"Damn," I muttered dryly beneath my breath, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "So that's definitely where Sona inherited her strict personality from. Makes a lot of sense now."
Realizing my evening plans with Serafall had officially been derailed, I turned and walked quietly to my own bedroom instead. I pushed open the heavy doors, fully expecting it to be empty-only to pause abruptly in surprise.
Lying peacefully atop my enormous king-sized bed were all the beautiful members of my peerage. Hermione was curled comfortably in the center, breathing softly. Narcissa lay gracefully beside her, while Tonks sprawled casually across the foot of the mattress. Lyra and Lyna, my devil-maids, lay snuggled together at the far side, peacefully intertwined with each other.
They'd obviously fallen asleep waiting up for me-just another reminder of how lucky I truly was.
Smiling fondly, I quietly approached the bed, gently easing myself into the warm space between their beautiful, sleeping bodies. Immediately, as if sensing my presence, Hermione murmured softly in her sleep, shifting closer and cuddling against my side. Narcissa and Tonks stirred as well, instinctively curling toward me and pressing their soft, warm bodies comfortably against mine.
Tomorrow I'd be back at Hogwarts, and wondered with my last cognizant thoughts-if anything interesting happened in the castle while we were away over the weekend...?
XXX
The goblins have fucked around and will be finding out. Next chapter harry will be back at hogwarts where there's another new transfer student!
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chapter 28
Chapter 28 (~10k words):
— Harry —
Ancient Runes class had always been rather enjoyable for me, especially since it was one of the few classes I shared with my beautiful aunt Sona. Professor Babbling's soft voice calmly echoed throughout the room as she gently moved around the classroom, her hand tracing carefully over various rune diagrams that she projected onto the wall behind her. Today we were covering patterns that could allow rooms that weren't physically next to one another to be connected.
So that's how Scooby Doo did it... Those rooms were magic after all!!
Beside me, Sona's pen moved furiously across the neatly-lined parchment on her desk. She looked especially lovely today, her glossy black hair was perfect as usual, her glasses were resting gently upon the bridge of her nose, framing eyes sharp with concentration. She was completely absorbed in note-taking, pausing only occasionally to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Her interest in Ancient Runes had intensified greatly over the past few weeks, especially after discovering that she could instantly produce complex runes by sculpting them directly from ice magic.
Even so, Sona's ability to multitask was impressive. Despite being focused on the professor's instructions, she managed to nod and give me amused, faintly teasing smiles as I quietly recounted my weekend back in the Underworld. I described how exhausting and slightly embarrassing it had been to spend two whole days filming with my mother on her Magical Girl Levia-tan set, trying to fulfill the losing bet I'd made against Sona herself.
Sona lifted her gaze briefly from her notes and smirked faintly at me, a glint of amusement appearing behind her glasses. Her voice was a soft whisper, meant only for me to hear. "I warned you, didn't I, Harry? I don't make a habit out of losing bets!"
I rolled my eyes playfully and leaned slightly closer to her, my voice just as quiet. "Yes-well, we'll see how that goes next time, won't we?"
She smiled slightly, shaking her head and continuing to write. ""I admit, I am looking forward to seeing your episodes. It should be very entertaining," her smile turned into a smirk.
I sighed in mock defeat, rubbing the back of my neck. "Please, go easy on me when you finally watch it. Your sister-my mother-went completely overboard. Honestly, it was pretty embarrassing."
Sona gave another quiet, gentle laugh, carefully covering her mouth with one hand as she scribbled more runes down onto her parchment. "We'll see..."
I lowered my voice slightly more, ensuring no other classmates overheard. "Well, after the filming, things took a pretty unexpected turn. On Sunday, there was an emergency call about goblins attacking Phenex territory."
Her pen paused for a moment as she absorbed that new information, but quickly continued writing. "Goblins? In Phenex territory? Weren't they just allowed back in the underworld? Why would they be so foolish as to-?"
"I have no idea," I interrupted softly, "but the entire village had already been overrun by the time we arrived. It was an absolute massacre. Most of the women and children got away, but a lot of men died fighting. They were just low class devils living there, most of them had never had to fight in their entire lives..."
Her pink eyes widening with concern behind her glasses. Her whisper turned urgent. "What? Were you attacked as well when you got there?"
"Not initially, but-" I hesitated, not wanting to worry her further, yet knowing I couldn't leave out this detail. "Eventually, yes. Behemoth and Mum went ahead to handle some goblins they'd tracked to another location. That left me alone to search the destroyed village with... well, with Riser Phenex of all people."
I saw her slender fingers tighten around the pen, her expression shifting instantly from concern to displeasure at the mention of Riser's name. Still, she urged quietly, "Continue."
I took a breath, carefully recounting the fight while keeping my voice low. "We didn't realize it was an ambush until the goblins suddenly surrounded us. They were armed with silver weapons enchanted to inflict holy damage-"
The snapping sound of Sona's pen startled me into silence. The entire classroom fell quiet as Sona abruptly rose to her feet, her chair scraping loudly against the stone floor behind her. All eyes, including Professor Babbling's, turned toward us in astonishment.
"What the fuck happened, Harry?" Sona demanded loudly, her voice thick with worry. "Are you okay? Why didn't you send a message to me yesterday!?"
Professor Babbling blinked, clearly startled by Sona's sudden outburst. Adjusting her glasses nervously, the professor attempted to gently regain control of the disrupted class. "Miss Sitri, is something wrong?"
The rest of the students began whispering and murmuring to each other, glancing curiously between me and Sona, clearly anticipating another scandalous event involving Harry Sitri. I sighed inwardly at their predictability.
I straightened slightly in my seat, giving Professor Babbling an apologetic look before addressing her respectfully. "I'm sorry, Professor. This is actually my fault. I was telling Sona about something important that happened to me over the weekend, and it startled her."
Professor Babbling frowned gently, obviously concerned yet somewhat unsure how to proceed. "And what exactly happened, Mr. Sitri?"
I shook my head slightly, giving her my most reassuring expression. "It's alright, Professor," I began carefully, deliberately choosing my words to reveal as little as possible about the Underworld or my true nature. "What happened sounds a lot worse than it actually was. There were some goblins who caused trouble near where I was staying, and yes, they did try to ambush me, but I promise I'm perfectly fine. They underestimated me-I fought them off without too much trouble."
I saw Professor Babbling's mouth open in astonishment, clearly struggling to process my casual statement. Her voice came out slightly shaky when she finally responded, "Goblins...? Ambushing students now? Merlin, Mr. Sitri-that sounds absolutely horrifying! How can you speak so casually about something like that? Are you certain you're completely unharmed?"
"I'm fine, Professor. Really," I replied calmly, forcing myself to maintain a composed facade. "I wasn't injured." Not anymore, thanks to Riser's Phenex tears, but she didn't need to know that part. "Honestly, it's nothing compared to what I've already been through this year."
A low murmur rippled across the classroom, whispers rapidly spreading through the gathered students. The excitement and intrigue were palpable, their hushed conversations becoming louder and less restrained by the second.
I overheard one particularly loud comment from across the room. A tall Hufflepuff student leaned over his desk, whispering loudly enough for half the class to hear. "I've always been pretty damn jealous of the Boy-Who-Lived. The guy literally walks around the castle surrounded by some of the hottest witches I've ever seen. Every day I see him strolling along with those gorgeous French Veela sisters hanging off him, or his sexy maid girls-hell, even Professor Black practically worships him now? But, I'll be honest... hearing about people trying to kill him every other week? That kind of takes away from the fantasy."
There were several soft chuckles and murmurs of agreement around him. I turned my head slightly, meeting his eyes with a faintly amused look, and he quickly looked away sheepishly.
But then Cormac McLaggen sitting just a few seats over from him, elbowed his friend roughly in the ribs and spoke up even louder, openly leering at several of the girls nearby. "Oh, please," McLaggen scoffed arrogantly. "I'd happily trade places with him-even with all the assassination attempts-if it meant getting even half the amazing pussy he seems to attract constantly. Goblins and dark wizards be damned, that's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make!"
The room instantly fell into a stunned silence, every pair of eyes-including Professor Babbling's-turning sharply toward McLaggen with various expressions ranging from shock, embarrassment, to outright disgust.
Professor Babbling's pale face immediately reddened in clear embarrassment and anger, and she let out a heavy sigh as she glared pointedly at the young wizard. "Detention, Mr. McLaggen," she stated flatly, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Report to my office immediately after class."
Cormac simply rolled his eyes dismissively but wisely chose not to push his luck any further, slumping back in his seat with a faint scowl.
The rest of the students quickly averted their gazes as Professor Babbling tried once more to continue her lecture, clearly hoping to regain some semblance of normalcy in the room.
Sona sat quietly back down next to me, her expression tense and unhappy. She slid closer beneath the desk, discreetly slipping her soft hand into mine. Her gentle fingers stroked the top of my knuckles lightly in quiet reassurance, and she leaned toward me to whisper softly again, eyes filled with quiet warmth.
"I'm glad you're okay, Harry," she said gently, her voice quiet and deeply concerned. "But we're definitely going to talk more about this later. You shouldn't have kept something this important from me."
I gave her hand a gentle squeeze in return, offering her an apologetic look. "I know," I whispered softly, giving her a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, Sona. I promise we'll talk properly as soon as class ends, okay?"
She nodded slightly in acceptance, returning my faint smile before finally turning her attention reluctantly back toward Professor Babbling, who had managed to once again regain control of the lesson.
Just as I was beginning to relax again, a prickling sensation crept suddenly along the back of my neck, causing me to shift uneasily. My instincts were telling me I was being closely watched, and a moment later, I realized exactly whose piercing eyes were focused so intensely on me.
Hermione-my first girlfriend, my trusted bishop, and someone who I definitely should have told about the goblin ambush last night-sat directly behind me, and when I turned slowly to meet her stare.
Her normally soft brown eyes were cold and narrowed, her pretty mouth pressed tightly into a thin, displeased line.
Uh oh.
Yeah, I think I forgot to tell my peerage about what happened after I left with mum during dinner.
...My ear was still stinging painfully from where Hermione had pinched it. Honestly, I hadn't seen her look that furious with me in quite some time. Her sharp scolding still echoed clearly in my head-she had insisted, in no uncertain terms, that if anything remotely similar happened again, I'd better tell her straight away-even if I didn't want to wake her up because she was already asleep.
As I walked briskly down the Hogwarts corridors, my mind drifted toward Tonks. She wasn't waiting for me outside the classroom.
Where had she gone off to? Wasn't she supposed to be my official guard? Thinking about it, I realized she hadn't been there when I woke up this morning in the Underworld either. The rest of my peerage had been fast asleep in my bed, but Tonks had already been gone by then.
Had something urgent come up for her?
I approached Narcissa's Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The heavy wooden door opened suddenly, and a noisy rush of third-year students began spilling out into the hallway, chattering excitedly about whatever lesson they'd just completed.
I stepped aside, waiting patiently for them to clear out of the doorway.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of vivid red immediately caught my attention. I turned my head slightly, and my breath briefly caught in my throat. A stunningly beautiful Slytherin girl I'd never noticed before was making her way toward me. Her long red hair fell down her back, framing a face that could only be described as flawless. Her eyes were striking emerald green, and her lips full and inviting. Her body was undeniably captivating, curvaceous with generous breasts that strained noticeably against the fabric of her Hogwarts robes.
As if sensing my gaze, she looked directly at me. For a moment our eyes met, holding steadily. She seemed almost as surprised as I was, her eyes widening slightly in interest before a slow, confident smile began spreading over her beautiful lips. Her expression was openly curious, boldly assessing, and without a single trace of embarrassment at catching me staring at her so openly.
Heat rose quickly in my cheeks as I forced myself to break our eye contact, turning my gaze away from her face.
Who was that? I'd never seen her around Hogwarts before, yet her robes clearly bore the colors of Slytherin House. Perhaps Daphne or Tracy might know more. I made a mental note to ask them later.
