Chapter 7 The First Seal
October, 1994
Not long has passed since the 'incident' with the Boggart. The other two representative schools- Durmstrang and Beauxbatons- have arrived. Alucard was able to sense powerful magic from the students from both schools. The Beauxbatons girls were extremely beautiful, yet paled in comparison to Alucard's looks; the male students were the same. The Durmstrang students were big and burly. Due to their heavy clothing, it seemed that they were from the far north.
For the past couple of days, the representative schools have been exploring the grounds, getting used to their new surroundings. Every now and then they would enter and join in on the classes that were going on at the time. Alucard at first found them interesting, mostly because they were a change of pace in the dreary and boring times at Hogwarts. He would often watch them from the windows, studying them.
Now, on October 31, the three Champions of the three schools were to be chosen. Since the arrival of the students, Dumbledore has allowed the students to submit their names into the Goblet of Fire, an immensely rare and magical item. Alucard, however, had no interest in such an item. It had no use in his plans. All of the students from the three schools were crowded into the Grand Hall, eager to hear the names of the Champions. There were conversations and gambles as to whom will be chosen .Meanwhile, Alucard was sitting in a corner, away from everyone else, trying to plot something on the old map. When he wrote something down, he made an annoyed face and magically erased what he wrote down.
"What are you doing?" asked a wild haired brunette with large front teeth. She sat next to Alucard.
"What?" asked Alucard in a bit of a shock. This was the first time anyone came up and talked to him.
"With the map." said the girl.
"Nothing." said Alucard as he put the map away. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"Hermione, Hermione Granger." said the brown haired girl. She offered Alucard her hand. He took it and shook.
"Alucard." said the raven haired vampire with distrust in mind.
"Any last name?" asked Hermione.
"That's private." said Alucard. "Tell me, why are you talking to me?"
"You looked lonely." said Hermione. "You remind me of myself during my First year here at Hogwarts. I kept my head in books, and when I tried to make friends I just got ignored. But then I found Ron and Harry." She pointed to two boys, one with dark hair and one with fire-red hair. Then Alucard recognized her as one of the witnesses of the Con'Dar.
"And?" asked Alucard, leaning on his knee. "What did you wish to accomplish from this bit of small talk?"
"I- I wanted to see if you wanted to sit with me-" said Hermione.
"Sit with you?" asked Alucard. He had a certain smile on his face.
"Oh!" said Hermione. Her face was getting really red. "I- I- I meant with me and Harry and Ron."
"I see." said Alucard. "Well, I hate to disappoint anyone, but I have been alone for quite a long time, and I like it. Besides, I don't need friends. Thanks for the offer, but run along girl."
That last part had a hidden threat to its tone. Hermione, still red faced ran towards her friends. They noticed her face, and asked what was wrong. She told them what had transpired, and both boys threw Alucard an angry look. Alucard just sat there, twiddling his thumbs and looking innocent.
"May I have everyone's attention?" said Dumbledore. The room went silent. "Let us begin. But first, I would like to, again, welcome the schools of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons to Hogwarts. I hope you all have enjoyed here at Hogwarts so far, and I wish you enjoy it for the rest of the tournament. And now, let the drawing of the Chosen three commence!"
Dumbledore turned down the flames. The Goblet was the brightest thing in the room. Dumbledore walked towards said Goblet and placed his hands on it. As he took a few steps back, the flames changed from red to a calm blue and shot out a piece of paper. It fluttered right into the Headmaster's hand.
"And the Champion for Durmstrang is…" said Dumbledore, "is Victor Krum!"
The Durmstrangs cheered in victory. Apparently, Krum was their best student. When they first arrived, Alucard heard the Hogwarts students exclaim that Krum was the greatest Seeker in the world, whatever that meant. Krum walked towards Dumbledore and shook his hand and walked to the trophy room. The Goblet shot out another piece of paper, which Dumbledore caught.
"The Beauxbatons Champion…" said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"
There was applause throughout the entire Hall. Out from the Beauxbatons group came the most beautiful of the students. She was tall and willowy. Her face could be compared to goddess-like. Her long, silvery hair bounced as she walked towards Dumbledore. Even Alucard looked twice at her. She was very beautiful in Alucards opinion, but he couldn't let himself get involved with any distractions, so he let his 'feelings' for her die as quickly as they came. As she walked towards the trophy room, the Goblet shot out another piece of paper.
"Finally, the Hogwarts Champion is…" said Dumbledore, "is Cedric Diggory!"
The loudest cheer came from the Hogwarts students. As Cedric Diggory, a boy with grey eyes and brown hair, walked towards Dumbledore he shook the hands of his fellow students and gave high fives. He finally got to Dumbledore and shook his hand. As he left to the trophy room door, Professor Sprout, a stout woman that had an immeasurable amount of dirt covering her at any given time, gave him a hug and congratulated her House's Prefect.
"Congratulations! Congratulations everyone!" said Dumbledore. "Now that we have our three Champions-"
Dumbledore was interrupted by a loud bang. Everyone looked towards the Goblet of Fire and saw fire swirl around. The fire rose and rose, then another loud bang came from a small explosion. A pillar of flame erupted from the goblet and out came another piece of paper, which Dumbledore caught.
"Harry Potter…" said Dumbledore quietly, but the room was so quiet that everyone heard what was said. The black haired boy that was sitting with Hermione was trying to sink away, but everyone was staring at him. "Harry Potter!"
Hermione pushed her spectacled friend towards the Headmaster. As he was walking, people were saying that he was a cheat, that he already had eternal glory, that he should let someone else have some spot light. When Dumbledore gave Harry the piece of paper, Harry tried to deny that it was him that put the paper in the Goblet. However, he was told to go to the trophy room. Then the Headmasters of the three schools and several of the Hogwarts teachers ran down to the trophy room. Alucard thought the events of the evening were suspicious, so he walked to the trophy room.
"…Only an immensely powerful Confundus Charm cast by an immensely powerful wizard would be able to work, well beyond the abilities of a Fourth Year." said the instantly recognizable voice of Mad-Eye Moody.
"You seem to have put an awful lot of thought into this Mad-Eye." said the Durmstrang Headmaster Igor Karkaroff.
"It was once my job to think as Dark Wizards do, you should remember that Karkaroff." said Moody.
"That doesn't help Alastor!" said Dumbledore, trying to break up the fight.
"Well, apparently Harry has been chosen for a greater purpose." said Alucard, walking down the stairs very calmly.
"What are you doing down here boy?" asked the greasy haired Potions Master Snape. Alucard just pushed past him.
"So," said Alucard and he summoned a chair to sit on, "Why would anyone want Harry to be a part of this incredibly dangerous tournament?"
"Who is t'is?" demanded the giant Headmistress of Beauxbatons Olympe Maxine. "And why is a student in t'is meeting?"
"I am a representative from the Palas y Proffwydi." said Alucard. "So, therefore, I am allowed in you little meetings."
"I never-!" said Madam Maxine.
"Yeah yeah." said Alucard. He got up and walked over to Harry. "Tell me Harry, why would anyone want you in this tournament?"
Before Harry could answer, his scar was revealed to Alucard. Alucard looked at it questionly, and then he touched it. Then, Alucard saw several scenes flash before his eyes. A young Dumbledore was talking to a young boy when a locker caught fire. Then a giant snake hissing around a chair. Finally, a scratchy voice from the chair telling a rat-like man that it must be Potter for the spell to work.
"What are you?" asked Alucard as he backed away. He had never had that happen before.
"Alucard, what happened?" asked Dumbledore.
"N- Nothing." Alucard lied. "What is he?"
"He was the one who defeated Dark Lord." said Snape. "He's the Chosen One." As Snape said 'Chosen One' he rolled his eyes. It was here that the newest prophecy from the Book of the Keeper that appeared that morning came to Alucard's mind:
The Final Sanctum shall come to pass
On the mid-eve of the fated battle
Of the Dark Lord and the Chosen One
On the grounds of mystic teachings
"I'm leaving." Alucard said. He ran as fast as he could back to his room. He slammed the door shut. Alucard looked at the Book and slowly walked toward it. It was glowing slightly in a black aura. "Book of the Keeper, show me the seals for the Final Sanctum."
The Book opened and flipped through its pages on its own. It stopped and on the blank pages blood red ink formed the seals. It was a pentagram with five ancient sigils that Alucard did not recognize on its sides. At the tips of the pentagram were another set of sigils that Alucard, again, could not recognize. Around the circle was a saying that Alucard believed looked familiar, but he was uncertain.
"The Final Sanctum…" said Alucard with the seal reflecting in his eyes. "Amazing."
Getting an idea, Alucard took out his map and had it float above the Book. Saying an ancient spell, Alucard had the seal from the Book come out of the pages and become part of the map, with Hogwarts dead center of the pentagram. As the spell was completed, Alucard smiled, knowing he was one step closer to fulfilling his destiny.
Later That Night
Alucard decided that he needed to place the first seal of the Final Sanctum. According to the map, the seal he should first place is located deep in the Dark Forest. He left late at night, making sure no one finds or follows him. He phased through walls. He used his superior speed and reflexes to jump off the high walls of the castle and avoid any and every one. Soon, he arrived at the Dark Forest.
"Cozy." said Alucard as he walked through the forest. It was dark, and misty, and there were many animal howls and moans. He felt right at home.
As he was walking, Alucard encountered several large spiders. They were almost as big as Ron Weasely's Boggart. They tried to sneak up on Alucard, but Alucard was able to sense then since they started 'hunting' him. One attacked him by pouncing, but Alucard grabbed one of its hairy legs and twirled it into the other jumping spider. Two more came out of the brush and shot webbing at the vampire. However, Alucard jumped into the air and slammed his boots on the heads of the two spiders and made them go squish. The two from earlier barred their venom-dripping fangs and pounced again. Alucard got irritated and snapped his fingers, causing the giant spiders to burst in flames. The flaming arachnids fell past Alucard and burned to ashes.
"I hate spiders." said Alucard as he walked on the burnt carcasses.
Checking the map, Alucard arrived at a small clearing and smiled. It was a full moon, and he had arrived at the location of the first seal. Putting the map away, he walked to the center of the clearing. Focusing his magic, he began chanting in an ancient language. But before he could get the spell going, a silver tipped arrow came out of his throat, and he fell to the ground.
"Get up vampire." said a deep voice. "We know what you are capable of." Alucard stood up and pulled the arrow out.
"That hurt." said Alucard in a raspy voice as his throat healed. Looking at his assailant, Alucard noticed that he was surrounded by a herd of centaurs. "Centaurs, huh? Never encountered your kind before."
"And we never encountered one of you before." said the centaur that shot the arrow. "An abomination that arose from the union of the most evil witch and the most vile vampire-"
"Don't you dare talk about my parents like that, mule boy." Alucard said with great spite in his voice. "What are you all doing here anyway? According to that giant spawn Hagrid, you creatures don't come into this part of the Dark Forest."
"Hagrid is right." said the centaur. He must have been the leader of this herd, as he did all the talking. "But the stars have told us to stop you, an emissary of the Darkness."
"Oo, that's a new one." said Alucard. "Emissary of the Darkness. I quite like that. So the stars told you to come and stop me. Did they tell you everything I can do?"
"They told us to do everything in our power to stop you." said the centaur chief. He signaled his warriors to ready their bows.
"Hmm, let me see," said Alucard, "One, two, three, four… so there's thirty of you and one of me. It hardly seems fair… to you."
"Fire!" screamed the chief. A flurry of arrows came flying at Alucard. Alucard focused his magic, and said an incantation the Book of the Keeper taught him after his slaughter of the Sisters of the Dark.
"Hud Tywyll Sêl-Lefel Tri Datganiad!" said Alucard. His body started glowing in a black/red aura. His senses became stronger. He could smell the sweat of each centaur, hear their breathing, and feel the vibrations of their heartbeats from where they were standing. The arrows were moving slower to Alucard. Some of his vampiric powers have been released. Other than the aura, Alucard's eyes were the only physical thing that changed. Instead of deep blue, they were a dull red.
Clapping his hands together, he released a shockwave of wind that blasted the arrows away. The centaurs were frozen with fear. Only when their chief rallied them did they continue their attack. Some had swords and they galloped to Alucard. As they swung, grabbed their swords and sent electricity through them, causing the centaurs to die. Many more centaurs rushed towards him, and more still had their bows ready. Alucard waved his hands around and a very thick fog came into the forest. It was so thick that the centaurs couldn't see their noses, let alone Alucard.
As Alucard disappeared in the fog, he started picking off the centaurs one by one. The screams were magnificent. Each one was better than the last. With every single one he picked off, he fed on their blood. It was a rather quick job, and quite honestly, it was embarrassing (and quite horrifying), for the centaurs. These so called proud, philosophical warriors were being easily disposed of by one vampire who they greatly underestimated. Soon, there was no other centaur besides the chief.
"AHH!" screamed the chief. "Where are you? Too scared to finish me off? Give me a warrior's death!" Nothing happened. He started getting even more frightened, so he started firing off arrows at random. When he ran out of arrows, he really started freaking out. "You are too scared to kill me! Ha ha! You're just a mutt, a dog of your over-glorified destiny-!"
"Silence!" screamed Alucard. He appeared right in front of the chief centaur. He looked a lot of taller than usual. "I'm a dog? Then your dog food." Focusing all of his vampiric powers, he transformed his right arm into a dark, spectral demon hound with razor sharp teeth. Thrusting his arm, he released the hound.
"AAHH!" screamed the chief centaur. The sound that came after were far too disturbing to describe. Even Alucard had to look away from what was transpiring. Soon, the noises stopped and the hellhound turned into energy and fused back with Alucard. Taking a deep breath, Alucard resealed his powers.
Continuing the spell for the seal, Alucard focused his magic. From using the hellhound, Alucard was feeling really weak. Even with the blood he had taken from all the centaurs, summoning the hellhound took too much out of him. However, he completed the seal. The seal was glowing in an eerie black flame that was so dark that it made the entire clearing seem brighter in comparison.
"Thus begins," began Alucard, "the Final Sanctum."
Hud Tywyll Sêl-Lefel Tri Datganiad – Dark Magic Seal: Level Three Release
