We talked and talked for hours on end. Apparently Lucas is in the Wizard Craftsmanship Program, with a focus in wands. It would make sense, after all his family owns one of the finest wand repair shops in the country. And Thea is in the Auror Studies Program, which makes sense considering her family is a long run of Aurors, some of them being rather controversial in their methods. It's interesting watching her dance around the subject. I could see her squirm in her seat when she mentioned her program, and how her eyes stayed strong despite her physical reaction. I find it interesting at least.
I also found out about some of their other friends. Apparently, they're friends with Clerah Merrin. That sparked my interest, considering it was her family that in 1907 crossed barriers and allowed for halfbreeds like myself to come out into the open. Her family is notorious for being shifters, only fully changing on the full moon. I'm exited to meet her at least, because maybe she'll be able to make my life easier. She likes to keep her ears and tail out though, and so she must shift into a cat. I've studied these kinds of things. It's odd to be going to school with a person who's sort of famous.
Apparently boys aren't a good subject for her though, a real dick messed with her last year, and so I was given the warning to not bring that subject up.
They have 3 other friends as well, Tibby, Nova, and Henry. Tibby is the only one who has parents that do muggle professions. Her father is a surgeon, and mother is apparently the perfect trophy wife. She's the nice one, according to Thea. Nova has the same last name as the Black family, but claims no relation. Claims. Lucas is still convinced that she's secretly like a cousin 4 times removed or something. Her family doesn't hold that many historical ties, which apparently makes you have more say in how things are run, but she's been best friends them since 1st year, so her family gained more say. She's in the wizarding craftsmanship program along with Lucas and Henry, and she likes making crystal balls the most. That's a plus for me. She's also been through some boy troubles as well. Apparently it's a bit of a trend in this group. Henry really likes brooms, and can make really good quality brooms. He and Lucas are really close, and have done everything together since birth. Thea thinks of him as a player, but Lucas thinks that he's just 'hormonally challenged'. I laughed at that one. At least these people seem to be all right.
The train traveled all across the country while we talked. LA, Palm Springs, NYC, DC and everywhere in between. I can see the appeal of coming on the train everyday despite not needing to; you really see the country along with your friends. I think I can call Lucas and Thea my friends. Never really had any so I don't know when I can actually say that they are my friends. Eh…people are so weird.
"Welcome to New Orleans!" Thea pokes me and I look out the window. Masses of people crowd the street, some moving, some stopping to look at street performers crooning sweet jazz or performing complex and stunning magic, lost in their own world.
"So, are you ready for the sorting?" Lucas asks me.
"It seems a bit Pagan, isn't it?" I say and they laugh.
"Well," Thea says, fiddling with her side swept bangs, "it's tradition. Can't break tradition after all. Otherwise a shitstorm could swipe up the entire country," she snorts.
"It's really like that. Kind of stupid, but important to the people with the power." Lucas says casually.
"I just think that slitting my wrist for my house is kind of…ah…unnecessarily painful." I look down at my wrists, not wanting to really cut them.
"Look, we all did it, it's completely fine. And they'll heal you right after." Thea points out.
The train jerks still, throwing us to the side. "We're here!" Thea yells, punching her fist in the air. I smirk and grab my carry on, and we all head out.
A small, strict looking lady booms out for everybody to get into his or her respective houses. I look at Lucas not knowing what to do, and he just wraps his arm around my shoulder and makes a sign towards the small, bird-like lady and she nods her head. "Just stay with us, we'll guide you though." He whispers close to my ear so that I can hear him. I nod and smile, and Thea smirks and shakes her head.
"What?" I say, smiling.
"Me? Oh, nothing!" Thea says, grinning like a cat. Lucas pulls me in tighter, and I look up at him. He just walks forwards with the rest of the now moving group.
-/-/-/-/-/-
We walk across this long, perfectly manicured lawn towards the school. Lucas tells me along the way that the school used to be a mansion that belonged to the very first headmaster, Abberax Demonte. The building was hidden with magic from 1837 to 2001, and the entire hidden area opened up 2 whole streets that people didn't even know existed until they lifted the spell. So the place has a crazy amount of space around it. It basically takes up the entire 2 extra streets.
"Hey, I'm going to go find everybody else. Want to come with?" Thea asks.
"Sure! I want to meet these people who can just travel off to Africa on a whim." I say, smiling. You know, I actually feel happy right now. Genuinely, and truly happy. People are weird; they make you feel happy by doing basically nothing.
"Man, they're going to flip when they see you." She says, heading off towards the right, Lucas and I following.
Thea searches for a while, her head bobbing up and down and all kinds of ways to find the rest of her friends.
"HEY NOVA! GET THE FUCK OVER HERE YA BITCH!" She yells at the top of her lungs.
A girl with the same jet-black hair as her whips her head around. I'm assuming that's Nova. See looks like a 21st century Thea, with tan skin, hair reaching mid black with dark red highlights and bangs that sweep over her right eye, and a button nose and dark blue eyes. She seems comfortable with her body, considering that she's wearing a white crop top, black sweat pants and a green hoodie with the head down despite the weather still being summery. She fiddles with a New Orleans Ghouls baseball cap. I always find it amusing how quidditch teams nowadays act like muggle sports. She has this kind of 'I don't really give a fuck' attitude around her. She seems a lot like Thea in that way.
"Thea!" She runs towards her, pushing past a couple people as she goes. The two collide forcefully and start laughing like madwomen.
"Their fathers are best friends and went here together way back when, so they've been close since birth, basically." Lucas tells me. I nod in understanding.
Nova looks over at me and gives me a slightly dirty look.
That's right, her family seriously doesn't like how I got in through unknown means.
"Come on Cynthia, let's go to the main hall. Time for that pagan ritual of yours." He smirks.
"I'm seriously going to hate this, aren't I?"
"Hell yeah. It hurts like a motherfucker, but they'll revive you afterwards. That is, if you don't get a vision in the fire. Then you're screwed."
"Wait, hold up. Visions in the fire?" What is he talking about?
"It's really rare, there's only been like 4 people who've ever been able to see something other than the fire colored to show their house. It's told as an urban legend now, since nobody has seen anything in 109 years or so. I think they don't revive you if that happens due to some old belief in the purity of blood. Those people are supposed to have some sort of special property in their blood, but I kind of forget. Don't worry, I really just meant it as a joke. The chances of that happening are little to none."
"Alright, I just really want that revive." Run my free hand through my hair again, my anxiety of being in pain catching up to me.
"You'll be fine. Just be in Sanguiem, and it'll all be fine."
"What's so bad about the other houses? I think Honora has good values," I rest my head on his shoulder casually. All of this walking across the lawn is really making me tired.
"Oh please, that place is full of narcissistic pricks who only want to make the rest of us feel less worthy of the air around them."
"And isn't that what Sanguiem is supposed to be?"
He pauses. "Yes. There are many people like that here who can't seem to get over the whole Blood Acts debacle. But then there are some really awesome people like me who are there due to motivation and personal drive. That and our families have legacies there. But that is beside the point. The main point is, that it's hard to find level headed people around here, and I'm not going to let one go into a different house with stupid people unlike us." He smirks, which I've noticed him doing a lot.
"Well then, I guess that you'll just have to wait and see."
-/-/-/-/-/-
I left Lucas and headed over to where the 1st years are so that I can be sorted. I think that I forgot how annoying 11 year olds could be. Seriously, are these kids on drugs or something? Why are they so hyper?
"Attention! Everybody, your attention please!" The same bird-ish lady from before booms out, quickly making all the children quiet down.
"My name is Professor Langvich, and I shall be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for all of your years. I suggest that you do your best to impress me, for I can help you get a job in an instant, or crush your future just as quickly. Be wise in your studies. While you are studying here at Abberax, you shall be divided into 4 different houses. These houses are Cognitio, Gaudium, Honora, and Sanguiem. These houses shall be your family, and you are expected to stay loyal to your family at all times. Each house shall have their own sponsored events, and quidditch teams. The Headmaster shall go over that to more detail later though.
"The sorting ritual shall be as follows: You shall walk up to the sorting basin, you shall take the knife and slit your wrist into the basin, so that your blood shall fall into the basin. Do not worry, you shall be revived right after." That is considering you don't see freaking visions or whatever in the fire.
"The outcome can be one of 4: Blue for Cognitio, Yellow for Gaudium, Red for Honora, and Green for Sanguiem. Once the fire has a set color, you shall take a seat in your house row. Now if you'd follow me please," She gestures towards the large French doors, and opens them. We all file in through the long pathway leading towards a slightly elevated platform with a podium and a table for the staff.
I pass a table surrounded by dark green drapes and flags with Basilisks on them. Guessing that's Sanguiem. Seriously, having a XXXXX beast as your mascot doesn't really help you with getting rid of the whole 'bad guy' persona. Thea and Lucas wave and I wave back. It feels really…nice. To have people who will wave to you despite the fact that it kind of looks ridiculous to others surrounding. That's what I always found at least. But then again, nobody's ever waved to me. It still looks a bit ridiculous, but it's endearing. I like it.
I walk towards the mass horde of first years surrounding the podium, where a young man, looking to be about 26 or 27 stands, smiling to himself.
"Attention! Attention everyone!" His voice echoes through the halls, clearly amplified through an amplification charm.
"Welcome to another year at Abberax. My name is Professor Raiden, your headmaster. Now before I go over the rules, I believe it's time to sort the first years." He waves his hand and the podium disappears, earning a gasp from the 1st years, and in its place stands a stone basin, just the right size for the fun-sized 11 year olds.
"Dreaian, Lauren!" He says, and a timid little girl walks up and goes over to the basin. She starts shaking as she grabs the knife. A lady in a nurse uniform walks up with her, with a cloth in her left hand, ready to immedetly heal her after the blood is spilt.
She shakily pressed the blade to her wrist, and cuts. The blood drips into the basin, and a yellow flame starts to erupt. The nurse quickly presses the cloth to her wrist, and the cut is gone. The Gaudium table whoops and claps loudly as Lauren smiles shyly and heads over to her new house table.
I guess it isn't all that bad. I wonder how Lucas keeps himself under control with all this blood around.
All the first years come and go, each one slitting their wrist and each one being healed straight after. I'm eventually the last on standing by the podium.
"Herein, Cynthia."
I'm not nervous anymore. I walk up to the basin and stand straight in front of it and grab the blade. The nurse stand right next to me, ready to heal me once the cut is made. I make a quick scan on the audience. The room is filled with a tension, people stare at me with apprehension and with a challenge in their eyes, daring me to show them that I'm not afraid of them. Or their knives.
I look back at my wrist and press the blade into it gently. A small trickle of blood comes out, but doesn't hit the basin. I take a breath. Hold it. And slice my wrist.
Pain burns up my arm and I try to keep a straight face. I'm not going to let them win. Their families may not like me, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let them judge me on their parent's beliefs.
I look at the fire. It's a rapid change between a green and blue flame, changing so fast it looks like a teal color.
The audience talks panically among themselves and Professor Raiden tries to quiet the crowd.
I stumble back in pain as my entire body burns like crazy. I look out into the fire and gasp.
There's a picture. A moving picture.
It's a small girl begging for something from a dangerous looking boy, towering over her menacingly. She cries out to him and falls to his knees. He slaps the girl and throws her to the ground, hard. He yells in her face and slaps her again. He pulls out his wand, puts it too her throat, and kills her.
The fire stops changing and turns a solid green. No cheering at all. The nurse won't revive me.
I look at the nurse with a pleading look, asking her to help me with my eyes. But she looks at me wit fear in her eyes. She flicks her hand and the spilt blood is up in the air and quickly bottled. I look at the crowd. They look terrified of me, like I'm a monster about to eat all of them. Maybe I should, they're pissing me off. I'm the one who's about to pass out and maybe die from blood loss, and they think that they have the right to be scared. Right.
"Harabera." The nurse mutters, and a newfound resolve washes through me. At least she had the decency to put a spell that'll prevent me from fainting. Still doesn't help that I'll be continually bleeding in the same room as a VAMPIRE. Really, really not good.
I walk tentatively slow down the path between the Gaudium and Sanguiem table, looking for Thea. People just won't stop staring at me! It's so godamn frustrating! It's not my fault that something weird happened! God, it feels like I'm back home and walking down the street.
Thea stands up and walks towards me. She grimaces and holds out her hand. "You got balls. Here, you can sit with us." I grab her hand with all my might.
"Thank you," I say quietly. She wraps her free arm around me to give me support, and leads me towards her group. Lucas grimaces and becomes very stiff, staring at my wound with a scary amount of intensity. I hazily sit down next to Thea, keeping an eye on Lucas so that he doesn't eat my arm off. Nova sits right next to Lucas, who sits across from me, and next to a tall, blonde, and careful looking boy. And Nova is sitting next to a girl with cat ears and tail.
Wait… what?
"Who…who are you guys?" I ask. The girl with cat features twitches her ears and opens her brown eyes wider.
Thea clears her throat. "Um… guys this is Cynthia." She says awkwardly.
"Yes, we know that." The cat girl says rudely.
"That's Clerah. She's not really a bitch, she's just that way to everybody else." Clerah gasps slightly, giving Thea a rude look and petting her tail. She must be a shifter of some sort; animaguses can't do half forms like she's in right now. This place is just full of halfbreeds.
"And my bitch over there is Nova," Nova waves her hand stiffly, giving me a chilly look.
"Well, I'm Henry. Nice to meet you!" The blonde boy says with a smile.
"Cynthia." I say, grabbing a napkin and putting it on my wound.
"Well, Cynthia, I must say that was quite the show up there." Henry says grinning much like Lucas.
"Thanks? I…I'm not sure hoe to really…respond…" The nurse may have put an anti-fainting spell on me, but it doesn't seem to stop the dizziness. Things get darker and my ears pop. I lean on Thea for support, and she cradles my arm.
"Attention! Please, may I have your attention?" Professor Raiden booms with help from the amplification spell. I slowly and carefully turn my head to face him.
"Now that everybody is sorted, I'd like to go over some rules." Oh great. I hate rules.
"Firstly, 5 years students and up are allowed to roam freely around the city, as long as you come back in time for curfew, which is 9:30. First through Fourth years shall have certain times in which they are allowed to go within a 3-mile radius of the grounds. I feel the need to make a personal reminder to the 7th year class that smoking wolfsbane is not permitted on school grounds." I heard a couple groans with that one. I've heard that smoking wolfsbane has hallucinogenic tendencies, but I've never heard of people actually doing it. To all its own.
The bleeding and the pain slow as Professor Raiden's speech goes on. I look away from his pedestal and stare at an unestablished point in the room.
What the hell could have caused the sorting basin to go awry? Was it because of my changeling status? I know it's rare for there to be a fully developed changeling that can produce, so a halfbreed like me is very hard to come by. Maybe that's it. Yeah, that must be it. It makes sense, I think.
"So, the Department of Wizarding Education shall send an advisor to help monitor the school and in it's activities this year. And with that said, may Cynthia Herein is needed in the headmaster's office. Now, you may commence with your feast!" The hall erupted with laughter, talking, whispers, and general loudness. Professor Herein gestures for me to come with him.
"Good luck," Thea says, rubbing my arm. I smile, and head towards Professor Raiden.
We meet halfway through the hall. "Cynthia," He says. "I nee to talk to you about a plan for your education here at Abberax. I'll explain more once we're at my office." I nod, brushing back some of my lavender hair nervously.
We stay in silence. We walk through large, open halls with white plaster walls and dark hardwood floors, old world chandeliers providing light, and a view of the pristine grounds and surrounding city from large windows with small window seats. The place looks frozen in time, a perfect replica of a Victorian estate in a modernized world. It messes with my head, but it's very pretty. I can get use to it, I think.
-/-/-/-/-
The walk wasn't too long; his office is just a few minutes away from the main hall. The room has dark, wood panels and a large desk, lavish couches, drapes, and rugs in exotic patterns and prints. Various bits of wizarding tool, collectables, and rune stones decorate the office, and enchanted paintings of old headmasters and enchanted photos of Professor Raiden in shabby looking villages across the world litter the office.
"Please, take a seat." He gestures towards the couch on the left. I nod and sit down apprehensively. I wonder what happened to the other people who had the same reaction as I did. What happened to them? Did it affect anything in their life whatsoever?
"I'm going to be honest Cynthia," He reaches for an ornate glass bottle filled with an emerald green liquid. Must be nerve loosener. Clever man, avoiding drinking alcohol by drinking a potion that slightly mimics alcoholic effects. Very clever indeed. "I'm only a second year teacher here. I don't quite know what to do with you. In 90 some odd years, there hasn't been a case where that reaction happened. Now, what they did then was send the child to an island away from New Orleans because they didn't know what to do with said child."
Isolation? When I just got here?!
"No. I'm not going to leave when I've been fighting to get here for 6 years, and just got here." I look him straight in the eyes and tell him.
"That's what I was thinking as well." He takes a swig of the elixir, sits down on the couch opposite, and relaxes into the cushions.
"Look, The only thing that we know about this reaction is that it's only ever occurred to 3 other people. And recent testing on the bodies of these people shows a link in the bloodline. This is why I couldn't talk to you in the main hall. All that is said in here stays in here, all right? Knowledge of these tests on the bloodline is top secret. Do you understand?" I nod. He takes another swig and scratches his curly brown hair and puts the glass down.
"The first person to react this way was Belle Noveaux in 1849. She was a quiet girl with no known parents. Her acceptance to the school was… controversial. She… slept her way through her acceptance. Her personal student records show that she was a determined girl to get through the bad situation of being parentless. She also had a certain talent for the psychic arts. A talent rivaling in greats of Marie Laveau." He says.
Marie Laveau. Rose to popularity in 1830's for her powerful voodoo spells and rituals, earning her the name of 'The Voodoo Queen'. Her power was considered limitless and dangerous to the American Ministry of Magic. I've never heard of a person who was anywhere near her level of power.
"Belle ended up disappearing shortly after her 7th year. Nobody knows why she disappeared or what transpired during these undocumented years. But while digging up an old house owned by a wealthy patrician in Georgia, the construction workers found bones. Further DNA confirmed that they belong to Belle. The muggles determined that she died at age 27, hand a broken nose, but couldn't find a cause of death. She's buried in Lafayette Cemetery. You might want to visit her grave sometime.
"Anyways, researchers from the Department of Unsolved Cases down at the Ministry stole her bones with magic, and did their own investigation. The body showed all the signs that would indicate death by magic. The magic however was untraceable. Either the killer used an undetectable spell, a different form of magic, or a spell that wasn't yet recognized by the Ministry. Even to this day, her death remains a mystery." He takes another swing and fills his glass again.
"Why are you telling me all of this stuff about an unsolved murder?" I ask him.
"You didn't let me finish. It's a long story, so don't expect to be leaving soon." He gulps down more of the elixir.
"Are you sure that you should be drinking that much of a nerve loosing elixir in front of a student?" He grimaces slightly, and shock passes through his eyes for only a second, until they soften and he laughs.
"You're a smart girl, Cynthia. Most people, despite a proper education would not be able to recognize a potion just by the sight of it. That takes skill." He takes another drink.
"Now, back to the story. The 2nd person who had the same reaction was Geon Winston. His record showed that he was a quiet boy until his 5th year. He started complaining of seeing visions of seeing 2 women. One, a woman with skin like coffee and a large headdress, urging him to do things for her. The other was a tanned woman with short, black hair and blood spilling from her wounds; telling him to help her. The poor boy was considered mad, because no one else could see these apparitions. The Department of Mysteries brought the boy in for questioning concerning these apparitions. At the time, they where conducting a study on poltergeists that effect one individual only. They questioned him, and all I just told you is from that study. 3 months later he was found hanging in the DADA tower."
"Oh," I say, shocked. What does this mean for me? And a person killing himself from these visions… shit, I'm screwed.
"Exactly. It doesn't stop there though. The next case was in 1897, with a girl named Constance Kinder. Very sweet, had a knack for deciphering runes. The same thing happened to Constance that happened to Geon. Except this time, she was reporting seeing a dark skinned boy with bruises and rashes on his neck, pleading for her to help him get away. Constance wouldn't say what he was trying to get away from, she would always scream whenever somebody tried to push her into answering. Then in 1904 a young man named Thomas Alloance had the same reaction. Again, he was of a quiet nature. He had a raw talent for some of the most complex rituals of the century. All according to his file of course. He was well likes by his peers, and excelled greatly in school. Until he started having visions of the past victims, and eventual was found hanging in the DADA tower; the same place where the rest of them where found."
"How can I stop this from happening to me as well?" I ask.
"That's the tricky part." He swirls his drink nervously. "There is no cure for this."
I look down at the ground. I can't believe this. I can't die yet! My life has only just begun! It's not fair! "Then what the hell am I supposed to do, wait around until I kill myself?"
"No, none of that. I won't allow it." He puts the glass down and sits by me. "You're going die. In the other cases, people shunned those kids for being who they are. They didn't provide a support system for them, never did much to try and stop this from happening to them. I'm not going to do that. If there's any way for us to stop this from happening, then we're going to do it." I nod my head and brush back some of my hair.
"Is there… anything else?" I ask nervously. In all honesty, I don't think that I can take anymore. It's all too much! 16 years old and I'm already told that I'm marked for an early death? No. I can't wrap my mind around that. Just… no.
He grimaces. "Yes, unfortunately. Since your blood has this…abnormality, blood hunters will be after you. And this can't be kept a secret, since the school has seen the abnormality. Be wary of who you keep in contact with, Cynthia. I've heard that you've been talking to Lucas Wiseman?" His green eyes stare at me with uncertainty etched into them.
"How did you know?" I ask him. Do they have cameras in everywhere or something?
"We've taken to using muggle security cameras. My concern is that he's a vampire. And your blood is very special, Cynthia. While he is under control of his ways, there's always a chance of letting loose. I'm not going to tell you who you can and can't be around, because then I would just be no help at all. But please, be careful." He says to me. He definitely is a great teacher. He actually seems to care. I remember
"I will. He does have amazing control though, even when I was bleeding heavily, he didn't try anything. I didn't even see his eyes change." I say.
"It is amazing, the amount of discipline he has. But still, stay cautious. Please."
I nod. "Now just a quick set of rules that are special for you," he says in a lighter tone. "I am aware that your changeling side of you gives you certain advantages over the rest of us. But I ask you, to please not use these advantages, or limit them as much as you can. So, no stealing. No stealing bodies, objects, no stealing anything. Fairy Magic is allowed though. That's the main thing that is for you. I have your class schedule right here," I heads over to his desk and fumbles in the drawers, eventually pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to me.
"Thank you, Professor Raiden." I say, putting the paper in my carry-on bag.
"One more thing. Here's a map of the school; it'll be a lifesaver. Since you've been sorted into Sanguiem, you'll need the password for the dorms. Now remember this: Antipodean Opaleye. Got it?" I nod. "Alright, I think you're situated. It'll be okay, Cynthia. We're looking for a cure as we speak. Now have fun, study hard, do girl things or whatever, and enjoy your time here."
"I will!" I smile and leave his office. It'll be all right. It has to be. I will be.
-/-/-/-/-
This took too long. But, I was at an INTENSE theatre camp. Like honestly, I've lost a jean size for all the working out. After this week, I'll be leaving for NYC to visit my grandma for 2 weeks. I'll have my laptop there, but most likely my time for writing shall be minimal. Sorry, but family comes first.
This chapter was mostly exposition, but it's necessary. So, now that you kind of know where the story is pointed to, what do you think? Please tell me, I want your input. All of the OCs that have been submitted are in the story and play a part in the grand plot, but no more! I am done with OC submissions! YAY!
NEXT CHAPTER IS WHERE THE ACTUAL PLOT BEGINS AND NOT JUST STRAIGHT EXPOSITION THANK GOD.
Until Next Time,
-Bonjour My Friend