October 1st, 2010. London, England 9:00 PM BST
Trying to lose a tail you can't pick up is annoying. It was extremely frustrating, because I couldn't PROVE I was being followed, and as time went on the feeling began to fade. It didn't vanish though, it just faded, like I was getting used to it.
Being able to fly made heat runs much simpler though, and after slipping into several alleys, ascending buildings, slipping into sewers, and a dozen other counter surveillance methods that I'd seen on TV, read about, or just fucking made up on the spot, the sensation had faded so much that it vanished.
Reasonably confident I'd lost my pursuer (if I'd even HAD one) I tiredly picked up a cell phone from a random convenience store and dialed Seras's number. "Hullo?" Said a cranky voice over the phone as she picked up after the third ring.
"Is that how you answer the phone?" I tsked reproachfully. "What would your parents think. I don't think that's very ladylike."
I could almost HEAR the glare over the line. "I'll stick my ladylike foot all the way up your arse." She retorted testily. "I'll even wear heels when I do it if it'll make you feel better. Why are you calling anyway? Didn't you skip off to some posh university and leave all us lower class folk behind?"
"I don't think there's anything low class about your behind." I said sincerely. "In fact, it's one of the best I've ever seen."
She groaned. "I'm too tired for this, Ryan. I just got off shift and I want to take a bloody nap."
"I'm in town though." I said wheedlingly. "Can't you make some time for your most handsome american friend?"
There was a lengthy bit of grumbling over the phone. "Fine, you can come over, but you have to sneak in. I'm in my pajamas and I don't want to get dressed, but if you show up at the door my parents will assume we're dating. I don't feel like listening to my mum wax on about wedding venues."
"Yes dear." I said dryly. Seras gave me the address and I hung up. I kept the phone on me to use for the weekend, it wasn't like anyone I was likely to interact with would bother to track it, and then headed for the nearest bus stop.
A quick and pleasant ride on a double decker dropped me in Surrey, where Seras's parents lived, and within the hour I found myself standing in front of a well maintained two story house.
It looked…very normal. Well kept lawn, welcome mat, and a tree out behind the house leading up to the only window with the light on. Floating up to the branch that extended closest to the room in question, I crawled out and tapped on the glass gently.
There was a slight delay before the gauzy curtains were pulled back, and Seras looked out at me in surprise. "Bloody hell." She said as she opened the window. "You made good time though, didn't you?"
I snorted. "I heard you were in your PJs and rushed right over." Smirking down at her, I raised an eyebrow. "I was expecting something…more daring."
"You were HOPING I'd be dressed like a slag." She pouted. I couldn't say she was wrong, but in some ways, the adorable thick pink flannels she was wearing fit her better. They went well with the pout. "If you think you're getting some tonight you can just turn right around, I'm not in the mood."
Despite saying so, she stepped back to let me climb through the window, and I chuckled as I looked around her room. "Not at all. I just wanted to see my friend. Check in on you, see exactly how you've been doing. Have the other boobies been giving you a hard time?"
"It's BOBBIES, you nit." She said, desperately trying not to giggle. "And things have been a bit better, thanks."
I grinned at her, my eyes panning down to her straining top. "Sorry, freudian slip." Winked as I dodged a pillow she threw, my eyes roving around the room. "Speaking of psychological problems…"
Her pout became more pronounced. "Shut up. I like cute things, so sue me." She put her hands on her hips. "Is this how you thank me for inviting you into my home?"
"Sorry, sorry." I said, raising my hands. "It's just a little…much." The room was probably the pinkest thing I'd ever seen. Pale pink carpet, pink furniture, an honest to gods bedskirt on her canopy bed, a fluffy pink comforter and a pile of adorable stuffed animals, the largest of which was a giant fuzzy unicorn.
Seras herself was dressed in a thick pair of pink flannels covered in dancing cupcakes with big smiling faces, and at my inspection seemed incredibly uncomfortable with the attention. "My mum and dad like to think of me as a little girl still." She mumbled. "And I still like all my old stuff. It's not a big deal."
I waved her off. "Hey, it's cute. I wouldn't live in this room if you paid me, but people should do what they want in their own space. If you want to live in a bottle of pepto bismal no one should be able to make you feel bad about it. Hell, I still sleep with a stuffed horse my mom got me when I was a baby. I didn't bring it to school, but that was mainly because I didn't want to lose it."
My basic attitude towards people thinking things were 'immature' was a big pile of fucks not given. I did what I wanted, and didn't care what people thought about it. I might get a chuckle out of her embarrassment, but I didn't want Seras to feel like she had to answer to me about her decorating choices.
She flushed a bit, but gave me a shy smile. "Well. Right then. You want to sit down? I'd offer a beer but they're down in the fridge."
I strolled over and thumped down on the bed, happy to see that it was much softer and more comfortable than expected. "I'm not a big beer guy anyway. So, tell me about work. They stop treating you like the token titty monster?"
Rolling her eyes, she slumped down next to me. "More or less. I got moved off traffic after a few weeks. Things have mainly calmed down. I still get the occasional arsehole detective dropping a pen as I walk by so everyone can watch me pick it up, but after I 'accidentally' kicked the last one in his meat and two veg during close quarters training it happens far less often."
"That's my girl." I said with a grin. "I knew you'd show those donut munchers who's boss."
She giggled a bit. "How about you. How's that fancy university you got into? You said it's all selective and such. Must be lots of work."
"You have no idea." I said with a groan. "So much studying. I like it, don't get me wrong, the subjects are interesting, but it's so damned tiring. I actually came back to town to meet with a relative of my dad's, but while I was here I wanted to see you. Check how you were doing."
It was easy, I think, for people to forget the mortal world at Hogwarts.The isolation and the camaraderie made it seem like normal people, like 'muggles' weren't that important. Even the muggleborns seemed to do it, to get swept up in the magic and leave their old lives behind.
Sure, there were shitty parts. The racism, the ignorance, the politics. But none of it mattered more than MAGIC. Who cared if some rich prick didn't like you if you could mold the forces of creation. Even I'd felt it to an extent, once I'd arrived. Like everything I left behind was just a hazy memory, even during the summer I'd just be visiting that world, not part of it.
Which is why I'd come here. Because that was a stupid way to think, especially for me. I was a devil, not a wizard. I could make anyone I wanted a magic user, and sticking to an anemic culture full of obnoxious inbred idiots and ignoring the rest of the world would be a huge mistake.
So I would connect with my friend. Not because she was sexy, or because I wanted to sleep with her, but because I CARED about her, and that was a good thing.
She looked touched by the comment, but as was her habit she didn't dwell on it, averting her eyes, clearing her throat and moving on. "Right. Well. That's good then, innit? Not that it changes the fact that you're not getting in my knickers. I only invited you because I'm lazy. I didn't even expect you to show up."
I snickered. "I missed you too. Now, catch me up on work. I want to hear about that dysfunctional shitshow. You ever settle things with that Angela girl? The one who kept starting shit with you in the locker room?"
That got a snort. "Turns out she's just a donut bumper. Getting pushy was just an excuse to put her hands on me. We had it out a few weeks ago and she came clean about it."
"I'm sorry." I said in shock. "She was a WHAT?" I'd never heard that term before, but if it meant what I thought it did, it was fantastic.
She smirked at me, clearly amused by how off balance that had put me. "You know. A clam polisher. A taco tickler. She wanted to bump our front butts. What, you yanks ain't got any girlies over there that like to headbutt the meat canyon?"
"Ok you made that last one up." I said, barely managing to speak through my own snickering. "And is there a reason you're describing lesbians in the most ridiculous way possible? You got something against chicks banging other chicks?"
"Nah." She said with a wave. "But I figured if I didn't make a joke out of it you'd spend the rest of your visit imagining me smashing wallets with another cop, and that would cut into the minimal time I have to see you."
I paused. "That's…probably a fair concern. Mission accomplished then. Back to this confrontation, tell me how it went down."
And she did. We sat and talked for a few hours, and I didn't try anything. It was nice to just shoot the shit with a friend, even if I did spend a bit of the time enjoying the strain she put on that top. Sadly, after a while I had to go. Seras had work the next day, and had to get to bed.
I gave her a perfectly platonic hug before I left, and she got really squirrely and then pecked me on the cheek before turning and rushing into her bed. I grinned a bit and took advantage of her covering herself up to step off the window sill and float to the ground after I closed it.
Then I set off back to the bus stop, content and full of good cheer. It was nice to spend time with Seras, she was a sweet girl, and she kept me grounded, something that became much more important when I started bitch slapping vampires and dodging walls of fire.
As I came to the corner, I stopped, my instincts acting up again. I looked around, my dark vision making the nearby street as clear as if it was noon, but I didn't see anyone. I strained my senses for a minute, but after I confirmed that I was alone I just shrugged and headed for the bus again. I was probably just getting tired. For now I just wanted to get home. But hey, I still had some time. Maybe I'd see Seras again before I headed back to school Sunday night.
October 1st, 2010. Sheffield Manor, London, England 10:00 PM BST
Coming home was oddly nostalgic, considering I'd only lived there for a month. Daisy, weird little fuzzy eared mother hen that she was, appeared with a pop as soon as I stepped inside. "Oh!" She squeaked happily. "Young master is being back! Daisy will fetch mistress!" She vanished with another pop before I could respond.
I just chuckled. I should have expected her to get excitable. Daisy had been pretty lonely before we moved in, and had taken to being a 'proper elf' again like a fish to water.
Within two minutes, my mom was tramping down the stairs at top speed, hurling herself on my squealing "My baby!" She hit me at such a fast gait that anyone who WASN'T a devil would have been bowled over, but I just laughed and hugged her back. "Hey ma, good to see you."
She pulled back, arching an eyebrow at me. "Did you already get expelled? That must be some kind of record."
I rolled my eyes, but didn't bother responding as I followed her to the kitchen to get some coffee as Daisy dragged out a frying pan, insisting on making 'young master's favorite blintzes'. Her blintzes WERE amazing so I sat down across from my mom and we started chatting while we waited for the food.
Catching her up on everything didn't take too long, and she smirked and teased me about Daphne and Suzie as expected. When I got to my trip to Diagon Alley though, she looked spooked. I had stashed the box and my robe in a backpack when I went to visit Seras, but I kept both with me, and she demanded to see it immediately.
Taking it out, she pulled out her wand and made a series of quick passes with scanning spells before sighing with relief. "Sorry, hon. Vampires don't do magic like wizards, but some of them develop blood magic that can lay some nasty curses. The one you met is pretty infamous, though I'm not sure if he has that particular gift. Roran Red Hand isn't the kind of person to leave many survivors who know his tricks."
"Roran Red Hand?" I asked in surprise. "He's famous enough that you know him by just his name?"
She shrugged. "Red Hand is the oldest vampire in the British Isles to my knowledge. His existence is a badly kept secret. The ministry likes to pretend it's in charge of magic and that magical creatures are under its control, but even they don't fuck with elder vampires. The old ones can be a nightmare."
"How do you know so much about vampires?" I asked. "You weren't one of those goth teens who let themselves get bitten for kicks were you?"
Her eye roll reassured me. "No. Vampire blood is an excellent ingredient for regeneration philters. Or did you forget your dear old mom was a potions mistress by trade? I had to do a few in depth reports on them in school, and vampire history isn't the kind of thing you forget. Roran in particular was…interesting. He was a chieftain in Hibernia, what we call Ireland now, in the first century during the roman exploratory missions. He got turned by one of the Roman vampires after making a nuisance of himself."
"There were vampires in the Roman empire?" I said incredulously. They didn't teach you THAT shit in world history.
She snorted. "Better to ask who WASN'T a vampire. Half the senate were bloodsuckers. They mostly got wiped out by a precursor order to the knights' templar in the third century. A few survived and infiltrated the vatican, and were largely responsible for turning the Pope against the templars about a thousand years later. Vampires play the long game."
"And Roran was turned by one of those guys?" I said with a wince. "Making him…what? Two thousand years old?" No wonder he was so fucking fast.
"Something like that." She said with a shrug. "He's a second order elder vampire, though thankfully not a master. Vampires, for all intents and purposes, come in three flavors. Elders, Initiates, and Fledglings. Fledgling vampires are basically fodder and can be ignored. Initiates are relatively functional vampires. Elders are scary bastards that have been around for ages. Their blood is much more potent for potions brewing."
Of course that was what she focused on. "Ok…so what's the difference? Is there some kind of switch that gets flipped after a vamp lives a few decades?"
"Sort of." She nodded. "When a vampire gets turned, its body starts to accumulate power. Eventually, though the when varies based on several factors, the vampire accumulates enough energy from the blood they drink to undergo a metamorphosis. The vampire will develop powers or abilities based on what kind of blood it drinks most and what kind of personality it has."
That sounded kind of familiar. "Wait…you mean like all that Dracula turning to mist and wolves and bats shit?"
"Exactly." Confirmed my mother. "Though usually only one or two. Drakul was an abnormally powerful vampire, and a master at that, which is what you call a vampire of the third order. The Ottomans basically started a war just to kill him. Anyway, most vampires don't develop any of those abilities. They're just a bit stronger or faster. Some who feed on werewolves get the wolf thing."
"So there aren't any masters in the UK?" I asked warily. "If Roran is the oldest and he's not one. You said there were multiple factors, I assume age is one?"
"Kind of. Time certainly helps." She said carefully. "But not exactly. Vampires are for the most part empty vessels after being turned. Think of them like a vase full of marbles. You fill the vase with liquid over time, and when its full, the marbles absorb the liquid, becoming something different. Then when you pour in new liquid you need much more of it to trigger the marbles to absorb."
"That's…what?" I blinked. "That's a TERRIBLE metaphor. I mean, I get your point, but you couldn't have phrased that worse."
She sniffed haughtily. "It's a simile dear. I said like. In any case, the basic rule of thumb is that feeding on strictly human prey a vampire will metamorphose for the first time after a century. The second is after a millenia, and the third is after ten thousand years. If they drink powerful blood it happens much faster, but still, masters are nearly unheard of, no one is quite sure how Drakul managed, though most people assume he drank basically OCEANS of blood. Initiates, or first order vampires, make up most of the non Fledgeling population."
It confirmed what I'd been thinking. There were creatures out there that made me look weak in comparison. Granted, I was sure devils had a pretty high ceiling, but I hadn't been one long. Elder and master vampires were probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Weirdly, that thought didn't scare me. It made me EXCITED. I was in a world of fucking MAGIC. Finding out that wizards were mostly weaker than I was had been kind of a let down. Sure, I was sure they had techniques for dealing with people like me, and that some of their strongest would be a good fight, but it was still punching down.
Now though, I'd found out that I wasn't an apex predator, at least not yet. It restored some of the excitement I'd felt deep down when I first headed for hogwarts.
My mom saw my expression, and as expected, she knew me better than anyone. "Don't get too cocky, darling." She said with a smile. "Don't forget I experienced plenty of your power during our training. You're not an invincible crushed of wizards yet, even if it might feel like it. We've developed methods for containing things like vampires, werewolves, and even dragons."
"There are fucking DRAGONS?" I said, my jaw falling open. "Like…big flying fire breathing lizards?"
She rolled her eyes. "Boys. Yes, love, there are dragons. You probably won't meet one for some time. Which is good, because even a juvenile dragon would crush you like a bug. Their hides are extremely resistant to magic and physically you aren't even close to a match."
Daisy appeared at our side, placing down a pair of plates. Blintzes with blackberry syrup drizzled across the top. Daisy hadn't been with us long, but she definitely knew what I liked to eat. "Thanks Daze." I said with a grin. "You're the best."
She giggled. "Young master needs to eat right to grow up big and strong. He isn't being able to beat up any nasty dragons until he puts some meat on his bones."
"Please don't encourage him Daisy." My mother said in a teasing tone. "He's enough trouble as is." The elf seemed to freeze for a second, but clearly mom had been working with hear about teasing, because she didn't immediately try to smash her head in a crock pot or something. That was good.
"Anyway." I said, taking a bite. "Roran is going to ask around about devils. He seemed to recognize me somewhat, and I want to know why. There have to have been SOME devil related species here, just based on how my wand reacted to me. Sadly I asked around about Oni and they appear to be mostly extinct. Maybe I'll take a trip to Japan during the summer to look around for some."
"You could stop in at Mahoutokoro." She said with excitement. "I've never had the chance to go, but I hear it's AMAZING. They have the smallest student body of any of the schools, but are considered to be one of the finest institutions on the planet."
I stared at her flatly. "Yes. Because when I visit other countries on summer vacation, my first thought is 'more school'. Magic is awesome, but there are limits to how much time you can devote to one thing before it gets boring."
She shrugged. "In any case, I got your message about Andi coming over. I haven't seen her in years. I already told Daisy to prepare her favorite, so we'll be having rack of lamb."
Nodding casually, I said. "Oh sounds good. Speaking of old friends, I ran into Rosmerta at the three broomsticks, she says hi."
My mom's back practically went up like a cat. "Fucking Huffleslut." She hissed. "Threw herself at your uncle for years and when he didn't want to get serious started flirting around Reggie. I never liked her much."
"You don't say?" I crowed in faux amazement. "Did you have ANY female friends in Hogwarts? Aside from your friend Lily who you mentioned did potions with you?"
"Alice Longbottom." She said flatly. "Her maiden name was Fortescue. She was…a good friend. Bella got to her during the war. I wish I'd been there." Her eyes lost focus, and I regretted bringing it up. "Ali was never much of a duellist. Not like Bella."
"Wait. Like Neville's mom?" I'd met Neville a time or two. It was hard to avoid the guy considering how bad he was at potions. He sort of drew the eye.
"Yes." Her tone was short. "In any case, you've spent enough time going on about Diagon Alley. I want to hear more about your first year at Hogwarts. I know you must be leaving something out. Don't try to hide things from your mother."
Sighing loudly, I slumped in my chair. "Oh, fine. I'll let you know what's going on. You're not doing that mind reading magic thing are you? I've GOT to learn occlumency." I knew she wasn't, I didn't even know if that would work on me, but it was a good distraction. She grinned at the comment and I knew I'd successfully derailed any brooding. I just wish I wasn't going to have to tell her the truth about my almost backstabbing. She was always such a worrier.
October 3rd, 2010. Sheffield Manor, London, England 4:00 PM BST
The rest of the weekend was pretty chill for the most part. Seras got busy with work, so I wasn't able to hang out with her again the next day, and Sunday mom made me block out the whole day because I had relatives coming over. It was…weirdly heart warming honestly, experiencing that weird mix of excitement and bored frustration for the first time.
So I spent the morning Sunday just hanging out at home, reading some of the books I'd gotten from the Hogwarts library. I'd been making steady progress reading through my Alchemy book, dense as it was, at least with the help of some reference books I'd picked up. It was tough stuff, but really interesting.
Sadly the day went by a bit too fast, and before I knew it, four P.M had rolled around and the doorbell was ringing. Since mom was supervising Daisy in the kitchen (which is what she called it when she stood around and let Daisy cook because the dotty old elf was much better at it) I called out to her that I'd get the door, which I snagged and flung open.
Andi was there, offering me a cheerful smile. "First ring. Dearest nephew, were you waiting for me? I'm flattered." I snorted and rolled my eyes as we exchanged a hug. She gestured behind her, at the relatively tall pink haired girl sulking on the stoop. "This is my daughter, Nymphadora. Say hi to your cousin, Dora."
"Hi to your cousin, Dora." Snarked the pink haired girl. "And don't tell people my full name. It's ridiculous." She stuck out her hand. "Wotcher, Ryan. Call me Tonks. My fool mother was out of her gourd the day she named me." Behind her back Andi winked at me, as we shook, and I shuddered slightly, once again glad my mom wasn't that much of a troll.
Stepping back, I gestured them in. "Come on inside. Hope you like the place, it's not home but it's much." Tonks snickered at that as she scanned the decor and Andi rolled her eyes. "Mom's making dinner. We're having rack of lamb."
"Oooh." Drawled my cousin. "Fancy. Hear that mum? They're feeding us lamb. Think he's trying to butter us up?" She looked me over. "I already did your digging at the ministry. No need to bribe me."
Snorting, I waved her off. "Please. Mom was over the moon to see Aunt Andi again. We've been lying low, so she doesn't have too many friends these days." I frowned. "Honestly, I'm glad you came over. I worry about her when I'm off at Hogwarts. She spends all her time with Daisy, but that isn't healthy."
"I wouldn't worry." Said Andi sweetly. "The first time she goes to the store she'll have a crowd of besotted men following after her. At least unless she got MUCH less attractive since the end of school. Sylvia was always a beautiful witch."
A laugh came from the other side of the kitchen door, and mom stepped through, drying her hands with a rag. "I seem to remember you having your own share of admirers, Andi. Poor Alice had quite a time turning Frank's head with you swanning around. I swear she almost challenged you to a duel over him."
Andi shrugged. "He was a sweet boy, but I had enough problems with controlling mothers dealing with Aunt Walburga and my own mother. My parents actually considered marrying me off to Frank, but I put my foot down. If I had to have Augusta Longbottom for a mother in law I'd have been in Azkaban for murder within a week."
"Fair." Said mom with a shrug. "That was when the decided to try to marry you off to one of the Lestrange boys. No wonder you ran off to elope with Ted. Nasty pieces of work, the both of them. No wonder Bella fit in so well."
"Oh she fit plenty in." Said Andi lasciviously. "Both of them at the same time, even, from what I heard."
"MOTHER!" Snapped an appalled Tonks. "You don't SAY things like that in front of your daughter and nephew! We don't want to hear about your crazy sister taking it up both ends. That's not appropriate dinner conversation."
"Oh grow up." Said Andi over my mom's giggling. "You're both adults. You know what sex is. No one here is a virgin."
"Hey!" I said brightly. "Let's talk about anything else. Like at all. Pets. Cars. The planet Jupiter? This conversation is heading places I don't want to follow it. You guys can do girl talk another time, make a day of it."
My mom smothered her giggling. "Oh let's have pity on them Andi. I swear. The boy drools over anything with tits, but merlin forbid I say a word about my own proclivities. Nice to know it's not just the boys though. Come sit down at the dinner table. The lamb is about ready, and we can discuss the real reason for you visit."
The jovial atmosphere snuffed out like a candle, and Andi sighed. "Very well. I suppose we should get this out of the way."
We all gathered around the table in the dining room (which I'd never been in before) and Daisy started setting out plates. Once we were all seated and fed, my mom turned to Andi. "So, my son tells me he wanted to look into his Uncle's case. I must admit, the thought of Sirius being innocent isn't an absurd one. I always felt a bit blindsided by his betrayal."
"That's the problem with traitors." Said Andi with disgust. "Never see them coming. Still, I agree that one was harder to stomach than most. Siri was always the best of us. He was the one member of my family that I felt I could truly trust. His turnabout broke my heart in a way the others never could have."
Mom put her hand on Andi's shoulder from her seat nearby. "It's ok. I remember how awful they were. If he's really innocent, this could be a chance to get back some of the family you lost, but even if he isn't you have us now. So, can you tell us what you learned?"
Andi gestured to Tonks, who cleared her throat. "Right. Well, I had my mentor look into Uncle Sirius's case. It took some wheedling, that manky old bastard sees ulterior motives everywhere, but once I convinced him it was family business he went ahead and did it."
"And?" I prompted when she went silent. "Did he do it?"
She shrugged. "No idea. Evidence was circumstantial, for the most part. No trial, and the witness testimony was spotty, where there was any. That final fight with Pettigrew seemed real enough based on statements, but there was no memory on record for the incident. It was all very…rushed."
"So he might really be innocent?" I said hopefully. This had been a long shot, but if it really worked out I might have another relative back soon.
"Maybe." She said hesitantly. "There's not enough there to get the conviction thrown out one way or the other. Veritaserum might have worked, but any lawyer worth their salt would just claim insanity at his testimony after almost twenty years in Azkaban. Veritaserum makes you tell the truth, but the truth is subjective. Azkaban is known to cause hallucinations and delusions."
I frowned. "Does that mean we can't do anything for him? Can we investigate further? Try to find more evidence to exonerate him?"
"I can try." She said slowly. "Mad-Eye might help if I ask, but we'd need to be careful. Black's lack of trial wasn't a unique phenomena. During the later parts of the war a lot of people played fast and loose with the law to get the other side locked up where they couldn't do as much damage. If we overturn his conviction we open the floodgates, and a lot of people won't want to see that."
"What about the House of Black?" I asked with a frown. "Do we have the influence to push for a deeper investigation in a public forum?"
Andi cut in. "You don't. Not even as the Lord. You have the technical power, but you haven't accrued the soft influence needed to push through policy or institute government action." She trailed off. "Although…there might be someone who has." She looked uneasy. "There IS still one of the old Black line around with real clout."
My mom flinched. "What? Are you talking about Cassiopeia? I thought that old shrew croaked years ago. Reggie used to talk about her in whispers. She even scared Walburga."
"For good reason." Said Andi emphatically. "That woman is a monster. Rumor had it she was an occasional sparring partner and paramore of Grindelwald himself. She's one of the most talented duellists to have been born in the last two hundred years, and a few lessons from her were what turned Bella into the beast that she was."
"If she can help then why didn't she?" I asked suspiciously. Having a random old powerful relative who could smooth things over was a little convenient.
Mom snorted. "Because she doesn't care? Cassiopeia is wealthy in her own right. She doesn't need the Black finances, and she only has a passing appreciation for the family as a whole. The only member of the family she actually LIKED from what Reggie said was your grandfather, the original Orion black. Walburga hated her, but even that old shrew wasn't willing to stand up to Cassiopeia."
I sighed. "Well, maybe I can convince her to help somehow? Until then, Tonks, can you look into the investigation thing on the down low? If you need money to pay off informants or whatever." I paused, narrowing my eyes in suspicion as I considered who I was talking to. "Actually, you're in training, do you even HAVE informants?"
Apparently my cousin took that as a challenge to her credentials. She bristled, gesturing at me with a lamb shank in outrage. "I have LOADS of informants! Like…dozens. People inform to me on all the things. They just call me up in the middle of the night and tell me about all the crimes they do!"
Andi reached up to pinch her nose as she heaved a long sigh. "Honestly. This child. Dora, darling, you're an awful liar. You must get it from Ted, because I certainly didn't teach you that. Perhaps you might put more effort into the skill, given as you're likely to be an undercover operative."
"Her?" I said incredulously. "Who would put HER undercover?" I shot her a sympathetic look. "No offense, but you're not exactly subtle. Your hair is PINK!"
She raised an eyebrow as her short pink hair shifted, cascading down past her shoulders in ebony waves as her eyes shifted to match mine. "Is it?" She said coyly. "I hadn't noticed. I'll have to look into that."
I blinked at her in surprise. "Huh. That's…interesting. How did you do that? And can I learn it?"
"Nope." She said, popping the P. "Born this way. I'm a Metamorphmagus. I'm better at infiltration than some of the lesser FAE." She paused with a sigh. "The disguise part at least. I've yet to nail down the whole stealth aspect."
Ignoring the fact that fairies existed for the moment, I was interested to learn more about this weird power. Did wizards randomly develop those often? Tonk was happy to share, entertaining us all by shifting her face into various people and putting on funny voices while we ate.
It was just a nice day with the family, and after a few hours, once it had gotten dark, we said goodbye (after creme brulee) and they headed home. The timing was good, because right after they left my phone rang. I was in a pretty good mood as I noticed it was Seras. I'd been hoping to talk to her before heading back.
"Hey, glad to hear from you." I said teasingly. "Couldn't bear not to see me before I left?"
My blood froze at the choked sob on the other end of the phone, but before I could ask what was wrong, the line went dead. I hurriedly redailed, but there was no response. Straight to voicemail. I stared at the phone for a second in disbelief before popping my wings and taking off for Seras's place. I just hoped I wasn't too late.
October 3rd, 2010. Surrey, London, England 9:00 PM BST
Flying across London at top speed was probably not the BEST plan. However, with my friend screaming into her phone like a murder victim, I didn't really think twice. Luckily it was cloudy, and I tried to stay high enough up to be mistaken for a bird or something, but there was no way I was waiting on a bus or car.
I wished I had a broom honestly, they could fly much faster than I could with just my wings. I made a mental note to buy one, since Quidditch tryouts were coming up anyway. This managed to distract me during the flight for about fifteen or twenty minutes, but ultimately failed and I had to just stop thinking and push myself to fly faster.
Despite my normal top speed being somewhere around thirty mph, I'd found that I could actively channel my magic to hit somewhere around sixty, and with Seras's house being twenty miles or so from mine, I got there in about a half hour all told.
Touching down outside the house, I took up a position in the back yard. I wanted to just rush inside, but I knew that was the worst possible choice. If it was a mortal inside I'd crush them, but I had a sinking feeling the culprit wasn't mortal at all. I'd been so sure I shook off the vampire before coming to see her, but the timing here was too coincidental.
I could only assume it was that ass Bernard. If it was Roran, chances were good I was dead anyway, based on what my mom told me. That said, that dick knew I could do magic and that I was about as strong as him, so there was no possible way he hadn't prepared some way to tip the scales in his favor.
My best move was a bit of recon, so even if it killed me inside to wait while Seras could be dead or dying, I closed my eyes and focused hard on my senses. I'd already looked for anything incriminating or useful, and picked up nothing, the windows were dark and the door wasn't forced. Since sight was out I should focus on my other senses.
It took me a minute to hear past my own pounding heart. I was exhausted from pushing myself on the flight over, and agitated from worry. Eventually though, I pushed that down and listened. I could hear slight scuffing on the floors, and focused as I was on my non sight senses, I could smell something that made my spine chill. Blood.
Lots of blood. Too much blood to have safely come out of one person. These fucking guys were VAMPIRES. Shouldn't they clean up after themselves? Why leave blood all over. It had to be splattered or pooled for it to be this strong. I'd been around blood a few times since getting my powers. Knicks and cuts in potions class, scraped knees in DADA.
This was way more blood than any of that. Even from outside I was almost choking on it. I counted the pairs of shoes. Three. Assuming that Seras and her parents were…indisposed, that meant three enemies, possibly three Vampires.
I palmed my wand, going over the magic that I had learned so far. Mostly just basic spells. Wand lighting, levitation, box blasting. I focused on one of the earlier ones we'd learned. The Fire-Making charm. Incendio. We'd only done a few charms over the first month, but Flitwick insisted that one was incredibly useful in any number of contexts.
Vampires were weak to fire, so that should do it. Normally the spell was a small plume of flame, but you could overcharge the shit out of it easily enough, and that was basically a flamethrower. Once I had an idea how I was going to take these assholes out (unless I got the drop on them solo in which case I was going to rip their fucking heads off with my bare hands) I started circling the house, looking for an entrance.
No open windows or doors, obviously, but a quick perimeter search showed me a busted in access hatch to a crawl space at the top of the house. Floating up to it and slipping in was child's play. Once I was inside, I quietly removed the ceiling tile that had been placed in the corner of the crawl space and lowered myself down into the bathroom.
The door was open, and I looked out to try to see what was going on. With my dark vision, the whole house was crystal clear. The smell of blood was overwhelming, and as I slipped out of the room and took up a position at the top of the stairs, I caught sight of a pair of feet sticking out from behind the corner of a wall.
Cream colored carpet soaked with blood along with the lack of movement told me that the man was dead. I closed my eyes in pain. Seras's dad, Gregory. She might have disliked his old fashioned attitude but Seras had loved her dad. She talked about him constantly, always telling stories about him building things for her as a little girl.
I felt that now familiar rage start to kindle, the flames of wrath lighting my stomach and rolling through my blood as my power started to rise. These fucking monsters had come here and killed my friend's parents, and maybe my friend herself. Someone was going to fucking die for this.
Listening intently, I could hear one of the bastards in the living room, slurping noises telling me he was probably feeding, while another paced the back of the house, probably waiting to ambush me. The last one though, the last one was down the hall, in a familiar pink bedroom. I gritted my teeth, lifting off the ground, wings out, to float gently down the hall.
No footsteps, no traces of my movement. I didn't want the vampire in the room to hear me coming. The door was partially open, easy to see through, and when I looked inside, my already boiling blood went fucking supernova.
Seras lay on the bed, glassy eyes facing the door. The blood on her lips showed me she'd fought back and bit the vampire, getting her teeth into him as sure as he had into her. Her body jerked and shuddered, not under her own power, but under the frenzied feeding of the monster latched onto her thigh.
I slipped sideways into the room, floating slowly up behind the creature gnawing on my friend's remains, once I'd drifted right up behind him, my arm came up around his neck like an iron vice. He stiffened, but with me crushing his voice box he couldn't make a sound. Lifting him bodily I dragged him off her body, and reached up to grip his chin with my other hand from behind.
Leveraging every bit of power in my body, I hauled off and yanked his chin sideways and up, inverting his fucking head with a muffled crack. Releasing his neck, I continued twisting with both hands until I wrenched his entire head off his body, letting the decapitated corpse fall to the ground.
Staring at the head, I snarled silently at it. All I wanted was to kick the thing like a fucking soccer ball. Then my stomach knotted because Seras had loved soccer, and had been incredibly insistent that I call it football. She'd made me promise to go to a Man U game with her over the summer, and now I'd never get to make good on it.
This was my fault. I'd smacked Bernie around and then bailed. My heat run hadn't been enough. I'd KNOWN he was following me, and just because I thought I lost him I'd felt safe coming to Seras's home. I'd even noticed someone lurking outside for a second but then dismissed it.
Stupid. Sloppy. Because this had felt like a game to me. I was like a fucking superhero and my powers made me invincible. Danger was academic. Like I was some kid playing fucking spies or something. I gritted my teeth and turned to sneak out of the room. I'd leave Seras here, her body would be taken care of when I finished this. Preferably by setting just EVERYTHING on fire.
Before I could leave though, the springs of the bed creaked. I whipped around to see Seras's previously blue eyes locked on me as she crouched on the pink comforter. Her head was cocked like an animal listening for prey, and her skin was pale. I remembered the blood on her lips.
"Seras." I said quietly, knowing she would be able to hear me at that range easily no matter how low I spoke. "Is that you in there?" I knew her body was up, but I didn't know what newly turned vampires were like. She didn't strike me as very human right now. "Blink twice for yes. Or once. Or at all. Please blink, you look super creepy just staring at me like that."
Part of me felt bad for cracking jokes, but that part was mostly just horrified unintelligible screaming at the moment, and humor helped me cope, so I gave her a cheesy smile and hoped I'd get one in return. She hurled herself off the bed so quickly and silently she might have been a fucking puma.
I could have moved. She was fast, but honestly she seemed almost too fast. Her brain wasn't equipped to keep up with her body yet, and I could have dodged. I didn't. I caught her. Body slamming into mine as her legs locked around me and she struck like a cobra, digging her fangs into my neck.
Reaching up, I fisted my hand in her hair, holding her head gently. I didn't pull her away. I let her drink, though I wasn't going to let her do it for too long. She needed blood, clearly, and I had the good stuff. I could share. I owed her that much.
I expected to have to pull her off me. I felt her body jerking against me as she swallowed and just held on, but eventually I felt her teeth retract from my neck. She cleaned the wound tenderly with her tongue, kissing it gently after, and then her head slumped and she started to cry. Silent, jerking sobs of loss and heartbreak.
We stood there like that, for a minute or two. Eventually though I set her down. The whole process had been eerily quiet, not tipping off any of the other vampires. Her big red eyes were horrified as she looked down at my neck, bloody tears streaking her face. "I didn't…"
"Do anything wrong." I finished firmly. "If I wanted to stop you I could have. I didn't. It was freely given." She tried to speak again, but I held a finger to her still bloody lips. "Don't." I murmured. "They're still here. We can't leave the house like this, it'll raise questions. Pack a bag. I'll go deal with the vampires. I'm afraid your parents are going to need to be cremated." I made sure to emphasize that, and she seemed to understand what needed to happen.
Her face crumpled, and I felt like a monster for just rushing her through this, but if the vampires twigged to what had happened so far one or both of them might run. I wasn't going to let that happen. "After you get your things go out the window." I murmured. "Don't go downstairs
Seras started to work her way around the room, mechanically putting stuffed animals, photos, and various sentimental items into a pink leather luggage bag. I nodded and turned to slip out of the room. I drifted down past the steps, just out of sight from the front room or the one checking the back still.
If this had been a movie I'd have fought them both. Beat their asses and strolled out like some kind of action star. But this wasn't a movie. People were dead. Seras's parents were dead. SERAS was dead. And these fucking leeches didn't deserve to die like warriors or movie villains. They deserved to die screaming and confused.
Some say the world will end in fire. Some say, in ice. But I, who've tasted of desire. I hold with those who favor fire. I poured every ounce of rage and guilt and grief into the next spell, every ounce of demonic power I could muster as I heard Seras's window close on the floor above. "Incendio." And then the flames came.
AN://I considered a confrontation, but honestly they weren't worth it. Just baby vampires. The main takeaway here is he has very little handle on his demonic nature at this point. Lust and Greed make him Reckless, Wrath makes him lose his shit, and Pride leaves him blind to things he should have noticed.
That last one is a particular bitch because of how much power he has. His biggest enemy at the moment is himself. And Voldemort I guess, but he doesn't know about that yet lmao.
October 3rd, 2010. Sheffield Manor, London, England 10:00 PM BST
We took the bus back home. I didn't want to risk flying with Seras onboard. She was mostly in control of herself after her little sip of me earlier, but I didn't know if or far how long that would last. I needed an expert opinion, which meant there was exactly one place I could bring her. One the ride though, I tried to get her talking about her experience.
"So…sorry about the massive fireball that consumed your house." I said quietly, wincing slightly at how lame it sounded. "I MIGHT have slightly overdone it." She looked at me weirdly and I went back over what I'd just said. "Oh!" I said with a start. "Not overdone like steak, overdone like I might have used too much power…"
She gave me a wan smile. "I got it. It's fine. This might be better. They'll blame it on a gas leak or something now. Too explosive to be arson. I'm surprised you made it out of there, honestly."
"I almost didn't." I admitted. "I way overcharged that fire spell. Luckily I realized that at the last second and threw up a shield. Lots of power but not very concentrated. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about…everything?"
She nodded mutely, and I sighed, choosing to continue. "How did they get in? Vampires need to be invited." It wasn't the politest thing to ask, but I was trying to get a handle on what happened.
"My mum." She said bleakly. "They knocked on the door, said there were having car trouble, asked to come in and use the phone. I heard them from upstairs. I came out to see what was going on and then…they moved so fast. I ran to my room, I…I don't know why I thought to call you. You were just the first person to pop into my head."
I could understand the impulse to call a friend when you were in trouble. It was flattering and ultimately the right choice, I shuddered to think what the vampires would have done to Seras after she awoke as one of them.
We stopped talking after that, Seras leaning on my shoulder as we made the trip back to my place. Once we arrived, I invited her in, then had Daisy call my mom down as I settled her in the kitchen with some jaffa cakes to nibble on.
When my mom arrived, I pulled her out into the hall and gave her a rundown on the situation. "So…now she has nowhere to go." I said worriedly. "She can't go back to work, she's supposed to be dead. I turned that house to ashes, so the lack of a body won't be an issue, but she's effectively done with muggle society."
My mom pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is a mess. I don't think Roran will bother to bestir himself about this. Vampires who haven't undergone their first metamorphosis are basically disposable, but Seras…she's going to have a hard time. Actually she should BE having a hard time. Newborns are usually rabid."
"She was." I said, pulling aside my collar. I hadn't mentioned letting myself get snacked on to my mom, I hadn't wanted her to worry, but it seemed like something I'd need to share at this point. "I'm fine, she didn't take too much, but she regained her rationality pretty fast."
"That explains it." Said my mom with a grimace. "Your blood is probably exceptionally potent. You've pushed her development weeks ahead of where it should be. Maybe months. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, she has an unprecedented level of control, but I'm not sure if she needs to maintain that level of sustenance to keep herself rational."
I…hadn't considered that. "I can't feed her from school though. And I have to go back." My eyes lit up. "Don't you have those stasis vials you use for potions? And blood replenishers too. I can bleed into those to tide her over until I can get permission to visit again."
That didn't appear to sit well with my mother, but she finally let out a frustrated huff of agreement. "I could do that. But Ryan, the girl is a literal ghost now. She can never have a life again. You can't just keep her at home for me to watch while you're at school like a pet."
"I have a plan for that." I said confidently. "I'm going to make her a devil. Not right now, she still needs to adjust to being a vampire, but once she's a devil she can use magic, which means she can live in the wizarding world. It's a completely separate society with no real overlap so she won't need to worry about getting noticed, and she'll be able to have a real life."
Part of me was insistent on this. I'd…I'd gotten Seras killed. I'd gotten her parents murdered. She didn't seem to see it that way, despite knowing the vampires had been following me, or maybe she was just refusing to think about it, but I owed her a life. A happy life. I wanted to make her like me. To keep her safe and take care of her. She deserved that.
All of this was probably clear on my face to my mom, who knew me better than anyone. She sighed. "This will be….tricky. But I suppose I can arrange things. She can learn most of the facts and formuli in potions even without magic. She won't be able to brew, but it's a good theoretical foundation. Then we can claim she's a muggleborn servant who wasn't ready in first year."
She didn't sound thrilled, and I knew making it work would be tricky to pull off but…I needed to do this. Mom went over a few more solutions to problems. Magic sunscreen, eye color changing charms. She stressed that I needed to convert Seras as soon as I felt I could though. She needed time to prepare. I promised to do it on my next visit.
"Also…I hate to bring this up but. Is this safe?" I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I feel bad for her, but I don't want to put you in danger making up for my mistake. I could keep her at one of the other properties if you're worried."
Snorting, my mother waved me off. "Don't be stupid. I'm a professional level duellist and a potions mistress. It takes more to scare someone like me than a traumatized baby vampire. I'll take care of the girl, don't worry. You need to get back to school."
"I want to stay for a while." I said with a grimace. "Can you brew me a Pepper Up potion? If I skip sleep I can spend the night here helping her adjust and be back in time for classes tomorrow. Mondays I have a single hour long potions class to get through and then about five hours to nap."
Despite clearly not wanting to encourage that, she sighed and nodded. "I can do that. Just this once. Don't get dependent on Pepper Up, though. It's habit forming. It does NOT replace real sleep, and if you start using it that way you're going to have problems."
I might not, actually, since I was a devil, but I didn't want to risk it really. I wasn't planning to abuse Pepper Up anyway. I LIKED sleep. With that out of the way, we both headed into the kitchen where Seras was staring at a plate of Jaffa Cakes blankly, clearly off in another world.
"Hey." I said as I sat down, reaching out to take her hand. "I realize this is a lot, but we're here for you. Do you have any questions? I realize you've been a bit distracted with everything that happened. This is my mom by the way."
"Call me Sylvie, dear." My mom said with a warm smile. "Ryan told me about everything that happened. You can stay here as long as you like. It's nice to meet one of my son's friends."
Seras blinked, looking between us. "You don't look old enough to have a son like Ryan." She said with a wan smile. "But you two seem very close. I used to be close with my mum." Her voice broke as she said this, eyes overflowing with crimson tears.
We'd cleaned the bloody streaks off her face before the bus ride, so there was no sign of it before now, but mom seemed completely unperturbed by the blood. "Ryan, go get out guest a wash cloth to clean her face off."
As I hurried off to do so, I heard her pull out a chair and sit down. "You've lost…so much tonight." Said my mother softly. "It's heartbreaking to think of what you must be going through. But I promise you aren't alone. We're here with you. I'll help you adjust to your new life, and like I said, you can stay as long as you like."
"I'm…I'm a MONSTER." Said Seras in a broken voice. "You're what? Sorcerers? And I'm a monster. I drank Ryan's BLOOD. I'm just like THEM."
"Nonsense!" Snapped my mother, her voice like a whip. "You are NOTHING like them. Being a vampire doesn't make you a monster, any more than being a human makes someone a good person. But yes, we're magicals. I'm a Witch and Ryan is a Wizard, as is the terminology. The vampires that came to your home…they were following Ryan. You know that, don't you?"
I winced where I was standing motionless outside the towel closet. She did know it, but I hadn't wanted to remind her of that. I didn't want her to hate me, even if I kind of deserved it. I just didn't know if that was possible.
"I know." Seras said softly. "He knew what they were, how to deal with them, and they showed up only a few days after his first visit. It wasn't hard to piece together."
"Do you blame him?" My mom asked bluntly. "Because it would be understandable if you did."
"No!" Said Seras passionately. "That's…they were trying to hurt him right? Following him hoping to do the same thing as they did to my mum and dad? Is that because he's…what is he? He tasted so…wonderful." Her voice got dreamy. "I could smell the blood in my house before I left, it was everywhere, but his was so different. So sweet and dark and rich."
"That's a complicated question, and one we can go into later." Said my mom, her voice firm. "But yes, they wanted to hurt him."
"Then how could I blame him?" She murmured sadly. "He got revenge for my parents. He saved me. He let me…feed on him. He could have stopped me, couldn't he? Could have left me rabid and starving and in pain."
My mom made a sound of agreement. "He could have, yes. But he didn't want to." She paused for a moment, waiting for Seras to continue, but when she didn't, changed the subject. "How are the cakes? Vampires drink blood to survive, but can still ingest normal food. If you aren't in the mood for them, we can get you something else?"
I came back with the washcloth, passing it to her. I picked a black one that was soft enough that it should be comfortable. She gave me a grateful smile and scrubbed her eyes clean. "No, the cakes are good. I'll eat them in a moment. They're my favorite. Thank you, so much. For all of this."
"Just treat this place as home." My mom said with a gentle smile. "You're always welcome here."
We spent the rest of the night talking. I filled Seras in on the general facts of the wizarding world, about how my life had changed, and told her about Hogwarts. I let her know I'd need to go, and she seemed sad, but resigned. My mom was adamant she would make sure to keep our guest busy and help her adjust, and Seras seemed to latch onto her a bit, which wasn't a bad thing.
At the end of the night, my mom passed me a Pepper Up potion and I stepped back through the fireplace, emerging in Snape's office. He didn't question my lateness, presumably not caring since I'd shown up in time for class, and I slipped into my seat next to Blaise, my mind racing. So much had happened, but for now, I just needed to focus on my work. Everything else could wait.
AN:// A few things. After seeing the vote and talking things over, I've decided that evil pieces DO resurrect the dead, but there's a ten minute clock. We've never seen anyone in DxD resurrected after that as far as I know, and if we have, well, this isn't DxD. So Seras's parents were already down for too long by the time he showed up and couldn't be revived. This also precludes things like rezzing Lily, while staying true to the DxD mythos, which should prevent the story from spinning out of control.
Secondly, Seras will become a devil, but not right now. She has to get used to being a vampire, and new devils need to constantly be around their king, which means waiting until she can come to Hogwarts or at least until that's closer to happening. Still, she's definitely going to be in the peerage, and if anyone has ideas on piece selection feel free to leave a comment with your reasons, though no promises.