DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story; all rights go to J.K Rowling for creating such a beautiful and amazing world.
The hastily repaired Hogwarts express groaned to a halt in Hogsmeade where it would inevitably rest until it was repaired. Aurors, nosy onlookers and some teachers stood waiting at the platform to see for themselves the wreckage. As students exited the train many gasps could be heard and whispers began in the crowd, many were sporting minor wounds that hadn't been seen as serious enough to heal in the battle. The students themselves were quiet still shaken by the attack and as such moved quickly to the awaiting carriages pulled by Thestrals which many students could unfortunately now see. Blaise and Zach hopped off the train near the back where there were few students who would notice them. Both still pondered their earlier agreement though for vastly differing reasons. Blaise thought triumphantly having secured the Hufflepuffs loyalty for at least the near future and had also gained some amount of control over him. Zach thought of his position, practically bound by his deal lest he be cast out of society or left to burn up in sunlight or perhaps die from the overwhelming amount of garlic there was in the schools feasts.
Blaise gave Zach a searching look before whispering into his ear "tomorrow meet me in the library at lunchtime and don't bring anyone" Zach nodded once before he went off in search of his friends from his own house. "Crap I should have told him to watch out for changes. Then hopefully he's smart enough to recognise them" Blaise hadn't said but the reason he wanted to meet in the library was because on the 1st day of term no one would be there and he would be to get him the books needed on Vampires, particularly their weaknesses. With a sigh, something he'd been doing a lot lately he went off to find a carriage of his own. He gave one glance back and caught Zach doing the same; he offered a small barely visible smile which he received in turn before clambering into the carriage repeating his relatively new mantra "It'll turn out fine"
Zach walked away from Blaise intent on finding his friends. Blaise still confused him, he didn't have a problem with him and they weren't enemies but something still made him uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because he was a Slytherin and knew his newest and biggest secret or perhaps it was all the rumours that had been circulating about him and his family recently. Zach looked over his shoulder cautiously and locked eyes with Blaise who gave him a tiny smile. Feeling it would be rude not to return Zach gave a small smile though it was marginally bigger than Blaise's, it was probably just for appearances Zach decided. Zach heard a cry of delight and the moment he turned around he was assaulted by a face full of blonde hair and arms trapping him in a bone crushing hug. Somewhere behind the hair he heard a soft laugh.
"Hannah you're crushing him, let the poor man go" The hair shifted and he could see again and the arms let go setting him free.
"Hey Hannah hey Susan" Zach said cheerfully. He had been travelling with them on the train but shortly after the attack happened he had lost them. Zach felt bad now for not looking for them but in the aftermath of the battle he had had more pressing matters to deal with. The girls responded equally cheerfully and soon had dragged him off to an empty carriage. As was their custom Zach sat on one side with the girls on the other, usually Zach would sit next to Ernie Macmillan but he wasn't attending Hogwarts anymore and had been transferred to Beauxbatons. They sat in a companionable silence as they waited for the carriage to begin moving each simply enjoying being back together after the fight on the train. The carriage began moving with a jolt its wooden wheels crunching the gravel a sound loud in the unusual quiet that had swept over the student body. Nearly all the students in the carriages had their eyes eagerly fixed on a point in the road where once past it would be possible to see the castle. As they rounded the corner the castle came into view and all three Hufflepuffs felt a sense of relief and calm spread through them, slowly around them conversations begun to spring up the sight of Hogwarts pushing away the fear and shock.
"So…" Hannah began "how was your summer?" Zach motioned for Susan to go first which she did happily launching into an explanation of her time off. Zach listened attentively intent on keeping his mind off of other matters. Susan had apparently had a great summer and had spent it out of the country visiting her cousins in Italy. When it came time for Zach to explain his he did so with so much faked enthusiasm he sent the girls into fits of laughter. Zach had stayed in muggle London virtually a prisoner of his own home until he found out how to key himself into the houses wards without his father finding out.
"How on earth were you able to bypass your fathers' wards?" Hannah and Susan asked in unison. Zach let out a small chuckle and began to explain.
"It wasn't as difficult as you might think. All I had to do was go through the houses dusty old library and find a book on wards. Once I did that I just followed the instructions in the book and it was done" Susan nodded to herself, she had expected it would have been something like that. Hannah it seemed hadn't and had been expecting some exciting tale of sorts.
"Wait it was really that easy?" Hannah blurted out a tad loudly causing students from other carriages to look over. Zach nodded.
"I brought all the books I could with me from the library so I could show you if you like" Zach fished around in his pocket and drew out a tiny leather pouch no bigger than his palm. Hannah looked confused so Susan stepped in to explain.
"An undetectable extension charm on the inside, a lightening charm and a shrinking charm as well, right?" Zach nodded again smiling, out of the three of them Susan was the smart one and while Hannah wasn't stupid, she was hopeless at charms. They then listened to Hannah's summer. Hers had been by far the best and worst. In the beginning she had travelled to America and had toured the country visiting both magical and muggle sights. It wasn't until she returned that her mother and she had found out that Death Eaters had destroyed their home and murdered Hannah's grandparents. It had made the Prophet as the wreckage surrounding the grandparents' house spoke of a large and long fight and in the end four Death Eaters had been killed and three injured that were arrested at the scene. Hannah had teared up and started crying when she told them and had to be comforted by Susan. Zach sat waiting patiently, Hannah was emotional and after six years you got used to her breakdowns. She had eventually come around and as they drew closer to Hogwarts's gates she was hastily brushing away her tears and blushing embarrassed at her break down. When she finally looked up at Zach she gasped and leant over to Susan and whispered in her ear. Zach was mildly annoyed at this especially since it was apparent they were talking about him.
"What is it, do I have something on my face?" he asked wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. Hannah shook her head.
"No Zach, it's your eyes" He looked at her confused, what could be wrong about his eyes. Seeing that he didn't understand she continued "they're glowing slightly, I thought it had been a trick of the light but it's really noticeable now" Zach's breath caught in his throat panic and fear welled up in him and he stuttered as he tried to explain it without giving himself away.
"I-I… I don't know what you're talking about" he finally said sounding a tiny bit defensive. Susan eyed him oddly sensing something was off and Hannah did too though she looked more relaxed now believing him to know nothing of it.
Susan retrieved her wand from her robes and conjured a small mirror which she handed to Zach who took it warily. Silently psyching himself up Zach brought the mirror up toward his face. "Time to see if Vampires really can't see themselves in mirrors" he thought and then added as an afterthought "or a vampire-to-be in my case" As the mirror came level with his face Zach opened his eyes which he hadn't realised he had closed and was shocked at what he saw. His normally friendly brown eyes that he had often been told gave of a sense of warmth and comfort were indeed glowing. Now they were bright and stood out on his face as a full moon stood out in the clear night sky. His shock must have shown on his face which seemed to alleviate some of his friend's unvoiced worries and silently he handed Susan back the mirror, which she promptly banished, and brought on hand up to touch his eyelids lightly before he looked at his friends not sure what to do. He knew he needed to make a cover story and quick and it had to be convincing so they would not look into it any further. Zach's mind raced as he sought a quick answer, he knew the glowing eyes were a sign of the vampire curse settling in, what surprised him was that despite knowing the consequences he was remarkably calm about the whole thing. His upbringing had taught him that Vampires were evil dark creatures that need to be kept away from society because they posed a danger to everyone. However in his readings at his summer homes rather old and untouched library he and found out that vampires were once considered as higher beings in the world a view some older families still believed. Still his own calmness at the situation scared him more than the curse itself. After the silence in the carriage stretched on for a little too long Hannah leaned forward and in a hushed tone said
"Do you think it might have been some sort of spell?" Zach immediately jumped onto the idea saying he was hit with something on the train that didn't appear to have had an effect. He was doubly pleased when Susan joined in going through multiple charms and transfigurations that could have done it though none could see what its purpose could have been.
They continued to discuss his eyes for a while before deciding to cast a small easy glamour over them so other students wouldn't notice. From then on their conversation had drifted to other seemingly meaningless matters such as classes, Quidditch and eventually to the pre-school gossip. Apparently the Patil twins had been betrothed to two twins from France and were set to be married August the following year. Hannah and Susan had talked in great deal about that and Zach had participated from time to time. By the time their discussion had begun to hit a dead end they were pulling up at the school and exiting their carriage. The three Hufflepuffs walked across the bridge to the courtyard talking amiably the entire way, their gossip base renewed by eavesdropping on other students. The night air was chilly even for Scotland and so they pulled their robes tighter around themselves too lazy to cast a warming charm and walked faster to the schools front gates which stood wide open letting light flood out into the courtyard.
The hurried up the steps and into the entrance hall where they were hit with a sudden wave of warmth probably due to the roaring fire places and the generally close proximity of nearly all the students bodies. They pushed their way into the entrance hall and took their usual seats near the centre of Hufflepuff table. Zach was beginning to get extremely nervous thinking that if anyone could find out who he was it would be the Headmaster who seemed to know everyone's deepest fears and secrets. Hannah and Susan were also looking up at the high table where the teachers sat, searching for the new DADA teacher.
"Oh look we've got Professor Lupin again" Hannah exclaimed pointing at him. Zach turned to look at him and Professor Lupin seeming to feel his gaze turned and locked eyes with him. The moment their eyes met Zach knew something was wrong; Professor Lupin had stared blankly for a moment before he sniffed the air tentatively. Zach looked away hastily and tried to pretend like everything was normal. Zach knew from their previous classes that Werewolves have a very good sense of smell and are great at detecting magical creatures which is why the ministry in the past had so highly prized them, that is before all the anti-werewolf legislation has been passed. Moments passed and Zach tried to sneak another glance at the head table. His gaze once again met Professor Lupin's but this time it was not his professor's eyes he met. The eyes were bright amber that burned with a fierce intensity the only evidence that inside the slight man there was a savage beast. He gave another sniff before seeming to decide something and got up surprisingly swiftly though rather inelegantly and proceeded directly to the Headmaster. Zach felt his heart begin to race and under the table his hands shook slightly. He wasn't the only one to notice and looking around he could see many students watching the exchange as Professor Lupin whispered something in the Headmaster's ear. The Headmaster's expression turned to one Zach couldn't read and he didn't know if it was positive or negative expression either. The Headmaster turned to look at Zach after finishing his whispered discussion. Zach quickly averted his eyes to the table in front of him glad that no one was talking to him at the present so they wouldn't hear his voice which would surely have wavered.
His nerves were out of control. In the back of his head he could feel the Headmaster's gaze boring into him. "The secrets out, I couldn't even last one day hell even one night" Zach thought despondently "I'm going to be exiled, forced to live in dark places and drink the blood of animals just to stay sane. There's no way that Professor Dumbledore the leader of the light would keep something like me here, even if he keeps the werewolf" his thoughts continued in a similar manner and he became more and more nervous as the minutes slowly ticked on. The shaking in his hands was getting worse and even hidden under his robes he couldn't hide it fully.
Zach was about to stand up and leave to his dorms after stopping at the kitchens on the way there, the Great Hall's doors swung open and Professor McGonagall walked in followed by a small crowd of small eleven year olds all who were either in awe or scared or some combination of both. Zach swore to himself quietly so no one could here, he had missed his chance. McGonagall led the group up to the steps which led to the high table before conjuring a small three legged wooden stool and bringing out a scroll and the sorting hat from her robes. She put the hat on the stool and unrolled the scroll before explaining to the first years how the sorting ceremony would work. Afterwards after the hat's song, in her stern voice that seemed to frighten the first years almost as much as Professor Snape's continuous glare, she called them up one by one and they were sorted into their respective houses. Most students went to Gryffindor since with the war only the bravest chose to come back, and then in order it went Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
The Headmaster stood and quickly silenced the chatter that had spread throughout the room after the ceremony.
"I would like to say a very warm welcome to our new students and welcome back to our returning students. Now before we start the feast I would like to point out that to new students, and to some older students" he said with a pointed look at Gryffindor "that the Forbidden forest is as its name suggests, forbidden. Also on Mr Filch's office door on the second floor there is an updated list of banned items. Now onto a more serious note" he paused for effect and surveyed the room garnering every student's attention though Zach was looking rather pointedly at his beard. "In light of recent events" No one needed telling what those events were "new security measures have been put into effect here. I do not want to worry or scare any of you, I simply ask that you keep an eye on your fellow classmates and report any odd behaviour to your head of house" he swept his gaze over the room lingering on Zach and the whole of Slytherin house.
"I think I understand why Blaise was worried now" Zach thought "even Professor Dumbledore distrusts them" He continued,
"By doing so you are doing your part in protecting the school and the entire wizarding world. Now enough with the sad stuff; let the feast begin" the Headmaster clapped his hands and instantly a grand buffet of food appeared filling the room with a vibrant mix of aromas. The silence that had pervaded through his speech was dispersed and conversation spread through the Great Hall. Zach looked at the food in front of him eagerly his hunger that was tolerable before now gnawing at his conscience. Zach reached for some roasted potatoes before it hit him. All around him he could smell garlic. The stench burnt his nostrils and the inside of his mouth and he could feel bile rising in his throat. Zach quickly grabbed some water and greedily gulped it down to settle his stomach. Now taking as much care as he could Zach loaded his plate with as much food as he could that didn't contain garlic which turned out to be only vegetables. Others around him noticed and looked at him weirdly.
"Zach, why aren't you eating any of the meat?" Hannah asked her own plate containing nearly only meat. Zach panicked a feeling he was getting all too familiar with.
"I err" he stuttered "at this rate I'll be reported to Professor Sprout by the end of the feast" Zach looked around and his eyes landed on Susan's plate. "I decided on the holidays to try being a vegetarian like Susan and I decided I liked it, you really should try it sometime Hannah" Hannah mad a face at the thought while Susan beamed, she'd been trying to get them to do it for years. "Great now I won't be able to eat meat ever again" Zach thought sullenly as he picked at the honeyed carrots wondering what else he won't ever be able to do.