical moment, more than ten families, including the Malfoys, Rosiers, and Selwyns, Longbottom, all sent letters on same day announcing they'd be reducing next year's donations by thirty percent.
This was practically a death sentence.
Forget a thirty percent cut; Fudge had been planning to beg them to increase donations by another forty! Before he even opened his mouth, they'd already pulled the rug out.
The one thing all these families had in common: their children were at Hogwarts.
Fudge wanted to scream at them, 'if your sons and daughters ever get kidnapped, just tell me, I'll march every Auror in the Ministry straight into Hogwarts to arrest whoever you want.'
Sadly, it could only stay in his imagination, he had no evidence, didn't even know for sure this was Lucifer's doing, simply guessed it, and they both pretended otherwise.
After failing to convince even one 'family' to reconsider, Fudge finally understood the root of the problem. As long as boy himself didn't back down, none of them would.
What he really couldn't comprehend was excluding Longbottom's, why a bunch of purebloods were bowing to a Muggle-born student.
He failed to grasp the most important point, it wasn't just Lucifer was dangerous, although he was, and after his Patronus wiped out over a hundred Dementors, many people had been deeply unsettled.
The real issue was Fudge himself.
Compared to the boy, the Minister was the 'softer' and 'easier target.' If the Minister had been Amelia Bones or Scrimgeour, none of these 'families' would dare push this far. Lady Augusta Longbottom would happily support her instead, cause of their entangled 'family relations.'
But Fudge's nature was obvious to everyone, that's why they acted without restraint.
xxxxxx
Hagrid laid out the week's haul, mutated venom gathered from 'five Acromantula corpses', plus half a small barrel of ordinary venom.
It made Lucifer frown a bit, and said unhappily, "Why is there so much less ordinary venom this week?"
The barrels he gave Hagrid were not large, two hundred ounces at most. Usually, when he came by weekly, they were at least two thirds full. This time the level was barely half.
"I tell yeh," Hagrid said, looking embarrassed. "The Acromantula corpses are a key nutrient for the colony's growth. With you takin' all of 'em, they've had to expand outward, attackin' other magical creatures...."
The boy's face brightened at once, "They have started fighting? Then I can hope for more bodies, right?"
Little devil.
Pure hearted gamekeeper, Hagrid choked on Lucifer's reaction. The careful speech he had prepared collapsed in an instant, and he could only state his aim plainly, "Le'k Acromantulas cannot expand unchecked and threaten the other denizens. That is line Dumbledore set for lettin' them live in the Forest. If we do not solve their food problem, the whole colony will start declining soon...."
"So you want me to find them a new source of food?"
Hagrid gave a sheepish grin and kept quiet.
"This is not quite right..." Pinching his chin, Lucifer sank into thought. Aragog had not even given him a few more offspring to work with, and already he was being asked to feed the children. If he refused, he would be the one to lose out.
"Hagrid, you do not usually manage Aragog and his brood closely. What do they eat day to day?"
"Insects, birds, any magical beasts they can handle, but Aragog keeps the numbers controlled. So long as they stay under a limit, they do not wreck the Forest's balance."
Lucifer asked a few more questions and then settled the Acromantulas' menu. 'Pigs, cattle, and sheep' were easy enough, but the crucial part was magically infused meat. In the end he found substitutes, gnomes and ghouls, two vermin most wizarding households never run short of.
They breed fast too, so cost would not be a problem. Once he agreed, Hagrid let out a long sigh. Lately Aragog and his children had unnaturally grown several sizes leaner instantly, and it pained him to see it.
"By the way, I heard you were close with Harry's parents," Lucifer said, as if offhand, casually shifting the blame for his curiosity elsewhere. There were some matters for which he needed an open, respectable source of information. It would make later moves much easier.
Hagrid started, then his features softened with remembrance. "James and Lily? Aye, they were my best friends. James was a fine lad. Lily was kinder and every bit as talented, and she could keep James in line. They were both Head Students back then."
The boy's finger tapped lightly on the tabletop, "Then how is it that Professor Snape told me James Potter was a bully and a brute?"
The smile on Hagrid's face froze at once. Memory does polish a friend's portrait, and Lucifer had no sense for polishing. Dragged back to reality, he could only answer honestly. "Well... when he was young, James did have his faults. He had a mate, Black, and the two of 'em, with two more friends, strutted round the school like they owned it. You have no idea, back then the four were even harder to deal with than Fred and George, and not in a good way."
"The twins are not as annoying as they were," he added. "I truly disliked those lads at first. Thankfully Lily reined them in later, and everyone started to change for the better. James became a hero in the end. He stood against... against 'You Know Who' three times." As he spoke, Hagrid's voice hitched, "And then that damned Black... betrayed James."
"Oh?" Lucifer leaned forward, clearly intrigued, "Betrayal? What exactly happened?"
"I cannot... cannot tell yeh, but you don't know..." Tears proved as potent as Veritaserum, though Hagrid kept saying he could not tell, the story poured out like beans from a split sack. He did hold one thing back, he did not mention Lupin being a werewolf.
But he made Marauders' relationships clear, and the grudge with Snape too, enough that even Lucifer felt a stab of sympathy for his Head of House. It was true the man had fallen in with a circle of little Death Eaters at school.
...He was close to Lucius Malfoy's crowd, yet Snape's standing had been low at the time, being a half blood. So when he clashed with James, Slytherins often watched from the sidelines. Two fists cannot beat 'four pairs of hands.'
His later rise came after he became a spy, and because his mastery of Potions drew Voldemort's eye.
xxxxxx
A few nights later, Lucifer received a message from Fudge and laughed after reading it. He'd thought Minister might hold out a bit longer, but the man lasted less than a week before coming to beg for peace with a very low posture.
『Lucifer Morningstar』: Minister, I have no personal issue with you. I just found an opportunity this time and couldn't let it slip.
In London, Fudge nearly cheered. As long as the boy had desires, he could negotiate. What terrified him was the thought, if Lucifer simply hated him and wanted gone for no reason.
There'd be no way to bargain with that.
『Cornelius Fudge』:
Mr. Morningstar, whatever conditions you have, name them. I'll do my best to meet your requests.
『Lucifer Morningstar』: Minister, my Christmas wish this year is a 'First-Class Order' of Merlin. How does that sound?
An Order of Merlin? Why was he so obsessed with such pointless prestige?
Fudge never expected that boy had rallied so many people to pressure him all for a 'Merlin medal.' Even this one 'felt' meaningless to him. If Dumbledore were awarded based on merit, he'd need at least five to start.
But why only one? Because having more didn't matter.
『Cornelius Fudge』: Just for a Merlin medal? No other conditions?
『Lucifer Morningstar』: Of course, Minister, my greatest hobby right now is collecting 'top-tierhonors.' I plan to win one 'First-Class' medal for every year I'm at Hogwarts.
『Cornelius Fudge』: "....."
He couldn't understand that boy's strange hobby, but for him, condition wasn't even difficult. With all of Lucifer's inventions and the 'fact' he'd already received lots of support in the application, biggest barrier was gone.
"Merlin medals" were like the bottom line, in the past, people even donated to buy, once you broke it once, breaking it again became easy.
So Cornelius Fudge accepted immediately, promising him a satisfying Christmas gift, Lucifer in return politely agreed to donate a hundred thousand Galleons to the Ministry's operational 'funds.'
He honestly had nowhere to spend his money, earned tens of thousands of Galleons every day, couldn't use them fast enough.
That evening shadows stretched long and deep across the sixth floor of 'Hogwarts Castle', warmth of the roaring hearth doing little to dispel heavy, secretive tension inside.
Daphne was trying to find him for a bedtime story. Lucifer was sprawled back in the large leather armchair in a dimly lit sitting room, trousers open and pushed down just enough.
....Between his spread thighs knelt Susan Bones, soft red hair tied back loosely as her head was bobbling steadily in his lap. Those lips were stretched wide around his thick cock, sliding up and down veined shaft with wet, obscene sounds that filled the quiet space.
She took him deep into her warm mouth, tongue swirling around the head each time she pulled back, sucking eagerly while one hand pumped the base.
'Gluck… gluck… gluck…'
Her school robes were hiked up around her waist, as she worked messily. A low groan rumbled from Lucifer's chest as Susan hollowed cheeks and swallowed around him, eyes watering slightly but never breaking contact with his.
He kept one hand tangled in her hair, guiding pace without forcing it, while other rested lazily on arm of chair.
"Lucifer, are you in here? You promised a bedtime story tonight..."
When the door creaked open and Daphne's soft voice called out, tinged with an eager, innocent hope as she searched, he didn't even flinch, just lifted his gaze to meet Astoria's across the room, who was trailing closely behind her sister.
Inside the curtained cocoon, Susan froze, her lips still tightly wrapped around the middle of his throbbing shaft, her wide blue eyes darting up to Lucifer's face in sudden panic, he used a curtain to hide the girl's figure.
She pulled back until just a swollen head remained in her mouth, swirling her tongue around it with a filthy 'pop' before sinking down again, taking him to the hilt until her nose pressed against his pelvis.
"Fuck, that's it..."
"Mmmphhh~~"
Drops of saliva was getting collected at the corners of her stretched lips with every deepthroat, running messily down her chin and neck.
The single, sharp look said everything: 'Get her out. Now.'
'Glk-glucck-Khoggk---?!'
Stopping dead in her tracks, Astoria's gaze flicked down to a slight gap between his legs, noting the way fabric bunched, and unmistakable sound of wet sounds echoing from the shadow of the alcove.
Realization flashed across her features in an instant. She knew exactly what was happening behind those drapes, and what that lingering, dangerous glance meant.
'Schlick… slurp…'
Astoria 'flushed' but acted instantly, grabbing her older sister's arm with a hurried excuse and pulling her back into the hallway before Daphne could step inside and see the witch on her knees worshiping Lucifer's cock so shamelessly.
....The door clicked shut again, leaving Susan uninterrupted. He looked down at the red-haired girl between his knees, fingers tangling into her thick curls, pushing her head back down.
"Where were we, Susan?" Lucifer murmured, his voice a pained grunt with rising pleasure.
Susan Bones didn't need to be told twice, she hummed happily against thigh, her lips parting as she slid back down length of his cock to finish what they had started. She hummed happily, sucking harder now they were alone once more, clearly enjoying how the boy's hips twitched and grip tightening in her hair.
........
"Wait, bis sister....come on," Astoria said quickly, her voice slightly strained as she forcefully spun Daphne around and began dragging her back toward the girls' dormitory corridor, "He's... he's clearly busy, or probably already asleep somewhere else. Let's just go. You can get your story tomorrow...."
"But Astoria, I wanted to find him---" Daphne protested, her voice fading as she was hurried out of the corridor, completely oblivious to disaster she had almost walked into.
xxxxx
Friday, Lucifer was dragging himself into Defense Against the Dark Arts, yawning.
"What did you do last night? Did Daphne beg for another story?" Hermione eyed him suspiciously, her boyfriend was a walking battery, she almost never saw him tired. Sure, he slept in class all the time, but that was from boredom, not exhaustion.
"Hey--Hermione! Don't pin that on me!"
Daphne who'd also been dozing on her desk, shot upright the moment she heard her name. She balled her tiny fists in protest, "I was with Astoria last night!"
"Then why are you tired too?"
"We played a pillow game and lost track of time. By the time we went to bed, it was practically morning."
Hermione stared at the girl who had already slumped back onto her desk. She missed the suffering expressions on a few Slytherin girls nearby.
Daphne and Astoria had their fun in the dorm, but other girls paid the price. The two princesses stayed up happily until dawn, and their roommates were dragged along for the torture.
Astoria had been trying to keep her chaotic big sister from running off to bother Lucifer again. Daphne, of course, simply didn't care, someone raised in luxury rarely noticed the feelings of people around her.
"I was working on a cleaning dirty curtains last night," Lucifer mumbled into his folded arms, "Didn't sleep at all. Being tired is normal, I'll just nap through a few classes.."
But the energy cost dealing with a pregnant girl was insane, by the time he got the situation under control, Lucifer was feeling like he'd pulled ten 'all-nighters' in a row.
He could barely stay awake.
Just then Lupin walked in right as the bell rang, Hermione couldn't hold it back she snorted a tiny laugh.
Luckily Lupin didn't hear her.
She noticed something odd, Lupin looked even worse than the boy on her desk. And this wasn't the first time, ever since term started, he'd taken a few days off every month. Suddenly, a brand new theory popped into her head, but she wasn't sure enough to say it.
"Alright, everyone, put your textbooks away," Lupin said warmly, who had no idea Hermione had nearly guessed his secret. The students moved quickly, at this point everyone was used to it. Except Lucifer and Daphne, who were sound asleep.
Lupin didn't bother, those two didn't need his supervision anyway.
"Last term, Professor Snape hosted an open dueling session. It was a wonderful idea."
The young witches and wizards immediately perked up. Was Lupin about to bring it back? The open dueling class was one of their 'favorite' activities, not only could you challenge each other, it was the best place for drama. Every session, simmering grudges got dragged into the open.
The spectators had a blast, messier the story, the better. Cheating boyfriends. Cheating girlfriends. Guys stealing other guys' girlfriends. Absolute chaos, nothing was off-limits, Snape wasn't a legend for them for nothing.
Sensing their anticipation, Lupin gave a helpless smile, "Sorry but my energy is limited, organizing a whole-school event is... 'beyond me."
The hope in the room collapsed instantly.
"But..." Lupin suddenly shifted gears, as if he already had a second prize waiting on the list, "as your 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' professor, it really is my job to help you improve your dueling skills. Especially with current situation being.... 'less than stable."
The Order of the Phoenix had been reassembled, and naturally Remus was part of it.
"I've decided to occasionally turn one of our lessons into a coaching session.
Anyone can challenge me. After each match, I'll point out your weaknesses and share ways you can improve."
He paused, then added with a rare bit of humor, "But let's be clear: one at a time, I'm not fighting a crowd. I want to keep my life."
A wave of laughter broke out.
"Alright, our first demonstration lesson will be next week. This classroom isn't exactly ideal for letting loose." With that, Lupin finally began the actual lesson, opening the box of grindylows at his feet.
By the time the two back-to-back morning classes ended, Lucifer had slept enough to feel the Devil again.
Hearing Lupin's plan, he barely reacted, and certainly wasn't going to challenge his Professor; that would mean holding himself back so he didn't accidentally kill the man.
xxxxxx
"Lucifer."
A dreamy voice floated up behind him, the boy stopped his legs immediately, and turned to greet his niece. Who else but Luna?
"Where did you pop out from?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow, he'd just walked down this corridor on the seventh floor and it had been empty.
She pointed to a nearby wall, "In there, I was looking for you."
Following her line of sight, he found nothing where could be inside, so being the elder he was, Lucifer put it aside as a harmless prank, "Looking for me?"
"For Ginny."
"...Then why didn't Ginny just use the WhatsApp?"
Luna blinked. "Oh, why didn't she?"
"No, not just her. I meant 'you all."
"I left mine in the dormitory," She admitted clearly, without making any excuse which could be seen as lying to the family.
"Figures," Lucifer shrugged while rubbing his brows to put some tension away, then asked in a casual tone, used to dealing with Anael's habits which had passed down to her daughter, "Alright, take me to her."
Ten minutes later, in the courtyard garden, Ginny Weasley came running the moment she spotted him. She looked smug, clutching a crumpled piece of parchment.
"Finally! I found you. I've got it-what you wanted."
"The Marauder's Map?" He raised his brows as he took it from her, Lucifer was so busy lately, he'd nearly forgotten about it, "I gave you two weeks. You took almost half a year."
"Not my fault," Ginny huffed loudly, showing her protests openly, "George and Fred are slippery. It took me forever to find something to use against them."
Drawing his wand, he tapped the parchment, "I, Lucifer Morningstar, the fallen Archangel, command you to reveal your deepest secrets."
Ink bloomed across the surface, spreading until detailed black and white layout of Hogwarts appeared, tiny names moving across it. Perfect, it was real thing. Satisfied she hadn't been tricked by the twins, Lucifer nodded, then glanced at Ginny.
"Alright, tell me... What dirt did you have on them to give you their most prized possession without a fight."
When Ginny started talking about how she got her hands on 'the Marauder's Map', her eyes lit up immediately, she was clearly proud of herself.
"Fred and George, tsk tsk, you probably don't know this, but they both have a crush on Angelina. No, scratch that, it's not even a secret crush anymore. They've already started writing love letters."
"So, you saw their letters and used to blackmail them?" He guessed.
Ginny nodded, then shook her head, "Sort of. I did see the letters, but the point isn't that I caught writing them, it's..." The girl suddenly burst out laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach, "It's that the letters were co-written! George wrote one line, then Fred wrote the next. I saw them in the library scratching their heads for hours just to come up with a single sentence."
She was practically wheezing as she continued, "So tell me, whose love letter is it supposed to be? If Angelina actually says yes, who exactly is she saying yes to?"
"They... pieced it together?" Fred and George, of course. It was so ridiculous it almost made sense, those two were so used to talking in turns that maybe they just couldn't write a full sentence without other finishing it. 'That wouldn't do, though. They'd have to grow out of it sooner or later. As for Angelina, if she agrees, well, they can have a nice twin-some experience....'
"So, to save reputations and be able to show their faces in school again, they handed me the Marauder's Map."
"How thoughtful of them," Lucifer said dryly, ruffling Ginny's hair, "The Weasley family's truly blessed to have such a clever little sister."
"Exactly!"
She didn't catch the teasing at all, she just looked even more smug. Luna, who was standing quietly nearby, twitched the corner of her mouth in silent despair for her best friend's IQ.
"Lucifer, do you know how much I've suffered lately?"
Ginny's expression crumpled into a pout as she started her dramatic complaint, "Just to help you get that stupid map, I've been tailing Fred and George every chance I get! I haven't even had time to hang out with Luna. You can ask her if you don't believe me-she's totally mad at me."
"No," Luna said seriously, shaking her head, even the idea itself was completely ridiculous to her, "I could never be mad at you, Ginny."
"..." That was touching, sure, but she was in the middle of playing the victim to get a reward!
"Even if Luna doesn't mind, I 'still feel guilty," Ginny quickly added, steering the conversation back to her goal.
Lucifer gave her a sideways glance, with an amused expression on his face, he really wanted to laugh at her eagerness, "You want a reward, don't you?"
"Umm.. ok if you insist!" Ginny nodded eagerly.
"Alright."
Ginny blinked in surprise, she hadn't expected him to agree that easily, "You're not kidding me?" she asked, leaning forward a little, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Why would I?" Lucifer gently flicked her forehead to make her lean back, "But I'm busy lately. I'll give you your reward on Christmas, then have a broom race all you like." He'd been so caught up in other things, nearly forgotten about the map entirely.
The fact that Ginny hadn't deserved at least some credit.
"Promise you won't go back on it!" She said, delighted. Then, taking Luna's hand, she happily skipped off.
....Lucifer watched them go, then turned back to parchment in his hand, ready to get back to studying it over the holidays.
xxxxxx
The weekend arrived quickly, and the students were in a great mood.
Saturday was 'Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin' Quidditch match, and Sunday brought a Hogsmeade trip.
The weather on match day was perfect, even before players entered, many students kept glancing toward the Slytherin stands.
Lucifer had the best seat in the house, he normally didn't bother coming to Quidditch games, but Daphne wanted to gamble with her classmates on who would win, but she quickly realized no one believed Ravenclaw had a chance. It was obvious to everyone that the entire team was hopeless.
And really, except for one lucky win years ago against a short-handed Gryffindor team, they basically never won. The match followed proved it.
Ravenclaw's players were a mess from start to finish. Cho, in her debut, was too nervous and got fooled twice by Draco's fakes.
In the end, Ravenclaw lost by 'one hundred twenty points!'
Wood, Harry, and rest of Gryffindor team watched in despair. Since Quidditch Cup used a round-robin format, what mattered was total point difference. They'd lost by eighty points last match, and their biggest rival had now won by 120. The swing was two hundred points.
'RavenClaw vs Hufflepuff' had no meaning left, they could only hope to decrease the gap with Slytherin.
For Gryffindor too catching up would be nearly impossible. Harry stared at Draco Malfoy, who was openly gloating in midair, and a 'very illegal' thought popped into his head. Maybe before their 'final' match against Slytherin... he could challenge Malfoy to a "friendly duel" and break his legs?
And lately Harry felt... different. Ever since Snape's last detention, he was stronger somehow, like his mind worked better, the boy had even learned three attack spells in a row. 'Was scrubbing cauldrons some kind of physical training?'
xxxxxxx
Hermione noticed a significant improvement in Harry's mood as a result, because it meant Gryffindor was almost out of running for Cup.
The day after the game, muddy grounds had been blanketed in glittering frost. The inside of Castle had been buzzing with talks of Christmas. Professor Flitwick had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, 'fluttering fairies.'
The students were all happily discussing their plans for Holidays.
Harry signed at once, he was followed shortly after by Ron.
Lucifer and Hermione would be visiting Greengrass's estate. She'd been talking for a while about spending their 'first' Christmas together as a couple.
But Daphne also wanted him, a compromise had to be made.
"Hermione, are you sure you don't want to go back home and be with your family?" Lucifer asked her one evening in the Common Room, sitting next to a warm fire, with girlfriend in the armchair across from him.
"It's alright, I already talked to Mum using the mirror and she is okay with me staying at a 'friend's house," She said, looking up at him briefly before returning to her Transfiguration Homework.
It was true, she hadn't seen her Mum for Christmas since her 'first year', but her boyfriend was also important and meant just as much, no at this point, Lucifer was the most important person in her life.
"Well... alright... if you're sure..."
He dropped the subject after that.
xxxxxx
This time, in the light of Harry's extremely downtrodden face due to Quidditch, Lucifer and Hermione decided to stick to main shops instead of another date.
"But if it turns into a date after that then..." She shrugged innocently.
On the morning of the trip, they made their way out into Entrance Hall where they ran into Filch, once again ticking off names on his list and ensuring that they were all allowed to leave the castle.
Lucifer had expected to make the trip into Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron today, but the duo was several people ahead of them in the queue, standing with Seamus, Dean and Neville.
Which suited him perfectly.
"I have so much to do for Christmas shopping!" Hermione said the moment they were walking down the path out of the castle, "Mum would love those 'Toothflossing Stringmints' from Honeydukes---"
"You may not want to read out anymore of that," Lucifer said as he spied his own name on the list she'd made, "We can split up part way through 'cause I need to get something for you as well. I've actually been pretty stumped this year."
"I'm sure you'll manage, you always find incredible gifts!" She said happily wrapping herself around his arm.
They made their first stop at Zonko's Joke Shop, where they both picked up some loose tricks for Astoria, Ginny and Luna, he snapped up a couple of top shelf items to send to Fred and George, before moving onto 'Dervish and Banges' where he spied an enchanted homework planner.
It had a colour coded section which flashed brighter based on which one you were due to revise and timed how long you were revising for.
He subtly swiped it up since she liked the Calendar a lot and paid for it whilst Hermione was looking at enchanted muggle statues that slowly moved when they thought they weren't being watched.
Next stop was Honeydukes, where they spied Harry over under a banner labelled 'Unusual Tastes'.
The two of them instead made their way over to other side of the shop where they began looking at some of the flavoured creatures, such as Cockroach Cluster, Chocolate Frogs and Jelly Slugs.
They were just scooping up bags of stuff when a man with a very shiny bald head shimmied past them and began unloading bags of Jelly Slugs back into the almost empty container.
Lucifer and Hermione shuffled off, paid for their sweets and then stepped outside, "Shall we head to the 'Three Broomsticks' now?" She asked as she shivered, "Getting a bit too cold for my liking."
'-----It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall.
Merry Christmas!'
"I'd like to see Black try to break into anywhere here with Dumbledore in a rage mode after Dementors betrayal. And anyone else would hear a break in wouldn't they? Everyone lives over their shops."
"The Dementors didn't stop him at Azkaban," Lucifer muttered darkly, "If he can get out of a fortress of them and sneak into Hogwarts without crossing the army that are watching the gates, I think he can make it into Hogsmeade. In fact, he'd have probably had to come through this village to even get to the castle."
"I don't like this, Harry needs to be careful. Should we go after them in 'The Three Broomsticks'?" Hermione was planning to save Potter's future demise at once. Together they followed after the black and red-haired boys, called after him.
"Harry?"
Lucifer looked around at how softly she had spoken and followed her gaze where he saw Harry leaving 'the Three Broomsticks', cloak wrapped down around his shoulders so only his head was visible, and shaking with suppressed rage.
xxxxxx
"And they apparently decided that was a perfectly reasonable thing to not tell him?"
"Lucifer, you know they were just trying to protect him!"
"And what? Now we need to deal with a Potter who wants to charge down every door looking for Black because he's found out what he did?"
Lucifer and Hermione stood in the Hogwarts grounds, they had just returned from Hogsmeade, he was pacing back and forth, not angry at his girlfriend. Far from it, just needed to vent, even after her naked breasts being whipped raw using 'Lasso of Truth' , and pleasure sealed to the edge of her orgasm, Amelia Bones couldn't reveal everything to Evelyn, she was under the 'Unbreakable Vow.'
"The most we can do now is be there for him," she said reassuringly, placing a hand on his shoulder so Lucifer's pacing slowed.
"Sorry…" He said with a sigh, turning his eyes towards the Forbidden Forest, "Just always seems like things happen to us because our 'elders' decide it's not an important enough detail until the wrong moment. Hagrid's involvement with Chamber, Quirrell almost got the stone, and now this... I get they don't owe us anything, but lack of 'forthcoming' information keeps almost getting you killed."
"Believe me, I know," Hermione's voice was so soft, so shaky, that Lucifer turned to look at her.
The frustration he felt at the teachers was fading away.
"I've almost lost you two years in a row now. And we've only been he--- First to Manticore and then the Basilisk. If not for you being a descendant---" Hermione paused, taking a deep breath and then pushed on for both of their sakes, "---I know how you feel. Because I feel it too, but getting frustrated at the teachers won't help us.... We need to just get on with things and stay out of it. Black should be left to the teachers."
"So were Riddle, Quirrell and that was still left to us…" Lucifer muttered under his breath.
xxxxx
Students returned from Hogsmeade loaded with sweets and trinkets. During dinner, he was at the Slytherin table listening to Daphne who proudly listed everything she'd bought. She'd even got him two scarves and two pairs of gloves, and demanded he try them later.
If they didn't fit, she'd simply buy different ones. Hermione had purchased parchment he'd asked for on the way back, stuffed in his 'Undetectable Extension' charm bag, easily over a hundred pounds' worth, more than ten thousand sheets. She had basically emptied the entire stationery shop.
"What do you need this much parchment for?" She had asked, baffled at putting those empty papers inside under his gaze.
"To use it. A lot of alchemy formulas are a pain to derive, I need to write everything down and archive it."
This was nothing, really. A tenth of the Nicolas family library consisted of his own experiment logs.
Currently, she was at the Gryffindor table waiting for Lucifer to get away from Daphne's clutches, hoping he would be here for dessert at least.
The moment she thought th-----
"Hahahaha."
"Albus!"
A roar like thunder shook the entire Great Hall, years of gathered dust drifted from the ceiling and dozens of students squeezed their eyes shut in pain. Lucifer, in the middle of sipping soup, froze, that voice sounded awfully familiar.
Dumbledore who was giddily chatting with Professor McGonagall regarding her visit to the 'Three Broomsticks',' regarding matters of Black also froze.
That voice sounded awfully familiar.
A heartbeat later----
Both their eyes widened.
Gellert Grindelwald.
xxxxxx
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