I quickly gathered up the basics listed in my acceptance letter, along with a few extras Hermione had recommended for advanced potion-making since I had a lot of extra learning to catch up on. The elderly shopkeeper gave me a curious look over his spectacles, clearly wondering who I was beneath my disguise. Thankfully, he didn't pry, and soon enough, I was back out on the crowded street again. All my supplies tucked in a pocket space spell that Sona had taught me.
Next was Astronomy supplies. I entered a small, cozy shop labeled "Starry Night Supplies" that was noticeably less crowded than most places. Inside, shelves were lined with gleaming brass telescopes, star charts, and glittering astrolabes. The ceiling above mimicked the night sky, shimmering softly with magical stars and constellations slowly shifting positions. It was mesmerizing.
A kind young witch with curly brown hair greeted me warmly. "Welcome! Shopping for Hogwarts, are you?" She smiled cheerfully, not recognizing me beneath the hat and sunglasses.
I nodded, smiling back politely. "Yes, I'm looking for a telescope suitable for my classes."
She eagerly led me to several different options, enthusiastically explaining the differences between models. Eventually, I chose a sleek brass telescope engraved with tiny constellations.
Satisfied, I left the shop feeling pleased at how easy this shopping trip was going, enjoying the friendly anonymity my disguise provided.
I stopped suddenly, my ears catching an angry female voice ringing out clearly from a narrow, shadowed alley branching off Diagon Alley.
"FUCK OFF, MALFOY! I'M NOT INTERESTED!"
I hesitated for a moment, looking towards the source of the shout. It would've been simple to just keep walking, mind my own business, and ignore whatever mess someone else had gotten themselves into. But the raw frustration in the girl's voice resonated with me, tugging at something deep inside.
Besides, I'd never been good at turning a blind eye to bullies or arrogant pricks harassing women. With a small sigh, I adjusted my hat and sunglasses, then strode purposely towards the alley, prepared to intervene if necessary.
The narrow path quickly led me around a corner, revealing the source of the commotion.
Three young women were cornered against the rough brick wall, confronted by three sneering young men-one clearly the leader, with slick blond hair and an expensive, custom-tailored set of robes. Two larger, brutish-looking thugs stood just behind him, obviously acting as muscle. All of them appeared around my own age, somewhere around nineteen or twenty.
The blond prat was currently focused entirely on the girl standing defiantly in the middle-a cute brunette with wildly messy brown hair that framed a rather lovely face. Her sky-blue eyes glared daggers at the arrogant young man through her round glasses. Even beneath her loose sweater and jeans, it was clear she had an enticingly curvy figure, soft in all the right places.
It was obvious why she was the one getting harassed, not that her friends weren't cute either. Just not on this girl's level.
At least her two friends stood protectively at her sides, fists clenched and anger radiating off them.
"Come on, McKinnon," the blond snob drawled smugly, taking a step closer to the brunette as his eyes leered appreciatively at her curves. "We're both purebloods from powerful, ancient families. Stop wasting your time with these pathetic mudblood-loving whores and accept my offer. After all, you wouldn't want to end up like your dear old grandparents, would you?" The threat in his voice was clear.
His two oafish cronies snickered stupidly behind him, their beady eyes roaming shamelessly over the girls' bodies.
The cute brunette-McKinnon, apparently-lifted her chin defiantly, refusing to be intimidated. "Fuck off, Malfoy! I'd rather hex my own tits off than spend even five seconds alone with Death Eater spawn like you. For all I know, it was probably your evil father that murdered my grandparents!"
Malfoy laughed coldly, clearly unbothered by her outburst. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But let's face reality-they chose the losing side. And the way things are going to change at Hogwarts this year, you'll want to ensure you're on the right side, sweet little Jasmine. I might not be so generous later with my next offer..."
I'd heard enough.
"Funny," I drawled loudly, stepping smoothly into view and interrupting Malfoy's pathetic attempt at intimidation. "From where I'm standing, the only one on the wrong side here is you, blondie."
All six heads snapped around instantly, eyes widening as they registered my sudden appearance. Malfoy scowled arrogantly, clearly irritated by the interruption. His eyes narrowed disdainfully at me, running judgmentally over my simple disguise, clearly dismissing me as someone unimportant. "And just who the hell are you supposed to be?" he sneered contemptuously. "Can't you see we're busy here? Fuck off, filthy mudlood!"
...
"Why don't you make me fuck off, weasel face?" I shot back, chuckling lightly at his furious expression.
Malfoy's pale face twisted into an ugly sneer, and his eyes flashed dangerously. Beside him, the two hulking goons cracked their knuckles, attempting-and failing-to look intimidating. Their sheer size was laughable compared to the devils I'd trained with back home when I wasn't practicing with Sona.
These guys were just big, dumb humans.
"You insolent little prick!" Malfoy hissed venomously, whipping out his wand. "Do you even know who my father is, mudblood? I'll have him destroy you for daring to insult a true pureblood heir like myself!"
I laughed openly at his pathetic threat, tilting my hat mockingly. "And how exactly are you gonna do that when you don't even know who I am?"
Malfoy's pale cheeks flushed an ugly red. "Then I'll fucking find out after I teach you your place!" He snapped his wand forward furiously, shouting out an incantation, "Furnunculus!"
A streak of bright red magic hurtled towards me, sizzling through the air.
I pulled out my fake wand, casually flicking it upwards just as the spell nearly reached me. Using my imagination powers, I reflected the spell, redirecting it at the giant oaf standing to Malfoy's right.
The big guy didn't even have time to blink. The spell hit him squarely in the chest, instantly dropping him to the ground as he howled in agony. Disgusting boils erupted violently all over his body, bubbling up rapidly and oozing unpleasantly.
I let out a low whistle, genuinely impressed.
Damn, wizard magic could be disturbingly creative.
My mother Serafall usually just froze people solid when she got angry, and Sona and I preferred blasting enemies with razor-sharp torrents of pressurized water.
But festering and popping painful boils? Wizards definitely had some nasty imaginations... I could honestly respect that.
"Crabbe!" Malfoy shouted in shock, staring in horror at his friend writhing painfully on the ground. Rage took over his features again as he jabbed his wand violently towards me. "Goyle, get him! You'll pay dearly for that, you bastard!" he shouted at me, gripping his wand but not using magic again.
Goyle charged at me with all the finesse of a rampaging troll. His huge arms opened wide, clearly attempting to tackle me into submission.
I almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of it.
Rather than waste magic on this guy, I decided to show off a little of my devil-enhanced strength. With a bored expression, I raised one hand calmly, effortlessly stopping his charge dead in its tracks by catching his shoulder. He gaped at me in confusion, sweat dripping down his round face as he pushed uselessly against my unyielding grip.
"What kind of wizard tries to tackle someone...?" I sighed mockingly.
Before he could respond, I tightened my grip and easily flipped his heavy frame upward, his massive body spinning briefly in midair before slamming brutally onto the ground with a loud crash. The impact sent dust flying around us, and he groaned loudly before falling limp, clearly knocked out cold.
The alley fell silent for a brief moment as everyone gaped at me in shocked disbelief. The three girls pressed against the wall stared, open-mouthed, eyes wide with awe.
"Holy shit," whispered the girl standing to McKinnon's left, she had pretty dark skin, obviously of Indian descent. "This guy's a total badass!"
"Dibs," immediately whispered the other friend, a brunette with a playful smirk.
"You can't just call dibs every time, Lavender, you absolute slut!" snapped the first girl with a mock-annoyed glare.
Lavender tossed her shiny dark hair back, giving Parvati a teasing wink. "I absolutely can, Parvarti! And I just did! He's gonna be mine! That's what dibs means..."
Jasmine McKinnon groaned softly between them, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Will you two knock it off already?" she hissed. "Malfoy looks seriously pissed now!"
She was right. Malfoy looked ready to explode. His face was nearly purple with rage, and his wand hand trembled uncontrollably as he aimed it directly at my chest. I could sense desperation rolling off him in waves. "You... you'll regret this humiliation, mudblood!" he spat furiously, voice shaking with rage. "You don't even know the depths of trouble you're in now! Crucio!"
I narrowed my eyes, watching carefully as Malfoy's wand flashed with that same sickly yellow curse I'd seen last night. It was one of those unforgivable spells-the same one the Death Eaters had tried and failed to ambush me and the girls with last night.
I was caught off guard then, forced to dodge. But this time, I was ready.
"Get out of the way!" Jasmine shouted desperately, her eyes wide with fear. "That spell can't be blocked!"
"Move!" Lavender screamed urgently beside her, panic clear in her voice.
But I ignored their warnings, standing my ground. A part of me wanted to see if my imagination-based demonic magic was powerful enough to stop even something like this.
Time to find out. And yes I knew this was stupid and mom and Sona would both scold me if they found out. Which they would because I'm sure Lyra or Lyna-or both-were definitely stalking me and watching all this right now.
With absolute focus, I raised my fake wand, funneling all my concentration and willpower into the tip. The unforgivable spell raced towards me, crackling with violent energy as if desperate to cause pain.
To everyone's shock the curse suddenly froze just inches from the tip of my wand. It hovered there, trembling with dark magic, completely trapped by my sheer force of will. I grit my teeth, feeling sweat trickle down my forehead from the sheer mental effort of channeling my imagination powers into stopping such a dark spell. My muscles tensed, every nerve on edge, but I held steady, refusing to budge.
I could understand why wizards and witches couldn't block this spell. It was taking A LOT of power even for a Mid Class devil like me.
Malfoy's jaw dropped open, eyes bulging with disbelief. "What... how is that possible?" he stammered weakly, all arrogance draining from his face.
Jasmine and her friends gasped sharply, eyes wide in stunned amazement. I knew I had to act quickly before my control wavered. I could already feel the strain starting to get to me.
"Here," I growled darkly, my voice cold as mum's ice magic. "I think this belongs to you!" With a powerful mental shove, I hurled the cruciatus curse straight back at Malfoy. It happened so fast, he didn't even have a chance to move out of the way.
The spell slammed into him full force, enveloping him in that same awful, sickly yellow glow.
Malfoy instantly collapsed, screaming in absolute agony as his body writhed uncontrollably on the dirty alley floor. The scream was blood-curdling, raw, and filled with the worst pain imaginable. It echoed off the walls, chilling even me.
The girls shrank back slightly, pressing closer to each other as they watched Malfoy thrash violently on the ground.
Thankfully, since I hadn't cast the spell directly myself, the torture didn't last long-only a few horrifying seconds.
But apparently, even a couple of seconds was more than enough. Malfoy's screams abruptly cut off as his body went limp, twitching slightly. I grimaced slightly, noticing with mild disgust that he'd pissed himself, the stain rapidly spreading across the expensive looking fabric of his robes.
Silence filled the alley for a tense moment as everyone stared in stunned disbelief. I let out a slow breath. I had to admit, even I wasn't completely sure I'd been able to pull that off, but I'd done it.
"Holy shit," Jasmine breathed softly, breaking the stunned silence. Her bright blue eyes stared at me, both fearful and amazed. "You... you just did the impossible... you stopped an Unforgivable Curse."
Lavender stood frozen in shock for several seconds, eyes round with awe, before she finally spoke in a breathless whisper. "Oh...my...god. I am officially calling double dibs now!" Her cheeks flushed deeply. "That was literally the sexiest, most incredible thing I've ever witnessed. My panties are completely soaked!"
Parvati gave Lavender a scandalized glare, elbowing her sharply. "Lavender! Seriously? That's what you're going with in this situation!"
Lavender merely grinned shamelessly, shrugging as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Hey, can you blame me? Did you see how badass and hot that was?"
I couldn't help but chuckle softly at their playful bickering, shaking my head slightly as I walked slowly toward the three of them. I tucked away my fake wand, making it clear I wasn't any threat.
The girls relaxed visibly as I approached, looking up at me with wide, appreciative eyes.
Stopping right in front of Jasmine, I offered a gentle smile. "Are you ladies alright?" I asked quietly, genuinely concerned. "Sorry you had to see something like that-I hope I didn't scare you."
Jasmine immediately shook her head, stepping closer. Her lovely cheeks were bright pink, eyes locked onto mine with clear gratitude and attraction. "No, not at all," she said quickly. "That was... absolutely incredible. But-who are you, really? I've never seen anyone do anything like that before," she asked gently.
I figured there wasn't any harm in revealing myself-especially after what they'd just witnessed. Smiling gently, I slowly reached up and slipped off my sunglasses, letting them clearly see my handsome face.
All three girls gasped loudly in shock, their eyes widening dramatically as recognition instantly flashed across their faces.
"Holy shit," Lavender breathed, looking absolutely stunned. "You're-you're Harry Potter!"
