First Expedition

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Just a heads up, there's a small scene with a father/daughter rape scene later on, never sure if I should bother with warnings, I figure you lot know what I am about at this point. Would appreciate some opinions on whether to bother with warnings in future chapters.

Chapter 10: First Expedition

"Mother, what is going on?" Centorea asked, looking around the village with a frown, even as her mother sighed.

"You have been slacking on your stargazing lessons again." Her mother, Sophina, said making her blush, shuffling around on her four legs. "The stars warn of a great evil approaching, and they warn of the destruction of our tribe, it has the village on edge. Bane has taken the hunters to patrol our territory, but people are still worried."

"Is it... the spirit of the forest?" Centorea asked hesitantly, her mind on the centaur villages personal horror story, even as her mother rolled her eyes.

She didn't know what the spirit was, but the corpses of the hunters that wandered too deep into the forest spoke for themselves, whatever it was it hated them, and it didn't want them in its forest, why else would it place the heads of their hunters on totems near the village if not to send them a warning?

"The forest has a spirit, but that monster is certainly not it. You shouldn't pay heed to the gossiping of foals." another voice said, drawing her attention, her eyes widening at the sight of the approaching woman.

Unlike the rest of the village, the woman trotting towards them had incredibly long hair and hide, as white as winter snow with hints of pink at the end of her mane, but the most noticeable difference was the long white horn protruding from the centre of her head.

Unicorn centaurs were incredibly rare and kept secret from the humans due to their greed. They were also the only centaurs capable of using magic, though not the same magic as the wizards, her powers more in tune with nature than the wizards spells.

"My apologies, Lady Ionessa." Centorea said immediately, bowing to the leader of their village, getting a smile from the somewhat older woman.

"Sophina, you are needed... since Bane took it upon himself to 'deal with this threat', the omens have only grown worse." Ionessa said with a small frown, making her mother sigh.

"I warned the fools, if it is that monster than all they will achieve is angering it. Very well, lead the way. Centorea, go back to our tent, do not leave until morning comes." her mother said with a sigh.

"I can he-" Centorea started, her sword attached to her side and her bow on her back.

"No. You will go home and wait. There have been enough hotheaded fools running around tonight without you joining them." her mother said bluntly, making her blush.

"Listen to your mother, Centorea, if the village is attacked you may assist in its defence, but for now you can best help by staying safe, with the rest of the village." Ionessa said kindly.

As her mother and leader left, she sighed to herself as she headed home. It rankled her pride to stay at home while her village might be in danger, but she couldn't defy her leader.

- Tracey -

"Bullshit." Lavender said bluntly, making her laugh. "There's no way, Grayson Raum is barely six foot tall, he is not that well-endowed, and you are full of shit." she continued as Parvati paused, a strange look on her face.

"Nope, completely true... he takes ages to cum as well and stays hard afterwards. If I didn't have other things to do, I'd probably still be in bed with him trying to charm his snake." Tracey giggled.

"Only because you're such an amateur, bet I could get him to blow his load in a couple of minutes once I have him wrapped up in these babies." Lavender bragged, grabbing her tits "...Do you think it's a family thing? Damian Raum is pretty big as well... not as big as you are claiming his little brother is, but still." Lavender said after a moment.

"Damian, really? Of all guys you went for him?" Parvati said with a laugh. "Though my aunt went to school with his dad and I heard her talking to mother about him... maybe it's their family magic?" Parvati said jokingly.

"Not exactly, he caught me on my way to meet a guy after curfew and made me suck him off to avoid getting in trouble. He's an asshole, made me walk back to the Gryffindor common room with his cum on my tits. I'd never choose him, but I wasn't having daddy find out how much of a 'scarlet woman' his little girl is. He still thinks I am as pure as freshly fallen snow... self-delusion is a pretty powerful thing." Lavender admitted with a shrug. "It's not like I wasn't going to be sucking dick either way, and you know how much trouble Susan got in after she got caught jerking off Ernie Macmillian? Her aunt was furious, it's why she doesn't hang out with us any more. She's been banned from socialising with such bad influences..."

"Tell me about it... I'd be back in India engaged to a man five times my age if father new about half of what I've gotten up to... but he trusts Padma way too much, and she would never tattle on me." Parvati giggled. "I'm going to give Grayson a miss, I think..."

"Really? I know he's pretty plain, but if Tracey isn't full of shit, I'll take him for a test ride." Lavender said with a smirk.

"It's not that... Padma has a crush on him, she's always had a thing for smart guys, and it'd be a dick move to move in on him... unless she's up for a Ménage à Trois." Parvati said with a shrug. "Hey, don't give me that look, I'm hot but being part of a set of twins pushes me from an eight to a high nine, and I don't mind taking advantage of it.. or I wouldn't if Padma wasn't such a prude. I don't think she's even had her first kiss."

"You know he's engaged to Daphne, right? And basically owns me?" Tracey pointed out, making Parvati shrug.

"My father has four wives and a dozen concubines, Padma won't care." she replied easily. "But she gets self-conscious over being the 'ugly twin' as if she isn't identical to me... a bit of make-up and we would be a perfect match. She won't care who Grayson sleeps with... as long as it isn't me, and I love her too much to hurt her like that." Parvati admitted.

"Does Daphne care?" Lavender asked.

"Merlin, no. The more people he is fucking, the better as far as she is concerned, as long as he doesn't sire any bastards or catch anything. She's a prude too and doesn't want him taking advantage of his control over her, so she is more than happy for him to have another way to deal with his lust." Tracey admitted.

"Well, then... I suppose I can do her a favour, and see if you are talking out of your perky little ass again." Lavender said with a growing smirk.

"Hey! There is nothing little about my ass, it's my best feature..."

- Gray -

Smirking at the shocked group in front of me, I twirl Lyra's wand slightly watching her pale, her mind racing.

"Anyone else? Maybe Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum want to try their luck?" I ask, looking at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Wut's a Tweedle?" Goyle asks, looking at Crabbe who just shrugs helplessly.

"Or maybe you, Millicent?" I continue, watching as she pulls her hand away from her pocket as if burned, her wand sticking out of it. "No? I thought not."

"Give me my wand b-" Lyra starts making me casually toss a silencing spell at her, watching her eyes go wide, and her face go red as her voice cuts off. She takes a step towards me before I point my wand at her, making her freeze mid-step.

"I'm going to unsilence you, but if you shout again I'm taking your voice... and snapping your wand." I say calmly, my grip around her wand tightening as she pales.

Snapping someone's wand is a great insult, it's the equivalent of saying they are unworthy of magic itself, and Blood Feuds have started for less, but the House Malfoy can't take on the Blacks, not with two of them being members... and if she tries to get me in trouble with the school, the fact that she was trying to attack an eleven-year-old girl will come out, and Dumbledore would be far harsher with her than he would be me. Plus, it would break the house rules of keeping what happens in Slytherin secret, and it wouldn't make her any friends.

Removing the silencing spell, I see her go to reply before she goes silent, practically fuming as she glares at me.

"Send away your pet trolls." I order calmly.

"Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, get lost." Lyra orders making my eyebrow raise as the three of them start to leave.

"Millicent, you stay. I didn't mean you." I correct, enjoying the look of anger on Millicent's face. Lyra should learn not to piss off the people you surround yourself with, and her insulting nature hasn't made her popular even with her followers.

Millicent pauses, but the troll brothers leave quickly enough, still confused. The Crabbe and Goyle house have been inbreeding far more than most pure-blood houses, and it shows. I think Gregory Goyle's father is also his grandfather if I remember right, and I've heard that Vincent Crabbe has four squib siblings.

"Now, Miss Fudge... frankly, I don't want to deal with you running to your father because I was mean to you." I say mockingly, watching the seventh year blush at the way someone years younger is treating her. "I suppose taking money from a Malfoy is practically a family tradition at this point, but consider this... your father won't be Minister forever, and the House Raum-Black has a long, long memory. You should choose your enemies more carefully." I warn coldly, watching her skin turn sickly pale. "You may leave, but I will not forget this attempted attack on my Houses charge. Now get out of my sight." I order, taking out her wand and dropping it on the floor, making her scrabble to pick it up, a look of shame on her face.

"I..." Melissa starts, before I hold up my hand, stopping her.

"Don't. I told you to leave." I say, cutting off her attempt to apologise.

As she scampers off, I smirk to myself. She could probably beat me in a duel, she is certainly more intelligent than I thought given how she was dismantling my wards... but my wandless display is still in her mind, and the idea of crossing my family even more is enough to send her running.

"Crabbe and Goyle don't have two brain cells between them, so I will ignore them, they are weak, stupid and frankly irrelevant... but really Millicent? I expected better from you." I say with a look of disdain. "You are no genius, but you aren't an imbecile either, or at least I thought you weren't." I correct watching her flush in embarrassment.

"L-Lyra..." Millicent starts, stopping at the scornful look in my eyes.

"Lyra is an idiot, and if you followed her in an attack on someone under the protection of two powerful noble houses, you have only yourself to blame." I say icily, watching her flinch back. I can also see Lyra flush in rage at my insults, but with her wand in my tight grip, she won't risk anything against me.

The Bulstrode family are a reasonably old pureblood family, but they are also weak and poor. They are followers, like Crabbe and Goyle, and have never had any real power... plus Millicent herself is a half-blood.

The publicly accepted version of how that happened is simple, her father was a Death Eater, and after a raid he fell for a muggle woman, hiding her away from the rest of the Death Eaters before he turned himself in at the end of the war, serving... was it five or six years in Azkaban? I don't remember off the top of my head. Unfortunately, her mother passed away while he was in Azkaban and Millicent was raised by a close family, the Crabbe's until her father was released.

The real version is much more believable, her father kidnapped a beautiful muggle woman and imprisoned her in his manor, repeatedly raping her, she got pregnant and gave birth to Millicent, the only child of the Bulstrode family, and after the war her father wasn't important enough, nor did he have enough allies, to avoid prison like so many others. Her mother killed herself after his Imperious wore off, out of despair from the years of abuse. I've even heard she was shared with the other Death Eaters at their revels.

Crabbe and Goyle Sr avoided jail because Malfoy bribed their way out, in exchange for their houses service to his own. Smart man, Lucius, the money he spent was nothing to the Malfoy family wealth, and he got two families of loyal enforcers out of it.

...At least until Triss killed both Crabbe and Goyle Sr at the world cup.

'Lord' Bulstrode is a joke in upper society, his time in Azkaban left him infertile, so he is stuck with a half-blood heiress which means House Bulstrode will lose their Pureblood status when Millicent becomes Lady Bulstrode.

Millicent Bulstrode

Faction – Hogwarts (Slytherin)

Thoughts about you – Fear

Lesser Secrets – She is terrified of her father, she has been ordered by her father to serve Lyra to get in with the Malfoy's

Major Secrets – ???

Biggest Secret – ???

Hm, that makes sense. I'd be more surprised if she wasn't afraid of him given half the rumours I've heard about her father. Triss and Yen talk about Death Eaters... a lot, and they aren't also quiet (or sober).

"Let me be blunt, I could destroy you and your family... easily, and unlike Lyra, you aren't my cousin. You owe me, and I intend to collect." I say as I stare at her, she's taller than me, though only a little bit, but it doesn't stop her from cowering back at my words. "If I tell you to do something, I expect it done, but you should be used to doing as you are told." I say with a hint of amusement as I peek into her mind, unsurprised to see no Occlumency shields.

(Starts Here, Squeamish people skip I guess)

"Just as fucking worthless as your cunt of a mother, but at least she was beautiful, what do you have?" her father snarled, smelling of whiskey. "Nothing, you're just some half-blood mutt, should have smothered you in your fucking crib."

"I... sorry, Fa-" Millicent started, flinching as he struck her, a red mark on forming on her cheek. "S-sorry, my Lord." she corrected, tears forming in her eyes.

"If you had half your mothers looks, I could have sold you off to some lesser house for a third sons bride, but look at you!" he growled, slashing his wand at her, her cheap robe shredding apart, leaving slight cuts on her body from his lack of control as the cloth fell to the floor in pieces, leaving her naked. "Who would pay for this? Even those fat tits can't make up for the rest of you." he mocked as he rose, grabbing a fistful of her hair. "Dumb as a brick and ugly as a troll." he growled as he spun her around, slamming her face first into the wooden office desk, her breasts squashed against the hard wood painfully as the sound of shifting cloth reached her ears.

Closing her eyes, she braced herself, knowing what was coming. Knowing she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"You're almost completely worthless... but at least I can use you for something." her father snarled, lining himself up and slamming forwards as she cried out in pain, her lower lips painfully split apart by her father's large size.

She was a large girl for her age, the largest in her year... and the year or two above her, and she inherited her size from her giant of a father. Unfortunately for her, he was giant everywhere.

"That's it, cry for me, you dumb bitch. Keep looking at the desk, I don't want to see your hideous face until I'm done." he mocked as he started thrusting, the office filled with his grunts, her cries and the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

She knew how this would go, she'd been through it enough times before, and she knew her part in it. Whimpering and crying out in pain, she made sure to make enough noise that he didn't feel the need to make it hurt more, and as his pumping sped up, she closed her eyes and waited for it to be over.

The first time he had come to her bed, smelling of cheap alcohol, she had fought to protect her chastity, she never made that mistake again as she learnt first-hand why the Cruciatus was an unforgivable.

Slamming forwards, her father let out a drunken groan, coming to a halt inside her most sacred place as his length twitched, unleashing its seed into her womb without a care.

She'd heard a muggleborn say that the body was a temple, if that was true then hers was nothing but a defiled ruin at this point, sacked and desecrated over and over again.

Pausing for breath, he rested inside her as she remained quiet, waiting until he finally pulled out of her, his evil, though thankfully sterile, seed leaking out of her and down her leg as he panted, out of breath from his harsh rutting.

The tiny optimistic part of her that hadn't been crushed by years of abuse hoped it was over, the alcohol, Azkaban and his age taking its toll on his endurance, the realist knew he would be ready again in a few minutes, and that she wasn't leaving his office until he had taken his fill.

(Ends Here)

Pulling out of her mind, I keep my expression from changing.

I'm not even that surprised, not all 'Dark' families are so messed up, but a lot of them were terrorists before Voldemort's defeat, they got used to raping, torturing and killing as they pleased and they didn't adapt well to returning to society... not to mention, Azkaban drives people most mad. I imagine there are squib daughters out there who are experiencing the same, if not worse than Millicent.

I can use this. I can sense the hatred in Millicent, the despair... I give it two years at most before she kills herself or tries to kill her father herself, her mind has already turned towards murder countless times before, but fear and the obedience she has had beaten into her stayed her hand, and I do believe she is a girl in need of a saviour. Someone in such a terrible situation is precisely the type of person who finds themselves joining a cult, worshipping whatever being can save them from their despairful life.

"I... I understand." Millicent says, obedience beat into her before she hit double digits.

"Excellent, leave for now, I'll deal with you later." I say dismissively, watching her flee. "Now... you. Follow me." I say calmly to Lyra, heading into my old room as she follows, she isn't going to leave her wand behind.

Pansy jumps as we enter, but I simply give her a cold look making her flinch back.

"Miss Parkinson, Leave. We will discuss why you were so determined to distract me... in great depths at a later date." I growl, seeing the realisation in her eyes as she grabs her clothes, getting dressed and fleeing.

It's nice to give my spy an alibi.

Sitting down on my chair, I stare at her with slightly amused eyes.

"Do you know that as Heir of the House Black, I have the authority to disown members of the House if I feel they have wronged the family... for instance, if they tried to attack a ward of the House. I could even dissolve Aunt Narcissa and Lucius's marriage, I've seen the contract and Lucius has, knowingly or not, broken his side of the deal meaning I could use the clause to nullify the betrothal... and regain the dowry, the former Black Manor." I say easily, watching as Lyra turns incredibly pale, her eyes widening in horror.

How Aunt Narcissa convinced her father to put up the Black Family Manor as part of her dowry, I will never understand... it's why the current Black Manor is a decrepit little house in the middle of London surrounded by Muggles.

"Then, of course, since you and Aunt Narcissa would become Blacks again... I could disown you both, leaving you nameless and homeless. Lucius's power would be broken, leaving him disgraced and humiliated, and you and your mother would be nothing, less than nothing. You'd have less rights than the mudbloods themselves, and even knowing all this, as you certainly should have, you still thought to cross me?" I ask, a mocking smile on my face.

It's entertaining watching her face grow more and more sickly, horror setting in as she stares at me.

"What did you even think you were going to achieve? Even if you disgraced me enough for me to lose the Heir status... it would go to Morrigan who would quite literally kill you if you tried anything against her. The only way you could ever become Lady Black would be to marry me." I point out, watching her cheeks flush slightly. "Well? I asked you a question, what the fuck were you thinking? Answer me." I order.

"I... I just wanted to embarrass you, and get back at the mudblood by hurting her sister." Lyra admits, her face red with embarrassment.

"Congratulations, you fucked up and gave me something I can hold over you for... basically until your mother or father dies and I can't nullify the marriage any more, but even then I could still toss you out of the family, and let us be honest... the connection to the Black family is your family's biggest boon. Money is far less effective without a name behind it." I point out. "So, Cousin... tell me, why shouldn't I throw you out and destroy your House? You've proven to be a thorn in my side, so why shouldn't I deal with you now?"

The marriage between Lucius and Narcissa wasn't Narcissa marrying into the Malfoy family, but the other way around. Why would the spare Heiress of a powerful English family marry into a minor French one that barely escaped the revolution with their heads intact, after all? The Malfoy's were barely even wealthy at that point, Lucius made them most of the famous Malfoy wealth by taking advantage of the war, wiping out light families and stealing their properties through a mixture of blackmail and threats.

I have to praise whoever the contract, they made sure to keep Lucius on the defensive and gave Narcissa an out just in case. Lord Arcturus Black most likely. The contract specifies two escape clauses I can use to break their marriage if I want to... One, Lucius must never serve a master as a member of the House Black does not submit before others... and Two, Lucius cannot be weak-willed.

If I try for the first, and Lucius claims Imperious as he did to escape prison, I can use the second, incredibly vague, clause to break it instead. Someone planned this just in case the Dark Lord lost, to break off the House Black from Malfoy.

Of course, Bellatrix clearly fucked that up by joining Voldemort instead of staying a housewife like Narcissa, since her contract with Lestrange has the same clauses, but Bellatrix wasn't so eager to play homemaker and prefered her newfound hobby of muggle and blood traitor torturing.

"Because... I... I don't..." Lyra stutters, her usual confidence vanished and her face a sickly pale green at the realisation of her situation. "I-I'm sorry, I was just upset that you got the heir title." Lyra says, her apologies catching in her throat, she is clearly not used to apologising. "It will not happen again, Heir Black."

"Beg." I order calmly, watching her eyes widen, fury in them as she glares at me. "You want to stop me from crushing your House? Get on your knees and beg for my mercy." I say smoothly, watching her glare intensify.

"You want me to-" Lyra growls, before she trails off, indecision in her gaze as she stares me down. After a minute or so passes, she comes to a simple realisation, I'm not going to back down.

As she drops to her knees, I can see the humiliation and wrath in her eyes.

"Heir Black, I apologise for my actions against your charge... please forgive me." Lyra says, her tone filled with shame and anger.

"Not good enough, put some more effort into it." I order, making her snarl as she goes to rise before she stops, I can even see tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

She's not used to being on the other side of things.

"I sincerely apologise for my foolish and short-sighted actions." Lyra chokes out, humiliation plain on her face. "Please forgive me for my stupidity."

"Come here... no, don't stand up... crawl here." I order, watching dispassionately as the tears start to fall. "Kiss the ring." I order as she crawls over, holding my heir ring out as she hesitantly leans forwards, placing her lip on the ring gently. "Hm, I suppose I can show you leniency this once, Cousin... but it only makes sense that I take lengths to make sure your idiocy doesn't act up again. Remove your robes." I order, watching her eyes widen. "Now, before I change my mind."

As she rises, she hesitates, still crying as she pulls her school robe off, wearing only her underwear underneath. It's not that unusual for Purebloods though Muggleborns tend to prefer to wear muggle clothes beneath their robes.

"Tell me, Lyra... what do you know of the Brand of Servitude?" I ask, watching her eyes widen.

"It's a brand that used to be used by old families to... brand their servants, to mark them as a servant of that house... and to keep them loyal by reminding them of their position." Lyra answers shakily, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"And it was done by either the Lordship ring... or the Heirship ring." I point out, lifting my hand, the ring sitting on my finger. "It went out of fashion a long time ago... apparently branding servants is cruel, and House Elves became more popular... bend over the desk and lower your underwear." I order as I rise, watching her shudder. "Did I stutter, Lyra? Bend over, now." I say coldly, and as she fails to move, I simply grab her and bend her over the desk myself, holding her face down against the wood.

Gripping her panties, I yank them hard, tearing them and exposing her most sacred place, her puffy virgin slit and tight asshole on display.

- Lyra -

"P-please... I'll never act against our House again, I promise. D-don't brand me like some... property." Lyra begged, actively sobbing as Grayson moved behind her, his surprisingly strong hand still holding her in place.

This... this wasn't supposed to go this way.

The mudblood would leave the school, the know-it-all would be hurt, and Gray would be embarrassed, remembering his place and stopping being so uppity now that he had a new ring...

He wasn't supposed to catch them, he wasn't supposed to be able to disarm her so easily, none of this was supposed to happen...

Feeling his hand on her right buttocks, she flinched away, expecting the sudden pain of the branding, something that was apparently excruciating. The brand had magic in it, but it didn't force loyalty... no, the loyalty came from the way the Lord or Heir of the family could use it to cause the branded servant immense agony at will...

"You have a nice pale ass, Lyra... very cute. It's almost a shame to mar it with such an ugly brand." Grayson said calmly, his hand rubbing her buttocks gently.

"Y-you don't have to! I'll swear an unbreakable oath! Lyra offered quickly, even as he fondled her behind, pulling back briefly before she felt something cold and hard touching her buttocks, the ring pressing against her pale backside. "Please, Grayson... don't do this..." Lyra pleaded, looking back into his stern violet eyes in dismay.

"I know... I want you to remember this feeling, Lyra. Remember how helpless you feel, how powerless and vulnerable you feel, I want you to remember the shame you feel as you are forced to expose your privates to me, the despair and futile anger at your imminent branding... the fear of being reduced to a piece of property, with no more rights than the desk I have you pinned against." Grayson said coldly into her ear, before he let go of her stepping backwards, leaving her confused as the ring stopped pressing against her.

"And I want you to remember that I can put you back in this position whenever I want. It's only because you are my cousin, and I do like you somewhat, that you are being spared this time." Grayson said as she collapsed to the ground, tears of relief pouring down her face.

"T-thank you." Lyra said quickly, practically hugging his leg in relief as she let out a slight laugh.

"Do not misunderstand me... this isn't mercy, this is a stay of execution. If you act against our House or me, if you insult my people or me, if you even look at me the wrong way, I'll have you branded, publicly in the middle of the common room so all will know not to test me. Is that clear?" Grayson said coldly, staring down at her with stern eyes as she nodded quickly. "I don't care about you grudge against Granger, but Juliet is off-limits... I have plans for her, and I will not have you interfering."

"I... I understand, I'll leave the little mud-" Lyra started, trailing off.

"I don't care what you call her in private, it is what she is after all." Grayson pointed out, making her frown slightly at his words.

"I thought you were a muggle lover like your brother?" Lyra asked, making him scoff.

"Don't be ridiculous, muggleborns have their position in our society... under the Purebloods, it's our society after all. Juliet has the potential to be just as intelligent as her sister, and I intend to make sure she has the correct respect for Pureblood society and her place in it, she'll make a fine servant." Grayson said calmly, her eyes widening. "I believe in the importance of Blood Purity just as much as you, Cousin... we just have different ideas about how to go about it, that's all... and how better to hurt Hermione than to make her sister join the society she scorns? To make Juliet willingly serve the Purebloods Hermione dislikes? I'll tear the Granger family apart, pitting sister against sister, and I won't let you won't ruin that by scaring Juliet away, making her see Purebloods with fear instead of respect." Grayson said calmly, making her pause in thought. "Now, I have a busy night ahead... if you don't mind?" Grayson trailed off.

"I... of course, Good night, Cousin." Lyra said after a moment, still in thought.

"Oh, and Lyra? I must say... I'm rather surprised that you don't shave." he trailed off, his eyes moving down to her still exposed pussy, her eyes widening at the look of amusement on his face as he took in her delicately trimmed small blonde bush.

Grabbing her robe, she tossed it back on and fled the room, her face red. She realised that several people saw her leave, and rumours would be running wild by tomorrow... but she could do nothing about that.

Grayson was... not what she expected. She underestimated him, a lot... and now she had a lot to think about.

- Juliet -

As someone knocked on her door, she reached for her wand quickly, well aware of her situation. Stopping to decide whether or not to open the door, she was shocked when it opened regardless, letting out a breath of relief as Grayson walked in calmly.

"Juliet, gather your things." Grayson ordered immediately, making her hop off her bed, blushing slightly at the look he gave her embarrassing muggle pyjamas.

"I-is something wrong?" Juliet asked, peering around him to see the empty corridor.

"Some of our housemates attempted to break into your room, and they made a disturbing amount of progress towards it. I have dealt with the fools, but you are not safe here, gather your things, we are moving you to somewhere I can keep a closer eye on you." Grayson said with a small frown.

"R-right, just give me a minute." she said, rushing to her chest and opening it up.

"I have things to do... so, Pack." Grayson said, waving his wand as her wardrobe opened, all her clothes flying out and into the chest... perfectly folded.

She could only watch in awe as her room was emptied into her chest, all sorted neatly in a matter of seconds.

"Did I get everything?" Gray asked, making her look around before she nodded quickly. She didn't have that much really. "Hmm, your nightwear is unsuitable, you need not give the house more reasons to dislike you." Gray said, waving his wand again as her eyes widened, watching her flannel pyjama top and bottoms changed into a modest silver nightgown. "It isn't permanent, I'll have Keira get you some proper magical wear. You need to become a part of our society, fully and completely, if you wish to succeed." Gray said calmly.

"You don't have to do that for me..." Juliet said quietly, feeling her cheeks heat up as he smiled at her gently.

"You are a ward of the House Black, under my protection. I take my duties seriously, Juliet, and more so, your actions and reputation reflect upon my House, so having you properly attired is important." Gray said, reaching up and stroking her hair gently before his smile faded to the indifferent look he seemed to favour.

He... had taken a chance in protecting her, she could shame his entire House if she wasn't careful... and he'd taken that risk for her. He'd given her a book on the Noble society of Purebloods, said it would help her in Slytherin since everyone else already knew it.

Which meant she know realised just how lucky she was... Raum and Black are two of the oldest and most powerful Noble houses, and she was under the protection of both. It was also good to know the proper greetings for the other students, she hadn't made any friends, but she had at least stopped herself from making more enemies by knowing how to speak to her Housemates.

"Now, we are moving." he said, swishing his wand again as her trunk shrank to a fraction of the size, easily fitting in his pocket. "Follow me."

"Y-yes, Sir!" Juliet said immediately, making him smile at her slightly again.

...She liked it when he smiled at her. It made her feel warm inside to know she had made the man who had taken such a chance on her happy.

"Sir? I suppose it is appropriate..." Gray chuckled, ruffling her hair again. "Come along, quickly now." he said, giving the room a once over before he walked out, her following behind him.

Even as they passed through the still active common room, she kept her face blank and her head straight forwards, not paying attention to the few whispering students still around.

They moved through the admittedly cold castle quickly, Gray tossing a warming charm at her after a moment, something she made a mental note to learn herself.

Reaching the seventh floor, she had to admit she was in wonder of Hogwarts... they only took a single short staircase and yet they went from the dungeon to the top of the castle. Magic was... amazing.

Reaching a door, he paused.

"The password is Amethyst, do keep it to yourself please." Gray said as the door opened, walking into the fancy living room, leading her into a hallway with a few doors with names on them, and some that didn't. "Pick one of the empty rooms, get some sleep. You have classes tomorrow, and I don't want you falling behind in your studies. I expect excellence from you." Gray said bluntly, making her nod.

"I won't let you down." Juliet promised as Gray put her chest down, unshrinking it.

"I believe you, now go to sleep. You are safe here... as long as you don't go into Morrigan's room." he said, trailing off in amusement. "You can meet the others tomorrow, after class." Gray said, giving her another small smile. "Good night, Juliet. Sleep well."

Good night, Gray..."

- Grayson -

"I don't think I've ever seen you so enthusiastic about anything..." I say in amusement, even hidden beneath the enchanted cowl I am wearing as I glance over at my sister, her own face shrouded by a cowl.

Just in case we get seen by Hagrid, or the centaurs. We don't have any identifying features, and I even left Tyche behind... after some pouting from my familiar.

"I have explored this forest... but only as far as the centaur lands and the Acromantula nest, I have never had the chance to go deeper or tried to pass through the centaurs territory." Morrigan admits, her voice reaching me despite her whisper.

I got Keira to enchant both our cowls so our whispered would reach each other, while being silenced for anyone else... and our boots are silenced as well, along with having a track disrupting enhancement on it.

It's surprising what spells you can find in the Hogwarts library sometimes.

The most essential spell however, is a path making spell that will let us find our way back to the start no matter how lost we may get, and I have a crude map of the forest, one of the few that exists from an older copy of Hogwarts, a History.

It's never been properly mapped out, but while the centaur 'territory' is vast... their village itself seems to be rather small, they use the rest of the land for crops. Morrigan had Røkr, her Abyssal Raven, scout ahead for us, having gotten used to controlling her familiar easily enough. I'm not surprised.

As long as we avoid the village and be careful, we should be able to get through the lands quickly enough.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself... any idea what we should expect? The books were... less than helpful." I admit making her chuckle darkly.

"The forest doesn't like people exploring it, and no one really knows what is in its depths... feral werewolves, territorial centaurs, hungry Acromantula, crazed druids and witches and all manner of other beasts, if the rumours are to be believed... I've seen the werewolves, centaurs and Acromantulas myself, but I haven't been deep enough to confirm the other legends of what lies in the deepest parts of this place. What do you hope to achieve tonight?" Morrigan asks, making me smirk though she can't see it as we move through the thick trees.

"Firstly, to work out where the Hogwarts wards come to an end. We can't make the lair within them, I would also like to find a couple of good potential locations for the lair." I say. "I also want to get an idea of how dangerous this place truly is... it's ninety percent myth and ten percent hearsay after all. Once we are out of the wards, the portkeys I arranged will be able to work, they'll drop us off in a secluded location in Hogsmeade in an emergency, and we can sneak back into Hogwarts through one of the secret passageways."

"How well-prepared off you..." Morrigan says with a teasing tone to her voice. "Not that I don't approve, this place has been the end of many expeditions, I'd rather we not be the latest. We are almost in the centaur lands now... they are savage beasts with nothing but bows and primitive swords, but they get very protective of their patch of forest."

"They won't stop us... we just left the Hogwarts wards, looks like it doesn't go that far into the forest." I say, looking back into the dark of the forest. I can't see Hogwarts from here, but we have been walking for almost an hour already. It's just passed midnight, so we have around eight hours before we have to be back.

From Hogsmeade, if we use the shrieking shack passageway we can be back and ready in about fifteen minutes, and the portkeys are set for the shack, so we shouldn't have trouble getting back in a hurry.

"Once we get past the centaurs, I want to find a good memorable spot that we can apparate to in the future, allowing us to skip past their land." I say, checking my 'map'.

The mapping spell I found is a bit... dodgy, and the map it is making as we travel isn't the best, but it's something. It also doesn't deal with forests that well, made for cities and villages... I'll look for a better one later on, but it will do for now.

"Gray!" Morrigan whispers harshly, getting my attention as I look up, the sound of hoofs approaching.

Ducking into one of the many, many bushes, I crouch down next to Morrigan and watch as a pair of centaurs trot somewhat close to us, they aren't speaking but... they are scared?

I can sense their fear, and after a moment, I take a chance and dive forwards into one of their minds.

Centaur minds aren't exactly like human ones, but clearly the concept of mental defences is lost to these animals, allowing me easy access into the mind of the creature.

Ugh... divination.

They looked into the stars and say doom, so the village is on guard, a beast called Bane has all the hunters patrolling their territory... as if the beasts actually own the land they call their own. I have studied the history of my people, you can learn a lot from it after all.

They moved into the forest after the founders had already built Hogwarts, settled Hogsmeade, and laid claim to the surrounding lands... including the enchanted forest.

They also did a good job in clearing out sections of the forest for classes on Druidic and Shamanic magic which isn't taught any more, they did a better job than basically anyone else since but then these fuckers just showed up and moved their tents into the cleared area as the muggles had found their old home.

Salazar Slytherin and surprising, or unsurprisingly if you actually know the truth about him instead of the child-friendly version they tell now, Godric Gryffindor wanted to wipe them out for invading their lands, but Helga stopped them and convinced them to let the Centaurs stay as refugees.

Godric Gryffindor was a warrior, he fought and killed countless people, wizards, muggles, magical creatures. Sure, he had his own code of honour, but he was still a ruthless man with more blood on his hands than most Dark Lords, not to mention crude and just generally a dick. The Raum Library has some of the journals the Founders fanboys would very much like gone.

Refugees, hiding from the muggles who were very anti-magic, witch-burning barbarians at the time... and the fuckers have the gall to pretend it is their land just because they never left?

Helga Hufflepuff was a bleeding hearted fool, and she inspired a thousand other fools just like her.

She was also a slut if one of Godric's journals is to be believed, I believe the words he used were 'Cheaper than any village strumpet as all it costs you is a kind word to have her lift her skirt and spread her legs'.

The founders did a great thing, they pioneered the schooling system that is used across the world as Hogwarts was the first true magical school... but that doesn't mean they were the amazing people that everyone makes them out to be.

Rowena Ravenclaw was so introverted very few ever actually saw her, and she took basically no students, only studying obsessively until she died. It's a miracle she managed to stop long enough to have a daughter. Honestly, she's probably the most respectable, and she was an antisocial loner who Godric called creepy at her best.

Salazar Slytherin was a Dark Lord, sadistic and brutal to both his enemies and his own students, believing that the weak should be weeded out. He also almost destroyed Hogwarts with his constant arguing and fighting with the other three, and encouraged his students to fight the others to prove his way was best... a mindset that still exists to this day.

Godric was a bloodthirsty bastard who cuckolded his own son, who was engaged to one of Helga's daughters. It isn't clear whether his daughter in law was even a willing participant as he admitted was drunk at the time, and it may very well have been the cause of his death after his son found out, his last entries into his journal mentioning almost jovially that his son had challenged him to a duel over his wives honour, and claiming that he'd humour the boy... and the date matches the estimated date of Godric's death.

And Helga Hufflepuff was a soft-hearted coward who let basically everyone walk all over her, she was a pacifist who hated fighting, to the point where she wouldn't even defend herself if attacked. She was also apparently incredibly slutty, bedding students, teachers, nobles and peasants alike as she was a fan of 'Free Love'. Essentially, she was a hippie long before muggles made hippies a thing. I wonder if she grew questionable plants in her Herbology gardens?

Godric made a comment that she probably only wanted the centaurs around because she was so loose humans couldn't do it for her any more. Like I said, he was a crude asshole... but an amusing one. If the current Gryffindors were more like their beloved founder, I might even like them.

Admiring what the founders achieved is perfectly understandable... but admiring the founders themselves is a different story entirely.

Most of the journals and records of what the founders were really like were purged like... a few hundred years ago? The Ministry didn't want four of Britain's most famous and renowned legends being anything less than flawless heroes.

Except for Slytherin, fucking Gryffindors...

Watching the centaurs trot by, I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding as we wait for them to move out of sight.

"Now." I say, heading out of our hiding place and moving through the farmland quickly.

We have a couple of close encounters, but this is a forest filled with bushes and trees to hide behind, and our silencing spells and track deleting boots help us move through the land quickly, easily sneaking past the patrolling centaurs who are too busy looking outwards to notice us already in their land.

Or that is what I thought before an arrow strikes the ground in front of us, just as we are about to get back out of the centaur lands.

"Halt! Humans, you trespass on centaur lands!" a snarling voice attracts my attention, making us both turn back to see a large darker-skinned, though that might be just the dark of the forest, centaur approaching, an arrow nocked on his bow as he glares at us. "Explain yourself, invader, before I plant my arrow in your skull." he says, though not loudly...

Bane

Faction – Forbidden Forest Centaur Herd

Thoughts about you – Anger, Hatred, Scorn, Bloodlust

Lesser Secrets – He hates Sophina because he believes he would make a better leader of the Centaur's hunters, he hates all humans and enjoys killing or defiling them despite it being outlawed by the Centaur's leader, Ionessa.

Major Secrets – ???

Biggest Secret – ???

...invader?

As his eyes move to Morrigan, who is still clearly a woman despite the shrouding robes, I sense a burst of malicious lust. Now I understand why he's being so quiet... he doesn't want the others to arrive.

"I said explain your-" Bane starts, before I act.

If they didn't hear his quiet snarling, they definitely heard his screaming as I lash out and summon my Hellfire, throwing the orb of the unholy purple flame at the beast, the fire engulfing him almost immediately.

He screams and writhes as the flames melt his skin, his skull already visible beneath the melting flesh as it spreads to the rest of his body.

Soon, even his bones will be nought but ash.

Hellfire isn't like normal fire, it wants to consume, it wants to devour everything in its path, much like Fiendfyre. It has a hatred of everything mortal, the flame spreading wildly until it finally fades.

And my weak magic doesn't matter... since all I'm doing is summoning it from hell, it'll burn out sooner than usual, but it will burn long enough.

It's no threat to me since Demons can't be burnt by Hellfire, but there is an abundance of material for it to burn here, and as I grab Morrigan's arm as she watches in shock, I pull her harshly, running into the depths of the forest as the flames go wild.

"Run, now." I order, using my control over her to snap her out of the trance she was in as we flee deeper into the forest, the spreading flames buying us time.

I've never lost control of my wrath before, but the idea of the pathetic beast touching my Morrigan? She's mine, mine alone, and no-one will take her from me.

They are all mine.

A part of me wants to go back into the centaur lands and slaughter them all, to burn their miserable village down and teach the animals their place in the world, beneath the humans... and the humans belong beneath Demons.

As we stop our running, I cast a quick life detecting spell to make sure none are following us, but it seems they are too busy dealing with the consequences of the raging flames, a significant threat in a forest such as this.

"Grayson... what was that?" Morrigan asks as we slow down, staring at me through her face is shrouded.

"That was Hellfire... and me losing control. The beast wished to kill me and defile you... and I just snapped." I admit, making her go quiet.

"Was that your first kill?" Morrigan asks, her voice strange as I turn to her.

"I... yes, yes it was. I... should feel bad, right?" I ask, more to myself as I pause, Occlumency can only do so much... but all I want to do is go back and finish the job.

"No. The brute is undeserving of your pity or sorrow, he was weak, and you are strong, as such his life was yours to take when he sought to challenge you. Be proud, you defended what was yours and came out victorious." Morrigan says sternly, a hint of pride in her tone. "You are not human, do not act like you are."

"I... thanks, Morrigan." I say after a moment, taking a deep breath. "But I've still overcomplicated things, that was demonic magic I just threw around... and I don't know if other magic users can tell what it is. Plus, the centaurs won't take one of their own being incinerated kindly, they'll come for us." I say making her scoff.

"No, they won't... Røkr is watching them, and they stopped after they reached their borders... they fear something in the forest, and it isn't us." Morrigan says, making me pause.

"...Morrigan, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I ask as I look ahead, making her smirk, even if I can't see it, I know she is doing it.

"I was wondering when you would notice that, you were quite distracted to not notice it immediately." Morrigan says with a mocking laugh.

Ignoring her, I look at the strange arrangement of sticks and branches... with the mutilated head of a centaur on the top of it, it's eyes replaced with rocks, and its face carved up.

What the fuck would do something like that? Well, I have my eyes for this

Leshen Totem

A totem made by a powerful Leshen to establish its territory and warn the Centaurs away.

Ahh... and what exactly is a Leshen again?

- Ionessa -

"Lady Ionessa, the flames have finally stopped..." one of her hunters said, making her nod.

"The magic in them faded." she agreed, having sensed the foul corrupted magic slowly fade. "How many did we lose?"

"Bane, and seven hunters who got to close... it leapt to them unnaturally when they approached." Sophina reported. "Most of the farmland is... ruined. It's nothing but dead, blackened ground, nothing will grow on it." she admitted. "If we don't find some new land, or a new source of food... many of us will starve as winter comes."

"I will attempt to bring life back to the land, but the forest depths are too dangerous to farm, many other beasts claim territory deeper forest, and they will not share their land." Ionessa said after a moment.

"This wasn't the Leshen." Sophina said calmly, making her nod.

"The Leshen, as monstrous as it is, is a creature of nature, it uses magic similar to my own to command the forest to attack its foes... this was something far more unnatural. I've felt this feeling before... in my youth, I wandered into the very depths of the forest, and I barely escaped with my life after I encountered a beast with a similar feeling. I believe that something in the dark of the forest has finally decided to reclaim the land we took for our own." Ionessa said gravely, looking into the darkness of the forest with a worried frown.

"...We have nowhere else to go." Sophina pointed out moments later.

"No, we do not. There are few enchanted forests remaining, and they are all inhabited already, this is our home... and I will not see us removed from it."

- Bonus Scene – Narcissa -

"What exactly were you thinking?" Narcissa asked with heat in her normally calm voice.

"But... I just..." Lyra started before she trailed off.

"No, no buts! Do you realise how much harder you are making my side of this? Every time you get it in your head to start plotting, you make things worse for us." Narcissa retorted, watching her daughter's face fall in shame through the enchanted mirror. "I don't care if Grayson wants a pet muggleborn, he's the Heir of our House and my sister would watch him toss us out with a proud smile. What if he had actually gone through with his threat? We'd lose our home, our best claim to power, and you'd be branded as a slave. And for what? You embarrassing him slightly and hurting a couple of mudbloods?" Narcissa scolded. "You have to think your actions through better, you are a daughter of the Black family, this reckless stupidity does not suit you. You are under no circumstances to try and plot against Grayson again, and I suggest you start hoping I can fix your mistakes because if I cannot your father will have you married off to a man twice your age on the continent by this time next year." Narcissa warned, watching her daughter pale.

It was only Narcissa's insistence that she could get Lyra to be Lady Black that had stopped him from doing it already. Lucius was a cold man, willing to use anything he could to his advantage. It was why he was so successful. It is what she admired so greatly about him.

"I... yes, mother." Lyra agreed quickly. "What if Grayson tries to blackmail me with it?" Lyra asked.

"Then you go along with whatever he wants, this is your mistake, and I will not have it destroy our family. Do try to keep your virginity, however. You have other methods of seeing to his lust if that is what he demands." Narcissa said bluntly, making Lyra's face burn.

"You mean I should..." Lyra trailed off.

"Yes, if using your other holes is what is needed to keep him from destroying our family due to your foolishness, so be it. The purity spells don't test for anal virginity, nor oral and you will still be marriable if things go wrong. Actions have consequences, my daughter... and your father's position isn't so comfortable as to be able to cross our own House. Yennefer is all but waiting for me to give her a reason to do exactly what Grayson threatened to do, and she is not so nice as to show mercy like Grayson did. Go to sleep, Lyra, think on your actions and their consequences, before your arrogance gets us all in trouble." Narcissa said, a small smile on her face.

She loved her daughter, but Lyra was entirely too prideful and had vastly overestimated the House Malfoy's power, due to her idolisation of her father.

"Yes, mother, good night... I love you." Lyra said quietly.

"And I love you, my little star. Now, sleep." she ordered, ending the call.

Heading back to her bedroom, she saw her husband look up from the papers he was reading, a new proposal for better treatment of werewolves that had been admitted by one of the lighter houses.

"Can you fix this?" Lucius asked as she got into bed, barely looking away from his work.

"I hope so, but I need to meet Grayson in person to get an idea of his personality, I cannot form a plan on second-hand rumours." Narcissa replied simply making him sigh.

"I only hope he is more reasonable than his mother, that woman has made it her goal to ruin my reputation." Lucius said with a light scowl.

"Consider yourself lucky she was busy looking after the newly born Grayson and her other children after her husband died, if they had been older she would have gone on the offensive... and you would be dead." Narcissa pointed out, making him nod in agreement.

If Yennefer and Triss hadn't retreated into the Raum manor, more of a castle really, to look after the Raum children, a lot more Death Eaters wouldn't have survived the war.

They would be no match for the Dark Lord, but even the likes of Bellatrix at her prime would struggle to match them, and they would cause mass devastation before either the Dark Lord killed them or they were overwhelmed, not to mention they were both smart enough not to fight the Dark Lord and would just attack the death eaters, likely fleeing before their master could arrive to confront them.

"So, you believe you can still convince Grayson to marry Lyra? His own cousin?" Lucius asked, knowing the Raum's opinions on inbreeding.

"I do, though I will have a better idea after I meet him in person." Narcissa admitted before pausing for a moment. "If Grayson proves hesitant to the idea, do I have your permission for more... intimate forms of persuasion?" Narcissa asked hesitantly, making him pause as he stared at her. "One of the few things I have managed to gather of him is that he is a lustful as his father was, it's the only weakness I know he has, should I exploit it?" she asked, making him pause in thought before he nodded.

"I trust your judgement, if you believe such acts are necessary for the good of House Malfoy, I will accept it, though I would rather you not tell me and ensure there are no... future consequences." her husband agreed making her nod in agreement.

Like she said, willing to use anything to his advantage, even his own wife was a piece on the board to be bartered and utilised to her fullest potential. It was the kind of ruthlessness that drew her to him in the first place.

"I understand, Lyra will be Lady Black." Narcissa swore.

"I take it we cannot take to more... blunt methods of dealing with him?" Lucius asked after a moment as she scoffed.

"The war is over, those methods won't work any more... and even if we did, and you manage to make sure there wasn't a single trace of evidence pointing back to us... Yennefer would assume it was us and kill us both anyway." Narcissa pointed out with a bit of humour in her tone.

"Naturally, it'd my fault even if she couldn't prove it... very well, I will leave this to your discretion. I need to focus on my position in the Ministry anyway, is there any way to get her to stop undermining me long enough for me to regain the Minister's confidence?" Lucius asked, making her hum.

"I cannot make her, I will test the waters with Grayson, but I don't know enough about their relationship to know if he could make her stop either." Narcissa admitted as their conversation died off. "Yennefer has always been stubborn, and once she sets her mind to something, it is all but impossible to stop her."

"If you can get Grayson to stop her, I don't care what you have to do to achieve it." Lucius said after a moment. "I'd say stopping her crusade against me is more important than even making Lyra Lady Black."

Yennefer had been the bane of her plans for... as long as she could remember, the unmovable war in between Narcissa and the vaunted position of Lady Black.

Sirius was a rebellious idiot, Andromeda was a muggle-fucker, and Bellatrix was a barely functioning psychopath. None of them would ever take the title, but Yennefer?

She was powerful, intelligent and had the right mindset, she was the natural choice no matter how much Narcissa tried to get rid of her so she could take the title.

She had dedicated her early life to being the perfect daughter, all in the hopes of getting the position of Lady Black, and most of her problems had taken care of themselves.

She was her daddy's precious daughter, his favourite as she wrapped him around her finger... it didn't make her friends with the rest of her family, not her sister or her mother, but it meant she was able to control him to an extent, even getting him to push his own father, the Lord Black at the time, into giving up the extravagant Black manor as part of her dowry to the anger of the rest of the family.

It wasn't easy getting her father so under her control, but she did it anyway, and she very nearly managed to deal with Yennefer.

Convincing her father to send Yennefer off to marry to an older lord from a Russian family had taken her... years. Years of pushing and prodding, gently guiding her father down the path she wanted him to take, and it cost her a lot, her pride for one as she eventually had to resort to more desperate forms of convincing the older man.

Her mother was a shrew, and a prudish one at that. After they had four children, her mother decided that four was enough and refused any more intimacy, as their marriage arranged and not a particularly happy one... so she used every tool at her disposal to make sure she was daddy's favourite, replacing Yennefer as the favourite daughter.

Yennefer was more powerful, more intelligent, even more beautiful than Narcissa... but their father tended to forget that when she was under his desk, worshipping him in a way Yennefer never would.

Even still, it took years of trying to get him to agree, and when she finally convinced him that Yennefer would make a terrible Lady Black, that she was too willful and would toss him and the rest of the family aside once she had the position... when she finally achieved a goal that took her years of manipulation, years of degrading herself, years of effort and planning...

Her father dropped dead.

Then her mother did the same, and the arrangement fell through.

...Then the lord she was supposed to marry dropped dead as well.

Yennefer barely even tried to hide that it was her, she was too smug about it to keep it secret, and Narcissa had spent every night jumping at shadows expecting her sister to come for her life next.

But it never happened, and she realised that despite Yennefer's intelligence, she didn't know that Narcissa had been the architect behind her arranged marriage, and she calmed down, still terrified of her sister's ruthlessness.

Bellatrix was an unhinged serial killer, but Yennefer was the one that frightened her the most. Yennefer was entirely sound of mine, and it made her far more dangerous and far less predictable. Bellatrix was predictable in her insanity, but Yennefer?

Even she could barely predict her sister's actions.

But she wouldn't give up, and a new avenue opened... as Lord Raum-Black, Grayson was permitted two wives, one Lady for each House. With the Greengrass girl, he would be taking on a third name and becoming Lord Greengrass, which meant he still could marry two more women, more if they were the Heiress of their own family.

It was an old law, one made after an old powerful 'hero' who had just beaten a Dark Lord decided he wanted a Harem, and with the power worshipping nature of wizards, he got it, the Ministry at the time making it legal for lords of multiple houses to marry multiple times.

Then it was never changed, as Pureblood lords were less than eager to give up any benefit they had over the peasants. It was lesser-known and rarely spoken off, but she could think of three lords that were taking advantage of it.

Some Lords and Ladies occasionally complained that it made a mockery of marriage, but marriage wasn't as sacred to wizards as it was to the muggles. Sure, there were druids involved, but few cared for the old ways any more.

The worse was probably the termagant, Molly Weasley. The woman had a very specific idea of what families should look like, and she had no problem making sure everyone knew it.

Ironic considering she could remember hearing the rumours of Molly Prewett sucking dick in one of the fifth floor abandoned classrooms for ten sickles a go... Twelve to finish on her breasts, and fifteen if you wanted her to swallow.

The Weasley's were mildly wealthy at one point while the Prewett's had always been poor as dirt and Molly was a known gold digger, rumoured to have used a love potion on Arthur to get his attention, but poor money management and their businesses being destroyed in the war (or stolen by Lucius, amusingly enough), had ruined their already small fortune.

She cared little for the opinion of a dirt-poor harpy and her brood, and if Lyra becoming a second wife could achieve her long-held dream of taking the title of Lady Black, even by proxy, then that is what she would do.

She just needed to get an idea for Grayson and his personality first, as Yennefer had kept her away from her nephew... until now.