Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for the wait everyone but here's a very long chapter for you all. I don't want to make excuses but after the last update I had final exams than christmas and now I'm heading into my second term. On top of that I was working on a few other writing projects. If anyone is a fan of the Percy Jackson series, I've launched a new work, called Home Is Where the Hearth Is, co-written with my friend Shadowz101 on our shared profile EmeraldShadowz101. It's a Harry Potter & Percy Jackson crossover so if that interests anyone, go check that out.

Now that the shameless self promotion is over, I wanted to thank you all like usual for the continued support, be it for following, favoriting, and especially for leaving reviews. They all mean a lot to me so thank you!

DISCLAIMER: This chapter does contain a lemon so be warned ahead of time. It's actually my first attempt at a lemon ever so I'm not too sure how it turned out. I hope it is ok. I tried to make it actually realistic for someone's first time and not ridiculous like some other stuff I've read before. I'm not sure if I accomplished it or not, but I guess you will all be the judge of that.

Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!

CLANG!

The noise reverberated around the courtyard as the two blades clashed together.

CLANG… CLANG… CLANG! CLANG!

Harry could feel sweat starting to pour down his forehead from the exertion he'd been putting himself through. Collecting the three Deathly Hallows may have turned him into some kind of superhuman being that neither he nor Rias really understood yet, but it seemed his physical enhancements were not limitless. Harry eyed Kiba warily. The young devil was fast and, as he'd quickly discovered, very skilled with a blade… or at least he assumed so, it wasn't like he really had to experience necessary to be the judge of that.

At the moment, it seemed his opponent wasn't going to come at him anymore. He'd have to make the first move. Pushing off with his feet, he charged forward. He had found that he was a lot faster now too, and that was saying something, as his speed was something he'd always prided himself on in his younger years. It was a necessary talent to develop if he wanted to survive Dudley's games of 'Harry Hunting.' Unfortunately, as fast as he was, it wasn't enough, since Kiba was still faster.

Harry wasn't even sure what had happened. One moment he had been preparing himself to strike, and the next the other devil's sword was somehow inside his guard, twisting it at such an angle where his hand was forced to let go on reflex. Hearing his sword clang as it hit the ground, something swept under his feet at the same time, and within half a second, he found himself falling. Luckily a strong hand grabbed his arm, stopping him from hitting the floor, even if the other hand held a blade at his throat.

"Do you yield?" The blonde asked.

"Yea, yea," Harry groaned, though it was with a smile. "You win again."

Kiba pulled him back to his feet. He hadn't yet won a match against Rias' knight, not that he'd expected too. He had apparently been training with blades for years, not to mention his sacred gear fit the theme quite well.

"You did well," he said. "You've only really been at it for a week, and you've made good progress in light of that. The fact that you'll probably favour style quite similar to my own has helped a lot too. Just give it time."

"I know," Harry replied. "I've definitely learned that there is much more involved than just trying to stab someone with the pointy end."

Kiba scowled, which he knew was an extremely uncommon sight, even if he had only known the devil for just over a week. As far as he could tell, almost nothing could ruffle his polite exterior… well, that was until Harry first picked up a sword. He'd explained to Kiba his one experience using the Sword of Gryffindor, and had attempted to demonstrate the things he'd tried against the Basilisk, wildly waving his sword around as he did so. He hadn't been amused… in fact his expression had been quite pained. Luckily, for all involved, Harry was quickly put on the right track after that.

"After what I've shown you. I don't believe you'll be needing to resort to those… tactics… ever again." He actually shuddered as he said that.

"Come on, it couldn't have been that bad!" Harry tried, but all received in response was a polite, albeit slightly condescending smile that clearly said yes… yes it had been that bad.

"You've been working hard this past week," Kiba observed. "Have you had much more luck casting magic without using your wand, and I mean completely without it, no ring?"

Harry shook his head, the familiar disappointment settling in to the bottom of his stomach, "No, not really. I've started to get a lot more comfortable with all kinds of new magic, but I haven't had any luck with much without my focus."

"That's progress at least," the other boy smiled, a thoughtful look coming over his face. "If you want to start trying to incorporate magic into your sword fighting, you'll need to think of some kind of solution then, as you won't be able to use your focus properly like that when it is transformed into a blade. Maybe we could find you another weapon at some point."

Harry frowned, he hadn't thought of that, but Kiba was right. It was something else to put on his mental to do list. Glancing across the ground, he saw his fallen blade. He needed to grab it. Before the thought had even finished crossing his mind, it disappeared with a flash of dark energy, much like the shadows he'd discovered he could control, and it reappeared in his hand. He looked down at it in shock.

"Did you mean to do that?" Kiba asked, looking intrigued.

"No," Harry answered. "I just thought about how I needed to go grab it and…"

Kiba was looking thoughtful again, "This is good. It means you'll never be disarmed."

He nodded. Kiba was right again. Barely even pausing to give it a conscious thought, Harry transformed the elder wand back from a sword into a ring, slipping it on his finger.

"Are you excited to return to the human world tomorrow?" The devil asked breaking the temporary silence.

"Yea, I am," Harry smiled, though he had to force it a bit.

It had turned out that the letter Fawkes had delivered to him a week earlier in the library had been from Professor Dumbledore. It wasn't much of a surprise, really, seeing who had delivered it, but he hadn't been sure why his headmaster was contacting him. He'd relayed the time that the Weasleys and Hermione were planning on going to Diagon Alley for their annual school shopping trip and indicated that if he wanted to get that done, it might be a good day to go. He'd also warned him that Mrs. Weasley was still very concerned for his safety and had been owling the old wizard daily looking for news. From the way it was worded, Harry was pretty sure that his headmaster was subtly begging him to return, if only to free him from the Weasley matriarch's ire.

Apparently Kiba had noticed his strange expression because a moment later, he asked, "Is everything ok?"

Harry sighed, "Just a bit nervous. I wasn't exactly truthful the last time I saw my friends, and I'm pretty sure they could tell. They deserve to hear the truth from me… about all of this."

"Well, if they're truly your friends, I'm sure things will work out fine," he reassured him. "However, I understand your trepidation. The majority of humanity does not have a good reaction to the mention of the word devil."

"I'm not really sure how they'll react, but I'm sure they'll come around eventually… or at least I hope so. We've been through a lot together over the years, and I don't really want to lose that," Harry explained.

"If it's as you say, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about than," despite his words, Kiba frowned a moment later. "You are aware tha-"

Harry glanced up at the swordsman when he stopped mid sentence, "What is it?"

"It's nothing," the polite expression had returned to the boys face. Much like Rias' confident front, Harry recognized this for what it was… a mask. "What I was going to say was out of line. Please forget it."

Harry frowned. He just had to know now, "I don't mind. I'd like to know what you were going to say now."

Kiba hesitated, "Are you sure."

"Of course," he replied.

"It was just that… I'd heard from Akeno that you had discovered that your new powers had extended your life much like that of a devil, potentially even farther," he said delicately. "I was just wondering if you realized that this meant you were most likely going to have to leave your friends behind one day. They'll continue to age while you will not."

Harry stiffened. He had indeed already thought about that after realizing the truth about his new life span earlier that week. He was by no means yet over that fact, it was probably something that was going to haunt him for a long time. The only thing good thing from that came from this discovery was that it had given him even more motivation.

"I do know that," Harry said. "Honestly, its what convinced me to tell them both the truth tomorrow. I need to enjoy as much time with them as I can, and it why I need to get strong enough so that I can end the threat of Voldemort once and all. I will not let him terrorize my friends and ruin their lives."

"I see," Kiba said with a smile. "We had all wondered what had driven your training so hard."

Harry smiled somewhat bitterly, his mind going somewhere else completely, "That's one of the reasons, yes."

"Oh?" The devil looked interested.

Harry paused for a second, his mind going over that day again, "I met Riser last week."

No one spoke for a minute.

"I'd heard," Kiba finally admitted. 'He is an... interesting person…"

"That's putting it lightly," Harry muttered. "I guess the problem is, I have this gut feeling that I won't be able to get us all out of this situation without me fighting him at some point. I don't want to fight him, but it just feels inevitable at this point. He tried to turn me to ashe just because I was a human, for Merlin's sake."

Kiba gave him a funny look at the end, but his expression was pretty grim after that, "That would be quite unfortunate."

"Don't have any faith in me?" Harry joked sardonically.

Instead of of answering, he asked him a question, voice serious, "How much has the President told you about Riser?"

Harry paused, a bit thrown off again Kiba and Konneko seemed to insist on addressing her as such most of the time. He wouldn've asked about that if it weren't for the tone of the knights inquiry, "A little bit. I understand that the Phenex Clan is an important family in the underworld, and I even understand why the arranged marriage was set up in the first place, even if I don't agree with it."

"Anything else?" He asked. "Anything about their abilities?"

"Well, it seems pretty obvious that they are mainly practitioners of fire magic," Harry scratched his head. "I think those are the main things I've been told."

Kiba squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, looking conflicted, "It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if you end up having to fight Riser one day, or at least defend yourself from him. I don't believe the President wants this outcome. She'd probably rather that you avoid a fight with him at all costs, and that's why she hasn't told you more details about that."

Harry wasn't sure how to feel about that. He didn't want to have to fight Riser either, but he couldn't help but be reminded of the year before when the Order had tried to forcibly keep him out of the fight against Voldemort by withholding information. This wasn't quite the same and he wasn't exactly upset with Rias for not having taken the time to explain all of Riser's abilities yet because if things went properly, he shouldn't have to worry about that. The problem was that knowing his luck, things wouldn't work out the way they were supposed to, and with Kiba seemingly offering up information, he was extremely interested in finding out more about Rias' ex-fiance.

"I don't want to fight him either," Harry admitted. "But based off what I saw, I don't know if I'll have a choice. I have no doubt he'll come after me at some point once the news breaks."

"As the husband to the next head of the Gremory clan, you will have a degree of protection, both physically, and politically," the other devil was quick to reassure him. "He couldn't get away with assaulting you outright."

"I know, but all the same, I think my training is important," Harry told him confidently, or at least as confidently as he could. What Harry didn't mention was that he wasn't a big fan of politics and highly doubted someone using it to protect him. His own personal history on the matter had only shown people involved in the ministry trying to make his life a living hell. "So what can you tell me about Riser than? About his family?"

Kiba hesitated again, before seeming to come to a decision, "The most important thing you need to realize is that Riser is a member of the Phenex clan-"

"I know that," Harry interrupted. "That much was explained to me. They are an influential family with in the Seventy-Two Pillars of the Underworld."

"That is true, but there is more to it than that," he explained. "There is positions within the Pillars as well. The head of the Gremory family is considered a Duke of the Underworld while the head of the Phenex family is a Marquis. They are close in rank, but it does mean the Gremory's are of a higher status."

"Shouldn't solve a lot of the problems with the contract than?" Harry asked. "Do the Phenex's really have that many courses of recourse against a higher ranked family like that?"

"Both yes and no," Kiba said. "The fact that Lord Gremory is a Duke will help them for any repercussions that may fall on them for breaking contract, it won't cover everything. Even those of the highest rank have to be held accountable. Contracts are taken very seriously amongst devils."

"I see…" Harry paused for a second to assimilate this new information. "I'm a little confused on how this will help me fight him if I need to?"

Kiba smiled, "It won't but I was working towards a point. As I'm sure you already know, many of the families of the Seventy-Two Pillars have certain abilities passed down through their families. I believe you've already witnessed the Gremory's Power of Destruction."

Harry had indeed witnessed it first hand. That crimson mass of energy had been an awe inspiring sight, and he knew even now he hadn't seen it at its full potential. To think it was passed down through the family was crazy. Sirzechs was supposed to be the strongest devil alive, he could only imagine what his use of that power would be like.

"I have," Harry admitted, his mind finally catching on to what the devil before him was getting at. "And the Phenexes abilities must be related to their fire magic like I was saying earlier."

"Sort of," he replied. "It's actually the regenerative abilities of the actual Phoenix. They can heal almost instantly from nearly any injury. The only way to keep them down is somehow suppress that ability, which I don't think is possible, or to somehow push them far enough to break their mind, as each regeneration does cause some mental strain."

"Is that all?" Harry joked, though inside he was feeling more than a little uncomfortable with this new information. He couldn't stop thinking about how Riser had healed that giant hole in his chest instantaneously after Rias had put it there.

'I never said it would be easy, but it's really the only way to truly win a fight against a Phenex," he said seriously. "There's a reason Riser's older brother, Ruval, has been in the top ten rankings of the rating games for years."

"Well, sounds like fighting him is hopeless," Harry said, not that it would ever stop him if he needed to. He already knew all about fighting against someone who completely outclassed him.

"I'm not sure how you would be able to beat him," Rias' knight admitted, "but I think it's better if you are aware of the dangers. You have legendary powers of your own under your belt now. Who knows, maybe you'll figure something out."

Harry's thoughts flashed back to how he'd held back Riser's fire that day in the library when he'd tried incinerate him. Maybe Kiba was right…. maybe he would figure something out.

Ravel Phenex was confused. That wasn't a state she was used to feeling. She'd always been a bit unsure, a bit... ok... very... nervous at the idea failing, and overall a bit awkward despite her constant attempts to emulate the poise expected of a proper high born lady. Her saving grace had always been that at least she'd known what she wanted in life and who she was supposed to be. She may be the last in line to inherit headship of her family, having three older brothers who came before her, but even still, her family had always been her first priority. The Phenex clan had a long and rich history, a legacy she did her best to uphold, even if it was something she'd always struggled with, and something she'd always admired Riser for being able to do.

The problem was that now things had changed… she didn't want anything different, and she was still just as nervous as before, but the reasoning behind her goals had shifted completely. Instead of upholding their already great legacy, she was starting to feel more like it actually needed saving. The events at the library had challenged her world view completely. The perfect image she held of her older brother had cracked that day.

The magician, Harry, had been nice. She'd gone over and over that afternoon in her head, trying to figure out where the human magic user had gone wrong, but to her consternation, she couldn't figure it out. Sure, he'd been a little rude, but even she could admit her brother had gone a bit far when they'd first me. It was nothing worth attacking him over. She'd known something was up when Riser had offered to shake his hand… that wasn't like her brother... he would never treat a human like an equal. Of course she'd been right, not that she'd expected what was to come.

It had been that moment that things had changed, even if it had taken her a few days to finally realize it. Harry really hadn't done anything wrong… it was Riser's fault. She didn't know what to think about that. How could someone in her family… someone she looked up to so much, really be that cruel? Was this the future of the Phenex clan? Riser may not be the heir, but he was a very prominent member of their esteemed family… he affected their image. That was something she'd always been worried about for herself, that she would shame them, but now it seemed it may her brother who was going to be the problem. She'd wanted to uphold the family legacy like her siblings, now she wanted to save it.

It was because of this that she was currently trailing after her brother as he marched angrily across their family's manor. It wasn't a new sight, he'd been in a foul mood all week, even the attentions of the many girls in his peerage had not being able to calm him down, much to his Queen, Yubelluna's, displeasure. He'd ranted and raved about Rias as well as her supposedly 'uppity human magician' almost nonstop. The other reason it wasn't a strange occurrence was because anyone who was familiar with the two of them would be used to seeing her following her brother around, the only difference now was why she was doing so.

The two of them finally reached the large doors that led to their fathers study, and Ravel was suddenly feeling very thankful that she'd followed her instincts to trail her brother. Whatever was coming, she had a feeling it wouldn't be good. Riser didn't even knock, shoving his hands against the doors, they crashed open with a bang. A man looking a lot like a Riser, except for the fact that his hair which was much spikier at the back and that he appeared to be about ten years older than him, if they had been humans, looked up from his desk.

"Riser? Ravel?" He sounded somewhat surprise. "What can I do for you?"

The third oldest son of the Phenex family didn't stop for pleasantries as he strode into the room, "Riser wants the wedding moved up! Riser is-"

"Oh knock that off," their father rebuked him. "You know it sounds ridiculous."

Ravel winced a bit at this. That was basically the first thing Harry had said to him too, not that others hadn't tried to get him to stop doing that for years too. It wouldn't do them any favours with his mood anyway.

"Ri-" the angry devil gritted his teeth. "I am tired for waiting for Rias to be ready!"

Her father rubbed his temples, looking tired, as she slowly followed her brother in, stepping to the side, "We've made an agreement with the Gremory family that we'd allow Lady Rias to finish her university education in the human world first. I've told you this before."

"I never agreed to these terms!" He exclaimed imperiously.

"You didn't need to," Lord Phenex said calmly. "It was a deal brokered between myself and Lord Gremory many years ago. You had no say in it."

Riser flopped down in the chair before his father's desk looking petulant.

"As far as I heard, Lady Rias is still very much against the arrangement, and moving things up will do you no favours. She is going through a rebellious phase at the moment. Give her a few more years and I'm sure she'll have calmed down. It will make things more pleasant for your relationship," the older devil advised. "Even if I wanted to do as you asked, it almost impossible since we already agreed to different terms. I have nothing to pressure Lord Gremory with anyway that might make him change his mind."

"Riser at least wants tha-" he was cut from look alone from his father. Ravel was sure she could actually here her brother's teeth grinding together. "I at least want that filthy human magician taken care of! He disrespected me, and even assaulted me! Rias didn't even do anything to stop or reprimand him!"

The somewhat tired expression on her father's face vanished in an instant as he got serious, "Really? You were attacked by a contracted magician of the Gremory family?"

"Yes!" Riser replied, and to her horror, she could see that specific glint in her brother's eye, indicating to her he was of up to something.

"That… is troubling. Despite their known coddling of their servants, Lord Gremory isn't one to let a situation like that go," Lord Phenex muttered, running his hand along his chin.

"It's true!" Riser was suddenly looking excited. "Rias even blew a hole clean through my chest. If I weren't immortal, it would have killed me!"

"How many I times have I told you that you aren't actual immortal," he reprimanded. "We can be injured and can die. You should remember that or it will be your undoing."

Riser made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat that had his father narrowing his eyes, though that changed a moment later.

"If what you say is true, this may change things," Lord Phenex ruminated. A moment later, a somewhat greedy look came over his face. "Not that I want to cause problems for Zeoticus, but the family does come first…"

Ravel was surprised to find that her hands had clenched into fists over the course of this conversation. Her father was going to act like this too? It was obvious he wasn't as bad as Riser and yet given the opportunity, he still seemed ready to take advantage of his supposed friends misfortune. She'd never do that to any of her friends… if she had any friends that is.

Riser nodded his head, "Unless they want it to come out publicly, they'd have to negotiate with you."

"Perhaps, I will be able to do something about your request after all, Riser," Both devils smiled at that, but it was obvious to Ravel that Riser wanted more than that.

"But what about the magician himself?" He asked incessantly.

Lord Phenex furrowed his brow, "I don't know what I could do about him directly. He's contracted to the Gremory family and as thus will be protected by them. The best I will probably be able to do is use it to put some pressure on Lord Gremory for your request."

"But Riser wants him gone!" He snarled, his twisting in an ugly fashion. His father didn't even get a chance to try and reprimand him for his return to speaking in the third person. "The human scum made advances on Riser's little sister!"

"WHAT?" Her father's head had whipped around to stare at her, but she'd already blanched. What was her brother thinking? That wasn't even remotely true.

"No!" Ravel didn't ever realize it was her that had spoken until the room fell silent. She didn't know what she was doing openly confronting her brother like this, but it was too late to back down now. "Harry didn't any advances towards on me! He didn't even attack Riser. Riser attacked Harry first after insulting him. Rias only stepped in to save Harry's life!"

She was immediately set upon by Riser's glare as he spoke slowly, "Riser don't know what you are talking about. Ravel must be confu-"

"No!" She repeated, her own temper flaring for the first time. "You're just jealous because that Phoenix accepted him and wouldn't come near you!"

Riser stiffened, his face flushing a deep red, from rage or embarrassment, she wasn't sure. Whatever it was, her very short burst of unusual confidence was fading fast, so summoning the last dregs of her ability she looked at her father, "Nothing inappropriate happened except for Riser's actions. He just wants you to push the Gremorys to move up the wedding because Rias hates him."

"Is this true?" Their father wasn't looking so happy now, and Riser shrunk down in his seat. "If you really did try to harm the Gremory's contracted magician in front of family's heiress… I've never heard of anything so foolish."

"Father-"

"No!" It was Lord Phenex that was angry this time. "You think this somehow puts us in the position of strength, Riser? I doesn't. If anything, Lord Gremory now has something to hold over our heads. I'll see what I can do about this wedding since you won't shut up about it, but I highly doubt I'll get anywhere."

The youngest son of the Phenex family stood up from his spot in front of the desk stiffly, "Thank you, father."

Ravel was pretty sure those words had been physically painful for him, but at least he had the sense to stay mostly polite to their father. The devil in question just waved his two children off, his dismissal easy for them both to see. Exiting the room, she had almost forgotten about about what she'd just done. Riser, wheeling around to face her, took care of that very quickly.

"What was that?" He spat. "Riser's little sister betrayed her King!"

Despite being a bit shaken, she forced herself not to cower under the effects of his rage. Everyone in the family had been frustrated with her at some point or another, but she'd never had her big brother direct his anger at her so directly.

"You lied!" she protested.

"The filthy human had it coming," he growled. "He needs to learn his place."

"You would have killed him!" She cried. "Harry didn't deserve that!"

She realized immediately that was the wrong thing to say, as his eyes seemed to flash with actual fire.

"Riser sees now… he has already gotten his hooks into you," her brother said quietly, his narrowing. Ravel couldn't help but take a step back. Had her brother gone insane? What was he even going on about? "But don't forget who you belong to?"

"B-b-belong to?" She spluttered, her face flushing. "What are you talking about?"

"You're in my peerage!" He yelled. "You are mine!"

"Despite what some people think, I'm your sister not one of your harem girls!"

"You are my sister," he agreed, "and as such you will do as I say.

Ravel let out a startled cry as he grabbed her wrist, turning to pull her along. She wasn't sure what he was planning to do, but what she did know was that she was getting angry. Years of pent up frustration from trying her hardest over and over, never to live up to her family's expectations finally boiled over, the way her brother was currently treating her as if she was some kind of object being the catalyst.

They'd only made it a few feet down the hallway, before Riser released her with a cry of pain. A blast of fire had lashed from the surface of her skin where he was holding her. Any member of the Phenex family generally found themselves immune to fire based attacks… except of course from their own kin.

"You burned me!" He sounded shocked, looking down at his injured hand. The burn was a gone a moment later, his own flames flaring up and healing it, but she knew from experience that the injuries from your family's fire were harder and more painful to heal.

It didn't take him long to start advancing on her after that, eyes burning with rage. Luckily enough her own anger hadn't evaporated yet either. She could also still remember what Harry had told her, 'Anger can be quite a powerful fuel for fire magic, but it also is one of the more dangerous ones.' She didn't have time for anything else. Giving into that rage inside her she let her demonic power loose.

Fire escaped her with a roar. It spread around her like a protective cocoon. Tendrils lashing out intermittently to keep her brother back. He didn't seem to need need much encouragement as he stumbled a few steps away, nearly falling over in the process.

With great effort, she tried to pull it all under control so she could snuff the fire out. It was readily apparent that the fire didn't want this. She could feel it fighting against her control and when nothing happened at first, she couldn't help but feel the building panic in her chest. As if summoned by her need, his words flashed through her head again. She needed a strong will to squash the flames down. Focusing her mind harder than she ever had before, she smothered her emotions down, the real fire copying her mental action and seeming to get sucked together into one central point before her, only to disappear with a small pop a moment later.

"How…" her brother stared at her, his mouth open.

"Something he showed me at the library," she said haughtily. She may have quenched the fire, but her anger was still simmering away under the surface, and she couldn't deny a faint trickle of amusement that came at seeing the look on her brothers face. She still didn't know what to think about how quickly Riser's standing in her mind had changed.

"Riser will find a way to get him," he said, pulling himself back to his feet, his eyes drilling into her. "He wants to take you from Riser, and I could tell he wanted Riser's Rias too. He will find out why a lowly human such as himself could never stand before a devil of the immortal Phenex clan."

"No you won't," she said taking a step forward.

"Riser will forgive his baby sister this time," he said, giving her that patronizing look she was coming to hate. "You must soon learn not to speak out against your king."

Without another word he walked away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He was acting as if she hadn't done anything at all, as if the very foundation of her world view was not being unravelled all around her. Taking one step… and then another, she began hurrying down a different hall. Her heels echoed loudly around her as moved towards her destination.

By the time she'd reached her room, she felt both surprised at seeing her door before her already and yet simultaneously like she'd been walking for years. It was contradictory, yet that reflected her life at the moment, so she didn't give it much mind. Yanking the door open, she entered, slamming it closed behind her. Ravel didn't even make it in any father before than that before her strength gave out. Sliding down the door, she leant her back against it.

Her whole body was shaking. Part of it, she knew, was the rage she still felt at her brother. Not only was it his actions themselves that upset her, but it was the added fact that they had betrayed her own defining beliefs in him. Apart from that, she couldn't help the fear that was starting to set in. She'd never stood up to him or anyone from her family before. She'd never thought she had to. She'd thought they were always right about her. What would happen now? It was made all the worse as her adrenaline faded away.

Getting shakily to her feet, she moved over to her bed. She didn't know what to do. It felt like everything was falling apart. The only positive she had to focus on was her first ever successful use of large scale fire magic. Harry had been right. The use of anger had been effective, even if it wasn't something she particularly wanted to use again. It had felt so chaotic… so out of control. It was the opposite of what she liked.

Instead, she focused on the intense all consuming happiness she felt at finally having succeeded at this. That had a good feeling. Focusing on that however lead to a more confusing territory. It lead to thoughts on how good it had felt to have someone genuinely be nice to her and not because of who she was. At first it seemed like he didn't even recognize her. He'd helped her… just because he seemed to be a genuinely nice person.

A small flame whooshed to life in the palm of her hand. It was warm, tingling pleasantly against her hand. She could feel the strength from it, despite its small size. Even more importantly was how it wasn't currently trying to rage out of control. He had been right again, the type of emotion did seem to matter.

Shaking her head, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes, she tried to figure out what to do. She allowed the fire to flicker and die in her palm without complaint, her hand clenching back into a fist. Riser was going to try and kill Harry. She knew that. It was inevitable. She didn't think this would be the last time he'd try to engineer something to gain their father's support either. She had to do something... she had to warn him… but how?

For the umpteenth time that night, Harry's words came back to her, 'If you are ever interested in talking some more about magic, you could send me a letter.'

Could she really? Did she dare actually take him up on her offer? Ravel hesitated. She did have to warn him somehow… right? It was her duty to do so. It was nothing more than that. Moving over to her desk, she pulled out her stationary set and started to write. Whatever happened, at least he would be aware.

Maybe she could at least mention how his advice had helped too…

"How was your afternoon with Kiba?" Rias asked as she finished up her packing.

"It was good," he replied with a smile. The information he'd learned about Riser had been a bit disheartening, but he wasn't planning to get into that discussion at the moment. "He claims I'm improving, but I don't really see it. I've never even come close to beating him."

"It will come with time," she gave him a warm smile that sent a strange feeling similar to that of butterflies fluttering around his stomach. He was still amazed at how much he'd come to care for her in such a short amount of time and vice versa. As hard as it was for him to admit, he could no longer deny that she did in fact care for him. He wasn't used to having someone like that in his life… but he could definitely get used to it. "Both Akeno and I agree you've made remarkable progress with your magic too."

"I've nowhere near mastered any of it though," he said, finally admitting his worries outloud, but Rias' expression didn't falter.

"Of course you haven't," she said. "It's only been week. I didn't expect you to master anything, but you have been able to improve in several areas. That's remarkable for the one week you've been training here. If you can keep up this rate over a longer period of time… just think of where you'll be in months, if not years."

"Thanks," he said. "Sorry for being so worried. I just need to get strong enough to be able to defeat Voldemort."

'and Riser' was left unsaid.

"You will beat him," Rias reaffirmed. "You have much more power available to you now than he could even imagine. We'll need to talk to Dumbledore and find a way to deal with his horcruxes, but apart from that, I don't think he will be a problem. If we hadn't been swarming with followers that night and if we hadn't been so caught off guard, I'm sure I could have at least decimated the body he's currently using."

Harry wished he was that confident and logically he knew he should be, but it just wasn't that simple. Voldemort was powerful, there was no denying that, but it was nothing compared to some of these devils he'd met here. Sirzechs could probably take him down in seconds, but Harry had a feeling, even if he asked, it wouldn't be so easy. Having one of the leaders of the Underworld so blatantly interfering with another faction of the supernatural world probably wouldn't go over well. It seemed politics were destined to be the bane of his existence no matter what.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" She asked. "Are you excited to see Ron and Hermione?"

"It seems like everyone is asking me that today," Harry chuckled. "But yes I am excited… and nervous."

"About what?" She asked in concern.

He paused, "They're my friends. I can't keep all of this a secret from them anymore… we've been through too much together. Are you ok with that?"

"That's your decision to make," Rias paused, a somewhat uncomfortable look passing over her face. "Just be prepared that they may not be very friendly with me afterwards. I don't know them well enough to judge, but most humans don't do well with the ideas of devils."

"Kiba said something similar," Harry admitted, "but what I wanted to know was if you will be ok?"

"I'll be fine," Rias said softly, her lips turning up once again. "I hope more than anything that we'll all be able to get along and I'll try my best in that regard, but I've had more than enough experience dealing with those who hate our kind. Don't worry yourself about it, you don't have to choose between us. I'm not going to try and stop you from seeing them."

Not quite sure how to put his response in to words, Harry crossed the few feet between them, laying his hands on her hips lightly. Meeting her beautiful blue-green eyes, he paused for a second before leaning in the rest of the way and kissing her. This was one thing Harry was certain he was never going to tire of.

Pulling back a moment later, Harry allowed his forehead to rest against hers, murmuring a quiet, "Thank you."

She tilted her head up again, bringing her velvet lips to move against his own. He couldn't help but move his arms around her at this point, tightening his grip so that their bodies were pressed together. They both backed away after that, Harry taking a moment to calm himself down.

"We should probably get some sleep. I'm not sure what the time change is like from the Underworld to England, but tomorrow will be a busy day," he leaned in for one last quick peck before moving to make sure the bag of stuff Rias had made him buy was ready to go as well. He wasn't even planning on bringing it all seeing as how Rias had said he could leave the stuff he wouldn't need here. It was strange to think that this place was actually… sort of… his home now. They were all family…

"You know, this is going to be the last night we have completely alone for a while," her words broke him out of his thoughts, and he spared her a quick glance.

"I know," he replied fondly. "I'll miss this."

He looked back at what he was doing, not hearing a response from his new wife until he nearly jumped from her hand suddenly touching his shoulder from above and behind. Dropping his last items into his bag, he stood and turned to face her.

"I'll miss it too," she said softly, "That's why I was thinking that we could make it special… we could have some fun while it's just the two of us here alone."

Harry looked at her questioningly, taking in the way she was biting her lip nervously, but it wasn't until her face slowly started to gain a healthy flush that he started to clue in.

"Oh! You mean that you want to- that we should- err…" Harry stuttered.

They hadn't really talked about this anymore since that one day. They'd bathed together a few times since then, getting a bit more comfortable with each other's bodies, but that was it. They hadn't gone any further.

"Yeah…" she said shyly, barely able to hold eye contact. "Or well… only if you want to..."

"No! I mean yes! I… uhh..." Harry struggled to order the rush of thoughts running through his head. He hadn't been expecting this when he got back from his spar with Kiba. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes as before. "Sorry… I… I think I'd like that."

Harry could feel his own face getting hot as well. Hearing his response, she had looked up at him bashfully through her thick eyelashes. There were millions of adjectives he could use to describe the absolute perfection that was Rias Gremory, but it was safe to say she took his breath away. Rias had lots of different looks, be it serious and responsible, fun and playful, or even seductive and flirty, but for some reason nothing was more attractive than the innocent and somewhat nervous look on her face at that moment. It reminded him that she had no more experience in this than he did. They were figuring things out together and somehow that comforted his nerves.

Leaning down, much like he had a few minutes earlier, he captured her in another kiss, though he was surprised at the intensity with which she returned it. Before he knew what was happening, her tongue was running along the edge of his lips seeking entrance. Not one to deny her, he opened his mouth letting her in. He still found having another person's tongue in his mouth to be a peculiar sensation, though not in a bad way at all, just peculiar.

Suddenly feeling a bit bold, Harry allowed his hands to trail downward, slipping over the curve of her amazing ass. Giving it a bit of a squeeze, Rias moaned into his mouth, the vibrations running over onto his own tongue. It was an extremely sexy moment, but his mind couldn't help but go farther. He wondered what that same vibration would feel like with her mouth wrapped around his- NOPE! He couldn't think about that now or he wouldn't even make it to the main event.

Leaving his hands firmly attached to where they were, Harry pulled up, lifting Rias into the air. Her mouth becoming dislodged in their movement, she let out a small squeal that he'd never heard from her before and her legs suddenly wrapped around his waist. Pressed together as they were, Harry was sure she could feel his excitement. He was trying not to let it embarrass him to much.

Moving towards the bed, he gasped and stumbled slightly as he suddenly felt Rias' tongue trailing along his neck, near his ear.

"Rias... " he breathed. "What are you-"

She nipped lightly at his ear lobe, actually causing him to stumble this time. Luckily, he was near the bed, so he just had to turn himself so that it was him that hit the mattress, shielding his wife from the jostle. It seemed to have worked because she didn't seem perturbed in the slightest, in fact, she continued on what she was doing before. Nipping at his ear one more time, she then proceeded suck at his neck. With a lack of anything else to do under her strange ministrations, he removed one hand from its previous resting place and brought it up to run through her long soft hair.

She pulled back a moment later, and taking one glance at his expression, started giggling. He couldn't help but chuckle as well, he was pretty sure he looked just as bewildered as he felt. Giving him a sultry look, she grabbed the bottom of her tight sweater, pulling it up over her head slowly, wiggling her body enticingly. Harry felt his eyes widen as the lacy black bra she was wearing came into view. It was one of the few times she'd actually worn such a garment in their room, and yet she was about to be taking it off anyway. It was quite ironic. Flinging her shirt away, Rias folded her arms under her chest, pushing her bra covered breasts upwards.

"What do you think?" She asked coyly.

"You look absolutely stunning," he replied honestly. It was true. There was no other way to say it.

Harry couldn't help but think it was adorable how her eyes widened at his declaration, her facing gathering a dusting of pink on her cheeks all over again. He had a feeling she hadn't been expecting such a forthright and honest declaration.

Smiling slightly, Harry nudged her off, to her momentary confusion. A look of recognition passed over her face a moment later as she saw it was so he could shift back farther on the bed instead of hanging half off like he had before. He had barely made it up near the pillows before Rias was on him again, flipping him back over so that he was pinned on his back. Before he had a chance to ask the devil heiress what she was doing, she was already attacking his mouth hungrily. He responded in kind.

Mouths moving together, Harry moved his other hand up as well, fumbling at the clasp of her bra. She'd had him help her do the same before a shower a few days earlier, but that had been easier since he'd been able to see what he was doing as she faced away from him. The fact that she had him so distracted wasn't helping his coordination either. Noticing his struggles, she ceased her invasion of his mouth, sitting a bit straighter.

"Was this what you want?" She unclasped the strap, allowing the last stitch of clothing on her upper body to fall away. Even if it had been a sight he'd become familiar with since he'd met her, it still nearly took his breath away. She was perfect, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out what he'd done to deserve her.

Belatedly he realized he hadn't even answered, and managed to nod his head vigorously, "Yeah."

With as small smirk adorning her face, she leaned forward to give him better access. Wrapping on his arms around the smooth skin of her back again, he allowed her to bury his face into her chest… not that he was complaining or anything. Taking his other hand, only hesitating for a second since it was obvious Rias was ok with it, he placed his hand on her breast. Giving it a small squeeze, he was rewarded with a small mewl of pleasure. Unable to contain the small grin that adorned his face from that, he flicked his tongue out briefly touch on one her nipples, causing her to squirm around a bit more, something that he him holding back a groan of his own.

Much to his disappointment, Rias sat back again, her face still very flushed, though he wasn't sure now if it was due to embarrassment or just excitement. In any event, it did suddenly give him a spectacular view of how she was straddling him. He was sure there were many out there that would give almost anything to be in his current situation.

Pulling her own hands back from under his shirt, somewhere he hadn't even noticed she'd been until that moment, she grinned. Rolling her hips forward and back a few times, she was creating amazing friction that made him gasp. Smiling even wider, she held his gaze, squeezing her own breasts now and letting out a sexy moan as she upped the speed of her grinding. Despite all the things that he could be focusing on in that moment, he didn't break eye contact. There was something much more intimate about it than looking anywhere else, even if the way her impressive chest bounced with her movement was endlessly fascinating to him.

Placing his hands on her hips, he supported her movement, thrusting his own hips upward to increase the pressure. It felt amazing and he wanted more. Moving his hands down, Harry finally noticed she was wearing a tight pair of jeans. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed before, especially when he'd been supporting her weight with his hands on her ass, but he hadn't been pretty preoccupied at the time.

Seeing what he was doing, Rias stopped her motion, biting her lip cutely, her own hands joining his. Together, they made quick work of her button and zipper. Before he knew it she had rolled onto her back fighting to shimmy her jeans down. They really had been tight, almost to the point as if they had been painted on, and as thus, it seemed Rias had to work harder to get them off without ripping them. Harry wasn't complaining though, once he'd actually noticed them, he could admit they had looked good.

Finally finishing, his wife kicked them away to join her shirt on the ground. The only clothing that was left on her were black lace panties that matched her bra from earlier. Crawling forward so that was hovering over him once again, she pulled at the hem of his own shirt. Luckily, he had actually decided to wear one of the new ones she'd bought him, instead of just his cloak transformed, as he had a feeling she would have had a few words for him if he hadn't been. Looking down, feeling a bit self conscious of his lanky and malnourished frame, he froze when he remembered that was no longer the case. He had some muscle now. The transformation into the Master of Death hadn't given him anything crazy, but he definitely looked toned.

Meeting his gaze again for a moment, she leaned down for another kiss. There was something special about the feeling of her skin pressed up against his… the trails of fire that seemed to flow through his body as he felt her nipples drag lightly across his chest, only for her breasts to squish down when she allowed her weight to fall upon him a moment later. Reaching down again, he ran his hands over her ass, this time feeling the unmistakable smoothness of her bare skin. Breaking their lips apart, Rias spread one of her hand out on his chest, holding her self steady as she began grinding on him again. With a groan of his own, he used his own grip to help her movements.

They continued on like that for a moment, both their breathing picking up as they moved in sync. It wasn't enough for either of them. They needed more.

Stopping her movement, Rias reached down to his waist. It was like deja vu, they'd been here before, but this time Harry didn't stop her. That doesn't mean it wasn't nerve wracking. How could it not be when a girl was unbuttoning your pants for first time in your life? Fortunately, as much as he regretting stopping the last time, the extra bonding time had done a lot to make things more comfortable for him, and he hoped it did the same for Rias too.

Lifting his hips, he allowed her to pull his trousers down. They both paused after that. All that remained were his boxers and her panties. They'd both seen each other completely in nude before, but this was different. There was a clear intent behind their actions, and that made all the difference. Deciding to forge ahead, he gripped the waistband of his boxers and yanked them down himself. Finally, completely bare to the world, Harry fought against the urge to cover himself, though he did stare quite determinately at a certain spot on the wall instead.

Realizing that she hadn't spoken yet, Harry ventured a glance back over. It seemed this time it was Rias who was spending the time to take him all in. Her face had gone an even darker shade of red and he just managed to catch sight of her tongue quickly darting out to wet her lips. Harry had always been sure that he was pretty average, but her actions definitely were a confidence booster in that moment. Noticing his gaze, she ducked her head for a moment, before meeting it.

"Can I…" she reached out slowly.

"Uhhh…" Harry gulped, his heart rate suddenly pounding in his ears. "S-s-sure."

Her hand closed around him and he couldn't hold in the gasp. He'd touched himself lots of times before, it wasn't strange, he was a pretty normal teenage boy. He and his roommates, living in the close quarters of Gryffindor Tower like they did, had even stumbled across each other in compromising positions more times than he'd care to admit, something they swore never to bring up ever again. The thing was, none of this had prepared him for the feeling of having a real girl do the same for him.

He had no words to describe the overwhelming sensation of her soft skin lightly running across his length. It was as if he was suddenly a hundred times more sensitive. He'd barely even gotten to used to that when it all changed again. She moved. Stroking her hand up and down, her touch was like a live wire, electricity coursing now within him.

"Is that ok?" She asked breathlessly, the pupils of her beautiful eyes dilated.

Harry couldn't even form words to answer so instead he just grunted loudly. Pushing his hips upward, he was nearly humping her hand, searching for even further pleasure. Taking that as a command, Rias' grip grew a bit more firm and her hand movement sped up. It felt amazing. His breaths were coming out with gasps. She'd barely even done anything and he already was feeling that familiar pressure starting to build. Eyes widening, his hand snapped out to grab Rias' wrist, stopping her.

Looking at him, confusion evident on her face, Harry's face heated up, "I… err… wasn't going to last much longer if you continued that."

"Oh!" She looked at him in surprise, an embarrassed smile coming over her face. "I- sorry… I-"

"It's fine," he laughed, the tension dispelling. "It's not your fault… or actually, I guess it is, but it's not like I minded."

Rias giggled too. Sitting himself up so that he was facing her, he put a hand on her waist, slowly trailing it down so that it stopped near her hips, on the band of her panties. Taking a breath, he hooked his finger through the thin band, and after getting no rebuke, he peeled that last layer away. He'd tried not to stare in the past, but knowing what they were about to be doing, Harry couldn't help himself.

Eyes roaming over this newly discovered area, he could tell she probably shaved, a neat triangle of familiar crimson being the only hair she had down there. He felt a bit self conscious of the fact that he'd never done anything with his own hair, but he pushed that away for the moment as he looked a bit farther down. His eyes roamed over the second set of lips on her body, protruding just slightly outwards in a small mound, a hint of pink just visible between them. Truthfully, he didn't have anything to compare it to, but as with everything else with his wife, he was sure there weren't many others who could match up. He was just in awe, in awe of the fact that someone would open themselves up to him enough that they'd let him see such an intimate part them.

"May I?" She nodded her head jerkily in response to his question.

Harry placed his hand on her stomach and ever so slowly started to slide it downwards over her smooth skin. Her public hair felt a bit corse against his hand as he reached it, but it didn't bother him, short as it was. Pausing only for a split second to gather his courage, he pushed on, his hand trailing lightly over her mound. He could tell immediately that it was slightly warmer than the rest of her body. Running a finger along the edge of her folds, it felt slick, and he felt Rias shiver slightly as he did so. Idly doing that a few more times, Harry finally glanced up at his wife's face, trying to discern her expression. It took him a moment to realize that she looked a bit frustrated.

"Are you ok?" He asked softly.

Rias jumped, "Oh, you're doing fine! I mean, I'm fine."

Harry felt mortified, it was obvious he wasn't doing fine, her response had sounded much too rehearsed. He wanted to help, but had no idea what to do. As much talk as his roommates had done, none of them had actually ever explained how to do this… he figured it was probably because none of them had the experience they liked to claim.

"Sorry… I- I- I don't really know what to do…" he said quietly looking down.

"It's fine!" She repeated, though this time she looked much more sincere. "Please don't worry about it."

"Can you show me how?" Harry asked after moment of silence.

"What?" She looked shocked. 'Y-you don't have to…"

"I want to!" He felt much more confident now, "Please, I want to know what you like! Can you show me?"

"O-ok," Rias said with a small embarrassed smile. "How should we do this?"

Harry glanced around him for a second before getting an idea. Spreading his legs, he motioned towards himself, "Face the same way as me and come over here."

Following his instructions she did just that, so he scooted up a few more inches so that she was sitting right in front of him. Following her earlier example, he leaned forwards, wrapping his arms around her stomach and kissing along her neck slowly. Going upwards, he cupped her breasts from below. They were more than a handful each but he didn't mind. Giving each a quick squeeze, he slid his hand up even farther, stopping only when he could feel her erect nipples poking the palms of his hands. Knowing how effective it had been in the past, he gave them both a quick twerk, hearing her gasp.

Sliding his hands down again, he skipped right down to where he could reach of her legs, skimming over the smooth flesh of her thighs, and eventually back up to her core. As he asked of her, she immediately took one of his hands in her own, using it almost like a tool as she ran it up and down her lower lips. A minute later, tiring of that, she manipulated his fingers with ease, guiding them to slip in between her folds.

"Just like that," she breathed.

Guiding his hand as it pumped in and out of her, she let out a few small whimpers, allowing herself to lean back to rest against his chest. As engrossed in his task as he was, Harry did have the presence of mind to contemplate this new position. He wasn't sure why, but it felt much more intimate… he liked it.

With the sounds that she was making, and even though it was something that would have horrified him to say under normal circumstances, he couldn't resist breathing into her ear, barely above a whisper, "your moans are driving me crazy."

For some reason that he couldn't explain, this is seemed to be enough to trigger something within her as her free hand suddenly shot down on it's own rubbing furiously at something just above her slit. She loud a low whining sound, her body stiffening, her inner muscles temporarily clamping down on his own hand as well. He wasn't so clueless not to realize she was having an orgasm. He wasn't even sure he'd done that much, seeing as how he'd had her basically direct him the whole time, but he couldn't help the faint sense of accomplishment he felt. It felt good to know that he had been able to get his wife off.

She released her grip on his hand, slumping back against him even more. The tip of his erection poked into her back, and Harry had to hold in his own whine about how hard he felt. Somehow her orgasm had only made him even more turned on. He didn't say anything right away though, just allowing her a moment to recover. It was only as her breathing began to slow once more that he spoke.

"How was that?" He asked quietly.

Pulling away, she turned around to face him again, shoving him back with a single hand, causing him to hit the mattress with a small 'oof.' Before he knew it, she had crawled back over him again, giving him a scorching kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" She questioned playfully.

Harry just nodded, gasping as her hand closed around him again. Hoisting herself she hovered over top of him. His heart was racing all over again. Meeting Rias' eyes, he could see the nervousness there, but there was also a steely resolve that took his breath away. Using her hand to guide him, she slowly lowered herself down.

He had no words to describe the feeling of his length slowly but surely being enveloped in such a warm slick heat. He literally had to grit his teeth against the pure pleasure that it gave. They both stopped a moment later, when Harry ran into some kind physical barrier. He didn't even get chance to think on this, when he heard Rias take a deep breath and push herself down. He broke through the barrier at once, and before he knew it was completely enveloped inside her. He was no longer a virgin! It was tight and felt almost like the velvety walls around him were messaging and stimulating his nerves with even the slightest of movements. That being said, he tore his mind away what he was feeling down below to look at his wife in concern.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers together with his, her other hand coming down to rest upon his chest. "Just give me a moment."

He did exactly that, keeping as still as he could. It was obvious she was in a bit of discomfort, and he couldn't help feeling guilty about it, even if she had been the one to initiate it all. That all was thrown by the wayside, when he felt Rias be the one to initiate movement this time. Without conscious thought, his free hand found their way to her hip, as he gasped.

She looked amused, rolling her her hips again, only to get a similar sound from him. Her lips turned up in a small grin, and she did it again.

"Enjoying this, are you?" He asked breathlessly.

"I think it might the other way around," she teased, this time rising up so that he was nearly pulled out completely before slamming back down. He clenched his eyes against the jolt of pleasure that ran down his length at her movement. It seemed he wasn't the only one who had enjoyed it though as he got a much louder moan from her than the ones before.

If having her use her hand on him had been a hundred times better than his own, than this had to be a thousand, no million, times better than that. He had no idea how long he'd be able to last. It was as this thought crossed his mind, that he suddenly remembered something else.

"Wait!" He blurted, causing Rias to freeze in shock.

Placing his ring clad hand on her smooth stomach, he mumbled a few words under his breath, words that Sirius had drilled into his head before he had died. At the time he'd been grinning wildly, saying it was the most important lesson he had to impart as Harry's godfather. Even if the memory still hurt, he was certainly thanking the perverted dog animagus now. As the incantation was finished, there was a small flash of light that faded away quickly.

"What was that?" Rias asked.

"Oh.. uhh… its a birth control spell…" he said sheepishly. "I know we'll probably have kids one day… but I didn't think you'd want to get pregnant just yet."

"How thoughtful…" she murmured, leaning down to kiss him, which he eagerly returned.

Rolling her hips again and again as she worked herself up to a gentle rhythm, they both let out low moans in tandem, still connected at the mouth. Breaking away, he moved his mouth into the crook of her neck, kissing there as well, while he began thrusting up to match her own movements.

"I don't know how much longer I can last," he whispered, feeling a bit down, knowing they hadn't been going that long at all.

"It's ok," she replied, breathing heavily and her voice almost cracking. "I- I'm close too."

Reaching down to grab onto her ass again, he could feel the pressure building up in his crotch. Using his hands to help move her faster and faster, Rias let out a really loud and throaty moan, her own arms wrapping around him. Her nails dug into his back, not that he minded the slight pain at the moment, as she tried to pull h im even closer even though their bodies were already completely flush to one another.

The build up was becoming unbearable. If at all possible, he suddenly felt himself become even harder. Pushing on even faster, the pressure burst, his muscles clenching and releasing as he unloaded inside of her and a haze of euphoria washed over his mind. He was at least conscious enough for a second to hear a loud scream come from Rias as well, her muscles clenching around him tightly, only further increasing his pleasure.

Harry wasn't sure what happened in the moments that followed, only really coming to a minute later, Rias slumped on top of him. He really hadn't been sure what to expect from sex, but it had somehow been even better than he'd thought it would be. His wife began to stir a moment later, breaking him from his thoughts. Rias groaned quietly as she slowly pushed herself back into sitting position. He winced slightly at the friction, feeling a bit over sensitized. She pulled off him a moment later only to plop down on the bed beside him. Without thinking, he flipped himself to the side, snaking his one arm around her waist. His emerald eyes met her blue-green ones.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, unsure what exactly one was to say after that.

"Hey," she smiled drowsily.

They remained silent after that for a moment, and Harry proceeded to trace lazy patterns across the skin of her back with his fingers. His eyes growing heavy, he dozed for a few minutes just enjoying the closeness they shared. He'd never had this kind of thing with anyone so didn't really know what he was missing out on. Harry didn't think he'd ever be able to go without it ever again.

"We should clean up before we fall asleep," Rias grumbled a few minutes later, stopping him from completely passing out.

Matching her, he grumbled lightly, tightening his grip on her waist as she tried to move, "Don't move."

"Harry!" She giggled, swatting him lightly, but he didn't let her go.

Raising his free arm, he made a 'come hither' motion with his fingers and a moment later a washcloth came flying out of the bathroom towards them. It flew right passed his outstretched hand and smacked him across the face. Letting a grunt of annoyance while Rias continued to laugh, he released her and started to sit up.

"Fine, I'll get up," he growled, pulling the washcloth away from his head, and handing it to his wife.

"Now what?" She asked, looking at the completely dry washcloth with an expression that clearly indicated that she had no idea of how that was going to fix their problem.

"One sec… hang on," screwing up his face in concentration, he snapped his fingers, a small jet of water shooting forth. The problem with that was that it went a bit farther than he expected, Rias let out a small indignant squawk.

"Now the beds wet too!" He almost would have thought she was upset if it weren't for the big ear to ear smile on her face. He was honestly seeing her smile more now than in all the time he'd known her.

"I can fix that," realizing that now was not the time to practice his ring magic, he reluctantly transformed it back into the elder wand. With deft flick, the extra flick the bed was once again dry. "There we go."

"This is still pretty cold," Rias said dryly, one of her crimson coloured eyebrows arched up high, as she held the now soaked washcloth.

Another flick of his wand had it float out of her hands and while revolving in the air, a quick jab had it steaming hot in seconds, "I live to serve, Milady."

"And I'm expected to wash myself?" She said trying to sound scandalized, Harry could visibly see her fighting to keep herself from smiling.

"Of course not! Please forgive me mistress," Harry said bowing his head and trying for a snivelling subservient tone.

Rias couldn't hold it in any longer and began giggling again. With a grin of his own splitting his face, he flicked his wand from where she couldn't see it, waiting in anticipation. It didn't didn't take long before she jumped letting out a small shriek as the cloth started washing her back on its own.

"That's not what I meant, Harry!" She called.

"Really?" He adopted a faux confused expression. "I'm so sorry… that's what I thought you were asking for."

"Harry!" She groaned, trying to get the cloth off her back.

Rolling his eyes, he plucked it out of the air easily, and asked seriously, "Do you want me to do it?"

"That would be lovely," she said warmly.

Motioning for her to come over, they sat quite similarly to how they had earlier, though this time it was a lot more about relaxation than anything else. Spreading the warm water over her back to wipe away some of the sweat she had built up, he soon finished that and reached around to do her front.

"I think my boobs are clean enough," she laughed after another few minutes.

Leaning a bit more forward, he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I know, but maybe I just like playing with them," he said.

"Earlier wasn't enough?" She continued to sound amused. "Won't you get tired of them?"

"Never," he whispered.

Grabbing his hand, she gave it a firm squeeze before letting go. He was pretty sure his words had somehow meant more to her than he'd expected. Deciding to stop playing around anyway, he moved down to her stomach, but it was there she spoke again.

"You did know that you didn't need to cast that birth control spell earlier, right?" She asked. "I thought I told you before, but devils have a really really low fertility rate. It's why our population is suffering so much."

"Yeah, you did mention that," he confirmed, "but a low chance doesn't mean no chance. There's no harm in making sure."

"Ok… just don't mention that to anyone, ok?" She said, somewhat nervously. "I know it will probably sound crazy to you, and I don't think I'm ready either, but my parents are probably expecting us to start trying… to you know… repopulate the devil race… it's one of the reasons polygamy is generally accepted amongst devils… apart from lust being one of the seven sins that is."

Harry froze, inwardly cursing. How many more expectations could these people throw on them? A baby? There was no way he was ready for that! Sure, he wanted a family of his own one day, but that was not anytime soon. Being married at sixteen was weird enough as it was.

As his mind raced through this, Rias pulled the cloth out of his stopped hand, wiping the last of herself down. She passed it back after that, moving lap to face him while Harry did the same to him robotically.

"Harry?" She broke his concentration. "Are you ok?"

Blinking himself back to the present, he looked at her face, seeing her lightly biting her lip.

"I'm good. Sorry… that just caught me a bit guard," he explained. With another flick of his wand he banished the cloth back to the bathroom, then transformed his wand back into a ring. "Don't worry though, I won't say anything. It's not like I'm planning to talk to anyone about our… you know… sex life."

Even now, his cheeks reddened a bit when he said that.

"We really should get some sleep," Rias said after another minute.

"Sounds good," scooting back up the bed, Harry plopped himself down, but held his arms open. It only took her a moment to crawl up beside him, cuddling in. Turning off the lights with a murmured spell, the young couple held each other close, slowly closing their tired eyes, and giving in to their drowsiness.

With a flash of crimson light, Harry Potter and four devils of the Gremory household popped into existence in an alleyway of the Soho district of London England. Harry didn't know much about the area other than the fact that they were quite near their destination which happened to be the Leaky Cauldron. He knew his Aunt and Uncle had come here once to see a play, so supposedly there was some kind of theater nearby. Normally, he wouldn't willingly choose to go anywhere his Aunt or Uncle had gone, just out of spite alone, but she'd spent next few days after their night out ranting about all the "filthy whores" they'd seen on the streets on the walk back to their car, so now he figured the place really couldn't be that bad if she disproved of it.

Stepping out of the alleyway, Harry craned his neck around trying to find something he recognized, "Ok perfect. This looks like Charing Cross Road. It should be just down there I think."

"Don't sound so surprised, Harry," Rias said proudly. "Akeno did handle the teleportation for us, and I expect nothing less from my Queen than to get us to the right spot."

The black haired devil in question bowed her head, "Thank you for the compliment, Mrs. President."

Harry grimaced at that, "You guys know your probably going draw attention to us if you keep up the whole formal act where people can hear us?"

Three of the devils looked ready to protest, but Rias was already nodding, "That's a good idea. Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, make sure to address me as Rias today when we are out. Is that understood?"

When they'd all given their agreement, Harry went to start walking, only to stop when he heard he heard Akeno giggle, "I can't believe you want me to get so familiar with your wife, Harry. Perhaps you're hoping I am close enough to join in with you and Rias next time? Hmm? Maybe you want me to leave a mark on you too?"

Harry nearly tripped over his own feet, "What? How did you know about las- Rias?"

He looked to his wife for help, but she was staring at her friend with narrowed eyes. What did she even mean by leaving a mark anyway?

Akeno giggled again, hand over her mouth, "A lady has her ways."

"Akeno," Rias said slowly, the warning clear in her voice.

"Yea, Rias?" Akeno asked, a serene smile on her face

Harry glanced quickly at the other two. Koneko was as expressionless as usual, and Kiba had his usual polite smile on his face, though even he could admit it looked a tad forced at that moment.

"Anyway, it should be just up here. Follow me," Harry called, hoping to break up the two girls fight before it really got going.

Luckily it seemed to work, and soon the small group was moving down the street. It didn't take them too long before Harry spotted what they were looking for. He pointed it out to them, mostly to make sure they could in fact see it, which as far as he knew, they should be able to as magical beings. Opening the door, he held it as his companions passed him by, Rias and Akeno's noses wrinkling.

"It's a bit dingier than I expected," Akeno commented, looking around.

"Dingy?" Harry asked her in a very low voice, "You guys are literally devils from hell and you're actually grossed out by a dingy pub?"

"As you saw, Hell is actually quite nice this time of year," Rias sniffed, moving farther into the magical establishment.

He might have thought he'd insulted her, if he hadn't seen the twinkle of amusement in her eye. Moving to follow his wife across the room, Harry was quick to pick up on the attention they were gathering, but luckily it wasn't him but the ladies in his company. He'd say it was the very plainly muggle clothing they were wearing, he'd finally succeeded in convincing them not to wear their school uniforms since they'd stand out even more, but it was obvious even to him in was their beauty that was drawing in the attention. Even Koneko, young though she was, had a certain cuteness to her that that seemed beyond natural. In the end, there wasn't really anything he could do about the situation apart from forcing them all to hoods. He was just happy no one had noticed him.

"Harry!" The voice called across the room, drawing everyone's attention onto himself. "Over here!"

And there it goes. How long did it last? Five… maybe ten… fifteen seconds? Yay for anonymity!

Moving quickly across the floor, he approached his bushy haired friend, "Hello Hermione."

Before she said anything else, she pulled him into a tight, rib cracking hug… at least it used to be rib cracking for him.

"Are you ok?" She fluttered around him worriedly, looking him over.

"Of course, I am," he said, frowning. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"W-well you were gone," she said, her voice suddenly stuttering she looked at him. "It was over a week and none of our mail could get through!"

"I told everyone at the Burrow," he said, exasperation clear in his voice. "I went to go meet and visit with Rias' family."

At his words, his friend looked past his shoulder, her forehead creasing in worry, "In Japan, right?"

"Uhh… sort of," he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"See!" Hermione exclaimed quietly. "What's going on, Harry? I'm not stupid, it's obvious you're hiding something. I don't understand when we all started hiding so many secrets from each other!"

Harry rubbed his forehead absentmindedly, feeling a stress headache coming on, "Ok, there is some stuff I need to explain to you Hermione, but it's better to do it once, so can you wait until we find Ron?"

"I- I guess…" Hermione agreed, though she didn't look to happy about it. "The Weasleys went on ahead to start shopping by the way. I volunteered to stay behind and wait for you to arrive."

"Oh ok. Well, we can catch up with them in a minute," turning around he beckoned the Rias and her peerage over. They had been waiting patiently back out of earshot… well human earshot that is. It wouldn't surprise him if they could hear everything. "I've got a few more people for you to meet."

"It's good to see you, Hermione," Rias said politely with a smile before kissing Harry on the cheek and standing beside him.

"Likewise," the teenage witch responded, though her tone was tad more clipped than was usual.

Harry had to fight a grimace. It seemed she was holding his wife responsible for the lack of information she'd been getting about what was going on.

"These are a few of Rias'... err… friends. Like her, they aren't from around here and wanted to see London and Diagon Alley," he explained, next pointing to each devil individually. "This here is Akeno Himejima, Yuuto Kiba, and Koneko Toujou."

"It's nice to meet you all," she greeted them, her engrained manners kicking in, though she did frown again slightly, "I am surprised though, I heard international portkeys were actually quite expensive. I didn't think someone would get one for such a trivial a reason, though I assume you took the same one as Harry and Rias so it's not as big a deal."

Hary eye twitched. For Merlin's sake, could his friend not question everything! How was she able to see through his excuses so easily? Reaching out a hand, he placed it on her shoulder.

"What do you mean Hermione?" He asked, barely even convincing himself. "Diagon Alley is great! You've said so yourself. Just think about all the history here. Don't you think it would be worth the trip for that reason alone?"

Trying to appeal to her love of learning and history, he hoped it would be enough to forget her suspicions for now.. Well until their talk later at least, but for some reason it didn't seem to work. In fact, it didn't seem like she was listening at all. She'd looked really surprised ever since he'd touched her.

"You just-" she started to say only to freeze as her eyes alighted upon on something just below his face. "Your neck! What happened? Are you injured? Who hurt you?"

"What?" Harry took a step back, to avoid his friend's outstretched finger. "My neck? What are you talking about?"

"I… I can't wait anymore, Harry. I'm sorry. I need to know what's going on now," she said, looking really panicky. "Once I understand, I'll even help you explain it to Ron like you wanted, but things aren't adding up and your worrying me."

Harry sighed. She was overreacting, but it did make him feel a bit bad. It seemed like he'd really worried his friends with his odd behaviour. Things would be better soon.

"Fine. I'll explain the main points, but the rest will come later with Ron," he said. "Just stay here, I'll be right back."

Moving over towards the bar, he greeted Tom before making his request, "Do you have a private room I could borrow for a few minutes to talk to my friends?"

"I can rent you one for the afternoon if you'd like, Mr. Potter?" He offered.

Harry wanted to sigh again but he held back, there was no need to take it out on Tom. he hadn't really needed the room for a whole afternoon, and it felt like waste of money, not that it was something he was usually worried about.

"Sure, that's fine," he agreed. "How much do I owe you?"

"5 Galleons would be fine," raising his eyebrow at the price, Harry fished out the money anyways.

He wasn't sure what renting a meeting room normally cost on average, so he wasn't sure if he was being ripped off or not. He'd have to ask Hermione once she'd calmed down from their coming conversation. Passing over the five golden coins, he realized he only have one left, and a few sickles. He was definitely going to need to stop at Gringotts before shopping after this.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Potter," he said, with his normal crooked smile. "Room 1A is all yours for the rest of the day. Just let me know if you need any refreshments."

"Thanks Tom," he turned to go.

"Oh! One more thing," Harry turned back towards the elderly bald man. "I try to keep an eye on things, but sometimes the rooms don't turn out to be as private as they should be . If I were ever talking about anything sensitive… well… if you know any privacy charms, I'd probably cast 'em."

Nodding his understanding, Harry moved back towards the group.

"-called a hickey or love bite," Akeno was giggling as she said something to his friend. "So you don't need to worry. We just think Rias got a little too carried away last night."

"What's going on?" Harry asked suspiciously as he arrived by them. The look on Akeno's face was making him nervous. Turning to Hermione, he was surprised to see her face beat red. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" She said much too quickly for him to believe her, but he wasn't going to press the issue.

Another glance down at his neck by his friend had him feeling self conscious. Reaching up to touch it, he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Perverts," Koneko said emotionlessly. "Both are perverts."

Harry blinked in confusion. He didn't hear much from her so far, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

"Okay than…" Harry swept his gaze over everyone in the group. "We've got room 1A booked for us all afternoon. Why don't we go there, get a few of things cleared up, and then we can finally go find the Weasleys. Sound good?"

Leading the group away from the main bar area, Harry kept his awareness on the room. There were many people who had be following him with their eyes since Hermione had announced his name out loud. Many of the expressions seemed to be that of shock or awe, the stuff he was used to dealing with as the Boy-Who-Lived. What he had been keeping an eye out for was anyone who seemed to have a more sinister intent. With Voldemort out in the open now, he was pretty sure those who supported the Dark Lord's ideals would be even more bold than usual in trying to capture him or hurt those around him. Luckily, he hadn't seen anything, but he knew he could've easily missed something too.

Reaching the room, they all filled in before Harry closed the door behind them. There was a large table in the middle of the room that looked like it seated at least double those currently in attendance. It really wasn't anything too special, but it was cozy enough and it worked. They all found a spot at that point, though Harry remained standing. Opening her mouth to speak, he held up a hand, cutting her off.

"Do you know any privacy charms, Hermione?" He asked.

The witch furrowed her brow, "I've read up on a few, but do you really think we need one?"

"It's probably for the best," he said with a small smile. "Would you mind casting them?"

"What? But I'll get in trouble!" She said, eyes widening.

"I'm fairly certain the Ministry can't determine underaged magic use within a highly magical area like Diagon Alley," he explained.

"I don't know…" she said reluctantly. "If there's a chance I'll get in trouble… just look at what happened to you last year?"

It seemed like nothing was going to be easy today. He would have pointed out to her that the Ministry had been actively targeting him the past year and Umbridge had set the whole thing up on purpose, but he really didn't feel like arguing about it.

"Rias? Akeno?" He called. "Do either of you know anything that can ensure our privacy?"

"I can temporarily seal the room, if you'd like?" Rias asked, standing back up.

Giving his agreement, he watched as his wife stuck both her arms out in front of her, a look of concentration on her face. Her hands began to glow a familiar colour and and a Gremory crest appeared on the door. A moment later, all the walls, floor, and ceiling around them glowed the same crimson red in colour before it all seemed to sink into the physical structure and with one last flash, it was all gone from the visible spectrum.

"That should do it," his wife said.

"Tha- that's really advanced wandless magic!" Hermione announced, but he didn't acknowledge the statement quite yet.

"Thanks honey," he said as he sat down at the table. Rias made a face. "Don't like honey?"

"You can come up with better," she replied.

"Baby?" He tried before vehemently shaking his head, "No. That sounds like something Riser would say. Hmmm…"

"You'll find something eventually."

"I know… but now it's going to bug me…" he said with a frown.

A loud cough, brought Harry back to the issue at hand. Hermione looked a bit annoyed, Akeno highly amused, Kiba serene as always, and Koneko just… blank.

"Sorry Hermione," he apologized. "I'm assuming you have a few questions."

"A few!" She exclaimed, seemingly at a loss for words after that.

"Ok... Ok," he said hoping to calm her down before he started dropping bombshells on her. "I guess first things first, I'll have to admit that I may have not been entirely truthful when we last spoke."

"Gee, I never would have thought," she rolled her eyes. Sarcasm really did not suit her. "So which part did you lie about?"

Harry fidgeted slightly, trying to think of the best example to use for this question, eventually settling on one that he thought would be small enough, not realizing how wrong he was. "Well, err… Rias isn't really from Japan… well, not originally."

"Oh?" Hermione looked at Rias, eyes narrowed, though with less hostility than before. "Where are you from?"

"Hell," she answered deadpan. Harry could already tell he was losing control of this meeting.

Hermione looked taken aback, "Wherever it is, it can't really have been that bad… right?"

"No, you misunderstand me," Rias said, still with that polite smile. "I am literally from hell. I'm a devil you see."

Hermione blinked a few time, looking confused, "What? Is this a… joke?"

"No, it's not," Harry facepalmed. This was not how he imagined the conversation going. Since when had Rias started setting up situations like this on purpose? He knew she was enjoying this. "They're actually devils."

He waved his arm towards them as he spoke and if upon his command, it wasn't, the others had just timed it that way apparently, black leathery wings shot out from their backs. There was a moment of absolute silence before his friend let out a startled yelp, scrambling back from the table, knocking her chair over in the process. As reticent as she had been to use her wand before, she sure drew it quick now, pointing it quiveringly at the multitude of devils across the table.

Harry stood as well, "Hermione, calm down."

"What? Calm down?" She nearly shrieked. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Because you're not in any danger," Harry tried.

"B-b-but they're devils!" She said shakily.

"Yes, I believe that is readily apparent," he rolled his eyes. "They aren't going to hurt you. Now, what can you actually tell me about devils? What do you actually know?"

Hermione seemed to pause for a second, "I- I don't know. Th-they aren't supposed to be real."

"Ok, so you don't know anything about them then," she looked affronted at this assertion, but Harry continued on anyway, not giving her a chance to interrupt. "I always thought your dream was to promote the equality of all magical species and stop the prejudice most wizards hold. You started S.P.E.W. for Merlin's sake!"

Harry heard one of the devil's cough in a way that sounded suspiciously like a snort, but he let it pass… he couldn't blame them really. The name really didn't do itself any favours and even two years later he could barely say it with a straight face.

"Of course I do!" She said, looking outraged. "Why would ever question that?"

"Because devils are a magical race and it's obvious you are prejudiced against them," he explained.

"B-b-but this is different," she complained, though she was suddenly sounding much less sure of herself.

"Really? He asked. "In what way? Because of the stuff you've probably heard from places like the church your whole life?"

"Yeah!" She agreed, her voice stronger as if he'd just vindicated her argument.

"The same church who hunted and burned witches at the stake about 400 years ago?"

"I- I- I guess…" Hermione's expression faltered and slowly her wand was lowered down to her side. She still didn't look very comfortable, in fact, Harry would say she still looked scared, but there was also a visible look of shame on her face. It almost made Harry feel bad for how he'd dealt with her… almost… she had needed it.

"Good," taking his seat again, the devils hid their wings, doing the same as him. "I'm extremely sorry for the surprise, Hermione. I know this must be very overwhelming, but one thing you're going to have to realize quite quickly is that the supernatural world is much bigger than you had ever imagined."

"What do you mean?" Despite everything, Hermione was still the same academic he'd met all those years ago. Waving a bit of new knowledge in front of her face seemed to be enough to perk her up. It was like that commercial about the people shaking the bag of cat treats to call the cat to them… Harry would vehemently deny this had anything to do with how she'd turned herself temporarily part cat in their second year and had absolutely nothing to do with the Weasley twins attempt to prank her with catnip at that time.

"What I mean is that there is much more than the Ministry of Magic would like you to believe out there. Angels, Devils, Fallen Angels, Yokai, and gods of all types," he explains.

"Why would they hide this?" She asked.

Harry hesitated, "It's a long story really, but let's just say it's the wizards and witches who were excommunicated from the rest of the supernatural world after something they did. You know how the Ministry is about admitting their mistakes, they probably just like pretending it doesn't exist more than admitting they were in the wrong."

"I… but… just… wow," she was back to looking overwhelmed. "Were you lying about Rias being your girlfriend than?"

"Err… no," he answered somewhat uneasily, "We are together."

It wasn't actually a lie. They were together… just in a more permanent sense than he had been implying. He knew she'd probably freak out much more about the whole marriage thing than simply dating, and really didn't have time to tell her that at the moment. He'd save that revelation until later that day when Ron was around too. He didn't have time to be lectured about how irresponsible he was at the moment.

His friend nodded, though she still looked a little frazzled, "How about the night you were attacked? Did that happen as you said before?"

"Somewhat," Harry ran his hand through his out of control hair as he collected his thoughts. "I can explain the details later, but as you've probably assumed by now, I didn't meet Rias in my neighbourhood and offer to show her around."

"Obviously," she crossed her arms at that point.

Harry smiled. Hermione was pretty resilient, it seemed like she was already starting to return to normal, "Yes, well, for ease of simplicity, let's just say that I summoned Rias into my room at the Dursleys' and made a bargain for her aide in stopping Voldemort."

"Oh Harry," she shook her head. "Did you even know what you were doing? That sounds incredibly dangerous. No offense intended of course."

The last part was directed to the devils in the room. They all seemed unruffled by her words anyway, and Rias assured her it was fine.

"It doesn't matter," he said quickly. "Things worked out in the end, and well, we ended up dating…"

Hermione's eyes started to widen as he trailed off, "You didn't bargain away your soul, did you?"

"Do I look like a Dementor victim?" He asked, eyebrow raised in question. "No, I didn't bargain away my soul. Like I said earlier, I can get into the details later. The important part is that in my attempt at summoning her, I may have unintentionally compromised the wards Professor Dumbledore had placed around my Aunt and Uncle's house fifteen years ago."

"Of course you did," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "And that was the night you were attacked right? What else happened."

"It was that night," Harry admitted. "I think those are the main points. The rest happened pretty much how I told you before."

"I see," Hermione glanced over at Rias who smiled at her. Harry knew they had wanted to let him handle his friend and that was why they hadn't said much.

Standing up she walked over towards Harry, who also stood to meet her. The two friends just looked at each other for a moment before she punched him in the arm causing him to wince.

"Ow!" He held the injured spot. "What the hell was that?"

"That was for lying to me!" She said, while he rubbed the spot. She hadn't actually harmed him, but it had hurt nonetheless. "I was really worried about you, you know!"

"As much as I wanted to tell you everything, I was just trying to come to terms with the information myself," he admitted. "I know its just how you are, but you kept pestering me for information and I wasn't ready to share at that point. I'm sorry for lying to you, Hermione, but things were somewhat hectic during those few days."

The girl in question's face grew steadily red as she looked down at her feet, "I guess I owe you an apology too than… I know I sometimes go overboard."

"It's fine," he touched her arm, "Just think of it as learning experience."

Letting out a sniff, Hermione threw herself forward, wrapping him in a tight hug once again, "I'm glad your back."

Giving her a quick squeeze in return, he chuckled fondly, "It's good to see you too."

Separating, Hermione looked him directly in the eye, "There's more isn't there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, there is," he admitted with a wry smile, not surprised at all that she could tell. "But that can all wait till later I think."

She nodded, "We can find Ron first. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley has been stressed to her max already waiting for you all to show up."

Harry grimaced, "I had a feeling she wouldn't take me leaving with Rias well."

"You think?" Hermione asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm, before looking over at Rias. "Fleur knew about you, right? Is that why she helped Harry deal with Mrs. Weasley? I was really surprised she was covering for you guys. She wouldn't answer any of my questions either."

Speaking up for the first time in a while, Rias nodded, "She's a veela. She could sense the fact that I was a devil quite easily. She'd had cornered us earlier that day to find out what my intentions were towards Harry, but seemed content with our talk."

"A veela too?' Akeno said with interest. "You keep interesting company, Harry."

"She's become a bit of a friend I think," Harry said. "As you know, we didn't talk much during the tournament, but she has been really nice to me since the second task. I think she could use a bit of a friend anyway, she'll be a Weasley soon enough, and I can tell she's having trouble fitting in at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley hasn't exactly made her disapproval unknown… and neither has Ginny for that matter. I imagine it would feel incredibly lonely."

Hermione avoided his eyes, looking a bit uncomfortable. He knew why. While she hadn't been that bad, she hadn't been the most welcoming of Fleur either. He wasn't going to call her out on it, but he hoped his little nudge might be enough for her to be a bit easier on Bill's fiance.

"Anyway, we've probably kept the Weasley's waiting long enough," Harry declared. "And I'm sure you'd all love to see the wonders of Diagon Alley!"

Getting various words of assent all around, the group stood and got ready to leave. Rias moved over to the door first, pressing a finger to it first. There was a small flash of crimson light and then with a sound like tinkling glass, an invisible layer in the air seemed to shatter and fade away. He saw Hermione open her mouth to ask a question but he gave a quick look and she closed it once more.

"You can grill her about magic later," he muttered as he passed his friend.

Moving through the pub, Harry told Tom that they'd be back later as they passed. Exiting out back into the dusty old courtyard, he was quick to transform the elder wand into his hand. Knowing the devils were probably a bit confused, he'd purposefully not told them about this, he began tapping the correct sequence on the brick wall before them. As it had done every other time he'd been here, the bricks in question began to shake and wiggle. It didn't take long for them to shift out of the way and build into a good sized arch.

Hi first view of Diagon Alley was a memory he'd always cherished and had been looking forward sharing with his wife and her peerage, but this wasn't how he had been expecting it. While it was still just as busy as that first time he'd been here, it felt like a completely different place. Instead of happy shoppers bustling around, large groups of children crowding around to admire the latest racing broom, or even the loud cries of animals from the Magical Menagerie down the street, it was quiet. The shoppers all spoke in whispers, hurrying from one shop to another, glancing around themselves in worry. A few of the shops were boarded up and the ones that weren't had their windows plastered with Ministry warnings and wanted posters for the Death Eaters Voldemort had freed from Azkaban the year before. With a start, he saw the snarling face of Bellatrix Lestrange looking out at him from the parchment. He would have thought that the wizarding prison had driven her insane if he hadn't seen Dumbledore's memory of her from before… and it hadn't seemed like there had been much sanity there for the dementors to break from the beginning.

"What's going on here?" Harry murmured, more to himself than as an actual question, but it seemed Hermione had heard him.

"They're scared," she explained quietly. "They all know that You-Know-Who is actually back now."

He sighed, "That's what I was telling them all year."

Hermione just gave him a look, "You know with what the Ministry was saying combined with most people's sheer denial of the possibility, they didn't believe until quite recently that you were right. From what I've heard Mrs. Weasley say, a lot of people remember what it had been like last time, and they'd been on the brink of losing then. They're all terrified of it happening again."

His jaw tightened, "Well, I guess we'll just have to stop him soon than."

He started forward, the others hurrying to catch up. Making it partway down the street, he finally slowed his gate, moving to walk beside Rias. Slipping her hand into his, Harry gave it a bit of a squeeze.

"You ok?" She checked on him.

"Just frustrated, but it will be fine," he admitted before calling to the rest of the group. "Gotta hit Gringotts first and pick up some cash."

As travelled down the winding alleyway, the large white marble institution run by the goblins came into view. Marching before it, his steps faltered as another building caught his eye. A building that easily stood out because of its eye catching colour and displays. Seeing the happy children crowding around, Harry's expression softened as he saw a bit more of the kind of happy scene he was accustomed to here in the alley. The big logo formed with the double 'W's told him all he needed to know about who it's creators were.

"I can't believe they actually did it," Harry muttered.

"What do you mean? Rias asked.

"The store," he answered. "Come on, I'll have to introduce you!"

Speeding up a bit again and pulling her along, much to the other devil's amusement, he started moving towards the store he'd indicated.

"Slow down a bit," Rias complained teasingly, causing Harry to shoot her a quick smile while he complied with her request.

Looking back forward, his eyes widened as he spotted a familiar group of redheads exiting the store they were heading towards. Giving a shout of greeting, a few of them had heard him. Seeing Ron raise his head and start to raise his hand in a wave, Harry went to do the same.

Unfortunately he never got to complete that action because that was the moment everything changed.

That was the moment the world exploded around him.