The Pact is Sealed

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain, TheDonFluffles and Mike, God of Lore

The Sorcerer's Legacy

Chapter 02: The Pact is Sealed

This Grimoire is the key to an immense amount of knowledge, and while I don't quite understand the mechanics behind it, I think I've worked out how it actually works.

It's a shop.

It's ridiculous, I know, but this Grimoire is, for all intents and purposes, a store, where one spends 'demonic essence' for a variety of things.

Apparently, the original Raum set it up, my very distant ancestor, to help his worthy descendants while still making them earn the power he would grant them.

He's long dead, demon lord or not, slain in some great and terrible war, but his true power was prophecy and he saw his death coming centuries before the war even started and made many plans and schemes to prepare for the eventuality.

My mortal predecessor gathered a considerable amount of essence and still possessed a fair amount of it when he died, which was sealed inside this book to await whoever would follow in his footsteps.

It can be used to buy a great many things, ranging from knowledge to powerful artefacts, and even things like a personal pocket dimension.

The notes he left tell me that's what Theodore was saving for, hoping to avoid the death he foresaw by hiding away in a secret 'demi-plane'. I guess he ran out of time, or perhaps he simply trusted the wrong person.

I can even purchase servants, ranging from mindless beasts to intelligent beings. Of course with intelligence comes the risk of betrayal, even if the grimoire claims they will be bound to my will. I imagine I'd have to make sure they don't… creatively interpret my orders, twisting my words to fulfil their own ends.

That's the risk that comes with dealing with these kinds of beings I suppose, and while the idea of buying some great and powerful beast intrigued me, I couldn't keep it with me at Hogwarts anyway, it'd just attract unwanted attention.

Attention I'm simply not ready for. That was how Theodore's cult came to an end, he was reckless in the beginning and gained the attention of his enemies before he even knew they existed.

I have an advantage there, in a way. I might not know that these orders still exist for certain, but I have more information than he did… that said, I'm a Raum.

If these demon hunters know their enemy, they'll know Raum was a demon lord, they'll know Theodore Raum followed in his ancestor's footsteps. If I were a demon hunter, I'd keep a very close eye on the family that shares the name of one of the seventy-two demon lords, the first demons who followed Lucifer in his rebellion against heaven.

The book has been a truly amazing source of information on demonic lore, and Keira often jokes that I should have been a Ravenclaw with my own scholarly interests.

It's a mix between an in-depth history book and a bestiary, on the forces of heaven and hell, and the beings that can be found in the other planes.

As for my first purchase? I've thought long and hard about what I want to use the inheritance Theodore left me for, and while there are a great many options, the simple fact is that I can't truly utilise most of them, not yet.

I now know who I have to blame for my condition, the biblical God himself, and wasn't it fun to find out that he is indeed real and not just a muggle myth. There's a barrier around the world, and while it does keep otherworldly beings out of this world, that's not all it does.

When someone is born with demonic power, such asTheodore and I, the barrier seals it away to prevent the influence of the hells on earth, but the method it uses is truly ingenious and infuriating.

It takes the natural energy of the mortal and uses it to bind the demonic power. All these years it's not that I haven't had much magic, it's that this damnable seal has been powered by my magic.

A permanent drain on my magic, the stronger my demonic power, the more magic the seal used to maintain itself.

Not only was my demonic power sealed, it turned me into a fucking cripple to do it, and even now I can't do anything about it.

This is a heavenly seal, of the highest order, a true masterpiece created by the strongest being in heaven. God himself is dead, apparently losing his life at the end of the war between heaven and hell, but his influence can be felt even now.

I should be able to weaken the seal in time, but for now, my demonic mana is out of my reach, and while many demonic arts can be used with mortal mana, it's inefficient.

Not only does it 'cost' more mana to use demonic arts with human mana, but the end result is also less effective than it would be otherwise, so I'd rather wait until I can weaken the seal on my demonic power first. I barely have enough mana for human magic, and it'd be an exercise in futility to try and use my feeble reserves for the demonic arts.

So, I need something that doesn't require much mana to use and something that can hopefully increase my pitiful reserves.

And I believe I've found just the thing, or things, as I flip through the tome and find the two items I desire.

Bizarrely, I get a large discount on one of them because it's a Raum speciality, enough for me to afford both my desired purchases.

Making my first 'purchase', I wince and reach up to grab my head with one hand as a flood of knowledge enters my mind, my vision blurring and my hearing warping as demonic runes flash before my eyes and whispers in a language I've never heard but somehow understand perfectly fill the room.

Somehow, I'm not surprised that the demonic tome doesn't care for the user's comfort, and I barely avoid falling to my knees as the flood comes to a swift end.

[Ritual Mastery: Novice Level]

You have started on the path of a true occultist, having learnt how to perform rituals of many types, including summoning and contacting beings from other planes.

Almost immediately an answer to my problem presents itself, but I can't deny that it makes me freeze.

I know a ritual that can fix my mana problem, my new knowledge guiding me to the answer to my problem.

All I have to do is sacrifice someone, easy right?

It's a simple ritual, which takes the life force and magic of the victim and transfers it to the ritual master.

You can't do rituals non-stop to become all-powerful, needing to wait months between rituals unless you want to explode, and the ritual itself takes the lion's share of the life force and magic, but if I captured someone and sacrificed them, I could easily fix my mana problem.

Even a muggle would help, as their life force would strengthen me even if it didn't increase my magical reserves, but…

The idea of taking a life makes me squeamish, I can't deny it. I truly want to fix my problem, to become the powerhouse I was destined to be if it was not for the influence of the heavenly barrier, but am I so desperate as to kill someone to save myself?

Not even save myself, to empower myself.

I don't believe I'm so desperate, and I'm certainly not going to throw myself into the deep end with this kind of thing. I enjoy living too much for that, and I am equally disinterested in changing my address to a cell in Azkaban as I am in being cut down by demon-hunting muggles.

That said, it doesn't mean that particular ritual is worthless. It takes the life force and mana of whatever is sacrificed and transfers some of it to the ritual master, not just humans.

Magical creatures are certainly an option, and while I won't be sacrificing a dragon or phoenix anytime soon, smaller, weaker magical creatures are certainly an option. It's more palpable to me than killing another sapient being.

I'll have to be careful though, as there can be side effects from cross-species transferral, and I'm simply not good enough at the rituals to remove the risks.

Moving on, I brace myself as I make my second purchase, and immediately my eyes start to burn as the grimoire makes its changes to my body.

Raum was a Demon Lord of knowledge and secrets, he could see the past, the present and the future of whoever he met, finding your deepest and darkest secrets with a single glance.

[Demonic Art: Mystic Eyes of Truth: Common Rank]

The Eyes of Raum, which see the truth of all they observe. These eyes can see the past of anyone they observe, revealing their secrets to the user. They can also detect hidden things and secret passageways, and the ways to operate them.

My eyes still burn as the knowledge of how to use my first demonic art enters my mind, making me blink rapidly, some tears coming out from the sensation.

As I swipe at them, I stare down at my finger and the blood on it, realising that it wasn't tears that I felt leaving my eyes.

The pain fades, and a quick cleaning charm gets rid of the blood as I blink several times in quick succession to get rid of the weird burning sensation in my eyeballs.

Moving to the mirror, I pause as I look at myself. I inherited my eyes from my mother, a deep violet colour that I've been informed is my most attractive trait, and while they haven't changed colour they have changed slightly.

The violet iris seems to almost swirl hypnotically, it's barely noticeable unless you're really staring into them but it's definitely happening.

I can't read myself, my demonic art provides no answers when I try, and looking at the grimoire with them makes it outright refuse to work, it's no surprise since this is the demonic art Raum was known for, and the book he made. Of course he would know how to prevent me from learning this book's secrets that easily.

With that, what little essence I had access to has been spent. I can't complain, as from what I've read I've got things hilariously easy compared to other occultists.

Normally, demonic essence is used in very complex rituals, whereas I just spend it like sickles being spent at Honeydukes. Raum was a true genius and he's made things far easier for me than they would have been.

I don't have to summon any demons or forge any contracts to use my demonic essence, I can't be cheated or have to carefully go over every word to make sure I'm not being tricked, I just open the book to the right page and place my hand on it.

It's even made the process of gathering demonic essence easier.

The normal way to harvest essence is simple enough to understand, you forge a contract with a demon which places a mark upon your body and then you perform acts that are in line with that demon's domains.

Demons are very varied, Raum was a Demon Lord of Knowledge, Secrets and Avarice, so a contract with him could have included such acts as the pursuit of knowledge, the more forbidden the better, the discovery and use of people's secrets, and the claiming of treasure.

A demon of vengeance might want you to avenge slights, both real and imagined, a demon of gluttony would want you to gorge yourself without end, a demon of wrath could want you to fight, uncaring of who you fight as long as you are fighting.

In addition, you gain powers based on the contract, to help you fulfil your side of the bargain better. Someone with a gluttony contract could find that they are simply never full, that they can eat anything regardless of how edible it's supposed to be, without consequences, for example.

However, there's a downside, of course. While the demon often claims the majority of the essence produced, that's not the part that concerns me.

The contracts affect the mind of those who make them, influencing them.

If you forge a contract with a demon of wrath, you'll find your temper shorter than ever, a contract with a Demon Lord of Wrath could turn you into a mindless berserker who only cares for the thrill of battle.

A demon of secrets would make you more inquisitive, Raum would make you obsessive towards finding secrets, at the cost of everything else.

A demon of lust would make you horny, and a demon of gluttony would make you feel hungry all the time. There are countless types of demons and each one comes with its own downsides, and the more you indulge, the more essence you gather, and the stronger the effect gets.

Most people simply cannot handle the effect such a contract would have on their minds… which only makes me more suspicious that I've been trained my entire life to resist such influences.

As with all things, Raum's grimoire makes these contracts easier to forge, as I make the contract through the grimoire itself instead of needing to summon a demon and make a contract the old-fashioned way, but that doesn't remove the effect on my mind.

As a descendant of a demon lord and an expert of Occlumency, I'm in a unique position to resist much of the effect such contracts will have on my mind, but not the entirety.

The grimoire might help me, but I can't help but feel that it wants to corrupt me. Raum was a demon lord after all, of course he'd want his descendants to follow in his footsteps.

As a Raum, I get more essence from contracts of Secrets, Knowledge and Avarice, but Avarice is a risky one. Well, every contract is risky but Avarice seems like an unnecessary risk for now.

Stealing is a surefire way of attracting attention, people do notice when their belongings go missing after all and I'll be back in Hogwarts soon. My classmates won't appreciate their belongings disappearing and getting caught with stolen goods won't end well for me, even if I could probably avoid any legal repercussions with my family's influence.

Worse still, avarice is a dangerous trait to have, if I suddenly find myself obsessed with other people's belongings things won't end well for me.

I should be careful not to take too many contracts at once, lest I be overwhelmed by the influences. it'll be safer to wait until I've got a grip on my first set of influences before I accept any new ones.

So, Secrets seems an obvious one for me. With my new power, it's the logical choice to begin with, especially given the additional power it will grant me thanks to my Raum blood.

I hesitate for a moment, but I need the essence if I want to continue down this path and sitting on my hands isn't going to help, so with reluctance, I cut my thumb and press it against the paper, following the instructions I read earlier.

Pact Forged

[Pact of Secrets: Minor]

You have forged the pact of secrets, allowing you to harvest demonic essence through the collection and use of secrets.

Pact Boon

[Pact of Secrets: Truthseeker]

You have a sixth sense for deceit, both lies and half-truths alike, sensing when beings attempt to deceive you and deny you the truth you are owed. In addition, you can focus your mana and use it to force someone to speak the truth, though the bigger the lie and the more powerful the target, the more mana it takes to force the truth out of them.

There is no immediate change to my mindset, though I'm not naive enough to believe that I've avoided or resisted the influence, I'll have to keep an eye out for any changes later.

Thinking for a moment, I flip to a second pact and hesitate before I let out a breath and push my thumb into the grimoire a second time.

Pact Forged

[Pact of Lust: Minor]

You have forged the pact of lust, allowing you to harvest demonic essence through indulging in your lust, the more depraved the better.

Pact Boon

[Pact of Lust: Insatiable Urges]

Your passions are endless, able to go for hours without pausing. While you are having sex, you will not get tired as sex will work as a replacement for sleep.

The reason for this pact is simple, I'm a teenage boy and while I've not overtly paid much attention to the fairer sex so far, a teenage boy being horny should attract exactly no undue attention. It'll just look like a delayed bout of puberty, and I even have a few ideas about how I can indulge as required.

If all else fails, I'm rich and from a powerful family, getting laid shouldn't really be a challenge.

At the worst, I get a reputation as a pervy teen and that's far from the worst outcome of a pact.

Again, I don't feel an immediate change but that doesn't mean anything and I think two is enough for now, before I pause.

What's one more?

A risk, but my eyes find the pact of knowledge.

Knowledge and secrets are similar enough and I already have a thirst for knowledge, it's another pact that shouldn't draw unwanted attention, as long as I'm careful with what knowledge I seek.

Merlin, I just left a massive library filled with forbidden knowledge and I'll be heading back to Hogwarts where I still have my restricted section pass. I'm in the perfect position to pursue knowledge.

I realise I'm talking myself into accepting a third pact, even knowing the risk, but there's a difference between being cautious and being so paranoid I'm paralysed to inaction.

Pact Forged

[Pact of Knowledge: Minor]

You have forged the pact of knowledge, allowing you to harvest demonic essence through the endless pursuit of knowledge, of all kinds. The less well-known the information you learn, the more essence it provides.

Pact Boon

[Pact of Knowledge: Unrivalled Intellect]

You both think and learn at a greatly accelerated rate, and possess a genius intellect and flawless memory.

This time, I do notice a difference as my mind suddenly speeds up, my thoughts flying by faster than normal. They're still perfectly understandable, but thoughts that would have taken me seconds to formulate pass by in an instant.

This one has had a noticeable change to my… stats as well, with my intelligence boosting to S, and my wisdom increasing to B+.

My increased wisdom points out that I'm an idiot for taking three contracts when I should have taken one and waited at least a month before taking another.

A little late now but I don't really regret my rash actions. Frankly, I've waited enough, and while my mana reserves are still weak at the moment, I'm finally on the path to fixing this damnable problem forever.

This changes everything for me. Before, I had reluctantly accepted that I was never going to amount to too much, perhaps a renowned potion master or something similar to that, stuck with my curse forever.

But with the possibility of fixing my issue, I can be so much more.

As my final action, I practise banishing the grimoire and summoning it back again, a technique taught in the very first pages as I store the grimoire in my very soul.

No matter where it is, I can recall it now that it's bound to me, and no one but me can read it, but I'd still rather nobody else either even discover that it exists.

Leaving the room, I pause before I levitate the mirror and carry it upstairs, moving it into my en suite so I can access that secret space easier.

I'll have to find a way to take it to Hogwarts with me, but that's a problem for later. I should be able to fit in my enchanted trunk anyway.

Heading back to the library, I look at it in a new light as I can almost sense the knowledge within these seemingly endless tomes, heading down into the restricted section once more.

Picking a book at random, I move to the comfy chair in the corner of the room and open it up, starting to read.

'A Treatise on the Dark Arts, by Herpo the Foul'?

Hmm, an interesting place to start.

— Later —

Hours after the sunset, I reluctantly close the book on souls, another by Herpo the Foul as he discusses the possibility of achieving immortality by splitting your soul.

It's not something I'm interested in, as something tells me I'll find better ways to achieve immortality given the knowledge I have at my fingertips that doesn't involve mutilating my very soul.

The existence of demons and angels has made me consider the existence of souls with a lot more sincerity than I would have a week ago. While I'm not worried about the sanctity of the human soul, I do think I would rather keep mine in one piece if it's all the same.

Herpo was definitely a genius, even if I originally only knew him from his chocolate frog card.

I've done some research into him over the past few hours, and I have a sneaking suspicion he might have succeeded in creating what he called a Horcrux.

Records claim he died, but they're suspiciously absent on the details and his alleged date of death was centuries after his birth.

If he actually succeeded, he could still be out there somewhere, or maybe his Horcrux was destroyed, which would explain his disappearance after his 'death'.

It doesn't really matter either way, it's just mildly entertaining to consider.

Reaching the main library, I go for the door before I hear some movement behind me, making me go stiff as I turn around.

Spotting Morrigan sitting in one of the seats, barely visible in the moonlight as she raises her wand, casting Lumos and lighting the dark room up somewhat.

I don't need my increased intelligence to notice that she is beyond pissed as she stares at the black key hanging around my neck, golden eyes narrowing in a mixture of outrage and disbelief.

"She gave you the key?" Morrigan asks, grounding the words out as she rises. "You, who can barely cast your school spells, got the key to the restricted section?"

Her tone is dangerous as she stalks towards me, stopping uncomfortably close as she glares down at me, reminding me that she's been trying to get access to the restricted section for years.

Mother has shut her down every time, and yet here I am holding the key.

"She did," I admit, not seeing a point in lying. Morrigan's eyes narrow to near-slits at my response, her wand uncomfortably close to my face.

Morrigan is a cold and antagonistic woman, she always has been, her thinly veiled barbs can almost be as painful as her curses, but she does care about me in her own way.

She claims not to, but there are countless tiny ways she shows that she does actually care for me, and some less tiny ways.

I still remember how Marcus Flint disappeared for almost a month after he cursed me in the back in first year, and he still walks with a limp to this day.

Or the time Damian accidentally put me in the hospital wing with one of his more risky 'pranks', and he ended up in the bed right next to me within the hour. I got out after a day, Damian spent the next week at Madam Pomfrey's tender mercies.

She mocks me with her words, tosses weak curses and jinxes at me if I annoy her, but defends me viciously if I'm attacked or even insulted too badly.

I've seen her make would-be bullies literally run away in tears from her words alone, sometimes I think it's kinder when she just goes for her wand. The damage heals faster when it's just some curses.

She cares about me, which is why I'm not as intimidated as I should be when her wand is practically pushed into my face, rage in her eyes.

Morrigan is bitter that Damian is the heir, dumb, lazy Damian who never tries or even cares, Damian who will probably damage the Raum-Black reputation irreparably during his time as Lord Raum-Black, leaving a thousand bastards who will try and tear the house apart. She's better than him in every way, but the laws made him the heir even when she was technically born a few minutes before him.

I happen to agree with her, she'd make a much better head of house, and while I'm no progressive, I certainly think some of the laws are incredibly outdated.

It's been the source of her thorny attitude for years, and now here she is, seeing another thing she's wanted so badly hanging around another inferior brother's neck.

This time, it wasn't even the sexist laws that's taken it away from her, but our mother. This time she has a much more direct target for her anger.

Me and mother.

"Hand it over, you don't deserve that key," Morrigan demands angrily , making me pause. "You're practically a squib, it will be a miracle if you even manage to pass your O.W.Ls, you can't use that information and you certainly don't deserve it."

My lack of a reaction makes her growl, her wand pushing into my cheek, and to my surprise the growl gets a reaction out of me.

Just not one of fear, my boxers growing a little tighter as I sigh.

"Morrigan, do you really think it's that simple?" I ask, making her pause. I foolishly left the door open, so I have no doubt she tried to follow me down there, and failed.

In response, she reaches up and grabs the key with her free hand, immediately letting out a scream of pain as lightning courses up her arm, letting go with a gasp.

"You think mother didn't consider that you'd try and take the key from me, or even force me to give it to you? I know you two don't get along, but give her more credit than that," I say simply, not getting angry at her actions.

I understand her rage, Morrigan is undoubtedly the most talented of the four Raum-Black kids.

She's won countless duelling contests, she's had Outstandings in almost every class since first year, and here she is having the reward she wants so dearly given to her near-squib brother instead.

"Pass it to me," Morrigan demands, I can already tell that's not going to work but as her wand sparks, one of them stinging my cheek, I sigh and pull the key from around my neck, holding it out to her.

She snatches it up immediately, and to my complete lack of surprise, immediately screams again as the key punishes her, the shock lasting longer and seeming much more intense as she drops it to the ground, gasping and panting as she looks between me and the key in anger.

On her knees, she looks up at me with barely restrained rage as she pants from the pain, and from my position standing over her I have a perfect view of her milky cleavage, her top of choice being rather low cut.

I'm tempted to say 'I told you so', but with the anger in her eyes I decide I value my manhood a little too much to rub it in as I pick up the key and place it back around my neck.

Her wand twitches towards me, but after a moment she rises back to her feet with a truly fierce glare on her face as she turns and storms away.

I almost pity my mother when she gets back tomorrow, but since I'm also highly suspicious that Yennefer is playing games with my life, I don't feel too bad for her.

As Morrigan is leaving, I quickly activate my new demonic art, curious to see it in action as I feel new information flood my mind.

Morrigan Raum-Black

Lesser Secrets: She's an Acromantula Animagus. After a classmate refused to take no for an answer and attempted to force himself on her, she castrated him, obliviated him and left him tied up in the Forbidden Forest. She can cast two of the Unforgivables.

She's an animagus? Not just an animagus but a fucking Acromantula, a creature in the same danger classification as dragons and basilisks?

The classmate is less of a surprise, if someone tried to rape Morrigan then they deserved exactly what they got, honestly I'm surprised she didn't kill them herself instead of leaving them to their fate, as unlikely as their survival may be.

The Unforgivables don't surprise me as much as they should, honestly I'm more curious over which one she hasn't worked out yet.

Also, the fact that her lesser secrets involve an XXXXX-ranked animagus form, a castration and probable murder and the Unforgivables make me extremely curious what else she's hiding.

She's also just jumped up several danger levels in my mind, the fact that her wand was in my face suddenly feels more dangerous knowing what spells she could cast if she truly felt like it.

My prickly older sister is a very dangerous woman, and yet as she storms off, my eyes wander to her backside, her trousers tightly wrapped around a truly impressive ass.

Sighing, I feel my pants tighten again. I wish I could blame my new lust pact, but she really does just have a fantastic backside.

Like I said before, a teenage boy being horny isn't going to catch anyone by surprise.

Heading up to my room, I can't help but frown. What is mother up to? Too much isn't adding up, and I'm left with more questions than answers.

And that is unacceptable.

Stripping, I take care of my not-so-little problem, my mind wandering to Yennefer and Morrigan in a somewhat less innocent way, before I finally go to sleep.

— Next Morning —

I wish I could say it was the loud argument between Yennefer and Morrigan that woke me up, their heated words echoing through the mansion (and this is a very big mansion), but it wasn't.

Showering, I wipe off the cold sweat I awoke to, trying to remember what terrors had forced me to awaken dozens of times last night.

Despite my newly perfect memory, the details slip from my mind the moment my eyes open, and leave me with only vague recollections of battles fought over vast wastelands, the wasteland was beautiful once, torn apart by centuries of war.

I don't know why I know that, and Theodore's journal made no mention of night terrors, but I think they're more than mere nightmares.

My mind starts pulling together the pieces of my dreams, trying to work out exactly what I dreamt about.

That was the great war, I vaguely remember seeing angels flying over the wasteland, clashing with demons in brutal combat. I wasn't just watching, I was there, spear in hand as I cut down scores of angels, I think I did battle with an Archangel, a dozen brilliant golden wings coming from their back as they stared down at me with a golden sword in hand.

I felt their spear pierce my shoulder, even now I can feel a longer phantom pain in my right shoulder, even now I remember wrapping my hands around the Archangel's throat as they desperately tried to stop me, snapping his neck and watching the golden light fade from their eyes, the horror on the other angels faces as they watched their champion fall.

I suppose there's always going to be some consequences to having a demonic tome inside my soul, perhaps this is why it was simply sitting on a desk instead of being with Theodore when he died.

My musings are interrupted as my door opens, a cute blonde girl slipping in and closing the door behind her. During the brief moment the door was opened, the shouting became more clear as I winced.

"I'm hiding here," Keira says immediately, making me chuckle as she comes forward and sits in my bed, my slightly older sister looking particularly ragged.

"Same, the shouting woke me up but I think I'll stay in here for a little longer," I deadpan, making her laugh.

"Good decision, Damian decided to watch the fireworks, naturally Morrigan has tried to curse him several times in the last few minutes," Keira says with a snort.

"So, how was the World Cup?" I ask, making her groan.

"Terribly dull, if I didn't have some friends who were going I wouldn't have bothered going myself, though I did get to see Damian get cursed which was fun," Keira admits, making my eyebrow raise. "He managed to talk one of the Veela cheerleaders out of their robes, but it turns out they had a boyfriend. A very large Bulgarian boyfriend."

"Ah, business as usual for Damian then?" I ask, making her giggle.

Damian and angry boyfriends are a tale as old as time, I swear he enjoys going for other men's girls far more than he does single women.

He has a girlfriend, one of the chasers from the Gryffindor quidditch team, but it doesn't seem to stop his man-whoring.

Well, Pact of Lust here, so I can't quite judge him for his manwhore ways since I'll likely follow in his footsteps, but still.

"Yup, the fight even started a fire but it got put out easily enough, beyond that the most interesting thing was the Irish partying, some of my friends went but I find parties that loud tiresome," Keira admits, laying down on the bed with a sigh. "Given Morrigan's shouting, I can guess how things went for you. I don't know what mother was thinking, giving you that key, but I suppose it's better than Morrigan or Damian getting it. How badly did Morrigan take it?"

"You do hear the shouting, right?" I deadpan, making her snort. "She didn't curse me, but it was a close thing. You know what she's like."

"True, honestly I came here to make sure you were actually in one piece," Kiera admits, giving me a once over.

She can't see much because of the covers, but her raised eyebrow at my bare chest makes me feel a little awkward since I'm naked under the quilt.

"I am, as you can see I survived her wrath, though from the shouting I'm not sure the mansion is going to be able to say the same," I say, making her smile before she pauses, leaning forwards as I back away in confusion.

She's too close, and once again my sister's habit of wearing low-cut tops causes my eyes to briefly flicker down to the perky breasts on display, and as close as she is to me there's no way she didn't notice my wandering eyes. She doesn't mention it though, just staring into my eyes with furrowed brows.

"Did you do something to your eyes?" Keira asks, frowning slightly as she stares intently into them, her face inches from mine. "You did, they're swirling, they didn't do that before…"

I pause for a moment, because a part of me wants to spill everything to Keira, my favourite sibling, my confidant who I trust more than anyone else, but I stop myself.

I've told Keira more of my secrets than anyone else, ranting to her when times got particularly bad, she's been my pillar to lean on, if I can't trust her then I can't trust anyone, but for now I'm going to keep this to myself.

Which means I have to lie to the girl who knows me better than anyone else in the world.

"I found something in the restricted section, something that might help with my… problem, this is just a side-effect," I say, making her eyes narrow. It's a mixture of truth and lies, and the tiny hint of hurt I see in her gaze tells me she caught onto that. "It's perfectly safe, don't worry."

"If there was something in the restricted section that could have helped, mother would have done it years ago," Keira points out, immediately calling me out on my bullshit. "You know you can trust me, right? I'd do anything for you."

Having her say something like that while on my bed, so close to me, makes me want to put her words to the test and throw her down, to take her right here and now, but I force the images down as I smile slightly.

"I know, believe me I do, but just give me some time with this," I say, making her pause before she sighs.

"Don't do anything reckless, better to be weak and alive than to get yourself killed doing something stupid because you got desperate," Keira says, placing a gentle hand on my chest.

"I won't, and trust me, I know," I agree, making her sigh again before she smiles.

"My little Gray, growing up and keeping secrets from me," Keira says with a teasing tone, making me chuckle even as I activate my eyes once more.

Keira Raum-Black

Lesser Secrets: She bribes her little brother to do her homework for her, knowing he's better at writing essays than her. She lets some of her classmates copy 'her' essays in exchange for favours, goods or money. She runs a smuggling ring, getting illicit goods into Hogwarts.

Keira has been getting Outstandings across the board, and while she's a brilliant witch… she's so incredibly lazy, I've been doing her homework since second year.

She's definitely smart, just look at her end of year exams where she still gets Outstandings, she just doesn't want to do her homework.

I know the material, and if I don't, I can learn it. I saw it as a chance to get into the higher year material, plus she rewards me well.

I never did work out how her smuggling ring works, but she seems to be able to get anything into Hogwarts, I mostly use her contacts to get sweets from Honeydukes.

Still, letting her classmates copy the homework she's bribing me to do for her? Sneaky. She's making them pay for her, and probably turning a profit as well.

I'm not even angry, that's genuinely impressive. She says I should be a Ravenclaw, and I'm starting to think she should be a Slytherin.

I'm definitely increasing my prices though.

"Everyone keeps secrets, you know that," I say, making her shrug playfully, before we pause and notice something.

It's quiet, and the house doesn't seem to be on fire.

"So, do you think they came to an agreement, decided to take a break or did they just kill each other?" Keira asks, making me grin.

"Either they took a break or we're a family member down. Hopefully Morrigan, because if not, Damian just became Lord Raum-Black and may Merlin help us all," I deadpan, making her laugh.

"Maybe he got caught in the crossfire?" Keira suggests hopefully, and as I go to reply the door opens once more making us both pause.

Our mother walks in, giving Keira a look before moving on, seeing us together is hardly unusual.

"Keira, I need to speak to Grayson, in private," Yennefer says, making Keira go to respond before shrugging, giving me one last look before she hops off the bed.

"Sure, later Gray," Keira says, making me nod. Keira has her own issues with Yennefer, but unlike Morrigan she won't actually bring them up to her face. I think she's somewhat intimidated by our mother, and I can't really blame her.

"Oh, and I'm afraid both your siblings survived our discussion," Yennefer adds with a slight smirk as Keira pauses.

How did she hear us?

"Shame, I suppose I'll have to hope Damian's next encounter with an angry boyfriend is a little more permanent," Keira says with a shrug as she leaves.

We joke, but neither of us want anything truly bad to happen to Damian. He's a prat—and I'd happily watch him get his ass kicked and send a gift basket to anyone who could put some humility into him—but he's family.

"You wanted to speak, mother?" I ask, making her turn back to me. Her eyes narrow briefly when she notices my eyes, but she doesn't mention it as she moves towards a small table in the corner of my room, sitting down.

It has a couple of chairs, since Keira is here often, and she gestures to the other seat as I pause.

"I'm… not decent at the moment," I say, making her roll her eyes.

"You don't have anything I haven't seen before, throw on some clothes and come sit down," Yennefer says simply, not looking away as I reluctantly get out of bed and grab some underwear and trousers, feeling her gaze on me as I dress.

She isn't watching me get dressed for her enjoyment or to make me uncomfortable, she's always got a reason for what she's doing, I wonder if she's checking for any other changes.

Throwing on a dressing gown, I take a seat opposite her, and she starts speaking immediately.

"You'll be starting fourth year soon, and with this comes some… changes" Yennefer says, making me pause.

"What do you mean?" I ask after a moment.

"Some of the changes I'm still working on, but the big one is that I intend to arrange a betrothal for you by your sixteenth birthday," Yennefer says, making me pause.

She's never arranged a marriage for any of my other siblings, so once again what makes me so different?

"With who?" I ask, not losing my temper as she takes a part of my life out of my hands. She nods approvingly at this, she always did lecture us on keeping our tempers and learning all the details.

"That is to be decided. He isn't aware of this yet but Damian will be stepping down as Heir Black soon, and you'll be taking his place. As the future Lord Black, it's no exaggeration to say that you'll be in high demand and when I let a rumour slip that I was going to be looking for a partner for the future Lord Black, I received quite a few offers," Yennefer explains, making me nod.

My sixteenth birthday is next winter, more than a year away. Whatever anger I might have had vanishes at her words, me, the Lord Black?

A distant dream before, and oh fuck Morrigan is going to be so pissed.

"Many of the would-be Lady Blacks are currently in Hogwarts, and I'm leaving the final decision to you," Yennefer says, making my eyes widen slightly. "I may have advice and suggestions, but it is up to you to choose your future bride, a fact I intend to spread. As such, I suggest you spend the next school year getting to know these potential wives, some are out of Hogwarts already so you may get offers to attend balls or even more private meetings."

"You don't think some of the offers will be rescinded when they find out it's me and not Damian who will be the potential husband?" I ask, making Yennefer laugh.

"Because of your weak magic? Frankly I expect there to be more offers, Damian's reputation is well-known, and while he is powerful, he's done a lot to tarnish his name," Yennefer says simply, making me pause before I snort and nod.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

"Besides that, I suspect your reputation for weakness is going to change soon, is it not?" Yennefer asks, making me freeze. "And while you are known for having weak magic, you're also known as a prodigy, when the black mark of your weak magic falls, you'll be quite the catch."

She knows, how does she know? What does she know?

Using my eyes, I freeze as I get an unexpected answer.

Yennefer Raum-Black

Lesser Secrets: ???. ???. ???.

"Ah, is that a form of divination? I was curious when I saw your eyes," Yennefer says, a light smirk on her lips. "I'm sorry, my dear, but I don't think you're quite good enough with those eyes to see whatever you were hoping to see. Not yet, at least."

"How did you-"

"When dealing with otherworldly beings, finding a way to block their divination is a very important skill, unless you want to have your every move spied upon," Yennefer explains, making me pause as I get at least a small confirmation, she's an occultist. "I will give you the answers you seek, I promise that, but not yet."

That's not the answer I want, and I force down the urge to use my Truthseeker to force the answers out of her. I'm not arrogant enough to think that has even the slightest chance of working.

"You knew what I'd find, didn't you?" I ask, making her nod calmly.

"Raum was a true master of divination, putting the seers of our world to shame, and he left behind plenty of predictions for those capable of deciphering them," Yennefer says simply. "That's all I have to say for now."

"I… fine," I half-growl, making her eyebrow raise as I fight down my anger at being denied her secrets. "The betrothals?"

She swishes her wand, unshrinking a bundle of parchments.

"These are the contracts offered, and intelligence reports on each of the families. I want you to go over them, carefully. Naturally, any contract they've offered will have to be re-negotiated, so feel free to consider any demands you wish to add into them. You are a Raum-Black, as close to royalty as the wizarding world has. Never forget that."

A part of me wonders if I'm actually a pureblood, given my demonic heritage, but I shake those thoughts away as I look at the rather large pile.

"I will, but I do want answers, you're up to something and I will find out what, one way or another" I say, my tone more domineering than I've ever been before as her eyes widen briefly before they narrow in thought.

She looks almost impressed, giving me a light smirk.

"You'll have your answers, my dear, soon enough," Yen says, turning and walking away as I watch her leave before turning back to the parchment.

Picking the first one, I pause as I see the picture included in the bundle. A pretty asian girl looks at the camera, and instead of her usual Ravenclaw robes she's dressed in a beautiful (and tight) blue Chinese dress. Cheongsam, I think the name is.

I recognise Cho Chang, she's one of Keira's friends, but isn't she dating that Hufflepuff prefect? I swear I remember hearing Keira gossip about that, but I also never really listen when Keira talks about who is dating who.

I'll have to ask Keira later, opening up the in-depth intelligence report (since when did we have these reports on the other families?), reading about her family.

It's very thorough, apparently she has an older cousin who is in the Chinese equivalent of Azkaban for forcing himself on a half-blood girl. Her family are pretty wealthy (not as rich as us, but still decently impressive) and well connected in the business world, especially in Asia.

Her father wants to expand into Europe, but he's found that magical Europe is rather xenophobic- to be fair it's pretty much every type of phobic- and he's had very limited success, facing heavy taxes and fines, so he's hoping that marrying off his daughter into a legendary English pureblood family will help.

The Raum-Black connections alone would help him succeed, and mother had put a lot of work into maintaining and expanding our own business assets over the years and there were opportunities abound after the war.

Huh, if she isn't found worthy of being Lady Black, he's apparently open to her becoming a mistress of House Black, though he'd have some demands if we did that since she's his only child, including her bearing at least one son to continue his line.

Looking back at the very pretty girl in the picture, she smiles for the camera but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. My mind whispers to me about all the essence I could gather with a mistress who couldn't say no to me, and I put her in the definite maybe pile.

I don't feel overly bad about her possible distaste at the idea, if her family are trying to marry her off then even if I refuse she'll probably find herself with someone else, maybe someone much older who'd enjoy a pretty young mistress to slake his lusts.

Moving on, I grab the next file with a thoughtful frown.

— Yennefer Raum-Black —

Grayson was nothing if not efficient. She hadn't expected him to find the grimoire so quickly, but he'd surprised her once more.

It sped up her plans, the Lodge's plans, but didn't change much, in the grand scheme of things. It just proved how impressive her favourite child truly was, how right she was to pick him.

The prophecy of Raum that the Lodge had placed their hopes on was entirely too vague in many ways, and it could have referred to any of her four children, but it looked like she had chosen correctly.

Of course, now the ship had sailed and she had to navigate the incredibly turbulent waters.

Sitting in her office, she watched as her other son entered, swaggering into the room and plopping himself into the chair in front of her desk, his feet on the expensive wood as she gave him an unamused look.

"You called, mother dearest," Damian asked with a lazy smirk, uncaring of her obvious disapproval. Damian despised any and all propriety, and went out of his way to be as improper as possible.

"I did," Yennefer said calmly, not letting him get under her skin, as he was no doubt attempting to do. "I'll be blunt, I'd like you to step down as Heir Raum, so Gray can take your place."

Damian froze at her words, his eyes narrowing as he went uncharacteristically silent.

"Ah, I get it. You aren't a Raum by blood, all those fancy laws mean you can't make me step down, dad could have but he's not here," Damian said as she raised an eyebrow. "So, were you going to mention your plans to kick me from the position of Heir Black or were you planning on waiting until I stepped down as Heir Raum first?"

She froze, looking at Damian in barely-hidden surprise.

"Oh, what makes you think that?" Yennefer asked carefully, looking at her politics-hating son in a new light, for all his hedonism and troublemaking, there was a good mind behind those eyes.

"You moved most of the Black fortune and belongings into the Raum vault, to keep them from Aunt Narcissa and now you can't move them back since you're not a Raum by blood, you wouldn't want your favourite son inheriting a house you made destitute, and you don't want me ruining all your hard work with my incompetence," Damian said with a lazy shrug, a smirk on his lips.

"I did not plan to simply toss you out, if that's what you believe." Yen said simply, making him chuckle.

"Oh, I figured as much, notice you didn't correct me about Gray being your favourite," Damian pointed out, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Does the revelation that Grayson, the hardest-working and most respectful son who has never caused me any trouble nor started any scandals, is my favourite truly come as a surprise? Especially after how much trouble you've caused me over the years, how many abortions I've had to arrange and hush money I've had to pay to stop you from spawning a dozen bastards every year?" Yennefer asked simply, making Damian shrug.

"Not really, and I haven't had any more accidents in… months," Damian said defensively as she scoffed.

"Because I had your food spiked with a powerful and long lasting contraceptive potion," Yennefer countered as he paused.

"Huh, I thought my pull-out game had just improved," Damian admitted, making her roll her eyes.

"And do you not despise the political game? You'd be miserable as Lord Raum-Black," Yennefer pointed out.

"If I handled the boring work myself, but we both know that you wouldn't be able to watch me drive our family into the ground, and I planned to take Gray as a steward," Damian admitted, making her sigh.

"I would not be able to hold your hand forever, and even if Gray agreed to such a role, which would be demeaning since you'd just be dumping your work onto him, you'd still be required to attend countless meetings and social events," Yennefer pointed out, making him frown as she slipped into his mind, wanting to confirm something.

His utter disregard for her Occlumency lessons made it an easy feat, and she almost rolled her eyes when she found what she was looking for.

Ah, that's why he mentioned her. He planned to make her his mistress, permanently by his side as both an advisor and a lover.

Her habit of borderline-exhibitionism had caused this, the tantalising glimpses he got at her body, but there was a reason for that.

It had backfired, but her plan was fairly simple, she just wanted to get Gray used to the sight of the female form, as she knew a great many women would try and manipulate him, she couldn't have him be a blushing virgin and unfortunately he'd ignored Keira's suggestions that he actually start dating and 'play the field' a bit.

She wasn't sure Gray had ever even had his first kiss, always more interested in books than people, but he definitely had a libido. She wanted to make sure he didn't fall over himself at the first girl to flash some skin at him, by making sure he saw plenty of skin growing up.

"Sure, but I could slack off during them, the social events could be fun with so many women dressing up, and I'd have access to the biggest fortune in Europe," Damian pointed out, making her roll her eyes.

Damian as Lord Raum-Black would be a borderline disaster even with her babysitting him, and unfortunately he was right. She could kick him from the position of heir Black but she couldn't do the same for the position of heir Raum, the more important of the two given the Raum's origin.

"Very well, you've actually impressed me, a rare feat for you, so what is it you want in exchange for you stepping down as heir Raum?" Yennefer said, giving him a nod of respect.

Damian wasn't stupid, far from it, and at her words his lips grew into a smirk.

But while he might be smart, she had played this game too long, and son or not, she wouldn't hesitate to tear him apart in the negotiations.

"A vault with a regular and substantial payment so I never have to worry about 'working' like some peasant, and the vacation home in southern France," Damian said, making her pause, that was entirely reasonable for what he was giving up. In fact, it was uncharacteristically reasonable for Damian, who prided himself on being a problem. "Oh, and I want you, right here on this desk."

There it was, her eyebrow raising as she stared at Damian calmly, his smug confidence taking a hit at her cold stare.

Now, how to deal with this?

— Bonus Scene — The Ninth Hell

The Ninth Hell, Nessus, had once been the domain of Lucifer himself, the grand fortress he once ruled all the hells from still standing, empty, as those who took his place were unable to access the throne of hell, a twisted mockery Lucifer made in the image of his father's throne in heaven.

Still, even without access to the throne and with Lucifer's disappearance, Nessus has remained the seat of power within the nine hells, where what passed for a government in hell ruled from.

As such, it was likely the busiest of the nine hells, with the exception of Avernus, which served as an eternal battleground, and changes were noticed quickly.

Left behind from a time long past, countless arrivals and landmarks remained as relics and reminders of the great war and the civil war that followed it, and among them stood the pillar.

Created by the Demon Lord Raum with the aid of Lucifer himself, the giant obelisk made of black marble towered over every other structure, with the exception of Lucifer's castle, countless runes carved into it, not only demonic but those of heaven and countless other planes and pantheons as well, a testament of Raum's never-ending pursuit of knowledge. To this day, it has been a source of mystery and intrigue, studied by the demonic scholars as they attempted to divine its purpose, to no avail.

It had stood inactive for countless centuries, though it briefly glowed once before, before going inactive mere minutes later, so when the runes began to light up once more, it was noticed almost immediately, certain runes starting to glow with a dim light.

The demonic rune for secrets, Raum's first and favourite domain, lit up and unlike before, continued to glow with a soft light which seemed to be slowly glowing brighter and brighter. Several others lit up, leaving scholars to pore over them as they attempted to work out why these runes in particular.

And as with all things concerning Lucifer and his right-hand Raum, concern and whispers spread through the hells, loyalists who had long been in hiding heard that one of their master's artefacts had become active, those that had taken Lucifer's place grew cautious and concerned, as the entirety of the nine hells wondered what this meant.

A black haired demon in the shape of a man approached the pillar, red eyes locking onto the rune of his master's favourite domain, eyes narrowing briefly before he turned and disappeared, much to the concern of the watchers ordered to keep a close eye on the pillar who quickly reported back to their masters.

After all, the new Satans had believed him long dead, believing he fell alongside his beloved master Raum.

But the truth was that Sebastian was simply one hell of a butler, and nothing could stop him from serving his master's wishes, not even death itself.