"Immortality... greater increase in power. But weakness to holy magic or blessed things is not something to be taken lightly. Not to mention the discrimination you may suffer in the magical world if they find out about it," Altair commented.
"I'll be too powerful for magicians to pose a threat," replied Lyra, dismissing her older brother's concerns.
"That mentality will get you killed soon," he replied.
Altair was strong; at that point, there was not a single wizard besides Dumbledore who could stand up to him. Did he believe he could control the magical world? Yes, but not indefinitely. If he staged a coup to seize power, he would not be able to hold it forever. After all, wizards are proud, and a few of them are incredibly resourceful.
There could always be someone with a mind sharp enough to stand up to him.
"I thought you wanted to be a politician, Minister of Magic, didn't you?" Altair continued. "Seizing power by force..."
"Power is always taken by force, Altair," Lyra replied. "You may not know it yet, but that's how the wizarding world works. Do you think Dumbledore would have become Chief Wizarding Justice of the Wizengamot, Supreme Head of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry if he had been weak?" Lyra said.
"The man is strong because he is intelligent." Dumbledore got where he got because of his mind and a talent for understanding magic.
"Yes, and no one has managed to take his positions away from him for decades," Lyra replied. "I don't want to be just Minister of Magic, I want no one to threaten my place," she said.
"What if they find out you're a devil?" Altair asked.
"Trade between devils and wizards is increasing every day. Right now, it's almost secret, but in a few years, it will be out in the open, and the reputation of devils will be good, as long as they don't cause any trouble. That's where you come in, right?" Lyra questioned him. "Being quite influential among the devils, even ruling them."
Altair narrowed his eyes. On more than one occasion, he had thought about finding a way to take control of the underworld. To do so, he needed power, which is why his search continued.
"You seem to know quite a bit about my goals," he commented casually.
"You're my brother," she said with a hint of pride in her voice. Altair would have missed it if he hadn't seen her eyes sparkle for a microsecond. "You'll never be satisfied with what you have, you'll always seek more, that's the kind of man you are," she told him.
Those words seemed like a sentence to him, as if she were telling him that he would never be happy with his life. Altair believed that eventually, when he reached a certain level of power, he would be able to rest and spend time with his coven, enjoying the benefits of immortality.
"We've hardly exchanged words lately," he said, looking her in the eyes.
"Yes, but even after becoming powerful in the magical world, you sought to become powerful among the devils. The wizards fell short for you, and in time, the same will happen with the devils," she said. "You will always seek something higher."
"You assume I will reach the pinnacle of devil power," Altair replied.
"Won't you?" she asked quickly. Altair did not deny those words; after all, he had the tools to achieve it.
Altair looked at the mansion. Giant crystals welcomed him, the violet light of the sky giving it a frosty appearance that burned. 'Should I turn her into a demon?' he wondered.
"Do you know how the Evil Pieces work?" asked Altair.
"No. Is that how you managed to turn the others into devils?" asked Lyra. Altair noticed the glint of triumph in her eyes.
"Yes. It's a set of chess pieces; they are linked to me. With them, I can transform people of other races into devils and turn devils into part of my peerage," Altair summoned a mutated pawn from the air.
Lyra looked at the piece with interest. In a reflex action, she reached out to take it, but stopped immediately. Altair said nothing as he held out the piece to her. She amused herself by looking at every detail of the piece. Although she didn't like the finish at all, it didn't seem lovely and rushed.
"Is it a pawn?" asked the girl.
"Yes, a mutated pawn," Altair explained. "It has the same value as a normal queen." That answer seemed to satisfy the girl's ego a little.
"Isn't there another piece of greater value, like a Rook or a Knight?"
"There are, but they won't be of much use to you, a witch, since they increase physical abilities," he replied.
There was the Bishop, of course, but he wouldn't use it on her. He might love her very much, but he wasn't going to waste a powerful piece on her. He found it a little strange that he could have used his queen on Lavender if the girl had accepted, but not on his own sister.
"I see," said Lyra, looking at the piece. "How will it proceed? Is there a ritual?" she asked with interest.
"Before that," Altair reached out his hand, and the piece flew into his palm. "I want to know what made you ignore me for so many years?" The question struck his sister, and he could see it in her face.
Lyra instantly stopped looking at him. Altair could often see her looking at him with a frown, as if she held a grudge against him, but at other times she looked at him with great affection and, sometimes, with desire.
"Why did you become strong now and not before?" his sister asked.
"Did you hate me because I couldn't protect you from the Malfoys?" That was a silly reason. But when she stopped talking to him, they were children, and she was a girl too.
"Yes," she was sincere. "I'm sorry," she whispered afterwards, her voice barely above the wind.
"Even if I had wanted to, there wasn't much I could do," Altair said.
He could understand how, as a child, she would have distanced herself because of his inability to protect himself and her. However, as the years passed, it was foolish for her to cling to that same mindset. But he couldn't control her mind, could he?
"I know, but I wish you could have," Lyra looked down at her shoes.
"Do you still hate me?" Altair asked.
"I think I love you more than I hate you," she replied.
She answered directly and at the same time made it sound cute. Altair smiled a little at her response. Altair put his hand on her head, pulling her into his chest for a hug. She stiffened, probably remembering that awkward hug they shared in Diagon Alley. After a moment, Lyra's arms held his sides so tightly that, if he were a normal human, she could have broken some of his ribs.
"It's stupid to expect a six-year-old to protect you," Altair said. She tensed in his arms. "But I promised you, didn't I?" he said. He remembered the times when she would run to his room and he would promise that no one would ever hurt her. "It's my fault."
"No!" she cried into his chest. Altair ignored the dampness on his shirt from his sister's tears. "I'm the older one... I should have protected you," she said. Altair hugged her tightly. "Idiot," she headbutted him in the chest. Altair pretended to stagger a little as he pulled away from her. "Forgive me!" Lyra jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck with unhinged force. "I shouldn't have left you alone," she whispered through her tears.
"It's okay, Lyra... I'm strong now," he replied.
"It doesn't matter, you're my brother, even if you become useless again, I won't leave you again," she said as she cried on his chest.
The cynical part of Altair wondered if his sister truly meant it or if she was just trying to make a good impression on him so that he would accept her more easily. He held her in his arms for what seemed like hours. Eventually, her crying subsided, and she lay still.
"She fell asleep, huh?"
Perhaps she was merely seeking to become a devil to gain power and then abandon him again. It was a possibility. In that case, he didn't know if he would be able to declare her a Stray Devil. Even with their bond broken, she was still his sister.
It hurt him to think that his own sister would seek to take advantage of him, but he couldn't ignore that possibility either. With uncertainty in his mind, he directed the pawn at Lyra's chest. The piece pierced her clothes and skin and sank into her.
The next time she woke up, she would no longer be human.