Magic in the Blood
Or
"The Crossover that Isn't"
By TwinEnigma
Blanket disclaimer: Anything you recognize, except for my OCs and the plot, I don't own. I do this for fun and absolutely no profit.
It is commonly known – that is, among the select few that are in the proverbial loop – that the Hellsing family is bound by strange and mysterious blood alchemy to their powerful vampire servant, Alucard. The exact nature of such rituals and the magic involved is a carefully guarded Hellsing family secret, but it is nonetheless true that it is obviously linked to the blood. Now, it is quite apparent that supernatural and magical things exist and that holy artefacts or blessed weapons prove powerful weapons against the undead, but it seems that not even the Knights of the Round Table or even Alucard himself were quite sure how the Hellsing family had gone from veritable witch doctors that chased folklore and legends to gifted alchemists and occultists in a comparatively short amount of time.
Alucard had his suspicions, but he wasn't sharing them. Instead, he stalked his Master's mansion in silence, discreetly looking for the clue to unlock it all. The Queen knew, as it was one of those secret things that monarchs had to be aware of, and she chose to remain decidedly silent on the subject matter. Walter, having been the loyal butler and trash-man of the Hellsings since his teens, knew as well; he had learned of such things from Integra's grandfather during a particularly alcohol-laden conversation ages ago, but the Angel of Death's lips remained closed about these things even now. And so, the secret of the Hellsing magic remained exactly that: a secret.
There are, however, whispers near the very top of several governments, in the secret organizations such as Knights of the Round Table, Section XIII, and similar groups, whispers of an entire society of witches, wizards, and sorcerers hidden right under their noses. For example, it is rumoured among the Knights that if one was to visit the Prime Minister's office, there was a particular painting that moved on its own which at least three of their order claimed to have seen do so with their own eyes. Supposedly, there was a similarly behaving painting in Buckingham Palace as well, but they had yet to identify it. There were still other whispers of dogs with pointed tails, decaying castles in Scotland serving as schools of wizardry, and a London tavern that seemed to disappear and reappear at will. And, naturally, such whispers have a habit of taking on a life of their own in connection to the Hellsing heir.
Let us, for a moment, pretend that such whispers of a secret magical society are true, if not slightly exaggerated. After all, since the alchemy that binds the powerful Alucard to his Master's control is real, then it is not a very far stretch of the imagination to suppose that a hidden magical society is no less real. Imagine now that those supposed moving paintings really do move and speak, whispering in the ears of the topmost levels of government messages from the leaders of that secret magical world. Imagine that the vanishing tavern of London is in fact hiding one of the doorways between that hidden world and ours. And, if you will, pretend that there is a school for wizardry in Scotland that hides behind the illusion of a decayed castle.
You might wonder as to why you are being asked to imagine such things, dear reader, or perhaps if you are a clever sort, you have already deduced the reasoning behind these lines of thought. There is magic in running in the Hellsing blood, though how and when it came into the bloodline is uncertain and there are things about her family that even Integra herself is not fully aware of. Or perhaps she merely chooses to feign ignorance of these things and focus solely on the divine mission before her, an honourable cause that she and her ancestors have bled for. Her mind, sadly, is something that we are not privy to and we will not dwell on it long, as it is not the subject of this discourse: today we focus solely on conjecture.
Abraham Van Helsing was a clever man, if rather ill-mannered at times, and it is unlikely that he would have failed to notice that imprisoning an elder vampire required far more complicated measures than mere scriptures and holy water. It is possible that, knowing such, he sought out members of this hidden magical world for aid in his task; his more unorthodox connections, gained in the stranger aspects his profession, would have no doubt guided him in his search. It is also possible that it is there he found what he sought, dangerous and mysterious alchemies and blood magic rituals, but that he either lacked the necessary magic or strength to use them on his own. But Alucard is successfully bound to the Hellsing bloodline and thus one of the following must be true: either Abraham found a way to bolster his strength and magic or he found allies in the magical underworld ambitious enough to participate in binding the beast to Van Helsing's blood.
It would not be surprising if Abraham encountered a family in this mysterious underworld that was not only well-versed in the magic he sought but also in the true nature of Alucard. The opportunity to gain hold over such a powerful vampire would not have escaped such a family and they would hardly have squandered it as they did their goblin-protected vaults of gold. It is very possible that they offered up one of their daughters as a bride to the doctor, regardless of the social stigmas of their world, for the potential reward was so great. But as it stands, very little is known about Abraham Van Helsing's bride and her portrait does not appear to move – at least not when under scrutiny, that is.
We will pretend that Abraham's dear bride was, in fact, a witch from this hidden world and that she assisted her husband by casting the spells involved in the rituals, while her husband provided the blood for the seals and the alchemical science to turn their prisoner into a No Life King. Black magic and blue blood, mixed together with alchemy and duty, formed the potent binds that chain Alucard to each successive Master Hellsing and restricted the additional dangerous powers the rituals had granted him. It would only be logical that they would teach their heir how to use the seals and command the magic that controlled their undead servant, along with everything else that goes with running a vampire-hunting organization of noble status.
Still, it is possible that understanding such complex magic and rituals required a more formal education in magic and, therefore, each subsequent generation of Hellsing required extensive schooling in it. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to suppose that the average Hellsing heir spent much of their year in some form of schooling or another and that at least a fair portion of it would be spent in the study of magic. With that vein of thought in mind, let us now consider the school of magic in Scotland that we so briefly pretended was real earlier. It is very possible that the school was more than capable of meeting the stringent education requirements of the Hellsing family, as well as any stipulations about weaponry and need for hasty access to home should need arise.
It is equally possible that several generations of Hellsing have attended this school without anyone becoming the wiser, Alucard included. The elder vampire had typically entered into the possession of his Masters while they were in their early adulthood, with Integra being the lone exception, and he cared little for the particulars of mortal education. Being as he was eager to get back into the game of bloodshed he'd been denied for so long, Alucard was probably preoccupied with throwing himself wholeheartedly into various missions for his young Master and hadn't the inclination to really wonder what his Master was so intent on learning at school.
However, we must remember that we are merely pretending - travelling the paths of conjecture as it were – and we must return to reality. The truth is that we do not know how the Hellsings came to bind the Nosferatu Alucard, nor where their magic originates from and we can no more substantiate the whispers about secret magical societies than the Knights of the Round Table can prove that there is a moving painting in the Prime Minister's office. And, as far as anyone is aware, Integra was only introduced to the supernatural world when she freed Alucard from his slumber. She does not have a wand hidden under her pillow, but a Walther PPK loaded with blessed bullets, and she has only ever been to ruined castles in Scotland to kill vampires.
Sir Hellsing is the only one who knows the whole truth for certain and she isn't telling.
AN: And there you have it, the Harry Potter/Hellsing crossover that isn't. Blame this fic on an early snowfall, Sirius Black, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Gary Oldman for doing such wicked performances, the fact that I draw Sirius and Alucard very similarly, and my doodling up a Hogwarts student version of young Integra-sama sitting on a broomstick. Hmm... On that note, I have scanned those doodles.