1 Changes.
Finally, holidays. Sarah threw her school bag in a corner and fell backwards on her unmade closed her eyes and enjoyed die sun, shining through her screens. She knew she would get alot more freckles, but she didn't mind. She coulndn't help it anyway, she got them from her irish mother, just like her fiery red hair. Although she didn't know why she had curls, probably from her father, but she never met him.
Sarah's mother died three years ago and she was living with her stepfather in Sevenoaks, just outside London. Fred just got a job in the Docks, so they moved there 4 weeks ago from Liverpool. The TV and the fridge where unpacked and plugged in, but all the other stuff was still in cardboard boxes in the hall. Fred rather met up with friend after work and Sarah assumed he had a new girlfriend. She never knew where he was or when he would come home. She went tot he kitchen and made her self a sandwich when the phone rang.
„Hello, it's Sarah Meyers, who's…" she was answering.
„Hey Sarah, it's me", she heard Marcia's voice, a girl from her new class. "What'cha doing tonight? We're having a party at the lake. At eight?" Sarah thought about it for a moment. It sure was a good opportunity to get to know the others, so she promised to come. But she would have to go food shopping first, what Fred liked to forget and take a shower. Who would go to a party unshowered, even though it's at a lake.
- - -
Sarah was late. Fred came home, just when she was about to leave the house and he wanted her to make him dinner first.
"Can't he take care of himself?" she was thinking to herself while she was making him som face-up eggs.
It was almost nine o'clock when she arrived at the lake, but there was no party, or there was no more. It looked like the police came and ended it already.
„Damn, damn, damn" Sarah was swearing. She should be angry, but somehow she wasn't. The evening was just too nice to be mad. Die sun was setting over the sea in a lot of colours, the warm wind was playing with her hair and she saw fireflies between the trees. She heard the crickets chirp and the bird on the branches seem to sing just for her. She took a deep breath from the sommer air and sighed. She felt the peace of this place and a smile appeared on her face. She walked slowly through the woods with her fingers streaking through the leaves. She had no reason to rush. There was no party and at home was just Fred, who probably falls asleep in front of the TV anytime.
So she was wandering through twilight and didn't even notice how her sourroundings turned quiet. Just before she was about to reached the street that leads back to town, she noticed.
„Like a graveyard" she thought. Die son wasn't gone already and long shadows where dancing around her. She heard branches crack behind her had turn around. Was there someone standing betweens the trees to her left? No, just a shadow. She respired and laughed. „Gosh, you're jumy like a baby!" She shok her head and turned to face the street again. But instead of street she saw two red, shiny eyes and sharp teeth coming closer to her. Sarah screamed.
- - -
Fred was angry. He had made other plans for tonight. He wanted to meet some friends at the pub. But instead he was sitting in the heart of London, in a hospital he never heard of, because of his stepdaughter and he was listening to a strange story.
"She… what? … A Vam… she… you must be joking!" Yes, he was mad and by now he had a terrible headache.
Er was looking over to Sarah, who was sleeping in a hospital bed. She was white like the sheets and her red hair made her look even paler. Her neck was in a thick bandage.
The door to her room got opened and two men entered. One was old, in an long, bluecoat. He had white hair and a long beard. The other one seemed to be in the same age as Fred, in the mid-thirtys. He had wide shoulders, wake eyes and a lot of scars on his face and his hands.
The older one leaned over Sarah, who seemed to be still asleep, then he turned to Fred.
"Mister Meyers, i understand that you ar confused, but fort he sake of your daughter you should trust us and…" The man had a calm and confidence inspiring voice, but it seemed to have no effect on Fed. "STEP DAUGHTER!" he answered testy."She's just my step daughter! How often do I have to say that? Who are you anyway?" Fred gave the man a sinister look, who gave him a polite smile instead.
"I'm sorry, it seems like i forgot my manners at home today. My name is Albus Dumbledore and this is Alastor Moody." He pointed at the man on his side. "We were, eehm, just around the corner when your daugh… step daughter was attacked."
"Die girl would have died, if we didn't…" Alastor didn't get to finish hes sentence, because Fred interupted him applied.
„What was she doing out there anyway. She is only making troubles! When her mother was still alive, i could live with it. But she is dead and left me with her!" Fred was pointing at the bed where Sarah was still lying without moving.
"And now you two come along and tell me this children's story… You are all just crazy" er screamed, but the other man didn't listen anymore.
Albus and Moody gave each other a look, without changing a word. They heard enough and knew what they woulf have to deal with. Albus had been expecting this and already talked to his old friend what to do. This Fred was disgusting and Dumbledore felt, how his fellar got mad. Even though Moody was known to be hard and cold, he knew he had a heart made of gold. Which was exactly what this girl could use.
Albus looked over to Sarah's bed. She was still lying there, with her eyes closed, but he saw a tear running down her cheek.
"Are you absolutely sure, Alastor? You know, there will be no way back!"
He didn't looked at him as he answered.
"Definitly. What other chance does she have?"
Albus simply nodded and turned to Fred who was still grumbling. He looked him in the eyes and said "First, Mister Meyers, please calm down." He took Fred's hand in his right and his left one on his forehead. Fred looked confused for a moment and then fell down and Alastor caught him.
The two men put him on a stretcher and carried him outside on the hallway. When they re-entered the room, two big blue eyes starred at them.
"I assume you have been listening for a while, haven't you?" Albus asked with a smile and Sarah nodded. Confused and scared she's been looking from one man to the other. Her hand was touching her bandage on her throat
„It has all been a joke, right?" she asked with a broken voice. "That hasn't been… I mean, there are no such things as… What did you do to Fred anyway?"
„There are a whole bunch of other creatures out there, shorty. And Fred's all right. He'll be sleeping for a while and when he wakes up, he won't remember anything."
While talking, Alastor walked towards her and eyed her up.
"What do you think, Albus? Too soon for a little test?"
The other man rised an eyebrow und took a step closer
"I don't think so" he watch Sarah lovingly who was looking even more confused.
Albus placed a piece of pargement on her blanket and put a wooden stick in her hand.
„Sarah, please move your hand like this" and he showed her how "And say the words 'Wingardium Leviosa'. Go ahead, don't be shy." She looked very puzzled, but did what he said. She screamed, when the pargment arose and hooverd.
"What kind of sorcery is this?" she whispered, but seemed to be curios. Albus started to explain.
„First you've got to know, that there are two types of humans, wizards, like Alastor and me and Muggles,non-magical people, like you and Fred. Normally, we live in our own world and we would have never met. But you've crossed Romanev Blatanescu's way and, surprisingly you survived! But now, our world is yours, no Sarah, let me finfish" said Albus quickly when Sarah tried to interrupt him. He put his hand on hers an continued.
„Romanev was, no, is a vampire. But not a regular one, he is what we call an old great one, the originals. Some kind of Base-Vampire. Very old, very powerful and very dangerous. That's why we've been there." He pointed at Alastor and himself.
"We wanted to finish him and we almost got him, when you ran into him. If he would have been a normal vampire, nothing would have happend, as long as you don't drink his blood, too. The scar would have healed and you could have gone home. Nothing would have changed. But the bite from an original vampire… well, that makes the whole thing different and there lies the problem. His bite made you a… half-vampire."
Albus watched her through his glasses.
Sarah heard her blood rushing through her ears. She didn't believe what she was hearing. Alastor stepped beside her and gave her a caring look. "That's why, even though you are a muggle, you can use magic. You can't let you go back in your world. Blatanescu would try to find yo, if he finds out you're still alive. And probably not only him." He smiled weakly.
"You have to give up your identidy and start a new live. With us, with me to be precise. I will tell everyone that you are my daughter and help you do handle your new powers, until you can go to school in September" He walked toward the window.
"Then, Albus will help you. He's headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.. Nobody may know who or what you really are! Halfbreds are thought to be dangerous. There even are laws against them, like werwolves."
Sarah gasped "werewolves exist?"
"Of course!" answered Alastor. "Just like campires, unicorns or dragons. Most of creature you know from fairytales are real."
He saw how the sun rose over London. Slowly, the son entered the room and the light fell on Sarah's bed and let her hair shine. He took a deep, releasing breath.
"You'll need a new name and…"
"Why? Am I dangerous? I mean, if I really am a… what ever… then… I could never harm anyone!"
Her voice broke and her eyes got all wet.
Albus, still holding her hand, answered „Alt least you can live in daylight! And that's enough, to scare most people to death, even Romanev who can't."
Shocked, she looked tot he window and blinked to the sun.
And now, in this moment she believed it. She realised, that something changed. She suddenly realised, what happend last night. Again, she saw the red eyes and the teeth and felt the pain on her neck and her body burned. She heard her own screams in her head. She could have died that night. She could have died when the sun hit her. But she lived! Sie was sitting here, breathing, crying, but she was alive. Her old live was over, she knew that. But now, she had the chance for a new, unknown and maybe better live. If she lived with Fred or that Moody-guy, where's the difference? Fred didn't like her, she never wanted her und probably was happy that he got rid of her. This Alastor seemed to care about her, she didn't know why. There was something in his eyes, she never saw in Fred's. Again, tears ran down her face.
She was scared, scared of what happened and what will happen. What then her face grew brighter. Something came to her mind, she havn't thought aout for a while, because it was too painful for her.
„Serina Corvus" she said with a shacking voice. „That was my mother's name… I would… I mean, if it's possible, I would like to take this name…" her voice broke off with the memory of her mother.
Albus smiled ancouraging "That's a really nice name and I think it suits you. Albus and I have to arrange some things and when we're back, we'll get you out of here… Serina"
Then, they left her alone with her thoughts.
