Lucifer was the best thing that had happened to her in years. The world was starting to feel like a hopeful place again. Maybe she wouldn't be sad forever.
Maybe he was right: maybe her father's death shouldn't rest on her shoulders.
Maybe she could forgive herself the way Lucifer had forgiven her. He hadn't berated her wordy blunder or even told her to be more careful in the future. It seemed as though she was more upset by what she'd yelled in her anger than he was.
It must have hurt him terribly, but he was still at her door, ready to give her what she needed. Lucifer was always giving her so much, and she had given him nothing but some childish presents, hugs and tugs.
He deserved so much more.
Maybe she could request her Mum to allow her to spend over the last two holiday weeks or so with him. It looked as though the holidays weren't usually too happy for him.
Hermione softly kissed his chest so she wouldn't wake him.
"Goodnight, Lucifer."
xxxxxx
The next morning, he and Hermione slept until eight-thirty. They skipped breakfast in Great Hall and had Parra bring food instead. After eating, they rushed to Transfiguration.
"Mr. Morningstar, the Headmaster said he'd like you to come to his office at noon. He wants to invite you to lunch." McGonagall didn't scold him for slipping into class right at the bell. She simply murmured the message.
Lucifer had no idea what the old man was planning, but he nodded and took his seat as class began, he was starting to realize his popularity had gotten a little out of hand.
He had only just received Dumbledore's invitation and hadn't even gone to meet yet when after class, a beautiful ghost dropped in.
"Oh' it's you... who tried to get me to pick books from the Restricted Section at Midnight last term." Leaving only that line, Grey Lady drifted straight through Lucifer's body and glided off.
Daphne's expression turned instantly strange. She'd heard it too: midnight, library, one boy, one girl, "Lucifer... you and 'Grey Lady?" She hesitated, but still found the courage to ask.
To avoid being mistaken, he decided to give her a little context. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, "Luna had somehow gotten her talking, sort of friends, Grey Lady is..."
Daphne's big eyes widened into perfect circles. She looked adorable like that. The news had completely shocked her. Lucifer, however, was confused, "Didn't I tell you about Helena's story before?"
She answered naturally, without a hint of shame on her cheeks, "I have to remember so many things every day. Forgetting one or two is totally reasonable."
He was speechless but he had to admit, she had a point.
"So... I heard you went moon gazing with Granger?" The little stars sparkling in her eyes said everything. She clearly wanted the gossip, and experience much better.
"The weather's not good recently, better not."
"Oh." The little witch pouted, though her mood bounced back quickly when Lucifer promised to take her boating on the Black Lake that weekend.
After Herbology, he dropped off his shovel and bucket by the classroom door, then split from other students and took a shortcut. A quick ride on moving staircase brought him to the seventh floor.
"Hi, Morningstar kid." The Gargoyle brightened immediately at the sight of the boy. Instead of stepping aside to let him in, it started chatting, "How was your holiday?"
Lucifer thought for a moment on how to be precise in short words, "Pretty exciting, I went to pick a fight, I won."
"A fight?" Gargoyle perked up, then grumbled, "Why didn't you take me?
Dumbledore says I only get time off during summer, but this wouldn't be a vacation. I'd be protecting a student of Hogwarts. He'd definitely approve."
"You're overthinking it." Lucifer couldn't help laughing. "Professor wasn't exactly thrilled about what I did. He didn't find out until everything was over. Otherwise, I doubt I'd have been allowed to leave Britain at all."
"Sigh. Dumbledore is still too soft. He's nothing like Godric... Wait." The stone gargoyle narrowed its eyes, "Morningstar kid, I didn't notice at first, but now there's this... Ravenclaw scent on a student here."
"You can smell things?"
"Of course not." The gargoyle rolled its eyes, "It's something I learned from you humans. What do you call it... a figure of speech. A metaphor. You get that, right?"
"Sure." Lucifer put down his shoulders in defeat, "You're smarter than I thought. As for this Ravenclaw aura, I don't quite get it. Maybe there's a descendant here from her line, and we are not aware of it."
He really hadn't expected the gargoyle to notice such subtle changes. Then again, it made sense. The creature was one of the 'few' things in the school that had actually interacted with the four Founders. 'Student he is referring to, had to be Luna....'
"Well, at least you can forget about it being you," Gargoyle snorted, "You're still a greedy snake stuffed full of Slytherin ambition. Slytherin suits you better."
Lucifer flipped it off and motioned for the guardian to move aside. Climbing the rotating stair, he reached the headmaster's office. The door opened on its own. A table full of food was already laid out.
"Lucifer..."
The old headmaster smiled as he took a seat across from him, though his mind was still mulling over what he had overheard between the boy and gargoyle.
Ever since Grey Lady had begun treating Daphne Greengrass with unusual respect, he'd wondered whether the girl had some hidden connection to Ravenclaw. If Slytherin could leave a Chamber behind, the other Founders surely had their own ways of leaving legacies.
Now, with even the gargoyle remarking on it, his vague suspicion felt much closer to certainty. But Dumbledore said nothing, keeping the thought to himself.
Lucifer however grinned and didn't forget to tease, "Professor, this is quite the feast you put up for me."
A single glance told him the dishes were specially prepared, not usual fare brought straight from kitchen. The fancier the setup, the more cautious he became. The last thing he wanted was to walk into a trap disguised as a dinner invitation.
"As headmaster, I do enjoy a few privileges." Dumbledore brushed off the snark and shared a small secret: the headmaster had a personal house-elf who handled his meals and daily needs. Not even McGonagall had that sort of perk.
Lucifer supposed this was his chance to enjoy a taste of Headmaster's life.
He was already here, whatever Dumbledore wanted to talk about later, skipping a free meal would only make things worse. So he picked up what he called a sausage pie and took a hearty bite.
"Sausage pie" was just his own name for it. The dish was officially called "Toad in the Hole," which really just meant a sausage baked inside Yorkshire pudding. It sounded crude, but tasted pretty good, even by his picky standards.
"...Hmm." Compared to his straightforward approach, Dumbledore ate with careful grace, slowly cutting his roast as if he had invited Lucifer simply to share a quiet meal.
But when he reached the little dish of olives served as a finishing fruit, Dumbledore finally broke.
"I had a chat with Nicolas, you possess a method of extracting spiritual essence... I'm very interested in that concept. If it can be separated... what about the soul itself? I'd like to ask you about the process. And in return, you may ask me for anything."
Ah, here it was.
"Can I be the headmaster?" Lucifer asked, testing him.
Dumbledore's warm smile froze. After a strained moment, he managed a weak laugh. "This... isn't that a bit early? Though I'm glad you care so much about Hogwarts."
No, Lucifer just wanted to be headmaster so he could overhaul everything and restart the school.
Dumbledore felt a pang of misery, he had expected the boy to ask for something outrageous, he wasn't a normal student, so his demands probably wouldn't be small. But this, directly for his position? 'I'm not even dead yet. Do you really need to start planning a coup already?'
"Maybe... maybe choose something I can actually grant," he said helplessly.
"Then I'll save it for later."
Lucifer decided Dumbledore didn't really have anything he needed right now. Better to keep the favor as leverage and let the old man stew in discomfort.
Dumbledore knew the feeling of owing someone was unpleasant, but there was nothing he could do. Just like Snape, he had fallen into the same situation. The upper hand was in the boy's pocket who cheerfully wrote down the extraction method without holding anything back.
He had never been one to hide useful knowledge. If Dumbledore could develop something interesting from it, he'd benefit too. The old Headmaster smiled with real relief as he read the parchment, things had gone even more smoothly than he had imagined.
Lucifer really was a good kid, trusting him so readily. His gaze on the boy softened even more. 'Compared to Tom's polished, fake perfection as a student, Lucifer is a far better child. Yes, he caused trouble now and then... and each time it was big... but still.
"Professor, if there's nothing else, I'll get going."
Seeing he was almost late for class, he stood, excused himself, conjured a toothpick, and casually walked out of the office cleaning his teeth.
Since Dumbledore had begun serious research into Voldemort, it was time for Lucifer to clean up his pending 'Arithmancy' essays, if he delayed any longer, Hermione would definitely complain.
xxxxxx
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