Letters

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 09: Letters

"Raum, huh?" Sirius said over the mirror. "That would be one of Yennefer's sons. I always liked Yen, even after she set me on fire for calling her that." Sirius said with a chuckle. "Dangerous, but reasonable as long as you aren't in her way... pretty sure she convinced our grandfather to properly banish me from the family to make sure her son got the Black House instead of me, but honestly that was more of a relief than an insult at the time."

"Could she help you get a trial?" Rose asked after a moment, making him frown slightly.

"Could she? Probably... but getting Yennefer to do anything was difficult when she was just the second daughter of the Black House... now she's the Lady of both the Black's and Raum's? I doubt she'd even give you a moment of her time, she certainly wouldn't give me a chance to speak before she threw me out. Despite her never being a Death Eater, she was a blood purist and likely still is, we never agreed on that." Sirius admitted. "She hates Death Eaters and Voldemort, but she's still as dark as they come."

"...I just don't get why Dumbledore can't get you a trial? He's the chief warlock for fuck's sake." Rose grumbled to herself as Sirius gave her a smile.

"A lot of people don't want me seeing the light of day... the Minister for one, anything that embarrasses the Ministry embarrasses him, and Fudge is perfectly capable of embarrassing himself without anyone else helping. He isn't popular enough to survive a major scandal, so he's trying to bury anything that could stain his reputation." Sirius said with a chuckle. "Especially after the fuck up at the world cup, Death Eaters attacking an international event that the Ministry swore was secure for the international guests? Fudge is definitely catching heat for that, and he can't push it all on other people, no matter how much he tries."

It did make her feel a little better to know Fudge was in a bind... 'Had to be seen doing something?'... those words alone massively stained her image of the Ministry. Tossing Hagrid in Azkaban just to look good?

"Plus, I was one of the top Aurors in the war, and I took down a lot of Death Eaters... some of them are sitting on the Wizengamot right now, and a lot of the Lords have family members I put away... or killed." Sirius admitted, making her nod, remembering his stories of the war that he told her. "Dumbledore is still powerful... but his star is waning, and he has a lot of enemies he frankly hasn't done anything about. They've been getting stronger, and he is just too passive, always has been. He honestly lacks the political pull to get me a trial now, even the major Light families don't listen to him as much nowadays. The Longbottom's are led by Augusta, and she blames Dumbledore for her son Frank's condition since he was part of the old Order, and Amelia Bones has never bought into Dumbledore's legend, besides them a lot of the old Light families were wiped out in the war, even worse a lot of them fell into Death Eater hands since almost everyone is related to someone on the 'other side', so to speak. The Death Eaters would systematically wipe out everyone else who could inherit the seat until it fell into one of their hands." Sirius explained. "The 'Light' side won the war, but the 'Dark' Families are the ones who profited the most."

"...Then could the 'Dark' get you a trial? Grayson is related to you after all." Rose asked, making him chuckle.

"Could the new Heir Black get me a trial? Maybe. As the Heir of the House Black, he would be within his right to start digging into my case, but right now he doesn't have the pull to take on the Minister and the Death Eaters in the Wizengamot." Sirius admitted. "God I hated all this politics, it's part of the reason I ran away."

"So you're saying it's possible?" Rose asked.

"Sure... if you can convince a Dark Heir, who is almost certainly a blood purist if Yennefer raised him, to take on the Ministry and the rest of the Dark Families for someone he has never met." Sirius pointed out with an amused smirk. "Don't worry about it, pup... life as a wanted criminal it isn't that bad as long as I stay out of the country."

"...I'm still going to try." Rose said mulishly after a moment making him burst into laughter.

"Of course you are, you're too much like your mother to give up. You're as stubborn as Lily ever was, when she set her mind to something, nothing could get her to change her course. Thanks, pup... even if I have my doubts anything will come of it, too many people want me gone for me to get my trial... hell, I'd probably vanish right before it if I turned myself in for it." Sirius pointed out.

"...And when you get your name cleared, I'm gonna say I told you so. A lot." Rose countered, making him laugh again.

Not only was he her way out of Privet Drive, but he was also her godfather and didn't deserve to be hunted for something Pettigrew did. Fucking rat.

"Naturally..."

- Grayson – Sunday Morning – 04/09/1994 -

Tracey left reasonably quickly after Daphne went to her room, though she did give me a rather skilful handjob before she left, and I won't be getting much sleep tonight, so I made sure to get a full nights sleep last night to help counter it.

I also have some potion supplements to help counter my late night tonight, it pays to be prepared. My trunk has hundreds of potions in stasis stored in it I've built up over the years, so I'm never caught off guard.

Waking up to a letter if reasonably common, not everyone gets their mail in the Great Hall for everyone to see, and I have an owl postbox for my mail to be dropped off at, so one of my house elves can bring it to me in my room instead. My family has over a dozen of the creatures, and two of them are assigned to me.

Waking up to five letters is somewhat unusual, however. Usually, I get letters from various mailing lists, invitations to balls and the like, the scarce marriage offer that got sent to me instead of mother, letters from mother about family business, and the equally rare personal letter from someone who isn't family.

Usually my cousin, Nymphadora.

Our mothers are on decent terms, so that means we are... kinda close? She enjoys trying to make me react and goes to ridiculous lengths to achieve it. Honestly, she reminds me of Astoria, and I just don't know how to deal with the peppy Metamorphmagus... also, she's a junior Auror, and I am not precisely law-abiding.

Starting my letters, I open up the one I recognise. A letter on expensive parchment bearing the Black and Raum family seal. My senses are rather strong as a demon, and I can even pick up mothers perfume of choice, lilacs and elderberries, from the letter.

Dearest Grayson.

It has been brought to my attention that I have been... lacking in your etiquette training, and due to your new position as Heir of two noble houses, you cannot afford to embarrass yourself at the countless events you will be required to attend.

In ordinary circumstances, I might be thankful that someone brought this error in your education to my attention, however your Aunt Narcissa is a manipulative bitch with an agenda, and as such I am only irritated.

She has 'convinced' me to allow her to become your etiquette teacher, and will no doubt be contacting you to arrange a time for her to come to Hogwarts and teach you, however, be warned, she is both a lesser member of the Lodge and the wife of an Inner Circle Death Eater, not only that she is also a self-entitled brat who is still bitter that I became Lady Black. She will seek to either spy on or use you for her own goals, but she also represents an opportunity for you to gain a set of eyes in two camps that will seek to use you, I will leave the method to you, but know that I have no love for my sister and do not care what you do to her.

I have faith that you can handle her, as she was never as smart as she believed she was.

Your Mother, Yennefer.

Like mother like daughter, huh? Lyra has to get her undeserved arrogance and superiority complex from somewhere.

She has a point however, I barely know how to dance, and I have avoided most balls and galas due to being the fourth child of the family, now I'm the Heir I don't have a choice for a lot of them, it would embarrass the family for me not to be there.

It'll be an intriguing challenge to turn an older woman who is already an established problem, but I think I can manage it if I play my cards right.

Picking another letter of the top of the pile, I open it up at start reading.

Is your wand size too small-

Burning the letter, I make a note to send a cursed reply back later, I could have sworn I got myself taken off that mailing list after Damian signed me up for it... so many spam letters.

I got him back by signing him up for a Goblin Leather Fetish club. It was amusing watching him throw up in the middle of breakfast after they sent him the introduction package. The letter, and pictures, ended up spreading around the table... so many traumatised first years. Good times.

Then he got me a lifetime subscription to the Quibbler, and I can't get them to stop sending me their magazines, they have good Rune puzzles though, and some of the articles are amusing enough.

Moving on, I pick up the letter with the overly large, golden seal of the Malfoy crest, someone is over-compensating for the triviality of their minor House...

Dear Heir Grayson Vesemir Raum-Black

Hopefully, by now your mother has already sent her letter on ahead, but allow me to introduce myself. I am your Aunt, on your mother's side, Lady Narcissa Malfoy-Black, and while we haven't had the pleasure of meeting in person due to your mother's insistence, I have certainly heard so much about you from both your mother and my own daughter, Lyra.

As my sister should have told you by now, it has been arranged for me to teach you the skills necessary for you to thrive in the upper-class society of the Magical World, a skill set you so desperately require with your new titles and position.

It has already been arranged with the Hogwarts Board of Governors for me to be allowed to visit you at school to teach you these essential skills and talents, all that is left is for us to arrange a time for the lessons to take place.

With the exception of any upcoming social events, I have cleared my schedule, making it free and flexible for your convenience, so please send a reply with your preferred days, two sessions a week should surface for now, with the possibility for more if the need arises, as you have likely fallen behind the other Heirs your age.

Awaiting your reply, Narcissa.

She's... pretty good at this game.

Her focus on how vital her lessons are for me, and how much I should have already known these skills are obviously aimed at making me feel like Yen has failed me somehow by not arranging these lessons sooner, while making me feel grateful that she is willing to help teach me. Plus claiming she cleared her schedule for me... when she is a minor Noble without a career, meaning she probably just spends her time either at home, socialising or at various leisure activities. She makes it sound like she's going out of her way to do me a great favour... when she is the one who requested this.

Also, using my full name is reasonably unusual for 'family', even mother barely uses my middle name, named after my father's mentor, not that I ever met the man.

Writing out a quick, but well worded and proper, reply, I mark Tuesday and Thursday as the days for these new classes. I'll have to get a better grasp on Narcissa's personality in our first lesson, but manipulation is a lot harder to do when the victim knows you are planning it, and she's already had her claws dulled.

Not that she is harmless, obviously.

Lucius Malfoy is not only a former member of the Dark Lord's inner circle, something worth keeping track of with a Death Eater lurking in Hogwarts, but he is also the Minister's personal advisor, and while he is only a very minor noble he has quite a lot of pull in the Ministry... less than he would have due to my mother continually weakening his position, but still enough to make things uncomfortable for me if he wants to.

Then there is the Lodge, who already moved a member of their group into Hogwarts to spy on me. Even a lesser member is worth keeping a close eye on, as she will be reporting to the Lodge's council.

Hm, it's mildly problematic, but as long as I am smart and watch my words carefully, I should be fine. I'll have to keep an eye on her, so she doesn't snoop around my private room either, there isn't much here that would incriminate me but better safe than sorry.

The next letter is on regular muggle paper, but the moment I pick it up I can feel the power coursing through it, it hasn't had any magic used on it... but it was held by someone with a ridiculous amount of power. There's a wrapped package attached to it... a large book?

Dear Gray

Maze is very, very sorr-

Okay, that's a lie, she thinks this is hilarious and says you should keep your new tattoo... but in case you want to get rid of it, it's a minor demonic brand, a cleansing potion should be enough to wipe it away, and your Grimoire should have everything you need to learn how to brew it.

Demonic Alchemy and your magical potions brewing share more than a few similarities, though you may be hard-pressed to find some of the ingredients as they can only be grown in Hell, or in a Lair as they are infused with Hell Energies.

Perhaps it is time for you to take a trip to one of the neutral realms of Hell? Essence is the main currency of Demons, and you'll find that you can buy quite literally anything in the marketplaces and auction halls of Hell. I doubt I need to tell you this, but do be careful, bartering is the nature of demons, and they will try to gouge you of all your Essence if they realise your inexperience.

You are a demon lord, young and inexperienced admittedly, but a demon lord, all the same, do not allow lesser demons to cheat you.

I've decided to send you a Grimoire of my own, one I think you'll find interesting. I've long since mastered everything within it, and it is a fairly common one that you could find in the Demonic Marketplace easily enough.

Consider it a gift, Lucifer Morningstar.

PS, Maze sends her love.

Under it, in a more harsh handwriting, there is another message.

No, I don't, if you come back to Lux, your ass is mine. You still owe me a new corset.

...What did I do to Maze to piss her off so much?

Also... Go to Hell? That's his advice.

That's... how do I even do that? I'll have to search through the Grimoire to look into these neutral realms before I try anything like that.

Opening the package up, I stare at the writing on the front of the large leather tome with slight disbelief.

The Art of Eromancy, a guide to the sexual arts.

...I'll look through it later.

Also... I am a demon lord? And yet my Grimoire calls me a Lesser Demon? Somehow I doubt Lucifer of all people is mistaken, but the Grimoire is bound to me so can it be wrong?

No, I'm missing something here... I need to do more research.

Opening the final letter, I feel myself frown at the loopy handwriting of the short note...

Dear Grayson

I would like to extend an invitation for us to have a little sit down, so to speak. I believe we could both benefit from such a discussion. Please come to my office sometime today.

Albus Dumbledore

PS, I am particularly fond of Acid Pops

What does Dumbledore want with me... I've never even really spoken to him before. I have always been under his radar... but then I wasn't the Heir of my family previously. I know Damian has met with him before, so maybe this is something he does for all Heirs?

Okay, calm down... so far I haven't done anything that would draw any real suspicion, I have no reason to think this is a trap, and declining his invitation, while acceptable, would just draw suspicion onto myself.

I just need to... strengthen my mental shields and go and see what this is about. I am Grayson Raum-Black, a reasonably normal but intelligent fourth year Slytherin student, nothing to be suspicious of. No demons here, just a regular student.

I'll head to see him in a couple of hours or so.

Hearing a knock on my door, I put away my letters in a charmed box and open the door with a flick of my wand, giving the girl on the other side a raised eyebrow.

"Come in, Miss Parkinson." I say calmly, waiting for her to step in before I close the door again, my privacy wards activating as it shuts.

"We need to talk." Pansy says quickly making my eyebrow raise slightly as I stare at her from my seat. "If anyone asks, you told me I had to come here this morning."

"...And what do we have to talk about? I was under the impression I was the one in charge of our little relationship." I drawl calmly, making her flush.

"You are... and I'm doing what you told me to. Lyra has told me to distract you tonight, so she can go for your pet mudblood." Pansy says quickly making me frown.

"Lyra can't get through my wards, she's certainly tried before, and she couldn't get into my room last year, what chance does she have of getting past the improved ward set I have around Juliet's?" I ask, more to myself than anyone else.

"She's paid a seventh year to take the wards down, she wants to make you look weak by showing you can't protect her after your words." Pansy admits after a moment.

"Ah, that makes more sense... that could be a bit of a problem, but I can deal with it. You have my thanks, Pansy." I say graciously, making her cheeks darken slightly.

I'm not surprised Lyra is acting so quickly, she never has been one for patience... and more importantly, the sooner it happens, the weaker I look. If Juliet gets attacked a couple of days after I take her under my protection than I look inept and my words lose their power. It's a decent plan on Lyra's part.

"T-that's helpful, right?" Pansy asks, making me nod.

"It is, you have done surprisingly well." I admit, making her straighten up.

"Then I want a reward." Pansy says immediately making me stare at her.

"You do remember that you are basically my slave, correct? You are in no position to ask for anything." I point out, watching her clench her fists at the reminder of her position. "What exactly were you hoping for?"

"A painting of me... a proper one, not a nude one." Pansy admits as she fidgets in place.

"...If you continue to perform admirably, I will consider your request." I say after a moment, making her brighten up. "But I suggest you remember your place, you do not make demands of me, Pansy..." I say with a cold tone, watching as she flinches back.

Carrot and the stick.

"I... sorry, Grayson." Pansy says quickly, flinching as I stand up and prowl towards her.

"I don't mind rewarding good behaviour..." I say smoothly, before my tone turns harsh. "But I also have no issue punishing bad behaviour..." I warn as I stare down at her. I barely have a couple of inches on her, but it still gets my message across as she nods rapidly. "From now on, whenever we are in private, you will refer to me as Sir, is that clear?"

I need to keep her in line, she has a superiority complex, and she will need constant reminders of her position to keep her arrogance from working against me.

"I... Yes, S-Sir." Pansy agrees shakily, her face flushing with embarrassment as she does so.

"Good girl... Now, is that everything?" I ask, making her nod quickly with another quiet 'Yes Sir'. "You can't leave just yet, not if people are expecting you to be in my room for a while... so you may stay in my room until it isn't suspicious for you to leave."

"T-thank you... Sir." Pansy stutters out.

"However, I have come to another decision... while you are in my room, I expect you to be naked unless I say otherwise." I continue as her eyes widen. "Will that be a problem?"

"I... No, Sir." Pansy says submissively. Playing her cowardice against her arrogance is fun, I need to keep her afraid and obedient because she is naturally a stuck up bitch with a far too large ego.

"Then why are you still dressed?" I ask simply, watching as she hesitates before she slowly undoes her robe.

Standing back, I watch her slowly and hesitantly strip naked once again, exposing her slim pale body. She pauses once she is down to her underwear, but after a defeated sigh, removes those as well.

"Beautiful..." I say calmly, reaching forwards and placing my hand on her small breast, gently stroking the soft flesh as she turns bright red. Despite the blatant groping, I watch as she straightens up slightly, a pleased look in her eyes, even if she tries to hide it.

She has a bit of a complex over her looks thanks to her fiancée not being attracted to her, so complimenting her is an excellent way to keep her in line. She isn't getting compliments from anyone else, and it plays to her prideful nature, so she'll want to keep coming back for more.

It's a balancing act, of sorts. Keeping her obedient, and her pride down while also flattering her to gain her affection and turn her need for acknowledgement towards myself.

"Now, I am going to have my elf bring me some breakfast... have you eaten?" I ask, making her shake her head quickly, not speaking even as I molest her breasts. "I see, Silsy." I order, making one of my House Elves pop into the room, Pansy jumping back and covering herself.

"Master called?" Silsy asked, tilting her head.

"My guest and I require breakfast, something heavier than my usual fare I think." I order calmly.

"Of course, Master! Right away." the Elf says quickly, popping away.

"Your mother lets you use your family elf?" Pansy asks after a moment, even as my small table in my room suddenly rearranges itself, a small buffet of breakfast foods appearing on it.

"Silsy is one of my two elves, everyone in my family has a couple of personal elves, and we have a few more to take care of more general things." I admit as I take a seat, gesturing to the other seat for her even as her eyes widen in shock. House Elves aren't cheap, even the more upper-class families only have one or two... having so many is a clear sign of wealth, though most of ours are bred by our family instead of being bought.

As I start eating, I gently rub my foot up and down Pansy's leg, watching her face flush even as she stays silent, eating quietly and not mentioning how my foot slowly makes its way up her leg.

- Pansy -

"Is it done? Can you keep him distracted?" Lyra asked quickly as she pulled Pansy into her room, having been waiting for her to leave Grayson's.

Trying to ignore her arousal leaking down her leg from Grayson's teasing, she nodded.

"I can, he ordered me to come back to his room tonight anyway so as long as you don't trigger any of his alert wards he won't notice anything until it's too late." Pansy lied, watching as Lyra bought it immediately, too arrogant to consider her plans could fail.

"Excellent, I had my doubts you could actually do something right, but it looks like I was wrong for once." Lyra said idly, not noticing the way Pansy glowered at her before she schooled her expression. "Hurting Grayson would be good, but sending a message to that know-it-all bitch at the same time? It's going to be amazing." Lyra said happily.

"Still that upset you didn't make the top ten?" Pansy asked, satisfied as Lyra's smile faded to a glower instantly.

"Shut up, you didn't even make the top fifty, you barely made the top one hundred. Millicent got better grades than you, and she's practically part troll." Lyra growled. "Any worse and you'd be at the same level as Crabbe and Goyle... besides, if you were smart you wouldn't be Grayson's pet sex slave, would you?" Lyra spat out venomously, she never did like people pointing out her failures.

And Pansy knew how... displeased Lucius Malfoy was to see that his daughter wasn't in the top ten, a list that gets published by the Ministry and can get the families of the students some prestige.

"Whatever, what are you going to do to the Mudblood?" Pansy asked, changing the subject.

"I've been reading up on long-lasting curses, I want to make sure everyone sees how powerless Grayson was to protect her. I want to break her and make her flee the school, to make it clear that Mudbloods aren't welcome here." Lyra said, making Pansy nod.

She might be on Grayson's side, but that didn't mean she didn't agree with Lyra.

- Grayson -

"Come in, my boy, take a seat. Would you like a lemon drop?" Albus Dumbledore said happily as I walk into his office, taking my first look around it as I take in the dozens of portraits, the various artefacts and the ancient tomes lining the bookcases.

There's also an empty perch over to the side.

Glancing at the small silver bowl of sweets on his desk, I remember the rumours that he drugs his sweets with truth serum... using my eyes I hold back the urge to roll them.

An Enchanted Bowl connected to a giant stash of Lemon Drops in the Headmasters private chambers.

Regular Lemon Drops, bought at a muggle store.

"Yes, thank you." I say, taking one of the sour sweets, watching as he beams at me. I am not using my eyes on him... not when Su Li noticed me using them on her, but I think I can use them on his bowl without it being a problem.

"Ahh, so very few people actually accept my offer. Oddly enough, the last person to accept was your brother." Albus says with a chuckle.

"Damian has always had a sweet tooth, it runs in the family." I admit as I pop the sweet into my mouth. "May I ask what you called me here for, Headmaster?" I ask as I meet his eyes, shoring up my mental defences in preparation for the Legilimency probe... that never comes.

"Several things, my boy. First of all, as part of my duties as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I make sure to greet all of the Heirs of families that have seats. As you are no doubt aware, you are permitted, but not required, to sit in on our meetings to help you prepare for your future role amongst us, and we meet once a month, though the date changes and there can be emergency sessions. You will receive a letter with the date on it at least a week in advance unless it is an emergency session in which case you could get as little as an hour warning." Albus explains as my panic fades, I had hoped it would be something like this. "Again, you are not obligated to attend, but I would recommend it, so you are not simply dropped into the deep end, so to speak, when you take your titles. Naturally, you will be excused from class for any meetings, and the teachers have already been informed, and somehow I doubt you will struggle due to a missed class or two a month." he chuckles.

"I see, I do think I will be attending as many meetings as possible, most people have longer to prepare, but this was rather... dropped on me." I admit as I suck on the sweet... they are pretty nice even if I prefer magical sweets.

"Wonderful, now secondly... in regards to your new betrothal." Albus starts as my eyes narrow, my family business is certainly none of his business. "As a betrothed Heir, you have the option to take a private suite to give yourself and your betrothed more privacy. This is a policy that leads back to the Founders themselves after Godric Gryffindor's own son was betrothed to Helga Hufflepuff's daughter." Albus explains kindly, clearly noticing my anger. "The suite supplied is enchanted to provide as many rooms as necessary as it was common for Heirs to bring their servants to school at the time.

"Hmm... why haven't I heard of this before? I know at least two other couples in a betrothal." I point out.

"In some cases, the betrothed couple refused the private suite, for one reason or another, and in many cases, the betrothal is supposed to be kept secret, and as such, they didn't take the suite to keep their status hidden. There are seven other couples using the private suites at the moment, though they are all older than you, and often it is used for couples that are in separate houses. The charter also specifies Heirs, and often the betrothed couples are not the Heirs of their families." Albus explains, making me nod in agreement.

A lot of betrothals are to make a political alliance between families, and often they are kept secret until the families are ready to reveal it. It's common to use second or third sons and daughters for betrothals as well, since they are 'less valuable'.

"I see, thank you. I'll have to discuss this with my betrothed before coming to a decision." I say making him smile.

"It's a smart man who doesn't try and make every decision alone, though in this case I would suggest you take the room... if not for your sake then for the sake of Miss Granger." Albus says making me frown. "As she is under your protection, you would be allowed to take her into your private suites, much like Miss Davis could come with you. The suites will provide as many rooms as necessary, and Miss Greengrass could have her own room is she desired, you'll find the rooms more... luxurious than even the Slytherin private rooms."

"You're worried about Juliet?" I ask, as some things fall into place.

"Indeed, in truth I had considered arranging for her to transfer to another school when she was sorted into Slytherin, as historically there has never been a muggleborn student that lasted until their owls in Slytherin, and even I cannot tamper with the Sorting Hat, it will always send people where it believes they should go, but I decided not to after word spread of your own actions. It was a courageous thing you did, protecting her against your housemates." Albus says approvingly.

"...I had my reasons." I admit after a moment, making him chuckle.

"Naturally, Severus does like teaching his students to not do anything unless it benefits them, and I'm sure Lady Raum-Black has done the same... but it was a good thing all the same, regardless of your intentions." he says kindly with a small smile.

"In that case, I'll take the private rooms. Daphne isn't so sociable that she'll want to stay in the common room anyway, as long as she can take Tracey with her." I say making him nod.

"Of course, the private suites are on the seventh floor, and yours will have the Raum and Greengrass family crest on the door. You can set your own password when you first enter, and there will be a small guide leaflet on how to add more rooms if you require them, Hogwarts will provide after all... I do believe it was Rowena Ravenclaw who designed it on Godric's request." Albus says calmly.

"Thank you, will that be all, Headmaster?" I ask, making him smile.

"For now, my boy... for now." Albus says gently. "But my door is always open if you have any questions."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." I say, rising from my seat. "I'll take my leave if there is nothing else. I have quite a bit to do today, after all."

"Of course, it was a pleasure to speak with you, at last, my boy."

- Albus -

Grayson was certainly more polite than his siblings, quite the likeable young man...

And one whose magic had grown stronger over the summer.

It was subtle, but there was a definite but small increase in his magical reserves and potency.

Something that didn't just happen naturally...

The Raum's have always had powerful children, and he had long suspected that they had a method of increasing their own power, so was it possible that as the Heir, Grayson now had access to such a method?

No-one really knew what the Raum family magic was, and while most families had their family magic well know, such as the Weasley's fertility magic or the Blacks deadly curses, the Raum's family magic was kept secret all these years, something he had never been able to discover.

Grayson became the Heir, then his magic started to improve, and he was likely trying to keep it a secret. It all added up... but it also made him reconsider his old opinion on Grayson.

He'd writing Grayson off as a potential dark lord purely due to his weakness, but if he had a way to increase his power than it was a possibility that he was indeed a potential future threat.

He didn't want to think so, but Britain could not survive another dark lord, not with Voldemort's shadow still hanging over them, and as such it fell to him to ensure that the young genius did not go the way of so many other geniuses.

As such, giving him some additional benefits such as the far better private suite, would only give the young man a positive image of him. He'd use the next few years to make sure he didn't repeat his mistakes with Tom again.

He should never have been so... suspicious of Tom, never realising how his constant paranoia pushed the young man further and further into darkness, and he should have listened to his request to stay at Hogwarts over the summer, or at least found another place for him to stay.

A mistake he may be repeating with Rose, but the magic of her mother's sacrifice was something even he didn't truly understand, and it had already saved her life at least once, possibly more.

He kept a very close eye on the Dursleys, and even the slightest hint of real abuse would be crushed mercilessly. Rose may not like her chores and the strict way Petunia treated her, but she wasn't abused, and as such he couldn't risk letting Lily's sacrifice be lost because Rose didn't want to spend the summer doing chores without magic.

Something Sirius understood, even if Rose disliked it.

Rose was a girl filled with anger at the world, and in truth, he was more concerned about her than he was anyone else in the school. Her power and temper made a dangerous combination, and all attempts to teach her Occlumency to help her control herself had failed, as she had no talent for the mind arts whatsoever.

Grayson Raum and Rose Potter, they were undoubtedly two young students to keep an eye on, for better or worse.

- Grayson -

Tracking down my new suite, I have to admit... I am impressed.

The furniture here is a match for my own home, and it already has four room prepared, and there is some strange magic at work here as I was able to add a fifth with a little manipulating of a small map of the suite.

I've set the password to Amethyst, for now, I considered making it something Demon related, but that would be retarded.

I've also scanned every inch of this place for spying or scrying charms, but I think I might be being a bit too paranoid since I found nothing except a very, very old one above the master bed.

Like, four hundred years old, and utterly defunct after so long.

"Perhaps there is a benefit to this relationship after all?" Daphne admits as she takes a seat in one of the enchanted chairs in the living area, nodding in approval. "I would have preferred you ask first... but I'll let it pass if the bedrooms are half as impressive as the living room." she deadpans as she sinks into the magically comfy seat.

"Living it large, huh? Damn... this place is nice." Tracey admits with a smirk as she looks around. "Have you two seen the bathroom yet? It has a massive bath like in her prefect's bathroom.

"...when did you see the prefects bath?" Daphne asks suspiciously, making Tracey smile mysteriously. "Ignoring the idiot, you do realise the error you have made, right Grayson?" Daphne asks with a hint of amusement.

"...Have I missed something?" I ask, my mind racing before the door bursts open, a sense of pure dread filling me.

"Gray!" Astoria shouts as she leaps at me, hanging from me as she wraps her arms around my neck. "So this is our new suite?"

Oh no... Oh, no, no, no... Please No.

"With me here, I couldn't risk leaving Astoria alone in Slytherin... so I've had to bring her here." Daphne points out, the first real look of amusement I've seen on her face. "You brought this on yourself, I'm afraid..."

"Brought what on himself?" Astoria asks as I try and pry the brat from me. "This is gonna be so fun! I can't get into your room for some reason, Gray but now I can see you whenever I want!"

Lord Lucifer, please protect me from this evil...

- Lucifer -

...Did Grayson just pray to him?

For safety from a twelve year old girl?

Well, there was a first time for everything.

- Grayson -

"Back! Get off me you demon midget!" I say, pulling her off me as she grins up at me. "If you'll all excuse me, I need to ward the master bedroom enough to hold off an army." I say as I flee with my pride mangled.

Some things are more important than mere pride.

I'm leaving Juliet in her room for tonight, so I can catch Lyra, then when I move her, I'll make it seem like I'm doing it because she was attacked to improve her image of me even further.

Spending the next couple of hours hard at work warding the ever-loving Hell out of both my room and the suite in general, I have to admit... even with certain gremlins having far greater ability to torment me, this suite could work out much better in the long run.

Eventually, one of the other residents of my new suite shows up with her usual scowl, though slightly smaller than usual.

"It's... more than acceptable, I suppose. I'm warding my own room though." Morrigan says immediately after she arrives, looking over my own ward scheme. "I like my privacy."

"That's fine, pick any of the empty rooms." I say calmly, getting a nod from her.

"I will, are we still on for tonight?" Morrigan asks, a hint of enthusiasm in her tone.

"We are, but I need to deal with something else first, have you got your sleep supplement? We probably won't get to sleep before classes." I point out.

"I do, I'll be ready and waiting. Even I haven't gone that far into the Forest." she says quietly, aware that the others are just a room away as they explore and leave me to my warding. "No one seems to know what is in the depths of it, and there are no records."

Astoria was bugging me, but I pointed out that I needed to focus on keeping our rooms safe and Daphne distracted her, realising that I was right and that this was more important than her amusement.

"It's not that surprising, the Forest was here first after all. The founders built Hogwarts here to take advantage of the abundance of magic, but all attempts to 'tame' the forest have ended in almost complete failure." I agree.

"We will succeed." Morrigan says confidently.

"Naturally, as long as we are careful. If we aren't, the forest will chew us up and spit us back out, if we are lucky." I point out, getting a firm nod from her. "Tonight is just an opening expedition, to test the waters and see what is beyond the mapped out and recorded sections."

"...I have to admit, I've been looking forwards to it." Morrigan says, very hesitantly as I smile at her.

"As have I, sister. As have I..." I agree. "Do try and play nice with the others, please?" I ask making her scoff as she glances at where Tracey and Astoria's voice is coming from.

"...I'll try." Morrigan replies, precisely zero faith in her voice. "Has Keira finished the ritual to power us up?"

"I have no idea, she's avoiding me for some reason." I admit making her scoff.

"The elves can move my things to my new room... I'll go find the idiot." Morrigan decides, picking a room at random and leaving the suite quickly, determination in her step.

...Whoops?

Sorry Keira, but you shouldn't have been avoiding me... I'm sure you'll be fine?

- Later -

"Are the ropes really necessary?" I ask as I look over Morrigan's prey, bound to a chair in tight ropes as she stares at us with a grin.

We are in Morrigan's new room, under privacy wards. Family business, after all.

"She kept trying to escape." Morrigan says with a shrug, Keira's wand in her hand.

"I did not! I was in the middle of something before you kidnapped me, if you'd have given me five minutes I would have come willingly." Keira counters making Morrigan shrug.

"Right, first of all... Marietta?" I say, watching Keira laugh.

"Did you like it? Marietta couldn't look me in the eye after she got back, it was hilarious." Keira giggles.

"Really, Keira? How did you even convince one of your friends to whore herself out?" I ask, making her grin.

"Friend? I don't even like the bitch, she's a manipulative cunt who has been taking advantage of Cho for years, everyone knows it, but Cho won't listen. They've known each other for too long for Cho to doubt here... I just liked the idea of the bitch whoring herself out hilarious, and are you saying you don't want a cute red-head that will suck you off on command?" Keira counters.

"...I still would have preferred some warning." I say sternly. "I don't mind independent action, but I want to be informed over what you are up to."

"Yeah, yeah..." Keira replies easily.

"You're too soft on her, Grayson. You are her master, not just her loving little brother." Morrigan points out, making Keira scowl at her slightly. "You know full well she will do it again if she thinks it will be funny."

"...damn it Keira. She's right, isn't she?" I ask, knowing my sister well enough to know she speaks the truth.

"You could order me not to?" Keira offers, making me shake my head.

"I don't want to rely on orders, and you're smart enough to find loopholes... Morrigan, unbind her." I order after a moment.

As Keira stands, now unbound I frown at her.

"Keira... go over to the bed and bend over it, then pull your trousers down."

"You... can't be serious?" Keira asks, even as her body obeys my orders. "I'm fifteen, I'm a bit too old for a spanking." she reasons, even as her trousers are pulled down, exposing her pale ass barely covered by a small blue thong.

"Stick your ass out more." I order as I approach, gripping her thong and yanking it off her, making her yelp in surprise.

"Dammit Gray, I liked those panties." Keira grumbles, going silent as my hand rests on her firm backside, giving it a squeeze.

"Thirty spanks since this is your first offence... You will count them." I order sternly as she looks back at me with wide eyes, realising that yes, I am indeed serious.

I can see Morrigan smirking triumphantly as I draw my hand back, and with a burst of demonic strength, bring it back down, making her yelp loudly as her buttocks ripple from the blow.

There's already a red mark forming where I struck her.

"O-one..." Keira says quietly, yelping again as I move over to her other side. "T-two..."

"You've needed a good spanking for years, Keira... maybe you'd have been less eager to talk back to your betters if mother had bent you over her knee." Morrigan mocks as I continue spanking her.

"Need I remind you that you could be bent over next to her, Morrigan?" I say sternly, making her pale as she immediately shuts up. "You may watch, quietly."

Speeding up my spanks, I have to admit... it's a good feeling to have my bratty sister yelping as I turn her pale ass red, I love Keira... don't get me wrong, but she is absolutely a brat who is used to getting her way.

I'm thinking that I am going to need to find a reason to have my bitchy sister bent over with her ass stuck out as well... and maybe my stern, strict mother.

For number twenty-five, I aim my spank carefully, hitting her directly on her surprisingly wet pussy, making her let out a moan that didn't sound very pained.

"You forgot to count." I point out as her eyes widen in shock, Morrigan chuckling to herself. "Starting again... try not to mess up this time."

Speeding through them, we get to thirty with little problem this time, even as I go for some special hits to try and throw her off, and as she pulls up her trousers, having repaired her thong with a spell, I give her a tight hug.

"If you want punishing... you could just ask." I whisper into her ear as her eyes widen. "Demon, remember? I'm very good at spotting lust."

Watching her face burn with embarrassment, I smile to myself in amusement. Keira got off on being spanked, and Morrigan got off on watching. A masochist and a sadist? Doesn't that have potential?

"Now, back to business." I say calmly. "The ritual?"

"Almost done, I've finished my end, and I sent it to mother to double check, as soon as she says it's okay we can go through with it." Keira admits, rubbing her sore backside slowly.

"Then, we are one step closer to gathering the power we need." Morrigan says, actually sounding happy for once.

"I also finished a side project I thought could help us..." Keira admits, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pair of simple silver rings. "Ignore the plainness, I'll work on it later." she says, passing the ring over to me.

After a moment of hesitation, I slide it onto my left hands ring finger, opposite my heir ring.

Watching as she slides her own on, I stare at it before I jump slightly.

'Can you hear me?' Keira's voice asks, her lips not moving.

"What... was that?" I ask, making her grin.

We needed a way to keep in touch despite the different houses, though this was before you got your own suite, and I decided to... repurpose an old spell to make these. When I'm fully finished, we will all have a ring that lets us all communicate mentally no matter the distance, I got the idea from a story about some enchanted mirrors that let the users talk over a distance. I want to make a 'Master Ring', or maybe an Amulet, with other abilities instead of just sending messages, like tracking the other rings or letting you send a summons, and I want to work out some charms to keep the rings hidden, maybe even give them some extra abilities before I start making them in greater numbers. For now, it's just for me, Morrigan, Mother and you, but there'll be more of us in the future so you'll need a way to keep in touch with everyone. I also want to work out a better design, and maybe get the rings custom forged if we can find someone... discreet." Keira says proudly as we both stare at her in shock. "Oh come on, I can work hard when I want to." she says, seeing our looks of disbelief.

"These are... amazing." I admit, looking down at the plain silver ring on my finger in wonder as she smirks at me. "Do you need any help with them?"

"Nope, this is my pet project while I wait for mother to check over the ritual, I want to handle it." Keira says as she smiles proudly at me.

"You've done wonderfully, Keira... I'm sorry I doubted you." I say, giving her another hug. I can literally feel the pride radiating off her, even if Pride isn't something I can draw on.

...I can certainly feel the envy coming from behind me as well.

- Later -

Laying on my bed in my old room, I groan slightly as Pansy massages me inexperiencedly, her movements are too rough and too harsh, but she's slowly getting better.

I've set a separate surveillance spell on the wall opposite Juliet's room, so I'll know when they act.

"Gentler, Pansy..." I order as I lay there in my boxers, I have a slave girl I might as well use her. "Oww! You know what, I'll just get Tracey to do it later." I say as I go to sit up.

"Wait! It's not my fault I don't know how to do this, it's so... muggle." Pansy complains as I frown at her. "I don't know what I'm doing, and you can't just say 'Massage me' and expect me to do it perfectly." she points out.

"...I'll get you a book on massage methods, but I expect to see improvement if you want that painting." I say after a moment, admitting mentally that she has a point.

"...Fine, is there anything else you want... Sir? Or is it time." Pansy asks after a moment, still naked due to my orders. I want her used to being naked in my presence, and constant exposure... in more ways than one, is an excellent way to do it.

"She hasn't moved yet, she's still in the common room." I say after a moment of checking my spells, they'll get discovered and removed soon but I intend to do it myself after this is over. "So we have some time." I say looking at her for a moment as I decide what to do. "Lay down on your back." I order, watching her hesitantly obey as she takes my place. "As someone who is going to be married soon enough, I think massaging is a skill I will need to keep my future wife happy... you don't mind being my practice doll, do you?" I ask as I look over her naked body.

"N-no... Sir." Pansy replies, as I try something new. With a mixture of Legilimency and Compulsion charms, I plant the thought that Theodore wouldn't go out of his way to learn something for her, increasing her bitterness.

I don't really care about their relationship, but this is a test in using compulsion charms to manipulate peoples minds. She did say she didn't mind being my practice doll after all...

Starting with her feet, I gently knead the flesh and start making my way up. Massages seem like a solid, cheap method of rewarding people if I get good enough with them, and better yet, they can ignite lust despite being 'innocent'.

I could easily talk Shani into letting me massage her, after all. One good innocent massage could make her come back for more, healing is a stressful job after all, and I could slowly push the boundaries until she is naked in my bed as I play with her body.

Thinking about it, my art might be a good method as well if I get better. There are surprisingly few legitimate wizarding artists (the portraits don't count since they are drawn with magic and only activate upon the user's death), and upper-class people do like having paintings of themselves.

Working my way up her leg slowly, I reach her upper thigh as she whimpers, occasionally asking her for feedback, even as my knuckles brush against her slowly dampening slit, drawing out moans and desperate gasps as I touch her like she's never been touched before.

Moving to her stomach, I smirk at her disappointed whimper as my fingers leave her mound, gently working their way up to her breasts, her nipples hard as rock by the time my hands reach them.

Just as I am about to massage her small but incredibly perky chest, I move back making her eyes widen.

"Lyra's moving... stay here." I order, tossing on a silver and green dressing gown, slightly open to show my lack of clothing to make it 'clear' what was happening before I was distracted.

The small reminder of my house loyalties will help as well, even something as small as wearing house colours on my dressing gown and boxers.

Time to get to work.

- Lyra -

"Well?" Lyra asked impatiently, making the seventh year give her a glare. "I'm not paying you to stare the door, I'm paying you to open it... so why isn't it open yet?"

"You need to shut up about things you don't understand, if I knew it was this complicated I would have charged you much more." Melissa said. "There are almost a dozen alert wards all tied together, and I need to detach them carefully otherwise it'll set the whole thing off. Are you sure this was made by a fourth year?"

"Yes, are you so incompetent you can't beat a fourteen years old boys ward?" Lyra asked, irritated at another person telling her how much better Grayson was compared to her. "Ugh, you're supposed to be one of the best at this in Slytherin, and I can't get Morrigan to do it."

She hated this standing around, and Crabbe and Goyle looked like they were going to fall asleep, Millicent at least seemed awake... possibly? It was hard to read the trolls face.

"I can do it, it'll just take some time unless you'd rather I set off the alarms." Melissa Fudge said with a scowl.

"It's a bit late for that." a cold, yet somehow amused voice, said drawing all their attention, Melissa's wand flying from her hand after a flash of red light. "Good evening, Lyra... nice night?" Grayson asked, as he pocketed Melissa's wand in his silky dressing gown, his own wand resting in his hand.

Despite the casual greeting, he was in a fairly professional duelling stance, on guard for any attacks.

"Ugh! You're so useless." Lyra growled, glaring at the incompetent older girl.

"No... I didn't trigger the alarms, I'm sure I didn't." Melissa defended, making Grayson smirk.

"You didn't.. but Lyra triggered the surveillance charm I had watched the door." Grayson admitted, making her pale. "Having back up plans is one of the most important parts of being cunning after all, never throw all your eggs into one basket." he said with a casual smirk.

Reaching for her own wand, her eyes widened as it flew out of her pocket and into Grayson's hand without a single spell from him, watching in shock as he waved it at her mockingly.

"As is hiding your true potential..." Grayson continued, as Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other in confusion and doubt, Millicent actually stepping back in fear of the cold smile on his face.

- Grayson -

And Keira said spending the better part of a year learning to use the Accio spell wandlessly and silently was a waste of my time...

Who's wasting their time now, Keira?

- Bonus Scene – Satiating Ciri's needs -

Demonic Essence was, without any doubt, the most important thing for a demon.

It was what they used to get stronger, it was their sustenance, it gave them their powers... it was the difference between a Demon Lord and a regular Demon.

Demon Lords were special for a few reasons, but the biggest one was how fast they could accumulate Essence in comparison to regular demons. A demon lord could make more Essence in a single night than others could in years. Demons sworn to a demon lord could produce more, but it was a still much slower process.

She was not a demon lord, her father was... and as long as he lived she would remain an ordinary demon, though admittedly a powerful one, unless she managed to gain her own realm and empower herself with it.

Her father had been paranoid, and for her entire life he had used his position over her to take the Essence she managed to accumulate, not wanting to give her a way to escape him. It was common for Demon Lords to take their follower's Essence as tribute, after all.

Now she was free, she could slowly accumulate her own Essence and use it as she pleased, hopefully to find a way out of her predicament, even if she couldn't go to any of the neutral realms of Hell with her brand from Gaunter.

But Essence didn't just appear from nowhere, and she had to work for it...

"Merlin, Ciri..." Bea panted, resting against Ciri, as naked as Ciri herself. It was cute that her freckles went all the way down.

Thankfully, she was still a demon, and she had her ways.