A young human mother who had died heartbreakingly young at just twenty years old. She had been weak, helpless, and she'd perished tragically-unable to protect the precious baby son she'd left behind.
Lilja's heart twisted painfully whenever she thought of that child, the son she'd never had the chance to meet. Since he probably ended up being slain by that monstrous wizard that killed her...
Past life memories weren't unheard of among Valkyries.
Indeed, all Valkyries were reborn from the souls of brave women who had fallen heroically in combat. But from what Lilja knew, very few Valkyries retained clear memories from their mortal lives.
Rossweisse certainly never spoke of any previous life, and she'd seemed surprised when Lilja had once tentatively mentioned vague recollections of her own past existence.
Lilja shook herself from these solemn thoughts as Rossweisse finally reached her side. Her older sister smiled warmly. "Hello, Lily," Rossweisse said affectionately, using the special nickname she'd always reserved just for Lilja. "You looked wonderful out there. You really do grow stronger every day."
Lilja blushed faintly under Rossweisse's praise, giving a shy but pleased smile. "Thank you, Rose," she murmured softly. "I still have a long way to go if I ever want to catch up to you."
Rossweisse chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling fondly. "Trust me, Lily. You're already far more powerful than you realize. Soon you'll surpass me completely."
Lilja smiled softly, shaking her head. "Never. You're the strongest Valkyrie in history, Rose. I still have so much more training ahead of me before I can even come close!"
Rossweisse opened her mouth as if to argue further, but then closed it, a hint of seriousness settling over her lovely features instead. "Actually, I didn't come here just to compliment your training today, Lily. Allfather Odin has called for you."
Lilja's eyes widened in surprise and excitement at Rossweisse's words. Her heart fluttered in her chest, suddenly beating a bit quicker with anticipation. Odin himself had summoned her? Could this finally mean-
"Oh?" she asked eagerly, her bright green eyes sparkling with excitement as she stepped closer to her older sister. "Did he say why? Am I finally going to receive my first ever mission outside of Asgard?"
Rossweisse gave her an indulgent smile, a look that said she wasn't supposed to reveal anything yet-but she would anyway. "Odin planned on explaining it to you himself, but..." she paused, glancing around conspiratorially as if checking to ensure no one else was listening, "...I suppose you wouldn't mind a few spoilers, Lily?"
Lilja's lips stretched into a wide, eager smile, and she nodded vigorously. "Please tell me, Rose!"
Her older sister chuckled softly at Lilja's enthusiasm, the silver-haired beauty's gaze warming affectionately. She placed a gentle hand upon Lilja's shoulder, lowering her voice slightly to maintain privacy. "The truth is, Odin has grown slightly concerned about recent developments involving the devils from the Christian Pantheon," Rossweisse began carefully.
Lilja's brow furrowed slightly in confusion. Devils from the Christian Pantheon? She knew a fair bit about other supernatural beings, of course, but the devils had always seemed distant and mostly uninvolved with Asgard's affairs. "What's happening with them? Has something serious occurred?"
Rossweisse shook her head gently. "Nothing overly troubling, at least not yet. But recently, certain actions taken by some notable devils have caught Odin's attention."
"Actions like what?" Lilja pressed curiously.
Her sister's lovely green eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You already know that the devils are divided into powerful noble clans, each headed by influential families, correct?"
"Yes, of course," Lilja replied promptly. She'd studied extensively as part of her training. "The Four Great Maous rule Hell, and beneath them are various noble clans."
Rossweisse nodded approvingly. "Precisely. And two of the strongest noble clans are Sitri and Gremory. Both are closely linked to the current Maous through blood relations. Specifically, Serafall Leviathan's younger sister is Sona Sitri, while Sirzechs Lucifer's younger sister is Rias Gremory."
Lilja tilted her head slightly, fascinated. "I'm familiar with those names. But what exactly did they do that's caught Odin's attention?"
Rossweisse exhaled softly. "For years now, Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory had held significant territory within the human country of Japan. They controlled the region, managed diplomatic relations, and maintained a strong devil presence there. But recently... they suddenly abandoned those territories completely, surrendering them voluntarily back to the Shinto gods."
Lilja's eyes widened at the revelation. "They simply gave up their territories willingly?" she asked incredulously. Territories weren't something supernatural factions typically surrendered without very good reason. Power and influence were everything among supernatural factions, and losing territory willingly was almost unheard of.
Her older sister nodded, her expression serious. "Exactly. Naturally, the Yokai and Shinto factions were ecstatic, of course. They regained control over those territories without a single fight. But many other Pantheons found this behavior incredibly suspicious and strange. Most supernatural groups jealously guard every inch of their lands. For two powerful devil princesses like Sona and Rias to simply relinquish their territories without demanding anything in return... well, Odin thought it warranted investigation."
Lilja felt her pulse quicken again, realization slowly dawning on her. She looked up into her sister's beautiful face, excitement building within her chest. "You're saying... Odin wants one of us to investigate these devils directly, doesn't he?"
Rossweisse smiled warmly, eyes twinkling. "Exactly. After abandoning their territories, the two devil princesses enrolled themselves in a rather strange school located far from their normal territory. It's somewhere in Scotland, from what our information says. Odin wishes to send someone undercover into this school to find out what's really going on, and why these devils have behaved so oddly."
"And because I'm the youngest Valkyrie, I'm the perfect age to join this school as a new transfer student, aren't I?" she finished for her sister.
Rossweisse nodded again. "Exactly right, Lily. You've trained relentlessly these past few years, becoming one of our strongest warriors. Odin believes you're ready, and so do I. It's time you received your first official mission."
Lilja's heart thumped loudly within her chest, pride and anticipation swelling through her. She was finally being given the opportunity to truly prove herself and see a world beyond Asgard's shining golden halls. This was her moment. Her chance to shine.
But even as excitement surged through her veins, a small voice of caution nudged at her mind. She took a breath, forcing herself to calm slightly. "Wait... before I agree blindly... what exactly is the name of this strange school, Rose?" Lilja asked carefully, curiosity mixing with a touch of apprehension in her voice. "Have you heard anything specific?"
Rossweisse frowned slightly, her beautiful brows knitting together thoughtfully. "Hmm, Odin mentioned it briefly. He described the name as being somewhat strange... Let me see..." Her gaze turned distant for a moment as she struggled to recall exactly what Odin had said. Finally, she shrugged apologetically, offering Lilja a sheepish look. "I'm afraid I can't remember clearly. He said it was called something silly... Hog-something or other?"
Lilja froze abruptly, a sudden cold chill washing over her body like ice water.
Her mouth opened slightly, heart racing in her chest. A powerful feeling of nervousness surged up, mixing uncomfortably with her excitement from moments before. There was only one name she'd ever heard with that odd prefix-a name she hadn't expected to hear again in this new lifetime as a Valkyrie. "R-Rose," Lilja stammered, eyes wide with disbelief. "This school in Scotland... it couldn't possibly be called 'Hogwarts', could it?"
Rossweisse immediately brightened in recognition, snapping her fingers triumphantly. "Ah, yes! That was it. Hogwarts. Odin mentioned specifically how strange it sounded. Have you heard of it, Lily?"
XXX
Que dramatic sound effect: Dun Dun Duuuuuuun!
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chapter 25
Chapter 25 (~12.5k words):
— Harry —
The sun had long since set, leaving nothing but a blanket of darkness shrouding the Forbidden Forest.
Despite being labeled "forbidden," it felt like I spent a lot of time out here anyway.
But for a half-devil like me, it wasn't much of an issue. My supernatural eyesight easily cut through the darkness.
Hermione was next to me. My first peerage member and girlfriend. My bishop was the most calm out of everyone else on my team as she carefully examined our surroundings and was probably thinking up multiple plans.
Unfortunately, the rest of our team didn't share our demonic eyesight to help them see in the dark. I took in their anxious expressions, their darting eyes betraying a clear unease. Understandable, I supposed-most humans had good reason to fear the Forbidden Forest after nightfall.
Fred and George, at least, were putting on brave faces. They stood shoulder to shoulder, grinning at me as if we weren't about to dive headfirst into danger. "Thanks for picking us, Harry!" Fred whispered enthusiastically.
George nodded eagerly. "You won't regret it, mate. Victory shall be ours!"
I returned their grin with a forced smile of my own, silently wondering if they had any grasp of how badly we were screwed this time around. I'd already resigned myself to the likely scenario that we'd lose this task-badly. Over half of Sona's team were devils after all...
I let my eyes drift slowly across the rest of my hastily assembled Rating Game team. Ginny Weasley shifted nervously on her feet. She caught me watching her and gave me a small, determined smirk, as if daring me to doubt her courage.
Next to Ginny stood Jasmine McKinnon. She was fidgeting anxiously, clearly unsettled by the darkness surrounding us. Reaching out, I placed a gentle hand on Jasmine's shoulder, feeling her tense muscles relax beneath my touch. "Don't worry," I murmured soothingly, forcing confidence into my voice. "We'll be fine. And thanks again for volunteering."
Her eyes softened immediately, a blush creeping across her cheeks that even the night couldn't fully hide. "I'm just glad you trusted me enough to pick me, Harry," she whispered back, smiling shyly. "I'll do my best to help you win."
If only the rest of the team inspired the same level of confidence.
My gaze fell upon the cluster of Slytherins I'd reluctantly added to our ranks. Daphne Greengrass stood tall and poised. Her friend Tracey Davis stood at her side.
Spotting my eyes on them, Daphne flashed me a brief, flirtatious smile, while Tracey gave me a warmer, more openly appreciative look. Both women were attractive and capable enough-and I guess we were friends now...
Clinging nervously to Daphne's arm was her younger sister, Astoria Greengrass. She was eighteen-only just old enough to participate-and clearly wanted nothing to do with this mess. Her pretty face was pale, her eyes wide with barely contained fear. How Daphne had convinced Astoria to join us tonight was beyond me, but she did.
Finally, my eyes drifted toward the last two Slytherins I'd added to the team, solely on Daphne's recommendation. Blaise Zabini stood quietly off to the side, looking calm and composed despite being isolated. His dark eyes regarded our surroundings with cautious curiosity, giving away little emotion. Near him stood Millicent Bulstrode.
I knew virtually nothing about either of them. Daphne had assured me they were outcasts within Slytherin-more trustworthy than most of their housemates, apparently-but I still struggled to feel entirely comfortable having unknown factors on my team.
Ginny broke the tense silence, shifting her weight impatiently. "So, Harry," she asked softly, her voice hesitant yet determined. "Do we actually have a plan? Some sort of strategy to win this thing?"
I sighed internally, carefully choosing my next words. Our opponents were too formidable. Sona Sitri-my aunt, despite being close in age to me-was brilliant, cunning, and more experienced leading a large team. And then, her current team was likely to include Rias Gremory's entire peerage, all powerful devils in their own right.
"...We're all going to go out there and do our best..." I said to everyone half-heartedly.
— Hermione —
This Hogwarts version of a Rating Game was simple enough-at least, on paper. Capture the flag with eleven people per team. The captains were, of course, Harry and Sona Sitri, the two Hogwarts Champions. Each team had its own flag placed somewhere within the Forbidden Forest, and victory was achieved either by capturing the enemy's flag or by incapacitating the opposing team's leader.
Simple, Hermione thought with dry humor. Simple enough for everyone except us, anyway.
Hermione hated to admit it, but the only realistic chance their team had of winning was if Harry managed to defeat his aunt, Sona, directly. Sona's team had too much of an advantage: Rias Gremory and her entire powerful devil peerage backing her up. If Harry got pinned down by Rias and Sona together, their team was as good as defeated.
Hermione knew this as well as Harry did. So, when he'd turned to her to come up with a strategy, she'd done the only thing that made sense under the circumstances: create diversions and split the enemy's forces. Divide and conquer-at least, in theory.
She'd quickly organized everyone to create distractions in the darkness of the forest. Small fires, bursts of magical noise, illusions conjured through carefully prepared spells, anything to keep Sona's team occupied and lead them astray.
And so far, to Hermione's satisfaction, her strategy seemed to be working.
She found herself standing alone in a moonlit clearing, breathing quietly in the shadows and scanning the trees cautiously for signs of trouble. She had planned carefully, setting multiple distractions, and now she just needed to hope Harry was taking full advantage of the opportunity she'd given him.
A sudden rustle of leaves behind her caused Hermione to spin around sharply, wand raised in defense.
Rias Gremory stepped out of the shadows into the moonlit clearing. Her crimson-red hair shimmered brightly even in the darkness, cascading down past her slender waist. She was smiling-a soft, friendly expression that somehow only heightened Hermione's wariness.
