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Serena Snape: Love of Magic - chapter 96
🕑 Added 2025-04-19 01:52:07 +0000 UTCAuthor's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Ravel's look of complete horror once I finished recounting exactly what had happened to the succubi of Verdigris House was understandable. Her expression quickly changed to one of anger.
"I have to go tell my father about this," Ravel grunted as a teleportation circle began to appear below her.
"Wow, wow, wow, wait a minute." I stopped Ravel by putting up a quick teleportation protection, causing her circle to fail. Ravel blinked before frowning in my direction.
"What?!" Ravel growled, I raised an eyebrow at her. Ravel's eyes widened slightly and her expression changed once more. "I'm sorry, my Lady." She said immediately while biting her lip. I sighed.
"You don't need to be formal, not even when you make a mistake. You're annoying, for obvious reasons. But formality isn't necessary." I sighed as I conjured a seat for Ravel and me.
"But…" Ravel tried to say weakly, I just shook my head.
"It doesn't matter. But let's get back to the previous topic. you can't tell your father about this," I said simply. I could immediately sense the conflict in her; she didn't like the information at all.
"Why?" Ravel asked politely, but I could hear the frustration in her voice. I sighed.
"Tell me Ravel, even if you tell him this, what can your father achieve?" I asked directly.
"How can he achieve it?! My father is Lord Phenex! He can-" Ravel said proudly before stopping.
"What? What can he achieve against another pillar family?" I asked directly. Ravel shuddered and bit her lip in frustration. "Nothing, that he can do." Ravel shuddered even harder. "Not to be mean, but nothing will come of telling your father, unfortunately."
"B-but… something has to be done." Ravel said weakly as she looked down. I looked at her curiously.
" And may I ask why you're interested? I mean, it doesn't involve you in any way." I asked curiously, Ravel raised her head and glared at me.
"It's wrong!" Ravel exclaimed.
"We are devils." I replied amusedly. Ravel grunted.
"We are better than the old devils! We are pillar devils! We are the honorable Phenex! It is our duty to guard and protect the legacy of the devils and all devils regardless of their status!" Ravel exclaimed fervently. My eyes widened slightly. Noblesse Oblige? I didn't think devils had it. I laughed lightly, which seemed to frustrate her further. "Why are you laughing! The succubi were attacked! You're one of them, your family! Why doesn't it bother you?!" Ravel exclaimed, frustrated. I looked at her amusedly.
"This isn't the first time this has happened Ravel, why do you care about this? Why do you care about succubi? No one cares about succubi." I said simply. Ravel stopped stiffly, I could see her mind moving before she paled completely and stepped back as if she had been slapped.
" Th -this… this isn't the first time?" Ravel said weakly, almost in a whisper.
"We're at the lowest rock, Ravel, below the commoner devils. We're only good for sex. We were made for that, and pillar devils only take what they want. So no, this isn't the first, or the second, or the fiftieth time." I said honestly. Ravel looked completely sick.
"I... I didn't know." Ravel bit her lip hard.
"Is that an excuse?" I asked simply. Ravel shuddered violently. To my surprise, she looked me straight in the eyes with determination.
"No, it isn't. But this is wrong, something has to be done!" Ravel said firmly. The fire in her eyes made me smile widely. "We could hire help, post guards at the brothels to keep the succubi safe while we come up with something more permanent." Ravel began, her face lighting up as ideas began racing through her mind. I burst out laughing, which made Ravel growl at me once more.
"I like your fire, Ravel, but it's not necessary." I said simply. Ravel now looked frustrated once again. She seemed to want to yell at me again. I raised my hand while smiling. "I'm already doing something," I said simply. That stopped Ravel stiffly.
"What are you doing? Can I help?" she asked immediately. My smile grew.
"Tell me, would you like to help found a city?" I asked playfully. Ravel's eyes opened wide.
"You want... you want to create a city? But you don't have terri- " Ravel stopped, her eyes somehow widening in disbelief. "You're going to have territory... You sold yourself for territory. To found a city for succubi." Ravel murmured, incredulous, completely moved. I smiled softly.
"Partly. I won't say I'm so altruistic as to say I'm only doing this for the succubi. There are many other good points to be gained from this engagement. Like having you as my wife." I purred in her direction. Ravel blushed deeply.
" Be serious!" Ravel said embarrassedly. I chuckled.
"I mean it," I said playfully. She glared at me, and I just raised my hands in surrender. "Back to the succubus thing. We're really working on it, once we finish signing the commitment and the territory is ours. We can bring them here, and I can put up wards strong enough so they won't have any more problems," I said simply. Ravel blinked.
"Wouldn't you get that territory AFTER we get married and not before?" Ravel asked confused, I nodded in confirmation.
"Normally? Yes. But signing a commitment overnight is very different from a wedding. So Lucius, who stayed behind to negotiate most of the contract, is securing that part. The territory and everything else negotiated will happen and go into effect once the commitment is signed. I'm guessing he'll have to give up some things, or make the commitment unbreakable or have very big consequences for breaking it." I said honestly. Ravel frowned.
"Very well." Ravel said determinedly as she stood up and clenched her fists tightly. "Then we'll have to make this engagement a success! Come on! We have a party to plan and it has to be perfect!" Ravel said as she looked around. "The venue is perfect and the decorations are wonderful, let's continue! Music! Do we have to hire a band or should we use a music player?" Ravel asked once again determinedly. I chuckled.
"Where would the orchestra go?" I asked simply, Ravel looked at me before looking around the room.
"There," she said without hesitation. I nodded.
I stood up and opened a portal, something that made Ravel look at me curiously. I reached through the portal and cast a quick incantation. Quickly. Large numbers of instruments began to emerge from the portal in an orderly row. Violins, violas, cellos, double basses, flutes, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, tubas, drums, and many more. At the very end, even a grand piano walked out of the portal.
I approached where Ravel had pointed, clapped my hands, stamped my feet, and created a platform for my orchestra of instruments. I controlled the instruments as they moved through the air and arranged them on top of the platform, leaving a small space in the center. I positioned myself in the middle and conjured a stool while one of the cellos...
I placed the cello between my legs, grabbed the bow, and began to play. I'd copied Wednesday's idea—why, to show off right?—and I began playing "Paint It Black" on the cello. The other instruments quickly joined in, playing solos in the air like a ghost orchestra.
The music quickly filled the entire main hall. I enjoyed the moment as I played the cello. It wasn't a particularly difficult song, but it was intense, and I liked it. So I simply enjoyed it while concentrating on the instrument and the music. I only looked up and saw Ravel once the song was over.
"So, what do you think?" I asked with a smile. Ravel seemed to come out of her stupor.
"That was amazing," Ravel said sincerely. "But… do you have to be playing it?" She asked timidly. I rolled my eyes and stood up. I let the cello return to its position. And the music started playing again. This time I smiled a little. It was very easy to animate the instruments to play any song I knew. The piano started playing music that was easy to recognize. At least for me.
Hedwig's Theme.
Possibly the most iconic Harry Potter song. I guess seeing the ceiling replicating the starry sky and the floating candles of the Hogwarts Great Hall made me feel nostalgic, and while the theme is from the films and not Hogwarts and the wizarding world itself, it seemed appropriate.
I looked at Ravel, who was watching the instruments play completely on their own. I'd done my research, and Harry Potter didn't exist in this world, so she'd be the first person to hear the iconic song. Ravel seemed enthralled and completely focused on the instruments and the music. I allowed myself to smile broadly.
"That-! Wow!" Ravel said in surprise once the music ended. "I don't recognize the piece! What was it called?" Ravel asked curiously.
" Hedwig's Theme." I told her honestly, Ravel looked confused. I smiled mysteriously at her. "Never mind that for now, shall we continue with the engagement?" I asked amusedly. Ravel frowned slightly, but nodded.
"So… let's see what else, decorations, music, missing the food. What's your favorite food? We'll have to serve some of that if possible, also it's your engagement party. But we need a more… refined menu for noble devils. And alcohol, lots of alcohol. Should I look for someone from my father's side, or will you also magically pull something out?" Ravel asked sarcastically although there was a tone of amusement in her voice. I chuckled.
"First, my favorite food is chocolate, and if it counts as food, don't contradict me, I can live on chocolate alone-" Ravel snorted amusedly. "-And actually, I was thinking of making the dishes myself," I said honestly. Ravel stopped to think about it and nodded.
"Fine, I'll get you a decent menu to prepare. I guess you'll have to use one of your time bubbles if you plan on preparing everything yourself. Otherwise It would take forever." Ravel said, and I nodded. That was exactly what I was going to do, and a lot of preservation charms. Maybe I'll throw them in the inventory vault to keep them even fresher.
"anything else?" I asked simply.
"Maids and butlers! Is there staff in this mansion?" Ravel asked.
"Besides Dobby, there's 2B and A2," I said simply. Ravel blinked.
"Those are names?" Ravel asked, confused. I chuckled.
"Dobby! Could you get 2B and A2?" I asked aloud. After a few seconds, both automatons appeared in front of us. Ravel blinked.
"Did you notice Miss Sinclair did the same thing with Dobby… is he always listening?" Ravel asked carefully. I shook my head.
"No, really, it's more like a... summoning. Dobby knows when someone is saying his name; with the intention of calling him, and he can hear that request. It's not like the whole house is always listening. it also only works with people Dobby feels are important." I explained vaguely. Ravel nodded. "That aside, these are 2B and A2. They're homunculi that I created myself." I said proudly.
Ravel looked curiously at both automatons before walking over and examining them before gently touching the cheek of one of the dolls.
"Lady Phenex, can I help you with something?" 2B asked, simply making Ravel jump.
"Are they constructs?!" Ravel asked in surprise. "I can't even tell the difference," Ravel muttered in disbelief. I perked up at that. "How... intelligent are they?" Ravel asked carefully.
"Just like an average person, but they're bound to me, so while they're intelligent enough to be like any other person, their free will is a little... off. So far, they can only follow the orders they've been given," I said honestly. That was the only bad thing about the automatons. All they could do was follow my orders. And when I tried to free them from them all, they seemed horribly confused and just stood there for a while until I reinstated their orders.
Although they were really intelligent, they were able to solve several mental and logical problems on their own, but again, a poor sense of free will.
"I... it sounds amazing. Though I don't understand how they work," Ravel said honestly. "I guess they were created to be maids because of the uniform. But are they the only ones around? I don't think there would be enough to serve all the guests," Ravel asked, and I shook my head slightly.
"Then there's Devola and Popola, but they take care of the rest of the island. They take care of the plants and the animals. I can't really take them off duty unless it's an emergency. They're the only ones, besides Dobby, who keep everything in order." I said honestly, Ravel frowned.
"I hope you don't mind if I hire more people to serve during the party?" Ravel asked simply. I shrugged.
"As long as you trust them and they don't start snooping where they shouldn't. All right," I said simply. Ravel nodded firmly.
"I'll see if I can bring some servants from Phenex Castle, many of them have been serving the family for decades, they are trustworthy," Ravel said forcefully, I nodded.
"So, anything else? I have… a meeting in a few hours. So let's get moving." I said simply. Ravel looked curious.
"A meeting? May I know with whom?" Ravel asked carefully. I hummed.
"With Lord Lucifer," I said honestly. Ravel's expression immediately soured before she controlled her expression.
"Okay, let's continue organizing the party." Ravel said forcefully as she turned around and began looking around. I sighed. I hoped this dislike for the Gremorys would end soon.
I followed after Ravel immediately and listened carefully as I made the changes Ravel asked of me.
We had a long way to go and little time to do it, so we had a lot of work to do.
