Without another word, the eccentric blonde tore off down the hallway, and Harry rushed to keep up. She unlocked and opened the first door she came across and went inside. As Harry followed her, he saw that she'd brought him into an empty classroom.
"Here," Luna said, reaching into her bag and pulling out an ancient-looking tome. "This will help you with the dragon."
"A Treatise on Devil Summoning!" Harry exclaimed as he read the title on the first page.
"Yes, it's a fascinating read," Luna said, seemingly oblivious to Harry's uneasiness.
"Why do you have this?" Harry asked, shocked by the no-doubt highly illegal tome.
"It's been in my family ever since my great-grandfather Cyrus defeated the dark lord Thorfinn the Terrible," Luna replied.
"He defeated a dark lord?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"Sort of," Luna replied. "Thorfinn the Terrible was a powerful and rather mad dark wizard who terrorized Sweden back in the 19th century. My great-grandfather loved peanuts and had figured out a way to enchant his garden to allow them to grow all year round despite the cold climate. Thorfinn got it in his head that the peanuts were magical and would give anyone who ate them great magical power. Fearing his power, Thorfinn sought to bargain with my great-grandfather rather than try to take them by force and offered him this book in exchange for a bag of them."
"And he took the deal?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Luna replied. "Cyrus Lovegood was no great duelist or warrior and knew that he'd stand no chance against Thorfinn, so when the madman made his offer, he agreed, hoping that they'd never see each other again. They didn't, funny enough, as the peanuts ended up being Thorfinn's downfall."
"Did he become overconfident, thinking that they'd made him invincible?" Harry asked.
"No, it turned out that he was allergic to peanuts," Luna replied.
Harry, once again unsure if Luna was serious or not, could only stare at the blonde and blink owlishly.
Changing the subject, he asked, "aren't demons evil, though? And is this even legal?"
"Oh, it's very illegal," Luna said, "and I'll ask that you not mention it to anyone. As for the devils, I'm sure some are evil, but so is you-know-who, and neither of us would like all wizards to be considered evil because of him."
Harry couldn't argue with her there.
"I guess I just always thought that they were evil, monstrous creatures," Harry said. "If they even existed."
"They exist, and they're anything but monstrous," Luna said. "The author of this book summoned several to strike little bargains and painted quite a number of them. This one's my favorite. Her name's Venelana."
"Gah!" Harry exclaimed as he saw the painting in question.
The devil in it looked human, save for her black, bat-like wings and purple eyes. It was a miracle that Harry even noticed those features, though, as she was utterly naked. Seated for the painting, she was grinning wickedly at him, twirling a strand of her long brown hair around her finger. Every so often, she'd wink at him.
"She has beautiful breasts," Luna commented. "They're so large and yet firm and perky. I hope mine look like that some day."
All of Harry's higher functions deserted him as his blood rushed far away from his brain. When Luna closed the book, it snapped him out of it, and he quickly adjusted his robes to try and hide his erection.
"So, just borrow the book and think it over," Luna said. "I would like it back as soon as you've gone over it."
"I'll get it back to you before the first task," Harry promised.
"Or after," Luna said, giving him a small smile.
"Um, will they want my soul?" Harry asked.
"The clans do vary in their position on humans and the things they ask for," Luna said. "I'd recommend reading about them all first and then going with one of the kinder clans if you decide to summon someone. Good night, Harry."
"Good night," Harry said, watching as the blonde rushed out of the classroom.
Aware of the fact that he might not make it back to the Gryffindor Common Room in time and not wanting to get caught with this particular book, Harry pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag and stuffed the book in its place. Wrapping it around himself, he left, longing for his bed.
"If you like the guy so much, then you marry him!" Rias growled.
"Rias, that's no way to talk to your mother," Zeoticus Gremory snapped.
"Yes, you're right," Rias said. "I wouldn't want to condemn her to a fate worse than death."
"If you're done being melodramatic, dear, I'd be happy to listen to your objections," Venelana Gremory said.
"Only so you can ignore them," Rias muttered. "I shouldn't have to marry that arrogant, sanctimonious man-whore just because you're friends with his mother."
"This isn't about that, and you know it," Venelana said calmly. "Riser comes from a powerful bloodline and has inherited all of its perks. If he were to pass his power down to your children and they were lucky enough to inherit the power of destruction as well, each one could end up being a superdevil. It would secure both of our families for aeons."
Rias made no attempt to hide her disgust at the thought of having Riser Phenex's children.
"Now, it won't happen for another couple years at least," Zeoticus piped up. "That will be plenty of time to get to know Riser better."