Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Will you tell me a story mama?”

Layla smiled down at her daughter, reaching out to run a hand through her golden hair. Lucy was such a good girl, always well behaved and quiet. She hardly ever asked for anything, which was why she was more than happy to indulge her whenever she did ask. Besides it was hard not to melt when those pretty green eyes stared up at her so beseechingly. Neither she nor Jude were really sure where the green had come from, but both of them found them stunning nonetheless.

“What kind of story princess?” she asked teasingly, though she already knew the answer. Her daughter only ever wanted to hear about one thing.

“A story about the stars mama,” her only child told her solemnly.

“Of course,” Layla assured her daughter, “How about a story about Capricorn today?”

Lucy nodded and snuggled into her side, staring up at her attentively.

“Let’s see, once, back when I was young, just a few years older than you I…”

Lucy allowed her mother’s words to wash over her as she paid careful attention to the words of the story. She loved these stories about the stars, her mother and magic. They reminded her of the one true parental figure she’d had in her last life. Sirius had always loved telling her about the stars too, because all his family were named after them. Laying on the roof of Grimmauld Place with Sirius listening to him as he told her stories, was one of the few wonderful memories she had of her previous life.

Between the Dursley’s the trials she’d faced at Hogwarts, the war, and her death at age eighteen happy memories for her from that life were few and far between. Fortunately it seemed that this life was going to be far better than the previous one, which made sense. After all when she’d died and gone to the beyond, Fate and Death had told her this life was supposed to be a reward of sorts. A second chance without a prophecy hanging over her, in a new world, with nothing to remind her of her old memories.

At first she’d actually tried to decline said reward, but Death in particular had been insistent, and had even brought in her parents and Sirius to help convince her that it was alright to do so. Listening to the stories her new mother had been telling her from the time she was born, she liked to think they’d also had a hand in choosing where exactly she ended up. Sirius in particular would’ve approved.

“Mama?” she asked determinedly, as her mother finished her story.

“Hmm?”

“Will I be able to summon the spirits too?” it was something she’d been wondering for a while now. Hearing about this strange new branch of magic was absolutely fascinating. She’d never heard of anything like that before even in her last life. She wasn’t sure how magic in this strange new world worked at all, only that it seemed everyone knew about it, it wasn’t hidden at all like in her last world, and everyone who could use it seemed to be different, and that she still had some of it. She could feel it, the same as it had been before, a comforting warmth that hovered around her. Whether or not that meant she could do what her mother did in the stories she told was something she’d yet to find the answer for.

“Would you like to learn someday Lucy?” her mother asked her, and she could see that despite the seriousness with which she’d asked the question there was a strange sort of wistfulness on her mother’s face, one that she didn’t entirely understand.

“I would,” she answered as firmly as she could despite her young age. She was only six after all, but she’d like to begin as soon as possible, after all it sounded really interesting, and she missed being able to use magic, “It would be nice to have some new friends.”

“Are you lonely Lucy?” Layla asked and Lucy could see the stress and sadness on the older woman’s face. She was taken aback by the question, but thinking it over she could see why she would ask. After all any other six-year-old, one who wasn’t reborn would probably be lonely with only her parents, and the servants for company.

Her seclusion was somewhat necessary because of how rich her parents were. There had been kidnapping attempts before that had led them to be exceedingly overprotective of her. Admittedly none of them had actually gotten close thanks to the diligent, loving servants, but she knew it had frightened her parents to bits.

Up to this point she hadn’t really thought a whole lot about her lack of peers, but if she was honest she was a bit glad for their absence. Sure she had a six-year-old body right now, and sometimes that led to somewhat childish behavior, but never so much that she would be comfortable attempting to play with an actual child as equals. After all she had been considered an adult in the wizarding world when she died, and she’d never actually played with a child before not even when she’d actually been one no thanks to the Dursleys and Dudley.

“No mama,” she assured her mother, wanting to erase the guilt on her face more than she wanted to press to learn magic right away, “I have you and papa and Spetto, and Bero, and Ribbon and Aed.”

Unfortunately her reassurance didn’t actually seem to help, instead her mother looked even more troubled as she ran gentle fingers through Lucy’s hair. She watched as a myriad of expressions seemed to come over her mother’s face, before finally settling on determination.

She squeaked in surprise as her mother lifted her up into her arms, standing up from where they’d been sitting on one of the lavish couches in the family sitting room, and moving swiftly down the hall, and into the library.

Curious she opened her mouth to ask her mother where they were going only to be set carefully on her feet as her mother used her now free hand to knock on the door to the librarian’s personal rooms.

There was a brief shuffling noise and then the door swung open to reveal a short, extremely old man, leaning heavily on a walking stick. He was the only person she knew in this new life who wore a robe, and one of the few in either life who actually wore one of the signature pointed hats of witches and wizards in a florid pink color with a bright yellow heart, the type of combination that would’ve made Dumbledore proud.

He was also extremely familiar to her, one of the handful of servants her parents trusted implicitly. Bero was a kindly old man who was extremely knowledgeable about magic. Unfortunately he tended to ramble off on to tangents whenever she tried to ask questions leading her to be even more confused than before she asked.

“Madam Layla! And little Miss Lucy, what can I do for you this fine afternoon?” he asked his frail, reedy voice cheerful despite its wavering quality.

“Bero,” her mother greeted clear fondness in her voice, “I know you usually are organizing the books this hour, but I was wondering if you had the time to do me a favor.”

“Of course, of course, come on in girls, I was actually just about to make some tea, you’re more than welcome to join me,” he told them gesturing them into the room.

The three of them got settled with Bero providing her several books to sit on to boost her so she could reach the table properly, a use for books that would’ve left Hermione and Madam Pince in hysterics if they’d ever seen it. She would’ve been a bit embarrassed about it if he wasn’t also using a few as a seat himself.

“So what favor were you hoping to ask of me Madam Layla?” Bero asked as they all sipped their tea.

“I was hoping that you might be willing to begin teaching Lucy how to open the Celestial Gates,” Layla informed him bluntly causing Bero to choke on his tea in surprise and Lucy herself to fumble a bit with her cup, spilling a couple droplets on her dress, not that she noticed or cared as she stared hopefully between her mother and Bero.

“Madam Layla are you sure?” Bero asked surprised, “I know you’ve always hoped Lucy will follow in your footsteps and become a Celestial Mage like you, but she’s a bit young still.”

“She asked me today if she could learn,” her mother explained looking half extremely proud and half profoundly sad, “And while I don’t think she should start on anything big yet, she could at least try for a silver key, it may not work right away of course, especially since she’s never used magic before, but with some trying I know she could do it.”

Bero was frowning thoughtfully glancing between her and her mother and she gave him her best pleading stare hope growing in her chest at the idea that she might soon be able to use magic again.

“And besides, Lucy wants to have a companion, a friend, what better friend than a Celestial Spirit?” Layla coaxed.

Bero’s face instantly softened and he nodded, “Alright dears, I can certainly show her how, and we do have a few silver keys around that she can pick from to try.”

“Oh thank you mama! Bero!” she cheered ecstatic, unable to help herself as childish glee mixed with adult relief at being able to use magic again, even if it wasn’t the magic she’d been used to.

“Don’t get too excited just yet missy!” Bero warned her though his face and tone were kind, “First let’s make sure you remember enough from the stories, after all it wouldn’t do to have you jump right in without any knowledge.”

Lucy nodded a bit ruefully, more than willing to be patient. They would get there eventually now that both her mama and Bero had agreed she could try, and besides she’d been burned too many times because she didn’t have the information she needed. She’d learned her lesson there.

“Good girl,” Bero approved with a nod, “Now tell me what you remember about keys.”

“There are several types of keys,” Lucy began racking her brain for what she knew, “and each key opens a gate for a Celestial Spirit to pass from the Spirit Realm to Earthland. There are eighty-eight different types of keys in all, based on the eighty-eight constellations. The first and lowest tier keys are the silver keys, while they’re the lowest tier, they’re also the most varied type of key both in the power it takes to open their gates and in what the Celestial Spirit whose gate the key opens, can do.”

“They’re also the most common type of key with several copies of the same key for most of the gates, though some keys are rarer than others,” she kept going warming to her subject, realizing that from her mother’s stories she actually knew far more than she’d thought she did, “the next tier of keys are the golden keys, there are twelve of the regular gold keys which link to the zodiac constellations, and one black gold key which links to the constellation Ophiucus. These are far rarer than the silver keys with only one known key for each zodiac in existence.”

“Finally there are the legendary crystal keys,” she breathed excited just thinking about them, “These keys as implied in the name are only known in legend, and no one in living memory has found or wielded one successfully because they need so much magic from the Celestial Mage to open the gate and power the spirit.”

“Very good, very good,” Bero cheered as she finished her explanation, and she blushed, embarrassed and pleased at her mother and Bero’s proud smiles.

“Now what we haven’t told you yet is that when a Celestial Mage first calls a Spirit with their key, a contract has to be made,” Bero lectured, his reedy voice surprisingly firm, “This is a contract that tells you when the Spirit allows you to call on them, and what they’re willing to do when you call. Not all spirits like to fight after all, and others only like to fight!”

“These contracts are very important Lucy,” her mother took over gently but firmly her eyes very serious, “They’re a promise between Mage and Spirit, one that must never, ever be broken, you cannot forget a single part of that contract, not ever Lucy, this is the most important part of being a Celestial Mage.”

“Indeed, indeed,” Bero agreed, “Unlike other types of mage we work with living creatures, who have thoughts, feelings, and desires of their own. Therefore there are three rules that I set down for every Celestial Mage I train.”

“First, spirits are friends, they aren’t tools or toys,” he told her firmly, raising a finger, “Second our keys are a physical manifestation of our bond to our spirits and are never to be disrespected. And finally, and most importantly…”

“A Celestial Mage never breaks a promise,” her mother and Bero intoned together, though Bero added, “Be that through a contract or through spoken words.”

“Normally I wouldn’t allow you to do this, this young, because most children your age wouldn’t understand the severity of breaking promises, losing the trust and loyalty of the spirits can have dreadful consequences, but you’re a very mature girl, you always have been. Do you understand Lucy?” her mother asked gently, running her fingers through her hair.

Lucy nodded solemnly. The last rule sounded like it worked very much the same way as magical vows and contracts worked, especially with the vaguely ominious ‘dreadful consequences’. After all magic in her last life did not take oath breakers by written or spoken word lightly and nearly always earned themselves lethal and extraordinarily painful retribution of some kind depending on the severity of the broken oath.

“I understand mama, Bero, I’ll be very careful and treat my new friend right,” she assured them gravely.

“Good girl,” Bero affirmed patting her leg gently, “Now since you already know most of what you need to know, all that’s left is to show you how to open a Celestial gate.”

He hopped carefully down from his seat and moved into a more open part of the room instructing, “Pay careful attention now Lucy, the magic to open Celestial gates is all the same, the only difference is the key you use and the amount of magic it takes to both open the gate and keep it open.”

Lucy nodded as the elderly man produced a key from the folds of his robe and turned to the side, he held the key out as if reaching for a door, and turned the key as if unlocking it intoning the words, “Gate of the Southern Cross, I open thee Crux!”

There was a whoosh and a sound that reminded her of the ringing of a doorbell, and a strange spirit appeared in a shower of sparkles. He was floating cross-legged in midair, with his hands on his knees, humanoid in shape, with an old man’s knobby knees and elbows, except for his head which was an enormous silver cross that looked far too big for his body. The cross had intricate gold designs on it, and there was a face at the center, with the features of an old man and a strangely shaped mustache whose handlebars were shaped like crosses.

“You called Bero?” the old spirit asked in a voice very similar to Bero’s own.

“Yes Crux my old friend,” the mage greeted with a cheery smile, “I wanted to introduce you to our newest Celestial mage to be, Lucy Heartfilia. She’ll be getting her first key today and I wanted to show her how it was done, and was hoping you’d explain what you do to her so she can get an idea of some of the varied powers of silver keys.”

The spirit turned his gaze on her and smiled floating over to where she sat. She immediately hopped off her chair and curtsied politely the way her mother had taught her to do when father’s important business associates came around.

“Hello child, such a polite little girl, and Heartfilia, that must make you Layla’s daughter,” the spirit greeted kindly, “You look just like her.”

“Yes sir, that’s my mama,” she agreed casting a glance back at her mother who was smiling proudly.

“No need for sir, I’m too old and crusty for formalities, just call me Crux,” the spirit told her with a laugh, “And Layla dear, it’s wonderful to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too old friend,” her mother agreed walking forward to hug the spirit who embraced her in return.

“How are you dear?” Crux asked gently his voice kind and concerned.

“Doing well,” Layla agreed though not without a meaningful glance in her direction, one that made her frown in confusion and concern even as Crux nodded his understanding.

“Good, good,” the spirit replied cheerfully before turning back to Lucy, “Now, let’s see Bero wanted me to explain my contract to you hmm?”

He stroked his mustache carefully as he explained, “I am a keeper of knowledge for the Celestial Realm, there’s very little I don’t know or can’t find out. I use a branch of magic called archive, that lets me search for almost anything. The only limits to the information I can offer my summoner are the limits imposed by the Spirits themselves. It wouldn’t do to reveal personal information after all, that would be cruel, and I cannot tell you where to find keys either.”

“That’s really neat!” Lucy told him as she thought it over, a little awed at the power of this particular spirit. After all if there was one thing Hermione had taught her in all their years of friendship it was that knowledge was a power all its own, “You must know all kinds of interesting things.”

“Indeed I do,” the spirit agreed, clearly flattered as he patted her head, “So is there anything I can help you with before I go?”

“I could use your help identifying some keys before you go,” Bero spoke up reaching into his robes and pulling out a ring with three silver keys dangling from it.

“I see, let me take a look,” Crux offered with a grin floating over and examining the keys closely, before nodding to himself then slumping over, soft snores leaving his mouth.

“He fell asleep!” Lucy yelped in surprise.

Both her mother and Bero erupted into amused laughs, and Lucy turned to look at them completely baffled.

“I’d forgotten how amusing it is when someone sees Crux in action for the first time,” Bero chuckled.

“He’s not asleep Lucy dear, that’s just how he looks and sounds when he uses his archive magic,” her mother explained with a grin.

“I’ve got it!” Crux announced, popping up from his slump like a jack in the box and making her squeak in shock at his sudden enervation.

The spirit held his hand out for the keys that Bero gladly handed over, sifting through them carefully he told them, “This one is The Gate of The Dove, Columba, this is The Gate of the Little Horse, Equus, and finally The Gate of the Great Dog Canis Major.”
“Excellent, thank you Crux,” Bero told the spirit a pleased grin on his face as he accepted the keys back, “Well Miss Lucy? What do you think? Any one of them would be an excellent first friend.”

“For me?” she echoed caught off guard.

“That’s right,” Bero told her with an encouraging smile, “Your first silver key, it’ll be my gift to you, so which one would you like?”

Lucy stared at the keys thoughtfully. Bero was right, each could make a good first choice for her, she was sure any little girl would be pleased to have a pony as a friend, doves were beautiful and with the potential for flight, and dogs were wonderful loyal companions. However there was only one choice for her.

“This one,” she told Bero without hesitation, accepting the key from his hand.

“That one? Are you sure Miss Lucy?” Bero asked clearly surprised.

“I’m sure,” she assured him, palming the key, it was surprisingly warm in her hands. She held it up to her face and examined the silver key, the bow was shaped like a dog’s paw, with the constellation Canis Major engraved into the center footpad and the blade was a series of sharp points obviously meant to represent fangs.

Canis Major, the Great Dog, her fingers closed around it with a fierce sense of joy, and anticipation, Canis Major, the constellation to contain the dog star Sirius, a fitting tribute to the godfather who’d loved her in her first life.

“Alright then, if you’ve made your choice then all that’s left is to try opening the gate,” Bero prompted eagerly, “Just do what I did before.”

She nodded eagerly, taking a firm stance and clutching her key in her hand she brandished it as if she was going to open the door, twisting she called, “Gate of the Great Dog, I open thee, Canis Major!”

It seemed the world was holding its breath in that moment one second, two, three… and nothing.

She looked up at the three others in the room confused and a bit panicked. Could she not do it? Did she not have magic after all? She was sure she’d felt it under her skin before. She wasn’t sure what she would do without it. Sure she knew how to survive without, she’d lived as a muggle for years, but it would be like some enormous part of her was missing, as if she were broken.

Heart beating wildly in anxiety she glanced at the three faces in the room, who were all watching her. The gentle amusement on their faces released some of her tension, “Um what did I do wrong?”

“Lucy dear It’s not your fault, that’s why we said it would probably take a while,” her mother assured her obviously holding back a smile, “You haven’t connected with your magic power yet, that could take some time, and even when you do get there it might take a while to get up enough power to open the gate and sustain it.”

“So it’s because I didn’t use any magic when I tried to open the gate?” she asked hopefully.

“That’s right child,” Crux reassured her and she let out a sigh of relief. She had magic after all, she just hadn’t tapped into it when she did the spell. That made sense, after all you could wave a wand and say all the incantations you wanted but without tapping into your magic it, it was the equivalent of waving around a stick and shouting nonsense words, in other words totally useless.

“Okay. I understand!” she told them with a grin. She could do this, she just had to tap into her magic right?

Crux watched the little girl with amusement as she went to try again. Such a sweet determined child, as to be expected from Layla’s daughter and the Heartfilia line. He was a little confused that they were starting her so young, why he remembered Layla’s training all those years ago and she didn’t even begin until she was fifteen. As it was he really doubted she’d be able to open the gate for several years yet, especially since of the keys she’d been offered she’d chosen the most magic extensive one.

Canis Major only had the one key, one of the few silver ones that did.

Still he was grateful to be witnessing this moment, the first attempts at summoning a Celestial Spirit. It was a defining moment for any Celestial Mage and he was always proud when he got the chance to be a part of it.

He watched as the young girl focused on the key in her hand, her eyes locked on the glinting metal, her small face scrunched up in concentration. She appeared to be taking the summoning very seriously, a rare trait for a child as young as she was. Still the Heartfilia’s had always been exceptional, as the first ones to contract with the Celestial Realm it made sense that they, of all Celestial Mages would be some of the best. The only reason Layla hadn’t become a famous Mage in her own right was because of her illness.

It had been a tragedy to find out the newest Heartfilia wouldn’t be able to remain a true Celestial Mage, and the spirits had all mourned the loss of her talent. Frankly there had been whispers of fear that Layla’s tragic illness might be the end of the Heartfilia line of Celestial Mages.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice at first, and it was only Layla’s quiet gasp of shock that he finally cottoned on to the slow building of power in the room that made the air seem thick and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Small bursts of wind began to move through the air ruffling his clothing, and making loose papers float off the ground as the magic built higher and higher, and hints of gold and bright blue light began to manifest as an enormous magical circle beneath her feet, bathing her from below like a strange spotlight and making her appear almost otherworldly.

Crux gaped as the intensity of the magic continued to rise as the little girl brandished her new key in front of her, her voice, though young and high in pitch ringing with authority and echoing through time and space as she turned the key and called, “Gate of The Great Dog, I open thee Canis Major!”

There familiar sound of a doorbell ringing echoed through the room along with a howl of triumph as an enormous dog manifested in a shower of golden sparks. The power levels in the room began to fade leaving behind the one who’d been called. Compared to the little girl who’d called him the dog was absolutely monstrous in size, twice her height at the shoulder, with massive jaws and a dense fur coat that made it seem even bigger than it was it looked like it could swallow the girl in one bite.

“Hello!” she greeted, and Crux had to admire her utter fearlessness as she stared up at the dog, not the least bit intimidated despite her own rather small size, “My name is Lucy Heartfilia, would you like to be my friend?”

Canis let out an enormous rumbling bark that seemed to shake the entire room, Crux grumbled to himself and rubbed at his poor ears, these young ones, always making such a fuss!

“Thank you!” Lucy cheered, apparently more than able to hear the affirmative despite the deafening sound, “When would you like to be called?”

Crux watched as the two worked out a contract, apparently Canis Major didn’t care when he was called, or for what. By the end of their terms somehow Canis Major had agreed to be called Padfoot, and the two of them were happily running around the room chasing and playing with each other, Lucy’s happy giggles and squeals and Canis Major’s playful barks filling the room with noise.

Glancing at his own summoner he saw Bero watching the pair with amazement and fondness, while Layla was looking at her daughter with unabashed, fierce pride. Looking at the pair Crux couldn’t help but smile. This newest Celestial Mage was already off to a fantastic start, he couldn’t wait to see where she would go from here. Her potential, especially since she’d started so young was practically limitless.

This in mind he sent a respectful nod to Bero, waved at Layla and allowed himself to fade back to the Celestial Realm. There he made his way to the palace eager to share the gossip, the news of the newest Celestial Mage, Lucy Heartfilia.

Layla watched in contentment as her daughter ran around the extensive grounds with Canis Major, dubbed Padfoot by her precocious child, laughing, playing, and just acting like the child she was. For the longest time she’d been worried about Lucy.

As a baby she’d almost never cried, a quiet observant child, it had become obvious as she grew that Lucy was a prodigy of sorts. Jude had been positively thrilled at how precocious their daughter was, and was all set to try to start her in on learning, to get her tested and start pushing to see what the bounds of her intelligence were.

Layla however had immediately put her foot down. Lucy was a child, and so long as she didn’t ask or seem to bored or upset she wasn’t willing to push her and potentially take her childhood away from her. Jude had tried to argue for a while, but Layla had been firm in her position.

Despite her hopes though it seemed between her own serious nature and the numerous kidnapping attempts it had seemed like her daughter was never going to have the joyous childhood that Layla wanted for her. That was until that day when Lucy had expressed an interest in being a Celestial Mage like her.

Part of her compromise with Jude when it came to Lucy’s intelligence was that if she ever showed more than a passing interest in a subject it would be pursued, that in combination with her own quiet hopes that Lucy would continue on the Heartfilia legacy of Celestial Mages meant she’d leapt on the chance, and it seemed her daughter had picked an area where she would truly shine.

She hadn’t realized just how closely Lucy had been paying attention to the stories she’d been telling her since she was a baby until they’d begun trying to teach her everything she might need to know about Celestial magic after her unprecedented successful contract with Canis Major. Her baby had picked up and remembered even some of the smallest details of those stories, and was an eager student, soaking up everything she and Bero could teach her like a sponge.

These days, almost two years after Lucy’s first attempt at Celestial magic it wasn’t unusual to find her daughter curled up with a book, or interrogating Bero, or even Crux about magic. Normally this might have worried her, but when she wasn’t with Bero and Crux, or begging stories from Layla herself she was out with Padfoot, getting into mischief, running around, exploring, and acting more like a little girl than she had at any time during her first six years of life.

Padfoot, much to Jude’s well-hidden ire, had become a bit of a staple at their home. It had started with Lucy calling him for just half an hour a day, as that was as long as Lucy could hold the gate open. This was impressive in and of itself as Lucy had only been six at the time and by normal children’s standards shouldn’t have even been able to open the gate to a key as magic intensive as Canis Major was.

However it was obvious from the beginning that Lucy and Padfoot had a special kind of bond, and her little girl had gone out of her way to summon the dog spirit whenever possible. Slowly but surely a half an hour had become an hour, then two and three, by now Lucy could actually hold Canis Major’s gate open for a full twenty-four hours, and she was becoming more powerful by the day.

In addition with Lucy’s rising powers Padfoot had also gotten some additional abilities. He’d learned to talk, though he still preferred to bark, as that way only Lucy and Layla could really understand what he was saying, and he’d also gotten very good at sneaking around, likely from all their games of hide and seek. At times the enormous black dog seemed to meld and disappear into the shadows. More than once the pair had almost given her poor husband and the servants heart attacks as they seemed to appear out of nowhere. Despite this bit of mischief Layla couldn’t really bring herself to scold the pair, too relieved to see them running around having fun to risk it.

Padfoot’s constant presence also gave them a bit of relief when it came to protecting Lucy from potential kidnappers. Her daughter never went anywhere without Padfoot himself or his key, which meant help was always at hand. Padfoot had proven himself viciously protective of her little girl, and had actually foiled three kidnapping attempts by himself already.

One of the potential kidnappers had actually run screaming out of their house instead of attempting to take her daughter. Not that she could blame them. Padfoot was absolutely huge, with the looks and build of a dog Padfoot had claimed was called a Caucasian Ovcharka, but twice the normal size he was actually big enough that she as an adult could probably ride him comfortably, something her daughter took advantage of all the time.

The two of them were inseparable best friends, and despite her husbands misgivings at times, Layla knew giving that key to her baby that day was the best decision she could’ve made. She couldn’t wait to see where she would go from here on out.

Lucy let out a relieved sigh as she entered her room hurriedly kicking off her shoes and wriggling her way out of the pink party dress her mother had insisted she wear and pulling the pins from her hair as quickly as she could wincing as they pulled at her scalp and gently massaging her fingers over her head trying to relieve some of the ache.

Today was her eighth birthday and her father had decided she was old enough for a formal party. It had been one of the most painful experiences of this life, playing nice with her father’s business associates and their snobbish children, all of whom had eyes on her and were just waiting for her to put a toe out of line so they could tear her to verbal shreds behind her back. It was like swimming in a pond of bloodthirsty, starving, piranhas just waiting for the first hint of blood.

Luckily she’d had her mother there to help shield her from some of the guests, and Padfoot, who had managed to merge himself quietly with her shadows so he could accompany her yet pass unnoticed by the guests who no doubt would’ve thrown a fit over his presence. Her past experience with politics in the year after the war before she’d died, and the gentle coaching she’d been receiving from her mother and the servants since the time she could walk in this life had stood her in good stead.

As far as she could tell she’d managed without any major social faux pas and comported herself appropriately. Still it was a relief to be away from it all finally. She’d been kept far later than most of the other children her age simply because as the hostess it was her duty to say goodbye to the guests. By the time she’d finally been allowed to retreat it was only her father’s business associates left, lingering to speak with one another about an upcoming trade agreement.

Pulling on the nightdress the maid had left out for her she flicked the lights off and plopped on to her large comfortable bed, only moving a bit so she could cuddle up to Padfoot’s side as he crawled out of her shadow and up on to the bed, throwing her arms around his shaggy neck and burying her face in his ruff.

Padfoot huffed in amusement, but allowed it, there wasn’t much the canine spirit and her best friend in this new life wouldn’t allow her, and she was eternally grateful for his never-ending patience with her.

“I’m never, ever doing that ever again,” she groaned to him miserably.

“You did well princess,” he told her in a soft grumbling bark, careful to keep his voice down, knowing it was late. Not bothering to point out to her that as the Heartfilia Heiress this was likely only the first of many such events in her future, for which she was grateful. She didn’t want to think about that just now.

“Thanks Padfoot,” she replied rolling off him so her back was on the bed and she was looking up at her ceiling. A smile curled her lips as she caught sight of it. The ceiling was one of her gifts last year from her parents, painted to look like a starry night sky embedded at the very center were several lacrima that when the main lights were out let off gentle silver light in the shape of Canis Major. Looking at it never failed to make her smile.

The sound of a door opening had her sitting up in surprise. Unlike her parents she didn’t have a personal servant, not because both parents didn’t think she needed one, both thought she did despite the fact that she insisted she could take care of herself and her rooms just fine. The lack of servant however meant that no one should be coming into her bedroom.

A quick glance at Padfoot showed that he too was glancing in the direction of the door, but considering he looked completely and utterly relaxed she figured there was no threat. She was proved correct when the shadowy figure by the entrance to her door moved closer and she could see the face of her visitor.

“That was quick,” her mother told her with an amused smile as she gently took a seat on the edge of the large bed, “I wasn’t expecting you to already have the lights out for bed. Are you tired dear?”

“A bit,” she admitted crawling over to where her mother was sitting and taking a seat next to you, “it was a long and exciting day, so even though it’s a bit early I thought I’d go to bed, that and I wanted to admire my ceiling for a while.”

“Exciting, but not all that enjoyable right dear?” she asked sympathetically, gently running her fingers through Lucy’s wavy blonde hair.

Lucy hesitated, not wanting to complain or seem ungrateful. Especially since she had received some incredibly expensive presents today. Most of it had been toys, dresses, and jewelry nothing she particularly wanted or cared for, but there had been a couple small magical items she’d thought were neat.

“It’s alright dear, it was more of a business party than a proper party for a little girl,” her mother assured her, and Lucy could detect the hint of disapproval in her tone that told her it had been entirely her father’s idea.

“Anyway, I came to see you because I didn’t dare give you your present earlier when you were opening your gifts from the guests, for fear you’d get too caught up in it but I wanted you to open it when it was still your birthday” her mother told her rummaging in the folds of her elaborate dress for a moment before removing a small neatly wrapped box with a pretty green ribbon on it.

Lucy accepted the gift eagerly curious about what her mother thought would be so intriguing to her that she’d ignore the rest of the presents from the other guests. Carefully undoing the ribbon and setting it aside, she peeled open the paper, revealing a thin rectangular jewelry box.

Slowly opening the lid, intent on savoring the gift she caught a glint of metal, and couldn’t help herself and flung the lid open, gasping in shock and delight. There resting on a small velvet pillow was a golden key. With shaking fingers she lifted the golden key from the box. The bow was engraved with a familiar crest, and was an elaborate filigree design, and the end of the blade was shaped like a heart.

“It’s one of the zodiac keys,” she breathed reverently, feeling the bed shift as Padfoot stood and plodded over to take a look.

“Do you know which one?” her mother prompted her, gentle and amused.

“Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!” she identified easily recognizing the familiar constellation.

“Are you really giving this to me?” she asked clutching the key close and staring up at her mother with awe.

“I am,” her mother assured her tenderly, “You have more than enough power to open it now, and I think Virgo will be a wonderful companion for you.”

“Oh thank you mama!” she cried, ecstatic wrapping her arms around her mother in an enthusiastic hug. Honestly she hadn’t given too much thought to more keys because she was more than happy with just Padfoot, but the idea of having another friend was an appealing one.

“You’re welcome,” her mother told her hugging her back just as tightly pressing a kiss to her hair, “Happy birthday my love.”

Even though she’d decided to wait to try summoning Virgo her mother had ended up staying a while longer, kicking off her shoes and joining Lucy on the bed cuddling close, and telling her and Padfoot stories about the stars with Padfoot occasionally chiming in with commentary and funny anecdotes about the constellations that he knew personally. They’d talked well into the night until Lucy hadn’t been able to keep her eyes open, and then her mother had kissed her goodnight, and left her to cuddle next to Padfoot as she drifted off to sleep. Despite the awful party and the long day she counted it as one of the best birthdays she’d ever had.

The next day she woke around noon, having been awake extremely late the night before, and was just barely in time to join her amused parents for lunch. Padfoot had dismissed himself sometime in the night, leaving her with full magic stores, more than ready to summon Virgo. She’d barely been able to get anything down she’d been so excited to summon her new spirit.

Her father had wanted her to immediately start on thank you letters for the guests who’d attended the party and given her gifts, but her mother had luckily persuaded him that it could wait until tomorrow. Thus the moment she’d finished lunch her mother had guided her back to Bero so the two of them could watch while she summoned Virgo for the first time. Both of them had asked at different points if her father would like to join them and see too, but he’d waved them off, explaining that he unfortunately had a meeting to attend.

A little disappointed, but not enough to bring down her excitement seeing as her father was rarely around anyway she practically bounced as she waited for the adults to give her the go ahead to try.

“Alright Lucy,” Bero told her clear amusement in his tone, “All my important papers have been put away, and there’s nothing breakable around, so go ahead whenever you’re ready.”

Lucy flushed a bit, more than once when she was summoning Padfoot she’d been too close to Bero’s notes and sent them all flying forcing them to spend an hour or so cleaning them up and reorganizing them each time.

“Okay, here I go,” she warned them, turning away and concentrating on the task at hand. All the practice she’d had in the last two years meant that she was much better now at reaching her magic and it only took her a second to reach for it and pull it forth channeling it through the key as she called, “Gate of the Maiden, I open thee. Virgo!”

The familiar ring of a successful summon filled the room and the Celestial spirit appeared in a wave of gold and pink light. Looking her over Lucy noted she looked to be in her late teens to early twenties, not that what they looked like really mattered with spirits, most of whom were thousands of years old.

She had short pink hair, vibrant blue eyes, and was wearing a maid outfit complete with ruffled white head piece, white stockings and Maryjane shoes. Her strangest accessory was the heavy manacles around her wrists with dangling chains, one that made her appear a bit odd, but overall she looked kind.

“Greetings mistress,” Virgo told her with a polite bow, “How may I be of service?”

“There’s no need to call me mistress,” Lucy told her hurriedly, the title making her extremely uncomfortable, reminding her far too much of Voldemort, “My name’s Lucy, Virgo and I’d like to be your friend.”

“It’s nice to meet you princess,” Virgo replied calmly, and though she wasn’t exactly comfortable with that title either she couldn’t exactly protest, not when that was exactly what Padfoot called her.

“It’s nice to meet you too Virgo, would you like to make a contract with me?” she offered holding out her hand to shake.

“I would be honored princess,” Virgo told her grasping her hand with both of hers and not letting go.

“Okay then when are you available?” she asked making sure she was ready to remember everything because she wouldn’t be able to take notes with Virgo seemingly unwilling to let go.

“I will answer your call at any time princess,” the maid-like spirit assured her fervently.

“Are you sure?” Lucy double checked surprised and a little worried, “I don’t want to impose on you.”

“Serving my mistress is never an imposition,” Virgo assured her vehemently.

“But Virgo I don’t want to be your mistress I want to be your friend, and please don’t call me that,” Lucy pleaded. This encounter was starting to remind her of something, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Of course princess, my apologies,” Virgo told her immediately, “should I be punished?”

“No! No of course not Virgo I would never punish you for a simple mistake,” Lucy assured the spirit anxiously, the situation becoming more and more familiar with every word.

“Okay, so what would you like to be called for?” she tried again, “I know some spirits like to battle and some don’t, others like to perform certain tasks or use special abilities, so what would you like Virgo?”

“Call me for anything princess and I will answer,” Virgo assured her a slightly manic light in her eyes, “I live to serve.”

Seeing that light in her eyes it clicked for her where she’d seen this kind of behavior before. Virgo was acting just like Dobby had. She was acting like a house elf! Hell she’d even asked about punishment the same way a house elf might.

The fact that she would act that way was a little unnerving for her, but at the same time it was also a bit reassuring. She knew how to handle house elves after all. She’d just have to be extremely clear, firm, and careful with Virgo. She could do this.

“Okay I can call you for anything,” she agreed with a gentle smile, it was always best to not let a house elf see any sign of distress on your face and for now she was going to assume Virgo was the same, “But is there anything in particular you like to do?”

“I dig tunnels princess,” the spirit told her immediately, “And am somewhat gifted in combat and fully trained as a lady’s maid.”

“Well that will be useful then,” Lucy responded brightly, “My parents have both said that I’ll be in need of a maid soon to help me out in the mornings and evenings. If it’s alright with you I’ll summon you specifically at those times for help, and if I ever have need of help in between I won’t hesitate to call, is that agreeable to you?”

“Of course princess,” Virgo told her in the same devoted tone she’d been using since the beginning of their encounter, but this time she could see a hint of a smile on the spirit’s lips so she counted it as a job well done.

Virgo hummed happily to herself as she carefully pinned one of her newest designs around her beloved princess to get the best fit she possibly could. Honestly she hadn’t been sure what to think when she suddenly found her key in the hands of a young child. She’d at first wondered if she had perhaps angered her previous Master enough to have him get rid of her, until the child had introduced herself.

Lucy Heartfilia, Layla Heartfilia’s daughter and only child. Suddenly it made sense why her old Master would have handed her over. Everyone in the spirit world knew of the Heartfilia, how could they not when the Heartfilia had been the first to ever contract with them. However since then the power and ability of the Heartfilia line had slowly but surely been waning and the spirits had despaired. While there were now other Celestial Spirit summoners out there, all far off branches of the original Heartfilia line, to lose the main branch would still have been a tragedy.

Hopes had risen with Layla Heartfilia who, for the first time in centuries had not only been able to contract three of the zodiac spirits, but who’d been able to hold and sustain all three gates at once. However then she’d fallen ill and hopes had fallen when she gave up her keys to trusted comrades retiring to raise her family.

There had been some quiet whispers about Layla’s daughter in recent years, but Virgo had hardly paid them any attention. After all best not to get ones hopes up, only to have them crushed again. Besides if anyone was going to contract with the newest Heartfilia, it would be the same three zodiac as before.

Thus she had been more than a little shocked to find herself contracted to Lucy Heartfilia as her first and only zodiac key and her second key overall at the tender age of eight. She could hardly believe her luck. Lucy was an extremely kind and loving mistress and extraordinarily considerate of her spirits.

They’d had a couple bumps at first, mostly because it had taken some time for Virgo to realize her mistress wanted her to be more outspoken about herself and her wants and needs, but they’d eventually gotten through those.

The only other problem they’d had was between her and Canis Major, her only other key and first official companion. The two of them had butted heads on more than one occasion vying for her mistress’ attention. However they’d quickly noticed that their spats were upsetting to the young princess and so had quickly worked out a truce of sorts. It helped that now, six months in Lucy could call out both of them at the same time, an extremely impressive feat considering her young age.

She hummed happily to herself as she stepped back and admired her handiwork. Her young mistress was so cute, and so kind for allowing her the liberty of dressing her person. She had even consented on more than one occasion to wear some of Virgo’s own designs, had at times even requested them! Never had she been so flattered, she’d nearly fainted from the sheer joy of it.

Nodding in approval she stepped forward and carefully removed the garment from her young mistress, taking extra care not to poke her with the pins, “It will be ready for you by tomorrow.”

“Thanks Virgo,” her young mistress told her with a sweet smile, “I really appreciate you doing this for me so last minute. I really should have probably allowed the tailor to do it, but she kept purposefully pricking me with the pins every time I fidgeted and I couldn’t stand her attitude.”

“Of course princess, anytime,” Virgo assured her calmly though inside she was seething, how dare anyone purposely bring pain to her mistress? Glancing over at the dog spirit she saw he had raised his head and was looking straight at her.

She raised an accusing brow at him, because no doubt he had been present during the meeting with said tailor, he was hardly ever separated from her side, thus it had been his responsibility to protect their mistress. The spirit gave her the doggy equivalent of a smirk and a wink outside of their mistress’ sight and she settled. Clearly the other spirit had exacted retribution of some sort for now, so for now she would be satisfied. However if she ever met said tailor she would be sure to express her displeasure with her.

“If that is all princess I will take this and get it finished?” she inquired, reluctant to leave her side but knowing it was necessary in order to get the dress done for tomorrow.

“Of course, thank you again Virgo,” her princess told her sweetly. Her mistress was so good, so kind.

“My pleasure princess,” she bowed and let herself disappear into the spirit world.

Returning was a bit of a trial these days, not only because she would prefer to remain by the side of her mistress, but because word of her new contract to the young Heartfilia heiress had gotten out, and lately every time she returned home other spirits bombarded her, asking her all sorts of questions.

This time however it seemed she was in luck. No one was lurking around her usual area and she could get to work immediately on the dress. Humming happily to herself, she took a seat and pulled out a needle and thread to begin her work only to feel a chill go down her back.

She stiffened in surprise and glanced around warily. There were very few spirits in the Celestial Realm who could give her that feeling, especially these days with her key in the hands of a Celestial Spirit Mage whose extraordinary power was growing stronger every day, and in turn increasing her own power.

Listing them out she thought maybe a small handful of the other zodiacs who had older more experienced summoners, the Celestial Spirit King himself, and of course them the ones who held the crystal keys. However considering they hadn’t been seen now for over a century even inside the Celestial Realm…

She lost her train of thought as she caught sight of her visitor, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of him, his gaze glowing ominously in the darkness despite the light cast by the Celestial lacrima around. Only her sharp reflexes kept her mistress’ dress from falling to the ground as she gaped at him. This hadn’t been what she had expected not at all.

“Virgo, tell me about your mistress,” he ordered, his voice like thunder.

Well, that certainly explained why there weren’t other spirits around, she noted wryly as she stared up at him. He’d scared them all off.

“What do you want to know?”

Lucy slowly came back to consciousness in waves. Her head ached fiercely and her eyelids felt impossibly heavy. She groaned her hand coming up to cradle her head as she attempted to push herself into a sitting position. Her stomach lurched uncomfortably at the movement, but she managed to hold back her nausea as she blinked groggily at her surroundings trying to figure out where she was.

It was immediately apparent that she wasn’t anywhere she recognized and likely wasn’t on Heartfilia grounds anymore. She was in some kind of cell, from the dampness in the air and the packed dirt under her likely one underground.

Glancing down at herself she noted she was still in the party dress Virgo had made for her, with its white bodice, full ruffled pink skirt, and pink roses at the collar. It was dirty now though, stained with dirt, and torn like it had caught on something. She’d also apparently lost one of her silk gloves at some point and both of her low heeled pink shoes. The only accessory it seemed she’d managed to keep was the small tiara in her hair, not that, that was surprising considering between the two of them she and Virgo had all but superglued the thing to her hair, Virgo murmuring something strange about crabs the entire time.

A clanking sound, the sound of her door unlocking brought her back to the situation at hand and she hurriedly reached for the secret pocket that Virgo sewed into all her dresses to safely store her key ring as the door swung open only to find they were gone. The pocket was empty.

“Looking for these?” a smug male voice asked and she glanced up, wincing slightly against the glare of light to see a hand holding out her keyring, with Virgo and Padfoot’s keys clearly visible on the ring and jingling them at her tauntingly.

She snarled at him and lunged, diving for the keys… She coughed in agony and surprise as a knee caught her in the chest and sent her hurtling back against the wall of her cell, where she slumped, wheezing as she tried to get her breath back, a hand clutching her aching ribs.

“Now, now is that anyway for the Heartfilia heiress to behave?” the man asked his voice gentle and almost kind in a way that sent chills down her spine. No one should be able to speak so soothingly after being so violent with a young child, no one decent anyway.

“Who are you?” she demanded angrily, “What do you want from me?”

“Me? How rude, to think you’ve already forgotten me, and we were introduced just last night!” the man told her, sounding far too amused for her liking, “And after I was kind enough to fetch you a drink and everything!”

Lucy snarled as the memory came back to her. Her father had decided to host another party at their home, and she’d been forced to attend, her father wanting to show her off to all their business associates. She’d gone reluctantly and had been doing her best to make polite conversation when the adults engaged her, which was surprisingly often considering she was one of the few children at the party and certainly the only one under the age of twelve.

The other children hadn’t wanted anything to do with her, not that she was surprised. After all their mindsets were hardly similar and considering how much her father was bragging about her and the other adults were praising her, it wasn’t surprising that they would be jealous and uncomfortable. She would be too in a situation like that, being shown up by someone several years younger than her, though she liked to think she would at least try to move past that and be kind.

She’d been talking so much that her throat had started to hurt, but she’d been unable to excuse herself without seeming rude. To her surprise and relief one of her father’s business associates, a rather meek but kind man that she thought was named Ken had brought her a glass of juice.

She’d taken it gratefully, and while it had tasted a bit off she wasn’t about to complain about the one true smidge of kindness she’d been shown at this awful party. Now she wished she’d paid more attention and gotten her own drink no matter how rude it might have seemed, “You drugged me!”

“Ah, well it was necessary, how else was I going to get you away without you putting up a fuss and calling on those pesky little beasts of yours?” he asked reasonably.

“They’re not beasts they’re my friends, so give them back” she snarled at him, pushing herself up and launching herself at her keys, only to get whipped across the face with them, the metal teeth of Padfoot’s key leaving a digging open the skin of her cheek, and a swift follow up punch to the back of her head forcing her to the ground and a heel ground into her back keeping her there.

“That’s enough of that, silly girl,” the man told her, his voice still deceptively calm, “There’s no need for you to be putting up so much fuss, so long as your parents bring me what I desire in the next few hours you will be returned to them, admittedly in less than perfect condition but alive nonetheless. So be a good girl, and wait okay?”

Lucy wanted to spit out a furious retort but was stopped by a swift kick to her ribs that sent her tumbling back into the depths of her cell. She cried out in surprise and pain as something cracked and she hit the wall again. Her vision swam with the pain and it took her a second to reorient herself, but that second was a second too long because even as she tumbled to her feet and tried to make a grab for her keys once more Ken stepped back and pulled the door to her cell closed with a resounding clang as it slid into place.

She hit the door with a thud, grabbing hold of the bars and stretching her arms through desperately trying to grab hold of him and stop him leaving with her keys, but she couldn’t get there in time, and she watched as he walked off down the hall and out of her reach.

She slumped holding on to the bars as best she could for support, trying not to cry. Sometimes being in a body of a child meant that a child’s instincts came to the forefront and this seemed to be one of those times. Separated from her parents and her keys, her companions, woozy, hurt and bleeding, all she wanted to do was cry.

However she knew despite those childish instincts crying would get her nothing, she’d learned that a long, long time ago. She needed to do something, anything to get back her keys and get home. There was no way she was going to just sit here and hope her parents turned over whatever it was he wanted.

Oh she had no doubts they’d do their best, they loved her and she was sure they’d do anything to save her. However she didn’t trust the man to give her back, that kind of cold cruelty didn’t lend itself to trustworthiness, and besides he’d said he’d give her back he hadn’t said anything about her keys, and she sure as hell wasn’t leaving without them.

But what could she do? Glancing around she noted the walls were all hard-packed dirt, and rock there was no way she’d be able to get through them, not without tools of any sort at her disposal. The cage to her door was a series of iron vertical bars spaced too thinly for her body to fit through. She was only just barely able to get an arm out through one of the slats, no way would her entire body fit.

She grimaced, if only she had Virgo or Padfoot’s key either one would’ve been able to dig her out of here in an instant. Her hands clenched in anger at her own impotence, her eyes darting desperately around the cell for any sort of viable escape route, but the cell was as simple, empty and impenetrable as ever.

Taking a deep breath to stave off anxious tears she tried to think if there was anything she could do, or anything she might have that might be of use. Glancing down at herself she grimaced at the state of her dress, her hands automatically to the pocket that should’ve held her keys. It was just as empty as before, however as she pulled her hand out again she winced in surprise as her fingers caught on something.

Curious she pulled her skirt around so she could look at the pocket better, and was surprised to see a glint of metal in the pink fabric. Realization struck and with shaking hands she pulled out the two long pins that had been carefully tucked into place by a worried Virgo who thought her hair situation precarious enough that she might need the extra pins. To others said pins might’ve been useless, but others hadn’t spent several summers with the Weasley twins and Sirius, all eager to teach her all kinds of mischief making tricks, including how to pick locks with simple metal pins.

She nearly cried in shock and relief as she scurried toward the locked cell door, carefully examining the lock and realizing it was one she should be fully capable of opening. It took some maneuvering, and she was suddenly immensely grateful to be small otherwise her arms would never have fit through the bars so she could get her hands into position, but she was able to reach.

Working the metal into the lock the way she’d been taught was nervous work. She didn’t know when Ken or someone else might be by to check on her, so she had to keep a close ear out for the sound of footsteps while also trying to listen to the sounds of the lock to get her a better feel for what she needed to do to pop it open. Luckily it seemed no one was going to bother to check on her, and what seemed like an eternity later the lock popped open with a soft click.

She let out a shaky breath of relief as the door swung open and she slipped out into the corridor. It was fairly dark so she did her best to stick to the shadows, not sure where exactly she was going but knowing that time was of the essence. Any moment someone could stumble on her or her empty cell. She had no idea if Ken was the only one who’d kidnapped her or if there were others.

Even if it was just Ken he’d already proved to her that without her keys she was severely outmatched. She’d need the element of surprise if she was to have any sort of chance of getting her keys back and beating him.

Her fingers clenched angrily. She hated this, she hated being so helpless. It was like being without a wand again, only worse because she couldn’t even use the minor wandless magic she’d known before to help out, and she didn’t have any of her other magical objects like the invisibility cloak, marauder’s map or the twin’s prank items to help her out. If she got out of this mess she swore to herself she’d find a way to change that. No way was she going to be this helpless ever again.

Gritting her teeth in determination she carefully made her way down the hall, keeping the years of practice of sneaking around Hogwarts halls in mind, stepping lightly and keeping her ears pricked for any sort of sound. The corridor she was in had several other cells in it, but all of them seemed to be empty, and at the end of the corridor was a stairway that wound upwards. The door led to a much nicer hallway, clearly someone’s home.

Lucy frowned as she glanced around, noting that with the door closed there was no way anyone would even guess that just down the stairs was a prison. It fed her suspicions that Ken, if that really was his name, wasn’t a man to be trusted. After all good men generally didn’t keep dungeons in their basements, and some of the things she’d seen in the cells she’d passed had hinted at former occupancy.

Shaking that away and refocusing on her mission she began to sneak as carefully as she could down the hallways. Opening the doors was a risk, but one she had to take if she was going to retrieve her keys. Now that she was above ground she could tell it was night time, which hopefully meant there wouldn’t be many people around.

It was a fairly opulent house so it made sense that there would probably still be servants around somewhere even though it was night, that’s the way it worked at her home anyway. The sound of shuffling footsteps had her darting through one of the doors, pressing her back to the wall and peeking out through the gap.

It was just as well. There were two people walking down the hall, Ken, and a dark haired man she didn’t recognize. With every step she could hear a soft jingling sound, and her eyes immediately zoned in on the keyring attached not to Ken’s belt but to the dark haired mans.

Her face twisted in a snarl of fury to see the man wearing her keys as if they belonged to him. The two of them were chatting about something murmuring in low tones, but she couldn’t hear a word they were saying, too focused on her keys. This was the moment, she had the element of surprise, she could do this.

Flinging open the door she dashed forward, diving at the startled dark haired man, both of them were too surprised to respond and her fingers closed around the keys she instinctively knew belonged to her. The sharp metal dug into her palm she refused to let go as her momentum tore them free from the belt of the dark haired man.

She hit the ground hard rolling a ways away from the two men, her ribs, arms and palms aching, but triumphant as she clutched the two keys that belonged to her friends in her hand.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Ken mused aloud. His voice was still pleasant but his eyes were like ice, “So it seems you’ve escaped somehow. You’re more resourceful than I expected Miss Heartfilia.”

Lucy didn’t bother to say anything, instead clambering painfully to her feet and taking off down the hall. This was no time for heroics, she’d gotten her keys, now all she had to do was escape and get home, and someone else would take care of the rest.

The two men were shouting behind her, but she tuned them out that is until she heard, “Gate of Coma Berenices I open thee! Bernice’s Hair!”

She jolted with surprise and turned to look just in time as golden lengths of rope lashed out toward her. She lurched to the side just in time to avoid most but not fast enough to avoid them all, several got tangled in her skirt but one managed to wrap around her ankle. She felt a sharp vicious tug, and the resounding crack of her ankle seemed to echo around the hall as she fell face forward skidding across the floor, her ankle in agony and her ribs screaming in protest at the pressure as she bounced and rolled across the hardwood floor, skidding to a stop several feet away.

Only long experience kept her breathing through the pain despite the blackness that danced on the edge of her vision. She hadn’t felt pain like this at all yet in this life, and it was just as excruciating as she remembered. However it was nowhere near the level of the cruciatus curse, or basilisk venom, just because this body was young didn’t mean she was going to let this beat her.

Pushing herself up on her forearms she attempted to get her feet back under her and keep running only for shooting waves of agony to race up her leg and cause her to collapse again. She almost went face first to the floor, only to find herself lifted into a gentle princess hold.

“Good evening princess,” Virgo greeted gently, “Shall we get out of here?”

“Virgo? H-how?” she asked dazed as her spirit took off down the hall, far faster than she had managed.

“When my princess grows in magic power I too grow in power, recently you have grown strong enough that so long as my key is in your possession I can bring myself through the gate, without aid,” Virgo explained affectionately.

“I hadn’t realized that was possible,” she murmured still shocked, but also reassured.

“I would’ve come sooner,” Virgo explained with a slight frown, “But I wasn’t sure you were in trouble until the keys got taken away and then I couldn’t. Punishment princess?”

“No Virgo no punishment,” she assured her firmly, “Thank you for coming for me.”

“Always princess,” Virgo told her affectionately.

The two of them made it out of the house, Virgo, at her urging taking a leap through one of the ground floor windows, but weren’t able to make it more than a few steps before something hit Virgo’s back and the two of them went flying. Even cradled protectively against Virgo’s chest it was a painful landing, but even worse was Virgo’s gasp of pain.

Looking at her friend it was obvious what had hit them. Two light grey dogs, the size of greyhounds, one of which had probably hit Virgo and darted ahead of them blocking their escape and the other which was latched on to her spirit’s leg. Spirits she found then, didn’t bleed red the way humans did, but instead oozed a strange glowing ichor, even still it was very obviously painful for her friend, and she wasn’t about to stand for it.

“Gate of The Great Dog, I open thee. Canis Major!” she called grasping her silver key in a motion that had become extremely familiar to her and bringing forth her oldest companion.

Padfoot appeared with a furious howl that would’ve sent chills down her spine if she hadn’t known for a fact that he would never hurt her. It became clear very quickly who was the more powerful canine spirit, as he practically tore through the two obviously frightened dogs. Even knowing they couldn’t be killed and would recover easily enough in the spirit world Lucy still winced at the absolute carnage.

A part of her felt bad for them, after all it wasn’t their fault their master was helping the one who’d kidnapped her, on the other hand another part was vindictively satisfied. They’d hurt Virgo, Virgo her devoted and loving friend, and so deserved what they’d got.

“Well that’s more impressive than I thought an eight-year-old could manage,” the man with Ken noted, both men having caught up to them while they struggled with the dogs, “You didn’t mention she was able to hold two gates open at once.”

“Like I could’ve known,” Ken retorted flatly, “All my men reported really was on that vicious, flea-bitten mutt of hers. Just get her back Greer”

Said flea bitten mutt let out a dangerous snarl, placing himself firmly between them and her, clearly aware of the situation.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter all that much,” the dark haired man, whose name was apparently Greer replied with a mocking smile on his lips, “She’s just a little girl after all.”

“Get her out of here,” Padfoot prompted, and Lucy was surprised to hear an anxious note in his normally confident voice, “hurry!”

“Of course,” Virgo scooped her up again and the two of them were off before she could speak a word of protest.

“But Padfoot!” she protested twisting around in Virgo’s arms trying to see behind them, “We can’t just abandon him!”

“We’re not abandoning him princess, you have our keys” Virgo soothed, though she could hear a note of strain in her normally level voice, “He’s just going to keep them from coming after us until we can get you to safety, and even if he gets in trouble he can always return safely to the Spirit World and come back to you. He cannot be killed after all, or injured beyond what rest can’t fix.”

“But!” she tried again.

“But nothing princess,” Virgo told her the most firm she’d ever been with her, ever, “You are the Mage, the contract holder. We cannot exist here without you, you don’t fix nearly as easily as we do, and you’re not in any sort of condition to be fighting back, that makes getting you out of here and to safety the priority.”

Lucy bit her lip unhappily. She wanted to protest more, but she couldn’t Virgo was right. In this state there was nothing she could do. Hell even before she’d been so roughed up she’d barely been able to do anything other than be knocked around.

A strange rustling sound broke into her thoughts, and she twisted to look, and only barely managed to choke out, “Virgo look out!”

The spirit heeded the warning and dived to the side, just in time to avoid the large tail that swept the place that she had been before. Lucy stared, up and up and up meeting a pair of vermillion eyes that practically glowed. Taking in the enormous form she had a terrible sense of Déjà vu. It was like the basilisk all over again, though she did take a moment to be thankful it didn’t seem to have a deadly stare, otherwise she would’ve been dead already.

The snake spirit, and she had to assume it was a spirit of some sort, because she couldn’t imagine a creature quite like this occurring naturally in this world, was absolutely enormous and looked to be some kind of hybrid between snake and machine, it’s upper half composed of enormous dark scales, while the lower half was made of overlapping metal plates. Its lower jaw was made completely of metal, while the upper was organic with several dangerous looking fangs and a large tongue.

Searching her mind frantically for what constellation this particular spirit could be tied to, but either answer seemed completely and utterly ridiculous. Both were legendary keys, one the crystal key Hydra, The Water Snake and the other, the other the legendary golden key Ophiuchus, The Snake Charmer, it was the thirteenth “golden” key an unofficial member of the zodiac, called The Black Key for the winding black snake around the key’s blade.

The snake coiled, and lunged, darting at Virgo who only just managed to dodge out of the way. It lunged again and again, hissing dangerously as it hit digging enormous trenches in the earth with each strike.

Virgo appeared to be holding her own, lashing out with the chains attached to her manacles and digging holes under and around the large beast until a large tail whipped around out of nowhere catching her midair and sending her flying.

The snake, that she was almost sure now was Ophiuchus drew back to lunge, and she could see already that Virgo wasn’t going to be able to get out of the way this time.

“Princess no!”

Ophiuchus jerked to a halt, eying the young woman in front of him curiously. He had orders not to kill the girl, apparently she was needed alive, at least for now. He could smell blood in the air, her blood, the child was clearly injured and struggling to stand, but still her eyes were steady and unwavering, her arms spread wide her small body placed firmly in front of his fellow spirit in a stance that was clearly meant to protect. How curious.

It seemed the rumors really were true, the new Heartfilia heiress really did love her keys, apparently enough to shield one with her own body, despite the fact that she had to know nothing was truly fatal to Celestial Spirits. They could be injured of course, hurt, tortured even, but they absolutely couldn’t be killed, and there was almost nothing they couldn’t heal from. Which meant she was risking her life to spare the spirit pain. It was… odd to say the least.

It made him pause and glance at Virgo who was on her feet again, ready to launch herself to the defense of her keyholder her eyes burning with a combination of fear for the girl, and a fierce determination to do anything in her power to protect her. It was just as she’d said when he’d confronted her in the Spirit World, Virgo loved her ‘little mistress’ and would do whatever was asked, and more for her, and it appeared her devotion was returned.

How curious. The Heartfilia Main Branch had been known for that kindness, for their persistence and instinctual desire to treat their Keys as equals, beloved partners and family members. He himself had never had the rumored pleasure of being contracted to one, and never particularly desired one either, content to be left alone or to be occasionally wielded in battle by someone strong or desperate enough to summon him.

He had a well-earned reputation for refusing to contract with the human who summoned him, and eating them instead, which prevented most from even attempting it. His current contract holder Greer, didn’t technically have a contract with him just yet, but had been pressured into using his key by his own master to catch the escaping girl.

The only reason he’d agreed rather than just eating both Greer and his master is because he’d scented Virgo nearby, which meant her Keyholder was the kidnapped girl. It was quite the coincidence, especially since it was so soon after he’d confronted the other Spirit about her mistress, and he’d been curious. He’d wanted to meet the little girl Virgo spoke so fondly of.

Admittedly throughout all his centuries on the outskirts of the zodiac he’d realized Virgo tended to never speak badly of any of her ‘masters’ it just wasn’t in her nature to protest, not even when she was treated poorly. However she did tend to get her revenge in petty ways, shortened hems, shoddy stich work, lukewarm tea, and the like, and her words about them, even words of praise were mild or backhanded.

Her description of little Lucy Heartfilia though, was nothing like that, even with some of her other masters who were good she remained calm and bland, whereas with this one she’d practically gushed, clear affection and adoration in every word, which had only added fuel to the fire that was his curiosity.

Looking at her now, trembling with the effort of keeping on her feet, her once beautiful dress torn and covered in mud and blood, but her green eyes defiant glowing with strength of will, her chin tilted stubbornly upwards refusing to bend or break. It made him even more curious about the strange child, who acted like no child he’d ever heard of.

It also caused him to feel a bit of reluctant admiration, after all even grown men tended to cower before him whereas she stood without flinch or waver. He could taste her fear, like all humans acrid on his tongue, and yet it was tempered by something else, something he couldn’t put a name to that only pushed his curiosity to new heights.

He found himself reluctant to push her, for all he knew he could break her small, fragile body in an instant and there would be nothing she or Virgo could do to stop him. After all Virgo wasn’t really built for attack or defense, though she could do a bit of both, no Virgo was meant for escape, escape which probably would’ve worked on almost any other zodiac key but him, since he was just as comfortable burrowing into the ground as she was and would be able to follow her easily.

His long drawn out moment of study was apparently enough to give her other key time to catch up. Canis Major skidded to a stop in front of him, placing himself firmly between him and her. The Silver Key was one of the stronger ones, and was meant for both tracking and battle, but compared to him? The key didn’t stand a chance and doubtless knew it, yet it seemed he was determined to try.

Unsurprising, the loyalty of Canis Major, once said loyalty was won was unshakable and fierce. The constellation willing to do anything it took to protect his key holder. If the girl had won the loyalty of Virgo, then it was no surprise she had Canis Major’s as well.

“What are you waiting for! Finish the dog and grab her Ophiuchus!” the shout interrupted his thoughts, apparently the dog wasn’t the only one who’d caught up to them, and his initial compliance had apparently made the one who had current possession of his key rather cocky, stupidly so. He wasn’t under contract after all, and had no obligation to obey or remain benevolent toward him.

Instead he simply cocked his head at the man, he’d been on the fence about grabbing the girl in the first place, as he’d only obeyed the initial order to appease his curiosity. That the man thought he could order him into it and with such an arrogant tone as well simply made up his mind for him.

Admittedly he was still curious about the girl, but he didn’t think grabbing her would assuage his curiosity, he’d have to try something else for that, but in the meantime he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do about the wizard Greer.

On one hand, the man was an annoying fool who deserved to be eaten for thinking he could order him around. On the other hand, his magic was what was sustaining his existence in this world, so if he ate him he’d be sent away back to the Spirit World. Normally this wasn’t an issue, but in this case it was, because the curious girl was in this world and he wouldn’t have access to study her if he went back. A rather frustrating conundrum considering he wanted to just eat the stupid human male and be done with it.

“O-Ophiuchus hurry up! They’re escaping!” the man tried again, although his tone had lost its haughty tone, and now shook with nerves. Apparently, he did at least possess enough self-preservation to realize that if he decided he wanted the stupid mage dead he’d be dead, and that he was pushing his luck.

Still his words did bring attention back to the group, who were indeed making a run for it, the girl once more cradled in Virgo’s arms, and Canis Major running alongside. That certainly wouldn’t do.

He took off after them, catching up in a matter of moments, and this time made sure to encircle them within his bulk, to ensure he’d notice any further escape attempts. Canis Major was growling at him again, and Virgo gently set her precious burden down on the grass to free her arms clearly ready to fight once more.

“You are a very curious little two-legger,” he mused aloud watching the grouping but making no further aggressive moves.

“I’m not so curious, just an average girl with remarkable friends,” the girl told him. Which normally wouldn’t be remarkable, Celestial Mages always seemed to be able to understand Spirits even if they couldn’t speak the human tongue. Except she hadn’t spoken the human tongue to him, she’d hissed at him, spoke back in his own language! He’d never realized such was even possible, and judging from the looks on the faces of her two Keys they hadn’t realized either.

“How intriguing, little miss I think you might just be the most curious creature I’ve ever met,” he informed her, “Tell me how did you come to speak such a language?”

“Language?” she repeated obviously confused for a minute before her eyes lit with surprise and recognition.

The look on her face one of surprise and then resigned exasperation only increased his intrigue. He’d been tossing the idea around since she’d first stared him down, trying desperately to protect Virgo from further injury, but this latest intriguing facet of Lucy Heartfilia sealed the deal for him.

“Form a contract with me,” he ordered firmly. It was the only way, the only possible way he could get the answers he was seeking, and it would allow him to judge for himself what kind of person the Heartfilia heiress was.

“A contract?” the girl repeated evidently baffled. She wasn’t the only one, both Virgo and Canis Major were eying him strangely, clearly unsure what to think.

“Yes a contract,” he replied, unsure whether to be amused or annoyed by her wide-eyed expression.

“But I don’t have your key,” she pointed out hesitantly.

“Easily remedied,” he informed her baring his fangs in a way that he’d seen blooded men faint in fear of, and it was, not only that but it solved his problem of wanting to eat the man for his sheer gall rather nicely.

She clearly read his intentions, and to her credit didn’t flinch from it, though she did frown, “I’m not sure anyone would allow me to keep key or contract if you killed the previous holder, to most I’m only a little girl and they’ll think you’d be a threat to both them and to me and would take you away ‘for my own good.’”

“And you couldn’t keep hold of it?” he asked extremely unimpressed.

“I could try,” she told him, still frowning, “But I’m young still, and haven’t grown into my abilities in full yet. There are numerous mages out there stronger than me that I wouldn’t be able to stop no matter how I tried.”

He tilted his head in thought. She was correct, she was only a hatchling, a hatchling with near limitless potential but a hatchling nonetheless. No matter how remarkable it wouldn’t be fair of him to assume her as capable as an adult just yet, normally he wasn’t altogether all that bothered with such things, but with a holder he was contracted to it was different. He, for all his aggression, and general apathy and dislike of most humans did pride himself on his word and honor. With his contracted Key Holders he was always fair, always.

“What do you suggest then?” he asked, curious as to what her answer might be.

She looked startled to be asked but recovered quickly, “Can you knock him unconscious instead? I can take the key from him after.”

“And if I do this for you, will you swear to create a contract with me after?” he prompted. He knew that Celestial Mages, the good ones at least, always, always kept their word once given as a matter of both pride and honor, and was the thing he respected most about them.

“I will so swear,” she promised firmly, meeting his gaze again, eyes burning bright.

He nodded and turned back to look outside his coils and found both Greer and the current possessor of his key had arrived and were waiting. He noted with interest that because she’d been speaking his language neither of them had any clue of the deal that had just been struck.

“Good work Ophiuchus!” Now let us in,” the man, Greer ordered, apparently having regained his bravado after he’d seemingly followed his order. Not for long. He shifted to make it look like he was obeying, but chose instead to swing his tail around to bring down hard on his head, and if he managed to take out the fool’s master along with him as both a favor and act of goodwill for his new Contracted Key Holder, well that was his business.