A/N: Hello, beauties and gentlebeauties! I'm sorry for once again making you wait for an update. My personal life is still kicking me in the gut, but life goes on, and here we are! Let's jump right into the next chapter! : )

All canon Harry Potter things copyright to J.K. Rowling

All canon Black Butler things copyright to Yana Toboso

The "Don't Fear the Reaper" challenge and rules copyrights to Reptilia28

Everything else copyrights to me

Chapter 14: The Devil You Know

The Grangers' practice, unfortunately, would not approve an internship for someone Dudley's age, deeming it too unsafe.

"However," Jacob continued after taking a swig of his tea, "I was talking to a friend of mine, Stephen, who's an attorney. There's a psychologist that often serves as a consultant on criminal cases for him that would be able to offer Dudley some coursework in psychology for the summer. The office is 10 minutes down the road from our practice, so it would be quite easy to transport Dudley. I also took it upon myself to lay the groundwork for needing legal advice for a case that must remain quiet for the time being with some… unnatural elements to it, and he said that he knows a man that might be able to help us with that, as well."

"My goodness!" said Mariska.

"Do you think that this will be safe?" asked Emily.

"I trust him," said Jacob. "That being said, you're Harry's guardian, and you have to do what you feel is right."

"Since this involves both the magical and mundane worlds, we should most definitely run this past Amelia first," said Remus. "We don't want to do anything that would risk us violating the Statute of Secrecy."

"I'll send her a Floo message and see when she's available for a meeting," said Emily. "I know she's been busy with the wall of paperwork Fudge has been throwing at her since she presented everyone's memories of the night Pettigrew escaped to remove the Kiss on Sight order."

Charlotte hesitated for a moment before commenting, "For the man in charge of magical Britain, the minister seems rather childish to me." (A/N: Not unlike the current political environment here in the States)

Sirius chuckled. "That is an excellent summary of dear old Fudge."

Amelia surprised everyone by her response to Emily's Floo call. "Speak of the devil! I was about to call you myself."

"0h? Has something come up?" asked Emily.

"Yes, indeed," said Amelia with an unreadable expression. "I need to see you lot at noon tomorrow for a meeting. I do mean everyone. Your entire household, Emily, including your mother and Sirius. I'll need the Grangers and Mr. Lupin as well."

"The Grangers are here right now," said Emily, "and Remus is due to be here shortly."

"Excellent. I expect to see everyone promptly at 12:00. Oh, and do dress formally for the meeting, if you would, please."

"Formally? Are we attending a trial?" asked Mariska.

"No, ma'am," said Amelia. "Just a meeting. However, the one who called the meeting comes from an old line of nobility. I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say any more than that. To be completely honest, I wasn't given much more information myself. Rather mysterious, this gentleman."

The next day at noon on the dot, the whole gang found themselves sitting with Amelia in a private meeting room inside Gringott's. Harry was feeling awkward and nervous, sitting in the meeting room in his dress robes waiting for someone he didn't know but was apparently important enough to warrant impressing. Indeed, a few minutes after they'd all been shown to the room by Ironclaw, there was a light knock on the door before a tall man dressed in a black tailcoat stepped into the room. The man had short black hair with long bangs and ruby red eyes, and he seemed to regard them all with a mixture of contempt and amusement as he gave a polite bow and said, "May I present to you all my master, Earl Ciel Phantomhive?"

Harry was startled by the familiar name. This is the man William told me about in his office! What's going on here?

He was quite surprised to see that the earl in question looked to be around his own age, though he was rather on the short side stature wise. This obviously had no effect on the boy's self-confidence, as he walked into the meeting room with his head held high and the bearing of a noble not unlike royalty. Earl Phantomhive had short cyan hair, and the eye not hidden by a silk eyepatch was a vivid blue.

"Good afternoon," he greeted them formally. "I thank you for making yourselves available to me on such short notice."

"We're all pleased to meet you, Earl Phantomhive," said Amelia.

The noble boy smirked with amusement. "You are also, no doubt, curious about why I wished to meet with you?"

"Certainly," said Emily, a note of caution in her voice.

"At ease, Madame Tarleton," said Ciel. "I've asked you all here today to offer my help for your…complicated circumstances."

Emily opened her mouth to ask how he knew her name, but the boy had his attention elsewhere. He was looking at the tall man, who had remained standing behind his master's chair. "Sebastian, if you would, please."

"Yes, my Lord," the butler answered with another bow. He left the room, returning a few moments later with a red-haired maid and two serving carts full of materials for a luncheon.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I should introduce them to you all," the earl commented nonchalantly. "My butler, Sebastian, and my maid, Mey-Rin."

"Pleasure," said Amelia politely.

After Sebastian and Mey-Rin had served everyone lunch and tea, Ciel turned his attention to Jacob. "It would seem we have mutual friends on your side of the world, Dr. Granger."

Jacob looked confused. "Do we, now?"

"Yes," said Ciel, taking a sip of his tea. "Mr. Douglas mentioned his friend, Mr. Jasper Connelly, did he not?"

"Yes, he did."

"Mr. Connelly is a most excellent prosecuting attorney, and I've had the pleasure of working with him several times. He spoke to me about your need for someone with legal knowledge and a familiarity with the world beyond the mundane, which is where I come in."

"How so?" asked Mr. Granger cautiously.

Ciel smirked. "Besides knowing that your daughter and most of the other people in this group are witches and wizards, you mean? Well, I'm not…entirely human myself."

This statement floored everyone else in attendance except for Sebastian, who wore a smirk identical to his master's, and Mey-Rin, who didn't act fazed by this information in the slightest.

"What do you mean by 'not entirely human'?" asked Hermione, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"We are simply one hell of a family," said Sebastian, still looking highly amused.

Ciel rolled his eye. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"My apologies, Young Master," the butler replied.

"You aren't sorry in the least bit," said Ciel.

"You are a creature of some sort," said Remus calmly.

Ciel looked at him, smirk back in place. "Not entirely unlike yourself, as I understand."

"You seem to understand a great deal about me, and everyone else in this room," said Remus. "Unfortunately, the rest of us seem to be at quite a disadvantage."

"I do believe I like you already, Mr. Lupin," said Ciel. "To put it more plainly, I am a demon, and the rest of my family are also demons."

Ignoring the gaping looks of everyone else in the room, Ciel continued, "I have walked this earth for 119 years now, and I have seen much in that time, including magic. I was actually first introduced to the magic world by your great-grandmother, Madame Tarleton."

"M-my great-grandmother?" Emily repeated, still shocked.

"Yes," said Ciel. "Sieglinde Sullivan, who was known as the Emerald Witch. She was a dear friend of mine in my youth. Very bright, Sieglinde. Of course, magic wasn't so easily accepted back in 1889. Not in Britain, anyway. Sieglinde gained the favor of Queen Victoria, however, when she came from Germany to study in Her Majesty's court. I believe she ended up marrying a young nephew of the queen's."

"Sieglinde was my grandmother's name," said Mariska in a whisper. "There is magic on my side of the family as well?"

"Yes," said Ciel. "Given your daughter's talent with magic, I'm not surprised that it was present in both bloodlines."

"How is it that you know so much about everyone in this room?" asked Sirius.

"Well, in my century of life, I took up my father's role of the Queen's guard dog, doing the bidding of the royal family and taking care of any underworldly business they might have. I must say, I'm rather fond of Queen Elizabeth. So much less idle nonsense from her; she gets right down to business and tolerates no foolishness. Anyway, I've become a rather talented detective in all this time, and I like to be as prepared as possible when dealing with unknown people. You're much less likely to be taken advantage of if you know your target."

"And how is it that Mr. Connelly came to know that you are familiar with our world?" asked Amelia.

"Well, I have a history with Mr. Connelly's family as well. I worked with his father before him and his grandfather before him. Considering I haven't aged since I turned 16, you sometimes have to let people in on some of your secrets to avoid people becoming too nosy or unintended exposure."

"You became a demon at age 16, then?" said Hermione, shrewd brain working hard to keep up with the influx of information.

"I like you, as well, Miss Granger. Exceptionally bright, like dear Sieglinde. Yes, you are correct."

Shut him up, will you? Harry heard William's disgusted voice ask in his head. I don't wish to get into the particulars of Earl Phantomhive's peculiar relationship with Sebastian Michaelis yet again

Harry looked from Ciel to Sebastian, trying to make sense of the Reaper's irritated comments. It took a moment for the implication to dawn on him, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Seeing Ciel's amused gaze on him, Harry gave a small smirk of his own before commenting, "Another mutual friend who doesn't wish to get mired in certain details."

"Ah, yes, it has been some time since I've spoken to William," said Ciel. "I suppose it is time to move on. So, we need to balance legal proceedings between the magical and mundane worlds and their justice systems."

Sirius spoke up. "Before we get into all of this, what's in this for you?"

Amelia shot Sirius a look, but Ciel remained calm and amused. "It is quite the miracle that Azkaban did not do damage to your intellect, Lord Black. Besides fulfilling my duties as the Queen's guard dog, I have also taken a personal interest in the workings of your so-called Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. His precious reputation isn't as bright and shiny as he likes the masses to think, though I do doubt that he's aware of me and my knowledge of his entire life. I like to think that he's had his three strikes and is now out, as it were." Noting the confused and curious faces looking back at him, Ciel continued, "He had the power and opportunity to stop his dear friend Gellert Grindlewald from rising to power as he did, yet did nothing to stop him until he was forced. It is interesting to me, too, that he still uses Grindlewald's concept of 'For the Greater Good'. I feel more than qualified to state that no good has ever come from any leader with such a philosophy. Indeed, Grindlewald was much like the Muggle tyrant Adolf Hitler in that ideal." This earned several gasps and looks of shock. "Terrible connection, isn't it? Now, Strike Two comes with his complete failure concerning Tom Marvolo Riddle. He knew from the moment he met him as a child that he was powerful and already capable of dangerous cruelty. He did nothing to stop these tendencies, and he indeed did nothing to stop him from rising to popularity and the power that came with it."

"Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Emily repeated, looking confused.

Harry remembered that Dumbledore had mentioned that most people didn't know that Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort were the same person, and this seemed to have dawned on Ciel as well as he said, "Ah, yes, that isn't common knowledge. The wizard born as Tom Riddle is much better known by his chosen title of Lord Voldemort."

The Earl Phantomhive paused for a moment to allow his audience time to react before he continued. "Dumbledore's Strike Three goes hand-in-hand with his Strike Two. The very evening that Lily and James Potter were murdered, and Lord Voldemort fell from power, Dumbledore followed his usual pattern of dangerously terrible decisions. Deliberately ignoring a legal custody order and placing a child into an abusive home while simultaneously allowing an innocent man to rot away in a hell of a prison for crimes he didn't commit and thus separating him from the child he's supposed to care for is inexcusably cruel. Neglecting to take even a single look into this abusive household for ten years is crueler still. Finally, when he has the child in his care ten months a year for all intents and purposes, and he constantly creates or allows mortal danger with the intent of fulfilling a rubbish, self-fulfilling prophecy with no help or regard for this child's well-being, or, indeed, any other child's, is cruelest of all." Ciel turned his gaze back to Harry. "I would like to offer you my apologies for the trauma you've been forced to live with, as well as my promise to do everything in my powers to help you." The immortal earl held out his hand as he spoke, and Harry immediately shook it.

"Thank you, Earl Phantomhive. Truly. I am grateful for your help."

"So," said Amelia, pulling out a quill and a scroll of parchment, "what is our first step, Earl Phantomhive?"

"As far as Mr. Connelly and young Mr. Dursley are concerned, consider that done. He will start lessons on Monday and stay in the city thru Friday each week, much like a real school."

"What's to stop his parents from forbidding this arrangement?" asked Charlotte.

"If they think it'll make Dudley, and themselves, look important, they'll let him do it with no questions asked," said Harry dryly.

"The second order of business will be preparing the legal case to satisfy both the mundane and magical laws. There are a large number of Muggles with magical relatives, as well as Muggleborns and Squibs, who work for the law and would therefore be able to represent both worlds. It will be a simple task to present one case when all is said and done," said Ciel.

"What about Sirius?" asked Hermione, taking notes herself.

"The Kiss on Sight order has already been lifted based on the memories provided of the night Pettigrew escaped," said Amelia. "Unfortunately, Fudge refuses to clear Sirius's name without physical proof, siting the possibility of fake or edited memories."

Harry had to admit that he could see Fudge's position based on his own recollection of Professor Slughorn's altered memory of discussing Horcruxes with Riddle in his previous timeline.

"With that being said," said Amelia, "we can still use a written statement from Sirius for the trial's purposes."

Sebastian spoke up. "Madame Bones, are you familiar with the mundane human concept of service animals?"

/

By the time the meeting had ended, and the balls had all been set into motion, Harry's head was spinning. At the same time, he was able to see more light at the end of the tunnel, a comeuppance swiftly arriving for Vernon and Petunia Dursley, the opportunity to forge a better bond with Dudley, and further groundwork to getting Sirius more freedom until they could clear his name completely. Harry was also still trying to grasp the new curveball in this timeline: Earl Phantomhive. He had a very strong feeling that the young demon lord would become a strong ally, perhaps even a friend? All in all, he was eager to return home a have a good long sleep so he was ready to meet each new challenge head on.

GRIM REAPER DISPATCH-LONDON BRANCH

William swallowed three Excedrin and massaged his temples. He had no idea how, exactly, Ciel Phantomhive had managed to sniff out Harry and his circumstances. The Reaper had to (very begrudgingly) admit that the earl had been very helpful. That didn't mean that William had to like him any better. Grelle, on the other hand, thought that this was an excellent development.

"The brat did well today," she commented with her toothy grin. "And sweet Bassie didn't do bad himself, either."

"Unfortunately, it appears we'll be seeing more of them, at least until this trial is over," said William unenthusiastically.

"Aw, cheer up, Will!" said Grelle, patting the brunet's shoulder. "Dear Harry is getting even more help!"

"Yes, I suppose he is," said William with a resigned sigh. So long as the earl's input continued to help Harry, he had to set his negative feelings to the side. If they were able to help Harry succeed, William could be a big boy and play nice with Ciel Phantomhive and his household of demons.