*** Characters in the following fic come from a variety of areas. The cast of Hogwarts are the creation of J.K.Rowling and kudos to her for finally producing that fifth book (please don't sue me!). The vampires of the Masquerade (that you won't find out about until later) belong to White Wolf publishers. The mercenaries however are mine, ALL MINE, MUWHAHAA… ahem. If you like this story please review, if you hate it I'm really interested in your views and if you see errors in my portrayal of the Masquerade you WILL review. ***
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Old friends and new acquaintances
A warm summer breeze caught the tail of a black travelling cloak. It drifted through the grounds of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, weaving it's way through the leaves of trees. The black cloak followed the lines of a body that, while well toned, did not quite fill the garments adorned by the man. The man's eyes drifted over the trees and lingered on the glassy lake and then moved slowly upon the castle. As he seized his trunk and made his way up the winding path, a little winged creature flapping alongside him. Ethan Adonis was back at Hogwarts.
As Ethan reached the doors to the Entrance Hall they swept open to reveal a very old man. Tall with wrinkles and spectacles, most would think of him as some child's great grandfather. His name was Professor Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts and he was Ethan's latest client.
"Punctual as ever Ethan, I always admired that in you my boy." said Dumbledore, his smile beaming as he shook hands firmly with Ethan who grinned back.
"The thought of making a late entrance did occur to me, but I doubted that I'd make an impression to the teachers four floors up." Said Ethan
"Ah yes well they are rather busy and strained at the moment," replied Dumbledore's sagely voice. "Just as you will be once you've had few good nights sleep in your new office. I feel that it will both surprise and prove its usefulness to you in a very short time."
Since the return of the dark lord Hogwarts had been a hive of activity, most of the teachers were involved in Ministry work and research. Constantly bombarded with owls the staff were performing counter measures, brewing potions and advising on spell work to the various departments of the Ministry of Magic, which had finally joined in the fight against Voldemort. Times were not as good as they had been a few years ago. It was now commonplace for Wizards and Witches to go missing, some into hiding…others just turned up dead.
This was the very reason Ethan was back at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore had coerced the Ministry of magic into bending the laws of duelling, thereby instating a new study group titled simply 'Duelling and Self Defence.' Dumbledore believed also that the teacher for this group combined with the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher students would stand a greater chance of staying alive after and during Hogwarts, as well as make up for the chaos Delores Umbridge had caused the previous year. For that reason, he hired Ethan.
"Tell me how was South America?" asked Dumbledore as he walked beside Ethan towards his office.
"Well let's see now… it was infested with trolls, kappas and piranhas with charmed teeth. But apart from that, the locals were really friendly."
"I thought you said you had no trouble during your work there."
"Not terribly. South America seems to be a low priority on the Dark Lord's agenda. The Brazilian Ministry really appreciated our work and gave us these little trinkets." Ethan pointed to his wrist where a silver bracelet intricately weaved around his wrist and trailed between his fingers.
A little girl with a yellow dress in a painting on the wall giggled and waved at Ethan as he and the professor made their way through many corridors.
"Most interesting, dare I ask what it has been enchanted with?"
"Nothing. I'm not sure what to make of it. Maybe a shielding component, as its too irregular to use as a charm trigger or anything else like that."
"I trust you will find something of the defensive nature to imbue your trinket and a word of warning. The Ministry of Magic has mixed feelings about my decision to hire a mercenary as a teacher. I ask you to consider the implications of teaching students advanced weapon enchantments."
"I feel that making students carry around extra weapons wouldn't be a good place to start, as they will rarely find themselves in a tight spot with an arsenal of weaponry at their disposal. However, I am professor of Duelling and Self Defence, am I not?"
"Shrewd as always Ethan." Dumbledore answered, still with a serious look on his face.
"Then what I'll teach will be anything and everything to do with Duelling and Self Defence." Ethan finished leaving Dumbledore to his musing. He knew that Ethan had managed, in a roundabout way, to say that he would and would not do as he was advised. They had rounded the last corner and ahead lay, Ethan assumed, his office and classroom. Dumbledore faced him and shook his hand.
"For now I bid you farewell, I have many tasks at hand and probably won't see you until the sorting. I must say this though, for a Slytherin you show shades of benevolence previously unknown in that house. Therefore I must conclude hopefully, that the reason you were put into Slytherin was because you are a being of great ambition and one of complete disregard of rules. With that in mind I shall watch you and your students, very carefully." Dumbledore beamed his smile and with a swirl of robes drifted down the passage.
Ethan considered Dumbledore's last remark.
"Well professor, if your going to insist upon keeping an eye on my students it looks as though I must teach them to sneak Hogwarts just as well as I did." Ethan always liked a challenge and in his seven years at Hogwarts not a teacher, Filch, Mrs Norris or Hagrid had caught him.
"One is remembered if one is good, but to be perfect is to be unknown." Seth, Ethan's sprite dragon, chose at this moment to become visible again and poke his tongue out at Dumbledore.
Ethan turned to his office door and closed his hand around the doorknob. Holding his breath he closed his eyes and pulled the door open. Ethan's surprise could not have been greater. The entrance to his office had stairs leading down…
to the sewers.
"Oh the man's awfully funny isn't he Seth."
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"Seamus over here." Dean Thomas a sixth year Gryffindor caught the attention of his fellow sixth year Gryffindor, who promptly took the seat opposite him.
"Have you guys seen Harry? I didn't see him on the train." Seamus looked worried as he straightened in his chair. Harry Potter had been the talk of the school since the end of last year. Portrayed as a lunatic by the Ministry of Magic for nearly a year, the sudden revelation of Lord Voldemort's return and battle against Dumbledore and Harry had gone through the school like lightning. Seamus had doubted Harry's sanity for nearly half the year and had since apologised for his behaviour and kept out of Harry's way. He did still worry though for Harry's safety, just the same as all of his other fellow Gryffindors, several of whom had come under serious attack by Voldemort's forces and had escaped only scarcely.
"Sure thing mate," said Dean, "He's just with Hermione and Ron, near some of the other prefects."
Seamus looked down the length of the Gryffindor table and there indeed was Harry in between his two best friends with shiny badges.
"There you are Ginny. We didn't see you on the train. Where were you exactly?" asked Dean as a girl with fiery hair approached him and took the free seat next to him.
"Well you wouldn't now would you Thomas, for I am one of Hogwarts Elite!" exclaimed Ginny as she nodded down towards her chest. "The proud lineage of Weasley, one Quidditch captain, two Head boys, two tricksters of great renown and now a fourth prefect!" A silver prefect badge on her Hogwarts cloak shone brighter than a diamond. "Ok, I'm over the power trip, phew," breathed Ginny, her face flushing pink from reciting her brothers' titles. "I didn't catch you guys on the train. I wanted to ask you if you'd had a good holiday."
Dean and Seamus grinned at each other before falling into a flurry of bows and hand gestures.
"Oh noblest of queens!" cried Dean.
"Oh fairest of maidens!" whispered Seamus breathlessly.
"Thine grace and presence smote our most undeserving eyes!"
"Thou art forgetful lowly Thomas. Is it not true that our own ears cannot, shall not and will not ever comprehend the splendour that is Lady Ginny Weasley's most sanguine voice."
"Oh wise Finnigan, how learned thou art. Twas you who warned me of the hazardous curves of the fair maiden from which so many youths have fallen," snickered Dean.
"Ok that's far enough you two. Thespian acting or naught, I'll kick your arses next time you insinuate in any way or form that I sleep around," growled Ginny. "Then I'll take points off you." Dean and Seamus took their seats.
Seamus glanced over the teacher's table. There was Flitwick squeaking to Sprout from Herbology, Professor McGonagall and Professor Vector were in deep conversation as usual. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was pretending to listen to Professor Trelawney's palm readings and Snape was by himself.
"Who's the new guy talking to Snape? We don't need another replacement, Dumbledore already told us that professor Kruse from Germany got the dark arts job," asked Ginny.
Seamus' eyes leapt back to Snape at Ginny's comment. Indeed he was not alone; his face wore a very serious expression, as he talked to an old man with white hair. No. A young man with white hair, Seamus corrected himself. At that moment, the man shook Snape's hand heartily.
"Ok, if that guy's teaching I'm not learning. You coming to unpack Dean, we get enough loathing from Snape without this new fu..."
"Sit down you idiots," hissed Ginny. "He might just be a guest of Dumbledore." Although her voice lacked conviction with that last remark. The man looked awfully comfortable at the head table and he wasn't seated next to Dumbledore.
"He can't be worse than Umbridge at least."
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At the Teachers table, things weren't going at all well for Ethan. Professor Snape seemed very fixated on telling Ethan how he should be teaching the students and what he should be teaching them. Ethan didn't particularly enjoy being ordered around again, but he did have a lot of respect for professor Snape. It was he after all, who had encouraged and supported him during his trials at Hogwarts, who never pushed him to be as vindictive to other students as his fellow Slytherins had been. He had understood that all Ethan had wanted to do was study magic and not simply for employment. Ethan had, during his time at Hogwarts, studied every form of magic he could come across. He made himself appear quiet and sometimes as though he was never there. Instead of hanging around the common room fire plotting against Gryffindor, Ethan spent his time reading… in the restricted section of the library. He studied hard during his time there and could even recite some of the books from memory. In his fourth year he imbued his robes so that they silenced the wearer completely and enveloped them in a shroud.
"Good afternoon sir, I don't believe we've met." said A voice with a slight accent.
Professor Snape who was midway through his favourite uses intimidation, glared at the interruption. Ethan however was grateful for the distraction and turned around to he face his other neighbour. She mustn't have been more than twenty in her years and she was giving him a most pleading look. Glancing over her shoulder he noticed Professor Trelawney and everything fell into place.
"Let me guess. You let her read your palms," Ethan whispered closely. "Rule number one; don't even pretend you're interested in her art."
"It would've helped knowing that a little sooner, but thanks all the same. I'm Sabina Kruse, Defence Against the Dark Arts. Did you attend Hogwarts?" Sabina's eyes lingered on Ethan's white hair.
"Yes, six years ago. Not too much has changed really. Ethan, by the way, Duelling and Self Defence. I guess I get to work closely with you. I'm glad its not one of my previous professors, they tend to treat you like you're still a student. Your English is quite good, how long have you been over here?" Ethan commended himself, not being one for small talk he was doing rather well. Then again it was this or professor Snape.
"This is my first year at Hogwarts. We have a very intense language program at my school near Bieleford. I'm told it is quite impressive."
"Ja. Sie sprechen ganz gut Englisch. Wie alt sind Sie?" Asked Ethan in his best German.
"Thanks for complement about my English, I'm twenty-four years of age. Please don't say I look younger. I hate that pick-up line," replied Sabina with a smirk. "Oh and please use 'du,' think of me as a friend."
"I place little importance by age and a lot by experience. Welcome to Hogwarts and may your experiences here be as rewarding as your salary." Said Ethan as he took Sabina's hand and shook it warmly. "Oops!" Ethan's fork clattered to the ground.
"Allow me." Professor Kruse. As she reached down Ethan's eyes blurred as took in every feature of her body.
Sabina had dark eyes and brown hair that went ever so slightly wavy at the ends. She was wearing robes of midnight purple with red edging, all cut to fit her sleek and powerful frame. Ethan determined that Sabina Kruse could indeed continue to be a formidable foe if found without her wand, despite what he clothes might suggest.
"Tell me is there anything you would like me to focus on with the students?" The Sorting couldn't be far away and Ethan refused to resign himself to speaking to professor Snape now.
"The ah, Imperius curse, yes? The 4th years didn't do well on it last year according to the notes left to me. Could you help them?"
Ethan closed his eyes in thought. "I have a rough idea on how to help them with that."
At that moment the doors to the great hall swung open and admitted the new first years.
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