Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
January 1, 1977 – Serena PoV
I stretched lazily. I was just getting up, and I looked to the side with sleepy eyes to see Bellatrix still asleep. An unconscious smile grew on my face. I kissed her forehead and got out of bed with extreme care.
Today, we will have a long day, as we need to complete the preparations to leave this world. There wasn't much left to do, since most of our things were already packed and placed in our pocket space.
Clothes, food, and practically an armed robbery of several libraries. Lucius was in charge of copying all the books in Malfoy Manor; Bellatrix, and Narcissa, were in charge of all the Black family books. And I had to sneak into Hogwarts and copy all its books. It was all done under a time bubble, so despite what seemed like days of casting, it only took a few real minutes.
The only drawback is that the copies made by the Gemino Enchantment were not durable; they would last at least a few months, maybe 1 or 2 years, before they decomposed. I will have to find a solution so I don't have to constantly copy the books.
Another thing we had stocked up on was all the magical plants we could find and replant within the pocket space. Since I could actually modify the entire island's terrain as I pleased, there was now a hodgepodge of suitable areas for plants to grow without any problems.
Also, the Vivarium was finally put to use. Placed on the side of the mansion, the vivarium was shaped like a glass-enclosed shed or greenhouse, smaller than one would think, but with an insane amount of undetectable expansion enchantments. I really thought something bad would happen by messing with space inside a pocket dimension, but it seemed more stable than I thought. Everything had been kept in perfect condition.
Inside, we had placed some fantastic beasts whose parts would be used for potions, nothing too extravagant or rare, which limited me in the type of potions I could create. However, I still had a wide variety of options I could prepare, and I didn't want to leave any of the beasts loose; some plants are delicate and shouldn't be left to the mercy of animals.
We were well prepared, but there was just one problem. We didn't have anyone to look after the whole island.
And that brings us to another issue.
"Dobby." I said dryly as I looked at Narcissa, who had a massive smile on her face. I looked down and saw the house elf, "You got... Dobby." I repeated to myself with the same dryness.
"We needed help, whether you want to admit it or not, be thankful it was only Dobby." Narcissa snorted, and I grimaced. Fair enough.
"Just… where did he come from?" I asked incredulously, and Narcissa snorted in amusement.
"I asked Kreacher to find a house elf called Dobby. It took him a few days to find him, but I finally found him. I made sure to buy him." Narcissa shrugged, sighing tiredly.
"Does Madam Lady Prince have problems with Dobby? Oh no! Dobby was wrong! Dobby will be punished!" Dobby whimpered and moaned loudly.
"Dobby, you are not allowed to punish yourself." I said quickly while rubbing the bridge of my nose. Great, I was going to have a migraine.
"Yes, Madam Lady Prince, oh, how kind Madam Lady Prince is! Dobby is touched!" I closed my eyes tightly as I took a deep breath and slowly looked at Narcissa, who had an amused smile.
"Dobby is all yours, Sera, happy early birthday, and also as congratulations on becoming Lady Prince!" Narcissa said, amusedly, I growled in her direction.
"Is it necessary? I was just finishing my… dolls." I said with a grimace, Narcissa snorted.
"You said the same thing 4 days ago, and if I have to walk back into my workshop to find all my clothing mannequins broken again, I'm going to be very pissed." Narcissa glared at me, and I flinched slightly.
Yes, my production line of YoRHa androids encountered a problem, as I clearly feared: they don't really have a soul of their own, so I'm unable to finish placing the hemalurgic spikes on them. Hence, they generate their own personality and identity, so they ended up the same as Aria or Cia regarding personality. To say they were a failure was an understatement.
Although I still couldn't figure out why this was happening. The Company itself allowed me to seal Aria and Co. without any problem, even the Scissor Blades were able to be sealed when I animated them with Schiavo. That told me that The Company was extremely lax when it came to sealing people or entities, or it was simply the norm. After all, there were a large number of soulless beings in the multiverse, and animated familiars were something normal within them.
And even if it were, that wouldn't solve my main problem, even if I sealed the versions of 2B and A2 that I could create, the seal would simply work on them as they were, so until I solved the problem of giving them souls capable of receiving hemalurgic spikes, I wouldn't be able to seal any version of the YoRHa androids I was making.
"Okay, Fine." I moaned, my affirmation to Narcissa, who smiled. "Dobby, your hand." I looked at the house elf, who immediately reached out without hesitation. I took out my seal and placed the stamp on the back of his small hand. "Now, you are part of the Prince family." I said simply.
"Oh, Dobby is part of a family, Dobby is so happy!" I pulled out my phone to check if Dobby had been sealed properly and blinked when I saw the latest notification.
Dobby(T 4){ Devotee} from Harry Potter [194]
That... it definitely hadn't been 72 hours, I thought mockingly before sighing. Perhaps the connection, loyalty, and service of the house-elves allowed Dobby to be sealed immediately; there was no problem certainly, but it was disconcerting.
"Okay, come on, Dobby, I'll explain your job." I looked at Dobby, who nodded vigorously. "Narcissa, make Dobby some clothes." I said simply, which made Dobby freeze before he burst into tears.
"Oh no! Dobby ruined it! They're going to free Dobby!" Dobby cried, and I sighed tiredly, dear Morgana.
"Dobby, stop, we're not releasing you." I intervened, and Dobby suddenly looked at me with his big, watery eyes. "But you certainly need better clothes so as not to embarrass us, we're going to... another place. Very far away, and they're quite strict with the type of clothing worn." I lied with a grimace. "Besides, Narcissa is my best friend; she can't release you if she prepares clothes for you." I said simply and looked at Narcissa, who grimaced, looking at the elf. I could almost see a hint of contempt. I moved immediately and tapped Narcissa's forehead with my finger.
"Ow! Serena! " Narcissa moaned, and I looked into her eyes.
"None of that," I said simply. "We've already talked about it, no racism, not when we're about to go to other worlds and possibly be the ones discriminated against in them." I chided Narcissa, and she grimaced before sighing.
"You're right, I'm sorry, it's just that... pureblood upbringing and all that." She said submissively, and I understood. Neither Narcissa nor Bellatrix was into pureblood superiority, unlike Voldemort and his followers. They were still Blacks. They were raised in a certain way, which included a level of contempt and superiority towards other races, such as house elves. Lucius was the same; he just hoped it wasn't a problem in some world. There were so many different races and worlds, where even wizards were looked down upon and treated like third-class citizens.
"Alright, I'll go show Dobby his... work, see you at lunchtime." I nodded in his direction, "Dobby, follow me." I had said simply before creating a portal that, to my surprise, Dobby barely hesitated to enter.
The next few hours were spent showing Dobby around the mansion in the pocket dimension and the rest of the island. It was… quite an experience to show the overexcited elf around the island, but his enthusiasm made it easy to assign him chores. I had decided that Dobby's main job was to take care of the animals and plants; it was the most important thing that needed to be maintained. Keeping the mansion clean came second, at least until we had a better maintenance system in place.
Once I finished preparing lunch and convincing a deranged house elf that yes, I liked to cook and no, he wasn't a bad house elf for letting me cook and yes, he was a good elf, and he could take care of the animals' food in the Vivarium, the trio arrived at the kitchen.
"You're finally here." I huffed as I finished placing the lunch on the table. Everyone quickly took a seat. I rolled my eyes and sat down with them to eat. I waited for everyone to finish before asking. "Did anyone forget anything?" I asked, and the others quickly shook their heads in response. I nodded. "So, I wanted to go somewhere with you, Bella, Cissy." I looked at them.
"Oh? Where? Shall we go shopping?" Cissy asked excitedly. I made a face.
"...to Andromeda's house." That stopped both Black sisters stiffly, who stared at me intensely.
"What?" Bellatrix growled dangerously, almost like a threat. I could see her darkness breaking through her physical form. I rolled my eyes.
"You don't scare me," I said simply. She just groaned, "and… I know you miss her; it's obvious. I thought you should have one last meeting before we leave… who knows for how long." Really, we didn't have anything planned about the trip we were going to take; it could be as short as a few weeks before we returned to this world, or it could be years before we decided to.
She looks at both Black sisters, who have a conflicted look, and I can understand it. Both had conflicting feelings about Andromeda; they were her sisters, but at the same time, Andromeda abandoned them both for Ted, never even trying to get in touch with either of them.
"I want to go." Narcissa said, looking at Bellatrix. Bellatrix grimaced before sighing.
"Let's go before I change my mind." Bellatrix growled, and I immediately stood up and created a portal. I knew where she lived, and Severus knew where Andromeda and Nymphadora had been living. It only took me a few minutes to confirm in this world that it was still the same place. Yes, it was.
Both sisters looked at the portal. Narcissa took Bellatrix's hand and gazed at her with a fragile smile. Bellatrix sighed before they crossed the portal.
"This is going to end badly." Lucius sighed beside me. I looked at him questioningly, and he just shook his head before entering through the portal. Well... how bad could it go?
---
"You're a fucking bitch, Andy! How dare you run away like that!"
"Did you just try to jinx me, Bella! In my own home?! How dare you!"
" Aaww, aren't you the cutest little thing in the world? Who is a beauty? You are Nymphadora."
"Here's some tea, I hope you enjoy it."
"Thank you, Mr. Tonks, for your hospitality. You have a beautiful home."
"Damn! You gave me a stinging jinx! You'll pay for this, Andy!
"Just try it, Bella, if you're not afraid to do it!"
"There's no need to lie, Mr. Malfoy. I'm sure this isn't what you're used to."
"Oh, on the contrary, we've been to Serena's house several times, we've gotten used to... Muggle things."
"Bitch!"
"Who are you calling a bitch?! Bitch!"
I sighed deeply as I looked at the scene in front of me. Narcissa was cradling Nymphadora in her arms. We had barely entered the house, and Narcissa had stolen Nymphadora from her mother's arms, practically spoiling her with everything she had.
Lucius was sitting off to the side, drinking his poor-quality tea that Ted Tonks had just served while talking cordially to the aforementioned. He seemed happy to ignore the rest of the scene while talking to Malfoy without a hint of fear.
On the other hand, Bellatrix and Andromeda were throwing curses and insults at each other in the living room. I must say that it seemed that neither of them was serious. Bellatrix had obviously only been using her wand without any kind of enhancement, and Andromeda had been carefully throwing her curses so that they did not reach in our direction, specifically in Nymphadora's direction.
I had several options: I could intervene and separate them, or…
"Cissy, don't hog Nymphadora, let me see her."
Or ignore it like everyone else.
----
"Thanks for that, Sera. It was wonderful to see Andy again, and Nymphadora was an absolute delight." Narcissa smiled at me once we were back at the mansion in our pocket dimension, having finally stayed the whole day, including dinner, which I had prepared much to the Tonks' amazement.
"You're welcome. I was going to mention it a while ago, it just… seemed right to do it now." I said simply, Narcissa smiled widely at me.
"Still, thank you." Narcissa thanked me again, and I sighed as I smiled back. We stayed silent for a few seconds before Narcissa elbowed Bellatrix, who grimaced and sighed.
"...thanks, Sera, it was... nice to see Andy." Bellatrix said with a grimace, trying to play it down, but I could see the same bright eyes that Narcissa had. I chuckled and kissed her chastely.
"Don't worry, Bella, it was a pleasure." I said plainly before breaking away, clapping, and looking widely at the trio. "Very well!" Who's ready for another world?!" I asked excitedly, it was time.
High School DxD, here we go.