December 10th, 2010. Ryan's Manor, London, England, 7:00 PM BST
We got home and I considered contacting Daphne right away. We didn't have the exact spell to break the curse though, just the book, so I decided to do some solo research to find what we needed. I wanted to have all the materials on hand to actually do it before I let her know there was hope.
Which meant I was currently curled up in bed with a ridiculously dense grimoire written in an often unreliable and erratic rambling monologue, possibly penned in human blood, and with a few punctuation marks I was pretty sure were made up. I was getting a headache.
I tried to spend time with Suzie and my mom and Seras as much as I could, but my dinner with Daphne and her family was in thirteen days, and magically significant number aside that wasn't a lot of research time. I kept slipping away to read up on the blood magic, trying to find a counterspell or anything like it, but so far, nothing.
Now I knew why Alucard hadn't just told us how to break the spell. This entire book was stream of consciousness insanity that I highly suspected was written while high, but Shaggy swore the book had real magic in it, and had even used it to cure his lycanthropy (albeit under unusual circumstances) so I persevered.
Despite my focus, I was a bit relieved when there came a rap rap rapping at my chamber door. "Nevermore." I intoned. The person on the other side didn't come in, so I just rolled my eyes. "No one in this house has a sense of humor. Come in."
The door pushed open slowly, red eyes scanning the room slowly as Seras entered, looking…pensive. "Thanks. I was hoping to talk to you."
"You know, I think that invitation thing is front door exclusive." I said with a grin. "Once you're in the house you can kind of just go wherever." If it was even true at all. I'd never actually checked.
A ghost of a smile twitched at her lips. "As if, I'd probably walk in on you flogging the dolphin or something. Give me nightmares for a year. I'll stick to knocking like a civilized person." Her brow furrowed in a grimace. "Though I suppose I'm neither of those things, now am I?"
I glared at her. "You shut your fucking cakehole." I snapped. "Nobody talks about my friend like that. Besides, I'm a literal creature of the underworld, you just have a really aggressive strain of rabies. You're not a monster, you're a make a wish kid. If anyone here isn't a person its me. I'm an abomination." I said brightly.
She just looked at me, red eyes gleaming in the shadows of my room like ruby lanterns. "That's why I'm here to talk to you." She said firmly.
"To tell me I'm an abomination?" I asked breezily."Because you're a bit late, but I'll make a note."
Her eyes never left me. "To talk to you about being a devil. You wanted to turn me, right? Make me a…devil vampire, or whatever. So I could help you. Is that why you had your mum take me in? Why you've been so good to me?"
"Nah, that was mostly guilt." I said bluntly. "Plus your tits are huge. I'm a multi faceted creature, I do things for many reasons."
She actually snorted out a laugh at that, my brutal honesty breaking her composure. She shook her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "God you're such an arsehole." She giggled. "Can you EVER be serious?"
"Impossible. He's my uncle." My words came out almost on reflex, despite having only told that joke like once or twice. I shook off the weirdness and the guilt of not getting him out. Mom had gotten Aunt Cassie to agree to a meeting, but she wouldn't come here. She would only meet at the ministry ball.
"ANYWAY." Said Seras firmly. "I'm glad you were honest about that. I figured those were some of the reasons. It…means a lot, that you didn't do it to lay some claim on me."
I hesitated, but in the end, honestly seemed important. "I DID plan on reincarnating you, if you were ok with it. I wanted to bring you to Hogwarts with me. Devils can use wizard magic, so the reincarnation would make you eligible. I figured since you were shut out of muggle society after your…death. It would give you a fresh start."
That got a stare of shock from my friend, before she frowned. "What about the whole…harem thing. Susan told me that females you reincarnate will find you irresistible or something."
"Not exactly." I said uncertainly. "The booklet is vague. I've never reincarnated anyone so I wouldn't know. I know that there's a bond, and that it goes both ways mostly. I know it's important and powerful. I know that romantic feelings CAN be part of it when the two people are of opposite genders."
Despite my words, she didn't seem to want to back down. "Well…should we just shag beforehand and get it over with?" She asked bluntly.
"I…what?" I stammered. I was far from a blushing virgin, but that was more forward than expected. "Seras, like I said, there's a bond, but I'm not going to make it a prerequisite that you fuck me. If we end up heading that direction fine, but it's not a fucking down payment. Do I really seem like that kind of person?"
She shook her head. "You don't. I didn't think you were. I just…I want to do this. To become something more. Not just for you and your mum, but for me, to see what I can be. Alucard is so bloody strong, that could be me. I could be like that. All I have to do is accept your offer and I could be…someone totally new."
She seemed pretty enamored with the idea, and I'd already told her most of what to expect at the library (I hadn't mentioned the bond thing, it didn't seem like the time) but I wanted to make sure she wasn't doing this on a whim. "Seras…this isn't something you can undo. If you become a devil you're stuck with me. For ten thousand years. Unless you die."
"I'm a vampire." She said flatly. "I'm going to be around for years anyway. And you helped me when no one else would. A whole new world is right there if I do this. Not just the wizard stuff, but everything you're involved in."
Sighing, I stood up. "Alright. If you're positive. Come lay down on the bed." I gestured to where I'd been reading, setting my book to the side. She looked a bit wary and I rolled my eyes. "This isn't a sexual thing, I'm reincarnating you. If my experience is anything to go by you'll black out, and I'd prefer you didn't bash your hard vampire skull on my furniture."
"Oi." She snapped in offense. "I'll have you know I'm a delicate flower in the full bloom of young womanhood. And if you imply otherwise again I'll bust your fucking knob."
I chuckled dryly. "My mistake miss. How could I mistake you for anything but a lady. Now get your extremely feminine ass on the bed so I can convert you to another lifeform without your elegant refined body crushing any of my shit when you collapse."
Sniffing haughtily, she climbed onto the bed, flipping over and laying down. "Don't you dare perv on me while you're doing this." She said in embarrassment. "We can see what happens with the bond, but you already said you don't expect me to put out. If it's not a requirement I'm gonna make you work for it. Flowers and chocolates and shit."
I snickered at her bravado. "Yes dear." Walking over to the end table by my bed, I pulled out the wooden box I'd gotten months ago. Flipping it open, I sorted through the various pieces, trying to decide what to use.
Pawns were out, it would probably take a bunch of them anyway, and I wanted to use them for my friends when I brought them in on the secret. I was saving my Queen for someone stronger, and without any native magic a Bishop was a waste. My options were Knight or Rook, and I was leaning towards the latter given Alucard's success with the piece. I reached in and plucked one of my two rooks out, spinning it in my fingers.
"You ok with doubling down on your physical attributes?" I asked her. I didn't want to just decide for her, there was SOME leeway, even if not much. "You'll be stronger and more durable, though I can make you faster too if you prefer."
She frowned for a second, then nodded. "I'll take the strong one. It's more my style."
Grinning down at my friend, I considered her blunt and straightforward personality. She was right. The Rook suited her to a T. I removed the piece, holding it up over her heart. This was my first reincarnation, so I was a little nervous, but the booklet told me how to do it, and it wasn't complicated.
First I infused the piece with my demonic power. It was my evil piece and bound to my king piece, so it was primed for it anyway, but this was the step that made sure she would be properly bound to me. The piece began to glow a deep and ominous crimson.
"Close your eyes." I said gently to Seras. She did so without hesitation, and I held the Rook over her chest. I kind of wanted to say something deep and profound, but in the end I couldn't think of anything. I let go, and the piece hovered in the air for a minute, hanging suspended over her, before it began to float downward.
It grew in brightness as it fell, the glow getting stronger as it drew near her. I was halfway worried it would burn her to ash or hurt her, but when it made contact, rather than physically touch, there was a sort of…ripple, in the space above her. Like a rock hitting a lake in slow motion, a translucent wave of disrupted space washed out as the Rook vanished into her chest.
Her body locked up, back arching, eyes going wide as her mouth opened in a silent cry of shock. Her red irises were locked on the ceiling as she shook like she was having a seizure. Red light exploded up from her chest, coating her body, molding to every inch of her flesh as it remade her from the ground up.
Somewhere in the back of my head I could feel the change. Not just through our bond, but in front of me, as the energy coming off her shifted. At first I felt the vampire, then I felt the devil, wrapped around her like a candy coating. But as it went on my chocolate got in her peanut butter, and the two started intermingle and blend until they were one in the same.
The red light faded, and she dropped back onto the mattress, bonelessly. I grinned down at her, raising an eyebrow. "So? How does it feel to be the first devil aside from me born in…I don't know probably at least a hundred years?"
She stared at me blankly, her wings extending as she started to float up off the bed listlessly, her head still full of all the processing she was going.
Finally, her eyes cleared and locked on mine. "It feels…bloody incredible." She stayed quiet for a minute after that, then grinned at me wolfishly. "You should have held out for sex. I'd have totally let you bugger me for this if I knew how good it felt." Then, ignoring my shocked expression, she darted out of the room. Or at least, she did the second time. She smashed head first into my door frame once before leaving. I'd been right, her hard head DID cause some damage.
OK so slight fuckup, I posted 61 last time, there was a mixup with a skipped chapter around 62 that has me a bit scrambled. Here's the ACTUAL chapter 60 I'll switch the threadmarks sorry about the mixup and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming monday.
December 13th, 2010. Ryan's Manor, London, England, 6:00 PM BST
"Are you sure we have to go to this?" I complained for the tenth time. "Because I can't describe to you how much I don't want to go to a stuffy magic government party. Granted, it'll be nice to see the others since I think some of them are going to be there, but it just sounds so…"
"Soul crushingly boring." Drawled my busty Rook. "I'm just glad I don't have to go."
I sneered at her. "You can bet your overly abundant ass you have to go, at least if I do. I refuse to suffer alone."
"Overly abundant?" She shrieked, looking behind her. "My arse is perfectly proportionate." She paused, wandering over to the mirror to check before realizing the damned thing didn't show her reflection.
"He's baiting you dear." Said my mother kindly. "He wants to start a fight as a destraction. Your rear end is perfectly fine. I'd say it's pleasingly plump, at the most."
The look of betrayal on Seras's face as my mother said that wiped away a lot of my unhappiness, and the fact that my mom didn't notice made it almost impossible not to laugh, but through a superhuman (superdevil?) feat of mental endurance I managed to tough it out, focusing on the issue at hand.
I…had to go to this fucking ball. It sounded annoying and it was fucking cold and I wanted to stay home and cuddle with my redhead, but at the end of the day, making sure my uncle got out of soul sucking wizard jail was more important.
"I don't have any clothes." I said hopefully, knowing that it wouldn't matter but unable to resist one last attempt to come up with a logical reason to avoid the ministry party.
My mother just smirked at me. "Lucky for you I ordered a set of dress robes when Cassiopeia mentioned the ball. I assumed you would want to send someone in your stead and would try to get out of it. I DO know my son. Now go upstairs and change, I'll get Susan ready to serve as your escort."
Seras's amused expression blanked. "Wot?" She said, her accent getting thicker in genuine irritation. Huh, I hadn't known it did that. "But I'm his Rook. I'm supposed to be by his side to guard him. Why can't I go?"
My mom's smile was gentle. "Because we're still arranging your background for your Hogwarts entry next semester. The Black Family has plenty of pull, and I know more than a few people over in the US wizarding community, but having to make up lies on the spot will make backstopping you for Hogwarts infinitely harder."
"Wait…next semester?" Seras said in shock. "I thought I was going to be starting next year?"
"You were." Agreed my mom. "But first year is crucial, since it's when you experience all the classes in preparation for selecting a major, and since you've only missed a bit, I felt it best to start you early now that you have magic. We'll be getting you a wand and I'll begin your tutoring to prepare you right away, which is why I'M also not going."
Knowing better than to argue with my mom when she got like this, I headed upstairs, only to find the dress robes I hadn't known I had on my bed, laid out for me and from the look of it possibly ironed. Daisy was the one who had done that most likely.
After a quick shower, I changed into them, running through everything I knew about the ministry Christmas ball in my head.
Theo would be there, along with presumably Hannah. Daphne wouldn't be going, her stepmother Felicia went every year, and my girlfriend disliked being in the same room with the woman unless forced. Tracey hated the thing, and being halfblood had an excuse not to care as much, and Blaise's mother had a bad reputation and her invite would "conveniently '' get lost.
Still, having a friend or two there might make it more bearable, since I was forced to go. My mom was right, I'd assumed I could send someone to meet Aunt Cassie for me, which in retrospect was stupid, but I'd gotten used to interacting with people through the lens of a devil and from that perspective my peerage would be able to take my place in most instances.
When I finished getting ready, I checked myself in the mirror. I looked…good. Hell, I looked great. My eyes were a deeper blue, my jaw (which had always been a bit to soft for me) was a bit more sculpted. The long term shapeshifting devils underwent was affecting me as anticipated, making me more what I desired to be. Of course, I was already hot as fuck, so it didn't have to do much heavy lifting, but my recent six pack definitely wasn't something I was mad at.
With that done, I headed downstairs to meet Suzie for the ball…and froze. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs in an emerald green dress, eyes lined with shadow and lips a gorgeous plump pink from SOME kind of cosmetic. Her big blue eyes looked huge and mesmerizing and her smile on seeing me lit up the whole room.
The dress was molded to her body, which despite not having outrageous proportions like Seras or Hermione was soft and enticing in all the right ways, and her hair was cascading down over her shoulders in a gentle curl that I was sure had been done with magic.
"Wow." I said dumbly. Daphne was gorgeous, and in her lingerie, sexy as hell. But Suzie…my Suzie was beautiful. She'd done all this just for me, and while intellectually I knew that magic made it less of a chore, it was still damn flattering.
Seras cursed, reaching into her wallet and pulling out a bill before passing it to my smugly smiling mother. At my raised eyebrow she shrugged. "She bet me Susan's new look would either get one word out of you or leave you speechless. I said it was physically impossible for you to shut up for that long. My mistake."
"My girl is too beautiful for you to ruin it with your nonsense." I told her smugly, descending the stairs and reaching out for Suzie's waist. A smack with my mother's wand made me yelp and cradle my fingers as she scowled at me.
"You can touch, but leave her face alone. I didn't do her makeup in order to have it smeared all over your mouth." Suzie blushed dark red, and I rolled my eyes, but I nodded, still deciding to pull her against me.
She sighed happily, snuggling up against my chest cutely, and I saw Seras's eye twitch slightly before she caught me looking and turned away with a snort.
My mom rolled her eyes. "That's quite enough you two." She said shortly. "We need to go if you're going to make it in time. You still need to get your visitor's passes for the night, and that damned phone booth always takes forever during events. We should get going now while there's still time."
I checked my watch, it was six thirty, I'd only taken a half hour to shower and get into my clothes, and Suzie had been done when I was. The ball started at eight, though getting there early was apparently polite, so we should still have plenty of time. If the line was that bad though, showing up with time to spare might not be a bad idea.
Reaching out my arm to my girlfriend and the other to my mom, I let them take my elbows before triggering my teleportation circle. Mom told me the entrance was under the HM Treasury building, and a quick check of the internet found me a reasonably deserted alley nearby to teleport into, though my mom had her wand out in case she needed to obliviate an onlooker.
Luckily that didn't seem to be necessary, we arrived in an empty though surprisingly clean alcove behind a bar, and the three of us made our way out to where mom pointed out a phone booth that was swarming with people in formal looking robes and dresses.
"Subtle." I said with a laugh. "No way anyone figures out there's something going on over there."
She rolled her eyes. "Muggle repelling wards make it unlikely for anyone to notice. They can't even see the thing properly. Still, it could have been placed more subtly, I'll grant you. Now, when you get inside, look for Cassiopeia." She reached into a pocket, pulling out a picture of an older dark haired woman. "This is her. Introduce yourself, and DON'T be a smartass."
I grimaced. "I'll…do my best." I hated being on good behavior. My wit was a gift and I liked to share it with the world. But I wasn't enough of a dick to let my uncle die horribly in wizard prison so I could quip.
After a few more cautionary comments that could all be distilled down to 'don't be an asshole to anyone important' she gave us both a hug and retreated back into the alley to apparate home. The two of us made our way over to the line.
We got lucky, because we ran into friends when we arrived. Specifically, Theo and Hannah. Suzie squealed with joy at seeing her bestie and the two girls hugged enthusiastically while Theo and I bumped fists. "Hey man." I said with a chuckle. "You had to dress up in a monkey suit for this too huh?"
He shrugged. "I don't love dress robes, but seeing Hannah in that dress is worth it." He nodded to his girlfriend, who was wearing a tight yellow dress that showed off her surprisingly long legs.
I nodded sympathetically. "I feel you. Suzie looks like a million bucks, which makes this whole night at least bearable. Though I can't kiss her because apparently magic hasn't advanced to the point of creating a spell to prevent lipstick smear."
"Alas." He said dryly. "Some things are beyond even our frightening powers. So what made you decide to show your face here? I thought we'd be the only cool people at this thing."
"Giving yourself a bit too much credit I think." I said with a grin. "But I have to meet a relative about some family business. I tried to get out of it, but unfortunately the world requires much from people as amazing as I am." I feigned gravitas and arrogance as I said the last bit, but made sure my tone was absurd enough to convey that I was joking, even though I kind of wasn't.
When we reached the booth, Theo stepped in, picked up the phone, and then spoke deliberately into it after punching in a few numbers. "Ministry Yule Ball. Two guests. Theodore Nott and Hannah Abbott." There was a loud clunk, and a pair of small pins dropped into the change tray. He turned to us with a grin. "I'd recommend just palming them. You only need them to get in, and it'll keep you from ruining your clothes."
With that, Hannah stepped inside and he hit another button, causing the phone booth to begin a slow descent into the earth. He gave me one last nod as he disappeared, planning to meet down at the ball to avoid cramped quarters for the trip.
I'd been watching the exact numbers he hit, so I followed his example, doing the same thing as he had. I palmed my badge and passed Suzie hers, then hit the buttons and started the descent myself. As we slowly lowered into the earth, I gazed out from the glass walled box, taking in the huge atrium we were descending into with a whistle. This place was pretty fancy. Maybe I wouldn't hate this party so much after all.