The following morning, Hermione awoke to see Lucifer already sitting rigidly on the edge of his hospital bed, his eyes fixed silently onto her. "Morning," she said through a heavy, exhausted yawn, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Morning," he said, his voice entirely flat, devoid of a single shred of comforting emotion.
"Are you doing okay after a full night's sleep?" She asked him, sitting up and pulling the stark white sheets around her shoulders.
"Yeah, my face feels significantly better... I don't know whose twisted idea of a sick joke that cursed letter was... but I wasn't laughing," Lucifer said coldly. Hermione caught a terrifying hint of murderous intent vibrating behind his neutral tone.
"We'll figure out who did it, don't worry," Hermione said softly. She slid off her side of the mattress and sat down directly beside him on the edge. Reaching out, she tentatively placed her small palm on his bare upper arm. Her fingers mindlessly explored the dense, heavy contours of his muscles, feeling the tension beneath his skin, not even attempting to be subtle about her wandering touch.
The second she realized what she was doing, her cheeks burned a deep, vibrant crimson. "U-Um... d-d'you want to go straight down to breakfast?" she asked breathlessly, abruptly pulling her hand off his arm.
Hermione internally scolded herself for thinking such lewd, inappropriate thoughts about his body when her boyfriend was clearly in so much hidden pain. She was absolutely fuming inside; she would personally make that pathetic coward pay a hundred times over for daring to hurt her property! The bushy-haired girl promised herself the retribution with a dark, murderous intent of her own.
"Yeah," Lucifer murmured, standing up to his full height and stretching fluidly. A series of deep, sharp bone-popping noises cracked cleanly along his spine, a display of raw masculinity that unknowingly made Hermione internally squeal with an intense wave of excitement.
He adjusted his robes, his eyes narrowing. "One thing is for sure... I am never opening a random piece of post with no clear hint of who sent it ever again."
"I don't blame you at all. Whoever orchestrated this attack should be expelled immediately, no question," Hermione said, a vindictive, sharp tone taking firm place in her voice. As they left the ward and made their way down the grand marble staircase toward the Great Hall, she leaned close to his shoulder, tentatively laying out her secret plan.
"Lucifer... I was thinking last night. We aren't learning a single piece of practical magic in Defense class as it stands now. I think the time has come for us to take matters into our own hands. I want you and Harry to teach the rest of us defensive spells in secret."
Lucifer stopped briefly on the stone landing, a rare, genuine smile breaking through his serious expression. He reached out and gently patted the top of her bushy head. "I think that is an absolute brilliant idea, Hermione."
"How exactly do you know it was my idea?" Hermione asked quietly, her eyes widening as she did a happy little victory dance inside her mind.
He merely chuckled dryly, his deep voice smooth. "Because you are the only one in our entire year who is never behind on a single homework assignment, you excel flawlessly in every room, and you most likely possess a 200+ IQ. So trust me, pet... I know it was your idea, and absolutely no one else's."
Her cheeks burned with an intense, staggering embarrassment at the sudden praise, her fingers nervously scratching her blushing face. "...Thanks, Daddy," She meekly whispered under her breath, a massive crimson blush completely consuming her features as it slipped out before she could catch.
They walked the rest of the way in a tense, silent awareness until they entered the Great Hall, where Harry and Ron were already aggressively carving into their plates of eggs.
"Where on earth were you two last night after dinner?" Ron asked bitterly the second they sat down across from them, his fork hovering. "Your beds were completely empty."
"Lucifer had to be rushed to the Hospital Wing," Hermione explained, her voice dropping into a tight whisper. She couldn't help the hot tears of frustration that instantly started to form in her eyes, forcing them shut to calm her breathing for a moment. "A letter he was sent by an anonymous source was heavily hexed or cursed. The moment he opened the envelope, he was violently hit right in the face with some kind of dark acid. If it weren't for the unique properties of his own magic... I can only imagine how catastrophic the damage would have been..."
"Seriously? Who would dare do such a cowardly thing inside the school?" Harry asked, his green eyes flashing with immediate anger as he set his goblet down.
"I don't know who sent it yet," Lucifer said, his tone dropping into a freezing, bone-chilling register that made both Gryffindor boys instinctively flinch back. "But when I finally find out who it was, they are going to beg me that I should just kill them instead."
xxxxxx
Meanwhile, a tight, solemn procession of senior Ministry of Magic officials had just crossed the school gates, heading straight up the revolving stone stairs toward the Headmaster's office to confront Dumbledore.
"Director Bones, what exactly is the meaning of this unannounced visit?"
Albus Dumbledore stood behind his desk, looking at the fiery, stern-faced Head of the 'Department of Magical Law Enforcement,' Amelia Bones. She was clad in heavy, professional Auror battle equipment, looking prepared to launch a world war at a moment's notice, flanked by three silent Ministry enforcement employees.
Dumbledore looked thoroughly puzzled by the martial array.
"Albus." Amelia nodded at him, her tone strictly business as she marched forward and placed a heavy, gold-sealed Ministry notice flat against his paperwork. "The 'Department of Magical Law Enforcement' has officially received multiple anonymous, highly detailed reports that Dolores Umbridge, in her capacity as the 'First Financial Overseer,' is heavily suspected of systemic embezzlement and the gross misuse of state public funds. I am here to launch an immediate financial investigation, and I require your absolute cooperation."
"Cooperation? What specific kind?" Dumbledore's expression turned intensely peculiar, his blue eyes narrowing behind his half-moon spectacles. He had never calculated that Amelia would play such an aggressive, decisive move against Fudge's senior secretary inside his castle. Judging by the rigid alignment of her Aurors, she intended to physically take Umbridge into custody publicly today.
Even if the toad's financial backside turned out to be completely clean, the public arrest would inevitably stir up a mountain of toxic gossip for Fudge's administration.
"I require the immediate turnover of this year's entire Hogwarts expenditure records, alongside the written funding shortfalls for each academic subject," Amelia stated flatly, checking her watch. "The full investigation won't take too long, but given the state of the archives, it won't be completed in just a day or two either... You will need to immediately find a temporary substitute teacher to manage her classes."
"I will consider the options," Dumbledore agreed readily, his mind already spinning with the political implications.
"Then take me directly to Umbridge. Now." She wasted absolutely no words, turning on her heel to stride out of the office first. Amelia had informed Dumbledore of her mission solely because the Hogwarts structure was his legal territory, not because she required his permission to execute a Ministry warrant.
She understood her mission, Susan had been very bad tempered, and foul mouthed lately, Fudge' had gone nuts ever since Dumbledore' claimed 'You-Know-Who's back, Amelia had been warding the Bones Manor heavily, her own Department's budget had been cut short, and they'd been using private vaults to cover the expenses. (That arsehole Black's, her mad 'fiance' who didn't have the nerve to apologize, and wrote a letter instead.)
She was merely here to smear Fudge Secretary's reputation, not to destroy her completely. Since, there was no heavy case against her. Exiting the Headmaster's Office, the Auror group headed straight for the fourth floor. Many young wizards spotted them along the way, following curiously at a distance.
But when they reached Umbridge's office door, Dumbledore's knock went
unanswered for a long while.
"She's not here."
"We must take her today." Amelia checked her watch, then glanced at the students lurking around the corridor corner, "Excuse me, has anyone seen Umbridge? Do you know where she is?"
A second-year boy called out, "I saw her! Professor Umbridge went to find Madam Hooch."
"Then let's go." Dumbledore gave a slight nod. "Rolanda should be conducting Flying Class."
The group descended further. Before even leaving the castle, they saw Madam Hooch rushing upstairs in panic. Spotting Dumbledore, her face lit with relief, "Albus, thank Merlin you're here! Come quickly, we need to save someone!"
"What happened?" Dumbledore's eyes instantly sharpened.
Amelia wisely chose silence.
"The giant squid's gone berserk-it's dragged Umbridge into the Black Lake!"
That made the Head of Auror's, also widely known as the Iron fist lady in the Britain's 'Ministry for Magic',' Amelia Bones very hard to keep a straight face.
The dark, glassy surface of the Black Lake began to churn violently as Dumbledore and Amelia Bones's Auror squad sprinted onto the muddy shore, their boots squelching against the wet grass.
A few yards out into the freezing water, a massive, thick, rubbery tentacle breached the surface, undulating in the pale September sunlight. On the way, Madam Hooch had briefed them on the general sequence of events.
The matter was quite simple, she had applied many times to replace the school brooms. The brooms provided for students during Flying Class were decades-old Comet and Shooting Star models, many of which had their tail twigs completely worn away.
Leaving aside flight speed, stability, and safety, these concerns alone were significant. Umbridge had come to conduct an inspection. If she determined these brooms endangered students' safety, she would apply for Ministry funding.
Madam Hooch had been rather pleased, thinking she was finally doing something decent. What she didn't know was that Umbridge had ulterior motives. If there were genuine safety hazards, she wouldn't help replace the brooms, but have the Ministry cancel 'Flying Class' outright.
As Madam Hooch conducted flying practice with first-years, Umbridge stood by the Black Lake, eagerly anticipating an accident. Even one student falling from the sky would suffice. It was then that she failed to notice ripples disturbing the Lake's calm surface.
Only when students began screaming did Umbridge turn around, but it was too late. The Giant squid's tentacle had already reached out, coiling gently around Dolores before dragging her into the Black Lake into a bondage play.
After understanding the situation, even Dumbledore was at a loss for words. He found it rather peculiar, even the squid couldn't stand Umbridge? One must understand that the Giant squid was typically quite docile. In the past, it had even returned young wizards who accidentally fell in, back to shore, never having actively attacked anyone.
There was even an extremely unreliable school legend that the Giant squid was Helga Hufflepuff's secret safeguard left to protect the school. While this claim lacked evidence, the Squid, did indeed have connections to their House. Back then, it was stated she had found the Black Lake too lifeless and brought back numerous 'marine products', including the Merpeople tribe and the Giant Squid to liven up children's nurturing environment, especially Slytherin's who lived underground.
"Albus, what should we do now?" Madam Hooch panicked, her hands wringing her robes as she stared at the dark, rippling water.
Nearly ten minutes had passed since she had run to the Castle for help. Had Umbridge already... expired? Numerous first-years who had been in the Flying Class stood nearby, terrified by the squid's sudden, violent outburst, staring fearfully at the now-calm lake.
"Fawkes," Dumbledore called softly as flames appeared before him, from which the majestic scarlet-and-gold Phoenix emerged, "Please find Professor Grubbly-Plank and bring her here as quickly as possible."
With his instructions, Fawkes flapped his brilliant wings and soared skyward, heading directly toward the dark canopy of the Forbidden Forest.
This made perfect, structural sense; the substitute 'Care of Magical Creatures' teacher hardly ever stayed inside her assigned school office. Whether during lessons or her private free time, she typically took students or her own research deep into the forest.
Noticing Madam Hooch's immense distress, Dumbledore reassured her gently, "Rolanda, do not worry. The Giant Squid is famously docile and has absolutely no habit of eating people. Moreover, Dolores is a highly capable witch equipped with a wand. She can certainly protect herself under the surface."
"H-Headmaster... do you mean that wand?" A tiny first-year piped up timidly from the back of the huddle, pointing a trembling finger at a small, stubby wooden stick bobbing carelessly on the lake's murky surface. Looking at that short, overly decorative length, the only person in the entire school who would use such a deformed wand was Umbridge.
Dumbledore's jaw tightened as he struggled to keep a straight, professional face. Madam Hooch's complexion grew even paler at the sight of the disarmed weapon, but fortunately, Fawkes returned swiftly through the autumn air, bringing Grubbly-Plank along, who looked utterly bewildered as she landed.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, what is so incredibly urgent?" She asked, adjusting her heavy traveling coat.
"Dolores has been dragged into the center of the lake by the Giant squid. I require your immediate expertise to retrieve her safely."
"Understood." Hearing this, she grasped the life-or-death urgency and, without a single shred of hesitation, popped open her private leather case, sticking her head entirely inside. Moments later, to the awed, wide-eyed gazes of the gathered young wizards, two powerful, sleek Kelpies emerged from the magical expansion.
She muttered a few rapid commands to them, then fed them some heavy chunks of raw meat before the Kelpies plunged into the dark water with a massive splash.
While they were busy executing the underwater rescue, she couldn't help but ask curiously, leaning toward Dumbledore, "How on earth did she provoke the Giant Squid? This is the absolute first time in my memory I've seen it lose its temper with a human."
"I am not entirely sure either." Dumbledore shook his head, lowering his voice into a quiet, serious drone. "Rolanda stated Umbridge was just standing on the bank, not doing a single thing out of the ordinary."
"That's exceptionally odd—" Grubbly-Plank began instinctively, then trailed off completely as a sudden, sharp calculation struck her.
Immediately, he noticed her odd, rigid behavior. "What exactly is on your mind?"
"N-nothing at all, Albus. I don't know anything," She lied guiltily, lowering her head as she pointedly avoided his half-moon spectacles. It had suddenly occurred to her... could this bizarre catastrophe have something to do with Lucifer Morningstar?
The Giant Squid was usually an incredibly docile beast. For it to suddenly go completely berserk without a single shred of mortal provocation, there was only one logical explanation. Someone with immense---had tampered with it.
There were only three people currently at Hogwarts who could befriend magical creatures, let alone command them with such finality: herself, Rubeus Hagrid (who hadn't returned from his secret mission yet), and a certain outstanding, highly dangerous lion who had been pushed past his limit in her previous class.
And given Umbridge's history with the boy, the answer was glaringly obvious. Seeing how poorly Grubbly-Plank who was historically a terrible liar was covering up her thoughts, Dumbledore immediately understood everything. The two educators exchanged a long, heavy glance, simultaneously flashing awkward, tight smiles before silently agreeing to keep their suspicions completely to themselves.
While the surrounding students and Madam Hooch didn't notice the silent exchange, Amelia Bones saw it all, her sharp eyes narrowing behind her monocle as her expression turned intensely peculiar. Amidst these hidden thoughts and political calculations, another fifteen minutes slowly passed.
Amelia Bones stepped up to the water's edge, her monocle catching the dull light. She didn't draw her wand immediately. Instead, she again checked her pocket watch with an expression of cold, unbothered professionalism. "It appears the suspect is currently... detained, Headmaster. Though I doubt this satisfies the procedural requirements for an interrogation at the Minis---Damn, they're coming up," she suddenly announced, her hand resting firmly on her Auror holster.
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, casting a rapid 'Eagle-Eye' Charm to see clearly through the dark mist. At the lake's center, a Kelpie violently breached the surface, a limp, dripping figure clutching tightly to its slick back.
Soon, the beast reached the muddy shore, unceremoniously dumping the unconscious, waterlogged Umbridge onto the wet ground with a heavy, wet thud.
Senior Undersecretary crashed face-first onto the muddy shoreline, skidding a few feet into the reeds right at Amelia Bones's boots.
Grubbly-Plank quickly fed both Kelpies more raw meat and fresh fish before returning them safely into her case.
The 'first-years' barely glanced at Umbridge, who was completely drenched in thick lake slime and reeking of a foul, underwater odor; they disgustedly averted their eyes, their attention wholly captured by the mechanics of magical case instead.
She lay there entirely motionless, her velvet hat missing, her bandages soaked through with dark lake water, and a large piece of green pondweed draped directly over her nose. She wasn't dead, but Dolores was breathing in shallow, raspy gasps, coughing up a few mouthfuls of lake water as her fingers twitched in the mud.
Dumbledore crouched down beside her, subtly covering his nose with his silver sleeve as he examined her vitals. "She is alive. Let's get her straight to Madam Pomfrey. Fawkes, if you please—"
"Chirp chirp chirp!" Fawkes let out an angry, high-pitched trill, aggressively pecking off several of Dumbledore's silver beard hairs before flying away toward the castle rafters without so much as a single glance at the slimy woman.
Dumbledore let out a wry, helpless smile. He knew Fawkes was thoroughly cross with him; Phoenixes prized spiritual and physical cleanliness above all else. That he hadn't simply set Umbridge ablaze in her current reeking state was done purely out of respect for his relationship with the bird.
Controlling her dripping, floating form with a focused 'Mobilicorpus' spell, Dumbledore turned sideways to address the Auror official. "My deepest apologies, Director Bones, but you won't be taking Dolores into custody today. We must manually ensure the professor's safety and medical recovery before any Ministry investigation can officially commence."
Amelia Bones looked deeply troubled, her jaw tightening as she hesitated before replying, looked down at the shivering, pathetic heap with contempt. "That complicates things. The Aurors were prepared with a ledger box from my office and high security transport stretcher. Taking her straight to the Ministry's holding cells for a full audit review. But...."
She understood that she wouldn't get another clean, unbothered chance at a public arrest like this once Fudge's office caught wind of the situation. "Fine, very well, Albus. I'll speak with Rufus Scrimgeour immediately and hear his opinion on the matter."
Dumbledore gave a polite nod of his head before departing up the sloping lawn with the floating Umbridge in tow. The young wizards gathered around the shore also dispersed into small huddles, eagerly heading back toward the castle courtyard, completely keen to share the spectacular, slimy gossip with the rest of their friends.
xxxxxxx
The spectacular news of the Giant squid's sudden intervention reached the Great Hall within twenty minutes, spreading through house tables like a localized wildfire at Lunch.
"The squid did what?!" Ron yelled, his jaw dropping so wide a piece of kidney pie fell straight out of his mouth onto his plate.
"It dragged her straight under!" Ginny Weasley laughed hysterically, slamming her copy of the 'Quibbler' against the table, news had already reached papers,"Hooch said it looked like it was trying to clean the lake of trash! The Aurors had to carry her out on a stretcher covered in green slime!"
The entire Gryffindor table erupted into a wild, roaring sea of cheers and banging goblets. Even the senior Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were openly celebrating, the suffocating, heavy tension that had hung over the castle all week vanishing in a single fraction of a second.
Lucifer sat perfectly still amid the clamor, a slow, incredibly wicked smirk spreading across his handsome face as he took a measured sip of his coffee. 'The jinx worked perfectly,' he thought to himself, his dark eyes glinting with a dangerous satisfaction. 'A loose brick, a collapsing bed, a media scandal, and a direct assault from a prehistoric sea monster... all within a few weeks of her crossing my path. The woman truly had spectacular bad luck.'
Beside him, Hermione was leaning her shoulder tightly against his bicep, her eyes scanning the joyful chaos of the room before dropping down to look at his fully healed face. There wasn't a single trace of the green acid burn left on his skin; his powers had completely reconstructed the tissue overnight, leaving him looking entirely good as new.
She let out a long, quiet breath of relief, her fingers reaching out under the table to securely lock themselves through his.
"With Umbridge officially taken away by the DMLE for auditing," Hermione whispered close to his ear, her voice buzzing with a sudden, sharp energy, "the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is completely empty again. Dumbledore will have to find a temporary substitute if she didn't come by in a couple of days."
"He won't find one fast enough," Lucifer whispered back, his deep voice smooth as his thumb mindlessly caressed her soft skin. "Fudge's office is in total damage control right now. They won't send another vanguard into this castle until embezzlement scandal is cleared up."
Hermione's eyes widened, that brilliant spark of rebellion was taking firm root in her mind. She turned her face toward Harry, who was sitting across from them, his hand still hidden beneath the table inside his sleeve.
"Harry," She called out, her voice dropping into a tight, serious that cut through Ron's celebratory shouting. "Umbridge is gone for at least a week, maybe longer. This is our perfect, risk-free window. We need to finalize the plan we discussed last night by the hearth."
The boy blinked, his green eyes darting from Hermione to Lucifer's calm, expression. "The... the secret Defense class?"
"Exactly," Hermione said, her chin lifting with strict determination as she clutched Lucifer's hand tighter. "We can't afford to waste another single day waiting for the Ministry's permission. We are going to gather a group of trusted students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, and we are going to learn how to fight. Lucifer and you are going to lead the sessions."
Harry looked at his friend, his jaw tightening as he felt the hidden scar on his back hand throb with a phantom sting. "Are you in, Lucifer?"
Lucifer slowly turned his head, his deep black eyes locking onto Harry's face with a terrifying clarity that made the boy with glasses hold his breath. A slow smirk unfurled across the lips, "I'm in," he said smoothly, his voice carrying a dangerous weight that promised a storm. "It's about time we started training an army inside this broken school anyway."
Within less than a month of the term starting, Umbridge had been hospitalised at St Mungo's twice.
No one knew how many records she had broken this time, but she'd once again become the hottest topic among students. Those young wizards who'd witnessed yesterday's incident became extremely popular right now, surrounded wherever they went by people wanting to hear the full story.
After several artistic embellishments, the tale had transformed into Umbridge eating many of the giant squid's offspring and subsequently being hunted down for revenge.
Seeing squid tentacles on their plates, most students became too afraid to eat them, terrified of suffering the same fate.
Hannah, however, ate with relish-the tentacles were wonderfully chewy.
Noticing Eleanor and Rolf's reluctance, she and Susan divided all ten plates between themselves. In truth, this might have been beneficial for Umbridge.
With everyone's attention focused on her and the Squid's dramatic encounter, they'd completely forgotten her Aunt Amelia Bones and others had come to take the Professor away that morning.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry Potter was the most delighted. Upon hearing that Umbridge was hospitalised, he was happily sharing the sweets Sirius had just sent him with everyone.
Even those classmates who'd previously avoided him became much friendlier under this snack offensive, an unexpected bonus. The Potter heir suddenly had an epiphany, was this the power of money?
If one didn't have enough friends, perhaps it was because they weren't strong or generous enough. Harry's approach to relationships began subtly changing.
That evening, he asked the twins to buy loads of non-alcoholic drinks from the 'Three Broomsticks' to share with students.
Instantly, Harry became Gryffindor's most popular figure again.
Hermione Granger, returning late from the library with her boyfriend who appeared to be half dead, frowned at the noisy common room but said nothing. It was still early in the term, some relaxation was understandable. Organising everyone now would just kill the mood. If she ended up doing so, people would falsely spread the rumours, she was abusing her 'newly-given' Prefect rights.
She wasn't stupid anymore, and had grown over the years.
xxxxxx
In the end, Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose and reluctantly accepted the bizarre turn of events.
Out on the glass-like surface of the Black Lake, the boy sat calmly atop the Giant squid's massive, smooth head, gazing up at the first silver stars that were starting to cut through the night sky. "Rost," Lucifer muttered quietly into the dark, "what exactly did you do to Umbridge today?"
The Giant squid emitted a deep, prolonged hum that vibrated through the water. Lucifer listened, breaking down the beast's primitive thoughts, until he understood the truth. He instantly wrinkled his nose in pure disgust. "That is absolutely vile, Rost. I explicitly told you to just play with her a bit to scare her, not to... ejaculate all over her robes. She wouldn't give you more babies, you absolute idiot."
"..."
Rost let out a low, mournful rumble, feeling utterly and completely wronged. Hadn't the boy told him to give that pink woman proper, unforgettable hospitality? Now his creative execution was being called disgusting.
"Alright." Lucifer sighed, reaching down to pat Rost's smooth, massive head. "Go wash yourself thoroughly in the deeper trenches and eat some clean, hygienic food. I'll bring Luna down to play with you in a few days."
Another hum sounded from the dark water, though this time it was far more subdued and melancholic, as if the creature's feelings were still deeply wounded by the rejection. Rost slowly approached the muddy shore, extending a thick, rubbery tentacle to connect firmly with the land. Lucifer slid down the smooth appendage like it was a playground slide, landing lightly on his feet right beside Professor Grubbly-Plank, who stood waiting quietly in the shadows of the reeds.
"Professor, still awake this late?" Lucifer asked, brushing a stray speck of dust from his robes. "That's really no good for your liver."
"Easy for you to say when you can actually sleep," She replied breezily, entirely ignoring Lucifer's teasing as she watched the Giant squid slowly submerge back into the depths of the lake. She adjusted her heavy traveling cloak, her expression turning serious. "...Umbridge has officially woken up in the medical ward, but she is severely traumatized. The woman is screaming non-stop about tentacles and slime. Madam Pomfrey had to manually stun her again just to keep the peace.... She'll be sent straight to St. Mungo's tomorrow morning for a psychological evaluation."
"Professor, you're not actually sympathizing with that creature, are you?"
He studied the 'Care of Magical Creatures' professor closely. She hesitated for a long beat before giving a slow, reluctant nod. "I know you two don't get along, Lucifer, but this... this is too cruel, even for her. If you truly disliked her presence here, you could have just found a way to have her expelled from the Ministry entirely."
Lucifer recognized her chronic do-gooder tendencies flaring up again. This was the exact same woman who, had shown unconditional mercy even to her own parents' killer, Gellert Grindelwald. Such soft-hearted comments from her were hardly surprising.
But... expelling Umbridge from the Ministry? Lucifer let out a low, dry chuckle. Stripping her office away would hurt her a hell of a lot more than physical death itself. For power-hungry, bureaucratic creatures like Dolores Umbridge, public humiliation, physical injury, and even mortal sacrifice paled in comparison to the agonizing torture of having her state authority stripped away.
He wanted her to feel every bit of that descent.
"Don't trouble your conscience over it, Professor," Lucifer smirked wickedly into the dark. "The Ministry of Magic will give Umbridge the fairest, most well-deserved punishment according to the rules. Wouldn't you agree, Madam Bones?"
From behind the thick trunk of a nearby oak tree, Amelia Bones emerged into the pale moonlight, her Auror battle equipment clinking softly as she approached the pair.
"Miss Grubbly-Plank, please believe in the absolute fairness of the Ministry of Magic and the 'Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Amelia spoke with great, unyielding solemnity, her monocle catching the faint starlight. "We won't let any true wrongdoer escape justice, nor will we ever wrong an innocent person."
Seeing her fiercely righteous expression, Professor Grubbly-Plank gave a slight, comforted nod. Unfortunately, what the naive professor didn't know was that Amelia Bones's internal definition of good and evil had already become completely distorted and flexible ever since the threat of Voldemort's revival loomed over her family.
At this point, even if someone were to cast an illegal 'Unforgivable Curse' right in front of her face toward a suspected criminal, Amelia would find a legal loophole to justify the act. Her moral line was exactly that flexible now.
"It's getting late, Madam Bones. You should head back to London before the morning shift." Lucifer reached into his robes, pulling out a small glass potion bottle filled with a bright pepperup solution to combat her deep exhaustion, and handed it over.
She accepted the vial with a slight nod of appreciation, bid a polite farewell to Grubbly-Plank, and slowly walked back toward the high iron school gates. Lucifer watched her retreat, his mind already shifting to the next phase of his plan. With Umbridge officially institutionalized at St. Mungo's, the castle was entirely theirs for the taking.
xxxxxxxx
After his brief meeting down by the Black Lake, Lucifer showed up at the Quidditch field. It felt deeply weird to have his boots back on the damp grass while wearing the crimson-and-gold Gryffindor Quidditch uniform once again. He was the second one to arrive on the pitch after Angelina Johnson, and the fierce team captain was patiently awaiting the arrival of her roster under the grey evening sky.
"Evening, Lucifer," she greeted him, her broom slung casually over her shoulder.
"Evening. Where exactly is everyone else?" he asked her, his dark eyes scanning the empty locker room benches.
"There isn't going to be anyone else for today," Angelina said, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "I manually told the rest of the team it was just going to be you for this session."
"..."
Lucifer stood there perfectly quietly, analyzing her micro-expressions for a tense moment. He wondered briefly if Fred and George were currently being cucked by her secrecy, "You want to see if I've still physically got what it takes to be a Seeker after a season off, don't you?"
"Your deductive reasoning shines through brilliantly again," She smiled at him, tapping her foot on the grass. "Well, almost anyway. Yes, it's just you out here, but you're not entirely accurate in what I'm going to have you doing." She walked over to the heavy wooden school crate that housed the Quaffle, the two iron Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. "I don't need to test your basic flying, Lucifer. I want you to catch the Snitch, but with each consecutive attempt, I want you to do it exponentially faster."
"I understand," he said flatly, and mounted his pristine broomstick, calmly awaiting her manual release of the winged ball.
She opened the brass latch, letting the Golden Snitch hum to life before it shot straight skyward. Lucifer waited exactly ten seconds, plenty of time for the Snitch to get completely away from his immediate field of vision.
The second the ten seconds ticked down, he bolted straight into the air like a rocket, and Angelina started her mechanical stopwatch with a sharp click.
The first attempt took him exactly one minute and fifty-three seconds.
He ruthlessly whittled that time down by several seconds with each subsequent attempt, really pushing the 'Firebolt' to its absolute physical limits in the damp evening air.
Eventually, on his fifth consecutive run, he snatched the silver wings out of the air in exactly one minute and twenty-four seconds.
The moment his boots touched the grass upon landing, Angelina hurried over to him, her eyes wide with total awe. "Lucifer, are you completely sure you don't want to reapply to become our main starting Seeker this term?"
"No, that's Harry's spot," Lucifer replied smoothly, sliding his Firebolt out from between his knees. "He earned it fairly during our first year. I am just the reserve player."
He wasn't going to maliciously take away one of the very few things Harry actually thoroughly enjoyed at this school from him; he wouldn't be a good friend if he executed a move like that.
"Alright then. I can't force you, but thank you so much for rejoining the team," She gave him a highly appreciative smile, her anxiety over the roster lifting. "I'll see you Friday evening with the rest of the team! Don't be late!"
With that, Angelina gathered her gear and bounded back up the lawn toward the castle in significantly higher spirits.
Lucifer stood out there alone, the Firebolt held loosely in his large hand, and he looked around at the vast, empty stadium. Or rather, it would have been entirely empty, but up in the high wooden stands, Hermione's presence had gone completely unnoticed until now.
Upon being seen by him, the bushy-haired girl stood up from her bench and hurried down the steps to the field. She ran across the damp grass and almost violently tackled his tall frame to the floor with a desperate, tight embrace. "I love you so much!" she cried out against his shoulder.
Lucifer's right eye twitched slightly when Hermione used the heavy, intense word, but he still dropped his broomstick onto the grass to wrap his arms around her waist, safely anchoring her against his chest.
"...Hermione..." he murmured softly. Even though her declaration was completely true, it was always hard for his mind to forget his own lingering existential crisis problems.
"What's wrong?" She asked him, pulling back just enough to look into his dark eyes, instantly sensing some deep, internal conflict.
"Do you want to fly?" he asked instead, intentionally evading her question.
"F-Fly? I—I don't know about that..." She stuttered out, her caution flaring up.
xxxxxxx
Author's Note
If you want to Read my Complete book, including 8th Year, Marriage and having kids, ahead of everyone.
Support this novel, join me on Patreon!
Link - patreon.com/SmutDxddy
We have a stockpile upto Chapter 1030 for you to binge-read! 😋
Playing Cards with Pregnant Hermione on a n*de beach, if you'd like to Read now! 🍼