Both maids stared at the three girls like they had just asked the dumbest question in the world. Their perfect blue eyes were wide and almost glowing, like the answer should be obvious.
Jasmine felt a twitch of irritation, though she kept it to herself. She could at least admire the loyalty the maids had to Harry, even if it was a bit unhinged. Honestly, it was still insane that Harry had been allowed to have live-in maids in the first place. In the Gryffindor dorms no less. She shook her head slightly. How much money did his second mother, Serafall, bribe Dumbledore with to get that one approved?
Pushing those thoughts aside, Jasmine forced a polite smile. "Well, good luck with the cake. We are just taking this poor dog to see Hagrid. He is in bad shape."
That was when both Lyra and Lyna glanced down at the animal at Jasmine's side. Their smiles faltered for a brief second as their eyes locked on the dog. It was not a casual glance either. Both of them stared at him intently, their pretty blue eyes narrowing in perfect unison. There was a strange gleam there.
Jasmine shifted uncomfortably, stroking the dog's head again to steady herself. For a heartbeat she felt like they were seeing more than just a ragged, half-starved animal.
Then, just as suddenly, they both straightened up and smiled again.
"Hm. That is interesting," Lyna said, though her gaze lingered for a second longer.
"Indeed it is," Lyra agreed smoothly. She adjusted her basket with a delicate movement. "I hope Hagrid can help this poor injured creature. Hagrid is a very nice giant, giving us these eggs for free."
Lyna gave a little wave as she stepped past. "Good day, you three. There will be victory cake in the common room after the fun event tonight!"
"What event? The choosing ceremony?" she asked the two of them. "Aren't we just gonna be staring at a magic cup?"
"Oh no, the event will be much more fun than just that! I hope you all are good on your cardio because you'll be running all over the castle later tonight!" Lyra said with a grin. She clearly knew more about the tournament than they did.
How? They weren't even students!
Lavender and Parvati exchanged glances with Jasmine. Clearly, they weren't getting anymore cryptic information and would just have to wait. She did have pretty good cardio at the very least...?
With that, the twins swayed past them, their hips rocking side to side with deliberate, exaggerated movements. Their short skirts bounced dangerously with each step, flashing glimpses of smooth thighs that made Jasmine's cheeks heat.
Despite herself, Jasmine's gaze trailed after them, her eyes fixed on the hypnotic sway until she caught herself. She quickly looked away, embarrassed at how obvious she must have looked.
Lavender noticed, of course. She let out a playful laugh, reached over, and gave Jasmine a smack on the arm. "Oh, I didn't know you swung that way too, Jaz? Is that a recent development?"
"...I don't know-maybe..." she admitted to her two friends. Those two were just nice to look at-but she was still more attracted to Harry though...
Neither of her friends judged her at all for her words though, witches and Wizards were far more liberal when it came to love than Muggles were.
"Let's just go bring our new friend to Hagrid."
"You're new friend, I'm not getting near the fleabag..."
The dog let out a sad whine at that.
— Serafall —
Serafall sat stiffly in her throne-like chair in her office, one leg crossed impatiently over the other. She tapped her manicured fingernails rhythmically against the ornate wooden armrest. Her usually playful blue eyes were hard as ice, narrowed sharply on the goblin king standing before her.
King Ragnuk bowed low. He had already introduced himself as Ragnuk the Tenth, proudly tracing his lineage back through countless other goblin kings who had foolishly worn the same name.
To Serafall, it was just another annoying reminder of the ancient grudge she held against his race. The goblins had always been a thorn in her people's side. Centuries earlier, their ancestors had launched a brutal surprise attack against the underworld. It happened during a time when the devils had barely started recovering from the Great War and the bloody civil war that followed.
The sudden assault had cost the devils dearly, with hundreds of thousands of low-ranking devils slaughtered when the goblins dug large sink holes underneath major cities. The fucking cowards.
Of course, the newly crowned Maous had swiftly retaliated, crushing the goblin armies and driving them from the underworld with merciless fury. Millions of goblins had perished in the conflict. Unfortunately, the Maous were not able to follow the Goblins out of the underworld to finish the race off because the Goblins went and hid underground on Earth right below faithful human territories.
The greedy bastard had basically used the churches faithful believers as literal human shields without them even knowing. And it's not like the Maou could have asked Heaven's help at that time because they were coming off the Great War and still bitter enemies.
She sighed inwardly, forcing herself to listen as Ragnuk straightened up, his wide mouth stretching into an ingratiating smile. His small, beady black eyes glistened with poorly disguised greed. His thin fingers kept twisting and grasping at the heavy gold rings that adorned nearly every inch of his bony hands.
"We graciously thank you, Great Devil Queen Serafall, for allowing our people the pilgrimage to our ancestral homeland in the Underworld," Ragnuk droned on smoothly, his voice oily and falsely humble. "It is a great honor for my kind to once again walk the lands where our race was originally born."
Serafall barely suppressed an eye-roll, giving him her fakest, most exaggerated smile. "Uh-huh, sure. That's just great..." she drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She stretched lazily, making no effort whatsoever to hide her boredom.
Ragnuk either didn't notice her blatant lack of enthusiasm, or more likely, he simply didn't care. He straightened the cuffs of his heavily embroidered robe, puffing up slightly with self-importance. "Your generosity and wisdom know no bounds, Lady Serafall. Truly, you are the most gracious and powerful leader to ever sit upon the throne of Leviathan."
"Yeah, yeah," Serafall muttered, flicking her gaze pointedly toward the large ornate clock on the wall. She raised an elegant eyebrow at him, giving a clear signal that her patience was rapidly running out. "Are you finished flattering me yet? Because my calendar is booked solid."
In truth, the meeting had already dragged on for well over an hour, and Serafall felt dangerously close to snapping. Her playful nature had limits, and her patience for goblins was virtually nonexistent.
She only endured this miserable encounter because of the annoying fact that the goblins had been the ones to initially discover her precious Harry. Of course, their motivations had nothing to do with kindness or altruism. Goblins didn't do favors unless they stood to profit handsomely. She had no doubt they were after some outrageous payment or ridiculous favor now, and she dreaded whatever asinine request was coming next.
Ragnuk cleared his throat, his long pointed ears twitching slightly. "Of course, Lady Serafall," he continued smoothly, finally getting to his true point. "Our humble pilgrimage party simply requires a small-ah-token of hospitality from your noble devil house. Just a modest tribute, nothing more."
Serafall stared at him blankly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "A tribute?" she repeated slowly.
They were asking for tribute...from her? Not the other way around?
Ragnuk cleared his throat again, the sound wet and grating in the quiet chamber. He smoothed the front of his gold-threaded robes as if the gesture could somehow make him look more dignified. "My lady, the war between our two races was absolutely tragic and should never have happened. However, it is clear that the casualties on both sides were... quite lopsided when one looks back from a historical standpoint."
Serafall raised a skeptical eyebrow. Where exactly was this arrogant little goblin planning on taking this conversation? With a sharp intake of breath, she responded coolly, "And what of it?" she asked coolly. "Your people attacked first, Ragnuk. Your armies almost completely wiped out multiple cities filled with low-class devils. Men, women, children. Our retaliation was completely justified."
Ragnuk grimaced, shifting uneasily. His small, beady eyes gleamed as he tried to push his point further. "And yet millions of goblins died at the end of it. Entire bloodlines were erased. We lost all of our territory in the Underworld. There was a clear disparity there!"
Serafall sat forward suddenly, the temperature in the room dropping several degrees as her aura flared. "Can you just get to the fucking point already?" she snapped.
Her thoughts boiled with contempt. What right did this greedy little pest have to complain about "disparity"? Goblins bred like vermin, entire litters of children born from a single womb. By comparison, devils counted themselves lucky if a couple managed a single child in a hundred years. There was no comparison.
Even now, centuries later, Serafall suspected there were more goblins scuttling around beneath the human world than there had ever been in the Underworld! Were there a billion of those Vermin hiding beneath the earth's crust?
Ragnuk cleared his throat again nervously, clearly sensing Serafall's growing impatience. He hurried to explain himself further, wringing his thin, gold-ringed fingers. "We are well aware that most of our former territory was annexed by your four Great Devil Kings after the war," he began carefully. "But much of it remains empty and uninhabited. Those lands are incredibly valuable, overflowing with mineral deposits that have remained completely untapped for centuries. Is that not a shame?"
Serafall rolled her eyes openly, unable to hide her disgust at the goblin's shamelessly transparent ploy. The nerve of this greedy little bastard was astounding.
Undeterred by her obvious skepticism, Ragnuk continued eagerly, "Rather than allowing such wealth to waste away unused, surely you could find it in your generous heart to permit some goblins to return to the Underworld permanently. We could resettle those lands, establish mining communities, and in exchange, we would gladly pay the appropriate taxes to the Underworld government."
Serafall struggled to keep from openly laughing at the ridiculousness of his proposal. She knew exactly what the goblins truly wanted. They wanted free reign to strip those territories bare of priceless mithril, orichalcum, and whatever other rare resources lay hidden beneath the surface. And because goblins lived and mined underground, devils would have absolutely no way of accurately measuring or verifying exactly how much was extracted.
Inevitably, the greedy little creatures would falsify their tax records, paying only a minuscule fraction of what they truly owed. They would pay scraps, cheat on their taxes, and smuggle out the real wealth for themselves.
Worse yet, Serafall had no doubt that if she granted this ridiculous request, the goblins would inevitably stir up trouble within a century or two. Their boundless greed guaranteed that another goblin rebellion would be inevitable. Of course, high class devils would crush it with ease, but not without first losing more precious low class citizens whose numbers still hadn't fully recovered from centuries of devastating losses-even with the implementation of the Evil Piece system.
With all those thoughts racing furiously through her mind, Serafall finally leaned forward, folding her arms gracefully across her chest and giving Ragnuk a cold, decisive glare. "Your request," she said slowly, emphasizing each word clearly, "is completely denied."
She felt a satisfying rush of vindictive pleasure as the Goblin King's expression twisted into barely restrained anger. He opened his mouth to argue again, clearly ready to protest.
Before he could get another word out, Serafall was glancing dramatically at her bare wrist as though checking the time.
She made a show of sighing loudly, shaking her head with exaggerated fake regret. "Oh, look at the time," she said with mocking sweetness. "I completely forgot-I actually have a very important meeting with Sirzechs Lucifer right now. Sorry, but you're going to have to go."
Ragnuk sputtered. "What-"
Serafall simply snapped her fingers dismissively, ignoring whatever protests or insults he was about to hurl her way. A bright blue teleportation circle instantly appeared beneath the Goblin King's feet. He vanished abruptly in a swirl of magical energy, leaving the ornate office blissfully silent once more.
Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Serafall leaned back comfortably in her throne-like chair, stretching her arms lazily over her head. "Finally," she muttered softly to herself.
...
A sharp knock rattled the doors of Serafall's office, and before she could even open her mouth to respond, the heavy oak swung inward on its own. Serafall's lips pressed into a thin line. The intruder was immediately recognizable. Tall, broad-shouldered, with striking crimson hair that framed a face far too handsome for its own good.
Sirzechs Lucifer, the infamous Red Satan himself, strolled into the room like he owned the place. Which he did not-because this was her territory!
Once upon a time, Serafall had nursed a crush on him. She had chased him with the intention of marriage, her teenage self hopelessly smitten with his charm and presence. But that had been a long time ago, and her plans had dissolved the moment he had chosen his queen, Grayfia, instead. The sting had faded over the years, especially with the fact that Serafall had found new and forbidden loves to fill up her heart.
Loves that she would absolutely have one day soon. She just had to play her cards right and break those barriers bit by bit.
"Ah, hello, Serafall. I am here for our meeting," Sirzechs said playfully, flashing that polished smile.
Serafall blinked at him, her expression perfectly blank. "What meeting?" she asked flatly. She definitely did not remember scheduling anything with him.
"The one you just told that goblin about," he teased.
Serafall's jaw tightened, though outwardly she kept her expression calm. Of course. He was eavesdropping, she thought bitterly. The man had no sense of boundaries when it came to her business. She exhaled slowly, giving him a small shrug.
"Well, I suppose I can make a little time right now," she conceded, waving her hand dismissively. "But make it quick, Zex. Harry-kun and So-tan's tournament starts today, and I am not missing the opening ceremony for anything!"
