(Chapter 6: Just another day at Hogwarts)
After the previous night the four Gryffindor's were less than comfortable with being around Alex. Was it possible? Could it be true? Or were they just blowing things out of proportion? The complete concept seemed insane – a vampire at Hogwarts? Immortals and Witches and Wizards never got along well. Sure there were a few exceptions but most of those vampires were centuries old and Alex was fifteen! They had to be making a mistake. Harry and the others had decided to keep it quiet for the time being and not say anything to them or anyone for that matter.
"Something tells me we have bigger problems than if Alex is a vampire or not…and it starts with an umb and ends with an idge. " Harry thought dismally.
Since Professor Umbridge had come to Hogwarts the Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been less than helpful – in fact it was an unofficial hell. Gryffindor, Huffelpuff, and Ravenclaw suffered daily while Slytherin like in Potions reigned supreme. Apparently not only did Hogwarts have a batish, greasy git of a teacher that half the student population wished would one day have an unfortunate accident and fall into his extra-large cauldron and never resurface – they now had a toad witch who deserved to be nicely offered as a sacrifice to the Kraken in the black lake.
"Why are you staring like that?" Alex's voice brought Harry out of his reprieve while the boy looked at him with faint confusion.
"Was I staring?" he asked.
"Yes…particularly at me." He glanced down and pushed the food on his plate around nervously.
"Hey mate? You okay?" asked Fred.
"I could be better…not exactly feeling up to par you know?" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"You're just sulking because we have doubles today. Potions, Transfiguration, Divination, and Defense Against the Dark Arts," she said.
"Are they bloody trying to see who will shoot a killing curse at themselves first?" asked Danny.
"That's not even funny…here's the mail."
They all looked up to see owls dropping items at tables left and right. Hermione's Daily Prophet Owl handed her the paper and took its money before grabbing a piece of bacon and leaving. Alex and the others continued eating to ignore whatever had made the Slytherins so happy that they were laughing and making jokes. Hermione's fists clenched the paper and she lowered it dramatically to show her red angry face.
"That awful old hag!" she snapped.
"Mer'in's ake er'mione…a varing vould ge ood." The other's glared at Ron who swallowed and let his ears turn red.
"What's got you so twisted Hermione?" asked June.
"Look at what Rita Skeeter wrote!" The others took the paper and slowly felt the color drain away.
Half-blood At Hogwarts!
Miss Rita Skeeter reported yesterday to the Ministry of Magic that
Professor Dumbledore has finally lost his sanity.
Upon entering the three broomsticks on Sunday afternoon Miss Skeeter met
Harry Potter and his friends with the Transfers from 'Rose Order Academy'
And asked to interview the new students.
She was met with great hostility from Potter and his friends, but did manage to get an interview with a young boy by the name of Alex Rouge.
According to what she reported Rouge was a charming young man with an interesting look to him. Snow white hair and scarlet red eyes – odd you say? Well yes it would seem so.
After hours of digging Rita Skeeter managed to uncover that Alex Rouge is in fact not fully a human but a half-blood that we have not seen in quite some time.
She claims and has uncovered that his father was a demon of a rare race.
Further evidence is proven that Rouge has a wild temper, and tends to become hostile as he did when she asked him a question about his father.
Later she discovered the reason for Rouge's unusual eye color change to be that of the black magic he inherited from his father's family.
She is currently speaking of uncovering more and with that information who could blame her?
"I am concerned for the students at Hogwarts. Though we know little about them Half-blood demons with powerful magic tend to have a sadistic and bloodthirsty streak in them. He even threatened me that he would kill me if I came to him again." Miss Skeeter states in a short interview with us on Sunday night.
With this news we have no choice but to question what Headmaster Dumbledore was thinking when he agreed to let the boy into the castle.
It appears that Potter now has someone to help him spread the fables he wants about He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named.
Alex felt himself flinch and glanced to see the others in the room giving him odd looks and whispers. His sensitive hearing catching him plenty of words.
"How could Dumbledore let him in? Demons aren't trusted by anyone!"
"I bet that Potter and him are planning something together – that Parsalmouth was always going to turn dark one day I knew it!"
"The others that came in do you think they're his servants or something? " A Ravenclaw muttered this and Alex felt himself clench the metal fork in his hand which he dropped so he wouldn't break it.
"Na, the girls are probably his little play things – you know how demons are! And the boys are probably the ones that off them when he gets bored with them…you know they're sick monsters."
Alex slammed his fist on the table cracking the wood and not giving a damn about what the others thought. The sound of the wood splintering made everyone freeze. Alex felt his aura reach its boiling point, and took in a deep breath. He'd be damned if he let this go on! He took in a deep breath and glanced to the other Gryffindor's who were instantly a good six feet from him. Alex looked up to the teacher table and watched their expressions. Worry, fear, confusion, and disgust mostly spread through them the only concerned and compassionate faces were Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid.
"So…you been playing us all along?" asked Seamus.
"Just what the hell do you think you're talking about?" Alex's voice was different – it sounded cold and it wasn't a good feeling that went through the ones who heard him speak.
"You saw the paper! A demon! You been pulling us around the whole time you've been here!" Dean stood with Seamus and Alex did as well.
"If you have to know then I'll tell you willingly. Yea sure my dad was a demon…hell I got my temper from him! but if you won't bother hearing my side of the story and believe everything that this paper says then go ahead! But when Voldemort comes and your all standing there like fools begging for help don't expect me or Harry to jump on the bandwagon – Gryffindor's are supposed to be loyal, courageous, and brave so far I've seen cowardly, spineless, betraying backstabbers! The ones who believe this woman's words aren't any better than death eater in my opinion!"
Alex had them shocked into silence. He stood there not realizing the red energy that had formed around him which only worsened the situation. One of the Slytherins stood and pointed to him.
"YOU'RE A MONSTER!" the aura shifted to black and Alex turned on his heels and left before anyone could stop him.
The others saw the energy as a threat and knew that though they needed to go check on him waiting a moment would be best. Right now damage control would be better. Rain looked around her to see most of the students glaring with disgust on their faces or shocked expressions. Alex didn't deserve that from these people - they were just judging him when they didn't even know who he was. Hermione was sitting there with pure shock written across her face much like Harry, Ron, Ginny, and some of the other Gryffindors.
"He should be in Slytherin," said Dean.
"You know what? You don't even know Alex that well so I don't want you saying things about him when you don't understand!" Rain stood leaning over the table with a glare on her face.
"So? I don't trust demons, and neither do the others," said Seamus.
"Well I'm not about to let you do these things to him! I'm his friend and if you don't like it then tough!" Rain walked away to go and find Alex which caused the others to begin to follow.
Sena had ran with her instantly as had June, Lila, Kent, Mark, and Jake – Danny was waiting for a moment hoping that the trio would want to come with them, but they did nothing but sit there for a few moments. Danny stood with a disappointed sigh and looked them over. Alex had been right about the fact that all of them were instantly ready to turn against him when they didn't like what they heard or saw. He shook his head and with a sigh looked back at the others.
"It's a shame really…I thought better of Gryffindor," he said as he went to leave.
"Danny, he's not a human how can…how can you willingly trust him?" he looked to Dean and Seamus with a passive expression before he glanced to the side.
"I've known him since we were little, and I've known what he was for years. That's how I can trust him – he's my friend, and I just don't get why everyone here is so willing to jump against him the second you hear something. Like I said Gryffindor is a disappointment," he said.
With that he walked off. Everyone was silently whispering before Harry stood and walked away from the table to help find Alex. he knew what it felt like to be ridiculed for being different. When he spoke to a snake in his second year people spread rumors, called him names, played cruel jokes and other horrible things. Because of how he had been treated for the past four years by multiple people he wasn't willing to watch someone else go through it without better support. Alex might have been a half-blood demon, but it didn't mean that he was a monster, it didn't mean he was evil – just different.
"Alex is a Gryffindor, and his friends trust him wholly and I don't want to be blamed as someone who was acting like the people who treated me the same way." Harry went away and around a corner where he saw Sena standing there looking around worriedly as she held a hand that was wrapped around a chain that was on her neck.
"Sena? Where are the others?" he asked.
"Oh! Harry, did you come to help?" she looked apprehensive about him being there but when he nodded she visibly relaxed.
"I've been treated that way plenty of times and I don't want Alex to be treated that way without someone to be on his side too," he stated.
"I'm glad, Alex is a great hider so…I could use some help – the others left to go search elsewhere."
Harry and Sena set to searching the corridors, small areas that someone could hide in, and other places. When they were able to meet up with the others it was clear that no one was going to find Alex unless they got a great deal of luck. The boy had proven himself a great hider as Sena had stated and it left Harry believing that Alex wasn't going to be found. It was when they rounded a corner that they heard the stone cracking. Rain had stopped anyone from coming into the room and asked for Sena to go with her.
The two girls went into the room and they waited hoping to hear from Rain or Sena if Alex was calm enough – apparently he was due to the fact that they weren't able enter the room for a good forty minutes. There was a sudden clack of heels and the group turned to see Hermione, Ron, and professor McGonagall. The witch looked uncomfortable when she spotted the group of people who were carrying around an air of concern with them. the three of them stopped and Harry shook his head just as they heard the door thump.
Rain came out with a saddened expression on her face and she gave a sigh before looking to Professor McGonagall.
"He's really not in a good mood – I've never seen him this uncomfortable before. Professor, can you somehow inform the teachers that we'll be a bit late for classes today?" Rain asked.
"I will, but…Mr. Rouge will need to explain all of this mess to us later – I suspect that Professor Dumbledore will be requesting him to inform the students of what's really going on with him." with that the woman turned to walk away.
"How is he?" asked Hermione.
"Well considering the entire school just outright turned their backs and started spreading rumors faster than a wild fire he's just freaking peachy." Rain glared and Sena peeked out of the door.
"Rain…Alex hurt his arm when he hit the wall…ah…what are they doing here?" Sena asked as she glared at the two of them.
"We wanted to check on him. is he hurt bad? I'm good with medical magic so….can I see him?" Hermione looked nervous, but they slowly agreed and she walked into the room.
There were claw marks all across the walls, broken wood, glass, and other items littered areas of the floor. Alex was sitting in a corner with his legs pulled up to his chest while his right arm was hooked around his legs and his left was lying beside him limp. Hermione made a slow walk towards him and Alex looked up with a glare that would have terrified even Voldemort.
"I want to see your arm…if that's okay," she said.
"Why would you want to touch a demon?" she sighed and the others stood at the door.
"I don't really care if you're a demon or not – it was just surprising that's all. Now, let me have a look," Hermione gently grasped his hand and picked his arm up to help him remove the robe he had on and then she started to feel of his arm.
"Are you trained in any of this?" he raised an eyebrow.
"A bit, Madam Pomphrey said that she would teach me some stuff in case I needed to do something considering that we're always getting put in the hospital wing. I need to remove your shirt some so I can see what you've done," she stated.
Hermione slowly removed the tie on him and then began to unbutton the shirt he had on. It was strange having to do this and the more pale unblemished skin she revealed the redder her face seemed to get. Alex looked at her oddly before she slid his arm out of the sleeve and looked at the dark reddish purple bruises coming across his skin. She was careful when touching the marks to make sure there weren't any broken bones, but it did little to just look or do anything because of her reddening face.
Ron had been right about it when he said that people thought that Alex was nice looking – but that was only a part of it. He was seductive and alluring in a way that made people feel nervous and flustered. If he smiled girls turned red and glanced away, if this boy spoke and took up a conversation then people were instantly made to listen. He cast his own spell effortlessly. And it didn't help Hermione in the slightest.
"Of course he has to be some beauty and a cunning brat that makes people go red in the face." Hermione looked the boy as she finished checking his arm and smiled to him.
"Well, I think you just sprained your wrist, and your arms just bruising because you knocked it on the wall so hard." She let him start putting the shirt back on when she looked him over with an uncomfortable expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
"I knew you were small but…" she reached out and placed a hand on his chest which was still visible due to the fact that she made him stop fixing the buttons.
"Not like this. When you were little were you sick?" Alex went pink in the face and glanced away as he grabbed her wrist with clawed fingers. Hermione shot away as he stood and finished buttoning the shirt and grabbed his tie.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?" he tilted his head a bit and put the tie back one before fixing it.
"You have claws," she said. Ron slipped into the room with Harry and the others did the same slowly.
"Yea…kind of happens when my energy is over worked. Comes with being what I am I suppose…to be honest I didn't want people finding out and if they did I didn't want it in this way." Alex glanced to the side a bit and the trio looked him over and then the room.
"So the marks on the wall? You did these?" Ron touched one of the marks and felt himself flinch.
"I did say I have a temper – I'd rather aim it at a wall than the people around me," he stated.
"This is going to be hard to explain to the entire school you realize that right?" Alex looked to Rain who received a nod.
"How are we…what are we going to do?" asked Danny.
"We'll figure something out. We have a means of discrediting Skeeter so she can't exactly just up and say I attacked her or threatened to kill her." Alex crossed his arms over his chest while he had the robe on his arm.
"What'll we do?" asked Harry.
"You seriously want to involve yourselves with a demon?" the boy who lived nodded instantly and looked to his friends.
"Yea we should help you out Alex – you haven't done anything to deserve this," said Ron.
There was a faint nod from Alex and the group headed off to the class on their list that would be right after the first class of the day. which sadly was Defense Against the Dark Arts. With a sigh they all filed into the room and was met with Umbridge's scowl. She let them all sit and get their books out before looking at Alex. It was common knowledge that she despised half-bloods. Her law passed that made it harder for half-bloods to get a job had caused Lupin great strife. The woman walked along the isles and looked over each student's shoulders to check to make sure they were doing their work. She stopped at the table that held Alex, Sena, and Danny who all sent her a glare. She snarled at them and Alex felt his teeth show in a feral smile.
She knew he was supposedly half-demon therefore he could display his fangs in class now without questioning, but if he did too much people would put two and two together and find out he's a vampire. Then there would be worse trouble. She stuck her nose in the air and turned around to walk away before coming to the front of the class where she looked them all over.
"I am sure you are aware of our recent little…surprise curtsey of Mr. Rouge. However, I will have you know that there is no need to be wary or concerned – half blood demons rarely are any threat to a wizard or witch who has a semi proper potion or spell. Therefore, if this boy choses to lay a hand on anyone please by all means stupefy him and bring him to me," she said.
"There are slim chances I'll lay a hand on someone to hurt them Professor. After all…you can't touch me even if you wanted to." Alex's voice made everyone turn to him where he was smiling faintly.
"And why is that Mr. Rouge?" she asked hotly.
"Oh? You wouldn't want to get the Japanese Royal family mad would you? My grandmother and grandfather would be mighty irate if they heard someone had decided to attack me or do harm to me. I may be a half-blood but they are purebloods and that would be quite a sight wouldn't it? The poor minister wouldn't know what would hit him if you got them angry." He smirked and the woman paled faintly before turning red with anger.
"Are you threatening the Minster boy?" she questioned.
"No, but he won't make any moves. The Minister is aware of what I am." Again a faint smirk where the others were left astounded. Alex hardly pulled these cards out and when he did not much could be done.
"Well, continue with class. No talking!"
Alex could only smile as they went along with class and knew good and well that things were going to get worse – people would figure more things out. This can't end well, and he knew that.
"We'll just wait and see how things are going."
(Chapter 6: Just Another Day At Hogwarts – close)
Okay I know, slow chapter. You guys have got to give me ideas! I have every intention of finishing this Fanfiction and some support would be wonderful. The Immortal Masquerade series will probably be re-written when I get to see the end of the D.G.M Anime, and when I finish Black Cat. There have been new people put in place of the original knights and trust me you'll like them but I need help deciding!
We all know Allen Walker will always be the first one, Train Heartnet, Edward Elric, Haseo, I think I'll use Shu from Guilty Crown, and Oz from Pandora Hearts…who thinks it'd be useful to have Teito Klien from 07-ghost? Or Kirito from Sword Art Online? Oh! Almost forgot I'll be keep Rin Okumura too.
Let me know and read this fanfic –its HP Characters you all know belong to J.K Rowling. While the Characters such as Alex Rouge and the others are copyrighted and do in fact belong to me Javin Taylor. Enjoy guys!
Speak with you soon, and I hope to hear some good reviews. Tell me how my writing is!
Ciao!