Dark Defense

Live Steel

To say Harry Potter was stubborn was like saying the sky was blue or the government was corrupt, blatantly obvious and known to all. Had the boy been any less stubborn, he more than likely wouldn't be alive right now, and thwarting Voldemort's aspirations aside, the Boy Who Lived had no intention of peacefully drifting off the mortal coil just yet. For one thing he fully intended to see that Fudge, and his entire corrupt legislation, get their comeuppance.

That and get laid, though not specifically, or preferably, in that order.

But there was a price for stubbornness, and Harry was most certainly paying it as he trudged out of the library, defeated once again in his pursuit of information on the elusive Devil known only as 'Sparda'. Even Hermione, who was as notoriously bullheaded about information as Harry was about everything else, had encouraged him to take the easy way out and find another topic.

She herself had already completed her essay on the legend of Argosax the Chaos, a chaotic being that was apparently a mismatch of parts, a combination of the fiercest of beasts from the netherworld. If that wasn't bad enough, this particular devil was rumored to have been worshipped as a God at some point before being cast out by his oppressed followers with the help of the enigmatic Sparda.

"It's almost deliberate." Hermione muttered, shutting her reference book, an old, crumbling tome entitled 'Legends of Vie de Marli', with a sigh as she sat back in her chair in the Gryffindor common room "From the sounds of it, this Devil turns up several times throughout history, always on the side of humans, but it never goes into detail EXACTLY what he did."

"Still, he sounds pretty infamous." Ron muttered, finishing off his own report on a giant, spider-like devil that had merely been referred to as 'The Phantom' with a sigh "From the sounds of things, I wouldn't have wanted to bump into him if he can face off against guys like this without breaking a sweat."

"You could just do as the professor suggested…" Hermione offered placatingly, looking over at Harry in concern as the scarred teen flipped through his copy of the Encyclopedia Demonica with a possessed air "I mean, he did recommend a less difficult subject…"

"I can't." Harry muttered, cutting the brunette off, not unkindly, but with an air of determination that had seen him through four encounters with Voldemort and his lackeys thus far "I can tell by the way he looked at me, this is a test, he WANTS to see if I'll take the easy way out."

"Couldn't you just be overreacting?" Hermione began uncertainly, only to sigh and give up as Harry ignored her in favor of skimming through a book written by a Demonologist warlock that had lived through the crusades, which was mostly a collection of old legends and tales, centered around mankind's interactions with the occult.

All in all, it had been a rather good day. Angelina had met up with Harry, informing him of Quidditch practice that she had scheduled for lunchtime, followed by a rather enjoyable lesson in charms, and an even more enjoyable period of transfiguration, where Professor McGonagall put a strangely out of it Umbridge in her place, silencing the High inquisitor with a cutting comment and a look that Harry would have bet ten galleons could send even Voldemort packing. The teen made a note to bring an apple or something with him the next time he had her class.

Sadly, the day had taken a sharp turn when Umbridge turned up during their Care of Magical Creatures class, interrogating Professor Grubbly-Plank not only as to the specifics of her curriculum, but as to her opinion of the Headmaster, as well as once again digging for information regarding Hagrid's whereabouts. Fortunately, Professor Grubbly-Plank was as tight-lipped as everyone else had been, giving a clear-cut, textbook answer that actually seemed to please Umbridge despite herself.

It was at that point, just as Umbridge was about to start questioning the students, that Harry caught sight of a blue-clad figure walking out of the Forbidden forest, his eyes widening as he recognized Professor Vergil, his ever present Katana in his left hand as he made his way past Hagrid's hut.