Chapter 257 - My CO Stash #57 - A Sorcerers Ambition by The Dark Wolf Shiro (HarryPotterXMulticross) (1/2)

-Damn, Shiro's new fic and it's not a SI but an OC Wizard turned Demon in Harry Potter with a ”bastardised Game System in a Grimoire”. It somehow reminds me of ”Dodging Prison and Stealing Witches” honestly idk he might've been inspired by the author or something! Anyways expect some lewd coming since it's Shiro and all, also it's a multicross fic with Yennefer as our MC's mommy and Triss as his aunt!

(ﾉ´ з `)ノ

Sypnosis: Grayson doesn't have a bad life, not really. But given the chance to improve his on his alright life, he'll grab it without a second thought, even if he has to make a deal with a devil to do so. The sorting hat did say his ambition was dangerous, after all.

Rated: M

Words: 21K

Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/13548552/1/A-Sorcerer-s-Ambition (The Dark Wolf Shiro)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

It would be easy to complain about my life, far too easy. From an outsiders perspective, one might even assume I have a bad life or that I am somehow unfortunate.

They would be wrong, of course.

I am Grayson Raum, the fourth child of the House of Raum, a Pureblood house that can trace its magical lineage back for over three thousand years. Admittedly, yes, I will not inherit my family's impressive fortune or titles as most of it will be going to the heir of the family, my older brother Damian, but I will still inherit enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life without working.

I am in the top ten students in every class at school, and I have never dropped below third place overall. Anyone with my grades could hold their heads up high. My school is highly prodigious after all, the best in Europe and quite possibly the world.

”Second place, again?” Mothers voice pulls me out of my musings as I look at her, meeting her violet eyes. Her face is utterly blank as she stares at me, and I keep my own face the same.

Occlumency is such a useful art. It stops petty things like nervousness or shame from being shown on my face at my mother's emotionless stare. She'd be disappointed if my mental barriers were so weak that a report card was enough to break them. It came naturally to me, the cold pragmatism that it brings suited my base personality and I have always been good with the more subtle arts.

”Well done, I suppose.” she says, putting my report down. ”I would be more impressed if you hadn't been beaten by a muggleborn, again.” she drawls, her tone a mixture of teasing and judging in equal measure.

”Thank you, mother.” I say calmly, we've had this conversation twice before. After my first year, when Granger beat me for first place and after my second year... when Granger beat me for first place.

”Hm, it doesn't really matter what place you get in the first four years, Gray. The only two years that truly matter are fifth and seventh. I expect you to do better for those.” she says, drinking her tea calmly as she stares at me.

One might think that she is being unfair, but she simply expects the best of her children.

”I understand, Mother.” I say with a perfectly even tone.

”Prepare your mind.” Mother says, taking a sip of her tea as she locks eyes with me. I have all of a split second to fortify my mental defences before her probe slams against them, battering the walls around my mind.

Her probe pulls back, having failed against my prepared mind, and moments later it approaches again, far more subtle as it tests my defences, looking for any weaknesses she can exploit.

Then she breaks eye contact, calmly finishing her tea.

”Impressive. You do have a talent for the subtler arts.” she compliments, I don't show any outwards signs of pride, I know I'm still being tested, but I do mentally smile. ”Despite your other weaknesses.” she continues, puncturing that smile with a sharp comment.

Right... my weaknesses.

I have magic, like everyone in my family... but unlike my older brother or sisters, my magic is weak. Spells that my brother could cast all day leave me tired, incantations that my sisters could use to make roaring infernos give me a sputtering flame.

This has had an unexpected positive, however, as my control over my magic is almost inhuman, as I've had to learn to squeeze every last drop out of my spells.

”Before you woke up, I hid something for you in the manor, pull its location out of my mind.” Mother orders, making eye contact again as I send my own mental probe forwards into her mind.

I don't use force, I don't have the power to force my way into the far stronger witches mind, instead I slowly test her mind. There are holes in her defences, but they are traps, and as I avoid them her lips twitch proudly.

Finding a real gap in her mental walls, I slowly probe it, getting access to her memories of the day, she is making this easier for me, of course. Mother is a master of the mental arts, I'm simply an apprentice.

Her memories of her day are deliberately jumbled as she makes things harder, throwing false and irrelevant memories in my way, searching for her morning. I'm an early riser, so she must have done it either late last night or early this morning.

Narrowing the time-zone down helps speed this up as she fights my attempts to pull up the right memory, flashes of her having breakfast with my sisters thrown in my way as I look at her earliest memory today, watching her get out of bed. If she genuinely wanted me out, she'd have overwhelmed my mind with a thought, but as this is a test, and she is giving me a fighting chance.

Even still, avoiding her attempts to throw me out as I navigate her memories is difficult, and just before she flings me from her mind, I get the memory I was looking for, mother placing a wrapped package in a hidden compartment in the family library.

”Well done.” she says simply, nothing more, nothing less. ”I expect your homework to be completed with at least two weeks of the summer left, all at Outstanding level.” Mother says as she opens her paper, our conversation over.

”Of course, mother. Have a nice day.” I say, getting a nod as she starts reading.

People have seen me interact with my mother and assumed that she is cold and unloving.

Leaving the living room, I head for the library. Mother doesn't waste time with pointless gifts, if she has set something aside for me, I will need it.

Heading through the manor we call our home, I reach the library with practised ease, letting a small smile settle on my face as I look over the dozens of filled shelves lining the walls, a cosy armchair resting in front of the fireplace (enchanted, obviously).

I spend more time here than anywhere else in the manor.

Books have always been my passion, or to be more precise, knowledge has always been my passion.

Even with my mother's memory, it takes me a moment to work out how to open the false panel at the bottom of one of the bookcases, needing pressure in just the right position to cause it to unclasp, allowing me to pull it away and reach inside, retrieving my package.

Moving the small wrapped parcel over to the table in the middle of the room, I carefully unravel it, catching the glint of black metal as I reveal my 'gift'.

Picking up the small black key, I turn it over with a slight frown, not knowing what it unlocks. A moment of investigation later reveals the carefully folded parchment still in the wrapping.

Grayson

If you are reading this, your Occlumency skills are now strong enough for you to be allowed to move onto more advanced magic. This key unlocks the door to the Raum Family Library Restricted Section.

As I read, my eyes widen in shock, shooting up to the locked door in between two bookshelves, my hand gripping the key tighter.

I doubt I need to remind you that the magic within those walls is far more dangerous than ordinary spells, or that most of them are outlawed by the ministry's 'dark arts' ban.

One day, I'll ask mother how she manages to fill her letters with such scorn. I can feel her disgust through the paper.

I will not patronise you by warning you away from the 'dark arts', nor will I forbid you from reading whichever book you desire. All knowledge is power, and you are a Raum, power is in your very blood. What you do with the knowledge within is for you to decide.

Your Mother, Yennefer Atria Raum née Black

Folding the letter up, I slip it in the pocket of my trousers and move to the door, carefully unlocking it.

Taking a deep breath, I step into the room that had seemed so impenetrable for so many years, looking around the dark room, no light within.

As I enter, the room lights up as dozens of enchanted flames come to life, floating in the air as they light up the room with an eerie silver glow.

Moving over to the closet bookshelf, I pause. Where do I even begin here? There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of tomes lining the walls.

...Now I understand why she mentioned my homework. She knew I wouldn't want to leave this place.

Reaching up, I grab the first book I touch, pulling it out with a smile.

Humans and their use in Alchemy, Potions and Rituals.

...Okay, maybe not this one.

Next.

One-thousand ways to end your foes.

...Maybe, this one?

- One Week Later – 02/08/1994 -

Normally, I'm excited to go back to school, but this year the approaching school year feels more like a timer ticking down until I'm dragged away from this marvellous place.

I have just over four weeks before I have to go back, but the first week of the summer basically vanished as I explored the restricted section.

I even ate and slept here for the first few nights, having the House Elves bring me my meals, but mother put a stop to that.

This room is an endless supply of knowledge, no matter the subject, Curses to Charms, Alchemy to Runes, everything from healing magic to curses so bad they'd get me thrown in prison for just practising them... if I got caught.

Mother has always taught me that banning knowledge is just a way for the Ministry to control us, and there is no denying that my family is a 'Dark' one.

One of the darkest actually, given that mothers maiden name was Black.

'Dark'. What a moronic concept. Magic is magic, you can kill someone just as easily with a levitation charm or a modified hair-lengthening spell as you could a curse, tossing them off a building or strangling them with their own hair.

My family are classed as Dark because we are conservative, we refused to turn over our library that we built up over thousands of years when the Ministry started outlawing entire branches of magic and because we support the rights of Purebloods and see blood purity as important.

All things Dumbledore doesn't like.

To be clear, we have never joined a Dark Lord, Voldemort was an insane psychopath who would have led our world to destruction. My father outright laughed in his face when his Death Eaters tried to recruit him... which is probably why I was raised by my mother now that I think of it.

After my father's death, mother raised the manor wards to their highest state and then simply waited for the war to end.

Could Voldemort have taken them down? Possibly, but he never got a chance to find out when he went and got killed by a baby.

But, if you aren't a follower of the Lord of Light, you're either a Neutral or Dark family, and my family is too connected to the Black's to be Neutral, so we must be Dark.

Plus, our family magic is classed as 'Dark' by the Ministry's guidelines that they put in place after Voldemort's defeat, and while there are too many laws protecting family magic for them to outlaw it, it still leaves the 'Light' families treating us like we eat puppies for breakfast.

Morons.

Of course, the Dark families are mostly inbred with delusions of adequacy. Keeping your bloodline pure is important, but anyone with a working brain can see how inbreeding so closely has resulted in both the magic and the mind of the child growing weak. Just look at Crabbe and Goyle.

My family have stayed pure, but we did so by marrying from out of the country. Every pairing is carefully researched to make sure they aren't closely related, some relation is almost impossible to avoid after so many generations in such a small society (at least compared to the non-magical population), but we can at least keep it distant enough to stop the many issues that inbreeding causes.

Of course, that didn't stop me from being born so... hindered.

Magic isn't a muscle, it doesn't get stronger as you use it. You get born with a certain amount of magic, and that's what you are stuck with. Some people have potent magic, but not much of it... like both my sisters. Some people have fairly weak magic, but they have it in abundance, like my brother.

Some people get born with a seemingly endless supply of immensely powerful magic, those people are the ones that become legends. Voldemort, Dumbledore, Potter.

And some people get born with a tiny pool of weak magic... that's me.

I'm not particularly bitter, but it has left me with a significant disadvantage.

This room has hundreds of thousands of spells within it, just waiting for the right person to crack open the books and use the knowledge within... but I just don't have enough magic to use them effectively.

I'm not giving up, obviously. The Sorting Hat told me I was dangerously ambitious before it sent me to Slytherin despite my studious nature, and it was right.

I'm not satisfied living off my families wealth, I have things I want to achieve.

Simply put, I want to learn magic. All the magic.

And I refuse to believe that in a world of magical wonders, there is no way to increase the potency and capacity of my magical power. If people claim it is impossible, that simply means they haven't found it yet.

Sighing, I close the book on ritual magic and place it back on the shelf. It was interesting, but it was just a theory book.

...I need to do my summer homework anyway, if I forget and run out of time mother would be... displeased (something that I can easily admit could happen if I get caught up in reading).

- Later -

”Gray...” a voice says, making me mentally sigh despite my fondness. I know that tone.

”Yes, Keira?” I drawl, looking up at her with a blank stare, my eyes lingering on the parchment in her hands.

”Since you're doing your homework, I thought we could do it together?” Keira, my slightly older sister, asked with what she no doubt thought was a sly smile.

”Meaning you want to dump it on me again?” I deadpan, making her green eyes widen as a slight blush comes to her pale cheeks, looking down, so her blonde hair falling in front of her face for a moment.

”Of course not! I just... you aren't buying it, are you?” Keira asked with a sigh as she sat next to me, her green eyes locked on mine as she tries to pull off the 'puppy-dog' look.

”No, no, I am not. And stop that, you're supposed to be the older responsible one.” I say with a smirk. ”Let me guess, mother?” I ask, watching her sigh.

Despite her being a year above me, she's had me doing her homework since my first year when she realised I was reading her school books to get ahead. Don't get me wrong, she's intelligent... brilliant even, but she's a bit of a brat. She makes it worth my while, though.

”Mother.” she agrees. ”We both know I am terrible at writing essays, and Snape set seven of them... I think he just hates happiness.” she drawls. ”Since you do my homework, mother expects it done to your standard, which is far above mine. I would be ever so grateful...” she says with a smile, sighing as I just stare at her blankly. ”Okay, fine! The usual?” Keira asks with a roll of her eyes.

”The usual.” I agree. We found a spell in the Family Library that lets us switch my handwriting with hers, Keira thinks this has stopped mother from realising.

She's wrong, mother has known since the first essay, she just let it happen because Keira is actually very intelligent, she just hates homework. Besides, we both benefit from this.

”Thanks, Gray. This is why you're my favourite brother.” Keira says happily, pulling me into a tight hug.

”When Damian is my only competition, I better be your favourite.” I say, making her laugh.

”Indeed, I think I'd prefer a troll as a brother over him.” Keira drawls. ”So... I can't help but notice you didn't take my advice.” she says, making me freeze as I finish off my essay on Stinksap and its uses in Healing for Herbology.

”I considered it... but decided against it.” I say quickly, making her sigh.

”And they say Ravenclaws are loners... if you Slytherins become any more introverted, you'll vanish. Three years, and you haven't made a single friend. These are the best years of your life, and you're wasting them with your nose stuck in your books. Don't you want a girlfriend?” Keira asks, making me sigh.

Here we go again.

”N-” I start with a sigh.

”Or a boyfriend, I wouldn't judge.” Keira continues.

”I like girls, thank you.” I say calmly as I start working on one of her Potions assignments, on the proper brewing of the Shrinking Solution Potion.

”Wonderful, we are finally getting somewhere. Name a girl you like, and I'll set you up, and don't pretend you don't have one, you're fourteen.” Keira says making me sigh. ”What about Cho? Or Padma?” she asks.

”Please stop trying to set me up with your friends.” I say with a long-suffering sigh. ”You do realise that I am not exactly... attractive?” I ask, making her roll her eyes.

”Please, you say that like you're hideous. Sure, you're a bit plain, but if we go to my room, I have a book on cosmetic charms that-”

”I'm going to stop you right there... you are not casting a single cosmetic charm on me after your last attempt.” I deadpan, making her blush.

”That... was an accident, and you know it.” Keira sputters as I grin at her.

”I had pink and green hair for two weeks. Two Weeks.” I deadpan as she laughs nervously. ”In the middle of the school year.” I continue, making her rub the back of her neck with a sheepish smile.

Our home is so heavily warded that the Ministry can't detect underaged magic being cast on the grounds, something me and my sisters have abused heavily, it's great for practising and convenience, but it has had some... consequences.

”Fine, fine... but next year, you are going to make some friends... you can either do it your way... or mine.” she says menacingly, giggling as I sigh. ”We both know I'm not going to give up.”

Yes, yes we do.

”I'll take your advice into consideration.” I say making her roll her eyes. ”Besides, I think the option of getting a girlfriend is going to be taken from me soon.”

”Please, you don't actually believe that, right? There's no way mother is actually going to set up a betrothal contract, they're so old fashioned and mother wouldn't do that to you.” Keira promises. ”Besides, don't change the subject. We were talking about your lack of friends.”

Sighing, I briefly wonder if pointing out that I have some friends would help... well, a friend... I have a close acquaintance. Not 'close' but we are acquainted. I have an acquaintance... No, that really wouldn't help my case.

Ignoring her babbling, I continue working on her assignment. She isn't going to shut up any time soon.

- Four Days Later – 06/08/1994 -

Getting mine... and Keira's homework done wasn't that hard, mostly because I kept copies of the homework I did for Keira last year and just edited it so I could use it as my own homework.

It would have been easier without Keira nagging me about my lack of a love life, like she can talk, but I got it done either way, all at Outstanding level. Naturally.

Keira, now free from her homework, has practically fled the manor to go to Diagon Alley to meet Cho and her other friends. She's bringing me ice-cream back.

Our other sister is around, but we don't... get along. At all.

So I'm avoiding her, and Damian has left to go meet his friends, despite having not done his homework. I suspect mother is going to have words for him when he gets back.

Back in the restricted section, I close another tome on magic I can't use in my current state.

Placing it back on the shelf, I pause as I look around the room.

Ever since I came here, something has been bothering me about it... and as I've spent more and more time in here, it has only gotten worse.

Every wall is covered in bookshelves... expect one small section, which is just blank. It's irritated me since I got here... but then I realised something.

The main library is the same, and the only section not covered in books has the door to the restricted section... so why is that spot blank?

I've always been good at spotting hidden things, I found a dozen secret passageways through Hogwarts in my first year alone, and my senses tell me that there is something behind this wall.

This calls for an investigation! I'll have this open by nightfall.

- Six Days Later – 12/08/1994 -

I hate you, wall. And I want you to know that I don't say that lightly.

I dislike my eldest sister, I definitely dislike my elder brother. But I have never truly hated anything before I met you. You are a sadistic abomination and I will best you, nothing you do can stop that.

Staring at the wall, I scowl.

I was right, it is a secret passageway... but unlike the others I have found, it doesn't have one action needed to open it, it has two from what I can tell.

One involved moving three of the floating lights above the wall in a particular combination, which made the outline of a door with three slots around it show up. The combination was hidden in the artwork carved on top of one of the bookcases. The other needed me to pull out a specific book, find the gem hidden in the magical compartment in the back of the book and then place it in the right slot on the door.

If you put it in the wrong slot, which I did, the book and gem vanish and re-appear somewhere else in the library... with the book cover changed. There are well over a thousand books in the restricted section alone.

I have barely slept this past week, but after... let's just say a bit of effort, I have done it.

Two gems are in place, and the third resting in my hand.

What colossal bastard designed this?

What is so important that it needed all this to stop people from getting in?

Pausing before I place the last gem in place, I give the wall a smug smirk. I have conquered you, wall.

Placing it inside, the gems flash... and then vanish, the doors outline fading from view.

...What?

Staring at the blank wall, I do the reasonable thing and punch the wall as hard as I can, gritting my teeth at the burst of pain.

While I consider the pros and cons of buying a magical pickaxe, holding my possibly broken hand, my attention is dragged back to the wall as the lights go from silver to a deep red, a bit of blood on the wall from my broken skin.

For a moment, I think I've triggered a security measure, my heart skipping a beat, but to my joy and triumph, the cold stone of the wall starts to move, brick by brick as it reveals a staircase behind it.

...Wait a minute, did I just have to bleed on the wall? But... the gems? The lights?

No... what kind of asshole would make someone do all that for no reason?

Clutching my damaged hand, I head towards the stairs. I spent my every waking moment trying to work this out, I want to see what exactly I spent my time for.

The passageway is fairly dusty, which is alarming if for no other reason than because the House Elves hate dust with a passion, which means they don't know about this place... but Elves are bound to the very manor, which means if they don't know about it then it can only mean that this passageway is warded even more than the rest of the manor.

Heading further down the stairway, I realise that I must be under the manor by now... past even the bas.e.m.e.nt as the stairway just keeps going, leaving me walking for what seems like ages before I reach the bottom, a small room at the bottom.

I had expected another library, one even more restricted... and I might have been right.

The only thing in the room aside from a single enchanted torch on the wall is a single pedestal, with three things sitting on the top of it.

In the middle is a tome, it's thick with a black leather binding, there are no words on the front... but there is a red circle on the symbol.

A pair of circles, one inside the other with four letters in between them, arranged at the top, bottom, left and right side with a strange symbol inside the smaller circle, the symbol means nothing to me, just a bunch of lines and circles... but the letters?

R. A. U. M.

My family name.

The Tome must be ancient, the bindings are pristine, but it has that... look that only antique books have, and it is only as I look at it that I realise that there is no dust on the book, or the pedestal at all.

Looking at the other objects, I frown slightly as I pick up the second item, examining it.

The handle of the small dagger is shaped in the form of a winged demon that seems to stare at you no matter how you look at it, and the blade itself is a deep black. It's fairly unremarkable in the grand scheme of things, demon imagery isn't unusual in artifacts belonging to Dark families.

It takes me a moment to transfigure my wand holster to have a spot for the dagger, slipping it into the holster on my belt. I've transfigured it to make it very hard to spot the daggers hiding place, my wand drawing the attention from the tiny slit the dagger is hidden in.

I earned this, and this place hasn't been touched in years. No-one will notice it is missing.

The third item is a blood-red potion inside a high-quality crystal vial, with a small letter tied to it.

For the descendant of Raum, to awaken what lies within.

Hm.

I am not going to drink some random mystery potion.

...But I am taking it with me.

Pocketing it, I pick up the book next.

Despite not being locked, the book refuses to open up.

Well... it worked once? Looking at my still injured hand, I place my slightly bleeding fist on the cover, despite my scholarly side screaming at me for dirtying an ancient tome.

The moment I do, a cold wind passes through the room, extinguishing the magical flame of the torch. The shadows flooding the room seem... deep, menacing, and I promptly decide I don't want to be down here any more.

Taking the book with me, I head back upstairs, perhaps just a bit faster than I would typically walk, getting back to the restricted room.

As I leave, the wall reforms behind me, leaving me with my loot.

Sitting down at the table, I take a deep breath.

Whatever this book is, it was well hidden... and sometimes things are hidden for a reason.

As I go to open the book, the door opens with a bang, making me jump, looking like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

”Got your ice-cream. Chocolate and Caramel with chopped nuts.” Keira says before pausing. ”Gray... what happened to your hand?”

- That Night -

Escaping Keira's fussing over my broken hand, I escape to my bedroom with my new tome under my arm.

She made me go to mother, and I had to claim I got angry and punched the table after I failed a spell. Keira thought it was hilarious, claiming that puberty had finally caught up with me, but I have a feeling mother didn't believe me.

Mother fixed it with a single spell, then lectured me over losing control of my emotions for close to an hour. She wasn't mad, just disappointed.

Sitting on my bed, I look over the book again. What is so special about you that you had to be so well hidden? Time to find out...

Slowly opening it up, my room is filled with a dark purple light as the very text on the parchment glows, symbols and words in a language I don't know covering the first page...

Only, I do know the language. I've never seen this script before, but when I look at the words, my mind translates it into English.

The Grimoire of Raum, Demon Sorcerer and Great Earl of Hell.

Demons... aren't real. That is the official stance on them, that they are just a fictional creation of the non-magical due to their lack of understanding and as far as I am aware, no-one has managed to disprove that.

And yet...

If you are reading this, you are of my Blood.

You must be, the curse on my Grimoire would have consumed your soul otherwise, and only by my blood can the hidden chamber be opened.

Consumed my what now?

This Grimoire is the end result over thousands of years of research, and if it is in your hands... I have been slain. Whether by my fellow Demon Lords or by the forces of Light, I do not know. This means one of the 72 thrones of Hell sits empty, this is unacceptable.

My Heir, a potion of my design should have been with the Grimoire, this will awaken my blood within you fully, I know not how long it has been, but the Demonic blood will likely have grown thin as the generations passed by.

The Demonic Blood will give you power, it will provide you with access to powers beyond mere mages, and it will keep you young and healthy, for all time, but it is not without its cost.

The Path of the Demon Lord is no easy thing, it is set upon with peril and opposition, it is not for the light-hearted, for a Demon Lord must coat themselves in Sin. Demons can still be killed, even if we do not age or grow sick, and there will be people wanting to either slay or use you for their own ends.

If you choose to defy your fate, take the Grimoire and Potion back to the room you found it, I will not judge or scorn your choice.

If you wish to start on the path of the Demon Lord, you need only drink the potion. The rest of this Grimoire can only be opened by a Demon of my Blood, the choice is yours.

Your Ancestor, Raum the Great Earl of Hell.

There's a second page that I can read, and it makes my heart almost stop.