After all of the events that had happened in her life, you would think that Selena Delacroix would be grateful to be alive. She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, and she was even a Godmother to Harry's children, but the dreams were what troubled her. The Hideous pictures of death that wouldn't leave her mind. It seemed she was the only one left from the marauder gang, but then again she was hard to kill even being just a half vampire.
Her office seemed to reflect her mood. Except for a window, candles were the only light source. A beautiful great horned owl was perched resting. The large onyx desk shown in the red light of the flames. Upon the desk was what every teacher should have, there was only one thing out of place, a photograph. It is very simply this professor most treasure possession, it was a picture of her friends, the ones she missed terribly, back when they were at Hogwarts. The smiling faces, she knew she would never see again, for it would be a long time until she wasted away to ashes. The shelves around the room held school material, but the one directly behind the desk was different. Housed inside the protective glass casing were Delacroix family heirlooms, all passed down to her. A sword belonging to her grandfather Vlad, a robe that belonged to her great great grandfather Diogenes. Everything there was priceless and she used it, at times, to help teach the students.
Thrashing filled the quiet room, coming from the door that separated the office from the bedroom. The figure of Selena Delacroix lay sprawled on her bed, blond hair surrounding her head as the pale moonlight shone onto her pale skin. Sweat formed on her brow as her head snapped to the side, eyelids fluttering. Another nightmare was taking its toll on her body. Her lips moved, a soundless scream trying to escape from her mouth, the sheets tangled around her long legs like shackles.
She slowly managed to sit up and open her eyes, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Tears stained her cheeks as her blue eyes seemed to shimmer even more. Bangs fell down her face as a long sigh racked her body. She had been tormented by these dreams ever since the war ended. People believed that it would pass, that she was just grieving, but that had been 18 years ago. She knew people were worried about her, but she didn't know what to tell them, she was being haunted by her dead friends.
Pushing herself up and out of the bed, Selena started to get dressed for the day. She was hoping that classes would go easy and no one would get on her nerves, she didn't know if she would snap or not. She knew that Minerva would give her a vacation if it was needed, but Selena had a feeling that wouldn't help. Her first class was the first years, and she knew they wouldn't be too rowdy, as it was the first class of the year. Another sigh escaped her red lips as she moved into her office.
Albus was seated beside his friend Scorpius, he had been a little unnerved with being in Slytherin at first, but when he had found a friend he had seemed to calm down. He was eagerly looking forward to this class, main reason being that the teacher was like his godmother. He couldn't help but hope deep down that she would give him a kind of special privilege. He felt Scorpius shift uneasily beside him and he turned to look at him. "Whats wrong?"
Scorpius turned his blue eyes onto Albus and bit his lip. "I heard she was a vampire...Is that true?" Albus couldn't help but laugh softly. He caught the strange look Scorpius was giving him and tried to stifle his laughter. "She is only half." Scorpius' eyes grew wide just as the office door opened and Selena walked in.
Albus had always known she was different. She never dressed like the other wizards or witches. She was always seen in a corset type top with a pair of dark pants. There was also the fact that she was supposed to be about the age of grandma and grandpa Weasley, but she only looked about 35.
Selena smiled at the class as she stood before them, her eyes moving over every one of them. The blue orbs stopping when they reached the body of Albus Potter. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor Delacroix and I will be teaching you everything you need to know about DADA." At the sight of the children's faces, the nightmare was pushed out of her mind. A hand ran through her hair as she started to speak to the class.
If Hermione had been trying to hide her concern, she had failed. It could easily be seen as she looked at the vampire teacher, it was so strange. Selena looked younger than she was and yet they had fought together when Hermione was 17. "Are you not sleeping?" The cold blue eyes that looked up caught her off guard.
"I've been sleeping, not good however." If anyone hadn't been listening, they were now. "Are you still having the nightmares?" The voice was low and soft carrying with a deep resonance. Eyes turned to stare at the large form of Nikolas Vander, the transfiguaration Professor. His strange eyes only stayed on Selena, the one blue and one brown. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm still having the nightmares." Selena didn't understand how Nikolas could easily tell what was bothering her, but they had been friends since childhood.
Nikolas nodded his head before letting his eyes move to the papers he was grading. Hermione turned her eyes from Nikolas back to Selena. "There's nothing you can do about it?" Selena turned her head to look at Hermione again and sighed softly. "I've tried anything in my power. Before you say another word Hermione, it isn't grief." Hermione nodded her head and moved her eyes away from Selena, knowing that she couldn't help her friend wasn't something she liked to know.
The door opened as two other figures walked in. Neville Longbottom had an uncomfortable face on while Virgil moved in behind him. It was known that Virgil was a vampire, and no matter what he did Neville always seemed to be skittish around him. Virgil sat down beside Selena, his feet going onto the table. He paused as he felt every-one's eyes on him. "Whats with the solemn look?" Selena shook her head and laughed softly. "Its nothing."
Normally the way her voice sang would cause him to relax but there was a sadness that hung in the air. Selena lowered her head to look at the book that was before her. One look at Nikolas told Virgil not to push anything. Neville's eyes looked at Hermione seeing the worried look on her face, he placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer her a reassuring smile even though he didn't know what it was that she was worried about.
Albus was seated on his bed, green eyes staring out into the darkness. He couldn't sleep, he didn't know why, he just couldn't. So instead of just staring off into space, he grabbed Scorpius and then the two of them escaped the darkness of the dungeon and then into the darkly lit halls of Hogwarts.
When things seem they can't get any stranger, that very thing happens. A sudden storm started to rage over the skies of Hogwarts, the ceiling of the great hall showing the sickly grey skies. Young Albus and Scorpius weren't the only ones still up at this late hour. It seemed that another nightmare had struck Selena's mind, she was laying on one of the tables, her eyes staring up at the ceiling. A bright flash of light struck, lighting up the entire hall before going back into the darkness, at the same time, Albus and Scorpius both came across something strange.
Scorpius and Albus both paused as a clap of thunder caused the suits of armour to shake. Once the silence had returned to the hall, voices came to the young boys. "Come on Al, we don't want to get caught." The other boy didn't answer, instead he moved towards the voices.
"What...whats going on?" The voice belonged to a female. "Lily?!" This voice was male, and the excitement that was heard couldn't be hidden. "J..James?! Oh My Lord, I thought you were dead! I saw Voldemort kill you!" This was droned out while another couple started speaking. "How did I end up in the castle?" A woman's voice interrupted the males. "Remus?!" A gasp was heard. "Tonks? You were inside...whats going on? Why are you crying?" The bewilderment in his voice was clear. "I thought you were dead. I saw you on the ground."
Three other voices joined the jumble, each one a male's voice. The curiosity was getting the better of Albus and he hurried down the hall with Scorpius trailing behind him. The sight he saw caused him to pause, Scorpius running into him.
"Come on. Just please get into the classroom." Scorpius stared at Albus while he was smothered by Lily and James, thinking he was there son. "Harry. Oh I'd never thought I'd see you again." Albus managed to get out of his grandmothers hold. "I'm not Harry, I'm his son, Albus." Without explaining anything else he moved to a door in the DADA Classroom.
"Professor Delacroix, please wake up." This call was followed by a knock on the door. Both Remus and Sirius paused. "Professor Delacroix?" The name tasted weird on his tongue and Remus couldn't help but feel his heart start to beat faster. "Hey kid." Sirius' voice filled the air causing Albus and everyone else to look at him. "This Professor, is her name Selena?" Albus gave Sirius a strange look. "Yeah." He then turned back to the door, continuing the call.
Sirius laughed. "Who would have thought that Selena would be a teacher?" He felt Remus' eyes on him. "She is very smart. Sadly I thought she was dead until just about last year." Sirius looked at him, wanting to say something smart, but instead he remained quiet.
"Whats going..." The voice trailed off as every-ones eyes turned to look at Selena. Sirius moved towards her and smiled softly. "Selena, you're alive." She stared at him, her eyes wide. "I could say the same about you." But without saying another word, she threw her arms around Sirius and hugged him close. "I can't believe you guys are alive, all of you." She surprised Sirius by kissing his cheek. She then moved over and hugged Remus, kissing his cheek as well, although she got a mean look from Tonks, one that she didn't really care about at the moment.
Lily turned her head and let out a squeal as she saw her friend. "Selena!" If this couldn't get any more emotional it did. Selena hugged her friend and actually let a few of the vampiric blood red tears slide down her cheeks. "Lily. I...i can't believe it." Her voice was soft and Lily hugged her tight. "Its alright." Selena shook her head. "No, don't you understand. All of you...all of you were dead. I was having nightmares, maybe I knew something like this was going to happen, for nineteen years I have been having nightmares, things that kept me awake. Seeing all of your deaths replay over and over in my mind, even if I wasn't there." Sirius moved forward before Remus could and lightly lifted up her head, wiping the tears away. "Well, we are here now. I don't know how we are but we are." Selena smiled and laid her head against Sirius' chest and let him wrap his arms wrap around her. She didn't catch the smile on his face or the look he exchanged with Remus.
Selena lifted her head, lightly wiping away the tears that Sirius had missed and she then turned her attention to the two young boys who were standing quietly. "Albus, Scorpius. I want you to go and get Headmistress McGonagall for me." Albus nodded his head and left the room with Scorpius trailing behind him. Lily watched the boys leave and then turned her head to look at Selena. "So Harry is really grown up isn't he?" Selena looked at her friend as James took his wife into his arms. She nodded her head slowly. "Yes." Her eyes looked at the people that were standing in the classroom, the people she thought were dead. She smiled softly when she saw Severus.
"Severus." She moved towards him, and she saw him tense. At that moment Remus and Tonks both narrowed their eyes. "Why is he here?" Tonks asked. Selena didn't answer. "I was meaning to thank you Severus." Severus made a face and then shook his head. "Dumbledore had all of this figured out. We were all just pawns really." Selena shook her head. "If that is what you want to believe, then that is fine, but I'm still going to thank you."
"Are you going to thank me?" The voice caused Selena and the rest of the group to turn their heads and look at the man who had spoken. Regalus Black blushed lightly as he felt their eyes on him. Selena couldn't help but narrow her eyes some as she stared at him. She had bad memories of Regalus, especially when he had become obsessed with her. "Why should we be thanking you?" Sirius asked as he glared at his younger brother. Regalus coughed slightly. "Well, I turned on Voldermort, destroyed one of the horocruxes so I didn't do it in a cowardly act." Selena nodded her head. "That's true, but I'm not going to forgive you for what you did to me in the past." Regalus sighed softly. "Come on Selena. I don't act like that anymore. I'm not like that." Sirius stood before Selena, his eyes glaring at his younger brother. "Just stay away from her Regalus. Also Snivelus, even if you are changed, doesn't mean I like you." Severus made a face. "I wouldn't have it any other way."