Serena Snape: Love of Magic - chapter 81

Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.

"W-welcome to our home!" Enid said quickly, almost squealing, her eyes widening in panic as she looked between Lucius and Narcissa, the latter seeming unfazed at first while Narcissa smiled encouragingly at her. I sighed. I suppose this was Lucius's plan, and he was partly right. Enid, as the bishop, was the 'highest-ranking' person after Bella and me in our Peerage, so it should be obvious that Enid would be the first to speak.

"Let me introduce everyone, these are, Lord Sirzechs Lucifer and Lord Ajuka Beelzebub, two of the four great Satans that rule the underworld, and this is Lady Grayfia Lucifuge, Lord Lucifer's queen." I introduced the trio that had accompanied me.

"Now, she is my bishop, Enid Sinclair; my pawns, Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy; and finally, my servants, 2B, A2, and Dobby." I Present as I moved in front of each person I introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sirzechs greeted as he bowed.

"The pleasure is ours." Lucius said as he took a step forward and bowed. Narcissa imitated him in the same way. They both bowed perfectly as expected of nobility. Enid looked at me almost in panic, I just smiled and shook my head, there was no need for her to do so, Sirzechs was not someone who would be offended by that.

"There's no need to be so formal, we're simply on an unofficial visit, so don't mind your manner of speaking." Sirzechs said with a soft smile, just as I expected. Enid bit her lip and looked at me once more, this time waiting for permission. I nodded in her direction, which made Enid sigh in relief before smiling brightly. Only to stop almost as quickly as I did and look at me in disappointment. I grimaced.

"You! I'm so disappointed in what you did to that girl, Serena Eileen Prince! I hope you apologized! " Enid demanded, arms crossed as she stamped her foot repeatedly. I grimaced. She snorted. "You're going to go over to the Phenex house and apologize. And you're going to throw away any remaining love potions you have," Enid said finalizingly.

"No need." Lucius said, intervening. Enid glared at him, but he just raised his hands in surrender. "Not about the apology, but about going to the Phenex house. Riser challenged her to a rematch, and I have no doubt she's going to do it. So they'll meet sooner rather than later." Lucius clarified. Enid looked at him for a few seconds and nodded.

"You're apologizing," Enid said, looking directly at me, leaving no room for argument. I sighed and nodded.

"Of course, Enid," I said breathlessly. Enid's expression changed completely; she smiled brightly again and quickly wrapped me in a tight hug, lifting me into the air.

" Ooh eem Gee! Congratulations, Sera! You won your first Rating Game! I'm happy for you guys! " Enid exclaimed happily as I began to thrash around in her arms. To my dismay, I heard Sirzechs laughing at me, even Grayfia had a small smile on her lips. Enid finally let go of me before pulling Bella into a hug of her own.

"Let me go, Sinclair!" Bella growled, blushing slightly. Enid laughed softly, but complied with Bella's request and released her from her grasp.

"Ajuka, is something wrong?" Sirzechs asked confused, I turned around confused only to see Ajuka staring at the dolls.

"Amazing, artificial souls? How did you create them? They have a strange shape and feel, they feel similar to the blue giant that Miss Black used in the fight. Their designations are 2B and A2, does that mean there are older versions? " Ajuka asked with a hint of excitement as he stared at the dolls, both dolls barely flinched. I grimaced. I really couldn't underestimate the smartest person in the Underworld, clearly he would realize the true nature of the dolls at a glance.

"Their full names are YoRHa Type A No. 2 and YoRHa No. 2 Type B, meaning A2 and 2B. And the less we talk about their previous versions, the better." I grimaced as I stepped forward and opened 2B's cleavage, a small transmutation and the Philosopher's Stone was in sight.

"Does the name mean something? And why is the nomenclature backwards on one of them? " Ajuka asked distractedly as he moved closer to examine the stone.

"They're designed to be combat dolls, Type A is for Attacker, a close combat specialist, Type B for Fighter, a multi-purpose combat specialist. A2's nomenclature is that way because she was a prototype, while 2B is a full version, they're named backwards to differentiate them." I said simply. Ajuka hummed.

"Does that mean you're planning to create more of them? And what are their combat capabilities? Can they talk? " Ajuka asked simply, I grimaced.

"Not for now, I haven't tested them yet, and yes, they are completely sentient and intelligent," I said honestly.

"Greetings Lord Beelzebub," they both said at the same time, Ajuka hummed as he nodded.

"Philosopher's stones, interesting. I'm really curious as to how you created them. I'm noticing a lot of energy coming off of them." Ajuka said curiously. "A philosopher's stone is also powering all the defenses around the house, isn't it? " Ajuka asked. I grimaced again.

"There's no need for you to answer anything you don't want, Lady Prince. Ajuka just goes with the flow when he finds things that interest him." Sirzechs interrupted, which seemed to stop Ajuka in his tracks.

"I apologize, Lady Prince. I'm afraid Sirzechs is right. I got carried away by my emotions when I saw the unknown side of my interest." Ajuka apologized quickly. I shook my head. I closed 2B's stone back into place.

"Don't worry. Would you like to accompany me to the living room? We can talk more comfortably there." I said simply, and the trio nodded.

"Dobby. Bring some of the tea and sandwiches I made." I said simply. Dobby nodded and disappeared.

"You created him too?" It seems Sirzechs couldn't contain his curiosity either. I shook my head.

"Dobby is unique, he bonded with me, he needs magic to live, so he serves me by working for me as my butler, while I provide him with magic to live." I said simply as I began to lead him towards one of the living rooms.

"Good work with the spatial magic," Ajuka complimented as we walked. I nodded. The entire house was being enlarged with the Undetectable Extension Charm. Or at least most of the rooms.

"I'm good at modifying the interior space of a room," I said simply. Once we reached the living room, Dobby appeared with a tray floating behind him. He snapped his fingers, and the seats and table began to rearrange themselves quickly.

The small table was in the middle, and two couches faced each other. I signaled the Satans to sit on one of them. There was more than enough room for the three of them. But Grayfia decided to remain standing behind the couch. I took the other seat, and Bella plopped down next to me. Enid was dragged by Narcissa. And along with the dolls, they ended up behind our couch. Even without seeing her, I could feel Enid squirming in her place.

Dobby began serving the tea and sandwiches. I immediately brought one to my mouth. Both Satans grabbed their cups and drank, surely out of obligation, but stopped stiffly when they took a sip. Both of their eyes opened wide and stared at the tea.

"Oh?! This is delicious! " Sirzechs exclaimed in complete surprise, Ajuka nodded absentmindedly. "Grayfia-chan, you have to try this!" Sirzechs said with a smile looking at his queen. Dobby snapped his fingers once more and a cup began to fly in front of Grayfia. Grayfia nodded in Dobby's direction and took a sip. Her eyes widened as well.

"This is incredible, it's the best tea I've ever tasted, what is it made of? Was it Mr. Dobby who made it? " Grayfia asked in surprise. I almost wanted to snort, Mr. Dobby?

"Oh, no, no, no, Dobby wasn't the one who prepared this. Dobby just serves. Lady Prince is the one who prepares everything." Dobby said quickly, almost panicking.

"Please try the snacks too," I said with a smile. The three of them immediately took one and bit into it at the same time. I'm sure from the expressions on all three of them that more than one of them wanted to moan in pleasure; only their training in maintaining their appearances was strong enough to maintain their modesty.

"This, wow, is really delicious" Sirzechs moaned as he grabbed another snack.

"Thank you, I'm glad two Satans and the strongest queen like my cooking." I said happily. Really, Faery Feast is completely cheating.

"Brewing potions and cooking? I guess I'm not surprised you're good at both? It's almost the same thing, isn't it? " I bristled completely at Sirzechs's words.

"NO!" I snapped, glaring at Sirzechs. "No, it's not the same. Potion-making is an exacting art, a subtle science. I can create things no one can imagine with my cauldron. I can bewitch the mind, ensnare the senses. I can bottle fame, brew glory, and even halt death. IT'S NOT COOKING." I hissed violently. Bella suddenly jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow. I blinked a few times and saw the Satans staring at me with wide eyes. I felt myself go completely pale.

"Ha! Sorry, sorry, I didn't know that was an insult." Sirzechs said as he burst out laughing. "This isn't the first time I've insulted someone's hard work. I'm truly sorry." Sirzechs said as he calmed down slightly and looked at Ajuka with a smile. Ajuka grunted.

"You're right, he's just an idiot, he didn't mean it," Ajuka said with a bitter smile. Sirzechs pouted. He was about to open his mouth when Grayfia cleared her throat. Sirzechs stopped before sighing.

"Well, let's continue. I think it's best if Ajuka gets rid of the questions I know he has for you." Sirzechs said simply. I nodded and looked at Ajuka.

"First, I want to make it clear that you don't need to answer every question. You have every right to remain silent about your secrets," Lord Beelzebub said seriously. I grimaced but nodded. At least they were giving me the option to remain silent, which was good because lying to a Satan would be much worse.

"Understood, what do you want to know first?" I asked politely.

"Your dress, what is it made of, and why does it move as if it were alive?" Lord Beelzebub asked looking at my dress, Sirzechs and Grayfia looked confused, I looked at him slightly surprised.

"Did you notice?" I asked curiously, and he nodded.

"At first, I didn't notice, but your dress is moving in a way... dramatic for lack of a better word, it seems to flow with the wind when there isn't even a breeze around you, and it always does this to enhance your presence." Lord Beelzebub said and sighed, of course Aria would continue moving dramatically. "And then there's the material, no matter how much I look at it and try to identify what it's made of, I can't find absolutely anything, as if it didn't exist." Lord Beelzebub added.

"To answer the first question, it's not alive per se, the most specific way to describe it is, animated." I tapped Aria a couple of times, Aria immediately understood the mental command and separated from my body, leaving me in my underwear. None of those present reacted in any way to my spontaneous nudity, they simply stared at Aria. Aria appeared in her cape form in front of the Satans. "She has a rudimentary personality, but she's more of an extension of me than anything else." I said simply.

"Fascinating." Lord Beelzebub said as he bent down and looked at Aria. he tried to touch Aria, only for her to step back and avoid Ajuka's touch. Ajuka tried again, but this time Aria dodged Ajuka and hit his hand with a piece of cloth. I felt myself go completely pale, I was about to open my mouth when Ajuka smiled "quite temperamental," he said cheerfully. I sighed in relief.

"Her origin is… something I'd like to keep a secret for now, but on the other hand, her name is Aria, my tail is capable of animating and giving 'life' to anything it hits, Aria is the result of using it in a very special cloak." I explained vaguely, I didn't want to tell them that it really was the Death Cloak; I didn't want to explain to them how I got her cloak or how it was possible to begin with. But I also couldn't say that it was completely normal because he had already realized that Aria was something special.

I just hoped he would be content with that information.

Wait. I just realized, that my invisibility cloak was remarkably similar to Hades's cap of invisibility in Fate. The one Gilgamesh possessed was shaped like a sash, and its abilities were practically identical to my cloak's. Great, yet another thing Hades himself couldn't figure out.

"Can it transform into other garments besides a cape and a dress?" Ajuka asked, and I nodded immediately to get that thought out of my mind.

"As long as it's a single-piece garment, it can change into any shape and texture it wants," I said honestly and looked at Aria. Aria began rapidly changing clothes. Dresses, t-shirts, pants, socks, gloves, scarves.

"That's convenient." Sirzechs said impressed, I nodded.

"Partly, like I said, she can only make one piece at a time, so more elaborate outfits can't be replicated, and besides… she's very particular about the other clothes I wear, tending to shred any fabric that might cover me up that isn't her." I sighed tiredly. "I barely got her to let me wear underwear underneath it." I grimaced. Sirzechs laughed amusedly.

"You didn't think about splitting it?" Ajuka asked curiously, I grimaced.

"She's able to use my demonic power to regenerate, so it's not possible for her to stay split," I said simply. No, cutting her normally wouldn't work, but... if Aria could split herself. Yes, an ability that allowed her to split, but still act as a whole like... the bara bara no mi! 

Buggy's Devil Fruit would be perfect for Aria! The ability to divide! And it wouldn't present any problems for Aria! Aria could enlarge itself, so she could split multiple times and still maintain her size. They certainly wouldn't be able to separate enough for each of us to have an Aria, but they would be enough for when she needed to envelop a nearby crowd.

But the most important thing! I could wear more than one-piece outfits! As much as I loved my little black dress, I was starting to miss my ripped jeans and torn t-shirts.

"You thought of something," Ajuka said with a smile. I nodded happily as I reached out to grab Aria, Aria immediately covered me once again.

"It's something I'll have to test later, but yeah, it was something I've been mulling over. Something that just fell into place right now," I said with a smile. Ajuka nodded, but didn't probe further.

"The answers to a problem can always come at the most unexpected moments," Ajuka said simply. "You mentioned your tail, what can it do?" Ajuka asked curiously. I shrugged. My tail sprouted from behind me and reached out until it hit one of the empty cups. The cup began to wriggle, sprouting legs, and the body of a woman formed around its handle .

The living cup began to move around the table, waiting for some kind of command. Both Satans looked slightly surprised as they stared at the cup.

"Awesome, is it something inherent or something you learned?" Ajuka asked curiously. I wrinkled my nose.

"It's something inherent; that's what my tail does." I said simply.

"Is it hereditary?" Sirzechs asked more seriously, which stopped me for a few seconds.

"I'm almost certain not… or at least it would manifest differently if I ever have children," I said carefully. And it was true, partially. My tail was still part of my transformation even though I spent all my time transformed into Baiser Magic; my normal form couldn't do that. So it definitely shouldn't be hereditary.

But the Waifu Catalog has several options for ensuring certain abilities for my offspring, so I could achieve it if necessary. I looked at Ajuka, who was still staring at the cup before looking at me.

"Any other questions?" I asked, looking at Ajuka, he shook his head.

"I'm satisfied with that," Ajuka said simply. I blinked several times.

"Didn't you want to ask more questions?" I asked foolishly. I definitely thought he'd ask a lot more questions, and not two of the most common ones in my repertoire. Ajuka smiled amusedly.

"Oh, I have many questions, but the fun part is also finding them out. I always enjoy a good investigation." Ajuka said happily. I nodded in his direction. I could understand. So, that problem with Ajuka was solved, now only Sirzechs was left. I looked directly at him.

" Now, may I know the purpose of this meeting? " I asked cautiously, Sirzechs nodded as he sipped his tea.

"Several things. First, since you're now a High-Class Devil, you have the right to settle in a city in the Human World so that members of your peerage can have their own contracts." My eyes widened slightly at that, I didn't know if it was normal or if he was being generous for some reason. "I was thinking that since two members of your Peerage are descendants of Wallachian nobility, they could choose any city there they wanted." Sirzechs said with a smile.

"You're very generous, Lord Lucifer. I appreciate it." I said, bowing my head slightly. It may have been a trap, but now I had a way to support myself in the human world without raising any suspicions.

"And secondly, I was curious." Sirzechs began, his eyes twinkling slightly. "Since you're so confident in your potions, let's say… you have more potions that would work against the Phenex?" Sirzechs asked with a smile.

Ah… it all came back to Rias. Of course.