"Fuck off!" I roared furiously, summoning another blue Sitri spell circle right in front of me. A jet of razor-sharp water shot forward, slamming into the snake's face. It carved a vicious gash right across its left eye, blood erupting from the wound in a vivid red spray.
The beast shrieked horribly, its head thrashing wildly from side to side, blood and venom splattering the corridor walls.
"Die, you fucking piece-of-shit monster!" I shouted again, my voice raw with hatred. I fired another blast of high-pressure water, aiming at its writhing, coiling body this time. The magic slammed into its thick scales, peeling them apart and cutting deep into its muscular flesh.
The snake howled again, convulsing violently with agony.
I barely had time to duck as the snake lashed out furiously with its enormous tail. The massive appendage swung right above my head, smashing into the stone wall beside me, shattering it into rubble and scattering dust and debris everywhere.
I felt stone fragments shower over me, stinging sharply against my face and shoulders.
"Harry Sitri!" someone shouted urgently from behind me.
My eyes widened as a blur of movement raced past me. It was the blond knight from Rias's peerage-Yuuto Kiba, if I remembered correctly. He had a magical black sword in his hands. Kiba dashed in, moving with a speed I could barely follow. He must be a knight. In a flash, he struck the snake across its other eye with a single ruthless slash.
The serpent reared back, howling in agony as blood poured from both ruined eyes. It was completely blind now, thrashing madly around the corridor.
"Need a hand?" Kiba shot me a small grin. "Looks like you got yourself in some trouble, Sitri!"
Before I could respond, a loud battle cry echoed from the opposite direction. "Ei!" a girl's voice shouted fiercely. From the other end of the corridor charged the small, white-haired rook from Rias's peerage-Koneko. She seized the snake's thick tail in her tiny hands beneath her robes. "Stupid snake," she muttered flatly, as if annoyed rather than afraid. "You're making trouble!"
She lifted the massive beast clear off the ground, swinging its body through the air with startling ease. The serpent's shriek filled the hallway as it flailed helplessly, unable to see or escape her grip.
Kiba dashed forward again, slashing his black blade along the snake's exposed underbelly, opening deep crimson wounds in quick succession. "Hold it steady, Koneko!" he called sharply.
"Easy for you to say," she grumbled, tightening her grip and continuing to swing the serpent in circles like an oversized rope.
I summoned every ounce of my magic and rage, focusing on my enemy. "Move aside!" I shouted, conjuring the biggest spell circle I could muster. "I'm ending this fucker now!"
Koneko gave me a flat, unreadable look, then swiftly hurled the monster away from her, leaving it open and vulnerable in midair.
"Do it now, Harry!" Kiba yelled sharply, jumping back clear.
My magic exploded outward, a blinding torrent of pressurized water firing with brutal force. It slammed into the serpent midair, ripping away scales and flesh and cutting straight through muscle and bone of its head.
The beast let out one final, gurgling screech before crashing limply to the floor in a twisted, bloodied heap.
Panting hard, chest heaving with exertion and fury, I stared at the motionless corpse of the snake, unable to shake the burning rage that still pulsed hotly beneath my skin. Behind me lay Tonks's lifeless body.
Slowly, I turned toward Kiba and Koneko. Both devils stood alert, Kiba's sword lowered but still in hand, and Koneko's fists clenched tightly at her sides. They were breathing heavily as they calmed down.
"Thanks," I said roughly, still trying to calm myself, my voice shaking a bit from leftover rage and grief. "Both of you..."
Kiba wiped sweat from his forehead, offering me a faint, slightly strained smile. "No problem, Harry Sitri. Couldn't exactly let our king's fiance get himself killed on our first day, could we?"
Koneko simply nodded once, her golden eyes silently watching me with subtle concern. "Are you okay?" she asked bluntly.
I glanced briefly toward Tonks, my throat tight with emotion. "Not really," I said honestly.
"Can you guys... Take care of the body...?" I asked.
"Of course, Harry," Kiba said with a small nod.
"I'll drag it somewhere until Rias can destroy it with her Power of Destruction." Koneko added and wrapped her slender arms around its thick body again.
It was kind of a shitty thing to do, but I didn't speak to them after that. My emotions were all over the place. I just picked up Tonks' body and started heading towards Narcissa's apartment. Daphne and Tracy had gotten away just fine, but I wasn't letting Tonks stay dead.
It was only after I calmed down I realized the snake was a basilisk. A creature Hermione had told me was extinct in the wizarding world. A wizard killer, with an instant death curse for any mortals that look in its eyes...
Obviously it was fucking not extinct. Once again, this was another assassination attempt, and this time someone died for it.
— Tonks —
Tonks opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the soft light filtering through unfamiliar curtains. She lay still for a moment, taking a deep, experimental breath. To her surprise, she felt good-better than good, actually. Her body felt strong, almost unnaturally energized. A faint, steady pulse of power hummed beneath her skin, strange yet oddly comforting.
With a quiet grunt, she pushed herself upright into a sitting position. She glanced around the room, brow furrowing in confusion. The bed beneath her was far too luxurious and soft to be her own, and the ornate furniture was distinctly unfamiliar.
"Where the hell am I?" she murmured softly, rubbing the back of her head.
Before she could stand up, a sudden movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention. Tonks looked sharply toward a pair of chairs across the room. Harry, her charge, sat leaning forward, his eyes were fixed on her with an unreadable expression.
Beside him sat Narcissa, Tonks' estranged aunt, whom she still wasn't entirely sure how to feel about.
But what really shocked Tonks was Narcissa's appearance. Her usually flawless face bore clear signs of recent tears-her cheeks streaked and slightly flushed, her eyes rimmed red from crying. The instant their eyes met, Narcissa's expression melted into sheer relief and joy.
Before Tonks could react, Narcissa surged out of her chair and practically flew across the room, blonde hair trailing behind her. She wrapped Tonks tightly in an enthusiastic hug, pulling the younger woman right into her generous chest.
Tonks let out a muffled squeak of surprise, her face squished awkwardly between her aunt's ample breasts.
"I'm so glad you're alright, Nymphadora!" Narcissa exclaimed tearfully, holding her even tighter. "I finally got my real family back, and I don't know what I would've done if we'd lost you for good!"
Tonks squirmed desperately in her aunt's overly enthusiastic embrace, cheeks burning scarlet as she struggled to breathe. "Bloody hell-Aunt Narcissa!" she protested in a muffled voice, finally managing to pry herself free from the older woman's embrace with a deep gasp of air. "At least let me breathe first!"
Narcissa released her reluctantly, her own cheeks lightly flushed with embarrassment as she brushed away lingering tears, looking slightly sheepish. "Sorry, dear-I just got carried away. I was truly worried about you. About what happened... You've been asleep for hours now."
Tonks blushed deeper, uncomfortably touched by the genuine warmth in Narcissa's voice. She quickly cleared her throat, determinedly avoiding her aunt's affectionate gaze and turning to Harry instead. "Harry, could you please explain what the hell is going on?" she asked bluntly, forcing her voice to steady as she combed her fingers nervously through her bright pink hair. "Last thing I remember clearly was-well, not much, actually."
"What's the very last thing you remember clearly, Tonks?" he asked softly.
Tonks furrowed her brow, pressing a palm to her forehead as she concentrated. "We were heading back toward the castle. You, me, Daphne, Tracy-we were joking around about... about something stupid," she muttered. "Then you stopped suddenly, looking alarmed. The girls ran off at your order. I pulled out my wand and-and-" She shuddered involuntarily. "There was a giant fucking monster. A huge snake with massive yellow eyes. It looked right at me, and then-then nothing." Tonks shivered slightly, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as if the chill of that memory had physically settled into her bones. "What happened to me, Harry?"
Harry's expression softened sympathetically. "The reason you don't remember anything after that is because you died, Tonks," he said gently, but without hesitation. "The creature killed you instantly."
Tonks sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widening as horror settled over her. "I-I died?" she repeated numbly, barely able to process his words. "Then... how am I-?"
"You're alive now because I brought you back," Harry explained carefully, watching her reactions closely. "But you're not exactly human anymore."
Before Tonks could demand clarification, she heard a strange, rustling sound-a sudden fwish-coming from behind Harry. Her jaw dropped open slightly as a pair of glossy, midnight-black bat-like wings unfurled gracefully from Harry's back. The dark wings stretched outward.
"Holy fuck," Tonks muttered weakly, staring at Harry in astonishment.
She barely had time to react before another identical set of wings sprouted from Narcissa's back. Narcissa smiled softly, almost apologetically, as Tonks stared incredulously between her aunt and her charge, feeling distinctly out of her depth.
Before she could form a coherent thought, a third distinct fwish echoed softly behind her. Tonks felt a bizarre, foreign sensation on her own back.
Tonks twisted her head around frantically, nearly falling over from shock when she saw the unmistakable shape of black bat wings emerging smoothly from her own back. They stretched reflexively, strong and incredibly sensitive, sending new sensory feedback to her brain, nearly overwhelming her.
"Oh, bugger me sideways," she whispered faintly, eyes wide and stunned. "This is...this is actually happening?"
Harry gave her a gentle, reassuring smile. "Yeah," he said quietly. "You're a devil now, Tonks. Like me. Like Narcissa."
"Bloody hell..." she muttered weakly.
XXX
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Chapter 22
This chap has some r-18
Chapter 22 (~12k words):
— Rias —
The next day...
Rias sat comfortably in the Hufflepuff common room. It was only their second day at Hogwarts, yet her peerage had already carved out their own little corner.
She tightened her arms around Gasper, who sat perched nervously in her lap. The dhampir squirmed, hands tugging at his sleeves as if he could melt into them and vanish. "No running," Rias murmured softly, pressing him against her chest with one hand.
Her attention shifted back to Kiba and Koneko, who were lounging near the low table. "You both did very well yesterday," Rias said. She let her smile spread. "Helping Harry fight off that giant snake monster...."
Kiba inclined his head with his usual courteous smile, though his eyes glinted with the satisfaction of having proven himself in battle. Koneko merely gave a small shrug, her golden eyes unbothered but quietly pleased.
From her side, Akeno's melodic laugh rippled through the air. "Ara, ara, Rias... you did say yesterday that Hogwarts would be far less dangerous than Kuoh." She tilted her head, her violet eyes shining with mischief. "And yet within a single day, Harry and the others were fighting off a basilisk. Quite the safe school you brought us to, Buchou."
Rias flushed, her lips parting in an indignant pout as she shot Akeno a halfhearted glare. "How was I supposed to know?" she protested, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder with dramatic flair. "It's not like anyone mentioned this place was going to be so... exciting-and dangerous."
In truth, she was more exhilarated than upset. Yesterday had been a lot, yes-especially with her meeting Harry.
That didn't quite go the way she'd been hoping...
But on the other hand, She found herself genuinely enjoying this school's lessons. She found herself more engaged in these lessons than she had ever been in mundane classes back in Kuoh. The realization had struck her sharply that morning: calculus, physics, chemistry-all of it seemed quaint, even irrelevant, in the face of spellwork that ignored the laws of human science entirely. What good were numbers when magic bent reality itself?
She tilted her chin, holding Gasper still when he tried to inch away again. "No, Gasper. You're not allowed to hide. You'll get used to this," she said firmly.
Rias glanced up as two familiar girls approached their corner of the Hufflepuff common room-Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, both from the same year as herself. They walked over shyly, smiles lighting up their faces as they noticed Gasper squirming restlessly in Rias's lap.
With a subtle mental nudge, Rias dropped the discreet charm she'd cast earlier-a simple silencing ward-to keep their conversation private. Suddenly the hum of the room's chatter became louder, clearer.
Hannah and Susan slowed as they came closer, gazes fixed curiously on Gasper.. The two witches shared an amused, knowing look between themselves before turning back to Gasper.
"Oh, he's just adorable as he was yesterday!" Hannah exclaimed warmly, her gaze lingering appreciatively on Gasper's petite frame. She leaned forward slightly, eyes sparkling with delighted amusement. "Especially that cute skirt and blouse combo-it's perfect on him!"
Susan nodded eagerly beside her, giggling softly. "Right? So cute!"
Gasper squeaked softly in embarrassment, burying his flushed face deeper into Rias's shoulder, trying desperately to hide himself from their enthusiastic praise. His hands fisted tightly into the fabric of her uniform blouse, his thin body trembling shyly against hers.
Rias laughed gently, feeling genuine affection for her shy peerage member as she tightened her embrace. "Yes, Gasper is absolutely the cutest," she said fondly, stroking soothing circles on his slender back. She was glad he's finally forced to spend some proper time with the rest of the peerage. After all, they are a family. He belongs right here, with all of them.
Gasper whimpered quietly, clearly mortified by the attention, but Rias simply smiled indulgently, keeping him securely held in her lap.
