Harry Phenex 2
As Harry walked with Rias and Randol into another room, Grayfia shut the door and stayed outside. Randol turned to Harry as the young man stood by Rias, "Tell me about yourself, Harry. I admit I'm still trying to deal with the fact you're the son of my lost daughter."
"Well, I was born to Lily Potter and James Potter. Or I guess Rillian Phenex, but whatever. There was a big war at the time with a wizard named Voldemort. He attacked my parents and killed them and tried to kill me, but I somehow survived."
Randol murmured, "Most likely through the Phenex Immortality; we are very hard to kill."
Harry shrugged, "I was found and sent to my Aunt's. She and her family don't like magic at all, and didn't treat me very well." It was obvious he was downplaying that situation. "I lived with them until I was eleven when I got a letter from Hogwarts, a school for wizards. I attend there most of the year, and only have to go to Privet Drive for the summer." He pauses, "I pretty much have to deal with stuff at school every year. I'm not sure what else to say, really."
Rias frowned slightly. Sometimes, Harry felt so young, and other times so old and jaded; it was a strange combination. "You mentioned a Sirius?" She was hesitant to ask but decided it was better than leaving it alone.
Harry took a breath, "Sirius Black was my godfather. He was wrongly accused and sent to prison for over a decade, then escaped to try to help me. Some stuff happened, and he died because of me."
"I doubt it was your fault," Rias said comfortingly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It was," Harry's voice rose at the words, "I was having strange dreams and visions from Voldemort, seeing what he was doing. He sent me a vision showing Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. I went to save him with some friends of mine, but it was a trap; he wasn't really there." He ran fingers through his hair, "Sirius did come to save me and was sent into the Veil of Death. It's my fault."
Randol frowned. His grandson was obviously having difficulty dealing with grief. "All right, Harry," he said, nodding at Rias at the girl's actions. "Did you choose to have your godfather go to this place? Did you send him into the Veil of Death yourself?"
"No," Harry admitted.
"Then it's not your fault," was the response from Randol, "You were tricked, and your godfather did what any parent would; he tried to protect you. Blame this Voldemort fellow. Your godfather obviously loved you. He would not want you to blame yourself." Randol smiled, "Trust me. I'm a father. I know these things."
Harry just sighed, "Anyway, that's my life in a nutshell. I didn't mention everything as we'd be here forever."
"There's more?" Randol asked incredulously.
Harry smiled bitterly, "I've nearly died every year I was at Hogwarts. And Professor Dumbledore insists it's the 'safest school in the world'." At this, Rias slipped her arm around his shoulders comfortingly and he flinched slightly. She squeezed his arm gently in response.
Randol made a note to investigate these school matters in depth before again looking at Rias, a bit amused. Shaking his head, he sighed, "All right, Harry. I would like to take you to my home. I'd like you to live with us. You're my daughter's child and thus family."
"Uh, what about school? I was going to Hogwarts. I admit that after all that's happened I don't mind not going back, but don't I have to?" Harry asked.
"You're a devil, Harry," Randol said. "I'm not being arrogant when I say the strongest wizard would have a hard time with a weak devil. Any magical education you need, we can provide. I can even have books on wizarding magic purchased."
"Well, could I visit my friends?" Harry asked. "I'm kind of upset at Hermione and Ron for not writing to me - again - but I'd miss them."
"Of course," Randol said with a nod. "I'd want to send someone to go with you as after all you've said, I don't trust these wizards to have your best interests in mind, but I would never keep you from your friends."
Rias couldn't help it: she frowned at Randol. It was galling that he was so nice to Harry when his family was insisting she marry Riser.
"Hrm, then as long as I can visit Rias - if she wants me to - I'm willing," Harry said to Randol. This felt a lot like his third year. Hopefully, it'd turn out better this time. He'd do almost anything to not return to the Dursleys.
"All right," Randol said. "Take my hand. I'll bring you to Phenex Castle. Would you like to join us, Rias?"
"Not right now. I need to talk to my brother. I'd love to speak to Harry later, though," Rias told him. She added, "I'll have your trunk dropped off, too, Harry."
"All right. Let's go, Harry," Randol said, taking Harry's hand. In a flash of fire, they were gone.
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A small jackrabbit patronus appeared in Dumbledore's office, glowing with a soft white light, "Professor Dumbledore." It was Tonks. "Harry's gone. I don't see how, but I was outside and cast a revealing charm on the hour, just like I was supposed to. He wasn't there."
Dumbledore blanched, putting his quill down and getting to his feet. He waved his wand, transfiguring his robes into muggle clothing and added a Muggle Notice-Me-Not before turning and apparating.
Appearing in Arabella's garden, Dumbledore turned to walk quickly down the street towards Number Four Privet Drive. Once he arrived, he gestured with his wand. Spotting Tonks, he moved towards her, "So you didn't see anything?" he asked.
"No. He was there the last time I checked, then I checked an hour later and he wasn't," Tonks said to him. "I cast some revealing charms and didn't see evidence of him sneaking out under that cloak of his." She frowned, "I'm not surprised he left though; those people don't treat him well. You can always hear them screaming at him and I saw the fat man hit him. I nearly went in at that point. I still don't see why you insist he stay here. It can't be good for him."
He didn't like people questioning him, especially now with the boy's disappearance. Dumbledore approached the house and gestured with his wand. The door clicked open and he entered the building, walking up the stairs. Tonks followed behind him. He didn't want to wake up the Dursleys and cause further questions to come to light. He blanched as he saw the padlock keeping the boy's door shut, and ignored Tonks' glare. Waving his wand, the lock opened and he entered the room, looking around slowly. The boy's trunk was gone.
Mumbling under his breath, Dumbledore waved his wand, examining the room carefully. Finding nothing, he started to use more esoteric revealing charms and eventually he found something.
And paled.
There was demonic power in this room. A lot of it.
This was definitely going to be trouble.
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When Harry's vision cleared, he found himself standing in a foyer. Randol led him down a hallway and into a sitting room. A beautiful woman was sitting on one of the loveseats, reading a book. She looked to be in her early to mid-thirties. "Ah, hello, dear. Who is this?"
"Riella, this is Harry James Potter," Randol began. He paused, as if unsure how to explain things. Then obviously decided to figuratively rip the bandage off, "His mother was Rillian."
"Rillian?" Riella said with a gasp. Then his phrasing registered, and she took a breath, "What happened? Hello, Harry. I'm Riella. I'm your grandmother."
"From what Sirzechs said, Harry's mother was a human witch. Our guess is whoever kidnapped her erased her memories and used some powerful ritual to bind her demonic power," Randol explained. "She lived as a human and had Harry, then was killed."
"Who was it?" Riella said, her eyes literally blazing.
"Uh, his name was Voldemort," Harry supplied. "He used the Killing Curse. He also used it on me but I survived somehow," he explained.
"You are a Phenex; that's how," Randol said. "Your demonic power wasn't bound, so when this curse tried to kill you, you recovered." He sighed, "Unfortunately, your mother's was. I'm curious how you were never found until now, however."
"I had some sort of Dark magic in my scar," Harry said, touching his now-unscarred forehead. "Sirzechs said there were some types of magic that could dampen someone's demonic power, and that maybe mine finally broke free of it?" He shrugged, "I don't know."
"Well, at least we found you now," Riella said brightly, moving to hug Harry. He stiffened slightly but awkwardly hugged her back. "You will be staying of course. Oh, I wish the children were here to meet you!"
"It's probably better that they aren't," Randol said to Riella with a smile, "Harry needs time to settle in." He added, "We have two sons and a daughter. Ruval, Riser, and Ravel."
"Well, I'd love to meet them sometime soon," Harry said politely.
"Do you have your things?" asked Riella. "Clothes, for instance?"
"Not with me," Harry admitted. "I had Rias get my trunk; she said she'd have it delivered." He suddenly looked embarrassed, "I didn't really have much in the way of clothes other than school clothes, though."
At Riella's glance, Randol answered the implied question, "Rias is the one who found him. When his demonic power awoke, she felt it in London."
"Well then, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll have a tailor visit to have you measured and order you a wardrobe," Riella said brightly.
"You don't have to do that," Harry demurred.
Riella frowned, "Of course I do. Even ignoring the fact that you're my grandson, you're a Phenex. You need proper clothing."
"She's right, Harry. We need you properly dressed as a member of the Phenex Clan," Randol said with a nod.
"All right," Harry agreed, still a bit uncomfortable at the idea.
After a moment, Randol suggested, "Why don't you tell us about yourself? You attended a school for wizards. What was it like?"
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Later that night, Harry sat in his bed, having been shown to his room by a young woman in a maid's outfit. He was thinking about what had happened that day. It had been a really strange day, what with meeting Rias, finding out he was a bloody devil, and more.
And he still missed Sirius.
All that happened had distracted him, but laying in bed the sadness returned. He wiped at his eyes. He had to live on, if only so that he could make Sirius proud of him. If angels and devils existed, maybe Sirius really was watching him.
He would have to hope so.
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Over the next few days, Harry began to settle in at Phenex Castle. His trunk arrived a day after he did and Harry carefully unpacked it. He didn't have to worry about the Dursleys destroying things. With nothing else to do, he re-read some of his books, finding some of the theory easier to grasp than he remembered. As promised, a whole case of wizarding books had been delivered, which would help Harry's future studies.
He was a little uncomfortable with the sheer quality of his new clothing. Silk and fine cotton shirts and trousers and leather shoes were provided, as well as more casual things like jeans and tee shirts. He now had a whole closet full of clothing. It just felt so wrong.
One morning, Harry was heading down to breakfast when he heard a voice say behind him, "Hello. Who are you?" The voice was a soft soprano, laden with just a hint of suspicion.
Turning, he saw a blonde girl in pigtails. She had an obvious resemblance to Riella. "I'm Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you. Ravel, right?" he asked.
"That would be me. Harry?" The young girl looked at him curiously; she reminded him of a nicer Draco in attitude. "What brings you here?"
"Um..." Harry trailed off, and ran his fingers through his hair, looking embarrassed, "Technically I'm your nephew. Which feels strange as I think I'm older than you. My mother was Rillian I'm told?" he offered.
She blinked in shock, "You're Rillian's son? My mother told me about Rillian but I was born after she disappeared."
"That's what I'm told," Harry said after a moment. "Sirzechs thinks that whoever took her bound her demonic power and modified her memories. As far as I knew, she was a human witch," he explained. "I didn't find out differently until something happened and my demonic power... well, woke up."
"Is Rillian here too?" asked Ravel excitedly, "I always wanted a sister!"
"Uh, I'm afraid not. She was killed when I was a baby," Harry explained. "A dark wizard named Voldemort killed her and my father."
Ravel's features darkened, "I hope whoever killed her is dead."
"Not exactly," Harry said. "He came back to life this past year."
"Came back to life? Humans can do that on their own?" Ravel asked in surprise. "Well. I'm sure mother and father will look into that, then." She added, "How long have you been here?"
"A few days. You're the first I've met other than Randol and Riella," he said with a shrug.
"Riser is busy with his peerage," Ravel explained. "And Ruval travels for Clan business all the time." Then she added, "Oh, I was going down to breakfast. Shall we?"
"Same here. And sure," Harry agreed, turning again to head down the steps.
"So, your demonic power awakened recently, you said? It's strange that you didn't have it from birth," Ravel observed as they sat at the dining table. "You feel like you have at least as much as Riser or even Ruval and they're quite strong for their age."
"I probably did," Harry said to her. "Randol thinks that's the reason I didn't die when Voldemort attacked me when I was a baby. According to Sirzechs, something happened when he died and I had a nasty bit of cursed magic in my scar or something. Anyway, it stifled my demonic power till my magic got rid of it." He shrugged, "Or that's the theory. They can't really check as the scar is gone now."
"That sounds strange. I'm surprised that something could dampen your demonic power. Then again, they managed it with Rillian apparently..." Ravel trailed off, "I don't like the idea of people being able to do that."
"In my mum's case, Randol said it was because of how young she was. Her demonic power could be contained because she was a baby." Harry shrugged, "No one knows what happened with me, though."
"Well, that's a relief then," Ravel acknowledged. When the servant came in with tea, cereal, and toast, she offered a smile in thanks, before starting to eat, "What do you plan on doing?"
"Well, in the short term, learn. Randol said he'd get wizarding books so I can continue my studies. He's already gotten me some. I figure I'll also learn devil magic as it's different from wizarding," Harry said. "I'll have to study hard for the latter as I'm starting late, but hopefully my experience with wizarding magic helps things along. I'm not sure about the long term. I was thinking about becoming an auror before, but that's unlikely now. I'm not sure what professions devils have, really."
"Auror?" asked Ravel in confusion.
"Magical policeman. They take care of crime in the wizarding community," Harry explained.
"Mmm. We have police, but most of them are from lesser and common families. The Phenex Clan does have a military. I suppose you could join that," Ravel said after a moment's thought.
Harry offered a wry smile, "I'm unsure if I want to do that, honestly. I considered being an auror because an ex-auror teacher was interesting and it annoyed someone in the Ministry." He grinned at that thought, "I'm not sure if I would want to do it now."
"Well, depending on how strong you are, you could join someone's Peerage and compete in the Rating Games," Ravel noted. "Riser's Peerage is full and Ruval doesn't compete, but I'm sure you could find someone."
"Excuse me, but... Rating Game?" Harry wondered. "And...Peerage?"
"I suppose they were waiting to explain that sort of thing until you became more comfortable," Ravel mused. Taking a deep breath, she explained, "After the Great War, there were few devils. We were on the brink of dying out. Ajuka Beezlebub created objects called Evil Pieces to bond with and permanently transform other species into devils to increase our number. They work on most creatures, including humans. High-Class devils are given a set of pieces to form a Peerage. I have a set, though my parents haven't let me use them yet. You probably will gain a set as well at some point, if I judge your power accurately. A full set of evil pieces are based on chess and each piece gives a special ability to its user. Bishops increase one's magical abilities, Knights are incredibly quick, Rooks make you strong and tough, and so on. Anyway, a Rating Game is a competition between two Peerages. It is carefully monitored so no one dies but is often a fight. Sometimes, there are also other elements like capturing or holding ground."
"So it's like a group duel?" Harry asked after a moment's thought.
"Something like that. A little more violent than most duels I've seen, though. More like a war game," Ravel admitted. "It helps channel our natural aggression into a constructive outlet and allows us to grow stronger in case another war happens." She grinned, "It's also very fun to watch."
Harry looked amused, "Of course a devil's favourite sport would be really dangerous," he said to himself quietly, shaking his head. "Then again, quidditch can be dangerous too."
"Quidditch?" asked Ravel, having caught the latter comment.
"It's a wizarding sport. You fly around on broomsticks, trying to get a ball through some hoops. There are other balls made of iron that fly around trying to knock you off the broomstick, as well. Broken bones are relatively common," Harry said with a shrug.
"I would say so," Ravel said, blinking. "So, how did your power awakening lead to you being discovered and mother and father finding you?"
"I was where I was staying," Harry said, unconsciously careful to not refer to it as his home. "I was..." He trailed off, before finishing with, "...dealing with some issues and was depressed. Suddenly I felt a burning sensation in my scar. I had a pretty obvious scar on my forehead, here," he explained, gesturing with a finger. "Then I felt like I was burning up, and the pain stopped. Including some aches I had gotten from other injuries. Not long later, someone came in, a red-headed girl who called herself Rias. Apparently, she felt my power from London and came looking." He shrugged, "One thing led to another."
Ravel wasn't stupid; she could tell there was more to the story. Deciding to let things go for now, she said, "Your immortality likely kicked in and healed your other injuries," Then she blinked, "So you met Rias Gremory? That is a surprise. She's engaged to my brother."
"Interesting. She didn't seem happy when she saw my wings," Harry said after a moment's thought. "But she took me to see her brother, who called your father. Said it was about his daughter, and...well." He shrugged.
"Hmm. She doesn't seem to want to marry my brother," Ravel said with a frown, "I don't know why. He's a good man." She added, almost against her will, "If a little arrogant." It wasn't something she'd admit to most, but Harry was family, after all.
Harry shrugged, "She seemed like a nice person to me," He told her.
"So," Ravel said brightly, changing the subject, "Do you like your room? Have you gone out yet? I could take you to see a movie, or...?" She was determined to know more about her 'nephew'.
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Randol Phenex looked over the report his agents had collected. While he hadn't had much contact with wizards, there were some devils who had. The information collected was troubling, to put it mildly.
He was not happy.
His grandson had been abused his entire life and nearly died every year that he attended this Hogwarts.
It was time for him to talk to Albus Dumbledore.